Hell & Heaven Involved in Politics

While walking down the street one day a Malaysian Boleh Minister is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I have made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the Yang Berhormat

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules," says St. Peter.

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down,down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and dressed in the finest batik there is. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then indulge themselves on lobsters, caviar and the most expensive food there is.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it' s time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the Yang Berhormat joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The Yang Berhormat reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I am better off in hell."

So, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers the Yang Berhormat. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning just like you during an election...... Today you voted."

VOTE WISELY IN THE COMING ELECTION!

Tags: Election, Hell, Heaven, Jokes, Funny, Humour, St. Peter, Yang Berhormat

Historical Malacca Trip

Over the last weekend, I made trip down to the historical city of Malacca for my niece's wedding. Along the PLUS Highway heading south, I noticed a lorry with its laden goods (I think it was long pieces of woods) has dropped almost the whole batch on the highway on the oppposite lane.

Phew! Good thing not on my side of the traffic.

This resulted in a terrible traffic standstill. I reckoned it was more than 3km long as the highway operator was cleaning the goods on the highway.

Stayed at a seaside bungalow owned by a foreign bank. Somehow kept forgetting to take the frontage photo of the bungalow. It has 8 rooms, 2 living halls, a children's pool and a slightly bigger pool for adults or older kids.

I didn't swim as one plunge or one kick in the pool would end up at the other end.
Since the family members are excited about the trip with lots of energy left after the road journey, we made our way to Jonker Street, the place where you could traditional stuff, local food delicacies and olden days buildings.

The place has been decorated with red lanterns in view of the forthcoming Chinese New Year which will fall on 7 Feb 2008.









Found this shop selling clogs that has various sizes.
Besides the well-known Hollandish clogs, this businessowner made his clogs extraordinaire.

This is the Durian Cendol - a must try dessert when you are in Malacca.
This was one of my food, the Roti John sandwich with Otak fried with eggs. Slurp!

Continued our walk and bought some traditional local delicacies for munching back home.
Seen this before but can't remember its name.

In the evening, we were early at the restaurant and the ladies got the reception area ready.

Malacca people do come early for the wedding dinner. Just look at the bright daylight outside the restaurant. By 7.30pm, all the tables were filled.

Not like Kuala Lumpur ("KL") where people generally have no manners or time concious during wedding dinner . Supposedly to start at 7.30pm but KL folks would still be making their way into the restaurant at 8.30pm. Would say that these kind of people have no ethics in life.

Happy for this young couple. Either they walked too fast or the person manning the lighting was sleeping.

Wondering where he was aiming the light at.
Tags: Wedding Dinner, Malacca, Clogs, Durian Cendol, Roti John, PLUS Highway, Chinese New Year, Jonker Street

A.A.A.D.D. Strain Symptom

For those of you that don't get this, you will, your day is coming.

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests:-

* I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.
* As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the table that I collected from the letter box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
* I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the rubbish binunder the table, and notice that it is full.
* So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the rubbish first.
* But then I think, since I'm going to be near the post-box when I take out the rubbish anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.
* I take my cheque book off the table, and see that there is only 1 cheque left. My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.
* I'm going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the fridge to keep it cold.
* As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the worktop catches my eye - they need water.
* I put the Coke on the worktop and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.
* I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the worktop, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote control. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realise that tonight when we watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote control, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the front room where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
* So, I set the remote control back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.
* Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
* At the end of the day:-
- the car isn't washed
- the bills aren't paid
- there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the worktop
- the flowers don't have enough water
- there is still only 1 cheque in my cheque book
- I can't find the remote control
- I can't find my glasses
- and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

I realise this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it,but first I'll check my e-mail.

Do me a favour. Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who I've sent it to.

Don't laugh - if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!
Tags: Funny, Humour, Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder, Forgetfulness

How an American Recession Might Hit Asia?

Investors in Asian stockmarkets were until recently big fans of the "decoupling" theory: the notion that Asian economies can shrug off an American recession. This week's plunge in shares, taking the MSCI Emerging Asia Index down by 25% at one point from its October high, suggests they have changed their minds. But the fact that Asian markets have not decoupled does not necessarily mean that their economies will follow America's over a cliff.

Decoupling was always a misnomer, seeming to imply that an American recession would have no impact on Asia. In fact exports and hence profits would certainly be reduced. The pertinent argument is that they would be hurt by much less than in previous American downturns. As well as hitting exports, America's troubles could affect Asia through various financial channels. Asia's exposure to the subprime mess is thought to be much smaller than that of American or European banks. Even so, Chinese bank shares tumbled this week on rumours that they would have to make much bigger write-downs on their holdings of American subprime securities. And if stockmarkets slide further as global investors flee from risky assets, this could dampen business and consumer confidence in the region.

Some Asian economies are more vulnerable than others: Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia have exports to America equivalent to 20% or more of their GDPs, compared with only 8% in China and 2% in India. There are already some ominous signs. Singapore's exports to America are down by 11% over the past year, while Malaysia's fell by 16%. Exports to other emerging economies and to the European Union surged, so total exports still grew by 6% in both economies. But that was much slower than at the start of the year, and the worry now is that demand from Europe has started to flag. The growth in China's exports to America slowed to only 1% (in yuan terms) in the year to December from over 20% in late 2006. So far the impact on GDP growth has been modest. Figures on China's fourth-quarter GDP were published on Thursday January 24th and showed growth above 11%.

China's economy would probably still expand by around 8-9% even if export growth dried up. During the 2001 American recession China's GDP barely slowed. In contrast, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia suffered full-blown recessions. America's recession this time is likely to be deeper than in 2001 and Asia is now more integrated into the global economy. Doomsters conclude, therefore, that these economies could be hit harder this time. The main reason to be more optimistic is that domestic demand (consumer spending and investment) is likely to remain strong and governments have more flexibility. Last year, despite a slowdown in America's imports, most Asian economies grew faster as domestic demand speeded up. Robert Prior-Wandesforde, an economist at HSBC, says that those who argue that Asian economies cannot decouple from America are ignoring the fact that they already have. Take Malaysia: exports to America plunged, yet its GDP growth quickened from 5.7% at the end of 2006 to 6.7% in the third quarter of last year.

Contrary to the popular view that Asia's meltdown in 2001 was entirely due to a slump in exports, Peter Redward, at Barclays Capital, argues that a fall in investment played a bigger role. Firms had too much debt and excess capacity, particularly in the electronics sector, which was at the heart of the American recession. Today firms are in much better shape. Capacity utilisation is high across the region; outside China investment as a share of GDP is low by historical standards; corporate balance-sheets are stronger and real interest-rates are low. Firms are therefore much less likely to slash investment than in 2001. Macroeconomic fundamentals are also much healthier in East Asia. Large foreign-exchange reserves make countries less vulnerable to foreign shocks. Budgets are in surplus or close to balance, giving policymakers more room for a fiscal stimulus to support growth.

Thus even if Asia's exports clearly have not decoupled from America, its economies will be hurt less than in the past. Standard Chartered forecasts that emerging Asia will grow by an average of 6.4% in 2008, down from 7.8% in 2007. In 2001 growth dropped by three percentage points to 4.2%. Financial markets were slow to realise that Asian growth and hence the profits of some companies would be dented by an American downturn. But now they risk exaggerating the damage. Economic decoupling is not a myth.
Tags: Economics, American Recession, Asian Stockmarkets, Subprime Securities, Economic Decoupling

Looking for Landed Property

Anyone knows of anyone who wanted to sell their house? Am looking for one at the moment and hopefully it meets the following criteria:-

Land size: 22 x 80 to 22 x 100
Built up area: 2500 square feet onwards
Renovations: Kitchen and upper floor's rooms are fully extended. Best if front portion has been extended too
Location: Sri Petaling and Happy Garden area (not used to other areas lah)
Condition: Hopefully could move in with minimum renovations and the house has not been built for umpteenth years

Have to resort to this search as the last few houses that I have viewed were not up to what I wanted. Following issues that were not favourable:-
* If the built up area was there, the price was way too exhorbitant.
* The house looks good but toilets were too small.
* Price was quiet alright but the location was not suitable.
* House was alright but in order to take that house, extensive renovation has to be done.
* Price alright, house looks just nice, renovations were up to mark but the empty land in front of the house was a surau (muslim prayer hall) reserved land. Not that I'm racist but you wouldn't want that sort of traffic right in front of your house, day in day out.
* House at suitable location with low price but would require extensive renovations from bottom

Thought it was easy to buy a landed property. Some real estate agents are helping me out.
Tags: Landed Property, Real Estate, Sri Petaling, Happy Garden

Hunting Around Mid Valley

Was at Mid Valley the other day, hunting for some stuff for niece's wedding. When it comes to food, it must be sufficient. Now let's see, which one has not been frequented for long long time. American Chili's it is.

Ordered the sizzling chicken fajita that came with three pieces of tortilla. It was good and took the bottomless Milo drink. Got a cup that was filled with ice and there you are - Iced Milo (two cups of it).
As for dessert, oh wow, the Chocolate Molten cake. A warm chocolate cake with chocolate fudge and an vanilla flavoured ice-cream to top it off.
Now this is the finished work of the air-conditioned bridge connecting the Mid Valley and Gardens. Back in September 2007, this place was totally different.
After getting what I wanted, went straight home and took a peep at my letterbox. Not surprised to see that our letterboxes being spammed.
Tags: The Gardens, Mid Valley, American Chili's, Spam, Chicken Fajita, Chocolate Molten Cake

Who Should Do What First?

You really have to read this report:-

Thieves leave area with no electricity
WE refer to the article under the heading 'Dream homes turn into nightmare' which appeared in StarMetro on Dec 27, 2007.

Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) would like to inform homeowners that the electricity supply to the housing area could not be supplied because TNB gadgets and cables in the area were stolen.
These items were stolen because there was no security at the area.

To prevent the theft from happening again, TNB, after holding discussions with the local council and residents committee, agreed that electricity supply would be connected only when residents move into their homes.

Based on the information provided by a representative of the residents committee last month, the owners have yet to move into their homes.

We urge TNB customers to call or SMS their complaints to 15454 should they encounter any problems with our service.

HUSSIN OTHMAN
General Manager
TNB Selangor (Distribution Division)

Found the above statement by TNB Selangor appalling. How are the residents going to move in when electricity is not connected? But on the other hand, if TNB was to re-connect the housing area and residents delayed their moves, the thieves would ransack the whole area again.

This is really another chicken and egg situation. In this case, who should do what first? Pity the homeowners in the first place as some could be financially strapped due to payment for two houses at the same time (be it housing loans or rentals).
Tags: Chicken and Egg, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, TNB, Electricity Supply

Football Bookies in Asia

When it comes to a major football tournament, I would get to see many people putting bets on matches being played on that night or nights to come. Heard of friends' offices that organised betting pools for a particular match or bet on tournament winner only.

During those same period, I have seen football bookies sitting in restaurants accepting bets via phone calls openly. Curiously, I did ask them what was the bet like for that match that we were watching. Many ways of betting quoted by him. Didn't place any though but he did ask me "want to bet or not?" ........... haha. Friendly guy anyway, maybe need to as to maintain good public relation.

The Interpol are getting ready for the coming Euro 2008 that would be held during June/July 2008 and the crackdown on football bookies were discussed in their Global Conference on Asian Organised Crime in Singapore recently. "Football bookies, here we come" - that could be Interpol's theme for 2008.

Wondering whether Interpol was involved in the on-going African Nations Cup? Benin's coach, Reinhard Fabisch, has publicly announced that he was approached by an African representative on behalf of a Singapore based syndicate. Later, his team lost 1-0 to Mali. Were his players on the take?

Have you placed any bets for the African Nations Cup? With Euro 2008 coming, I'm sure many one-off gamblers who are football fans would be placing tons of monies. As for me, would be grabbing lots of titbits in anticipation of those late night matches and maybe pop in lots of vitamin B.

It was such menace that made me lost interest in Malaysian football. Since the massive crackdown in the 1990s on dozens of players in the main local league, I have gave up hope on Malaysian football. With the pathetic display by the Malaysian football team in international matches, I found it hard to even read about it.

Somehow, Asian bookies tend to be at the forefront when major football tournaments are being organised.

Reading: Interpol cracks down on football betting - Stars
Tags: Football Bookies, Match Fixing, Interpol, Asian, Asian Bookies, Bookies, Bets, Gambling, Betting, Betting Syndicates, Football Betting, Football Gambling, Football, Soccer, Euro 2008, African Nations Cup, Malaysian Football, Reinhard Fabisch

Punishment on Lazy Staff

Upon seeing this picture (in Funny Malaysia), I could actually recognise which staff was that (if you were a regular customer at this supermarket). What a way to punish a foreigner. Just because he is foreigner, the owner or supervisor thought it was alright to bully. Yeah, I called it bully because they wouldn't dare to retaliate as he was in a foreign land and don't know what to do.

Well, the notice did state "I was lazy". Maybe he was really lazy but still, he doesn't deserve such a punishment in this civilised country. Can you imagine an adult being punished like this? Really disgraceful.

Different people or organisation have different ways of punishing their staff.

Which supermarket? Sri Kota Supermarket located at Taman Danau Desa.
Tags: Sri Kota Supermarket, Taman Danau Desa, Punishment, Lazy Staff

Capsule Speakers

This mini capsule speaker, called X-mini, found in Singapore is a small gadget which could be hooked onto your laptop/pc produced by XMI Pte Ltd.

Would be fun to test its power.











It will be released by end Feb 2008. Looks very cute and saves space too.No price indication yet.

Somehow Singapore is producing excellent multimedia peripherals for laptop/pc market with Creative Technology Ltd leading the pack.

Reading: Double the goodness with X-mini Capsule Speaker Gen2 - Asia CNET
Tags: Mini Capsule, Speakers, Multimedia, X-Mini, XMI Pte Ltd, Singapore, Creative Technology Ltd

Back to Hometown on Rail

China's CRH
Taiwan's THSR
Korea's KTX
Japan's Shinkanzen

Spain's AVE
UK's EUROSTAR
France's TGV
India's all aboard
Saves time, saves money and full camaraderie.

Tags: Train, Locomotive, Transportation, CRH, THSR, KTX, Shinkanzen, AVE, EUROSTAR, TGV

The Bible is Like...

“Going to the cinema to watch movies is sinful,” declared Disciple Ah Kow. “No, it’s not,” countered Disciple Ah Lek who loves to watch movies, “It’s educational.” Both disciples were washing toilets in the Sow-lin Monastery. The monastery has this policy that its disciples should share in the maintenance of the premises. The policy was instituted for building character in its disciples. The monastery also saves by not employing more janitorial staff.

“Watching movies corrupts the soul,” Ah Kow continued, “Did not the Apostle Peter said, ‘Do not love the world or anything in the world.[1]’” “But the Apostle Paul said, ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind.[2]’ Going to movies will renew our minds.” responded Ah Lek. “Sinner!” shouted Ah Kow, “You just want to watch semi-naked girls.” “Do not,” Ah Lek shouted back, “I want to watch the movie The Passion of the Christ.” “Liar!” screamed Ah Kow pushing Ah Lek. Ah Lek responded with a well executed ‘drunken tiger falling down the hill’ roundhouse kick.

Abba Ah Beng was sitting crossed legged eating durian[3] in the main hall when his two disciples were brought before him. He looked up at Ah Kow and Ah Lek with a gleam in his eyes, which set the two disciples’ knees quaking[4]. “Fighting again, I see,” sighed Abba Ah Beng, “Ah Kow, open this durian with this screwdriver.” Ah Kow reached out to grab the durian and tried to open the fruit. All he managed to get were lots of painful scratches. “Here, let me,” said Ah Lek as he reached out and grab the screwdriver. With a skilful poke and twist, he opened the fruit into two pieces revealing the seeds with its golden fleshy outer layer.

A rich aroma filled the hall. Both Abba Ah Beng and Ah Lek inhaled with a satisfied “Hmm.” Ah Kow gagged. “Such a wonderful smell” sighs Ah Lek. “So horrible-lah. Like rotten eggs!” Ah Kow complained. “Here,” Abba Ah Beng said, “eat, eat.” Ah Lek took a seed and ate its luscious flesh with a look of ecstasy on his face. “Very good-lah” he commented. Abba Ah Beng beamed. “Sure good-lah. Special tree, B94” he explained. Meanwhile, Ah Kow shut his eyes as he put the fleshy seed in his mouth. “Urgh!” he croaked, “the inner seed is so hard.” Then he choked and turned blue as he had accidentally swallowed the seed.

“The Bible is like a durian,” explained Abba Ah Beng, as he performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on Ah Kow. “To apply it, you have to know how to open it. Otherwise all you get are some painful wounds. With the correct technique, which is the Holy Spirit, you can open the Bible and taste of its teachings. The succulent fleshy part of the seed is the interpretations and traditions of the church. These are the negotiable part of the Bible; like going to the movies, wearing jeans to church, or playing drums during worship. Some people love it, others hate it. The hard seed is the inner core of Biblical teaching. It is non-negotiable and consists of truths such as God is three and one (the Trinity), Jesus is the Son of God, and Jesus is fully human and fully God. This seed when planted in the right soil will grow into a tree and bear good fruits.”

Both disciples blinked in awe at Abba Ah Bang’s insight, the durian forgotten. Abba Ah Beng calmly finished his durian, burped and said, “I’m going to town, my movie starts in an hour.”

Endnotes:

1. 1 John 2:15a
2. Romans 12:2b
3. A durian is a round fruit with thorns on the outside. It is the King of fruits. Either you love it or hate it. Want to know more, google ‘durian’ and hope your computer do not smell.
4. Disciple Ah Kow later set up the Christian group called Quakers.

read more here

Tags: Bible, Monastery, Durian, King of Fruits, Cinema, Trinity, Son of God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Biblical Teaching, Heimlich

Zimbabwe's 10,000,000 dollars note

Believe it or not, Zimbabwe has to issue the 10,000,000 Zimbabwean Dollars notes to counter the hyperinflation situation in Zimbabwe.

The value of this 10,000,000 Zimbabwe Dollars is equivalent to US$3.90 or £2 or 2.60 euros. Reason given by the central bank, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, in issuing this note - further attempt to stabilise the Zimbabwean economy.

Situation in Zimbabwe hasn't improve since my last posting on "How High Can Inflation Hit Us? 100%? 100,000%?".

What's hyperinflation?
In economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is "out of control," a condition in which prices increase rapidly as a currency loses its value. No precise definition of hyperinflation is universally accepted. One simple definition requires a monthly inflation rate of 20 or 30% or more. In informal usage the term is often applied to much lower rates. As a rule of thumb, normal inflation is reported per year, but hyperinflation is often reported for much shorter intervals, often per month.

The definition used by most economists is "an inflationary cycle without any tendency toward equilibrium." A vicious circle is created in which more and more inflation is created with each iteration of the cycle. Although there is a great deal of debate about the root causes of hyperinflation, it becomes visible when there is an unchecked increase in the money supply or drastic debasement of coinage, and is often associated with wars (or their aftermath), economic depressions, and political or social upheavals.
Tags: Zimbabwe, 10 Million Dollars, Economics, Hyperinflation

Public Holiday for Thaipusam

It has been announced that Thaipusam day on Wednesday will be public holiday for the Kuala Lumpur ("KL") and Putrajaya folks. In previous years, only Negri Sembilan, Perak, Penang, Johor and Selangor have this as a public holiday.

Many KL folks did say that the government was quite weird in declaring a holiday for Selangor only. Maybe the reason was that the main Thaipusam event was usually held at Batu Caves, a Selangor area but it's only a stone's throw away from the KL borderline.

The Malaysian government didn't take into account that the Thaipusam chariot or parade starts from the KL city centre at Jalan Tun H.S. Lee and march all the way to Batu Caves, going through all KL roads. Alright, the main reason given was "during Thaipusam there would be traffic jams everywhere in KL and it's difficult to get to work. So let it be a holiday." Excuse me Mr. Prime Minister, there is no traffic jam in Putrajaya at all.

But why the sudden approval given for this public holiday? After pleading for so many years, the Malaysian government declared it now. Could it be because of the 15,000 MIC members gathering held at Cheras Badminton Stadium or trying to please a large segment of people due to Hindraf case?
Tags: Thaipusam, Public Holiday, MIC, Batu Caves, Cheras Badminton Stadium, Hindraf

23 Years Later

Proton has at last manufactured and produced a model to replace the oldest car model in its stable of cars.

Proton Saga was the first car model by Proton in 1985 and 23 years later, they came out with the model replacement.

The new model replacement is still named as Proton Saga with a codename of Proton BLM (BeLated Model???????????).
Five variants are available for you to choose.
The price is within the range of many Malaysians i.e. between RM31,500 to RM39,998 (RM3.30 = US$1.00), depending on what add-ons you are looking for.

It's only within the range of Malaysians provided their income is above certain level. If you were single and do not need to support any family or family members, then a monthly income of RM1,300 could allow you to purchase with ease.
You have to read this blog posting - How to Survive With Your Salary? This will actually proof what Proton Holdings Berhad's Managing Director has stated - "anyone who earns about RM1,300 a month can afford the new Saga" do not hold any truth.

This 1.3 model has a fuel consumption rate of between 6 and 6.3 litre per 100km.
Tags: Proton Saga, Proton BLM, Car, Proton Holdings Berhad, Model Replacement

Migraine Attacks

At times I do suffer migraine attacks where the worst could result in me lying in bed. Slight movement will cause terrible poundings on my head and sometimes, nauseactic too. To some people, a medical leave is a time to relax but medical leave due to migraine is no relaxation at all. I'm like paralysed, either have to sit tight or lie down on bed to rest.

Most of the time I knew how my migraine came about and usually due to a change of cold-hot-cold-warm- stuffy-cool within a short period of time. As my body has yet to adapt the new environment, it changes again within the next few minutes. I knew that coffee and those strong cheese are my weaknesses too.

Some migraine info:-
* 1 in 10 people suffers from migraine attack, an average of 13 times a year
* Attacks last up to 72 hours
* An attack involves a throbbing headache with at least two other symptoms: nausea, raised sensitivity to light, sound or smell
* The pain is made worse by movement and sufferers want to rest and keep still in darkness
* Some sufferers have neurological disturbances, or auras, before the headache starts such as flashing lights, blind spots and zig-zag patterns but also including tingling, pins and needles and numbness
* Some people experience the auras only, or with only a mild headache
* Migraine is more common among women and is often linked to hormonal changes

A British doctor said that a particular drug on trial now could spell the end of the misery endured (John Chambers, a consultant cardiologist at Guy's Hospital London). I wonder how true?

As for me, the Panadol (a.ka. Paracetamol) or Ponstan pill won't relieft me at all and Sibelium did help. Local doctors have various kinds of prescriptions till I have forgotten the name of the current drug that I'm taking.
Tags: Health, Migraine, John Chambers, Guy's Hospital London, Panadol, Paracetamol, Ponstan, Sibelium, Headache, Nausea

Unfortunate Golden Globe Awards

Movie fans worldwide missed one of the glamorous award nights when actors/actresses boycotted the Golden Globe Awards night which was held on 13 Jan 2008.

The Writers Guild of America ("WGA") (representing 10,500 screenwriters) which has the rights to movies somehow went on strike over some agreements with Dick Clark Productions (linked to Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a not-for-profit California corporation comprised of journalists, which wholly owns the Golden Globe Awards).

The Screen Actors Guild that acted as a representative body for Hollywood actors/actresses agreed to stand on WGA's side. What a mess!

This caused, NBC, the broadcasting company for the event has to return US$20M back to advertisers that have bought advertising time during the event's commercial break.

Besides that, it was understood that a single awards night like this could generate around US$70M to US$80M and the following stakeholders were affected one way or another:-
* Party caterers - parties hosted by movie and TV studios could run up to US$200,000 each
* Limousine drivers
* Stylists & Beauticians
* Hotels
* Photographers (hundreds of them)
* Magazines (due to no pictures from photographers)
* TV shows
* Security guards
* Parking attendants
* Gown designers
* Bling-jewelry renters
* Last but not least - the red carpet supplier.

In order to continue with the programme, even though it was a low profile event, the Golden Globe winners were announced without any fanfare at Beverly Hilton. Sorry, ladies can't watch the latest gown designs for the yearrrrrrrrr.

Now, the producers for the 50th Grammy Awards, scheduled on 10 Feb 2008, are sweating too. Are they going to be hit by the boycott too? The 80th edition of the Oscars night scheduled on 24 Feb 2008 could be affected as well. No more awards shows for year 2008?

Reading: Scrapped Golden Globe ceremony hits Hollywood hard - Reuters
Reading: Striking Hollywood union weighs Grammys show plea - Reuters

Tags: Golden Globe Awards, Writers Guild of America, WGA, Dick Clark Productions, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood, Grammy Awards, Oscars, Beverly Hilton

Financial Collapse

Just when I wrote about the financial effects on Malaysia with Citigroup's poor financial results, it came to my attention read that Singapore's Citibank branch could be affected. The Singapore office, being the key hub for the Asian market, employs about 9,000 people.

Citigroup staff rattled by bank's global lay-offs
By Gabriel Chen & Grace Ng
THERE was an air of apprehension at Citigroup's Singapore office as staff confronted news that the battered United States bank is axing thousand of workers across the world.
Some local staff from the corporate and treasury divisions have already been shown the door - part of the first wave of 4,000 sackings from Citi's global workforce of 375,000.
Anxious staff told the Straits Times they are also expecting the knife to be taken to their bonuses, which are to be announced soon.
'Bonuses will probably be announced next week, but nobody is expecting good [ones]. Expectations have been moderated,' said a senior Citi executive.
'Bonus?' said a bank researcher in his 40s, 'if you're not laid off, that will be a bonus.'
The bank is expected to eventually axe about 20,000 staff worldwide and sources said Singapore - a key hub for Citi in Asia with about 9,000 workers - cannot hope to escape the bloodletting, despite the region's buoyant economy.
A Citi management associate described the mood at the bank's Centennial Tower offices as 'rather ominous'.
He added that people are looking furtively around the office to see if any cubicles had been vacated overnight.

What would the probability be when Citigroup is axing 20,000 staff worldwide?

This will be a test on what I have posted earlier under Sweating Outcomes about God's provision.
Tags: Citigroup, Citibank, Asian Market, Retrench

Sweating Outcomes

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for He grants sleep to those He loves. - Psalm 127:2

Coming into the Promised Land in business will change the way you and I view our work. No longer will we see getting up early and staying up late as God's way. Living in the Promised Land in work means we know that God is the source of our provision and that our work is an act of worship to Him. Provision is a by-product, not an end in itself. Work is no longer something that must be sweated and toiled upon to make ends meet. "Could this really be true?" you might be saying.

God has made it clear that obedience is the assurance of provision. Whenever we go beyond the normal workday due to fear of non-provision, we are operating in unbelief. We are saying that it is up to us to make things happen. Sure, there are times when we work longer hours due to a deadline, but we must be sure the motive is not out of fear of loss or fear of non-provision. If we are obedient to what God has called us to, He will provide our every need. This can be a hard lesson for goal-oriented workplace believers.

I recall coming into this understanding. I had been a workaholic. Long hours were common. Then God shook up my world and I was challenged by a friend to examine my motives for working long hours. I realized the source of those long hours was fear. Once I came into this understanding, I refused to work long hours even though the natural man would tell me I'd never make things happen if I worked a normal work week. Again, this reasoning is based on a lack of faith. If we are obedient to what God has called each of us to, we will not lack. At times it may be less than what we might like; at other times it may be more than we deserve. These are God's ways.

The Bible tells us to come out of Babylon. Babylon is a system of work and philosophy that is contrary to God's ways. Are you operating in any aspect of work from a Babylonian value system? Ask the Lord to reveal this to you. Begin to walk in the freedom He has given us in our work life.

By Os Hillman, April 25, 2007

After reading the above, how true it is that at times I do go through such thinking. Dwindling faith? Or trying to think logically/practically?
Tags: Promised Land, Babylon, God's Way, Workaholic

Collapsing Financial Markets?

Citigroup, the largest bank in USA, needed to write down a record US$18.1 billion from their accounting books which caused a reported US$9.83 billion loss for the quarter ended 31 Dec 2007. Reduction of staff is the next thing to stabilise the bank. Will Malaysia's Citibank be affected?

Bank of America ("BOA"), the second largest bank, needed to retrench 650 staff from the corporate and investment banking jobs and required to sell off prime brokerage unit,. BOA's fourth-quarter profits could be down by 80% and 32% overall. Hmmmmm, wonder how is BOA Malaysian branch faring.

All this, partly due to the financial crisis involving the mortgage sector and it's slowly eating into the banking system. The above stated results are really bad and Malaysia should be ready for it. Malaysia's predicted 6% rise in 2008's economy could take a real beating.

Malaysians should be prepared for a USA recession and when it hits, it will really whack us. With rising costs in all aspects that could happen right after the general elections (rumoured to be in Mar 08), we have to tighten our pockets.

Those living on borrowed credits should take pre-cautions now and that's the issue which is bothering me as I'm hunting for a house. I'm sure the banking interest rates will rise above the current BLR rate of 6.75%. So, those BLR -2% offers are just blinding us common folks and will be meaningless when rates are increased. Banks will want to maintain high profits and when we didn't account for an increase, we will be caught with high interest and thus high monthly payment or worse, bankruptcy. Yeah, I do play real safe.

I met with a financial institution guy the other day to discuss on a potential housing loan and when he assessed my financial situation, he said financial institutions don't like people like me. HUH?????

What? With a low outstanding housing loan, no car loans, no personal loans, zero credit card debts, properly insured with diversified investments - this isn't good enough?

Nah, his meaning is financial institutions preferred people on high housing loans, with car loans, with many personal loans, with carried forward credit card balance so that the financial institutions could earn more. The more default payments the better. But if everyone is like me, the financial institutions will collapse.
Tags: Citigroup, Citibank, Bank of America, Financial Institutions, Mortgage, Housing Loan, Bank Lending Rate, BLR

Crime on the Street

First hand account from a friend of mine who lives in sec 17 PJ.
Leonard.

There was an incident outside my house last night (Monday 14th Jan 08) about 10:45pm, in which a 6 knife wielding men surrounded a car and dragged the driver out in order to mug him.

The car had been sitting outside my house for about 10 minutes and the guys moved in once the driver cut the engine and prepared to get out. Due to the noise (there was a bang as they hit his car) and screams I thought there had been an accident and went out to see what had happened.

The combination of the gate opening right behind the thugs, light flooding the area, my dogs going wild and my foolish bravado as I approached and barked orders at them to leave the guy alone caused them to flee before getting anything.

Ok this is not a hero email....in retrospect I was putting myself at risk as I had no weapon but in these cases who thinks? The point I wish to make is this. The driver was reluctant to make a police report because the perpetrators were Malay and he believed the police would be biased against him. I have no issues with race when it comes to crime.

In my area I have seen Malay, Indian and Chinese gangsters at work so race is not an issue when it comes to crime. BUT it should NEVER be a reason for not reporting a crime. Once the driver was calmed down (about half an hour as it was a fearful shock) he went to the police station. There he discovered THREE others had reported the same scenario within half an hour, so a minimum of 4 attacks by the same gang in the SS2, Section 17, 13 and 14 areas.

Apparently 4 guys on bikes and 2 more in a car. I only saw the 4 on the bike as they skedaddled. He was lucky enough to have been the only one who lost nothing. Lessons to be learned:-

* ALWAYS report crimes. It helps the police know the hot spots. They do send armed patrols time to time to the worst areas.

* When naming race be objective. Many police are Malay and if you are sensitive to how you put this across I think you will find they are concerned that some bodohs are giving their race a bad name. We all have pride in our respective race and are annoyed at those of our own who pull it down.

* Be submissive when an armed assailant comes at you. Your life is worth more than billions of ringgit. Give them what they want.

* If you go past your house, or have left your car down a dark lane LOOK before going to it or before you unlock your doors. If in doubt, ie you see possible dangers it is best to go elsewhere and come back later once the potential threat has passed.

While I could throw in being aggressive chases them away I don't believe this was the case. They were caught by surprise and had no idea whether there were one unarmed guy or a whole hockey team coming out to beat the living daylights out of them. In retrospect what I did was stupid but at the time who can think.

Grant
Tags: Crime on the Street, Section 17, Petaling Jaya

Marital Bliss

A man and a woman who had never met before, but were both married to other people, found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a transcontinental train.

Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both very tired and fell asleep quickly.... him in the upper bunk and she in the lower.

At 1:00 AM, the man leaned over and gently woke the woman saying, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second blanket? I'm awfully cold."

"I have a better idea, " she replied." Just for tonight, let's just pretend that we're married. "

"Wow! That's a great idea! " he exclaimed!

"Good, " she replied... "Get your own bloody blanket."

After a stunned moment of silence, he farted.
Tags: Jokes, Funny, Humour, Marital Bliss, Transcontinental Train

Smoke Or Else!

I have heard of friends that they have to entertain their subcontractors or clients by bringing them to entertainment centres and then forced to drink along by them or even their own bosses/superiors. So, either you drink or you are considered non-complying with superior orders.

Well, in Buesum of Germany, there is this manager of a IT company who may want all his workers to smoke or else! Or else what?

Owing to the recent non-smoking rules being implemented in Germany, this manager may be afraid that three of his non-smoking staff may lodge a report against his company for breaching this non-smoking rules as the three staff have requested for a non-smoking working environment in the office.

Bear in mind that the manager and the rest of the staff do smoke. In order to have a perfect working environment for the rest of this staff, he sacked this three non-smokers. His reason for their sacking - non-smoking was causing disruptions.

The manager said "I can't be bothered with trouble-makers. Everyone picks on smokers these days. It's time for revenge. I'm only going to hire smokers from now on." I wonder what recourse this three staff would have after this uncalled for sacking.

Reading: Boss fires staff for not smoking - Reuters
Tags: Smoking, Buesum, Germany, Non-Smoking Rules

Heavy Thunderstorm in KL

On Sunday afternoon, I was scouting around Happy Garden & Sri Petaling for a house after 2pm. I think it was around 2.30pm onwards, it started to drizzle and then heavy rain started to pour.

Not long after that, a heavy downpour came with strong wind blowing from one direction. I could see the rain being blown ferociously. Due to that, I stopped driving and rested my legs after driving around for one hour plus seeing that it was dangerous to drive in such a heavy downpour anyway. Lightnings were hitting all over the place.

The place where I stopped was without any trees but only an electricity pole nearby. I could see those rubbish bins' cover were flying all over the area. After noticing that the rain had simmer down a bit, I continued with my scouting.

Along the way I bumped into two trees which had been blown down onto the road forcefully.

The owner of this Hyundai Getz car would be crying when he/she comes out from the house later on. It was a hot weather before the heavy downpour so I guessed the car owner parked right under this big tree to avoid heavy sun ray.

At the nearby Desa Gembira condominium side lane, this tree just missed the Proton Wira because it fell onto the condo's perimeter wall. Without that wall, it would have crushed the Proton Wira.

So, now you trust me it was a fierce wind?
Tags: Heavy Downpour, Strong Wind, Happy Garden, Sri Petaling, Hyundai Getz, Proton Wira, Desa Gembira Condominium

Searching for a Lady

While the search is still on for 5 years old, Sharlinie Mohd Nashar in Malaysia who has been kidnapped, another search is also being called.

This following search is for a lady, requested by a 60 years old German national guy. The search is not in Malaysia but happening in Shenzhen of China.

It was reported that this German national guy by the name of Milan has been looking for a Chinese woman named Ah Juan (also known as Anna), 31-years-old, who lives in the city of Shenzhen.

He got to know Anna via the internet and he met her for the first time upon invitation when he went to Shenzhen in Sept 2006. He was later convinced that she could be the girl of his life.

When Milan has to leave Shenzhen, Anna requested him to get her a German visa so she could go to Germany with him next time. Thereafter, telecommunication between them sort of blossomed and it prompted Milan to transfer 600,000 yuan to Anna and when Milan sent another 1,000 euros in Feb 2007, he could sense that she was different.

Anna would give excuses that she can't go to Germany as she needed to settle a 1.1million yuan loan and that she has contracted leukemia. When Milan went to search for her, he couldnt' locate her and a police report has been lodged on the case of being conned.........hehehe. Good thing he did realise.

The Luowu district police in Shenzhen are investigating the case. Milan has only one thing in mind, he wants his money back.

Reading: Desperately Seeking Anna - EastSouthWestNorth
Tags: Milan, German National, Shenzhen, China, Ah Juan, Luowu, Con