NPC Hunt—LITSUN vs SUNSHINE

The NPC Treasure Hunt was held last Saturday, and the results are available in Michael Pang's blog. A forum has since ensued, and several issues have been raised. Amongst others, there is a debate on a question where the CoC apparently accepted 2 answers found within that sector. I am bringing the discussion of Q22 to this blog, as I think it merits a detailed analysis. Perhaps my Sabahan friends who're still not familiar with Mike's blog can also take advantage and join in the debate!

OK, here is the question:

Q22) A BUSINESS ALWAYS BRIGHT, NATURALLY.

And the 2 shortlisted answers are:

(A) LITSUN MOTOR TRADING; and

(B) SUNSHINE @ ??? SDN BHD

The CoC had apparently intended (A) above as the "official answer". However, several other teams—including master teams—gave (B).

To summarise, the arguments for and against each other's case, so far, are as follows:

An advocate of the SUNSHINE answer was of the opinion that it occurs naturally, as opposed to the sun being "LIT". He (I'm assuming a he) asked, "How do you 'light' the sun?"

The advocate of the LITSUN answer, on the other hand, raised the significance of the word "business" found in the question. According to him, the answer must account for that word "business". Therefore the word SUNSHINE without, say, "Enterprise" or "Trading" etc would not be acceptable, because after all there is nothing in the word SUNSHINE, standing on its own, that has anything to do with "business".

Those are the points raised by both parties. At first glance, it would appear that both sides have equally valid points. The way I see it, both the answers are imperfect. In such a case, the only question now is to decide which one is closer to the mark?

Let's deal with the SUNSHINE first, since this was not the intended answer of the CoC.

A quick check from the dictionary will show that SUNSHINE means inter alia "the light and heat of the sun". In that sense, SUNSHINE is indeed "always bright" and it also occurs "naturally". So it seems that SUNSHINE satisfies "... always bright, naturally."

But does it satisfy "A business"? This is a bit trickier to answer. As mentioned above, one view is that "business" must necessarily refer to an extension like, say, "Enterprise" or "Trading", so that it will be known that SUNSHINE is used as a business name.

However, the thing about treasure hunt is that sometimes there is more than one ways to interpret the clue. In this particular case, in my opinion, it is also possible to construe the purpose of "A business" in the question as directing the solver to signboards of only business names. Considered from this point of view, therefore, had the word SUNSHINE been found on, say, a road sign, e.g. SUNSHINE STREET, then it shall not satisfy the question. But if SUNSHINE is used in the business context, irrespective of whether it is followed by "Enterprise" or not, then it should be acceptable. It is not perfect, I know, but still a possible way out, albeit perhaps not a universally acceptable defence.

Now we turn our attention to the intended answer, i.e. LITSUN:

Here, the extension, "Motor Trading" does satisfy the requirement of "A business" in the clue based on one possible way of interpreting the significance of "A business". But now we come to "always bright" and "naturally". And here I am having some problems. Had it been just the word SUN, then I would be very happy. After all, the SUN is indeed "always bright", and of course it occurs "naturally" too. But no, we have that word "LIT" attached to it. It is therefore necessary to investigate whether the presence of "LIT" would change the meaning of the word.

LIT comes from the word "light", the past perfect tense is "lighted" or "lit". Unless I am totally blind to other possible meanings intended by the CoC, LIT SUN basically means "lighted sun", just like when we say "lighted candle" or "lighted cigar". If that is indeed the intention of the CoC, then I must echo the question: How do you light (up) the sun? And even if that is possible, it most certainly does not occur "naturally". And if the CoC intends to say that the sun was "naturally" lit up, I think that is also inaccurate. There is no need for "LIT". The sun is necessarily lighted for it to be a sun. Otherwise it is not a sun. But of course I am not an astrophysicist, so I might be wrong here.

To think one step further, could it be that the CoC means to say that it is the SUN that has lighted something? That is no good too. For if that's the intention, then it should have been SUNLIT (sunlighted) Something, rather than LITSUN Something. Think about it: "SUN-LIGHTED VENUE" and "LIGHTED-SUN VENUE". Which one sounds grammatically correct?

For the above reasons, had I been hunting in the NPC, I would have chosen SUNSHINE @ ??? SDN BHD.

But of course don't take it from me, because sometimes the CoC is not that detailed—they may end up accepting an inferior answer! Check out my past comments under the "Treasure Hunt" label in this blog, and you will know what I mean.

The question, standing on its own, is perfectly fine. But in view of these two possible answers, there is a need to throw in something to exclude other possibilities so that only ONE answer can be accepted. It is in that sense that I've said in Mike's blog that it is a dubious question.

Predictable

Isn't it amusing to get the announcement of the fuel price reduction? It was just too predictable, wasn't it?

The Government was supposed to review the fuel prices on the 1st of September. Unfortunately, the polling day for the Permatang Pauh by-election is on 26 August. And so, the fuel reduction simply had to come before that. We should all be prepared for more "sweeteners" coming from the Government in the next few days before 26 August. Maybe we should have more by-elections, huh?

Dejavu

Olympic Games 2004: Lauryn Williams, as the anchor for the USA's Women's 4x100 Team, messes up with the baton

Olympic Games 2008: Lauryn Williams, as the anchor for the USA's Women's 4x100 Team, messes up with the baton


Lauryn Williams ran in the Olympic Summer Games 2004; and she ran in the 2008 Games too. As the anchor for the Women's 4x100 Team in 2004, she messed up with the baton which Marion Jones tried to pass to her. Four years later, yesterday, history repeated itself—she dropped the baton again and her team never made it to the finals of that event.

I am not well-versed with the track and field training, but I'd reckon that by the time she ran in the 2004 Games, she must have practised the baton-passing several thousand times. And then after the disaster of that 2004 Games, I'm sure she must have practised the baton-passing many thousand times more. When you've gone through such a lousy experience, you'd want to remedy your mistake and come back strong this time. Maybe she has even perfected the passing to the extent of being able to do it in her sleep, so to speak.

What's the odds of the same mistake happening the same way, with the same team, with the same person, twice—consecutively in the same Games? Bear in mind that we're talking about professional athletes here.

Mia and I were having dinner when yesterday's event was broadcasted live on Astro. While the participants were getting ready, I said to Mia that Lauryn messed up 4 years ago; and I was pretty sure that she must have perfected the baton-passing by now. So you should have seen how my jaw dropped when she dropped the baton again.

But, y'know, she's only 24 years old now. Who knows, perhaps if she's not kicked out for good, she might just come back for the 2012 Games at the age of 28 to repeat the mistake for the third time? That would be something, huh? I'm sure it won't be easy to beat that kind of record.

My heart goes out to Lauryn. I hope she remains strong. Never give up. Try and try again, and I'm sure she'll get it right sooner or later.

Wrong Focus

I find it strange that most people are inclined to focus on the wrong target, while missing something that is obviously clear.

In an earlier post entitled Scrutinising The Anus, I pointed out that a tear in Saiful's anus does not necessarily mean that he was sodomised. And on the other hand, if there was no tear, it doesn't mean that he wasn't sodomised. But most people have a one-track mind. Their approach is very straightforward. If there is a tear, then he must have been sodomised; and vice versa, period! There is no room for other possibilities.

Now look at this thing about swearing on the Quran. The lad swore on the Quran in his attempt to prove that he's telling the truth. For a while now he's been challenging Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to do the same. But really, what is the value of "swearing on the Quran"? Well, I am happily immune from such drama; swearing on the holy book does not mean anything to me!

Let me tell you a real story.

There's this guy I know who's been cheating on his wife. Well, to make the long story short, the wife had reasons to suspect that her husband was cheating on her. But she couldn't prove it. The husband said to me, privately, that he would readily admit to me that he had been fooling around. But when it came to his wife, he was willing to swear on the Quran, that he did not cheat on her. His logic was that if he admitted his "mistake" to his wife, then his wife would never ever trust him again. So he'd rather swear on the Quran to preserve his wife's trust. There's plenty of time for taubat, you see.

That was the last time I spoke to him. We haven't been on talking terms since about 17 years ago. This is one thing that I hate about myself, I take a very, very long time to forgive my enemies, if ever. And I also still can't find it in my heart to forgive my grandmother up to now, even though she has long died of cancer. I am not proud of it. But that is a different story.

Anyway, to that man—you know who you are—let me tell you that you are a jerk! Although I don't believe in religions, if indeed there is heaven and hell, I hope you will be punished severely in hell when you die!

As for Saiful and his swearing on the Quran, it doesn't affect me in the least. If tomorrow Anwar, too, swears on the Quran, it shall not affect me as well. The bottom line is, swearing on the Quran does not exonerate anyone. In fact, if anyone finds the need to use the holy book to support his claim, always be wary of his honesty. Swearing on the holy book is not an evidence that can support what is claimed to be the truth.

I shall not allow myself to be influenced by all these mockery of the holy book.

Eternal Youth

According to the bible, the first man, Adam, lived up to 930 years old. Many other people during that era—Noah, for example—lived up to almost 1,000 years old. It is hard to imagine what would happen if we can all live that long.

The current world population is estimated to be around 6.684 billion, and expected to reach near 9 billion by 2042. If we keep up the present birth rate, but reducing the mortality rate substantially, then it can only mean the our world will very quickly become overcrowded.

Apparently, some scientists believe that science might one day halt or even reverse the ageing process. It seems that they have a scientific basis for their belief, but even if it is possible to achieve it, I think it will take many more generations before it can actually happen. However, I'm wondering what exactly did they mean by "halting or even reversing ageing". As far as I am concerned, Sir Cliff Richard most certainly does not "manage to defy the effects of old age".

But can you imagine living up to 1,000 years old? There will be so much time to do anything you want to do. You are free to be a procrastinator; you can learn to be, say, a doctor, practise for a hundred years or so, and then when you're fed-up with that profession, go back to school again to learn a totally new profession. You can borrow a hell lot of money from the bank to buy the most expensive things you like, and then take a few hundred years to repay the loan. There will be no retirement age since you will remain young forever, although perhaps not like Cliff Richard.

And then you wake up one day and realise that you've done everything that you wanted to do; you've been to everywhere you wanted to go to; you've learned everthing you wanted to learn; in fact you've achieved practically everything humanly possible to achieve. You are done with living, but you have some 500 years of life remaining. At that point, your daily routine will be about figuring out what else to do with your life. It can be annoying, that!

The Intruders

Sabah is home to numerous unique and rare animals such as the Proboscis Monkeys, Sumatran Rhinoceroses and the Borneo Elephants, to name a few. However, some of these animals have declined in population over the years, and now classified as endangered species. If we are not careful, by the next generation the only place we can see them is in the zoo.

It has been estimated that the current population of the Borneo Elephants in Sabah had dwindled to only 1,000. In recent years, as more lands were opened to make way for oil palm plantations, the Borneo Elephants' natural habitat was quickly reducing in size.

Yesterday, during our Rotarian meeting, a fellow Rotarian, Mr Toshinori Tsubouchi, a Japanese consultant attached to the Borneo Conservation Trust, showed me some pictures, taken during one of their field visits in the vicinity of the Menangor River in Sukau. The above picture shows a baby elephant with its mother. It is good to know that the elephants are still breeding.

But this next picture is very disturbing—it shows the baby elephant is suffering from a serious injury on its right fore limb. It was caught in a wire trap set by oil palm plantation workers. Although it was able to escape from the trap, its limb was beyond help.

How my heart broke when Toshinori told me that they had no choice but to put this baby elephant down. Chances for adaptation with only 3 legs were too remote for a sizeable animal like this elephant. It would have died a slow and painful death.

This land has been the home of the Borneo Elephants since an estimated 18,000 years ago. But their world has become gradually smaller over the years because of human intrusion into their habitat. In the end it's the Borneo Elephants that have become the intruders of the human plantations.

Toshinori is facing an uphill task, but I hope these brave people will be successful in saving the last of these rare animals.

Borneo Marathon—Surviving Fourth Week

How time flies— it's been 4 weeks since I started training seriously for the half marathon. Another 7 weeks plus to the Borneo International Marathon on 12 October. Over the last couple of weeks, I've been gradually building up my distance, especially during my "long runs" (usually on Saturdays).

I have since bought a new pair of adidas running shoes—the adizero (see above picture). Not exactly a very high-tech looking pair of shoes, but I find them very suitable for my purpose. They are very light for the long torture; and also enough cushion for those hard impacts.

I ran 15 km during last Saturday's long run, a distance I never knew that I could conquer. At first I wanted to run at the marathon clinic at the Likas Sports Complex jogging track. But that Saturday afternoon, the sky was cloudy and appeared like it was going to rain heavily. So I went to the gym to run on the treadmill instead. It took me 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete that run. Not a very impressive time, and it obviously doesn't support my ambition of completing that 21 km under 2 hours. Hopefully I can still improve on my speed and endurance within the next couple of weeks.

I foresee doing most of my long runs on the treadmill. Actually, it would be good if I can somehow do at least one long run at the jogging track. But I can't stand running for more than an hour without rehydrating my body. I hate the idea of carrying a water bottle with me during my runs. Running at the gym solves that problem. I can have my water bottle right there on the treadmill, and I can drink whenever I like.

The treadmill can do a lot for me. Some people have told me that running on the track is tougher, but I don't really think so. Running on the treadmill will force me to keep up with the pace, but running outdoor will teach my body to initiate the pace. So I suppose there is a difference from the psychological point of view. Then of course there's the weather and also the hard surface. However, after several weeks of running on the track as well as on the treadmill, I found that after several sessions on the treadmill, somehow I can run faster on the track. I don't know why that is so.

I'm glad that this week will be my "step-down"; which means I will run only 12 km this Saturday. But over the next 3 Saturdays I will have to run 15 km, 18 km and 21 km respectively, before "tapering" gradually by 20% to 30% per week up to the marathon day. I really dread all those long runs, but I suppose since I've managed to reach this far, I should just keep going to explore new frontiers. I just hope my legs will cooperate with me until the marathon day.

Incidentally, while I am still going through this torture, a friend sent me an invitation to join him in the Penang Bridge International Marathon, scheduled for 16 November. Right now I have not even reached the 21 km point, so the 25 km sounds extremely far-fetched to me. But I am tempted to go for the adventure anyway. Perhaps I can also beg Master Jayaram Menon to set a hunt the day before the marathon. That would really make the trip worth it. Besides, I've also asked Mia if she'd like to go for a short holiday in Penang. She said that sounds like a good idea, although we don't know what Penang has to offer.

But I am not going to commit so soon. I want to see how I am doing with the 21 km first. I should be able to know in a few weeks' time. Just a few months ago, it's beyond my wildest imagination that I'd be going all the way to Penang to run. I guess there's always a first time for everything.