Malaysia Need to Rush Space Flight

Malaysia's intention to send the second trained astronaut up to space may have to be rushed. Although the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Dr Maximus Ongkili has mentioned that there isn't sufficient funds to go ahead with it, I think the Malaysian government may have dig from somewhere to accommodate it. Why?

Russian Federal Space Agency ("RFSA") that accommodated Malaysia's first astronaut on the Soyuz spacecraft on 10 Oct 2007 has announced that they won't be selling seats anymore from year 2010 onwards as the International Space Station ("ISS") won't be able to fit additional space tourist. Reason is because the ISS operators are increasing their crew members up to six personnel in year 2010.

RFSA has stated that they do sell seats for space tourist ........ hehehehe. And Malaysia bought one seat last year and thinking of buying the next one????? RFSA has mentioned that space tourists have paid up to US$40 million for a round trip to space. So, I'm not surprised that the Malaysian government has paid a hefty sum and then claimed that the nation has started a space programme.

Due to this reason, no wonder till today, NASA has never listed our sole astronaut as a real astronaut but just a Spaceflight Participant.

Reading: Russia plans to cease space tourism from 2010 - China Post

Related post: Space Programme to Launch Another Astronaut?
Tags: Space, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Maximus Ongkili, Russian Federal Space Agency, Soyuz Spacecraft, International Space Station, Russia, Space Tourist, Space Programme, Space Participant, NASA

Facebook Used to Track Criminals

Facebook is becoming more useful lately even to the extent of it being used to track down criminals. Not just common criminals but war crimes criminals.

A group of forty organisations formed Wanted For War Crimes who has used Facebook and Google Earth to hunt two war crimes criminals in Sudan. They are Sudan's Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun (they put him to be in charge of the right department or they named the department correctly) and Janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman. The Facebook account created is called War Crimes Wanted List.

Althought these two individuals have been charged and indicted by the International Criminal Court, the Sudanese government has rejected the charges by the ICC on these two individuals linking them to the heinous war crimes in Darfur where 200,000 have been killed and millions displaced from homes.

See how powerful is the internet nowadays.
Tags: Facebook, Africa, Sudan, War Crimes, International Criminal Court, ICC, Darfur, War Crimes, Janjaweed, Wanted For War Crimes, War Crimes Wanted List, Ahmed Haroun, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman

Gadgets Are Running Really Fast

What do I mean by the title of this blog posting?

Technology gadget manufacturers are keeping in touch with the speed required by consumers to run more complicated softwares. The manufacturers not only ensured that the equipment could run at a fast speed but they got sports car manufacturers involved to understand more about speed.

Asus got Lamborghini to take part in a handheld PDA phone project. The gadget is called Asus Lamborghini ZX1 which runs on a 450MHz Texas Instruments processor with a 128MB memory. It could connect you real fast to the internet world via HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS.

Price listing is not available yet for this gadget.

Not to be outdone, Acer got Ferrari or was it Ferrari that got Acer to tie-up with them to challenge Lamborghini. Acer has came out with this notebook or laptop (to some people in the world) which runs on the AMD Turion processor in which the notebook will be named as Acer Ferrari 1100. With a price listing of Australian Dollar $3,999 (available in Aussie now), I think only die-hard Ferrari fans would buy this notebook just for the logo sake.

There are additional buttons that would allow you to access certain programmes at a slightly faster rate. For example, inclusion of touch-sensitive shortcut buttons for email, Internet and a programmable application and the Acer Empowering Technology button. I think I can outdo the user with the current notebook that I'm using.........hehehe
Tags: Asus, Lamborghini, Asus Lamborghini ZX1, Texas Instruments Processor, Acer, Ferrari, Acer Ferrari 1100, AMD Turion, Technology, Gadget, PDA Phone, Notebook, Laptop

Malaysian Sailor to Sail the World

A Malaysian sailor by the name of Captain Ariffin Abdul Aziz hailing from the state of Seremban (but the Star newspaper reported that he was from Terengganu??????) would be venturing into the sea by sailing round the world with his yacht, christened as Ulu Mulu.

The yacht was sponsored by Samling Group which was sent to Australia for upgrading / repair in preparation for this feat. Captain Ariffin Abdul Aziz's previous long distance experience was sailing from from Easter Island to Miri, a coastal city in the state of Sarawak, a distance of 2,800 nautical miles.

In conjunction with Sarawak's 45th anniversary of independence (?????? 45th???????), this sail-around-the-world event would be launched from Miri. Captain Ariffin is aiming to sail around the world in 180 days. Will he be able this break the previous Malaysian record held by Datuk Azahar Mansor, who travelled round the world in 190 days covering 25,444 nautical miles using the Jalur Gemilang yacht?

This feat has been delayed several times already and now he requires RM1.0 million from sponsors for this feat. Hopefully this request of sponsorship won't end up like the Solo Flying Peace Mission by Captain Mohd Fairuz Mohd Sakirin.

In the case of Captain Mohd Fairuz, he has been trying to lift his plane off the ground since year 2000 till now. First he claimed that financial constraints held him up.

Then in year 2004, he said that the Middle East conflicts may affect his flying mission.

During year 2005, Captain Mohd Fairuz tried to raise funds by participating in TV3's, one of Malaysia's main TV station, nationwide roadshows.

In year 2006, RM15 million was required to launched his pet project and several 'big shots' (including the Minister of the Tourism Ministry) had offered supports but everything quieten down as time passes by.

By 2007, the cost for the take-off has touched RM20 million. Out of this amount, he has received RM10 million but the project is heading to nowhere. The RM10 million that was given to him has not been accounted for. Did he buy the plane that he wanted to use for this flying mission? Who gave him that money? What happened to the money now? Who got to use it at the same time?

I have a friend who knew about this mission and the stuff that he told me was unbelievable. Can't disclose much (no documentation to proof it) on that as it would tantamount to me being sued for no reason later on.

Next thing I want to highlight is why did the Star newspaper quote that Sarawak would be celebrating its 45th anniversary of independence. Sarawak is one of the states in Malaysia and the nation has celebrated its 50th independence day last 31 Aug. You mean to say that the Sarawak state government has disagreed with the independence year of 1957?

This is really confusing. A state within Malaysia is celebrating another different date for their independence. This is a slap on the face of the federal government!
Tags: Captain Ariffin Abdul Aziz, Captain Mohd Fairuz Mohd Sakirin, Ulu Mulu, Samling Group, Yacht, Miri, Sarawak

Why Bother Waking Up at 3am to Study?

I'm labelling this particular blog posting under "Tragedy". Why tragedy of all labels? Read the following write-up by a SPM leaver (SPM is a secondary school's final exam that would determine where you would further your studies i.e. either to ).
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I refer to the letters A daughter devastated, a mother with no answer and Education system quota abused.

To ‘Schoolteacher, I would like to share with my case which is very similar to your case. I am a SPM leaver with an SPM result of 11A1s and I have a mother, whose is also a teacher in a government primary school. I am also the eldest daughter and I have two more younger brothers. With my family middle-class income, it's impossible for me to further my studies at a private college/university or overseas unless with a scholarship. I am pretty confident with my achievements as I hold extra-curricular posts eg, ,vice president, secretary, school prefect and I even went for the National Service programme.

I understand your daughter's feeling pretty well because I also was rejected for matriculation also for most of the scholarships that I've applied for (Petronas,Yayasan TNB,Yayasan Telekom,Yayasan Khazanah). Until now, I've only been called for an JPA interview.

Honestly, I don't really feel surprised I got rejected for those GLC scholarships and matriculation. As we know, matriculation is only open 10% for us, the non-bumis. Just imagine, out of 100 students, there are only 10 seats for us, the non-bumis. Frankly, I would feel surprise if I got an offer for matriculation.

In my school, there are about 20+ straight As scorers and they also did not get any offer for matriculation or other scholarships. We have only gone for the JPA interview so far. Even for the Petronas interview (they called it Petronas Educamp), out of the 20+ top scorers, only two managed to get selected. (One of them scored 11 A1s and one A2, another scored 11As and one B3, both non-bumis)

However, some of my Malay got an offer to do matriculation even with an SPM result of only 5As. I felt so hurt. I am so sad because I seem to be discriminated against. Nobody appreciates my talent, nobody appreciates my ability. As if our country has more than enough talented scholars.

So, to our country’s leaders, don't blame those talented scholars who do not want to come back to serve Malaysia. Don't forget who ‘threw’ them away before treating them as if they were rubbish. Frankly, sometimes I do question myself, why bother to torture myself? Why bother to wake up at 4am, sometimes even 3am to study? Why bother to score a straight A1s?

My mother once told me she is so disappointed with the Malaysian education system. Although I strived hard to score well in the SPM, but in the end, I ended up with no scholarship offer. Well, I am left the one and only hope- JPA. But my mother advised me not to put to much hope on this government scholarship.

Come on, after 51 years of independence, racism still exists in our country. We, the non-bumis, are like the blacks in US. In the past, US white people detested and discriminated against the blacks. They even put notices like,’No dogs and Blacks allowed’ in public places. Now, our government is putting up notices like ‘Only 10% non-bumis are allowed’ for matriculation.
(And who knows if the figure of ‘10%’ is true? They might take 7% of non-bumis only, who knows?)

Our government also puts up notices like ‘These courses are only reserved for the bumiputera’ for IPTA course with SPM qualifications. For your information, courses like,’Asasi Sains’, ‘Prepatory courses for medicine’ at local unisare only for bumiputeras. Non-bumis, wait until your next life!

Most of my friends and me will choose to challenge of the tough STPM if we really don't get any scholarship offer.And I believe, STPM is the last choice but is it is also the choice of most non- bumis after a series of disappointments. I observed a few batches of my own Form 6 seniors and there were almost zero bumis in the Form 6 Science Stream. Of course, since they got into matriculation with 5As,or even with 2As from SPM, why bother to take the STPM?

My last word to ‘Schoolteacher’ is that all those moral values and history they teach in school is really rubbish. My friends and I knew this when we started on those subjects. To ‘Hamisu’, my mother has already advised me to be a Pakatan Rakyat supporter.

By Disappointed Student

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And the government expected the current students to be supportive of the ruling government with all this biasness / discrimination on-going? I have seen this since my schooling days 20 years ago.

This type of biasness / discrimination will certainly cause anger / deep hatred harboured deep inside many people. The political tsunami hasn't really affected the government enough to change for the better.
Tags: SPM, STPM, Form 6, JPA, Matriculation, Discrimination, Pakatan Rakyat

Shoud Motorists Watch Out For Motorcyclists?

The call for motorists to be more aware of motorcyclists on the road is right in terms of the motorcyclists' life.

The Selangor Chief Minister called on motorists to look out for them and don't just switch lanes as and when the motorists wanted to. I would agree from the viewpoint if it was a two lane road but what if we were on the highway.

Just go on the Federal Highway that links the city of Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya any time of the day now. You would see motorcyclists on the fast lane, the middle lane and the slow lane. Why are they all over the place when there is an existing motorcycle lane for them on the left hand side of the highway.

Try using the Kuala Lumpur-Sungai Besi-Seremban Highway that pass by the Armed Force's airport. The motorcyclists would be on all the lanes, switching lanes as and when they want on the first signal they gave. Although there isn't a motorcycle lane for them on this highway, there is an existing emergency lane which is wide enough for a car too.

On both highways, lots of motorcyclists don't use the motorcycle or emergency lanes. The motorcyclists do travel on very high speed on those motor vehicles' lanes assuming cars don't change lanes at all. Each time I see such motorcyclist speeding by, I was very sure that they wouldn't be able to brake on time if a car was to change lane at that point of time.

In the first place, motorcyclists were not supposed to be on those motor vehicles' lanes but motorists still have to look out for them. And if there is an accident, whose fault would it be when proper lanes were provided for the motorcyclists.

I would understand if it was in my residential area where most roads are only dual lanes. But I still do notice motorcyclists weaving their ways here and there as if they were on the highways. How much could we look out for them in such situations?

I have experienced before that at the point of looking at the rear mirror, I was clear of any motor vehicles or motorcyclists but when you make the turn, I could hear the motorcyclist braking to the full extent and his legs on the ground trying to do a fred flinstones' style of braking. He panicked too. In one split second, he appeared from nowhere and guess at what speed was he travelling at.

My point is - that motorcyclists should be riding carefully as well on the right places and they should be looking out for cars too where there isn't any motorcycle or emergency roads available for them.

Last but not least, why aren't any policemen nabbing those irresponsible motorcyclists travelling on the Federal Highway (this highway is off limit to motorcyclists owing to an existing motorcycle lanes made available). Don't tell me "I don't know that motorcyclists are using the Federal Highway motor vehicles' lanes".
Tags: Motorist, Motorcyclist, Motorcycle Lane, Motor Vehicle, Federal Highway

Iran Breached UN Rules in Malaysia

Malaysia hosted the Defence Services Asia 2008 from 21 Apr to 24 Apr in Kuala Lumpur and Iran was one of the countries invited to participate. Countries will showcase their latest defence technologies, defence system, security products, missiles, arms and no trade would be conducted.

Iran came to this exhibition bringing their missiles, missile systems and equipment. They set everything up for the exhibition and welcomed dignitaries on the opening day on 21 Apr. Everything was fine until the USA and British exhibitors claimed that Iran's stuff has contravened UN Security Council resolutions 1747 and 1803.

Malaysia's Ministry of Defence, whom their Minister had officiated the opening ceremony, sounded the exhibition organiser who quickly did their work in closing Iran's booths comprising nine companies and got all their stuff out of the exhibition area.

The following questions have to be answered:-
a) If the military and defence equipment brought into Malaysia do contravene the UN Security Council resolutions, please tell me how was it brought out of Iran in the first place?

b) How come our port customs didn't check the papers properly to ensure whether such military and defence equipment were allowed to be imported into our country?

c) How come the Ministry of Defence didn't place any officials at the port customs, since knowing that such a big exhibition was to be held, to ensure that proper green light has been obtained for the importation of such military and defence equipment to be brought into Malaysia?

d) How come our Ministry of Defence's personnel who were at the exhibition place didn't realise that Iran's military and defence equipment were in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions until they were alerted by the USA and British exhibitors?

These military and defence equipment were too big to be hidden away and yet such a blunder. What more when genuine smugglers intend to sneak in illegal stuff into Malaysia. We are talking about military and defence equipment here and not just plain food.

Reading: Iran violated UN resolution - Star
Tags: Defence Services Asia 2008, DSA 2008, Iran, Malaysia, UN, United Nations, UN Security Council

Being A Chinese

There are at least 29 ways to know if you're Chinese. You will laugh at yourself when you read all of them.

1. You unwrap gifts very carefully, so you can save and re-use the wrapping (and especially those ribbons)
2. When there is a sale on toilet paper, you buy 100 rolls and store them in your closet or in the bedroom of an adult child who has moved out
3. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times
4. You save grocery bags, tin foil, and tin containers. You use the grocery bags to hold garbage.
5. You hate to waste food:-
(a) Even if you're totally full, if someone says they're going to throw away the leftovers on the table, you'll finish them (your mom will give you a lecture about starving kids in Africa)
(b) You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing
6. You don't own any real Tupperware - only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, take out containers and jam jars
7. You have a collection of miniature shampoo bottles that you take every time you stay in a hotel
8. You wipe your plate and utensils or wash them in a small basin of hot water before you eat every time you go to a restaurant
9 . You own a rice cooker and a slow cooker
10. You wash your rice at least 2-3 times before cooking it
11. You fight (literally) over who pays the dinner bill
12. You have a teacup with a cover on it
13. If you're under age 20, you own a really expensive Walkman; if you're over 20, you own a really expensive camera
14. You're a wok user
15. You only make long distance calls after 7pm
16. You prefer your shrimp with the heads and legs still attached - it means they're fresh
17. You never call your parents just to say, ' Hi '
18. If you don't live at home, when your parents call, they'll ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight.
19. Your parents tell you to boil herbs and stay indoors when you get sick. They also tell you not to eat fried foods or baked foods because such food is ' heaty'
20. You e-mail your Chinese friends at work, even though you only sit 10 feet apart
21. You always cook too much
22. You eat every last grain of rice in your bowl, but don't eat the last piece of food on the table
23. You starve yourself before going to an ' All You Can Eat ' buffet
24. You know someone who can get you a good deal on jewelry, electronics or computers
25 . You own your own meat cleaver and sharpens it
26. Your toothpaste tubes are all squeezed paper-thin
27. You call a sausage a hotdog
28. You wrap with napkins all the knives, spoons and forks of the airline that you fly on and put in your travel-bag as souvenirs
29. You never forget to take with you all the unused bath and facial tissues when you check out from the hotel because you believe that you have paid for it all
Tags: Chinese, Funny, Humour

Brain Teasers

1. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

2. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wo nderful dinner together. How can this be?

3. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

4. This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out.

ANSWERS:

1. The third. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead.

2. The woman is a photographer. She shot a picture of her husband, developed it, and hung it up to dry.

3. Sure you can: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

4. The letter "e" - the most common letter in the English language - is missing from the entire paragraph
Tags: Brain Teaser, Lion, Photographer, Days, Common Letter

Favourites for Champions League Final

With the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals to be played next Tuesday and Wednesday night, football fans have cast their votes in selecting which of the probable two teams that would line up in Moscow, Russia for the finals. Here goes:-

Out of 79,133 football fans' votes, Man Utd's the favourite to be featured in upcoming finals. If that's the case, it will be the first all-english teams finals.

Tags: Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Football, Soccer, UEFA Champions League, Moscow

You Could Lose Your Penis in Congo

This is really a frightening statement as I do frequent the African continent for project works. Democratic Republic of Congo is a nation located at central western part of Africa.

How did the penis disappear? It seems that sorcerers could actually do that, either they make it disappear or shrink it by using witchcraft or black magic. How did the sorcerors do it? It was claimed that a mere brush of touch by them on you would be sufficient.

A jargon description has been created for situation - penis snatching. This situation is mainly happening in Kinshasa, the capital city where it has 8 million people. Out of the 8 million, so far 14 has claimed that they were victims of it.

The rumours have it that sorcerors did it to extort money from victims in exchange for cure. This is really bad. Then foreign expats would surely be targetted as they would be loaded especially when posted overseas to work (sweats).

Reading: Penis theft panic hits city.. - Reuters
Tags: Africa, Congo, Penis, Penis Snatching, Congo, Democractic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, Witchcraft, Black Magic, Sorceror

Time’s Up For Asian English

I picked up a jar of turtle fungus paste at a medicine shop on the way home last night. The label said: "It will lower the evil fire."

It probably intended to say something dull about reducing one’s fever, but I preferred the wording as it stood. We all have evil fires which occasionally need lowering.

But labels like that are disappearing. Tragically, English in Asia is being standardised and brought in line with Western English.

The growth of outplacement services is causing this to happen all over Asia, and the Olympics are amplifying the effect in China.

This is dumb. Asian phrasing and terminology are much more powerful than English equivalents. I’ll prove it to you.

In the West, signs in parks say: "Don’t drop litter."

In China, and I am not making this up, the same signs sometimes say: "If you pay loving care to public health, you will live to be 100 years old. If you throw garbage everywhere, your children will die."

That’s a brilliant sign, don’t you think? Be honest. Which of the two slogans more powerfully gets your attention?

Homeowners in the West put pictures of a dog in front of their homes to deter thieves. In India, I saw a sign on a gate saying: "Beware ferocious dogs and ghosts." Junk mail deliverers made a wide berth.

Instead of "Keep Off" signs stuck into lawns, some Beijing parks have signs which say: "Show mercy to the slender grass."

Instead of "No Hawkers", the Chinese equivalent is impressively direct: "Peddlers are prohibited from entering. Violators will be beaten viciously with violent blows."

I once saw a "No Entry" sign in Indonesia which consisted simply of a black-on-white image of one man shooting another. Message received. I chose not to enter.

Then there was the sign in Malaysia which said: "Please do not spit too loud." This is smart: the sound of spitting is as revolting as the sight of it.

Asian signs often intriguingly reveal the mindset of the people writing them.

At the zoo in Nanjing, keepers put up a sign which says: "Please don’t hurt the animals while teasing them."

Chinese officials may think animals are there to be tormented, but big buildings are to be respected, as shown by this sign in front of one: "Classic and tranquil and enjoyable and big hall."

In India, I saw a sign in front of a tourist hotel which said: "Broken English Spoken Perfectly."

Thailand is another place with memorably honest signs. You’ll find one outside a bar in Phuket which says: "Over 150 Pretty Ladies and Two Ugly Ones." Straight out of the horse’s mouth!

And still on the theme of truthfulness, there used to be one in the "Ethnic Minorities" theme park in Beijing which described it to visitors as "Racist Park". Sadly it has disappeared in the pre-Olympics clean-up.

Signs in Asia can often conjure up existentialist puzzles.

At the building where I do most of my work in Kowloon, there are signs bolted onto the tables. The majority of the space is taken up by the words: "Do Not Remove This Sign."

So let’s fight to keep Asian English the way it is. We like it that way.
Tags: Asia, English In Asia, Western English, Asian English, Asian Phrasing, Asian Terminology

ATM Users Be Cautious

Got this piece of news via the email and wondering who else were victims of such ATMs or was it just a piece of rumour or someone wanted to cause some problems at their former workplace.
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I would like to share a real life story with all my friends and especially all my colleagues and all May****bank account holders.

This incident happened on today evening (1 April 2008). I went to the PJ State (also known as PJ New Town) May**** to withdraw RM500. Unfortunately for me, only 9 RM50 notes came out instead of 10.

What happened was, one of the RM50 notes was folded exactly in half and placed at a corner of the stack (please refer to the attached pictures showing how two RM50 notes can be counted as three).

I was so upset because I have no proof that the ATM did not give me the correct amount. After much hesitation, I finally decided to call May**** to complain about the incident knowing that I may not get back my money. But at least I can caution them of such incident. When I told of my situation to the May**** Customer Service Representative, to my surprise, I was informed that I'm not the first victim. It seems that similar cases have occurred before.

The lady explained that it is the malfunction of the ATM and the money may accidentally get folded in half. However when questioned, she was unable to explain to me why the money can be folded exactly in half and placed nicely in the corner of the stack.

I believe this is the new technique of cheating money, done by the people who are responsible of placing the money into the ATMs. In the stack of money which is to be placed into the ATM, one RM50 note is folded nicely in half, for every one note taken out of the stack of money. The folded RM50 notes are then placed at the edge of the stack and positioned in the ATM where the money would be counted. With that done, every one folded note would be counted by the machine as two notes.

I may be wrong about how and why it happened, but I would like to warn everyone about this incident. Please be careful when withdrawing money from the ATM (it may happen to other banks as well) and do count your money to be sure. If such an incident really happened to you (*touch wood*), please do call up the bank to complain about this. If everyone keeps quiet about this, the bank may be unaware of such incidents and the people responsible may just continue doing what they do without getting caught! Even if it is actually because of the ATM malfunctioning, the bank should know about this and there is also a chance of you getting your money back.
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Personally, I do count the number of notes that I have withdrawn but will it do any good once the money has came out of the ATM. What recourse do I have? Show my money to the security camera stationed near the ATM as a proof?

Please note that this blog posting was not aimed to badmouth any particular bank but main reason was to highlight the issue behind such cash withdrawals that could happen at any ATMs.
Tags: ATM, Bank, PJ State, PJ New Town

French Has The Secret For Prolongation

Keen to live beyond 100 years old? If you do, the French people have the secret for such life prolongation thing.

So, I was wrong to mention that Malaysia has the most oldest people in one nation. Looks like France has as many as 20,115 people that are above 100 years old. My my ...... and in Britain itself, there are about 11,000 of them. What's their secret? Not that I'm aiming to have that age. But I do wonder how would I look like (not as handsome like now definitely) and what would be the condition of my bones / muscles by then?

I knew that personal lifestyle do make a difference. Personally, keeping my body fit is my main goal. My motivation was seeing a 80 year old man finishing the New York marathon within the 6 hours qualifying time for a certificate. That kept me on.

Many people that I came into contact with do tell me that they wanted to do this or that but would be exhausted by the time they reach home from work. They would just rather laze around the house or be a couch potato especially the weekends.

For me, it would be meeting friends, going to the gym, running around doing my chores, blogging till late night and able to watch middle of the night live football matches. That's life! My secret - just need to do simple exercise throughout the week.

But for the French, they did the following to 'preserve' their precious life:-
* diet rich in olive oil
* ability to "keep smiling"
* play boules
* and cycle
* serious lunch hour – a proper, sit-down, three- or four-course meal from an early age
* red wine
* poultry
* fish
* haricots of the typical French south-western diet
* sign of contentment
* eat better quality and more variety of food
* exercise

France has predicted a great great granny-boom.

Reading: Want to see your 100th birthday? Be like the French and drink red wine - The Independent
Tags: Old Age, Life Prolongation, Oldest People, Health, Centenarian, Red Wine, France, French, Britain

Circle of Life

Life is actually going round one big circle. But in between all those success, what did you contribute?Tags: Circle of Life, Success

Olympic Torch Relay in Malaysia

With all the havoc being created during those Olympic torch relays held at Paris, London, San Francisco and India, the Malaysian government has to prepare themselves for any unwanted situation on 21 Apr 2008, Monday afternoon.

Last Friday, a group of Falun Gong followers did a protest just right outside of the China Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

In view of this, the Royal Malaysian Police has set up a special police action squad to prevent the Anti-China, Falun Gong and Tibetan sympathisers or anyone for that matter from interferring in the Olympic torch relay.

Well, certain / surrounding roads would be close to motor vehicles to accommodate the torch relay from 2.15pm to 6.15pm and if you are having any appointments at this few areas, do re-adjust your timing:-
* Dataran Merdeka (starting point)
* Wisma OCM
* City Hall
* Parliament House
* National Museum
* National Mosque
* Old Railway Station
* Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
* Merdeka Stadium
* KL Tower
* KLCC (finale)

When the road is closed to motor vehicles, it's much more easier to target you (if you are one of those intending to disrupt the Olympic torch relay).

The police has warned that stern action would be taken against any disruption and any vehicles parked along the scheduled roads would be towed away for security reasons. What security reasons you may ask - Car Bombs la!

Reading: Olympic flame arrives in Malaysia capital Kuala Lumpur
Reading: Olympic torch relay sabotage in Paris - ESWN
Tags: China, Beijing Olympic, Olympic Torch Relay, Kuala Lumpur, Special Police Action Squad, Royal Malaysian Police, Falun Gong

Don't Approach Your MPs Said Government

The Malaysian government has advised the Kuala Lumpur folks not to approach their respective MPs. The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Federal Territories, Datuk M. Saravanan, said that the need for the MPs was not required as his Ministry was in good rapport with the community, residents’ associations and NGOs.

He said "all matters brought up would be discussed by a committee chaired by him and forwarded to Zulhasnan (the Minister)."

This fella never learn from the political tsunami.

Hello sir, out of 11 parliamentary seats in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, 10 seats were won by opposition parties. Please wake up to this fact! How could you say that we don't need our MPs. Actually we don't need you right from 8 March 2008 (general election day) onwards. You were appointed into this Ministry by the government. The MPs were elected by the Malaysian citizens.

And you dare to say that your Ministry would discuss all issues??????? The area and condo that I'm staying in have problems where the government couldn't care less. Writing to and meeting with different but specific government authorities didn't even receive any positive response, what more to your Ministry that would have to handle anything under the sky, just like the City Hall Council.

Datuk Saravanan, you have mentioned that residents’ associations and NGOs were having close relationship with your Ministry, please name them so that we, the lousy ones, may learn from those residents’ associations and NGOs. Don't just simply mention the words "residents’ associations and NGOs".
Tags: Malaysian Politics, Residents’ Associations, NGO, Ministry of Federal Territories, Datuk M. Saravanan

Mexico-USA Map Pissed Americans

A Mexican advertising company by the name of Teran/TBWA used the map as shown on the left for Swedish Absolut Vodka's advertisement

The advertisement was shown in Mexico but as some Americans could pick up the TV signals too, they saw the advertisements.

Not that it was due to it being an alcohol related advertisement but more so the map that was used.

Here goes history lesson for the rest of the world. Americans who saw the advertised were pissed off by it as it showed Mexico's border eating into USA's land, nearly all the way to Canada. This map was not wrong but this was the scenario before the Mexican-American War of 1848. Forced to cancel the advertisement later on so as not to lose USA consumer market.

Hmmmmmmmmmm so, USA was conquered by the British and Mexicans before. In comparison, Malaysia was more complicated as it had the Indonesia, India, Thais, Portuguese, Dutch, British and the Japanese having a short stay too.
Tags: Swedish Absolut Vodka, Teran/TBWA, Alcohol Advertisement, Mexico, USA, Mexican-American War of 1848

Feeling Lucky Today?

You are a South African bush pilot working for Blue Sky Aviation.

You fly in some critical medical supplies, enjoy a quick lunch at the hospital.

It's a stifling 100 degrees in the shade and you're eager to get back up to the cool, high blue yonder.

On the way back to your plane, you discover that the only bit of shade within 1 mile has become very popular.

"Do I feel lucky today?"

Isn't this awesome????????Tags: Lucky, Blue Sky Aviation

Arsenal's End of Season Dinner Dance

ARSENAL F.C.
End of Season Dinner Dance

Starter
Egg on Face
Seasoned Hash
Frogs legs (past their best)
Spanish Surprise (well beaten)

Main course
Humble Pie
Chump Chops
French (has) Beans
Manager's Beef (not rare)
Catch of the Day - (gutted)
NB: everything is imported, nothing is home grown.

Dessert
Sour Grapes (may be hard to swallow)
Fruitless Tarts
Raspberry Fools
Hard Cheese

Drinks
Bitter
Little Spirit
French Whine
Cabernet Empty 2008
Champagne - sorry none ordered
STRICTLY NO DOUBLES OR TREBLES

NB: drinks should be consumed from glasses as there will be no cups this year.

Guests are asked not to get HAMMERED

Guest speakers: Steven Gerrard & Rafa Benitez - 'What it's like to win the European Cup'

Please note that the club’s European Tour for the season 2008-09 is not guaranteed.
Tags: Arsenal, Dinner Dance, Steven Gerrard, Rafa Benitez, European Cup

Power of the Tongue

Words have the power to motivate or destroy, energize or deflate, inspire or create despair. Many successful executives can remember the time their father failed to give affirmation to them as a child. The result was either overachievement to prove their worth, or under achievement to prove he was right.

Many a wife has lost her ability to love because of a critical husband. Many a husband has left a marriage because of words of disrespect and ungratefulness. Stories abound regarding the power of words. There are just as many stories of those who have been encouraged, challenged, and comforted with words that made a difference in their lives.

Jesus knew the power of words. He used parables to convey His principles of the Kingdom of God. He used words of forgiveness and mercy. He used words to challenge. He used words to inspire His disciples to miraculous faith.

Do your words give life? Do they inspire and challenge others to greatness? Who does God want you to encourage through your words today? Affirm someone close to you today.

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. - Proverbs 18:21
Power of the Tongue by Os Hillman
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At times I was not careful with my tongue too. Lash out then regret on the consequences...sigh!
Tags: Power of the Tongue, Kingdom of God, Parables, Proverbs

Humour to Start Your Day

Blessing in Disguise
Ponder the Kansas farm couple who are sleeping early one morning when a tornado roars over their farmhouse. It lifts the roof off, picks up the bed the farmer and his wife are sleeping in, and sets them gently in the next county.The wife begins to cry.'Don't be scared, dear,' her husband says,'We are not hurt.'The woman continues to cry,'I am not scared,' she says between sobs.'I am crying because I am happy. This is the first time in ten years we've been out together.'

Woman's Logic
Over dinner, a woman said to her husband, 'I met this horrible and rude man downtown this morning and right away I knew he was a troublemaker.
He started to insult me; he used really bad language, he even threatened me!'
'How did you meet this fellow?' He asked, very concerned.
She said, 'Well, we met by accident; I hit him with the car.'

Patient
Marvin murmurs, 'I hv not got a psychiatrist for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.'

And Food for Thought ...

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj's vision for 'Malaya' (Malaysia)
'Whatever others may do, and however hard we may have to fight, we will stand by the ideals, and the principled democracy. We are determined to create a new nation, evolving our own personalities, maintaining our Malayan (Malaysian) way of life, defending our Parliamentary democracy, and upholding the principle that the state is made for men and not men for the state.'
Tags: Funny, Humour, Jokes, Kansas, Tornado, Psychiatrist, Malaya, Malayan

Better Being a Malaysian Government Servant

As worldwide property markets are slowing down, particularly in USA and England and some parts of Europe, the Malaysian property market is still trumping high.

The Malaysian property market has seen a record buy by the YTL Group for a piece of land at Jalan Stonor, near the remarkable Petronas Twin Towers. The piece of land measuring only 0.4 hectare fetched a price of RM2,000 per square feet.

At the same time, the Malaysian government is making the housing allocation for their staff an envy throughout the whole world. Much envy even for Malaysians too.

Government servants will get to enjoy housing allocation of around RM5.8 billion (US$1.8 billion) for a total 23,000 units of staff quarters. The government staff working in the Putrajaya government administrative capital area would get to enjoy such accommodation in stages till year 2010.

Let's break it down in details:-
RM5,800,000,000 divided by 23,000 units = RM252,174 per unit.

Many people working in the private sector could only dream about such accommodation at this value.

That's the value for each unit that the government will provide for at least 23,000 families. First of all, are there 23,000 government staff working at the Putrajaya government administrative capital area?

That could be the total workforce and irrespective of rankings, each staff would get such a huge allocation? And the government was telling the public to change our lifestyle (to a more modest one) since cost of living was getting out of control. Was this expenditure justified?

Or was the government given an invoice which has been hiked up without knowing the actual costs behind it or the government was so lousy in negotiating for a good price or blatantly allowing such expenditure even though it was at sky high prices?

And this was only in Putrajaya. Wait till the government annouces for the rest of the government workforce throughout the country. Estimated workforce, if not mistaken, was around 900,000. If we follow the average unit price, it would cost the government - 900,000 x RM252,174 = RM226,956,600,000.00.

In case your eyes can't read the many zeros, it's RM226.9 billion.
Tags: Malaysian Government Servant, Putrajaya, Malaysian Property Market, YTL Group, Jalan Stonor, Petronas Twin Towers

Night Out Permission Slip

When a man goes out for a gathering with his own friends, guys for that matter, a man has to submit an application to his wife.
When it come to the wife's turn to go out with her girl friends, the wife too will submit an application to her husband, fair isn't it?

Tags: Night Out, Permission Slip, Funny, Humour

The Malaysia-Darfur Connection

Malaysia must stop supporting the genocidal government in Khartoum, Sudan.
By Sally Ong

April 13, named “Global Day for Darfur”, marks the fifth anniversary of the genocide in Darfur, a western region of Sudan. Since the conflict in Darfur erupted in 2003, at least 200,000 people have died and more than 2.3 million people have been displaced from their homes. Most of the displaced Darfuris are now living in refugee camps in neighboring Chad and in a network of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Darfur.

Although the conflict began five years ago, it has its roots in decades of neglect, oppression, drought and small-scale conflicts in Darfur. The current crisis began when two rebel groups attacked the central government in Khartoum. The two groups represented agrarian farmers who are mostly “non-Arab black African” Muslims from different tribes. In response to the rebel movement, the Khartoum government increased arms and support to local tribal and other militias, who later became known as the Janjaweed. Members of the Janjaweed are mostly “Arab black African” Muslims who herd cattle, camels and other livestock. Janjaweed mean “devils on horseback” and are thus named because members of the militia would arrive on horseback to systematically murder, torture and rape hundreds and thousands of Darfuris. In addition, armed bands of Janjaweed have destroyed food and water supplies, effectively wiping out entire villages.

Malaysia is, unfortunately, complicit in the genocide. We are currently the second largest investor in Sudan after China, and thus funding Khartoum’s genocidal activities. Petronas, Malaysia’s state owned oil company, is a major player in Sudan’s oil industry. As of April 2007, Petronas had invested approximately RM 4.8 billion (or US$1.45 billion) in Sudan. Petronas’ involvement has also facilitated significant investment of other Malaysian companies in Sudan. Ranhill Berhad, Muhibbah Engineering Berhad, Kencana Petroleum Berhad, Kejuruteraan Samudra Timur Bhd, Scomi Group Berhad and PECD Berhad are other Malaysian companies that have major stakes in Sudan’s oil industry.

All these companies have been identified by Sudan Divestment Taskforce, a U.S. based non-profit, as companies with highly problematic practices in Sudan. They are thus labeled because their business dealings 1) involve engagement with the Government of Sudan, 2) provide little to no benefit to the disadvantaged populations of Sudan and 3) may be inadvertently contributing to the government’s genocidal capacity.

Because of these business dealings, Malaysia has also strengthened bilateral relations with Sudan. Malaysia has provided military assistance and political protection to Sudan. A memorandum of understanding between the two countries signed in February 2004 included an agreement to cooperate on military matters. Although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has expressed concern about the conflict in Darfur, he has not called for increased pressure on the Government of Sudan. Instead, he appealed to Muslim world leaders to provide help to the Sudanese government. When he visited Sudan in April 2007, Pak Lah also urged western governments not to impose sanctions on Sudan.

Malaysia’s involvement in the killings in Darfur, whether direct or indirect, is shameful and must stop. The Malaysian government must use its economic leverage to pressure the Sudanese government to stop the killing and destruction of Darfuri lives. Malaysian owned companies in Sudan should also do the honorable thing and withdraw completely from Sudan if Khartoum refuses to restore peace to Darfur.

I urge all concerned Malaysians to protest our government’s role in empowering Khartoum. To learn about the lives of displaced Darfuris, please visit here, a website with videos and journal entries posted by volunteers who visited sites in Darfur and Chad. Lim Yuen-Ling, a Malaysian, visited refugee camps in Chad last year as a volunteer for Stop Genocide Now. To sign an online petition asking the Malaysian government to unequivocally oppose the genocide, please visit here.

No one should have to die because of our economic interests. How many more thousands of people must die before we will speak up?
Tags: Africa, Sudan, Darfur, Global Day for Darfur, Darfuris, Janjaweed, Devils on Horseback, Sudan Divestment Taskforce, Stop Genocide Now, Genocide, Internally Displaced Persons, Non-Arab Black African, Arab Black African

Ministry Trip to Malacca

On Saturday morning, waited for a banker to drop by at my house to discuss further on a home loan. Yeah, they can make home calls now. Getting lots of good proposals despite the financial meltdown elsewhere in the world.

Thereafter, rushed to the foodcourt for lunch with friends before moving out to church to meet the rest for a trip to Malacca, a church ministry work. Left church around 2.25pm.

Drove the church van down, cruising at the speed of 80km/hr to 90km/hr. Can't push further otherwise everyone would have to get out to push the van later on, all the way to Malacca. An old van but still usable. Just need to know how to handle it. After the interchange to Bukit Mahkota, an accident occured between a pick-up truck and a car on the fast lane. Guessed the highway operators pulled both the vehicles to the emergency lanes for further investigations and to allow the traffic to move on. Was stucked there for about 30 minutes.

Later on, heavy downpour but not as bad till we can't see the road ahead. Could still move on smoothly.

We reached our Malacca church outreach close to 5pm. Our senior pastor who was there on Friday told us to grab our dinner before our performance later on.

Good thing there was a pasar malam (night market) just across the road from the church. Six cars (incl. mine) made our way to Malacca and we swarmed the pasar malam.
My Malacca church's main santuary.
At the end of the service, the church deacons, the pastor-in-charge and our senior pastor cut a cake to celebrate the church outreach's 12th anniversary.
Thereafter and as usual when we are down in Malacca, off to the Portuguese settlement for our supper? dinner? meal? Whatever. The moment I got down from my van where we parked the nearest to the stalls, we were swarmed by restaurant operators/staff.

Restaurant operator: "Sir, sir, come we have table ready for you"
Me: Oh, wait first. Need to ask my friends. (They went straight to my friends in the van)
Restaurant operator: "Sir, sir, come we have table ready for you"
Me: Not only them. We have five other cars. There! (pointing at the rest of the gang)

When I turned my head towards my other gang members, they were also swarmed by other restaurant operators/staff ................ just when I wanted to fend off this few of them.



We still need to stand around as one or two of our guys were still haggling over the price. Who can offer the lowest, there we will go.
They wanted to put us here which was near the restaurant that won the tender to serve us. That was restaurant no. 6, can't remember the name.
But we wanted that spot, nearer to the beach instead of near the car park area.
The only stall which was opened selling handicrafts.

Finished our meals around 12.30am and dreaded that meal as it would mean late arrival back in Kuala Lumpur. Well, the five cars zoomed off to Kuala Lumpur leaving my van behind. Light downpour halfway back. Dislike travelling in night time though no traffic. Looks like we were the only vehicle that kept to the speed limit. Almost every single car, lorry and bus overtook us.

We celebrated when we overtook a Kancil much much later on. yeahhhhhhhh, it was boring so we have to keep ourselves sane. Reached home at 3am.

On Sunday morning, I was struck with a terrible migraine and only woke up at 1pm. Totally knocked out. Missed church in the process. The migraine only went off just before I went for dinner. What a day.

My neighbour said that the migraine went off just nice for the coming Man United vs. Arsenal game later on. Blogged about this when I was watching the game actually. And Man United won yet again (Man United won 2-1). Four more games to go and the cheers of the English Premier League champion is getting nearer.
Tags: Malacca, Pasar Malam, Night Market, Portuguese Settlement, Ministry Trip

Coconut Tree Personality Test

There is a very, very tall coconut tree, and there are 4 animals:-

King Kong,

Ape,

Orang Utan;

and a Monkey.

They have a competition to see which animal is the fastest to get the banana.

Who do you guess will win? Your answer will reflect your personality.

Try and answer within 30 seconds.

Got your answer? Scroll down to see the analysis.
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If your answer is ....

Orang Utan = dull

Ape = foolish

Monkey = idiot

King Kong = stupid


Why ?????

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Coconut tree, doesn't have bananas .........??

It's obvious you're stressed by your work. It's Friday today, have a good rest this weekend!
Tags: Jokes, Funny, Humour, Stress, Coconut Tree, Orang Utan, Ape, Monkey, King Kong