Monday, 28 September 2009

Minigopoly - The Rules

Thursday, 10 September 2009

The Inaugural Game of MINIGOPOLY

x

It was the first time that this brand new scaled down version of OLIGOPOLY was ever played and its first ever CHAMPION is Ike from "Dewi cs" class.



Wednesday 09-09-09 (what a great date for this momentous occasion!) the competitors in the famous "laboratory rats" game, from left to right: Yeyen, Ika, Dewi, Ike and Donan.



MINIGOPOLY differs from OLIGOPOLY in the following areas: board size, number of properties, number of dice used, when salaries are paid, how taxes are levied, the system used for elections, what makes inflation go up and down. In terms of 'feel', the two versions of the game are very similar. MINIGOPOLY takes 90 minutes to play while a full game of OLIGOPOLY takes three hours. Six is the maximum - and ideal - number of players for both games.



Inflation was "4" at the end of the game so all Corporations were valued at $400,000, and all Marketing Companies were valued at $200,000. Ike won with three Corporations, two Marketing Companies and $3,900,000 in cash. This gave her a total of $5,500,000 in assets. If inflation had been "6" at the end of the game then Dewi would have won because she owned five Corporations! It was a close result. Well played everyone. And well played to Ike who is the Wisma Bahasa's Inaugural Champion of MINIGOPOLY.

x

Tuesday, 4 August 2009

UGM U202 Crew, Day Fourteen: 31st July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: Round 11

Adrian told two stories: (1) "My wife and I have never discussed any of the girlfriends that I had before I met her". (2) "I once put chair legs in two guys’ lunches". From these two stories, one true, and one false, Adrian picked up 18 points and 'Everybody Else' 15 points (there were 14 students absent today!): the current score 180-163.

Can anyone tell the (untrue) story of the 'two chair legs' using the COMMENTS feature below? No more than 150 words. The best attempt will win a copy of the 1975 album "The Velvet Donkey" by Ivor Cutler.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Thirteen: 30th July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.



Today we learnt about some very important life skills...

  1. How to cross a piranha infested river
  2. How to escape from a grizzly bear
  3. How to avoid vampire bat bites in the wild
  4. How to fend off a man-eating tiger
  5. How to tell if a jellyfish sting is poisonous
  6. How to escape from killer bees
  7. How to escape from a deadly python’s grip
  8. How to eat worms
  9. How to eat animals after a nuclear explosion
Can you remember the answers? Comment below.


Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 18 - Revi

Revi told a story about how she made a film with my friends as a project in my junior high school. It wasn't true. Unfortunately for Revi 21 students thought the story was not true so she only scored 7 points.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 19 - Ohsy

Ohsy told a story about how, late one night, when she was still in 3rd grade of senior high school, she and her brothers were so hungry that they decided to go to McDonalds secretly. But she accidentally sounded the car’s horn and her father woke up. He brought a sword and her mum brought a bucket. He didn’t believe her lies about wanting to get a CD out of the car. And she talked about something else concerning a naughty ring tone on her mobile phone as well. She was punished by her dad. her mum… etc. etc. etc. And then her friend came etc. etc. The story was true and eighteen of her classmates knew it. Ohsy scored 10 points.


ANY OPINIONS, THEORIES COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

UGM U202 Crew, Day Twelve: 29th July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Some Commonly Used Idioms

Go back to the drawing board
Give [someone] the creeps
Cost an arm and a leg
Pay top dollar
Go belly up
Stab [someone] in the back
Keep your chin up
Right hand man
When pigs fly
Buckle down
Over my head
Blow it
Hit the books

SONG OF THE WEEK:

Loudon Wainwright III’s “Your Mother And I”

Your mother and I are living apart
I know that seems stupid,
but we weren't very smart
You'll stay with her, I'll visit you
At Christmas, on weekends,
and the summertime too
Your mother and I
are not getting along
Somehow, somewhere,
something went wrong
Everything changes,
time takes its toll
Your folks fell in love;
love's a very deep hole
Your mother and I will do
all we can do
To work this thing out
and to take care of you
Families get broken,
I know it's a shame
It's nobody's fault, though,
and you're not to blame
Your mother and I
are both feeling bad
But things will get better,
they won't stay this sad
And I hope when you grow up,
one day you'll see
Your parents are people,
and that's all we can be
Your mother and I

ANY OPINIONS, THEORIES COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

Tuesday, 28 July 2009

UGM U202 Crew, Day Eleven: 28th July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: Round 10

Adrian told a story about how he claimed to have collected 678 recordings of concerts by an American jamband called The Grateful Dead. There were quite a lot of questions and slightly more than half of the U202 Crew decided that Adrian was lying. However, regardless of how embarrassing it is for Adrian to have such a strange obsession, the story was in fact true! Adrian picked up 17 points and 'Everybody Else' 14 points: 161-138.


Wednesday, February 07, 2007

U.S. NEWS REPORTS...


ORLANDO, Fla. — A NASA astronaut accused of trying to kidnap a romantic rival for a space shuttle pilot's affections was charged with attempted first-degree murder Tuesday as her lawyer sparred with prosecutors to effort her release.

Lisa Marie Nowak was ordered released on $10,000 bail and told to wear an ankle tracking device. That is in addition to the $15,500 bail that was ordered for Nowak earlier in the day for the attemped kidnapping charges.

"The intent was there to do serious bodily injury or death," Orlando Police Sgt. Barb Jones, referring to a new steel mallet, knife, rubber tubing and large garbage bags that police found in Nowak's possession.

Police said Nowak drove 900 miles, donned a disguise and was armed with a BB gun and pepper spray when she confronted a woman she believed was a competitor for the affections of Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, an unmarried fellow astronaut.

Oefelein, 41, piloted the space shuttle Discovery in December. He and Nowak trained together but never flew a mission together.

Nowak told police that her relationship with Oefelein was "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship," according to an arrest affidavit. Inside Nowak's vehicle, which was parked at a nearby motel, authorities found a pepper spray package, an unused BB-gun cartridge, latex gloves and e-mails between Oefelein and Colleen Shipman.

According to authorities, Nowak believed Shipman was romantically involved with Oefelein, and when she found out Shipman was flying to Orlando from Houston, she decided to confront her early Monday, according to the arrest affidavit.

Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers in the car so she wouldn't have to stop to go to the bathroom, authorities said. Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry.

Dressed in a wig and a trench coat, she waited for Shipman's plane to land and then boarded the same airport shuttle bus Shipman took to get to her car, police said. Shipman told police she noticed someone following her, hurried inside the car and locked the doors, according to the arrest affidavit.

Nowak rapped on the window, tried to open the car door and asked for a ride. Shipman refused but rolled down the car window a few inches when Nowak started crying, the statement said. Nowak then sprayed a chemical into Shipman's car, the affidavit said. Shipman drove to the parking lot booth and police were called.

According to NASA's official biography, Nowak is a Naval Academy graduate who has a master's degree in aeronautical engineering. She has a teenage son and younger twin girls.

Oefelein has two children and began his aviation career as a teenager flying floatplanes in Alaska, according to a NASA biography. He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University and later earned a master's degree in aviation systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute. He has been an astronaut since 1998.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 16 - Nia

Nila told a story about how she split up with her boyfriend and when he said bad things about her, she beat him up with punch after punch and also by throwing things at him. There was something about the passion and energy of Nia's storytelling that made her peers think she was telling the truth! And - of course - she was! As a result - despite her very entertaining story - she only scored 8 points while 22 of her classmates picked up 1 point each.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 17 - Rian

Rian told a story about how he reckons he experienced bad karma – for annoying his friend with a practical joke using a padlock - when he had to cut a padlock when he found himself locked into his friend's house and the people with the key (his friend's parents) were away in Jakarta. Rian's story was true and 18 of his U202 friends thought so too. Therefore he only collected 12 points for his story.

CURRENT CALL MY BLUFF LEADERBOARD:

ELWIN.....38
RENDY.....31
UCEN......31
LUTFI.....30
RIFKI.....29
TENI......27
ALICE.....25
SANJUNG...25
SHAFA.....25
MARWAH....21
FEBRINA...18
RIAN......18
DILA......18
REZAA.....15
EGA.......15
NIA.......14
IRKA......12


ANY OPINIONS, THEORIES COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

Monday, 27 July 2009

UGM U202 Crew, Day Ten: 27th July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: 9

Adrian told a story about how he once got mistakenly detained by police after an anti-Apartheid demonstration in London turned violent. Once the police established that he was not on the CCTV footage he was released. Crew u202 didn't buy it! They scored 24 points. Adrian only picked up 9 points. No more trash talk from Adrian... The Crew is cathing up, although Adrian is still winning: 144-120.

MORAL DILEMMAS...

A friend of yours is an artist. She hasn’t had a lot of success yet. She invites you to her first exhibition and obviously hopes that you will buy one of her paintings. They are not very good and they are not very cheap. Do you feel you have to buy one?

Your boss gives you expensive tickets to see a pop group in concert. You forget to make a note of the date in your diary or on the calendar and so you miss the show. The next day, your boss asks you how the show was. Do you tell him you missed it?

You order something from a mail order catalogue. After the item has arrived you receive a refund from the mail order company and a letter explaining that the item is out of stock. It seems that there has been some kind of computer error. Do you tell the company about their error and give the money back?

ANY OPINIONS? Use the "Comments" feature below.



Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 14 - Sanjung

Sanjung told a story about how he used to have a classmate who was a thief. He stole large amounts of money and many mobile phones. Eventually he was found out and then disappeared. It was true. But unfortunately for Sanjung, the class was more or less split down the middle, denying him the chance of registering a big score. Sanjung 17 v 15 Everyone Else.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 13 - Dila

Dila told a story about how she once went to Dufan and after she got off one of the rides she realised that her family wasn’t there. The security officers couldn’t find them so they rang her father and he was amazed to find that he had forgotten her when the family went home because of confusion about who was in which car. All lies! Eighteen classmates thought it was all lies! Dila scored 14 points.

ANY OPINIONS, THEORIES COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Nine: 24th July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: 8

Adrian told a story about how, for 15 years, 1991-2006, he drove a motorcycle in Indonesia without a valid driver’s licence.
It was true, but only 12 students guessed right. Adrian scored 18 points: 135-100.



THE U202 CREW ON 24th JULY 2009
(missing: G, Neni Citra)

Photo can also be seen here.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 12 - Shafa

Shafa told a story about how when she was a brand new student in junior high school a guy called Gusur asked her to be his girlfriend and gave her melted chocolate. After they split, twenty four hours later, she found out that he had only “dated” her to win a bet with his gang friends. Shafa's classmates thought she was lying but she wasn't. She scored 20 points. Ten classmates picked up 1 point each.


Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 13 - Elwin

Elwin claimed he won first prize in a ‘modified car’ competition in the Sound System category. Just at the end of the questioning session, Alice - Elwin's friend - asked "Why didn't you tell me about that?" Adrian reckons this was a set up. And a clever set up, too. It gave the impression that Elwin was lying and that Alice's 'spontaneous' question gave the game away. Mmm. Who knows? It had the desired effect. Twenty six of the U202 Crew thought he was lying - but he wasn't! Elwin went straight to the top of the leaderboard with 34 points!

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, GOSSIP?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

Thursday, 23 July 2009

UGM U202 Crew, Day Eight: 23rd July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: 7

Adrian told a story about how he went along with his ambulance driver father to an accident and found an eyeball from one of the victims by the side of the road after a horrific motorway pile up.
The students beat Adrian this time but the 18-12 scoreline didn't have a significant effect on this lead, which is 117-88.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 10 - Alice

Alice told a story about how she once pretended to faint so that she didn’t have to do a science test but the teacher knew she was faking it. The story was true but it fooled 18 students. Eleven others picked up a point for guessing correctly.


Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 11 - Rendy

Rendy told a story about when the 2006 earthquake struck Yogya. He ran out of his house wearing only a bath towel and he saw a naked woman running out of the boarding house next door. This was a massive success for Rendy and he scored 22-7. However Ucen guessed BOTH Alice's and Rendy's Call My Bluff stories correctly and holds on to a slim lead on 30, compared to Rendy's 29.

Call My Bluff:
Peer Group Pressure Leaderboard
after 11 Rounds:

Ucen ...... 30 points
Rendy ..... 29 points
Rifki ..... 26 points
Teni ...... 23 points
Lufti ..... 25 points
Alice ..... 22 points
Marwah .... 17 points
Febrina ... 15 points
Ega ....... 11 points
Rezaa ..... 12 points
Irka ...... 10 points


Daily Interview: Dius & Elwen


Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.6 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...
  1. What are Dius' plans for the continuation of his basketball career?
  2. Why did Adrian make a joke about Elwen getting kicked in the head by his mother?
ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

UGM U202 Crew, Day Seven: 22nd July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 8 - Teni

Teni told a story about how she, and all her schoolmates in Classes 1 and 2 of senior high school, were hazed by the students in Class 3. On one occasion Teni had her shoelaces cut as a punishment for wearing brightly coloured shoes and socks. She also had to give the bullies a halfa amillion Rupiah! Thanfully, it wasn't true. However, twenty people believed the story while the other eleven collected one point each.


Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 9 - Ucen

Ucen told a story about going fishing with his family in a remote place in Kalimantan. The next day, reading the Kaltim Pos, his mother found that a small girl had been attacked and killed by a crocodile later that same day in exactly the same river where they had been fishing. Ucen hesitated beautifully when answering a question about how old the child was and people suspected that he was lying. But he wasn't! This grim tale was true and only 6 students realized it. That gave Ucen a massive 25 points and shot him to the top of the Call My Bluff leaderboard.

Call My Bluff:
Peer Group Pressure Leaderboard
after 9 Rounds:

Ucen ...... 28 points
Rifki ..... 26 points
Teni ...... 23 points
Lufti ..... 23 points
Marwah .... 17 points
Febrina ... 14 points
Ega ....... 11 points
Irka ...... 10 points
Rezaa ..... 11 points

BBC HEADLINES...

  • * Astronomers have found water vapour in the atmosphere of a giant planet outside our Solar System.
  • * A Chilean judge has ruled that Peru's former President Alberto Fujimori should not be extradited to Peru.
  • * The Pakistani army says it has found 73 bodies inside a mosque compound in Islamabad, after fierce battles between soldiers and gunmen inside.
  • * A suicide lorry bomber has killed at least eight soldiers at a military barracks in Algeria - on the opening day of the All-Africa Games.
  • * A pizza delivery man killed by a bomb around his neck after apparently being forced to rob a bank was a conspirator, not a hostage, US authorities say.

Here is the sound file for you to download. (less than 1MB)

Additional questions:

  1. GAS PLANET: What is the significance of this discovery?
  2. ALBERTO FUJIMORI: In which country is Fujimori? Which country wants him extradited?
  3. RED MOSQUE: What was this fighting about?
  4. ALL-AFRICA GAMES: Why weren't the games cancelled?
  5. EXPLODING PIZZA DELIVERY MAN: Why couldn't the Bomb Squad deactivate the bomb?
  6. Can anyone figure out which YEAR these news headlines come from?


Daily Interview: Febrina & Fani



Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.9 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...
  1. What are Febrina's and Fani's opinions about traditional beauty and the 'Indo' look?
  2. WHen I asked them if they wanted to send out a special message to any of the guys in U202 Crew, how did Febrina and Fani respond?
ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

Tuesday, 21 July 2009

UGM U202 Crew, Day Six: 21st July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 6 - Lutfi.

Lufti told a story about how he went up to Puncak with his friends. On the way back they were caught in a heavy rainstorm. They stopped at a petrol station and he realized he'd lost his wallet while he was at Puncak. He said he had to borrow money from a friend in order to pay for the fuel. Nineteen of his classmates believed this untrue story. Ten were not fooled. But it was enough to give him second place behind Rifki.


Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 7 - Ega

Ega told a story about how she applied to NTU SIngapore and got accepted. However her parents would not allow her to go there and insisted that she go to university in Yogyakarta instead. Ega seemed to be doing very well with this story - everyone was listening very intently - but then it all went wrong when she seemed to stumble over the question of how much she had to pay for the application process and how much money someone else had taken from her ATM to make the payment. Of course, it was all a lie. Unfortunately only nine students believed Ega and the other twenty one picked up one point each.

Call My Bluff:
Peer Group Pressure Leaderboard
after 7 Rounds:

Rifki ..... 25 points
Lufti ..... 22 points

Marwah .... 17 points

Febrina ... 13 points
Ega ....... 11 points

Irka ...... 9 points

Rezaa ..... 9 points

Rian ...... 5 pts
Atha ...... 5 pts

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody: Round 6



Ouch! It turns out that Adrian WAS mugged on a London street in 1990 by two teenagers who squirted bleach in his face. 22 points for Adrian, 8 for "you lot". Harr harr harr! (evil laugh)

Daily Interview: Ohsy & Ucen



Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.1 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...
  1. Who are Ohsy's favourite musicians or bands?
  2. Who are Ucen's favourite musicians or bands?
ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

Friday, 17 July 2009

UGM U202 Crew, Day Five: Friday 17th July 2009

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff


Peer Group Pressure: Round 4 - Febrina.

Febrina told a story about how her neighbour's house burnt down but luckily her own house was undamaged. It happened on a holiday, at about 9am or 10am, and was caused by an exploding gas cylinder when the stove was being used to cook food for the celebrations. No one was killed but the whole episode was a shock. The story was true. Ten classmates were fooled.


Call My Bluff


Peer Group Pressure: Round 5 - Rifki.

Rifki told a story about how he was on his way to buy a dynamo for a his model car with money he had stolen from his parents. He was driving his motorbike with his friend riding pillion. Then, when he was turning a corner, he was distracted by a beautiful girl walking along the pavement, and he crashed. The story was not true. Twenty three classmates thought it was.

Call My Bluff: Peer Group Pressure Leaderboard after 5 Rounds:

Rifki 25 points

Marwah 16 points

Febrina 13 points

Irka 8 points

Rezaa 7 points
Rian 4 pts

On 3 points: Wardah, Arlin, Neni, Rendy, Atha, Elwin, Giesta.

On 2 points: Oshy, Ucen, Alice, Nia, Citra, Cendra, Lia, Dila, Ega, Yoga, Fani, Lufti, Teni, Icha, Nior, G.

On 1 point: Shafa, Diora, Revi.


SONG OF THE WEEK....

The Weakness In Me

by Joan Armatrading

I’ m not the sort of person
who falls in and quickly out of love
But to you, I gave my affection,
right from the start.
If I have a lover who loves me -
how could I break such a heart?
Yet still you get my attention.

Why do you come here, when you know
I’ve got troubles enough?
Why do you call me, when you know
I can't answer the phone?
Make me lie when I don’t want to,
And make someone else
some kind of an unknowing fool?
You make me stay when I should not?
Are you so strong or
is all the weakness in me?

Why do you come here,
and pretend to be just passing by?
I need to see you -
I need to hold you -
tightly.

Feeling guilty, worried,
waking from tormented sleep
This old love has me bound,
But the new love cuts deep.
If I choose now, I'll lose out;
One of you has to fall...
And I need you, and you ...

Why do you come here,
when you know
I’ve got troubles enough?
Why do you call me,
when you know
I can’t answer the phone?
Make me lie I do not want to,
And make someone else
some kind of an unknowing fool?
You make me stay when I should not
Are you so strong or
is all the weakness in me?

Why do you come here,
and pretend to be just passing by?
I need to see you.
And I need to hold you - tightly

Should I post the mp3 of this song here for members of U202 Crew to download? Which version would you prefer? The original imperfect, vulnerable, fragile, genuine woman with heartache and confusion, ie. the version by the song's composer Joan Armatrading? Or the digitally perfect, vocally acrobatic, highly commercial, American Idol-like, mechanical, professional, anonymous R&B version by charge by the hour cover version specialist Keisha White? Requests and suggestions on the COMMENTS below please...

Daily Interview: Sharfa & Marwah



Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.4 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...
  1. What did Sharfa say when Adrian asked her if she was clever?
  2. What did Marwah say when Adrian asked her if she was clever?
  3. Why has Sharfa lived all around the island of Java?
  4. Why has Marwah always lived in Yogya?
  5. What do Sharfa and Marwah think about the 'Miss Indonesia "Scandal"'?
ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.