Sunday, December 24, 2006

Trip Down South IV

When we see this 4 hills, the project site is about 15 mins away.





















The cows just crossed the road before us. Generally, the locals here will rare cows, goats & lambs coupled with some simple plantation to be sold.






Arrival at the site.






My room and toilet. Comparison to my room in Khartoum. This are just basic amenities to survive.


















Along the corridor of custom made containers turned into containers.







Met our colleague, Muzaffar (with cap), who has been at site since beginning of the project.


This is the office cabin. Practically empty as it's nearing the end of the project and those who are still around would be at the project site during office hours.





To be continued

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Christmas in Vietnam

Vietnamese women sell roast dog at a streetcorner market in Hanoi. Dogs, bats, Kentucky Fried Chicken and barramundi will be served on tables, much contrast to turkeys being served in developed/western countries (source: Claro Cortes IV/Reuters)

Five-Star Luxury Loo

A new five-star, ladies' toilet is about to open with a £5 entry fee. The luxury powder room, called WC 1, aims to offer the most glamorous comfort break imaginable for time-poor, cash-rich shoppers and busy career women. There's a reception area; relaxing music plays in each of the 19 cubicles and, with the thoughtful installation of "considerate lighting".

The 4,000 sq ft central London sanctuary will have a bouncer on the door to prevent overcrowding and will provide hair dryers, straightening irons, high-end toiletries and cubicles vast enough for patrons to change into a ball gown, if necessary. Beyond the cubicles, there is a sumptuous marble-floored powder room with huge mirrors and super-comfortable vanity stools. Every possible toilette emergency has been considered in the £1 million fit and everything from spare tights to toothbrushes to make-up kits and aromatherapy oils will be on sale.

Visitors with more than a few moments and a little more cash to spare can also have a mini-makeover or a restorative hand or foot massage. At WC 1, each loo is air-conditioned and is sterilised after every use so that it is pristine for every visitor. (source: Telegraph UK)
Tags: Luxury, Lifestyle, Toilet, Washroom, Loo, London, Entry Fee, Telegraph

New Usage for Traffic Lights

Excellent toilet monitoring system.

Santa Pictures

Innovation, Research & New Technologies

Six of Univesiti Sains Malaysia's professors did the country proud by winning in their respective categories in the recent 55th World Exhibition of Innovation, Research & New Technologies held in Brussels, Belgium from 25 to 27 Nov 2006.

Following are the winners:-
* School of Biological Sciences lecturer, Prof Darah Ibrahim, beat 350 scientists to win the Jury’s Best Award and a gold medal for her invention called Fermsostat
* Prof Rahmah Noordin (who won the World International Property Organisation Special Award and gold medal)
* Prof Chan Lai Keng (gold)
* Associate Prof R. Sureswaran (gold)
* Azlan Osman (gold)
* Dr Mohd Rizal Arshad (silver)
* Dr Kamal Zuhairi Zamli (silver)

Brussels-Eureka's public exhibition drew more than 500 participants from more than 30 countries which presented about 600 innovations.

I wonder why the Malaysian newspaper only highlighted USM's achievements but not other Malaysians who have obtained top prizes in the same Brussels Eureka. The following Malaysian participants also gained Awards for their efforts:-

* Gold medal with mention given by the Jury to Malaysia
Invention: Compressed Natural Gas Direct Injection Passenger Vehicle
Inventor: Barkawi Sahari, Fakhru'l Razi Ahmadun, Yusoff Ali, Shahrir Abdullah, Ishak Aris (all UKM), Masjuki Hj. Hassan (UM), Muhd. Adlan Abdullah (PRSS), V. Chelliah (Petronas), Mohd. Fauzy Ahmad (Proton), Norman Mariun (UPM), Chuah Teong Guan

* Price of Christian DUPONT, Belgian Minister of the Public Function and Social Integration
Invention: Low Cost Solid Propellant Rocket
Inventor: Wan Mazlina Wan Mohamed, Mohd Izmir Yamin & Mohd Nizar Zainaldin

* Prize of COMINTERN (I wonder why this word was used as this word is related to COMmunist INTERNational. Even by doin a search via Google / Webster / Wikipedia, it's all related to communism)
Invention: Non-Destructive Microwave Technique for Characterization of Transdermal Patch
Inventor: Wong Tin Wui, Mohd Nasir Tai, Nor Khaizan Anuar & Deepak K. Ghodgaonka

* Price of Polish Association of Inventors given by the Vice President Adam Rylski
Invention: Compressed Natural Gas Direct Injection Passenger Vehicle
Inventor: Barkawi Sahari, Fakhru'l Razi Ahmadun, Yusoff Ali, Shahrir Abdullah, Ishak Aris (all UKM), Masjuki Hj. Hassan (UM), Muhd. Adlan Abdullah (PRSS), V. Chelliah (Petronas), Mohd. Fauzy Ahmad (Proton), Norman Mariun (UPM), Chuah Teong Gua
Tags: Innovation, Research, New Technologies, Science, Brussels Eureka, Belgium, Exhibition, Awards, Technology

Trip Down South III

You must be wondering whether this is the longest road above the sea by now..... there should be some rainfall over the last few days here and there's water ponding now. The weird thing is that seepage of water into the land over here takes quite some time. Tough land. One lonely tree.....must be the toughest of all trees
Out of nowhere along the main road down south, this mosque sprang up. Right after this mosque is a major town called Rabak (I think this is how they spelt it).
Can't take a closer picture than this on the Nile River at the far end of the land. Yeah, the Nile River runs paralel to this main road right down to the project site.
Main mode of transport, kids can 'drive' over here.
It's not an army camp, it's a village itself.
To be continued

Pattaya International Fireworks Festival

Pattaya is definitely firing up its presence internationally. Covid19 has hit many nations really hard and Pattaya wasn't exempted from ...