Wednesday, July 11, 2007

USA Town For Sale

Rich people tend to have a ranch or a large piece of land as their property, away from the noise or busy developments. And if you intend to control any land being developed without your knowledge or afraid that such development may affect your properties' prices, you can do so now.

A town in California is up for sale now and you will have full control of the town. Not a bad deal but any catch to it? You get to appoint your own sheriff?

Info on the town called Bridgeville:-
Current population: 30
Market value: US$1.3 million
Land area: 83 acres
Nature: Van Duzen River
Buildings on land: 8 houses, a post office and a cafe.

Previous owners:-
Bruce Krall, a banker, bought for US$700,000 at an eBay auction in 2002
Reason for sale: Couldn't afford the restoration costs

Daniel La Paille, an entertainment manager, bought for US$1.25 million in 2006 from Krall
Reason for sale: Committed suicide (maybe too much stress on the restoration also)

New owner: You?? If you are interested you have to bid for it via eBay's website. You should check how they present the town in the website. Starting bid - US$1.75 million.

Disputes on New 7 Wonders

Just when the world's citizens numbering about 100 million (via online, SMS and telephone voting) have chosen the New Seven Wonders and officially declared on 7 July 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, there seems to be some disputes on how the New Seven Wonders were chosen.

Before I reveal who is disputing it, below are the official New 7 Wonders of the World?
Petra, Jordan
The Taj Mahal, India



Chichén Itzá, Mexico
Christ Redeemer, Brazil
The Roman Colosseum, Italy
The Great Wall, China
Machu Picchu, Peru

UNESCO, the United Nation cultural body that designates world heritage sites, disputed by stating "this campaign responds to other criteria and objectives than that of UNESCO in the field of heritage". So how now?

In order not to confuse the world, UNESCO has also declared that UNESCO is not involved in this New 7 Wonders project. This project is actually funded by Bernard Weber, a Swiss-born Canadian who is also a filmmaker, museum curator, aviator and explorer.

UNESCO also stated that criticised the ballot, saying it sent out a "negative message to countries whose sites have not been retained." Good move by UNESCO......are they going to officially denounce the new 7 wonders then?
Tags: New 7 Wonders, N7W, New Seven Wonders, New Seven Wonders of the World, Lisbon, Portugal, Petra, Jordan, Taj Mahal, India, Chichén Itzá, Mexico, Christ Redeemer, Brazil, Roman Colloseum, Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Peru, UNESCO, World Heritage, UN, United Nation, Bernard Weber

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Police or PM Need to Change Attitude?

After the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance has held its forum in Johor Baru, the Deputy-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Najib Abd Aziz, came out to say that "the fact that the police could solve 40% of all reported cases showed it was doing a good job. By Interpol standards, it is already considered good if a police force could solve 25% of all cases. We are close to doubling that”.

This was in response to Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz who on Sunday said that police should accept criticisms levelled against the force by the public which were raised in the said Parliamentary Caucus. What a total letdown by the police force.

So folks out there, only 40% of your cases will be solved.....the rest will be investigated or a file will be opened but no guarantee it will garner any results.

What to do when Malaysia's Prime Minister himself sat on a submission since 29 June 2007. A 632-page report was submitted by former Party Keadilan Rakyat youth chief Ezam Mohd Nor about alleged wrongdoings of a senior Cabinet minister and this PM has said that he has yet to read it. The Best Part - the PM said "I DON'T KNOW" also.

My my my, a case involving a senior Cabinet minister and he's taking his own sweet time to read that. I would have jumped out of my seat hearing such a report which has been submitted. And when your big boss has this sort of attitude, you can't blame the police force (part of the civil servants) for not going all out in solving cases brought before the police.

You tell me!
Tags: Deputy-General of Police, Mohd Najib Abd Aziz, Nazri Aziz, Prime Minister, Ezam Mohd Nor, Police

Borneo International Tattoo Convention

The 2nd Borneo International Tattoo Convention 2007 was held recently in Sibu town, Sarawak. Sarawak is a Malaysian state which is located across the South China Sea (from West Malaysia) at Borneo Island. Together with Sabah, they formed the East Malaysia.
This convention brought acclaimed tattoo artists from all over the world and not forgetting the local talents as well. This convention was organised by Borneoheadhunter Studio based in Sarawak.

Definitely a great place to take those marvellous photo shoots on the art potrayed there. Indeed an eye opener.

A pretty Sarawakian lass, Simonette Tan, was at the convention and got a load of pictures in her blog, Obsession. She got herself a tattoo and guess where she had it tattoed?

Change of Singapore's Hospitals' Names

Do you know why New Changi Hospital (NCH) changed its name to Changi General Hospital (CGH)?

Because NCH stands for "Never Come Home". That's why business was very bad before it changed its name. Now CGH stands for "Can Go Home". So business is picking up.

Business in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is still going strong because SGH stands for "Sure Go Home"!

Now National University Hospital (NUH) is also considering a name change. It stands for "No Use Hospital"!

What about Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). Not too good a name, no wonder so much problem. It stands for " Tiam Tiam Si Hospital " (Die quietly) and now ' Tan Teo SARs Hospital " (Waiting for SARS disease).

So, be careful of choosing which hospital to go if anyone is unwell.
Tags: Singapore, Singapore Hospital, New Changi Hospital, Changi General Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, National University Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Monday, July 09, 2007

How to Liven Up a Boring Meeting!

Do you keep falling asleep in meetings & seminars? What about those long & boring conference calls? Here's a way to change all that:-

1. Before (or during) your next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare for the meeting by drawing a square - 5"X5" is a good size.

2. Divide the square into columns -- five across and five down. That will give you 25 one-inch blocks.

3. In each block, write one of the following words/phrases (different countries may have their own colloquail):-

-synergy
-strategic fit
-core competencies
-best practice
-bottom line
-revisit
-take that off-line
-24/7
-out of the loop
-benchmark
-value added
-proactive
-win-win
-think outside the box
-fast track
-result-driven
-empower(ment)
-knowledge base
-at the end of the day
-touch base
-mindset
-client focus(ed)
-ballpark
-game plan
-leverage

4. Whenever you hear any one of those words/phrases, check off the appropriate block.

5. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically,or diagonally, stand up and shout BULL****!"

Testimonials from satisfied "Bull**** Bingo" players:

"I had been in the meeting for only five minutes when I won." -- Jack W., Boston.

"My attention span at meetings has improved drastically." -- David D.,Miami

"What a gas! Meetings will never be the same for me." -- Sue S., NYC

"The atmosphere was tense in our last process meeting as 14 of us waited for the fifth box." -- Joseph R., St. Louis

"The speaker was stunned as eight of us screamed BULL****! for the third time in two hours." -- Kathleen L., Atlanta
Tags: Bingo, Boring, Meetings, Seminars, Conferences

Honda's New Aircraft???




Saudi Arabia's version for the Honda Accord. This car was sighted at a competition organised by Jeddah Boys.

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 ...