Reflections on 2020

It’s that time of the year, when things quiet down, for a reflection of the year that was 2020. It is truly a unique and memorable year in many ways one for the history books. Generations from now, books (and documentaries) will be produced to try and figure this year out. Academicians and storytellers will try to dissect this year to distill its lessons and meanings for the future of humanity.

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Is 2020 going to be the year of the COVID?

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 —previously known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19. Credit: NIAID-RML

It has been only 2 and a half months into 2020 and the world is already in turmoil. The new year started literally with a bonfire that ravaged through large swathes of Australia in January. Just before fresh images of singed cute koalas fade from our minds, Malaysia’s barely 24-months old liberal government was toppled by a rebellion within their own ranks. And before the cursed Sheraton Move fade from the people’s minds, the most consequential once-in-a-generation global pandemic broke out in March.

Suddenly, everyone who is not from China just woke up to the fact that a deadly novel coronavirus has been spreading within their borders and infecting large numbers of their population. Now, I have a lot to say about all of these events. But it is the last one that just boils my blood.

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OCBC Cycle KL 2019

I’ve finished the entire 42km of the OCBC Cycle KL event today.  And it wasn’t as gruellingly challenging as I feared it was going to be. 

The few of us who were participating made plans to meet at Menara Maxis at 5am, intending to do a roll-out at 5.15am to the site of the flag-off in Dataran Merdeka. While there was a list of names that were floating around in the WhatsApp chat group, in the end, only five of us (Vishal, Agnel, Charene and BX) rode off from our office at 5.45am. 

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Time for a new laptop

Recently, I had been bitten by the upgrade bug for a notebook. I was looking for something to replace the very reliable Surface Pro 4 2-in-1 that I had been using everyday since it was launched as the main daily driver at work. My must-haves were simple. The following are compulsory features that I am looking for:-

  • Light (I had really grown to like the ultra portability of the Surface Pro line of computers);
  • Large high resolution screen (not necessarily 4k but definitely not 16:9 as I had found the 3:2 form factor to be ideal for work and photography); and
  • Powerful enough to handle my daily work routine (which could range from creating Powerpoint presentations to analyzing complex Excel worksheets to occasionally editing photos on Lightroom).
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Liu Cixin’s Death’s End

Death’s End is the final book of the trilogy that was kicked off by The Three Body Problem. As I have just finished this book, I’ve decided to pen some thoughts and I would have assumed that you had already read no only this book but the entirety of the series. Be warned as there will be major spoilers.

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Liu Cixin’s Dark Forest

Liu Cixin’s Dark Forest is the direct sequel to the highly imaginative Three Body Problem. Set directly after the event of the Three Body Problem, this book chronicles humanity’s effort in addressing the unfolding events at the conclusion of the first book.

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