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

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

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

Interesting English Word Test

What do these words have in common...... ??

Banana
Dresser
Grammar
Potato
Revive
Uneven
Assess

Are you peeking or have you already given up?

Give it another try.... You'll kick yourself when you discover the answer. Go back and look at them again; think hard.

OK... here you go.. hope you didn't cheat. This Is Cool!!

Answer . . . . . .
In all of the words listed, if you take the first letter, place it at the end of the word, and then spell the word backwards, it will be the same word!!!

Told ya it was cool! Not cool?

Did you figure it out? Then maybe this word test is not meant for you ...... hehe
Tags: English, Word Test, Unique

How Do You Stand as a Photographer?

How do you stand or get yourself into position when you need to take a photograph?

What was that guy aiming at?
As a blogger, I do take impromptu pictures. At times just need to pause to have that picture of the moment.








More stability?

Need to do so when taking a close-up.


This stand is not easy. Try it if you don't believe.

One more milimeter of squat will surely split his pants.

Shaolin Temple disciple?
This stand is quite normal. It could be me as well.
The photographer was more 'livelier' than the person who was posing for it. Was he posing in the first place?








This stand is not easy to duplicate.

More of balancing effect required?
Have yet to see a group of photographers doing this in public.
Hmmm.........
He found gold?












No comments!
Tags: Photographer, Photography, Posing

Wacky Facts Not Known to Us

Here are some interesting facts I have read in another blog. I have no way of ascertaining whether they are true or false.

In ancient England, people could not have sex without consent from the King. When people wanted to have a child, they had to solicit a permission to the monarchy, in turn they would supply a plaque to hang on their door when they had sexual relations.

The plaque read … "Fornication Under Consent of the King" (F.U.C.K.).
This is the origin of the word.
------------------------------

When the English settlers landed in Australia, they noticed a strange animal that jumped extremely high and far. They asked the aboriginal people using body language and signs trying to ask them about this animal.

They responded with ’’Kan Ghu Ru’’ the English then adopted the word kangaroo. What the aboriginal people were really trying to say was ‘’we don’t understand you’’, ‘’ Kan Ghu Ru’’.
------------------------------

During historic civil wars, when troops returned without any casualties, a writing was put up so all can see which read "0 Killed".

From here we get the expression "O.K." which means all is good.
------------------------------

A cockroach can live 9 days without it’s head. It only dies when it cannot eat.
------------------------------

Each King on playing cards represent a King in real history:-

Spades: King David.
Clubs: Alexander The Great.
Hearts: Charlemagne.
Diamonds: Julius Cesar.
------------------------------

A statue in a park with a soldier on a horse with it’s 2 feet in the air means the soldier died in combat.

If the horse has only 1 foot in the air, the soldier died of injuries from combat.

If the horse has all 4 feet on the ground, the soldier died of natural causes.
------------------------------

Can you confirm it?
Tags: Facts, Weird

Escapa Air Force Test

This will drive you nuts!!

The object of the game is to move the red block around without getting hit by the blue blocks or touching the black walls.

If you can go longer than 18 seconds you are phenomenal. It's been said that the US Air Force uses this for their fighter pilots. They are expected to go for at least 2 minutes. So, if you do pass the 2 minutes barrier, click here to join the US Air Force.

Give it a try but be careful...it is addictive!! Tags: Escapa, US Air Force, Air Force Test, Game

Arabic Google???

Wanted to surt internet this morning and was directed to Google Search. Was really blur initially as I could only read few words ....... hehehe. Google in arabic?? Wow, automatically adjusted to wherever you are logging from which is United Arab Emirates now. Tags: Google, United Arab Emirates, Arabic Language

Most Oldest People on Earth

When I tried to trace the country where it has the most oldest people, I did a search on Japan first and they were known for having the oldest living person at any one time. There would surely be one or two Japanese that is above 100 years old now. It's very rare indeed to locate such old citizens.

Human life span has shortened so much compared to those humans living during the Old Testament time as mentioned in the Bible. Methuselah was the oldest guy that lived for 969 years.

But then a particular country has surprised the world with their citizens' ages. Which one? Who else but my country, Malaysia.

In trying to get foreigners to adopt Malaysia as their second home destination under the Malaysia My Second Home Programme, part of the marketing strategy was to promote the long life span. Malaysia's lifestyle / environment has cultivated a group of senior citizens living beyond the average human life span.

If there were only a few then it could be pure luck but when you have more than 50 of them in one country then it's totally something to look at. Not only that, this group of Malaysian senior citizens won't be just sitting at home and hoping that they would be able to live one more day.

This group of Malaysian senior citizens of more than a century old and were born before 1900 would also be making their way to the polling centres around Malaysia on 8 March 2008 for the 12th General Election. Wow!!!!!

Don't believe ah????

Wikipedia has compiled a list of Oldest living people and Oldest people ever (115+). Comparing the Wikipedia's records and Malaysia's oldest man who is still alive and kicking at 127 years old, living in Taman Dato' Harun area and would be voting as well, the Malaysian has broken all World Guinness of Records.

Not only that, the next challenger who could break his record would come from Malaysia too. How do you verify that? Just key in the Identity Card numbers into Election Commission's website. Click here to see another 30 identity card numbers submitted in my blog's comment section by an anonymous person.

Found more of such senior citizens as mentioned in a political party's website. There are so many of such senior citizens. Malaysia must have good social welfare planning in anticipation of more senior citizens from now onwards. This is totally out of the world.

Reading: Dead or alive, Malaysia voters among world's oldest - Reuters
Tags: Most Oldest People, Oldest Person, Oldest, Malaysia, SPR, Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya, Election Commission, Wikipedia, Methuselah, Identity Card, 12th General Election, Malaysia My Second Home

Rain Water's Not Free in Malaysia

Malaysia is really doing something beyond what I could imagine nowadays. If they were moving forward, I'm alright with it. But if it was heading to nonsense, I would want the whole world to read about it as well. You judge it for yourself.

The most developed state in Malaysia, Selangor, has issued a letter to factories and golf clubs that they would have to apply for a licence for usage of rain water. Attached below is a letter from Lembaga Urus Air Selangor stating the same.

In the letter, it was stated that respective organisations that have received the letter from LUAS would have to pay up to RM0.01/cubic metre. If the rain water has dropped on these properties, was stored and used then you would be charged.

Now, a golf course has a number of lakes served as obtacles on the golf fairway. Normally, golf clubs would use those rain water that somehow poured down on the lakes to water plants in the golf course.

I have seen factories that would make several water storing tanks to store rain water that flows down on its roof. Would use it for their production purposes or maybe to wash the factories' area.

Another Guinness World of Records. What will the state of Selangor charge next? For the air we breathe in? For the trees/grass that grows at public area that produces oxygen? Maybe for those wild animals/insects that roam behind our garden that was referred to as our teaching object in educating our children? There must be many more up their sleeves.
Tags: Rain Water, Malaysia, Selangor, Lembaga Urus Air Selangor, Weird

Red Roses Available in Black Market

Imagine that Valentine's Day is near and you hoped to get some stuff that was red in colour for your wife/girlfriend. Suddenly, you can't see anything that was red in colour across the city.

The following conversation overheard in a florist shop:-
Man: I'm looking for some flowers for my girlfriend.

Shopowner: They are not available, Sir.

Man: What do you mean? You have no red roses? It's Valentine's Day today and you don't sell flowers in your shop?

Shopowner: It's very unfortunate, Sir. We can't sell RED roses but I suggest that you buy other type of flowers instead.

Man: How come it's not available throughout the city. Where are those red stuff?

Shopowner: The religious police made their rounds and warned shopowners to stop selling red coloured stuff as the red coloured items were banned.

Man: ???????? Fine, fine. Get me a bouquet of carnations then and please wrap it with red coloured wrappers.

Shopowner: Sorry Sir but we could not sell RED coloured wrapper as well. This is my selection of coloured wrappers but no red colour.

Man: This is crazy. Any ideas where I could get what I wanted.

Shopowner: You could go to the back lane. There's a guy there who has what you wanted but I'm warning you first, the police could be watching. Those items you wanted are only found in the black market now and the price were much steeper.


The above conversation could happen in Saudi Arabia as shops couldn't sell red coloured items in view of the Valentine's Day as it was considered un-Islamic - being viewed as as encouraging relations between men and women outside wedlock.

Florists took the risk of despatching orders for flowers in the middle of the night to avoid being caught. Rich fellas went over to Bahrain or United Arab Emirates to celebrate the Valentine's Day.

Related blog posting: What The Roses Say About You
Reading: Saudis clamp down on valentines -BBC News/Middle East
Tags: Red Roses, Saudi Arabia, Black Market, Valentine's Day

Kidney Stolen While in India

I remembered receiving emails related to the above subject matter which I have treated it as a spam email. How can your kidneys be stolen?

There is this Snope website which detailed all kinds of spam, scam, hoax, fake, false news collated from throughout the world and if you suspect that that news may not be true, you can check it out in Snope.

Suddenly I came across this news article India's booming kidney racket found in BBC News/South Asia -
"When I woke up, I felt this terrible pain on my abdomen. They told me they had taken out my kidney. "I thought I was going to die." Shakeel Ahmed only wanted to come to Delhi to find work.

Then I compared the above article to Snope's collection -
Kidney stolen after a heavy party fling and left in a bath tub filled with ice cubes which I had blogged under Urban Legends.

Wow, frightening enough that it's real after all. Another myth busted?????

Extracted from BBC News/South India:-
* An estimated 150,000 Indians need a kidney transplant every year, but only 3,500 are available.

* Every hospital has a tout. In fact, the doctors or nephrologists will often suggest a person that you can contact to get a kidney. They charge up to US$10,000.

* The recipients were wealthy clients in India and other countries. Some of them were from Greece, Arab countries, United States and one or two patients from European countries."
Tags: Kidney Stolen, Snope, Scam, Kidney Transplant, Kidney Racket, Nephrologists, India, Kidneys, Kidney Black Market

What The Roses Say About You

I'm sure florists throughout the world made a bountiful amount from guys on yesterday Valentine's Day. I have heard that the profit made on Valentine's Day would actually cover their expenses for the next few months.

On Valentine's Day, some guys may want to surprise a girl who doesn't know about his affection for her all this while. Some guys would want to rekindle that flame of yesteryears in their relationship. Some would be signalling to his favourite gal to be his steady. Some would think of trying their luck on the girl that they have admired long enough and yet, some would want to break off to hurt that lady on a day where she would remember most.

Giving roses, carnations and lilies would be the norm but florists nowadays have plenty of choices to choose from nowadays. Just when you thought that giving a certain kind of unique flowers would attract the lady's heart, in fact it may be detrimental. Just imagine that a clutch of striped carnations would have meant "Sorry I can't be with you".

Yeah, this blog posting may be a little too late to forewarn some of you guys but then if you have failed miserable, try again on the next joyous occasion - birthday, anniversary and next year's valentine's day of course.....hehe

I remembered that I have read somewhere before that different stalks of roses would have different meaning for example one stalk of rose would be "You are the only one" and three stalks would mean "I love you". For your information, different kind of flowers would have different meanings as well, so choose wisely (just like in an election):-
* Roses – Love
* Orchids - A belle
* Iris - My compliments
* Daisies – Innocence (to use this when caught red-handed with another beauty)
* Tulips - Declaration of love
* Calla Lily – Beauty
* Amaryllis - Splendid beauty
* Hydrangea – Heartfelt
* Anthurium – Hospitality
* Daffodils – Chivalry
* Chrysanthemums – Fidelity
* Carnations - Pride and beauty
* Lilacs - Youthful innocence
* Birds of Paradise – Joyfulness
* Tiger Lily - Wealth, pride
* Peony – Bashful
* Anemone – Anticipation
* Sunflowers - Pure thoughts (to show how innocent of you)
* Aster – Patience
* Gladiolus - Strength of character (favoured by gladiators during the Roman Empire era)

Different type of coloured roses would have different meaning as well:-
* Red Roses - Love and romance
* Black Roses – Vengeance (used for breaking off??????????)
* Blue Roses - Mystery and intrigue
* Pink Roses - Gratitude and appreciation
* Purple Roses - Love at first sight (used for trying your luck randomly on chicks)
* White Roses - Innocence and purity
* Green Roses – Fertility
* Yellow Roses - Joy and friendship
* Lavender Roses – Enchantment
* Orange Roses - Enthusiasm, passion

Others that are important to note which could send the wrong message:-
* Yellow Chrysanthemums - slighted love
* Yellow Hyacinths - jealousy
* Bright and shiny Marigolds - cruelty, grief, and jealousy
Tags: Valentine's Day, Roses, Orchids, Iris, Daisies, Tulips, Calla Lily, Amaryllis, Hydrangea, Anthurium, Daffodils, Chrysanthemums, Carnations, Lilacs, Birds of Paradise, Tiger Lily, Peony, Anemone, Sunflowers, Aster, Gladiolus, Flowers

Whipped Ocean in Sydney

Suddenly the shoreline north of Sydney were transformed into the Cappuccino Coast. Foam swallowed an entire beach and half the nearby buildings, including the local lifeguards' centre, in a freak display of nature at Yamba in New South Wales. One minute a group of teenage surfers were waiting to catch a wave, the next they were swallowed up in a giant bubble bath. The foam was so light that they could puff it out of their hands and watch it float away.

Boy in the bubble bath: Tom Woods, 12, emerges from the clouds of foam after deciding that surfing was not an option.

It stretched for 30 miles out into the Pacific in a phenomenon not seen at the beach for more than three decades. Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed. All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles. These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore. As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam.The foam 'surfs' towards shore until the wave 'crashes', tossing the foam into the air.

Whitewash: The foam was so thick it came all the way up to the surf club'.

It's the same effect you get when you whip up a milk shake in a blender,' explains a marine expert. 'The more powerful the swirl, the more foam you create on the surface and the lighter it becomes.' In this case, storms off the New South Wales Coast and further north off Queensland had created a huge disturbance in the ocean, hitting a stretch of water where there was a particularly high amount of the substances which form into bubbles.






I'm sure of one thing, it's real bad case of serious pollution and having fun in that will surely gain a gift too - a skin disease!

Believe it or not?




Reading: Cappuccino Coast: The day the Pacific was whipped up into an ocean of froth - Daily Mail
Tags: Whipped Ocean, Cappuccino Coast, Sydney, Yamba, New South Wales, Queensland, Pollution, Giant Bubble Bath

Roundabout in United Kingdom

Imagine you are driving in England and you are already confused enough driving on the left side. Then you see this sign and you ask yourself "what's gonna happen here?"

All of a sudden there it is .... The magic roundabout!

In the middle, the direction is reversed. Those people in the road planning department is crazy. No wonder that God put them on an island.

Supposedly there are 3 or 4 of these in United Kingdom. In Swindon, London and Cardiff.
Tags: United Kingdom, Swindon, London, Cardiff, Roundabout, Weird

Banished English Words

A university in USA, Lake Superior State University, has banished a number of words that have been nominated by people from all over the world. Reasons for banishing such words:-

* Overused
* Non-word trying to worm its way into the English language
* Misused
* Out of context
* Youth lingo overuse
* Pointless phrase

Some of the words being banished:-
-PERFECT STORM
-WEBINAR
-WATERBOARDING
-ORGANIC
-WORDSMITH/WORDSMITHING
-AUTHOR/AUTHORED
-POST 9/11
-SURGE
-GIVE BACK
-BLACK FRIDAY
-BACK IN THE DAY
-RANDOM
-SWEET
-DECIMATE
-EMOTIONAL
-POP
-IT IS WHAT IT IS
-UNDER THE BUS

If you have any words that ought to be in the same list (or it was hard for you to spell it, remember the meaning of it, etc.) you can nominate/submit it to http://www.lssu.edu/banished/submit_word.php
Tags: Lake Superior State University, Banished Words, English Language

Frightening Rides?

How frightening can these amusement park's rides be?

Tags: Amusement Park

The Tea Has Infection

A Hangzhou (in China) reporter used tea as his urine sample and asked 10 hospitals to analyze it. Six of the hospitals determined that he had an infection, and four of them prescribed medicine worth about 1,300 yuan in total. The Sanjia Hospital later determined that 90% of the tests on tea should be false positive and this supposedly showed that the problem was not with the hospitals. Ministry of Health spokesperson Mao Junan criticized the media for violation of the journalistic professional code of conduct.

That's funny ...... hehehe. I wonder what will Malaysian hospitals do. Could be even worse.

Reading: Medical Ethics Vs. Journalistic Ethics - Beijing Review
Tags: Tea, Infection, Hangzhou, China, Sanjia Hospital, Medical Ethics, Journalistic Ethics

Eggs-Traordinaire

I'm sure you have seen people using dominos to create a landscape and then push the first domino to have a nice effect of it dropping onto the next and the next and the next.







But to see a guy using chicken eggs to make it stand is very eggs-traordinaire.















Not only he made the eggs stood but created a nice picture using eggs alone. Dominos can't break.
Tags: Eggs, Chicken Egg, Unique, Creativity, Domino