Roof colors and heat

In my research on building design and energy efficiency for houses in tropical climates (like the one I'm living in :) ) I found this paper. It's a good read.

Generally, I find that Malaysian houses are poorly designed in regards to the tropical climate. There is very little insulation, and there are many air leaks.

Engineering education in Malaysia

I work for a large MNC in Malaysia. And during the course of my work, I do my fair share of interviewing graduates from UM, UTM, USM, etc. On the whole, I must confess to be quite disappointed at the quality of the graduates we have. Although there are a few "diamonds" once in a while, they are quite quickly snapped up by the large group of desparate companies out there :)

One of the most irritating things to me as an interviewer is that nearly all applicants are mirror images of each other. They've all taken the same courses, all participated in *nearly* the same projects (some exactly the same!), and *none* of them have done any work related to their field besides coursework.

OK-lah. I know that students are busy, etc. etc. But we live in the Internet age now. If you are a computer engineering or computer science graduate, but have never written a single program just to scratch your own itch, or out of your own interest, what does that tell me of your initiative? Furthermore, there are programs out there like google SoC. USD4500 stipend for your internship. That sure beats the puny RM700 or so you get for your "normal" internship, doesn't it?

If there are any students out there studying engineering, please listen up. Engineering is an *applied science*. You gain experience by *doing*, not just studying. So please spend some effort and show me that you're actually interested in the subject that you're studying. And if you're not interested, please quit. You will quit later in working life anyway, and it's better for you to quit earlier and find your true vocation.

OK, that's my rant. If you're looking for a job in Malaysia in EE/CS, feel free to contact me. However, I am looking for people who stand out in the crowd, not just sheep who have completed their coursework and taken their tests.

Overhang analysis

In designing my new home, I've had to figure out how much shading windows need. Obviously, for a hot country like Malaysia, shading is very important to keep solar heat from accumulating in your house. However, you cannot over-shade due to construction limitations.

I found an interesting website that allows you to calculate your shading requirements depending on where you live:

Sustainable design

I have used these measurements in my current house; however, there still seems to be some amount of morning sun at this time of the year that comes in.

First post

I've played with the idea of blogging for some time, as I can't find any good bloggers in the country who blog on engineering, per say. There are quite a few engineer-bloggers, like michaelooi.net, but they mostly don't talk about technical topics. I intend for this blog to chronicle my thoughts and explorations into some topics that I'm interested in, with a Malaysian slant.

-andrew