Recently in University Life Category

Finals week is here and my first paper is on Friday, so that leaves me a couple of days to study. It's my final year, so that means there must be no failures this time. Okay, back to studying. =D

Herald Sun [hotornot.com]

The semester has ended. I've handed in my last assignment today and I have one more week till my first exam on the 1/11. In light of that, I've decided to celebrate (legally) by having a couple of beers. I leave the illegal stuff for Mr. Foaf, my uhm...friend. No, I wasn't going to say alter ego, dammit. I'm not that far gone. =D Anyway, as I was walking to uni today, I saw a lot of men in suits with ear pieces at the research department car park. Found out later from the radio in the shuttle bus that Premier Steve Bracks was present at the Ceremony of Reflection and Respect of the Monash shooting victims. I also heard that the shooting victims have been awarded honors degree posthumously. A nice touch, that.

Anyway, I've finally been reviewed at The Weblog Review. Wendy [twodolla.org], the reviewer, gave me a 2.5/5.0. It's not a high score, but she's honest in her review and she said some positive things too, so I can't help but feel pleased. Here's the review in it's entirety:

Huai's a student in Melbourne who started up his weblog in April of 2002. Since then, sixthseal.com has been very consistently updated with the happenings of Huai.

The site's design is very basic. There's a light blue table on the left with the naviagation portion of the menu, which is very simple to use. And to the right is the weblog. The main page features a photo of the day (POTD) at the top of the page. It's not exactly a photo of the day, however, but more like a photo of the week. That's not really a major concern of mine, but I could certainly see how readers could get disappointed with the photo not being updated daily like one would assume.

The majority of the entries are simple to read updates of what's going on in Huai's life - dorm life, his social life, how his classes are going, etc. It's fun to read through the progress of the school year and the entertaining mishaps that get written about.

A nice touch to this weblog was the introduction of posting pictures from time to time. While the POTD might not be updated on a regular basis, Huai does a good job of peppering in pictures that he's taken with his digital camera throughout a good portion of his entries. Doing that breaks up the constant text and gives the readers something more than just words.

Is this a site I'd visit again? Personally, no. Is it one I'd suggest to those in college perhaps experiencing the same thing that Huai is going through? Certainly. And I'd even go as far as saying you should at least check it out once - perhaps you'll find the connection that makes you want to keep coming back.

This site was reviewed on 2002-10-20 by Wendy.
They felt this site belonged in the Personal category.
Wendy felt that sixthseal.com deserved a rating of 2.5.

Or you can check it out here [theweblogreview.com]. Oh, and my name is Huai Bin. You don't truncate Chinese names like that. :)

frothy...had to catch the froth before it overflows from the neck of the bottle
tastes urm, tasteless
very light beer taste
tastes like water actually
the head stays throughout the drinking session in the bottle
doesn't dissipate
at 5.0 , gives a mild kick when downed on a semi full stomach
marketed as a premium (traditional belgian style - oh la di dah) beer
cost me A$11.99 for a 6 pack
the first bottle was agitated a little though
second bottle just had a nice gas escaping slowly and then a nice heady froth on top

frothed up something wicked when i opened it. no, i did not agitate it. it's an easy to drink and rather tasteless beer. i had it pretty chilled though. maybe a slight bitter aftertaste and thats it. but don't take my word for it, my tastebuds are screwed. the beer is easy to hold too. slightly contoured (or is that tapered?) at the bottom, which fits the hand nicely. the shiny aluminum conducts the cold nicely too. and there's just something good about holding a large can of beer. it's twice the size of normal beer cans, and it holds 650 ml of 5% alcohol beer. i forgot what i paid for it, but it isn't cheap. its somewhere around A$7. take note that beer here is cheap compared to Malaysia.

curses. i've already typed a review but accidentaly clicked no when it asked me whether i wanted to save. anyway, i'm try to recall the best i can from my (foggy) memory. this local premium beer (oh, la di dah) is made from malted wheat and brewed in matilda bay,western australia. it weighs in at a dismal 4.7 % alcohol by volume. the 6-pakcs looks rather pretentious, with wood colored packaging and stickers (with gothic writing, no less) over all the caps. it tastes strangely "heavy" like milk or milo but did not have an objectionable taste or aftertaste. the beer seems rather malty, but did not have a characteristic bite of malty beers. i've had malt milkshakes that were much more bitter than this nice beer here. the heaviness is strangely pleasing and satisfying. however, this thing here did not have a twist off cap. wtf? i thought twist off caps are standard for local brewed beers. i tried twisting the cap off anyway, but that did not acheieve anything other than give me bottle cap shaped grooves in my hand. i tried prying the cap off with my key, but that's going to take too long. luckily, i bought a nail clipper today and peering over, noticed that it has a bottle opener. mmm...

Well....all that beer made me sprout this gem here:

Silencer® (9:45 PM) :
u hungry?
sixthseal.com (9:46 PM) :
nah i drank a lot of beer
burp

Ceremony of Reflection and Respect for the Monash shooting victims [monash.edu.au]

Venue: Robert Blackwood Concert Hall (Building 2 on the Clayton campus)

Time: 11am on Friday 25 October, 2002.

Hmm...the gunman is being charged in court and the 5 wounded are well on their way to recovery so I guess it's back to life as usual. It's sad to think that two innocent students died though. I actually saw the parents and sister (?) of one of the deceased today. They looked very sad, but I didn't know what I could say that would make them feel better so I just nodded at them. On the other side of the coin, the gunman's story seems unfortunate as well. He has an old mother to support, and now that he's in prison, what's going to happen to her? And why didn't he think of that before he started shooting? The mind boggles. I heard stories that he's under a lot of pressure to do well in his presentation, and it's quite a challenge considering he doesn't know English that well. I guess that can be pretty stressful, but hell, if every student started shooting every time they're stressed, I guess there won't be any Monash students left, would there? What he did was wrong, and yet, inexplicably sad.

You have received a message!
Pls forward:
For your safety dun go to crown these days
terrorist attack: a friend's friend had found a wallet somewhere and he rang the owner and gave it back to him, the owner of the wallet is from pakistan, then he thanked my friend's friend and then told them not to go to crown or any places which are these days as there will be something terrible going to happen"

"Ths was written by a HK friend from eng. Just on the safe side dun go"

This is an ICQ message that's been circling around lately. I got two of these from two totally unrelated people (except they're both Monash University students) within a 15 minute period. I suspect it's a hoax, but one can never be too careful these days. Just FYI.

Link: 7 deadly weapons [heraldsun.news.com.au] (He even had a 9mm Luger)

Link: Professor sings praises of murdered uni duo [theage.com.au]

Link: Kung-fu instincts kick in as shots fly [theage.com.au]

Link: Modest hero's instinct takes over [heraldsun.news.com.au]

...and the knee-jerk response:

Link: Howard to push for limited ban on handguns [theage.com.au]

Link: National push to restrict pistols [heraldsun.news.com.au]

It's interesting to see that the gunman is said to be a member of the Melbourne Indoor Pistol Club [mipc.com.au]. I went there earlier this year (read about it here [sixthseal.com] - 1/4 down the page) and it's a pretty fun place where you can shoot with real handguns and live ammo. They're also an authorized Heckler and Kosh [hecklerkoch-usa.com] dealer. Check it out if you're interested.

Well, it seems that newspaper sales go through the roof every time something happens because I could not get a copy of The Age or the Herald Sun after 1 pm. The newsagents seems to have sold out of those papers by midday. Anyway, here are a couple of links regarding the incident:

Link: Police name Monash shooting victims [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Shootings suspect appears in court [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Monash gun rampage [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Gunman was a classmate [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Distressed students face exams [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: 'A quiet, normal guy' [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Students ashen over new horror [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Heroes prevent uni massacre [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Classes resume at uni [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Your views on the Monash Uni shooting (2) [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Your views on the Monash Uni shooting (1) [heraldsun.news.com.au] (My view about 3/4 down the page)

Link: Kung fu fighter a modest campus hero [theage.com.au]

Link: A sombre uni gets on with life [theage.com.au]

Link: Reluctant hero returns to work [theage.com.au]

(Updated throughout the day)

Official Monash University statement [monash.edu.au]

Monash shooting helpline: 03-9545 6961 or 03-9545 6579

Toll: 2 dead, 5 hospitalized (1 in critical condition).

Facts:

Image (c) Mario Borg/The Age

• Gunman is Huan Yun Xiang, a fourth-year commerce honors student who has trouble with English.
• He was supposed to give his final presentation in econometrics today.
• He brought a revolver and a semi-automatic handgun instead.
• He has been arrested and is in St Kilda police station.
• Read this [theage.com.au] to understand his possible motives. It's sad, really. But what he did was wrong.

This will be updated throughout the day. Please refresh for latest news.

Link: Man held over uni killings [theage.com.au]

Link: Pressure builds in the Ming Wing [theage.com.au]

Link: Talented loner who struggled in class [theage.com.au]

Link: 'They were screaming, there's a gunman on the loose' [theage.com.au]

Link: Where it happened [theage.com.au]

Update: Shooter Identity (Source: Halls Direct Connect server chat room) - Unverified Verified

<Carve2> Okay, official info to follow, I have a friend who was in that class
<Carve2> On the shooting
<Carve2> Honours Econometrics class, student in class had a total of 6 handguns and opened fire on his classmates
<killuminati> so it wasn't an outsider?
<Carve2> Apparently stressed out over a presentation he had that day
<Carve2> no, it was a student
<killuminati> icic
<killuminati> thats a bit harsh...shooting up the class over a presentation
<Carve2> The other students basically overwhelmed him and held him till police arrived
<The_Great_S@t@n> is your friend doing OK?
<Carve2> Yeah, he's fine, just a bit shook up, as you would be!
<The_Great_S@t@n> yeah..... one of my mates doing honours with the guys in the class, he went and visited some of the injured people, says one guy got shot through both knees, he'll be OK eventually he says, and a girl who got shot through the cheek, he didn't get too see her though.
<The_Great_S@t@n> Did anyone go to the information session @ 6pm?
<Carve2> No, was tutoring
<The_Great_S@t@n> the policeman said there were 4 guns, and one of the deceased was an international student, otherwise just calmed everyone down, said Monash was probably the best Victorian Uni when it comes to security.

Link: Herald Sun: Your views on the Monash Uni shooting [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Calls for handgun ban [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Howard 'not' to blame: NUS [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Monash rampage visits more terror on Australians [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Students no longer invulnerable after Monash shooting [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Fed govt policies to blame for shootings: NUS [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Update: There will be a counselor available all day in the MRS Theatre for all Halls of Residence residents who needs it.

Update: The cell phone lines are clogged for a couple of hours following the shooting due to everyone calling at once, but it's okay now.

There was an announcement over the halls PA system this morning, requesting that we do not go to the university because there has been an incident. It seems that there has been a shooting at the campus and the gunman is still at large. Well, being a curious sort, I headed down myself to see. Everyone at the university is rather hard pressed for information, but from several reports I've heard, it seems that there has been a shooting at the Robert Menzies building. 5 people were shot (Update: 8 people were shot) (Update: 7 people were shot) Update: 10 people were shot - 2 people are confirmed dead, 5 people are in the hospital and 3 more are injured. The unidentified gunman apparently walked into either a tutorial or a lecture (conflicting reports) and opened fire. There was a guy beside me who was actually in the tute, but he didn't see the gunman coz he was facing the other way. Next thing he knew, everyone was running out and there was this girl with blood all over her saying "Help me". Hmm...there seems to be a lot of school shootings, but not that many uni shootings. It's a media circus at the Clayton campus right now. I counted 5 news helicopters and 2 fixed wing planes circling the campus. I still don't know what happened to the gunman at this point (Update: Gunman was overpowered by other students and has been arrested. He's being held at the Glen Waverley police station), but the campus is crawling with police and the Menzies building has been cordoned off. The police have been talking to everyone around the area. I didn't stay for long coz I only got 3 hours of sleep last night but the media is camped out in front of the Law faculty, awaiting a police statement. Check The Age [theage.com.au] and Herald Sun [heraldsun.news.com.au] for breaking news. (Update: Seems to be gang related, the victims and the gunman are all Asian) {Update: The shooting seems indiscriminate)

Students around the crime scene and a couple of early news people.

The media interviewing some students.

More news people behind the police tape. I was standing on the Law Faculty walkway when I took this.

The media talking to a police spokesman.

The forensics department being escorted past the cordon.

A guy in the Menzies building. The news people started snapping pics of him when he poked his head out, so I did too. Heh. Note: This is not a hostage situation, it's a shooting. Another rumor going around is that it's a terrorist related bombing or shooting. It's not.

A detective walking towards the crime scene.

The air ambulance that evacuated one of the guys who was shot in the stomach.

Crime scene investigators heading into the building.

Oh, and do you know why all those people at these type of incidents all look so grim-assed? Accounting for different personality types, it's pretty obvious that not everyone is going to be looking sad or scared. The reason?

News photographer: "Okay, I'm going to take a photo of you people now. Please don't smile and look serious."

There you go.

Update:

Link: Students tackled uni gunman [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Monash helpline numbers revised [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Photo gallery: Monash Shooting [theage.com.au]

Link: Shocked: Premier Steve Bracks [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Some thought security announcements were a joke [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Police rule out terror as cause of Monash attack [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Leaders mourn more young lives lost [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Counselling services set up at Monash Uni [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Uni shootings suspect showed no emotion: witness [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Police ask students to reassure their families [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Man kills two, injures five at Monash Uni [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Students tell of confusion after university shootings [heraldsun.news.com.au]

Link: Where the shooting happened [theage.com.au]

Link: Two dead, five injured in Monash Uni shooting [theage.com.au]

Link: Two dead, eight injured in Monash Uni shooting [theage.com.au]

Call your loved ones if you're a student at Monash University to tell them you're okay. Otherwise:

From the article:

Police have released two phone numbers for family and friends of Monash University students to call for information about the fatal shootings.

The numbers are (03) 9545 6961 and (03) 9545 6575.

beneath a mountain of assignments. Will update when I dig myself out.

The dining hall of the Halls of Residence sometimes offer filled bread rolls for 50 c during dinner. These are the leftover ones from lunch and they usually go for A$2.85, but the price is marked down to 50 c during dinner. My calculator tells me that's a 82.46% discount. Heh. They taste the same as they do during lunch anyway.

Well, I had a Simpsons marathon last night and I had an Initial D marathon today. Wah lau...I'm going to fail if this keeps up. =D

Link: National day of mourning in honor of the Bali bombings [theage.com.au]

A minute's silence to be observed at noon Australian Eastern Standard Time.

My network connection was down for practically the whole day yesterday. Thus, I have decided to sleep early and wake up early today to prepare for the final ITPM presentation. I woke up bright an early at 8 am and headed down to my campus to rehearse with my other team members:

Group 702: Brass Monkeys Consulting

From left: Poh Huai Bin, Dan Chandrasoma, Sheralyn D'Rose, Bela Farbas

I think we did pretty well in the presentation, but there was a group with an impressively feature packed product though. Good thing the marks are not scaled...at least I hope they're not. =D Anyway, I had to wake up early yesterday too. It seems that my National [national.com.au] bank account has been overdraft to the amount of A$11.12 (don't ask me why a savings account can be over drafted). Since I already have a Commonwealth bank account (my main account now), I've decided to close the National one. The only branch around here is in Clayton town. There was one in the campus center last time, but it has closed and the space is now occupied by the Business Systems laboratory.

Well, I also got to eat the Beef Salsa Burger, which is part of McDonald's ever changing New Tastes Menu [mcdonalds.com.au]. It tasted like the old Italian Romano Burger (part of their Tastes of the World Menu) to me, and the burger is rather small-ish too. I'll go for a Big Mac or Filet-O-Fish over it any day.

Link of the day: Firebugs threaten mosque attacks [theage.com.au]

I knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

I finally managed to get a haircut today. It only cost A$17, which is pretty cheap over here. I went to Monash Hair Salon at the campus center. Anyway, I watched a HK movie on VCD just now. It was the 2002 Chinese New Year movie by Andy Lau and Gigi Leung. I don't know the name, but it's about mahjong. The plot is predictable, but that's not the point. It's a Chinese New Year movie, it's supposed to be a feel good movie, not one where you can endlessly debate the intricacies that motivated the main protagonist. I like Gigi Leung before the breast augmentation surgery (in the movie). She seemed rather top heavy after that. Heh. I want to go home for Chinese New Year. Update: The movie is called Lik Goo Lik Goo San Nin Choi (Fatt Choi Spirit). Man, that rice bit was funny. =D

Reading: Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer (A damned (damn?) good book)

I had dinner at Wah Kee today with Adrian and Jun Wei. I've been craving after their Combination Mun Fun with heaps of soy sauce and pepper. Basically, it's a combo of chicken, beef (?), char siew, squid, prawns and vegies cooked in a tasteless sauce (hence the soy and pepper part). I had some short soup too. Short soup is what they call wonton soup here. Later we headed over to Jun Wei's house, where he has an autographed photo of Stephanie Sun when she was in her youth. Heh. Nah, actually it is a photo of his girlfriend, but she sure looks like Stephanie Sun in that photo. Anyway, I've got heaps of work to do before tomorrow. I'm sleepy and I'm demoralized. End of semester sucks. And I can't even look forward to going back because I'm not going back during the summer vacations. I have to stay back because IE runs for two consecutive semesters. Shit.

Link of the day: Bali Bombing Full Coverage [theage.com.au]