DMG Mori Seiki Technology Centre opening at Glenmarie

Was so geared up knowing about opening of a new technology centre of DMG-Mori Seiki at Glenmarie, Shah Alam. I'm sure many of you are unfamiliar with the name. DMG (from Germany) produces machines that are used to make automobile/aerospace parts and is now in a joint venture with Japanese company Mori Seiki.



Also, thanks to my uncle for bringing me there.



This company produces one of the most advanced machines for metalworking.


Control panel of a CNC machine. You input the program you've written for the machine to run here. The program instructs the machine based on numerical information called computer numerical control (CNC).


This is a lathe. The workpiece can be spun at high speed or you can choose to rotate the tool instead.


The sheer size of the machine! Workbench occupies a small part of it. Also included with the machine is a tool magazine that enables the machine to change tool as needed.


Workbench inside a CNC machine with coolant on. With a 5-axis coordinate system you can create anything you desire by selectively removing metal from your starting material (usually a metal block lol)


Various tools for various applications. All of them are installed on a spindle and rotated at high speed.

Let's check out the finished product shall we?




Imma so impressed that a Mobius strip can be carved. Quiz: what's the properties of a Mobius strip?


Don't forget to camwhore with a hot chick! Her company is selling machining coolants.

That was a fruitful visit to the precision manufacturing industry. Without the industry, you won't be enjoying the car you drive or boarding a plane because machine parts must be highly customisable and accurately made.

Biomedical animator Drew Barry at TEDxCaltech: Visualization of Biology and Complex Circuits

Drew Barry produces awesome 3D cartoons of molecules involved in the processes of life. Instead of dwelling in endless lines of texts and descriptions, why not have a complete look at those cuties as things are happening? Because the best way to understand a thing is to see it.

From the video description:
Drew Berry is a biologist-animator whose scientifically accurate and aesthetically rich visualizations elucidate cellular and molecular processes for a wide range of audiences. Trained as a cell biologist and microscopist, Drew brings a rigorous scientific approach to each project, immersing himself in relevant research to ensure current data are represented. His three- and four-dimensional renderings of key concepts such as cell death, tumor growth, and DNA packaging, capture molecular shape, scale, behavior, and spatiotemporal dynamics. His groundbreaking animations of DNA replication, translation, and transcription enlighten both scientists and the scientifically curious. Drew received B.Sc. (1993) and M.Sc. (1995) degrees from the University of Melbourne. Since 1995, he has been a biomedical animator at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. His animations have appeared in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Royal Institute of Great Britain, and the University of Geneva. In 2010 he was named a MacArthur Fellow.

Why not check out his other works?

DNA packaging + replication


Transcription


Translation


You don't need to know science to be impressed by the videos. Just click and watch them!

Reminiscence of Jewel in the Palace

Way before we know of big names in K-pop like SNSD, Super Junior, After School to hit our shores, we were in the Korean drama fever. Half a decade ago, I guess.

Nothing has been more epic than Jewel in the Palace/Dae Jang Geum. Starring Lee Young-ae as Seo Jang-geum.



Or you may be more interested in the ending theme song:



The catchy theme song is written in archaic Korean (I don't know that!). It sends Koreans today perplexed during its debut. Turns out that the theme song belongs to a genre of Korean traditional music which is heavy and sad.

Try using Google translate to make sense of the lyric actually make no sense. It's not intelligible to Koreans nowadays.

Lyric:
오나라 오나라 아주오나
o na la o na la a ju o na
가다라 가다라 아주가나
ka da la ka da la a ju ga na
나나니 다려도 못노나니
na na ni da lyeo do mok no na ni
아니리 아니리 아니노네
a ni li a ni li a ni no ne
헤이야 디이야 헤이야나라 니노
he I ya di i ya he I ya na la ni no
오지도 못하나 다려가마
o ni do mok ha na da lyeo ga ma

English translation:
If you are asked to come, come, would you really come?
If you are asked to leave, leave, would you really leave?
Even if I wait forever, yet we cannot be together.
No. No. Again, it is no.
(Refrain of the song, no meaning)
Since you cannot even come, would you take me then.
(Refrain of the song, no meaning)
Since you cannot even come, would you take me then.

What is the setting (time, social, physical) of the Korean drama Jewel in the Palace? I leave that for you to find out :)

Life and Times of Kit Siang

Lim Kit Siang, a veteran in the Malaysian political scene, is now celebrating his 70th birthday.

I was fortunate to meet him in Melbourne during a Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia event with his son. As a youngster who joked about being a politician, he lived a live of purpose and may God continue to add years to his life to let him reap the fruit that he sow.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Quoting Cao Cao living in the era of Three Kingdoms China: "Circumstances make heroes out of people." Uncle Kit was born in the times of political turmoil but he didn't merely observe the changes. Just as Cao Cao has said, it is unfortunate to be born in times like this but to be the person who reunify and bring peace again to the land is of greater significance.

The office of the Opposition leader in the British parliament is called His/Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. I must say Lim Kit Siang has played his role as a loyal opposition well, contributing selflessly to the cause of justice. He has endured hard times, but his fighting spirit lives on today.

Who else will there be another legend in Malaysian politics?

Scratching the bone to treat poisoning

To know the history of China during the Three Kingdoms era has never been better through drama series. Scenes I enjoy are magnificent fields with large amount of soldiers with loud battle cry - they're simply breathtaking.



Those who enjoy reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms or watching a drama adaptation of it should know who's Guan Yu. We call him Guan Gong as a sign of respect.

On one of the episodes I saw Guan Yu offered himself to battle the enemy hero. During the course of the battle, the enemy hero used a shady tactic - fired an arrow in a compromised position. The arrow hit Guan Yu's left arm.

Back to his camp, he pulled the arrow out by force himself (painful!) and the wound healed.

Another day, he moved his arm forcefully and felt intense pain on his arm. Hua Tuo, hearing that a hero has injured himself, came over to offer his consultation. His diagnosis was: there is venom applied to the tip of the arrow. The venom has reached the bone, so a surgery was necessary to scratch off affected bones in order to fully treat the condition.

Here comes the drama!

Hua Tuo: I will cut open the flesh of your left arm to reach your [humerus], scratch off the venom, and joint the flesh back. But before that I'll need to cover your eyes first, so that you'll not be shocked by what you see.

Guan Yu: You don't need to do that. You can continue with your surgery while I'm focusing on my game of chess.

The physician ordered a basin to receive the blood. He continued on his surgery without anesthesia, scratching off fragments of affected bone (left humerus to be exact). Guan Yu (the patient) continued on his game of chess, never giving a scream of pain.

What's interesting, Guan Yu didn't have the sight of his arm undergoing surgery but what happened to the other person who played chess with him? The experience would have scared the shit outta him.

After the surgery....

The physician bandaged the wound and advised Guan Yu not to move his arm for three days. Disregarding the medical advice, he tried moving his arm and felt no pain, and said,

"My arm is as flexible as it was. You really are a godlike doctor!"

The physician replied, "All my life of treating my patients I have never seen one like you. You really are a god!"

The scene above is the famous incident of Scratching the bone to treat the venom 刮骨疗毒.

Who's Hua Tuo? He's the first person to perform surgery in the Chinese world and also the inventor of anesthesia. These may not sound amazing to us in the modern age, but imagine this person invented it in the era of Three Kingdoms (circa 220 A.D.)! In the West, the first anesthetic didn't exist until the early 1800 A.D.

Technorati tags: medicine, history

Hottest lyricless Chinese song 忐忑

An update before I set off for Melbourne to resume my studies.



In Facebook, I watched the video above. I thought the young girl was singing some random syllables with the tune. But it was funny enough, I thought.

But who knows when the song was performed on stage I had to change my opinion - the song must have a legendary origin!



The original singer of the song is an opera soprano. The song is composed by the singer's husband and most interestingly, has no lyric!

To sing a cover of the song, you can try your best to know it's so hard to sing! The song is said to be epic godlike lol.

See you when I touched down on Australia!

A CNC industrial feast teaser

A beautiful man-made waterfall seen through a glass. Wonder why the water is milky?


Assorted tools for your needs.


The best part was the chocolate cake!

What was happening? Stay tuned for more!