Mingshern’s Blog

    We all learn that area of a circle is given by the formula π r², but, have you ever wonder how did that formula derived from? Today, afternoon just now, Farhan messaged me and gave me a question… Why is the area of a circle π r² and why is the volume of a sphere (4/3)π r³? I think its an interesting question and below is my attempt to explain why the formulas are so… I hope its the correct logic, concept and method… =)

Why is the area of a circle π r² ?

Why is the volume of a sphere
(4/3)π r³?

    There… those are the two proofs for the formulas… I used integration to prove it… There might be other ways… In fact, i tried to prove it through a few other ways and i can still get the formulas, but they basically involve integration… For example, in calculating the area under graph for the area of circle, since its a triangle, you can just find the area which is half times base times height, which is (1/2)(r)(2π r)=π r². And for the volume of sphere, i tried a different way by defining the x as distance from the end of the sphere into the center and to the other end… And i still get the same formula… So i guess the prove is valid… Hope that its not just coincidental… =)

    Well, I hope that this post will be beneficial to those reading it… At least, it probably satisfy your curiosity… I got into a lot of hassle trying to making it look nice… (I typed the equations using a built-in equation editor in MSWords… I didn’t know MSWords have it until today… Took some time to get it done…) Friendster blog have some problem with picture arrangements… Therefore I decided to type it all out in MSWords and taking a screenshot of it… I hope you all wont mind the green wavy underline, present in the volume of sphere proof… And, for those who wonder, yeah… i did it myself… I did not copy it from any webpage or whatever… Any similarity is purely coincidence… =P 

    This morning… It was raining here at my house… Or it was gonna rain when I was woken up by the shouting of my name by my grandma… She called my name from the ground floor while i was sleeping in my room at the second floor (or should it be first floor? Hmmm… I’m confused in this…) Well, her leg is kinda weak so she cant climb up the stairs, not that i want her to climb all the way up anyway… Why did she shout and wake up me? Usually she don’t do that… It’ll be my mom who will shout at me if i sleep till very late (11 and above)… hahaha…
    Anyway… The reason she wake me up because its starting to rain and the clothes that are hanged outside is gonna get wet… She cant go and collect the clothes by herself and there’s nobody else at home… My mom went out to market (i guess), my dad off to work, my brother went for his course or something, my sister still sleeping… So, it only me… So, imagine… I’m sleeping so nicely and peacefully in my slumber… Starting to rain some more… In fact, I think rainy days are the best days to just sleep… Then suddenly, I’m forced to wake up… To go collect the clothes before it gets all wet… Ish ish… Hahhaa…
    So, I force myself to get up… Man… I was still half asleep that time… I cant even open my eyes fully… I can only open my right eye, and that also not fully open… so, its like a really blurry vision… And i force myself to run down the stairs… Lucky i didn’t fall down in the process… My grandma gave me a basket, to collect the clothes and tell me to hurry while explaining that its gonna rain and nobody’s at home… I quickly went behind and open the back door… Have to unlock the door lagi… Then i rush out… Man… it was already raining… So i hurriedly just take the clothes and dump them into the basket before the rain starts to get heavy… Oh ya… I was still in my pajamas that time… ><! Hahaha…
    By the time that i finished taking all the clothes in, it’s already beginning to rain kinda heavy… And I’m wet and kinda soaked… Man… talk about morning shower… Hahaha… So, I walk in with the basket-load of clothes… And my grandma told me to take off my wet clothings and go bathe and stuffs… =) And, in just a few moments later, it started to rain really heavy… =) So, I went to bathe, and now I’m really awake… I’m still sleepy you know, but i cant make myself sleep anymore… Get what i mean? Oh ya, i took a look at the clock after i bathed, and its only 8.30 am… ><! Hahaha…
    Well, so, after that… Since i can’t sleep anymore… I decided to turn on my PC and surf the web a while… And i decided to post this… =) And as i was typing this, it is still raining outside… Ahh… So today, unlike the usual morning rain that put me deeper into my sleep, today’s rain actually made me wake up much much early than i would really want to… Hehehe… =)

    Hey hey hey… For those that do not know it yet (although i think most would have known) today is Father’s Day… Yeap…. So… If you havent wish your dad, go and wish him Happy Father’s Day before its over… And show him your appreciation of him… Tell him how much you love him if you can… I for one… cant tell it directly to my dad that i love him… It just feels so weird… So i can only write it in cards… It still feel weird… but… at least i wrote it down on a card… Hehehe… =) *by the way, I actually intend to post this last night, but i couldn’t due to some problems… So, in a way… the reminder is kinda late ain’t it? ><!*
    Well… Let’s see… what have i done for Father’s Day… Hmmm… Yesterday… I went over to a bakery and ordered a cake for today… I was in luck as they were almost out of cakes by the time i went… By the way, i dont blame them as i went kinda late, nearly 9pm… ><! Well, I said i wanna order a cake and asked them when i can collect them… The shopkeeper told me… If its for tomorrow… I dont think we can make it in time… Unless you wanna collect it late evening… I was kinda shocked at first… In fact, I was actually thinking of not ordering and just go to the bakery today morning and buy those ready made cakes… Hahaha… Lucky that my brother forced me to go and place a order… Just in case… And… it is just in case indeed… Hehehe… Well… Lucky for me, they still have one or two (ready made) cakes in their fridge thats not taken yet… So i quickly told the shopkeeper I wanna buy that cake and I’ll collect it today morning… =) *mission accomplish!*
    And, yesterday also… I went to a local bookstore… and bought a Father’s Day card for my dad… =) Hahaha… i guess you can say that i’m really a last minute kinda guy, but… At least… Better late than never rite…? =) Hehehe… Well, and it might seem like something really small, but… to admit… can say that this is actually the first time me doing these… Usually, we dont really celebrate Father’s Day or what by having cakes or what… Usually we just wish by mouth and thats it… hahaha… But, this year… At least there’s a cake and a card… Hehehe… =) Nothing big… but, its the thought that counts… =)
    And so, this morning… I woke up kinda early… But my dad was gone ade… Off to work… So, didnt get to wish him early in morning… I hope he saw the card that i left on the table for him… =) And then later, i went and collect the cake, and keep it in the fridge until later… Probably after dinner where we’ll take it out and do a small celebration? Hehehe… =) Hmmm… Okla… I guess this year’s Father’s Day will be kinda normal and nothing really special… Probably a little better that all previous years’… hahaha… =)
    Well, i guess thats all i wanna write here… And to all those reading this, go wish your dad Happy Father’s Day if you haven… And hope that you all will have a nice and relaxing Father’s Day with your family… =)

    Today… I suddenly thought of a Petronas advertisement… As I’ve got nothing to do and felt so bored the whole day… I decided to go to YouTube and find videos of Petronas Ads… No, I’m not talking about those ads that are trying to promote their petrol or products… The ads i meant are the Merdeka Day ads… Chinese New Year ads… Deepavali ads… Hari Raya ads… Those ads that are so heart warming and touching… Ads that deliver messages of love, unity, courage, respect, and so many more… I’ve seen most of them on Tv before… Usually during the festival seasons… And, after the festival seasons… Usually they will not be played again… until the next year… And Petronas are really creative in their advertisements… I dont think they use the same advertisement every year… It seems that for every year, they produce new advertisements for the events… And all of them are just so brilliant… Its not just a simple ads with the message ‘Selamat Hari Merdeka’ or ‘Selamat Hari Kebangsaan’ or what… Their advertisements are more than that… Most of them are about 2 minutes long and they tell a tale… A heart warming tale… =) And I thought that all is lost and i cant go back in time to watch those commercials again… However… Thanks to the internet nowadays… and YouTube especially… I managed to find them and watch them all over again… =)

    Here are some links to some of the ads (not following chronology or sequences)… Not all links are posted here… If you want to see more, I’m sure you can find the rest at YouTube… =)

Hari Merdeka 1998

Hari Merdeka 1999

Hari Merdeka 2004

Petronas Deepavali Ad

Petronas - Deepavali 2006

Chinese New Year 2006

Chinese New Year Ad

Hari Raya - Forgiveness

Hari Raya - No Charge

Hari Raya 2006

    Today morning… at about 9.00 am… my mom brought me to the JPJ office in Seberang Jaya to renew my driving licence… Yepp… I’ve finished my 2-year probation period… =D Well… the procedure for renewal is kinda short and easy… You just go and get your queue number… Fill your details in a form given… Put your signature… And leave the rest to the clerk at the counter… =)
    The whole procedure stuffs took just about half hour… Spend most of the time waiting for my turn though… And after giving the clerk the form… Pay the required amount… My new licence is done… However… some problem happened during the lamination of my licence… My licence got stuck at the laminating machine… ><! And the whole licence paper was crumpled… lucky thing is that my photo is not folded as well… And then the clerk told us that the machine is unreliable and this is not the first time that it has happened… Also, she told us that, out of the 10 counters that have these machines, only a few can be used… And they have to ’share’ the machines… So, she gotta go to the next counter to use their machine… Sigh… These things really drop the image of the department… And i was actually impressed (at first) by the efficiency of the licence renewing process which i expect to take at least 1 hour before its finally done… So, we gotta wait for extra time before its finally done… and… my licence is a little crumpled in the middle onwards… =)
    Anyway… now i have a new driving licence without the P sign on it anymore… =D and… I can drive any car without needing the P sticker on the car… =D Ahh… thinking back… So fast time passes… 2 years ago, I was so excited on getting my  P driving licence and had just learnt how to drive… And now… the probation period is already over… =)

    Yeah… My A Levels exams are finally over… So is my college life… How am i feeling about it? A little happy… A little sad… A little lost… The whole day, I’ve been wasting my time surfing the web… Check emails… Play flash games… and then i suddenly remembered about my blog… I haven been posting for some time because i was busy with my exams preparations… And now that I’m free… I feel that i should update it a little… =)

    Well… anyway… yesterday was the last day of examinations for me… Some of my friends still have exam till this Friday… =) And yesterday itself, me and my friends went to watch Ocean 13 at Gurney Plaza… Nice movie… =) Well, on the way back however, my car broke down… in Penang… ><! Hahaha… So rite now, my car is in a workshop in Penang… And i dont have a car to use… So, although i have plans after my exams… it seems like i have to postpone them at least till my car is done repaired from the workshop. =) And… thats probably a reason why i stayed at home the whole day with nothing to do… And so, i turn on the PC… went online… and found some nice flash games that keep me occupied the whole day… =) *sounds lame does it? ><!*

    Anyway, here are some nice flash games that entertained me the whole day… =)
Tennis Game - A simple but nice tennis game… Similar to Virtua Tennis in the arcade… (except that you cant make the player do dives and acrobat moves if the ball is too far away) =)
Table Tennis - Another simple but nice game… Possibly the best table tennis flash game I’ve found before… Its 3D and you can apply spins to the ball too!
Boxhead: The Rooms - A 3rd Person Shooter game… You gotta kill the endless incoming zombies using weapons… The zombies are endless, so, you just kill as much as you can until they kill you… =)
Bot Arena 3 - Create and assemble your team of bots and battle it with others… Earn money and buy new parts and upgrade your bots… Cool… =)

Okla… guess thats all for this post… =)

    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~!

    Hie… Its been a while since i posted anything… Been kinda busy lately… =) Well well… Chinese New Year has passed… My birthday passed too… Hehehe… =P Well, first of all, I would like to say thanks to everyone who wished me happy birthday and also those who actually bought me a gift… Thankz very much people! I really really appreciate it… =D And for those who wish me late, doesn’t matter anyway… Its great to know that you still remember me… =D For those who totally forgotten about me, or didnt get to wish me… its OK… I understand… I’m not gonna make a fuzz about it and get mad and stuffs… Still friends rite? =D It happens to me sometimes too you know… ><! hehehe… =P 
    Well… referring to the title, you might guess that i’m kinda emotional rite now… Truth is, I was kinda emotional the past few days… A few days ago, i was clearing my desk when i came across new year cards and birthday cards that was given to me since primary school till my last year of school… (Yep~! I still keep all the cards given to me by friends, although i might have lost a few of them… ><!) It feels so nostalgic when i reopened one by one and read the cards… Of cos, most of the cards don’t really have much writing in it… those with writings and messages bring back even more memories… Hehehhe… It also remind me of the times when i give cards to some of my friends, sometimes… ><! I know i dont really give cards to people, but for the few times that i do, i remember how i planned what to write in the cards… and stuffs like that… =)
    Reading those old cards make me think back of the past and how time has passed by so fast… Somehow, i wish that i can go back to time and relive those days… but of course, that’s impossible… =) Anyway, to all my friends out there, new or old, near or apart, i would like to thank you all for your friendship… Most of my secondary school friends have already left to somewhere else for education or other purpose… Sigh… Thinking of all these makes me feel a little emotional and sad… ><! I hope that someday and sometime, i could reunite with my old friends… All of them… and relive those days… =)