21

21

Back

So this is what it feels to be back in Daytona. Nothing special in particular. In fact, as we were driving by campus, all that went through my mind was "Business as usual." In fact, right now, I feel like I've been here forever, and I'm just waiting for the next day. Don't ask me why though. I still can't explain it. But whatever it is, I know that it's a good thing.

Oh, I very nearly became an illegal immigrant today. I misplaced my passport. And I didn't just misplace it anywhere. I left it on the shuttle that transported me from Orlando to Daytona. Genius right? I went searching like hell, retracing my steps a couple of times but, for hours, I still couldn't find it. Thankfully the shuttle company called me up and said that they had found my pouch. I went to their office, collected it, and gave them a tip. That definitely saved me hundreds of dollars, time, a truck load of trouble, and a definite trip down to New York to get everything in order.

Flying here was not too bad really. Though I did sleep for most of the two flights, I actually had fun on the first two flights. Korean air really surpassed my expectations. The food was good, the seats are comfortable, and the crew were very friendly and professional. Oh, and I think that I'm tall enough to date their stewardess. Seriously. =P Immigration was a bitch though. There were at least 100 students lined up at Dallas airport, but only 2 counters were open. It took me more than an hour after deplaning to collect my baggage and check them into my American Airlines flight. Oh, and that flight was rubbish too. About 15 minutes after boarding the plane, the pilot asked us to deplane because there was a problem with the right landing gear. We had to deplane, take a train and go all the way to a different gate to board our flight. At that moment, I was completely tired, so the whole episode naturally annoyed me. All I wanted to do at that time was to just get back to Daytona, take a shower and crash. Daytona at that moment in time, felt like heaven. And the moment that plane took-off, and started climbing to cruising altitude, I thought that we were going to crash. The whole cabin was shaking and vibrating. I've flown on MD-80's a few times before, but never have I seen such shaking!

But anyways, here I am, just chilling out, wondering what to do next. I went shopping with my room mate and his friend this morning. And now, though it is only 6.45 in the evening, all I want to do is sleep. No, I'm not jet lagged. I'm just bored.

Tomorrow though, will be a different story =D

Bye Bye!

My last night in Malaysia, for now.
Despite best efforts, I will be flying off tomorrow.
I had an amazing sendoff by some very amazing people.
I had the best 21st birthday party, where I woke up the next morning and asked "Where am I? And what happened last night?" =D
I had some really good fun during the past 8 weeks.
Too bad it had to pass by too quickly.
I will miss every single one of you.
I will miss every single moment spent with you guys.
Thanks for everything.
I will be back.
Thank you.

=D

I BEAT YOU!!!!

Positive Maybe?

Sometimes being this positive makes me sound like the biggest jackass on earth. But what else can I do when I'm faced with such a possibility?

Yes I admit, I'm shit scared. But there's nothing I can do about it, but to fight it with whatever way I can. The more I let it win, the more I'm going to lose.

Life From Space?

I picked this article from yahoo.com. Pretty interesting.

A fundamental ingredient for life has been discovered in a comet sample, supporting the idea that such icy objects seeded early Earth with the stuff needed to whip up living organisms.

New research firms up past suggestions of glycine, the simplest amino acid used to make proteins, inside samples from the comet Wild 2 (pronounced "Vilt 2").

"This is the first time an amino acid has been found in a comet," said lead researcher Jamie Elsila of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Our discovery supports the theory that some of life's ingredients formed in space and were delivered to Earth long ago by meteorite and comet impacts."

How life arose on Earth has long puzzled scientists and philosophers alike, with possible evidence for such building blocks showing up floating about in the cosmos and even inside the mouths of volcanoes.

The new finding, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science, also has implications for finding alien life.

"The discovery of glycine in a comet supports the idea that the fundamental building blocks of life are prevalent in space, and strengthens the argument that life in the universe may be common rather than rare," said Carl Pilcher, director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, which co-funded the research.

NASA's Stardust spacecraft captured samples of gas and dust from Wild 2 in 2004. The material parachuted to Earth in 2006. Since then, scientists around the world have been analyzing the samples to learn the secrets of comet formation and our solar system's history.

Preliminary testing had suggested glycine was present in the samples. But since glycine is used by terrestrial life, the team couldn't rule out contamination from Earthly sources, according to a NASA statement released today.

"It was possible that the glycine we found originated from handling or manufacture of the Stardust spacecraft itself," Elsila said.

To tease apart contamination from the real McCoy, the researchers recently analyzed the samples for different carbon isotopes, which are versions of the same element with different masses.

Glycine molecules from space tend to have more of the heavier Carbon 13 atoms than glycine from Earth. That's exactly what the team found.

"We discovered that the Stardust-returned glycine has an extraterrestrial carbon isotope signature, indicating that it originated on the comet," Elsila said.

The Fly and Me

For years, I have often asked myself as well as others, what purpose do flies serve on our planet? I've often branded them as useless pests that should be completely wiped out. So far, I have found no good use for the fly. But that was until, Calvin and myself found ourselves at Taman Rimba Kiara, on a fateful Monday, armed only with our cameras...







What do you think?

I've got some of the other shots which I took, here.