Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Mousetrap

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. The mouse wondered, "What food might this contain?" He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed this warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is of grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." You are on your own.

The mouse turned to the goat and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The goat sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." Just too bad for you.

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap . . . . . . Alone. Abandoned by his friends. No way out.

That very night, a sound was heard throughout the house - the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it. It was a venomous snake whose tail was caught in the trap.

The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. When she returned home she still had a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued. Friends and neighbours came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the goat. But, alas, the farmer's wife did not get well... She died.

So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them for the funeral luncheon.

And the mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and you think it doesn't concern you, Remember:

As Malaysians we think in terms of racial divides. Do not set artificial boundaries when assistance is required. Go beyond the bastions of racial exclusivity. We are all vulnerable within the realities of a shared destiny. Do not leave your fellow Malaysians lost, abandoned and alone in times of dire need.

When one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.
Tags: Mousetrap

Friday, August 12, 2011

Football Officials Charged By FIFA

The cats are being let out of the bags now.

FIFA has charged 16 football officials representing Caribbean nations.

They are as follows:-
David Hinds, Mark Bob Forde (Barbados)
Franka Pickering, Aubrey Liburd (British Virgin Islands)
David Frederick (Cayman Islands)
Osiris Guzman, Felix Ledesma (Dominican Republic)
Colin Klass, Noel Adonis (Guyana)
Yves Jean-Bart (Haiti)
Anthony Johnson (St Kitts and Nevis)
Patrick Mathurin (St Lucia)
Joseph Delves, Ian Hypolite (St Vincent and the Grenadines)
Richard Groden (Trinidad and Tobago)
Hillaren Frederick (US Virgin Islands)

I thought bribery happens within government or political enrivonment or in certain white collar crimes. Just for the sake of obtaining certain positions in FIFA, some people will go to the extent of bribing others.

Does this involve the bribing of these officials to manipulate the controversial selection of FIFA World Cup host?

I have already highlighted this in my previous blogposts of Never Before In World Cup Venue Selection and Scandals Involving World Cups 2018 & 2022.

Australia is just waiting to sue FIFA for losing out in the selection of being a World Cup 2022 host. To cover their costs, I supposed, in entertaining the FIFA officials or football officials from other nations plus costs incurred to prepare for the bid. In the end, Australia had spent up to Aust$46 million to FIFA.

I wonder who will be arranging to fix the winner for the coming World Cups.
Tags: FIFA, Caribbean, Caribbean Footballl Officials, World Cup 2018, World Cup 2022

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Secret Of Living Up To 80 Years Old

I recently turned 65 and had to choose a new primary care physician for my Medicare program.

After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, he said I was doing "fairly well" for my age.

A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, "Do you think I will live to be 80?

He asked: Do you smoke tobacco or drink alcoholic beverages?"

"Oh no," I replied. "I don't do drugs, either."

"Do you have many friends and entertain frequently?"

"I said, "No, I usually stay home and keep to myself".

"Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?"

I said, "No, my other doctor said that all red meat is unhealthy!"

"Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?"

"No, I don't," I said.

"Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?"

"No," I said. "I don't do any of those things."

He looked at me and said, "Then why would you want to live to 80?

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

I Shot Two Burglars

George Phillips, an elderly man, from Meridian, Mississippi, was going up to bed, when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window.

George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things. He phoned the police, who asked "Is someone in your house?"

He said "No," but some people are breaking into my garden shed and stealing from me.

Then the police dispatcher said "All patrols are busy. You should lock your doors and an officer will be along when one is available."

George said, "Okay." He hung up the phone and counted to 30. Then he phoned the police again.

Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I just shot and killed them both, the dogs are eating them right now." and he hung up.

Within five minutes, six Police Cars, a SWAT Team, a Helicopter, two Fire Trucks, a Paramedic, and an Ambulance showed up at the Phillips' residence, and caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the Policemen said to George, "I thought you said that you'd shot them!"

George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"
Tags: Burglars, SWAT, Police, Fire Truck, Paramedic, Ambulance,

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Did IWK Come?

Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd, at a press conference, stated that they will conduct desludging at housing estates at least once every two years. That means to say some area could see them coming to their housing estates more than once every two years.

Somehow, two years have passed at my housing estate and I didn't see them appearing at my septic tank area.

Was it just a NATO effect? Or was it that the reporters have reportedly wrongly?

Do they attend to your housing estate's desludging once every two years?

Reading: IWK Desludges Household Septic Tanks Once Every Two Years - Bernama
Tags: Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd, IWK, Desludging, Septic Tank

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

My Most Expensive Dumpling aka Bak Chang

Thanks to a couple friend of mine, they treated us to two gigantic dumpling aka bak chang.

The size is really humongous if you compare it with the size of the fork and spoon at the bottom of the picture.

Guess the price ........... it's RM200 each.
Yeah, we were treated to a RM400 supper plus grapes from Down Under (by another couple) if not mistaken.

It's really nice and the dumpling rice itself is not too oily and not too soft or sticky. Perfecto!

This is the most expensive bak chang I have ever tried. Will we get to eat it again next year? (hoping for that couple to read this blogpost)
You may ask "What is inside it that made it so bloody expensive?"

I was late for this supper and they opened up the second bak chang when I arrived. They looked highly upon me to finish it when five adults and two kids finished the first bak chang.

If you look at this picture, my friend dug up two pieces of abalone (just on the right side of the big spoon).

Other ingredients include scallop, shark's fin, higher grade mushroom, meat and ingredients normally found in smaller bak chang. Can't recall all of it.

This is a home made bak chang and made to order. My friend's company actually ordered 350 bak chang from this lady for her company's function. Really don't know what kind of function was that.
Tags: Bak Chang, Dumpling, Abalone, Scallop, Shark's Fin, Mushroom

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Scholarship Mess for Malaysians

The recent upheaval about the scholarships not being properly awarded to deserving students is just a ploy. A ploy or a decoy to divert your attention from something more serious. Or the next general election is upcoming and something has to be stirred up. Subsequently the government will come in to 'right' the matter and potrayed to be the hero again. A government that looks into the welfare of its citizen.

Why am I saying that it's a ploy?

This scholarship issue is an annual issue and when government exams' results are announced each year, you'll see people all over Malaysia crying unfairness where the government has either rejected or didn't even process their scholarship applications properly.

These news had been on-going more than a decade ago or even for the last two decades. Why is it being brought up now?

Why is the Public Service Department ("PSD") being picked on now? They should have been investigated twenty or ten years ago for the yearly issue. Why now?

Every year, many top students have been "robbed" off their eligibility to apply for a government scholarship. This is nothing new. Suddenly, the Chief Secretary to the government announced that they will look into allegations where scholarships have not been awarded accordingly to the rules. Then it's also the government's fault for not acting on it ten to twenty years ago. It took the government (say ten years) to act on such discrepancy after seeing so many top students not getting their scholarships year in year out.

Then MCA is now seen coming into the picture to help those "poor" students who have been "robbed" off their scholarship chances. They are blaming PSD also. But this is an annual affair. MCA just realised this?

Is PSD really at fault? Or were they instructed to do so otherwise? Certain people are calling for PSD's staff to be dealt with or taken to task or severely disciplined. Really want to know how will they be reprimanded after all these years of discrepancy.

Let me tell you, if you want to put up a show please do put up a better show.

Then there's this ngo (not naming as not to give them any chance of gaining useless publicity) coming into the picture asking for 67% of the government scholarships to be given to his race. In the first place, please do the first thing right first. What's that? Get a job for each and every single person of your race. Then I will say that your ngo's existence is valid and useful.

Then I read about the Pahang state government's scholarship offer for all of their sportsmen and sportswomen that are representing the state in the upcoming 14th Malaysian Games. Is this done in accordance with the nation's interest? Are we moving in this direction for the future as well? The USA and South Korea governments do have such annual budgets for scholarships for top sportsmen and sportswomen. That's the reason why theirs people are doing so well in sports.

But is the state government awarding it to the right people as in all of them are so bright in their respective sports? I hope that these awards won't go to waste just like that.
Tags: Malaysian Scholarship, Government Scholarship, Public Service Department, 14th Malaysian Games, Pahang State Government, PSD

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 ...