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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