Chen Shui-Bian wins the Taiwan Presidential election (6,471,970 votes to 6,442,452). Lien Chan complains about results and wants a recount, and suggests that the assassination attempt got Chen sympathy votes. Whatever, Lien, maybe you shouldn't have put the hit on him then, huh. Either that, or blame your trigger happy supporter.

- CNN
- MSN

And in other tragic internation news, Britney Spears injures her knee and cannot continue with her next concert date! [The crowd falls silent awaiting the latest news....]

Mayhem in Taiwan. The Taiwan President Chen Shui-Bian and Vice President Annette Lu were shot only a couple hours ago during a political rally. This is causing a stir in Taiwan (obviously) and amongst a lot of Taiwanese people here in Canada.

Here're a couple news articles:

- CNN
- MSN
- [new] CNN

The election between the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party and the Nationalist Party is tomorrow (March 20). Some friends think there'll be riots in Taiwan whichever way the election goes. Freakin' Nationality Party.

The washroom outside my lab had an upgrade recently. Automatic toilets. Similar to the sensor-controlled urinals. An interesting concept, but my first thought as I was sitting there doing my business was... what if it doesn't work properly? With normal toilets, you can always count on the cause-and-effect consequences when you pull the lever. But as soon as you add the "convenience" of a sensor-guided flush, you can't help but to wonder. Besides, I sometimes like to flush before I sit just in case of splash-ups. Well, it's toilet water either way, but I'd prefer to think that it's cleaner water after a couple of flushes. I tried getting the sensor to trigger by flashing my hand in front of it, but it won't go.

I also noticed another handle bar behind the toilet. Whew! I can't tell you how many times I've needed to reach back there for support after a mad weight-loss session... this is on top of the support provided by the handicap bar next to the toilet.

You see, deodorant should be applied to avoid smelling bad. This application should be in moderate amounts. There's a guy working in the lab where I am doing my M.Eng. project who must be feeding an entire deodorant stick into his armpit every day. He reeks of the smell. Every time he walks by me, I feel like gagging from the fumes emanating from his "fresh smelling" body. Ick. If companies advertise that their deodorants provide 24 hour long-lasting protection, this guy must be protected for 5 days from the same application. Maybe it'll be more barable on Friday.

I heard on the radio yesterday that a 97 year-old woman was arrested by the police for having pouches of cocaine in her wheelchair with the intent of selling. Haha, too funny. Apparently, this is the 2nd or 3rd time the old lady was picked up for this reason. See? Old people ARE good for something.

I went to see a retina specialist today to have a retinal tear examined. In the mere 4 minutes I met with the doctor, he managed to shine an insanely bright light into dilated pupil, squeezed my eye ball to the point I thought it would pop out of its socket, and put some little apparatus to my eye (I think it was a magnifying glass or lens). He wasn't a very friendly doctor either, but came very highly recommended by my optomotrist. Hope I never have to go through that, since it took a good hour for my eye to stop hurting. I should go back and punch him in the eye.

After massive promotional efforts, The Mike Bullard Show was axed by Global TV after lacking viewership. It's about time, really. At first, I supported the show, being Canadian and all. But let's face it, Mike Bullard's not a very funny guy, he doesn't have good writing, and he can't deliver his lines to make them work. Canadian or not, the show's end was a long time coming, and it's probably better to kill it now than to make people like me put in effort to avoid his show as I channel surf.

Woohoo! My last exam for this degree is OVER as of last night at 6:45pm.

For SFU Engineering Alumni:

Most of you know that the ENSC program changed a year or two ago such that there is now an Honors program and a non-Honors engineering program. The Honors program requires a thesis defense and a certain academic standing at graduation. The Non-Honors students don't need to fulfill those requirements. Hence, retroactively, all past students are B.A.Sc. Honors.

If you care to do it, you can have a new degree parchment created for yourself with the updated designation. Here's how:

1) You can go to SFU's Academic Resources counter and request it.
2) You can fax the following information to 604-291-4969:
REPLACEMENT PARCHMENT
Your name
Your student number
Whether you want to pick it up or mail it (address)

Credit Card #
Name on credit card
Expiry date
Signature

The cost is $21.50 (CAD) and processing time is approximately 5 business days.

Furthermore, if you had a 3.5 or above GPA, you are a Honors First Class graduate -- otherwise, just Honors.

If you have any questions, you can call Judy at 604-291-3206.

This has been a public service announcement.