Eli James 4.0: The Redesign

It's a move back into green.

Eli James: The Blog is now officially version 4.0, with a few big differences. It's not a 3 hour job like the last time ... this version's clocked in about 6-7 hours, mostly due to dicky Photoshop skills and no prior knowledge of javascript.

Look Ma ... No Sidebars!

This version is one column (as you can all so clearly see), and it's constructed so as to highlight the writing on the blog, as opposed to pictures. When I started this redesign I wanted to test how far I could push the Blogger platform; to see if I could make this look like a Wordpress blog. I think I've succeeded, though I'm still playing around with the usability aspect of this design.

Peekaboo! I See You!

The peekaboo slider at the top of the blog is powered by jQuery. In simple language it's a write less code, do more fancy shwag Javascript library that condenses what might take over 50 lines to 5 lines. Learning the code for the slider took me 4 hours, and in the process I just about pissed off everyone who was chatting with me in WLM. For that I'm very sorry, and I reward you with ... a goat.

Okay not really.

This redesign is hardly finished ... I've to iron out little bits and pieces like a non-existent navigation and a link list. Taking down the sidebar has forced me to put things in very weird places, and the usability of this blog will suffer for the first few weeks.

Have patience, tell me what you think, and enjoy.

Supporting BN Is Hard On The Internet

My hat's off to Kenny Sia: just when you think the blogosphere's lost to the opposition alone he does the noble thing and gives the limelight to both sides of the political divide. While these two interviews affirm my current stand on the political situation in Kuching (and probably Malaysia), both did a bit to widen my view on some of the problems faced by SUPP and DAP alike.

I like Alan Sim. Comparing the two interviews on kennysia.com, Alan comes off as the more mature person. The more intelligent one: the one who makes sound arguments and tackles topics with a clear eye on the big picture. He's the guy the debater in me likes - at the back of my head the little voice that yaks whenever a lousy argument comes up was silent, actually nodding at the things he says.

Alan: ... not many, eventhough I realise that out of every two person I think one of them is gonna be on the other side. In general, people are still quite polite. That should be the kind of culture that we should encourage. We can have political differences. We don't have to get too personal about it. That's my view.

Hell, Malaysia needs more people like him. And it's a pity he has to keep mum on certain issues, because the interview gave the impression that he wanted to say more but couldn't. His replies in the kennysia interview were vague and they glossed over the undercurrents of unease in our society. Which was sad. Want to bring about change? Difficult if your party is restrictive by nature.

And it's funny that while Alan's interview was hampered by the limits of his party line, DAP's Chong Chieng Jen came off worse. Yeah he was entertaining in his video, and yeah he did gave good examples of how he helped change government policy (the 1st silicone sale, in particular, must have been very satisfying for him), but his replies are more reactionary and less policy oriented. Alan shows a good understanding of democratic principle, Chong makes jokes about our CM's pubic hair. Chong will probably win. The rakyat loves this kind of mudslinging, they don't consider candidate policy.

And that is the sad thing about Malaysia.

I've made my political stance clear on this blog, and BUGS, and everytime I do my friends blow me over for not being democratic enough. They can't believe I give credence to the current administration and not support DAP 110%. They shake their heads in disbelief and tell me 'you don't know anything la, you ... I know better', and they go all out, arms asunder, brains left behind, hot on the campaign trail for The Rocket. I respect such passion. I really do. It's like football fan riots: their friends start going crazy and they catch hold of a catchy phrase, and soon it is widely accepted truth because the whole crowd is repeating it mindlessly.

The truth is hell will freeze over before I support a candidate like Chong. Harken the following:

Are the lives of poultry in Semenanjung Malaysia more important than those of the children in Sarawak? Note: 2 Ministers replied to the Emergency Motion on birds' [sic] flu while only 1 Deputy Minister replied to such motion on Hand Foot And Mouth disease in Sarawak.

I have a folder, you know, in my room, where I keep examples of stupid statements made by Malaysian politicians. This is going in straight with the best of them. There are three logical flaws in the above statement, all of which came screaming into my head as I read it.

1. The number of Ministers responding to motions do not reflect the Government attitude towards respective diseases.
2. Bird flu is a global threat, with international pressure applied on Malaysia to set up regional control measures. HFM isn't likely to cause a deadly epidemic. Bird flu mutates with every host and has even overcome Tamiflu inoculation.
   
3. Exactly what does Bird Flu prevention have to do with the relative importance of poultry and children? I am interested to know, Chong. Please educate me.

Elections don't do me any good. On one hand BN's corruption is aired (the stink!); on the other the opposition shouts accusations and hurls personal attacks, often with little or superficial intellectual content. It's a lose-lose situation for a cynical kid to be in. Fatalism suddenly seems more attractive an option. Hell - if I believe in fate it doesn't matter who wins, right?

I'll get back to my school work now. At least there, in my book, the answers are in black and white.