Mingshern’s Blog

    Ever noticed that many Malaysian driver’s do not use their signal lights when they want to switch lanes or turn into junctions and etc? Well, i dunno about other country’s drivers but i really get annoyed when people (drivers) around me do that… I mean, what’s so hard to just push the indicator ’stick’ (i dunno what to call it) up or down depending on which direction you wanna go?? The other day i was driving back in Penang, and suddenly, a car from the left side of me just start to squeeze (erm, not really squeeze, more like straight cut into) into my lane, without any warning or indicator or signals… And i had to stop for that guy… I mean, its not that i don wanna give in, but, at least show proper signals la… Its kinda dangerous, to just suddenly barge in like that… What if i didn’t realise it in time and bang into his back? Then it’ll create trouble and I’ll be blamed from slamming into the back of his car… ><! You know, I don’t really mind giving in to him if he had use his indicator lamps properly and showed signal and warning that he’s gonna cut into my lane… I usually would give in the those who use their signal lights and I’ll just ignore those who don’t use it and wanna cut in… ><!

    And also to those who wanna turn into a junction where you wanna come out or go in and don’t use any signals at all… Its really annoying… I get this many many times already… Imagine… You are at a T-junction… You wanna turn right… Cars are moving on the road from left to right and right to left… So, you put your signals and wait and wait and wait till the road is clear for you to turn… Finally, there are no cars coming from the left side anymore, you looked at the right side and you see a car approaching… So you decided to wait a while more… The car moves slowly… You’re waiting to turn right once the car passed you… The car is at the junction now… Suddenly, he turned left into the junction from where you wanna go out… And, you wasted time waiting for him to ‘pass’, when he actually wanted to turn… If he had put his signal lights on earlier, then you wont have to wait for him to ‘pass’ and can straight turn once the left side is clear… See what i mean? Its annoying rite? And sometimes, its even more annoying because once the car start to turn, there are cars behind him that are moving kinda fast, or other cars start to come from the left side again… And you gotta wait for another chance… ><!

    Another type of people are those who start to use their signal lights after they start turning… Then, it sorta defeat the purpose of having signal lights rite? I mean, the signal lights are there to warn or let people know that you are gonna turn, and if you use it after you’ve turn, then, its sorta useless rite? By right, we should turn on our signal lights about 3 seconds (if i remember correctly from my driving lessons last time) before we wanna turn to let others know… Okla, maybe 3 seconds is a bit too early to some, but at least let it blink a few times before you attempt to turn la… Especially to those who wanna switch lanes… i know, sometimes the opportunity just suddenly appear and you got no time to turn on your indicator lamps and you just turn, but… If you had wanted to switch lanes from the start, then you should have turn it on in the first place rite? Its not only annoying, its dangerous too… Drivers from behind may not expect you to suddenly turn out and may result in an accident…

    Well, in conclusion, i really find people who do not use their signal lights or indicator lamps very annoying… And its dangerous too… So, for those of you who are reading this, do remember to use your signal lights when you wanna turn or switch lanes… You could have avoid getting into an accident, or making other people feel annoyed… Hehehe… =)

    Well, first of all, let me say that this is probably my very first movie review, so, dont expect too much from it… I’ll just write what i feel about the movie and rate it my way… Hehehe… Well, since I’m generally quite a ‘chin chai’ person, i guess most of my movie reviews (if there’s any more in the future) will gonna be kinda positive… Hahaha… Ok, lets get it started!

    Generally, this movie is about a battle where 300 Spartan warriors fighting till death to defend the attack from the HUGE Persian army. The Persians probably outnumber them 10000:1. Yeah… that many, or even more… I dunno… There’s even a part where the Persians boast something like, "our arrows will block the sun…" And… yeah, in a later scene, they shot their arrows and, woah… the whole sky is filled with arrows… Err, there’s also scenes about some politics in Sparta and there are some traitors that helped the Persians and stuffs like that, but… The whole thing about the movie is about the battle… =)

    King Leonidas is the king of Sparta and he’s the leader of the 300 Spartan warriors. The leader of the Persians is the (self-claimed) God-King Xerxes. Well, the war actually started because Xerxes wanted to conquer the whole of Greece and the whole world, but King Leonidas refuse to bow to him. Well, got to add a note here, Xerxes is so GAY!!! OMG… i cant believe someone like his as a King… ><! Hahaha… Watch the movie and you’ll probably get what i mean. =) Also, the Spartan warriors… Wow… They really really look like warriors and so so cool. Well, they dont wear heavy armors like today’s army… They’re half naked, wears a red cloak, helmet during battle, a big circular shield and i think thats all… BUT… every single one of them is muscular and looks so tough! One of my friend who watched the movie before me, challenged me… He said, if i can find someone from the 300 warriors without six-pack (muscles at the abs, dunno spelling correct or not) or muscles, he’ll give me RM 10. Hahaha… yeah.. its like every single one of them have a minimum six-pack or eight-pack… Wah sai… so cool… =D

    The battle scenes are very very cool too… The effects are just great and not overdone, in my opinion la… They slow-mo at the right timings to show you how they fight and so on… Camera angles are good too… Well, for one, this movie contains a lot of violence and gory scenes. Hands, legs, even heads got chopped off like nothing only… And there’s a lot of blood spilled everywhere… And of course… There’s the spirit in it… The words they use… their actions… Wow… See also super semangat! The Spartan’s motto is something like "never retreat, never surrender, not afraid of death" And they fight to defend their country… their people… their freedom… =D

    Okla… I dunno what else to talk about also… ><! If i tell more, its gonna be like a summary of the movie ade… Hahaha… Okla… I know my review not that good also… Wished I could have done it better, but… nvm la… hahaha. I tried not to include spoilers as much as i can, but, because of that also, I dare not type too much about it… And also for the pictures, I tried to add some pictures that’s cool from the picture, but i limit myself to very few, because i dont want it to be too big in file size which will slow down the viewing of this page. ><! Well, in conclusion, this movie is a very very good movie and I do recommend those who haven watch it to watch it. MUST-WATCH! (okla, maybe exaggerated a bit) =D [Rating : 5 / 5]

Some Pictures (click to see a larger version):

Persian arrows "blocking out the sun"

King Leonidas’s last stand

The Persian army

    Yep… the title says it… I’m gonna be taking my IELTS test tomorrow… Well… for those of you who dunno what the heck is IELTS, it stands for International English Language Testing System. Which means that, tomorrow’s test will be on my ability to communicate in English. IELTS test will test on the ability to communicate using all four language skills, namely Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Check out www.ielts.org for more info. =)

    Well, some of my friends have already took the test earlier than me, some will be taking at the same time as me (two of them actually), and others might be taking their IELTS test some other time in the future. And some might ask, why would i need to take this test? Well, the reason is mainly for higher education. Most (overseas) universities require their students to have a certain standard of English before being accepted. Its something like MUET (Malaysian University English Test)

    The few universities that I’ve checked so far require a minimum of band 6 to band 7. The highest band score for IELTS is band 9 by the way. I’m aiming for band 7. =D Lets take a look at the nine bands and their description :

9: Expert User
Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding.
8: Very Good User
Has fully operational command of the language with only occasional
unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Misunderstandings may
occur in unfamiliar situations. Handles complex detailed argumentation
well.
7: Good User
Has operational command of the language, though with occasional
inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations.
Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed
reasoning.
6: Competent User
Has generally effective command of the language despite some
inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and
understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
5: Modest User
Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in
most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able
to handle basic communication in own field.
4: Limited User
Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent
problems in understanding and expression. Is not able to use complex
language.
3: Extremely Limited User
Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. Frequent breakdowns in communication occur.
2: Intermittent User
No real communication is possible except for the most basic information
using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to
meet immediate needs. Has great difficulty understanding spoken and
written English.
1: Non User
Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words.

(Source: http://www.ielts.org/candidates/afterthetestresults/article281.aspx)

There… Like i said on top, I’m aiming for Band 7. I believe that my English level is that equivalent to the description for band 7.

    According to some of my friends who had took the test, it seems that the first 3 parts of the test, Listening, Reading and Writing is the easier part of the test. The hardest part will be the Speaking part. I’m worried on the Writing and Speaking section. I’m getting really nervous right now just thinking about it… Sigh… hope everything goes well tomorrow… Guess thats all for this post… For those reading this tonight (before my IELTS test tomorrow), do wish me luck… =D Thanks~!