randomthoughts

THE INTERVIEW WITH GOD

2006-12-28T20:56:00.000+08:00

I came across this while surfing the net some time ago and, although I am not a christian, I thought it would be nice to share this for the wisdom of the words. I am not trying to influence anyone nor am I trying to convert anybody, so please don't get hot under the collar.

THE INTERVIEW WITH GOD

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

“So you would like to interview me?” God asked.

“If you have the time” I said.

God smiled. “My time is eternity.”
“What questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered...
“That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again.”

“That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future.”

"That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived.”

God’s hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked...
“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn?”

“To learn they cannot make anyone
love them. All they can do
is let themselves be loved.”

“To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.”

“To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness.”

“To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them.”

“To learn that a rich person
is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.”

“To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings.”

“To learn that two people can
look at the same thing
and see it differently.”

“To learn that it is not enough that they
forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.”

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.

"Is there anything else
you would like your children to know?"

God smiled and said,
“Just know that I am here... always.”

-author unknown

GOD on Christmas Day

2006-12-25T18:06:00.000+08:00

On this joyous occasion I would like to share this (author unknown) with you. You decide whether these are words of wisdom or blasphemy. MERRY X'MAS!

GOD
if you ask me
god has no face
no color
no sex and no smell
god has no form
no structure
but a fusion of power
pulsing through our veins
god is a passion
burning in our brains
the motivator
of all good things
governing our spirit
making us reach out
for other human beings
on an equal plane
of love and understanding
god is this eternal vision
and desire
to seek for the truth
no matter how many tangles
and barb wires it took
god is this endless want
for freedom of speech
thoughts, actions
and feelings
that would save the whole world
god is this force
that will claim back the rights
of all the living
to breathe, live and love
until we see god
in this fashion
until we are not frightened
how do we face the evils
of greed and oppression
if you ask me
god is within me
god is within you
god is a moment
a situation
an era, a country
where love rules unconstrained...

LIVING IN A GRATEFUL WORLD

2006-12-14T22:21:00.000+08:00

Be grateful to those who have hurt or harmed you, for they have reinforced your determination.
Be grateful to those who have deceived you , for they have deepened your insight.
Be grateful to those who have hit you, for they have reduced your karmic obstacles.
Be grateful to those who have abandoned you, for they have taught you to be independent.
Be grateful to those who have made you stumble, for they have strengthened your ability.
Be grateful to those who have denounced you, for they have increased your wisdom and concentration.

(Quoted from a flyer of Pureland Natural Vegetarian of Bayan Lepas, Penang)

BORDERS AT QUEENSBAY MALL, PENANG

2006-12-12T07:33:00.000+08:00

Photos from top to bottom:

The entrance to Borders at QueensBay, Penang, which was officially opened during the weekend. Penang, at long last, has a "civilised" bookshop like Borders and Barnes and Noble in the States where one can sit and browse for hours on end, enjoying a cup of coffee and the pleasure of availing oneself of the books and magazines without the fear of being chased out by the management. Unfortunately I noticed that some of their books were wrapped tightly in plastic, the unfriendly way of displaying books as practised by MPH and also Popular Bookstore. Ah well, I suppose this is the price we pay for being a "third world" country! Borders at QueensBay offers a novel gift idea. Their electronic gift cards can be loaded with as little as RM20 and up to a maximum of RM1000 and there is no expiry date. However, they are only usable in Malaysia where there are only 2 outlets at present. The other one is at Berjaya Times Square.

Starbucks Coffee is inside Borders and there is a large window overlooking Penang Bridge. At night the panoramic view of the bridge is lovely.

The third photo shows a section of Borders that offers souvenirs for sale.

REFRESHING NEWS!

2006-12-10T21:12:00.000+08:00

After the recent UMNO General Assembly I have stopped my regular subscription of the Star for fear of having to see the traumatic photograph of an evil-looking man brandishing a wicked-looking keris or having to read about a particular race demanding a bigger slice of the economic cake or demanding more handouts as their birth-right. Since then I have been buying my copy of the Star on a daily basis to avoid suffering from further trauma. If I see news that will depress me, I walk away from the news-stand empty-handed, thus saving one ringgit and twenty sen and sparing myself the agony of having to face the possibilty of having to read about people whose only claim to immortality is their ability to run amok at will and hurt other people.

This morning, however, the news on the front page was refreshing apart from the Bar Council's dirty linen. The picture of the two young men and the accompanying headline, "GOLD AT LAST" made my day. Congratulations to these two heroic young men who surmounted great odds to bring great pride to the country. They were an unseeded and an unheralded doubles pair in the Asian Games but they vanquished the top doubles pairs in the world to create badminton history in Malaysia! You are truly Malaysians Boleh!

THE EMAIL SCAMS ARE BACK!

2006-12-09T21:41:00.000+08:00

The email scams or the Nigerian scams (or whatever you want to call them) are back but with more imagination this time which makes them sound not only possible but also very plausible. Take a look at what I received this morning:

Fortune Sweepstakes
40 Victoria Street
Hertfordshire, AL1 3TG
United Kingdom

Ref: FTS/745/06
Batch: 308867OS

WINNING NOTIFICATION

Over the years the prestigious Fortune Sweepstakes has set out
and sucessfully organised Sweepstakes on a daily, weekly, and annual
basis.
We have equally maintained a standard unrivaled in the industry as it
concerns the pay out of winnings to sucessful participants.

In line with the commemorating event marking our 10th year anniversary
we rolled out over £2,000.000.00 (Two Million Great Britain Pounds)
for our 10th year Anniversary Draws. Participants for the draws were
randomly selected and drawn from a wide range of web hosts which enjoy
our patronage. The selection was made through a computer draw system
attaching personalised email addresses to ticket numbers.

Your email address as indicated was drawn and attached to ticket
number 001768432463 with serial numbers FTS/8070337201/06 and drew
the lucky numbers 15-22-24-48-50-37(30) which subsequently won you
£250,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great Britain Pounds) as
one of the 10 jackpot winners in this draw.
You have therefore won the entire winning sum of £250,000.00
(Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Great Britain Pounds). The draws
registered as Draw number one was conducted in Brockley, London
United Kingdom on the Ist of Dec 2006.
These lottery Draws are commemorative and as such special.

Please be informed by this winning notification to make contact with
your designated agent who shall by duty guide you through the process
to facilitate the release of your winnings.

To file for your claim please contact your fiduciary agent

Mr Louiz Livinston
Fortune Sweepstakes Fiduciary Agent
Tel: +447024014194
Fax:+44-870135-4484
Email: fortunesweepstakes_claimsagent3@yahoo.co.uk
You are advised to contact your fiduciary agent with the following
details to avoid unnecessary delays and complications.
Your Name (in Full), Country, Ticket Number, Batch Number, Serial
Number and Lucky Numbers as indicated in this winning Notification.

I wish to on behalf of all members and staff of the Fortune
Sweepstakes congratulate you on your win and wish you the
best of luck as you spend your good fortune.

Thank you for being part of our commemorative 10th Anniversary Draws.

Sincerely,

Dr. Albert Maringer
Fortune Sweepstakes Co-ordinator.
NB:
PLEASE NOTE! Any claim not made before seven (7) working days from date
of notification will indicate that the winner has voluntarily forfeited
his/her winnings.

This recent scam is more imaginative because it states that "my email address was attached to the winning number!" instead of the usual and rather stupid announcement that I am the winner of a lottery that I never bought in the first instance. If you receive such an email, just ignore it. Don't be like the foolish engineer in Penang who parted with RM88,000 before he realized that it was a scam! Some people just never learn. I have already written 4 posts on these scams this year alone.
(http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/9/nation/16271522&sec=nation)

LITTLE PENANG STREET MARKET 26.11.2006

2006-11-26T22:48:00.000+08:00

Winding up for the spin!

A tourist from England is fascinated by the spinning top.

Little Penang Street Market is held on the last Sunday of every month at "Upper Penang Road"
to showcase local culture and handicraft. Today there was a top spinning demonstration which
proved to be entertaining to the locals as well as the tourists.

THE THINGS THEY SAY BECAUSE THEY ARE THEY! (6)

2006-11-15T17:43:00.000+08:00

In today's (15/11/2006) Star, under the headline "Khairy hits out at call to abolish NEP" it was reported that Kahiry slammed the ASLI report that claimed Malay corporate equity had reached 45%.
"They are manipulating figures. If we want to use the ASLI figures, let's set a new target. Let's make it 70% for the Malay equity," he added.
I don't understand why Khairy stopped at 70% and not ask for 100%. Khairy and his cronies should demand to take over all the businesses owned by the Chinese and run them into the ground, the way his foray into buying a stake into a company with borrowed millions ended up making him lose a bundle in double quick time. Perhaps Khairy should go and read the article in The Age, Australia, under the headline "While Malaysia fiddles, its opportunites are running dry" by Michael Backman.

THE THINGS THEY SAY BECAUSE THEY ARE THEY! (5)

2006-11-14T17:27:00.000+08:00

Just as I thought the president of the Penang Municipal Council would be a gentleman, unlike his other "towering" politician colleagues, and refrain from blaming the press for misquoting him, he has come out with the predictable
declaration that he was misquoted!
Today's (14/11/2006) New Straits Times:
He claimed to have been misquoted although all reports on Sunday had virtually the same report on his remarks.
"I merely said that there should be a dress code for reporters covering council meetings.
I then gave an example of sexy dressing; meaning no sexy attire.
I never said the reporter involved was dressed sexily; I was misquoted", he said yesterday.

The DAP has called for Datuk Abu Bakar's resignation and rightly so because the president of the Penang Municipal Council has made it worse for himself by claiming to have been misquoted. If he did not think that the reporter involved was sexily dressed, then why did he come up with the stupid suggestion that there should be a dress code for reporters covering council meetings? Do the people in Penang deserve to have a president of the Municipal Council who cannot think straight?

THE THINGS THEY SAY BECAUSE THEY ARE THEY! (4)

2006-11-13T13:29:00.000+08:00

Very often when our politicians open their mouths and put their feet in, they will put the blame on media reporters and claim that they have been misquoted or misinterpreted but in the case of the president of the Penang Municipal Council it was Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan who opened his mouth in defence of the president and in the process put his foot in. Dr Teng was quoted in the Nation of today's (13/11/06) Star as saying that "Abu bakar's remark on the sexy dressing was probably a miscommunication or uttered in jest."
It doesn't matter to Dr Teng that if the remark was made in jest it was a joke in poor taste. A man like the president of the Penang Municipal Council had no business to make a joke out of something that is tantamount to outraging the modesty of a young woman. It's people like Datuk Abu Bakar and Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan who give datuks a bad name and it makes us wonder why people like them should be so honoured! If Datuk Abu Bakar was a moron for coming up with that tasteless remark, Dr Teng was being an even bigger moron for coming up with that lame excuse to defend him. It just goes to show that getting professional people as councillors will not guarantee that we will be served by intelligent people.

THE THINGS THEY SAY BECAUSE THEY ARE THEY! (3)

2006-11-12T13:32:00.000+08:00

In today's [12/11/06] Star under the headline "Council: It's the sexy dress", Penang Municipal Council president, Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan was quoted as responding to a complaint that the closed-curcuit television camera in City Hall was zooming onto the thighs of women journalists instead of council proceedings, "The issue is the sexy dress worn by the journalist. If it was not sexy, the incident would not have arisen."
Datuk Abu Bakar reminds me of the dim-wit politician who declared that women get raped because they go about flaunting their physical attributes in sexy dresses. Why is that in the 21st century we still have such morons running our country? Does the biggest political party in the country have to dig into the bottom of the barrel and come up with people like Datuk Abu Bakar to be president of the Municipal Council? Datuk Abu Bakar should be proper attire consultant to Wanita and Puteri UMNO since he is such an expert on what constitutes a sexy dress!

BEGONIAS, ANYONE?

2006-11-10T10:16:00.000+08:00

Gardening has always been one of my favourite hobbies and recently I have gone into gardening in a bigger way. I have started a collection of begonias, each plant costing me an average of RM7, but I haven't been very successful yet, having managed to kill a few plants through "over-watering". Initially, I went into the internet to read up on begonias and I learnt that the soil for begonias needs to be damp all the time. The soil must not be allowed to dry out completely. Later on, to my regret, I learnt that too much water also leads to rotting of the stems and leaf stalks and ultimately the death of the plant. I am still in the learning stage and would welcome advice and guidance from anybody who has had experience and success in growing begonias. I would also welcome identification of the different begonias in the photos above.

THE THINGS THEY SAY BECAUSE THEY ARE THEY! [2]

2006-11-09T23:00:00.000+08:00

Under the headline "More men marrying foreigners" in the Star today [9/11/2006], the Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Tan Chai Hoe, when asked the reasons for the trend among local men, said, "It is difficult to explain why people fall in love. Maybe foreign women are less demanding than local women."
The Deputy Home Minister's statement has made me take another look at my wife of 45 years. I am wondering whether I should trade her in for a 25 year old, less demanding, foreign wife!

THE THINGS THEY SAY BECAUSE THEY ARE THEY!

2006-11-09T16:57:00.000+08:00

In today's Star (9.11.2006), under the headline "Hisham: Build trust for good ties", it was reported that:
"The UMNO Youth chief said there were those who were tempted to look at issues purely based on their racial group to gain temporary popularity with their race."
[Look who's talking! Among Malaysian political parties UMNO is the one where "half-past six" politicians have nothing intelligent to say except to resort to pandering to their own kind along such lines.]
"In the long term, that will not be beneficial to the party nor the individual because that approach has been proven in history not to be acceptable by the majority of Malaysian people," he said.
[You wonder whether Hisham believes what he says! If he does, it makes you wonder why Hisham and his ilk in UMNO continue to sing to that tune.]

CINEPLEX AT GURNEY PLAZA WITH SE K800i

2006-10-19T22:56:00.000+08:00

All the photographs were taken without flash, using only available light. I find that the Sony Ericsson K800i Cybershot gives me photographs just as good as any compact digital camera of the same mega pixels, i.e 3.2 mp.

IS THERE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?

2006-10-15T22:39:00.000+08:00

(Picture taken witn Sony Ericsson K800i in macro mode)

In today's Star, under the headline "Avoid gag orders, govt urged", the Kota Bahru MP, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, was quoted as saying,
"I would have thought that, if the CPPS bumiputra equity figure of 45% is accurate, the government and UMNO should be pleased that their policies have succeeded and take credit for that."
I bet Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is not a graduate of Oxford University, unlike the famous son-in-law, and yet he showed superior intelligence in coming up with such a brilliant conclusion. In continuing he said,
"The irony is maybe they don't want to reveal the actual figure so that they can keep on asking for more."
If only more of our MP's could come up with such an astute analysis there will be greater hope for our beloved country. The favourite response from our Barisan MP's, and that includes our DPM, when they have nothing concrete to offer is to tell all and sundry that "there should not be any further dispute" and use the threat of racial "discord" as the ultimate weapon to end all argument.
Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said, "This must be about the sixth time we've been told we can't talk about something this year."
"We are told that we will one day reach the NEP target; does that mean we can only talk about it then?"
Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who had just returned from Prague, continued, "It was a shock to come back and hear we aren't supposed to discuss or dispute the government's equity figures. What will it be the next time - no discussion on the haze and the API because it would affect national security?"
The man does not only have intelligence but he also has a sense of humour! If you compare him with the guy who wants to turn the "mat rempits" into "mat cemerlangs", the other guy looks an absolute idiot. If more MP's think like Datuk Zaid Ibrahim there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Sharapova Richer By USD 1.7 Million After US Open!

2006-09-11T12:12:00.000+08:00

Maria Sharapova, the number one pin-up girl of ladies' tennis collected a cheque for USD1.7 million after trouncing Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-4, 6-4 in the ladies' singles final of the US Open in Flushing Meadows. Sharapova played superbly in both sets, serving well and deadly accurate in her drives, to eclipse Justine Henin-Hardenne who was appearing in her fourth Grand Slam final in 2006. The prize money for the champion was USD 1.2 million and she received another USD 0.5 million for emerging second best in the US hardcourt series run-up to the US Open.
In the ladies' semi-final, Justine Henin-Hardenne played scrappily but still managed to beat Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. Jelena Jankovic was leading Justine Henin 6-4, 4-2 when she had an altercation with the umpire and ended up losing the next 8 games to Justine Henin. In spite of the fact that in the 2006 US Open each player was allowed 2 challenges on disputed line calls, the silly girl chose to quarrel with the umpire, lose her cool and lose the opportunity to create history by beating the No 2 seed and moving into the final and probably take the title. Dumb ass!

Sony Ericsson K800i

2006-09-10T23:10:00.000+08:00

I have bought myself a Sony Ericsson K800i to replace my 3 year old Nokia 6610. I had wanted a complete phone - phone, mp3 player and a good camera and I think I have found it in the K800i. I paid RM1980 for the K800i and RM199 for the 512 MB Sony Memory Stick M2. The photos in this blog were taken with the new phone in natural light without flash. Some of them have been cropped. I have recently purchased a Motorola bluetooth stereo headset on Ebay which matches marvelously with the K800i for mp3 playback. The Motorola stereo headset cost me RM260 inclusive of shipping from Hong Kong.

PENANG DRIVERS ARE SUCH CONSUMMATE MORONS!

2006-08-04T16:52:00.000+08:00

If you have driven in Penang before, you will know that Penang drivers never know which lane to drive in when they are on a 4 lane road. Chances are they will drive on the broken line dividing the 2 lanes, merrily unaware of the fact that they are causing confusion to other drivers coming up behind them. You just don't know which lane to use to overtake them! Very often I have to honk them to help them to make up their minds which lane to use and when I am passing them I stick up 2 fingers (not one) to drive home the point that they are driving on 2 lanes.
In addition, drivers in Penang will change lanes at will, without any indication of their intention to do so. If the lane they are driving in is just a wee bit slower, they will switch over to the next lane without any prior warning whatsoever. I suppose, as far as road manners are concerned, Penang drivers are no worse than drivers in the other states. When will Malaysians drivers learn to be more considerate towards other road users?

PEPPER SPRAY IN DR M's EYES!

2006-07-28T22:49:00.000+08:00

For almost all Malaysians, this morning started with the shocking news that our former Prime Minister received a dose of pepper spray in his eyes after arriving in Kota Bahru airport. The reason behind the attack is still unclear, although speculation is rife. Could it be that a dissatisfied customer of the Tun's Japanese style bakery, the Loaf, became so incensed that he took it upon himself to show the Tun what he thought of the Tun's business venture? There are quite a lot of people in this country who take their bread seriously and they will go to any length to show their displeasure if they don't get their bread the way they want it!

PENANG IS SHROUDED IN HAZE AGAIN!

2006-07-18T08:31:00.000+08:00

In the present Middle East conflict Israel and Lebonan are trading bombs and rockets. If ever there is a conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia, Indonesia does not have to rain bombs and rockets on us. All they have to do is to send us their haze, more often and in heavier dozes and we would all be dead pretty soon. Anyway our children and grandchildren are going to grow up with all sorts of respiratory ailments, no thanks to our neighbour!

DO WE HAVE MONKEYS IN OUR PARLIAMENT?

2006-07-11T17:36:00.000+08:00

I was at the Botanical Gardens in Penang one day when I came across an Australian gentleman taking a keen interest in the monkeys there. Out of curiosity I asked him whether his interest in the monkeys was because there were no monkeys in his country. His reply was, "Yes, we do have monkeys in Australia but they are in the zoos and in Parliament!"
The "Comparison of Punishment" table in the front page of this morning's Star makes me wonder whether we also have monkeys in our Parliament. "Up to three years' jail and a maximum fine of RM20,000 for not carrying Mycard" as compared to "up to a year's jail or a maximum fine of RM2,000 or both" for wrongful confinement makes a mockery of our laws and monkeys of those people responsible for the promulgation of such laws! The Home Affairs Minister and his Deputy should be rounded up and sent to the Botanical Gardens in Penang.

TENNIS - THE CHINESE LADIES HAVE ARRIVED!

2006-07-10T07:35:00.000+08:00

The Chinese ladies' doubles pair of Zi Yan and Jie Zheng beat the more experienced grand slam ladies' doubles pair of Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in 128 minutes to give the Chinese their first ever Wimbledon trophy. Yan and Zheng were also the Ladies' Doubles Champions in the Australian Open in January this year.
China's reputation as a booming tennis nation was also boosted when Na Li, the first ever seeded Chinese singles player, made it to the quarter finals in this year's Wimbledon Championships where she lost to Kim Clijsters. A Chinese ladies' singles grand slam champion is on the horizon!

FEDERER PROVES HE'S STILL KING ON GRASS!

2006-07-10T07:07:00.000+08:00

Those of us who were expecting another upset in a Wimbledon Final, after the Ladies' Singles Final in which Mauresmo upset Henin-Hardene the previous day, were disappointed when Nadal, the current French Open Men's Singles Champion, crashed out to Roger Federer, the defending Champion, 6-0, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. The 6-0 loss in the first set probably spelt the beginning of the end for Nadal who was like a fish out of water in that set. However, there are strong indications that it won't be long before Nadal wrests the Wimbledon crown from Federer.

FIRST FRENCH LADY CHAMPION AT WIMBLEDON IN 81 YEARS!

2006-07-08T23:43:00.000+08:00

A. Mauresmo, the current Australian Open Ladies' Champion, has defeated J. Henin-Hardene of Belgium 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon to become the first French Lady Champion in 81 years. Tomorrow all tennis fans are looking forward to the titanic clash between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

PHD HOLDER FROM ENGLAND JOBLESS FOR 2 YEARS!

2006-06-23T22:42:00.000+08:00

In today's Star, headlined "Quail farmer a PHD holder", Dr Asmawi with a PhD in corporate management, returned from England two years ago, went into quail farming last year after having failed to secure a job. There was a time when a tertiary education obtained in England was held in high regard. Malaysians used to look down on graduates from local universities but looked up to those who got their degrees from England. Looks like Dr Asmawi's failure to get a job in 2 years despite having a PhD from England goes to prove that either employers in Malaysia are no longer impressed with a degree from England or that a person with such a degree is no longer automatically marketable in the job market. Either way our Government should seriously look into the viability of sending our students to England. Each time a student like Dr Asmawi, assuming that he was on a Government scholarship, returns from England and fails to find a job, a fortune invested in his tertiary education is irrecoverable. What a waste!

TOURING CHINA'S MOUNTAINOUS REGION BY BUS CAN BE FRIGHTENING!

2006-06-06T23:31:00.000+08:00

The tour bus accident in Shanxi province, China, which claimed the lives of four Malaysian tourists has prompted the Sun to come out with a write-up on "Tales of China's Manic Drivers" by Giam Say Khoon yesterday, 5th. June. The article quoted frightening experiences Malaysians have had in the hands of "crazy" drivers in China who have no regard for traffic lights and pedestrians and other road users.
When I was with a local tour group in Jiuzhaigou last year, the crazy bus driver that we had was driving like the devil was chasing him. The bus was careening down the mountain slope and at one point where road upgrading was being carried out we could hear the tyres skidding over gravel as the bus sped around a bend. I told the local tour leader who was accompanying us to tell the driver to take it easy because I had come to Jiuzhaigou to enjoy the scenic view, not to die in the mountains. The tour guide went to the front of the bus and spoke to the driver and then came back and told me that she had conveyed my message to the driver. She said that the driver was not happy with what I had said and that he knew what he was doing. He reduced speed nevertheless and we didn't die.

ROLAND GARROS 2006 - LADIES' QUARTER FINAL

2006-06-06T22:53:00.000+08:00

In the ladies' quarter final at Roland Garros today:
(8) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt (14) Dinara Safina (Rus) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0
(16) Nicole Vaidisova (Cze) bt (11) Venus Williams (USA) 6-7(5-7), 6-1, 6-3
(2) Kim Clijsters (Bel) bt (12) Martina Hingis (Swi) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
(5) Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel) bt (13) Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-5, 6-2
The match between Vaidisova and Venus was the only one that went into the rubber set and in spite of the fact that Vaidisova is only 17 years old she was not over-awed by the fact that she was playing a five time grand slam champion in Venus Williams. It was probably the most enjoyable of the four quarter final matches. The much awaited clash between Hingis and Clijsters was a disappointment and even though the first set went into a tie-break, it was a listless and dull set with Clijsters playing as badly as Hingis. The second set saw Clijsters bringing her game up a notch higher while Hingis was still just as unimpressive as she was in the first set.

MARTINA IN THE QUARTER FINAL AT ROLAND GARROS!

2006-06-06T00:26:00.000+08:00

(12) Martina Hingis (Swi) has made it to the quarter final at Roland Garros the first time in 5 years, beating Shahar Peer (Isr) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, in a match that stretched into 2 days. The match was interrupted by poor light on Sunday when the score was one game all and was continued on Monday morning. The whole match lasted 2 hours and 8 minutes. Martina will next play Kim Clijsters. Martina has never won the singles title at Roland Garros but she was runner-up on 2 occasions, 1997 and 1999. However, she won the ladies' doubles title twice, 1998 and 2000. This time she is also entered in the mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupati as her partner.

THE 2 BEAUTY QUEENS ARE OUT IN ROLAND GARROS!

2006-06-04T23:05:00.000+08:00

The 2 beauty queens of tennis, Maria Sharapova and Daniela Hantuchova have lost their respective 4th round matches in Roland Garros. (14)Dinara Safina (Rus) beat (4)Maria Sharapova (Rus) 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 and (2)Kim Clijsters (Bel) beat (15)Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) 6-1, 6-4.

PENANG FLORAL FESTIVAL 2006 (2)

2006-05-31T23:10:00.000+08:00

PENANG FLORAL FESTIVAL 2006

2006-05-31T22:59:00.000+08:00

NEW MONKEY SPECIES IN THE PENANG BOTANICAL GARDENS?

2006-05-31T22:21:00.000+08:00

If you go to the Penang Botanical Gardens now, when the Floral Festival 2006 is being held, you will see a new species of monkeys there that neither look like the macaques nor the langurs which are the resident monkeys there. With so many live monkeys in the Botanical Gardens in Penang, the organisers of this year's Floral Festival still find it necessary to put up artificial monkeys, apart from the hideous artificial insects and flamigoes, to "beautiful the venue". The Botanical Gardens in Penang, unfortunately are not so much famous for their plants and landscaping as they are for their man-made structures such as the gazebos and the wire plant enclosures which are always locked up to keep visitors out. Their famous wire enclosure is the "orchidarium" which houses orchid species which mysteriously never flower.

FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE DON'T INVITE US TO YOUR WEDDING!

2006-05-20T22:15:00.000+08:00

Last week the missus and I were invited to a wedding dinner which promised to start at 7.30 pm SHARP. Like the morons that we are, we thought that the wedding couple was serious about being SHARP and, being well-mannered people that we are, we were determined not to be late. We arrived at the banquet hall of a hotel in the city at 7.25 pm and found that we were the only invitees present, other than members of the family of the wedded couple and a few close relatives. The dinner, not surprisingly, started at 9 pm. I woke up at 3 am the next morning, suffering excruciating gastric pains. I told the missus that that would be the last wedding dinner I would be fooled into attending. If people who invite you to their wedding dinners have no respect for punctuality, I don't see why you should bother to give them face by turning up. In the past few years the missus and I have religiously attended wedding dinners at beach and city hotels, sometimes driving practically half way across the island just to "give somebody face" and attend his/her wedding and without fail there was never ever any respect for punctuality. If the dinner started one hour later than the usual appointed time of 7.30 pm we should be lucky. Excuses given for the delay would be the usual "we had to wait for some important guests to arrive". Once the classic excuse given for the delay was that "the bride's maid's corsage was caught in a traffic jam"! That dinner was one and a half hours late and everybody at our table was griping about the delay. From now onwards we will give a RM24 angpow and cook up a plausible excuse for not being able to attend instead of the customary RM120 for being present, to be abused with uncivilised disregard for punctuality. We save money and we are spared the stress of having to engage in small talk with eight strangers and not knowing when the food would be served.

PenangFON

2006-04-22T22:46:00.000+08:00

If you are in Penang and you are a subscriber to Streamyx and you are fed-up with the not infrequent occasions when Streamyx is down or when the Streamyx speed is abysmally slow, then you are lucky if you can subscribe to PenangFON's fiber optic network broadband internet which offers 2 mbps unlimited broadband internet access at only RM60 per month. I have just been given a PenangFON flyer which states that their broadband internet access residential package offers:
1. Unlimited Internet Access
2. 2 Mbps Download/Upload
3. No modem required for ETTH
4. No additional phone line required
5. Reliable Always-On Connection.
6. Scalable from 2 Mbps to 1 GB (1000 Mbps) and Ready for Upgrade.
The only drawback is that this Internet Broadband Service is available to certain condominium and office blocks only at present. When I rang up PenangFON (Tel. No. 04-2274521) the gentleman who answered the phone told me that the company was planning to cover the whole of the State of Penang within 2 to 3 months. If the Company can fulfil its promises, you can imagine the number of people in Penang who will make the switch from Streamyx. For more information visit www.PenangFON.com. I would be glad to hear from anybody who is already using this service.

PICTURES OF SHEER ECSTASY!

2006-02-26T14:23:00.000+08:00

Can I have some ice-cream, please?

Yummy, it's good!

Nothing beats good ice-cream!

Do you think I can have some more, please?

THE DUBAI TENNIS CHAMPIOSNHIPS 2006

2006-02-26T14:05:00.000+08:00

Justine Henin Hardenne of Belgium has beaten Maria Sharapova of Russia, 7-5, 6-2 in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships 2006.

13th ASIAN SENIOR SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIPS 2006

2006-02-23T23:27:00.000+08:00

Nicol David won her 5th consecutive Asian title, beating Rebecca Chiu 9-7, 9-3, 9-4 in 29 minutes and Ong Beng Hee won his 4th consecutive Asian title beating Azlan, 9-2, 9-4, 10-8, in 35 minutes.

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN?

2006-02-19T21:19:00.000+08:00

Because the guardians of our morals deem it, Brokeback Mountain is banned and Malaysians will not get to see it, legally any way, although the DVD version is easily available by the roadside at RM4 a copy. The film that won Ang Lee the Golden Globe award for the best Director is about 2 bisexuals who lead perfectly happy married lives with their wives and children but who meet up once in a blue moon to have a kinky relationship in the beautiful mountains of Wyoming. In my opinion Brokeback Mountain is better classified as a travelogue and the Golden Globe award should have been given for Best Cinematography. I think a lot of people would enjoy the breathtaking vistas of the beautiful Wyoming mountains more than the occasional frolicking of two grown men. I find it ridiculous that anybody should think that Brokeback Mountain would have adverse influence on the morals of Malaysians! God forbid that Malaysians should live not knowing that there are heterosexuals, homosexuals and bisexuals and the difference between them.

NICOL IN FINAL OF KL OPEN

2006-02-18T00:02:00.000+08:00

Nicol David showed her tenacity in coming from behind in the final stages of the rubber set to overcome Natalie Grinham (Aus). In winning the semi-final, 4/9, 3/9, 9/2, 9/2, 10/9, she will now face Venessa Atkinson (Ned) in the final today.

PINANG PERANAKAN MANSION, CHURCH STREET, PENANG

2006-02-11T18:34:00.000+08:00

Photos from top left clockwise show, Pinang Peranakan Mansion at Church Street, Penang, the side courtyard of the Mansion, restoration work at the Mansion and the side entrance to the Mansion.
If you appreciate heritage buildings or if you are a fan of anything "peranakan" you should pay a visit to this Mansion which respresents the "typical home of a rich Baba of more than a century ago." According to the brochure, "more than 1000 pieces of antiques and collectibles are on display in this Mansion." This Mansion was once the residence and office of Kapitan China, Chung Keng Kwee. The Mansion is open from Monday-Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm. The entrance fee is RM10 per person, children in school uniforms pay RM5 and children below 12 years old can enter free.

IS SAMY VELLU NYANYUK?

2006-02-08T10:33:00.000+08:00

TV3's Midnight Nightline this morning featured Datuk Samy Vellu at the site of the MRR2 with foreign consultants who will be responsible for making the MRR2 safe for public use. Apart from blaming the Malaysian weather for the deteriorating condition of the MRR2, which makes one wonder why the same thing doesn't happen to the other similar structures in the country, the Minister also said something which made him look as though he was "nyanyuk". When asked by one of the reporters how long the MRR2 would last after the repair, he brazenly declared, "Bridges are built to last 100 years." Then he continued, "The MRR2 is now 5 or 6 years, so 96 years more, lah!

HINGIS LOSES TO DIMENTIEVA IN THE PAN PACIFIC FINAL

2006-02-05T13:59:00.000+08:00

Martina Hingis has lost to Elena Dimentieva in the final of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, 2-6, 0-6. What a great disappointment, especially after Hingis had managed to eliminate the defending champion, Maria Sharapova, in the semi-final! I have always looked upon Elena Dimentieva as a player who cannot serve to save her own life, even though she has quite solid ground strokes, and I had thought that Hingis would have no trouble knocking her out. (Photo from the Pan Pacific Open website)

MARTINA OVERWHELMS SHARAPOVA!

2006-02-04T14:05:00.000+08:00

Martina Hingis overwhelms Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinal of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo today. In her comeback to competitive tennis after an absence of 3 years, Martina Hingis outclassed Maria Sharapova, the defending champion in every department to reach the final of the Pan Pacific Open. Hingis will face Elena Dementieva, the second seed, or Anastasia Myskina, the fourth seed, in the final on Sunday. (Photo is from the website of the Pan Pacific Open)

POLICE IN THE NEWS!

2006-02-03T13:29:00.000+08:00

Today's Star, front page headline, "OCPDs On Course", states that "all 147 OCPDs in Malaysia will attend a mandatory human rights training seminar at the end of the month. The move is part of the police response to the recommendations made by the Royal Commission to improve the force." As though to justify the Royal Commission's recommendation that the Police Force in our country needs to be whipped into shape, in the same edition of the Star under the headline "A Bald Experience" by Andrew Sagayam, it was reported that eleven friends who were having a Chinese New Year reunion mahjong session were rounded up in Kajang, taken to the District Police Headquarters, put in the lock-up, shaven bald and only released at 6.30 pm the following day. The Kajang OCPD, ACP Mohd Noor Hakim maintained that it was "normal lock-up procedure", adding that the Police would continue with this procedure. Was it also standard Police procedure to have "detainees" caught "gambling" with plastic chips "bound in chains"?

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

2006-01-27T22:24:00.000+08:00

HERE'S WISHING ONE & ALL A HAPPY & PROSPEROUS CHINESE NEW YEAR!
MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING YOU UNTOLD HAPPINESS, GOOD HEALTH & BOUNTIFUL PROSPERITY.

CHINESE PAIR MAKES TENNIS GRAND SLAM HISTORY!

2006-01-27T14:55:00.000+08:00

Chinese ladies' doubles pair today makes tennis grand slam history in the Australian Open 2006. Zi Yang & Jie Zheng beat Samantha Stosur & Lisa Raymond 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the finals.

IS ABDULLAH BADAWI STILL IN CONTROL?

2006-01-20T14:07:00.000+08:00

Today's Star front page headline "JAWI wants to go ahead with its snoop squad" makes one wonder whether the government of the day is still running the country or whether our country is in a state of anarchy. According to the Star, "the Federal Territory
Religious Department, JAWI, wants to go ahead with its snoop squad, against the Cabinet's decision." This is a slap in the face for the Cabinet and more particularly for our PM!

HOW CAN AN INTELLIGENT MAN BE SO STUPID?

2006-01-20T10:59:00.000+08:00

In today's Star under "Sabah wants its rare orchids back", the head of research and development of a pharmaceutical company was sentenced to four months jail by a British court for importing 130 rare orchids into Britain. Among them were six of Sabah's rarest orchid species, the Paphiopedilum Rothschildianum, found only in a remote part of Mount Kinabalu. The Malaysian scientist, an "ardent orchid collecter, denied that he had imported the orchids into Britain for commericial gain. Nevertheless, I feel that the Malaysian government should have him extradited and tried under "hudud law" and have his hands chopped off. Four months in a British jail is too light for him for stealing our national treasure.

WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL IF MARTINA HINGIS WINS THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN?

2006-01-19T23:23:00.000+08:00

Martina Hingis
Country:Switzerland
Birth date: 30.9.1980
Birthplace: Kosice, Slovakia
Career Singles Titles: 40
Career Doubles Titles: 36
Career Prize Money: $18,358,600 USD
In 1997 Martina won all the Grand Slam Singles titles except the one at Roland Garros. In 1997, 1998 and 1999, Martina was not only the Singles Champion in the Australian Open, but she also won the Doubles titles as well. She was the Singles champion at Wimbledon in 1997 and the Doubles champion in 1996 and 1998. In 1998 she was the Doubles champion in the US Open and in her last appearance there in 2002 she reached the Semi Finals in the Doubles. Although she never won the Singles title in Roland Garros, she was the Doubles champion there twice, in 1998 and 2000.
In the current Australian Open, Martina beat Vera Zvonareva in the first round, 6-1, 6-2. In the second round she beat Emma Laine, 6-1, 6-1. In both these games Martina played like the champion she was, as though she had never taken a three year hiatus from high-level competitive tennis. It will be a fairy tale ending if she wins the 2006 Australian Open.

FRUSTRATING EXPERIENCE ON EBAY

2005-12-21T23:46:00.000+08:00

I have had several successful transactions on eBay but my recent transaction left me utterly distressed. I bid for a DSLR and was successful. Then I made the payment using PayPal. These are the responses from the seller:

First email after payment had been made through PayPal

We hope you enjoy your purchase. Your payment has been received for the following
item:

Item title: Olympus USA EVOLT E-500 8 MP 2 Lens Kit 3 YR Warranty
Web Address: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7570781736
Item number: 7570781736

Second email after payment had been made through PayPal

Unfortunately we are unable to complete this transaction as the address on file is not a confirmed one. We will be refunding your PayPal payment shortly. If you would like this item shipped to your address in Malaysia you will need to pay via a Bank Transfer or Western Union.

As far as the three year warranty is concerned I do not believe it would be honored by your local dealer, but I am not sure.

As those of you who have traded on eBay and registered with PayPal would know, PayPal cannot confirm your credit card billing address if you are not resident in USA. The seller I am dealing with is a seasoned trader on eBay with a long record of positive feedbacks and he should know that when he offers his cameras for sale or auction "worldwide" he will have buyers from countries outside USA, like me, whose credit card billing address cannot be confirmed and if he doesn't want to take the risk then he shouldn't do business with us. Now I have to wait for him to refund me the USD944 that I have already paid him for the item.

THE PM'S MAGNANIMOUS GESTURE!

2005-12-07T22:30:00.000+08:00

In the wake of the hullabaloo over the naked Chinese woman being made to do the "ear squat" by the Police, the DIGP's response to the public outcry and Deputy Minister Noh's "foot-in-the-mouth" press statement regarding disgruntled tourists, it was refreshing to read today's Star's front page piece entitled "PM applauds Nicol and family".
Many people have called on the Government to reward Nicol with a datukship, pointing out, probably with a tinge of wicked humour, that a certain Penang state resident who had swum across the English channel with a remarkably slow time was rewarded with a datukship. However, the PM has rightly pointed out that Nicol's achievement was as much to her credit as it is to her parents' credit because they must have made a great deal of sacrifice in nurturing the world squash champion. Pak Lah even compared "Pak David" with "Pak Sidek" and like Pak Sidek who was awarded with a Datukship for producing badminton champions in his children, it is only right that due recognition be given to Pak David. The Penang state government should give him a datukship. I'm sure Nicol will be most happy for her dad to receive this recognition.

ANOTHER VERSION OF AN EMAIL SCAM!

2005-12-06T22:41:00.000+08:00

It would appear that these people are getting more inventive and creative and their standard of the English language is also improving. However, their intelligence is still at the same low level. For the record I have reproduced the email in its entirety below.

I am Dr.LOUIS VON ZEUNER from Armenia, currently based in CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA.

I am the formal Secretary to Mikhail Khodorkovsky (M.K) the richest man in Russia and owner of the following companies: Chairman CEO: YUKOS OIL (Russian Most Largest Oil Company)
Chairman CEO:Menatep SBP Bank (A well reputable financial institution with its branches all over the world). I am convinced that your business dealing is suitable for the investment of US$50 million
(Fifty million United States dollars) deposited with a Bank in the Netherlands.

SOURCE OF FUNDS:
The documents of the above funds in question was handed over to me to be used in payment of an American oil merchant for his last oil deal with my boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Already the funds
have been deposited with a Finance Company in the Netherlands where the final crediting is expected to be carried out. While I was on the process, My Boss got arrested for his involvement on politics in financing
the leading and opposing political parties (the Union of Right Forces) led by Boris Nemtsov, and Yabloko, a liberal/social democratic party led by Greg or yavlinsky) which poses treat to President
Vladimir Put in second tenure as Russian president. You can catch more of the story on this web site.

http://www.openrussia.info/eng/download/Yukos-MBX-WhitePaper.htm

Or the daily mirror.

YOUR ROLE: All I need from you is to stand as the Beneficiary of the above quoted sum and I will arrange for the documentation which will enable the Finance company in the Netherlands transfer
the sum to you. I am assuring you that this transaction is hundred percent risks free. I have set out an agreeable percentage to any prospective partner, this is a legitimate transaction. Invariably you will be
paid 25% for your management fees.

Remember that the need for confidential handling of this transaction is very important for the fact that Mikhail Khodorkovsky is undergoing trial in Russia; it will be my greatest pleasure to do business with you.
Please reply this mail in the shortest possible time as time is of vital important. Please reply back to me on this email: vonzeuner005@fsmail.net or through my portable phone and fax numbers below.

Best Regards,

DR LOUIS VON ZEUNER

Tel: 00 870763970080
Fax: 00 870763970082

NB: YOU CAN READ MORE OF HIS ORDEAL FROM;
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0920791.html
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2005/nf20050517_1831_db016.htm?campaign_id=rss_topStories

http://www.khodorkovskytrial.com/

DID NICOL WIN?

2005-12-04T18:52:00.000+08:00

I was following the Live Score Board of the World Squash Open 2005 in the Hong Kong Squash Centre online and the score stood at 8/10, 9/2, 9/6, 8/7 in Nicol David's favour when the website went bonkers and a message "under construction" appeared. When I managed to get back the Live Score Board it was for the Men's Final which had not started yet. Therefore I assume that Nicol David is the Ladies' Champion even though I can't get the final score. The joke is that for the first game the Live Score Board gave the game to Nicol with a score of 10/8 but this was later reversed to 8/10 in favour of Rachael Grinham. It would appear that the people in Hong Kong were having trouble with their website.

I'M A MILLIONAIRE!

2005-12-02T22:54:00.000+08:00

Read the email I've just received and you will know why. This is the third scam email I am blogging to share with those who are interested and hopefully to prevent anybody from being conned into losing their pants. If you ever receive such an email, have a good giggle and then delete it. Don't respond to it and above all don't remit any of your hard-earned cash!

The National Lottery
Suite 179 1007
West/Zuld, L70 1NL
Zwolle Holland
(Customer Services)
Ref: DEUK/9383/8161/99
Batch: GI/SE12-59
Government Accredited Licensed lottery promoters.
International Promotions/Prize Award Department

Login to http://lottery.co.uk/res
We are please to announce you as one of the 10 lucky winners in the
national lottery held on the 23th November, 2005. All 10 winning addresses
were randomly selected from a batch of 50,000,000 international emails. Your
email address emerged alongside 9 others as a category 2 winner in this year
national lotto game draw
Consequently, you have therefore been approved for a total pay out of
£1,000,000 Dollars (one million pounds sterlings) only. In order to avoid
unnecessary delays and complications please remember to quote your reference
number and batch numbers:
1,Ticket
2, Batch 7499-4206-5876
3, Ref: 739801527-Nll
4, lucky numbers 94-1-537-97-31-809
Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our European
booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in your play coupon. In
view of this, your £1,000,000 would be released to you by any of our
payment offices in Europe.
To file for your claim, please contact

Advocate Patrick cox
Telephone number +31 -6100- 234 82
Fax: +31-847-545-681
Email: bejeslawbejes@netscape.net
Bejes law & Associates
This will enable the office of bejes & asscociates to send the claims
application form (A4) to you the Beneficiary.you can confirm your winnings
when you LOGIN TO http://lottery.co.uk/res
For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning information
confidential till your claims is processed and your money remitted to
you in whatever manner you deem fit to claim your prize. This is part
of our precautionary measure to avoid double claiming and unwarranted
abuse of this program. Please be warned. Remember, all winnings must be
claim not later than Decmeber 8th, 2005, after this date, unclaimed funds
will be returned to the national Lotto
Good luck from me and members of staff of the NATIONAL LOTTERY.

Yours faithfully,
Mrs Maria Rooney
Online coordinator for THE NATIONAL LOTTERY
Sweepstakes International Program.

HEART4HOPE

2005-12-02T21:54:00.000+08:00

If you need a t-shirt or you can spare RM30, go to YvonneFoong.com, the blog of Yvonne Foong who is suffering from neurofibromatosis and who needs money to undergo surgery soon. If you are not in the KL area, Yvonne can post it to you if you are willing to pay for the postage.

THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS WAITING TO SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE IGP & DIGP!

2005-11-28T08:42:00.000+08:00

When the story and the video clip of the naked woman being made to do ear squats by the Police came out the whole country was shocked and there was a united and loud call for action to be taken on the people responsible for the humiliating and dehumanising way the poor woman was subjected to. The PM, in Malta , phoned the DIGP and expressed his shame and promised that "there would be no cover-up" and that the people responsible "would be taken to task". Now the DIGP has been quoted as saying that the Police did no wrong and that they were more concerned with finding the person responsible for taking the video clip. The DIGP's response is disgraceful, to say the least, after what the PM and the DPM have said about the disgusting method used by the Police to process the woman detainee and the shame it has brought to the country. Now the whole country is shocked by the IGP's and the DIGP's attitude and everybody is waiting to see what action the government is going to take against two of its most senior civil servants! How can the Malaysian public have any more respect for the PDRM with the two still at the helm?

DID YOU KNOW THAT CECIL RAJENDRA WAS NOMINATED FOR THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE THIS YEAR?

2005-11-25T23:55:00.000+08:00

If you didn't then go to http://www.sun2surf.com/artcile.cfm?id=11885 and read all about this local lawyer cum poet who has made a name for himself in the literary world but who is better known outside his own country than in it. To date Cecil has published 17 books of poems and his works have been translated into Japanese, Urdu, Tamil, Chinese, German, Tagalog, Danish and Spanish. Although Cecil did not win the Nobel Prize for Literature, the nomination itself was a great honour which unfortunately was not reported in the local press which is only interested in stories about people who swim across the English channel in one of the longest times or who has sailed around the world single-handedly but at a great cost to the country.
As a lawyer, Cecil is the Founder of Free Legal Aid and was in the forefront in fighting for the orang asli's right to own land. Under a law passed in 1954, the orang asli could not own land and it was only this year that the court gave them the right to own land. The "true sons of the soil" had been denied their birth right.
Cecil Rajendra is also the President of Human Rights Society of Malaysia.
Cecil does not write on human rights and social issues only. At present he is writing a book on Malaysia's strip-tease queen, the late Rose Chan. Those who are in their sixties, like me, remember Rose Chan well and will eagerly await the sale of Cecil's latest literary project!

STREAMYX OR DRIPYX?

2005-11-15T13:42:00.000+08:00

I am subscribing to streamyx, paying RM44 per month which entitles me to 60 hours of usage at 512 kbps. When I logged in just now and checked the speed this is what I got:

tmnet streamyx
Connection speed
64 kbits/s / 8 kbytes/s
The download speed is provided on a best effort basis.

There have been times when the speed is worse than what I am experiencing today. I have experienced 8 kbits/s / 1 kbytes/s before! What sort of a broadband speed is this? At this download speed, streamyx should be rebranded as dripyx! There have been so many complaints about streamyx poor download speed and yet nothing has been done about it. Why can't the authorities do something about this daylight robbery being perpetuated by streamyx on their customers? Why do they continue to allow streamyx to cheat their customers by providing substandard service? Somebody told me that Jaring is already offering fixed line broadband at a faster speed of 2 mbps. I haven't been able to find any evidence of this in the Jaring website. I am looking forward to switching to Jaring if they can provide a better service.

DEAD PIGEONS CAUSE FLU SCARE

2005-11-06T23:15:00.000+08:00

Page 3 of today's Star carries the above headline, accompanied by a photograph of "the MCA Belakang Pasar branch chairman Ho Chee Meng holding a dead pigeon found along the main road in Bidor recently." In front of and very close to Mr Ho are five other dead pigeons. When I first saw the photograph this morning the thought that sprang to mind was that Mr Ho is either a very stupid man or he has very strong suicidal tendencies. When people all over the world are paranoid over avian flu and there have been innumerable warnings of a possible worldwide avian flu pandemic, the photograph of Mr Ho must be shocking to quite a lot of people.
On page 4 of the same Star the headline screams, "Please pray for me, says ex-minister." This is in reference to former state minister of Sabah, Datuk Conrad Mojuntin, who was reported making the appeal to reporters who were at his daughter's wedding. Perhaps the MCA official, Mr Ho, should also appeal to the reporters to pray for him.

IS MY TELCO ROBBING ME BLIND?

2005-11-06T00:40:00.000+08:00

I have been using the same Telco for my prepaid mobile phone for the past 7 years and recently I have been receiving sms at an average of 1 per day which goes like this:
RM0.50. Sarah (Female Age:18) is inviting you to be her friend. Reply YES-581 or NO-581. See her at www.AMS.ac/u/hizli87 STOP? Reply STOP FRND."
For several months I did not know the implication of such an sms. I thought that if I didn't respond I would not incur any expense. However, when I went to the local Telco office to make enquiries and to find out whether they could do anything to stop such sms being sent to me, I was shocked to be told that each time such an sms was sent to me I was charged 50 sen. When I expressed shock that I was being robbed blindly and my Telco was not doing anything to protect me, I was told that I shouldn't have subscribed to this service in the first place. I pointed out to the lady attending to me that I am a senior citizen in my twilight years and sending sms was not my favourite pasttime and that the rare sms that I have sent have been in response to friends' occasional sms which would be few and rare. I did not subscribe to any "pimping service" nor have I lent my phone to anybody who would subscribe to such a service on my behalf and apart from my wife, who never uses my mobile phone, I don't have any teenage son or daughter living with me. I asked her why my Telco could not protect me from such spamming and was told that they were powerless to do anything. I was advised to reply to the sms by typing "STOP FRND". I did as advised and received the following sms in response.
"Free msg. Your subscription to Friends Requests has been terminated. Thank you for your patronage."
However, this did not stop 2 more sms to be sent to me immediately thereafter, offering me the friendship of 2 female companions, each sms costing RM0.50. I wonder how many people using mobile phones have been plagued by this costly nuisance. My Telco insists that I, or somebody using my phone, must have subscribed to this service by sending an sms to the company. I denied vehemently that I had done such a thing and also I had never loaned my phone to anyone who would do such a thing. I asked them why they could not take the necessary steps to protect their customers from being victims of such blatant robbery and suggested that probably the Telco was in league with the "pimping" company to rob their customers.

NICOL WINS CAROL WEYMULLER SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP!

2005-10-31T18:29:00.000+08:00

Nicol David (Mas) beats Natalie Grinham (Aus) 5/9, 9/6, 9/4, 9/3 (60m) in the Carol Weymuller Squash Tournament 2005 in The Heights Casino, Brooklyn, NY!
http://www.squashsite.co.uk/weymuller2005.htm

ANOTHER CON JOB VIA EMAIL!

2005-10-28T21:09:00.000+08:00

If you have received an email like the one below, you would be wise to delete and forget about it. Above all don't respond to it unless you want to get conned into parting with some of your money!

Q-soft E Sweepstakes.
41-48 Drive Eland Square
West Copland 7721NL.
Ref No: QES-35187-22/05.
Serial No: 301133

Date: October 27th, 2005.

Dear Sir/Madam,

SWEEPSTAKE PRIZE AWARD INFORMATION.

This is to officially inform you of the result of our Q-soft Email
Sweepstakes draw that was conducted on the 26th day of October 2005. This
email address which was attached to Serial Number 301133 and selected by our
E-games Random Selection System (ERSS) has won you our sweepstakes program
in the general prize category. You have now been approved to claim a total
payment sum of USD$980,000:00 (NINE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY THOUSAND US DOLLARS
ONLY) as attaches to payment file Ref No: QES-35187-22/05. We are aware of
the surprises that do follow such a notification message based on the fact
that you have not purchase a lottery ticket from us, but be informed here
that it was a promotional program from our Q-soft company with the major aim
of introducing our services and the same time promoting the benefit of the
Internet usage.

These approved funds can only be claimed by contacting our assign payment
house. Due to the nature of this program, we ask that you keep a copy of
this notification message safe until your claim has been processed and
collected; as this is the only security measure that has been put in place
to save guild your interest. You can begin this claim now by contacting the
Payment house on email address: alkinsfin@katamail.com with your Complete
Names, Postal (Resident) Address, Telephone and Fax Numbers, Occupation,
Reference Numbers and the amount approved (Won) for the processing of this
claim. All funds not applied for after the 9th day of November 2005 will be
return back to us.

Felicitations as we do expect you to make better use of these funds.

Sincerely Yours,
Milkos Williams (Dr).
Q-soft E. Sweepstakes.
Email: qsoft@winning.com

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Note: In accordance with the Q-soft Sweepstakes policy and regulations,
this notification is dispatched directly to the prize Winners only. If you
are not the rightful recipient and feel you have received this message by
error, kindly destroy any copy in your possession for you are not authorized
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CON JOB WITH A NEW TWIST!

2005-10-26T14:45:00.000+08:00

If you have received an email offering you a share in a vast sum of money salted away by some deposed African dictator, you would probably have smelt a rat and refused to remit a certain sum of money ostensibly for legal fees in order to get your share released by the "authorities" unless, of course you are a moron or "mentally challenged" as the politically correct would like to say. Just the other day it was reported in the Star that a lecturer was conned of several hundred thousand ringgit in such a scam! Makes you wonder how one gets to be a lecturer with so little grey matter between the ears. Below is an email I have just received which is basically the same con job but with a twist.

Hello,

This offer might be strange, but is the wish of a dying 68 years old woman
who now realizes belatedly that there is more to life than mere acquisition
of cash{money} and fame. My name is Mrs. Jennifer Wilson a widow. My late
husband and I perhaps due to our aristocratic background and bad influences
lived and never cared for nobody or whose ox was gored, our motto was be
rich and famous and the world will be at your feet. I am diabetic and
recently diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The report is obviously not
good, several chemotherapy treatments have not helped either and the obvious
fact is that I have few days/weeks more on planet earth.

Being childless couple, I inherited all my husband wealth and our relations
are no good, as they are waiting patiently for my death to use all our money
for illicit and obscene business/things. Before my health deteriorated that
I am completely dependant on them for basic necessities I have done
charitable ventures within our neighborhoods and beyond and this angered
them as they wish to reap from where they did not sow.

Having come to the realizations of what life is all about-caring for
others. I have given legal consent and full authority to my
attorney-Barrister Dean J. Cooper of Springfield Consultants to immediately
disbursed all the money to people/charitable homes and the choice of
beneficiaries was done by sampling.Your name was luckily picked and I have
willed the sum of US$1,500,000.00{One Million, Five Hundred thousand U.S.
Dollars}only to you.

This money should be used STRICTLY for humanitarian/charitable cause.
Contact my lawyer immediately who will guide you on the modalities for the
collection of this money. His e-mail address is deanjcooper@netscape.net
Please quote my personal reference number for ease of
collection-law/chamber/solicitors/je/ws/WILL/9834520012 when reaching him by
mail.

I plead with you never to deviate from this agreement and I beg of you to
pray that my soul rest in peace.
njhhj
Thanks.

Jennifer Wilson.

SIRENS, THE BANE OF 21ST CENTURY!

2005-10-25T22:40:00.000+08:00

Ten years ago whenever I visited my son in Chicago, I was deeply perturbed by the incessant wailing of sirens both during daytime and nighttime. I used to think how lucky we were in Malaysia where we could get by every 24 hours without hearing the highly disturbing siren screaming like a tormented banshee! This is no longer true today. Like the banshee we are tormented by the ear-piercing screaming of sirens both in the daytime as well as at night. Sometimes I wonder whether the ambulances or policecars charging down the road in the wake of their ear-piercing sirens really need to be in such haste and for whatever reason.
If you live on one side of a narrow road and an ambulance or a policecar comes screeching down the road with its siren switched on at its ear-piercing loudest, the reverberations of the high-pitch siren bouncing off the buildings will give you a headache long after the vehicle has gone past.
If you have been caught in a three-lane bumper-to-bumper traffic, sandwiched on either side by other vehicles and an ambulance or a policecar comes charging up behind you with its siren screaming in ear-piercing decibels, you can pee in your pants, and when there is no way in which you can move to the side for the ambulance or the policecar to pass you and the incessant siren keeps screaming as though in admonishment of your failure to give way, you feel like getting out of the car and walking off, leaving it in the middle of the road!
Isn't there a law that forbids ambulance or police sirens to be used above certain decibels? Shouldn't ambulance and policecar drivers be warned not to use their sirens indiscriminately? Why are our cities beginning to sound like Chicago?

BOOKSHOPS THAT WRAP UP THEIR BOOKS IN PLASTIC!

2005-10-12T21:51:00.000+08:00

In today's Star, under StarBiz http://biz.thestar.com.my/bizweek/ "Popular opens sixth outlet in Penang", area manager of Popular Book Co, Leong Li Ching said that she "hoped the strong focus on customer service would help its second flagship store in the country remain competitive." I have been to this latest new Popular outlet in Gurney Plaza a few times since it was opened and I must say that like most other bookshops in this country, Popular finds it necessary to wrap their books, though not all, in plastic. I find this most annoying and "uncivilised". If you go to Barnes & Noble in USA, you will not find their books wrapped in plastic. As a matter of fact you could sit in their coffee-shop and browse through a magazine or a book at leisure and at the end of an hour or two or even more if you walked away without buying anything you would not be burdened with a guilt feeling that you had put their magazine or book at risk of being soiled. I don't understand how Popular Book Co can hope to "bank on its customer-oriented strategy to draw shoppers" when they adopt the anti-shopper attitude of wrapping up their books in plastic. Back in the 90's, Popular Book Co would have a browsing copy for customers to look through at leisure before deciding whether to make the purchase or not. Now that their books are wrapped up in plastic no such browsing copy is made available. Why doesn't Popular Book Co set the trend and refrain from the uncivilised practice of wrapping up their books in plastic? How do bookshops expect customers to fork out a hundred ringgit or more for a book when they can't see its contents. It's like buying a pig in a poke!

TMB HAS GONE MAD!

2005-10-02T11:07:00.000+08:00

I have just received my integrated Bil Telefon & Multimedia dated 19 Sept 2005 from TMB which amounts to an astronomical RM829.08. I wonder whether I can sue TMB if I suffer a heart attack as a result of this bill.

In the past I have read in the newspapers complaints by unfortunate subscribers of the astronomical bills that TMB served on them for telephone usage that they claimed they never made. I didn't know that one day I would fall victim to TMB's billing department. According to the bill, it seems that I have been owing them RM60 every month for the rental of a ADSL modem since the day I subscribed to streamyx from 5.10.2004 and up to 19.9.05, amounting to RM688.44. If that amount has been owed since 5.10.2004, I wonder why they have waited for so long before making any effort to collect from me. In the first place I am subscribing to the cheapest streamyx package available, i.e. RM44 per month, and if I opted to rent a modem from TMB for RM60 a month I must be daft or crazy. In the second place I purchased an Aztech ADSL Modem from them for RM158 when I applied for streamyx installation and has been using it since then. After reading the A-G Report 2004 in the Star this morning and the nasty shock of the TMB bill, I think UMNO Youth and Khairy should not worry so much about wanting to extend the NEP for another 30 years. They should worry whether there will be any economic cake for them to share at all! When a giant of a company like TMB can't even prepare a simple integrated Bil Telefon & Multimedia properly what hope do we have for the future of our beloved country?

MALAYSIAN ROAD USERS HAVE GONE MAD!

2005-09-30T21:53:00.000+08:00

Each time I am on the road I treat every other road-user as a stark raving mad moron who is determined to end my life. Malaysian road users, motorists and motorcyclists in particular, have gone mad. If you don't believe me, the next time you are at the traffic lights and the light is red observe what people will do. Motorcyclists will shoot out in defiance of the red light and motorists will make a turn even when the red light says that they shouldn't. If you are dreaming you will wonder whether you are doing the right thing staying stationary in obedience of the red light when others are moving on.
Double parking and sometimes even triple parking of cars are common on busy streets at markets and in commercial areas, especially in front of banks, and nobody does anything about it. The mata-mata doesn't seem to be around anymore and the reason that is always given is that the police are short-handed, that is except when the dignitaries are given outrider escorts. Nowadays there is blatant disregard for the law and we find motorists parking their vehicles at street corners as well.
Federal traffic police chief, Senior Asst. Comm. II, Datuk Gingkoi Seman Pancreas, was quoted in the Star of Wednesday, 28th.Sept., under the headline "No respect for traffic rules", as saying that "many Malaysian drivers only obey traffic rules and regulations when they see enforcement authorities, cameras and speed traps." He is right and the police, more than anybody else, should know better. When the law allows thousands and thousands of summonses to accumulate over a period of time and then finally decides to allow a discount if traffic offenders take steps to settle within a time frame, respect for traffic rules must wane. On Thursday, 29th Sept., Datuk Gingkoi was again quoted in the Star as saying that when the "amnesty" period for paying of summonses at discounted rates ended on 30th Sept the police would come down hard on the defaulters. Well if the police do not match their words with the appropriate action, Datuk Gingkoi will know why there is no respect for traffic rules.

JIUZHAIGOU TOUR 17.9.05 - 25.9.05

2005-09-27T11:05:00.000+08:00

On 17th. Sept. the wife and I left on a 9 day tour of Jiuzhaigou, in the northern region of Sichuan province in China. Often referred to as "a fairyland", Jiuzhaigou, which means nine Tibetan villages scattered throughout the valley, is a primitive and natural tourist attraction. The beautiful emerald lakes, layered waterfalls, colourful forests and snow-covered peaks are a sight to behold. Our tour covered Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, Huanglong/Mounigou, Jiuzhaigou, Maoxian, Dujiangyen, Leshan and Emeishan.
We left Penang on the 0810 China Southern Airline flight on 17th Sept. for Guangzhou, a flight that took 3 hours 40 minutes, followed by a nearly 6 hour transit at Guangzhou before our connecting flight to Chengdu which took about 2 hours 20 minutes. China airlines are generally plagued by delays. On our return flight from Chengdu to Guangzhou, the delay was more than 2 hours and during the course of that time there were incessant announcements over the public address system informing passengers of delays for other flights. "We regret to inform..........due to aircraft relocation" became the standard announcement every few minutes. It sounded like a broken record. The hotels were good but Sichuan cuisine which is spicy and oily did not suit the taste of many in our group and we had to request for less or non-spicy and less or non-oily food every now and then.
We had an internal flight from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou which saved us many hours of arduous travelling by bus and the view from the plane as we were approaching Jiuzhaigou airport was breathtaking albeit a little scary. A window seat will afford you this breathtaking view if you are not squeamish about heights. Jiuzhaigou is as beautiful as the travel brochures claim it to be but be prepared for a lot of walking and climbing. However, there were several in our group who are in their late sixties (including us) and if we could make it, younger people should have no problem. We heard about typhoon Damrey on the day before our return but we were fortunate that nothing untoward prevented us from making our return flight safely.

THE ONLY REASON WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE CHILDREN

2005-09-15T20:34:00.000+08:00

This is the 21st century and the only reason why anybody should have children is because he/she has an unsatiable love for children. No other reason is valid. I wish my father had told me that half a century ago before I embarked on a life of adulthood. In the olden days it was drummed into the male of the species that it was his bounden duty to perpetuate his family lineage by producing male off-springs. I wish somebody could convince me why it is necessary and important that the family name should continue after I have expired.
A reason very often used in arguing in favour of having children is that in our old age we need our children to support us when we are no longer productive or look after us when we are ravaged by disease or old age. If that is the reason for having children, it is not only a selfish reason but also one that will definitely bring untold disappointment. Children today are too busy with their careers and their pursuit of wealth and material possessions that they have hardly any time for their parents. The better educated and the more successful they are, the less time they have for their parents.
Some newly married couples are apprehensive that if they don't produce any off-spring
people will start to talk and fingers will start to point accusingly! This is the 21st century and we don't need to prove to anybody that we can function biologically. Nobody should give a damn whether we are fertile or sterile! It shouldn't be anybody's concern.
Nowdays when I talk to young couples who are on the verge of taking that big step to matrimony, I can't resist advising them to give a lot of thought to the implications before starting a family. I always emphasize to them that the only reason for them to have a child is because they have a very strong love of children. We are living in very difficult times and having children is no longer necessarily a blessing. They must realize that they will give at least half of their lives to bringing up the child and when the child is independent of them, if they have the health and the resources to enjoy whatever there is left of their lives they will be very lucky. Married couples who opt to remain childless don't have anything to apologise for. Society is no longer the same and more and more people have come to look upon childless couples as people who have their heads screwed on to their bodies properly and not as screwed-up people!

IS LONGEVITY AN IMPORTANT ISSUE?

2005-09-11T23:22:00.000+08:00

When you are my age, nearly 3 score and ten, whether longevity is an important issue or not becomes a valid question. Many contemporaries of mine are so concerned with longevity that they are constantly obsessed with their health. They may be very careful with their money with other things but where their health is concerned they do not mind splurging on expensive and seemingly worthless things. A neighbour of mine who is of the same age is very careful with her money but she does not mind spending a bundle on underwear lined with magnetic beads which are supposed to induce better blood circulation and bracelets of crystal beads which, she is told by the salesperson, will help to regulate her karma and contribute generally to her well-being if she wears them on her wrist. There are others who will spend lavishly on "health food" and other food supplements which they have been told will contribute to their good health and keep all the ailments of old age at bay.
I always tell people of my age group that as we grow older we become uglier and, as far as I am concerned, I would prefer to go while I still look good. Longevity is not what I aspire to achieve. Quality of life is more important to me. I would rather prefer to be able to enjoy every 24 hours that I have to the fullest and not worry about how many more 24 hours I am going to have. What is the point of living up to a ripe old age of 90 years when you have to spend the last 10 years in a horizontal position ravaged by disease or old age, relying on others to help you endure the misery and suffering for another 10 years? Of course we have no control over how and when we have to go; that is the prerogative of a higher being. However, we have reasonably ample control over how we are going to spend the next hour and if we are going to throw that hour away by dwelling on our obsession with old age and good health instead of going out and enjoying ourselves and be thankful that we have one more glorious hour to enjoy then longevity will be meaningless.

THE LANGURS OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN, PENANG

2005-09-09T10:20:00.000+08:00

If you, like a great many people in the state of Penang, are not aware of the existence of the langurs in the Botanical Garden, here are some photographs of the langurs. These photographs were taken during National Day week when the elusive langurs decided to oblige by coming down to ground level to feed on the hibiscus plants in the garden. As mentioned in my previous blog the langurs seldom come down to ground level, preferring to feed at the middle or top levels of the trees most of the time. While they will feed on leaves, flowers and fruit, their preference is for the small leaflets and it is this choosy feeding habit that makes them quite messy feeders, very often leaving a carpet of older leaves, discarded by them, on the ground below. Langurs are natives of Southeast Asia and India and because they have been seen in the Botanical Garden only in the last few years, many locals are still unaware of their presence. Most Penangites are aware of the "pesky" macaques but few know about the existence of the langurs.
The langur has a multi-chambered stomach which helps it to digest the leaves that it has eaten. In addition there are also bacteria in the stomach of the langur to help in the digestion of the food. After the langur has finished eating, it will sit around for a while to allow the food to digest. Langurs do not move around much because of their diet. They have to sit around and let their food digest. The life span of the langur is about 20 years.

SELAMAT HARI KEBANGSAAN!

2005-08-31T14:35:00.000+08:00

HERE'S WISHING EVERYBODY A HAPPY AND PEACEFUL HARI KEBANGSAAN!

One of the rare times when a langur at the Botanical Garden, Penang, is on the ground but this one obliged in celebration of Hari Kebangsaan!

THE MONKEYS OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN, PENANG

2005-08-27T15:36:00.000+08:00

Residents of Penang Island have the tendency to take the monkeys in the Botanical Garden for granted. We often marvel at the way tourists fuss over the monkeys and are seemingly overwhelmed at the sight of these little creatures. Penang residents don't give them a second glance.
The macaque, the more common of 2 types of monkeys found in the Botanical Garden in Penang, can be quite intimidating. The macaques can be quite a nuisance because they have become less frightened of people through the years and also they have become quite aggressive because people have been feeding and taunting them. If you are with a child be wary because the macaque is inclined to charge at the child if she has food in her hand. I have personally seen a troop of macaques dashing across the path of a small group of children, snatch an ice-cream cone from one of the children's hands and vanish into the bushes even before the child knew that his ice-cream cone had been hijacked by the monkey. The macaques are particularly inclined to pick on women and children!

The second type of monkey in the Botanical Garden in Penang is the langur or the leaf monkey. In the wild they live in the middle and upper canopies in the forest. They are found in South East Asia and India. They do not communicate as much as the other animals but they use loud calls to keep the troops apart. The langurs do not move around much due to their diets, they usually have to sit around to let their food digest. These monkeys are more shy than the macaques and are seldom seen on the ground. In fact a lot of Penangites have not been aware of their presence in the Garden at all. They feed on the young leaves and flowers of some of the trees in the Garden and their feeding habit is characterized by their messy "table manners", leaving a carpet of unwanted leaves on the ground. However, these monkeys are shy and mild-mannered and not at all quarrelsome, unlike the macaques. On the rare occasions when they make an appearance, even the locals are fascinated by them. While the macaques are well-known for hissing and spitting at one another, there has not been any evidence of macaques quarrelling with langurs.

IS THERE A GOD?

2005-08-26T22:41:00.000+08:00

"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." - Thomas Jefferson

PENANG WATER CRISIS?

2005-08-24T16:12:00.000+08:00

According to today's Star, "China Press reported that Penang Water Supply Corporation general manager Datuk Liew Chook San dug a well in his house after three dams in Penang recorded low levels. Liew said he had dug the well as a precaution against water shortage as the water levels at the three dams - Air Itam, Teluk Bahang and Mengkuang - in Penang had dropped to 30% of capacity. Liew, however assured the islanders that there was enough water for them."
It would appear that Penang Water Supply Corporation general manager himself did not believe what he said when he assured Penang residents that "there was enough water for them" when he found it necessary to dig a well in his own house. I would expect him to warn Penang residents of the impending water crisis first if the situation was so serious that he needed to dig a well in his own house as a precautionary measure. How can Penang residents have confidence in the assurance of a general manager who doesn't believe in himself? This could qualify as the joke of the year!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

2005-08-21T21:19:00.000+08:00

1.Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctor worry about them. That is why you pay him.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure grief and move on.The only person who is with us our entire life is God. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: LIFE IS NOT MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF BREATHS WE TAKE BUT BY THE MOMENTS THAT TAKE OUR BREATH AWAY!

TV AD's

2005-08-18T18:22:00.000+08:00

The thing that irritates me most about watching tv is the commercial break and I am especially irked by the bland and unimaginative advertisements that we have to put up with just so that we can enjoy sit-coms that become disjointed because of these advertisements. However, I was pleasantly surprised by 2 advertisements from Astro which are not only a welcome intermission but are, surprisingly, quite entertaining. I am referring to the advertisement for the Astro decoder at 50% discount where the poor son is the victim of a fearsome mother and a bullying wife ("Hello, Astro ah?") and the other one is about a group of friends watching a football match when the transmission suddenly goes off (Astro bill didn't pay ah?). Every time these two advertisements are aired, I find it easy to forgive them for interrupting my tv viewing pleasure. I feel that the people behind them have done a very good job, unlike the shampoo advertisements which are not only bland but also show no originality. I think the shampoo companies should ask Astro who conceived their advertisements for them!

SONGBIRDS AT SUNSET

2005-08-17T16:42:00.000+08:00

I managed to get a Solitudes CD, Songbirds at Sunset, at Tower Records, Gurney Plaza for RM64.90. On the internet the same CD was offered for sale at USD15.95, not including postage. I thought it was rather pricey at RM64.90 and I thought it was so because of the limited demand for this type of music but according to the lady cashier they had sold quite a good number of these Solitudes CD's. I was rather surprised to hear this. There are 6 tracks with a program time of 63:01. "Like the warm hues of a setting sun, the lingering voices of songbirds glow in the company of piano, violin, cello and flute."
Track 1: Evening Air 12:08
Track 2: A Most Perfect Stillness 7:35
Track 3: Softly Into The Night 9:48
Track 4: Reminiscing 12:46
Track 5: Afterglow 10:37
Track 6: Deep Twilight 10:02

MUSIC TO SOOTHE THE MIND

2005-08-17T07:33:00.000+08:00

As in their flight the birds of song
Halt here and there in sweet and sunny dales,
But halt not overlong;
The time one rural song to sing
They pause; then following bounteous gales
Steer forward on the wing;
Sun-servers they, from first to last,
Upon the sun they wait
To ride the sailing blast.
--Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

I did not know that such music exists until my daughter-in-law in Chicago sent me a CD of Dan Gibson's Solitudes, Exploring Nature With Music. The title of the album is Songbird Symphony and I enjoy the 8 tracks and program time of 51:20 so much that I am writing this to share with others who appreciate music that is out of the ordinary. Visit www.solitudes.com if you are interested. For those of you unfamiliar with Solitudes, Dan Gibson, a world-renowned naturalist, founded Solitudes Ltd. more than 15 years ago. He used the beautiful sounds of nature that he had collected over a period of 50 years and magically blended them with music composed and performed by talented artistes. If you are in need of music to relax with or to destress you or to help you to sleep more peacefully, Solitudes will be what you are looking for.
Wildlife Species Featured
Track 1: Baltimore Oriole 8:24
Track 2: Hermit Thrush 6.19
Track 3: Scarlet Tanager, Pileated Woodpecker, Red Squirrel, Swamp Sparrow, Woodpecker (drilling), White-throated Sparrow 5:54
Track 4: Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler 5:37
Track 5: Gray Catbird 6:24
Track 6: Veery, Gray Tree Frog 4:47
Track 7: Winter Wren, Common Crow, Magnolia Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Canada Warbler, Blue Jay, Ovenbird 6:53
Track 8: Wood Thrush, Canada Warbler 7:00
Listening Instructions:
For the most relaxing effect, this album should be played in a quiet atmosphere with the volume and tone controls set at a moderate level that is in keeping with nature's ambience.

FLOWERS OF HOTEL EQUATORIAL, CAMERON HIGHLANDS

2005-08-16T18:52:00.000+08:00

All the photographs of flowers here were taken in the compound of Hotel Equatorial, Cameron Highlands. We drove up to the highlands via the Simpang Pulai road and found that the time saved was approximately one and a half hours as compared to the journey via Tapah. The road was more pleasant to travel on, too, minus the scary ravines we saw when we travelled via Tapah. We had not been to Cameron Highlands for more than five years and were surprised to see the vast amount of farming being done compared to the past. Today quite a lot of flower and strawberry farms come right down to the edge of the road. In the past, one would have to go off the main road and drive into one of the narrow off-roads in order to visit a farm. Now the flower beds are almost next to the road. In the hotel we read in the newspapers that the water sources in the highlands were quite polluted and when we expressed our apprehension about drinking water from the tap in the hotel to the staff, we were assured that the hotel water was safe because it was filtered.

GREEN HEIGHTS & ISLAND PARK, PENANG, SHROUDED IN HAZE!

2005-08-13T13:07:00.000+08:00

View taken from the 7th floor of the new apartment block in Island Park, Penang.

View of Island Park and beyond taken from the same vantage point.

View of the 3 Kingfisher apartment blocks and also the Jay Series apartments in Greenlane Heights.

General view of the apartment blocks in Greenlane Heights and Island Park.

THE HAZE: CAN IT GET ANY WORSE IN PENANG?

2005-08-13T09:50:00.000+08:00

View (?) of the road leading to Bukit Jambul from the hill slope at Yeap Chor Ee Road.

Look at the sun! According to the newspapers many people in Selangor have booked hotel rooms in Penang for the weekend, hoping to escape the haze over there. It's ironical that when they arrive here they will discover that they have jumped from the frying pan into the fire!

You can see that the situation is getting worse. The smell of ash is getting stronger and if you stay outdoors for some time you feel heavy in the head and breathing becomes harder. I could spend a few minutes outdoors without a mask taking some photographs before I felt uncomfortable and wanted to get into my car again!

THE HAZE IN PENANG HAS BECOME WORSE!

2005-08-13T08:32:00.000+08:00

Looks like the haze is getting thicker. The smell of ash in the air is getting stronger and visibility is getting worse.

LOOKS LIKE THE HAZE IN PENANG IS HERE TO STAY!

2005-08-13T07:55:00.000+08:00

Woke up this morning and found the haze worse than what it was yesterday afternoon. We won't be able to go out for our morning walk and most probably will be confined to the house the whole day. Eating is going to be a problem because we are so used to eating out and going out to eat in this haze is not a good idea.

Discus: King of the Aquarium Fishes

2005-08-12T21:42:00.000+08:00

The discus is considered by many fish keeping enthusiasts as the most respected and desirable of all the aquarium fishes. It originates from the Amazon River in South America and was first brought to the attention of aquarists in the early 1930's. After 70 years in the hobby, the discus is still an expensive fish but breeding them is no longer considered well nigh impossible.

THE HAZE HAS COME TO PENANG!

2005-08-12T15:54:00.000+08:00

The photographs were taken from my upstairs front window and also from the upstairs back balcony at 3.40 p.m. today. I was reading the Star this morning about our Chief Minister saying that Penang would be expecting the haze to turn up in the next few days. Looks like it has decided to turn up earlier than he thought. When we went out for our morning walk today, around 9.30 a.m., the haze was evident when we looked towards the hills but it was not as bad as it is now. I suppose we'll have to go out and get some masks before the situation becomes worse and there is a mad rush for them.

LONG IN THE TOOTH

2005-08-08T18:19:00.000+08:00

If you look up the idiomatic phrase "long in the tooth" in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary the meaning given is "rather old". I first came across this phrase a long time ago when I was in Form 5 and the origin of this idiomatic phrase had always puzzled me until recently. At my age, living examples of "long in the tooth" keep cropping up and staring me in the face and while I am now more enlightened, I have also become more apprehensive. The nagging fear that one fine day I will be, literally, "long in the tooth" haunts me. Not long ago I met an old acquaintance at a wedding dinner and while we were standing hardly 3 feet apart swapping tales of days gone by, I became aware of the fact that one of his canine teeth was at least one and a half times longer than the other teeth. It suddenly dawned on me that I was staring at a living example of "long in the tooth". From that moment onwards I could not concentrate on our conversation. My mind started to wander and I wondered how dreadful he would look if both his canine teeth were equally long. He would look exactly like Dracula! Since then I have come across a few more examples of people of my age group who are showing signs of being literally "long in the tooth". If that happens to me one day, I promise to post a photograph of myself in this blog, showing why being "long in the tooth" means "rather old".

CHANGING ROLES

2005-08-05T23:20:00.000+08:00

A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed at home.
He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed,
"Dear Lord, I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife stays at home.
I want her to know what I go through,
So please allow her body to switch with mine for a day. Amen"
God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man his wish.
The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman.
He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate;
Awakened the kids, set out their clothes, fed them breakfast,
Packed their lunches,
Drove them to school, came home and picked up the dry cleaning,
Took it to the cleaners, and stopped at the bank to make a deposit,
Went grocery shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries,
Paid the bills and balanced the checkbook.
He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog.
Then it was 1 p.m. and he hurried to make the beds,
Do the laundry, vacuum, dust and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.
Drove to school to pick up the kids
And got into an argument with them on the way home.
Set out the milk and cookies and got the kids organised to do their homework.
Then set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing.
At 4.30 p.m. he began peeling the potatoes and washing the vegetables for salad,
Breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper.
After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded the laundry,
Bathed the kids and put them to bed.
At 9 p.m. he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished,
He went to bed where he was expected to make love,
Which he managed to get through without complaint.
The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said,
"Lord, I don't know what I was thinking.
I was so wrong to envy my wife being able to stay at home all day.
Please, oh please, let us trade back."
The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied,
"My son, I feel you have learned your lesson
And I will be happy to change things back to the way they were.
You'll just have to wait nine months though. You got pregnant last night."

Arowanas

2005-08-04T12:53:00.000+08:00

On the evening of 10th September 2001 we boarded the Amtrak at Chicago Union station, bound for Washington DC, a journey of 16.5 hours. After travelling for 13 hours the train came to a dead stop somewhere in Virginia and did not move for nearly 3 hours. When we enquired what the matter was, the conductor was of no help, other than telling us that if we were in a hurry we could get off the train and find our own way. I took out my little transistor radio which I had bought in Malaysia and searched for one of the FM stations and it was then that we learnt about the tragedy of 11th September 2001. After coming back from the States we decided to stop travelling for a while and I took up fish-keeping, a favourite hobby of mine in my youth. I started with "flower-horns" since those were the craze at that time and ultimately switched to arowanas, discus fish, marine fish and also planted aquarium. I had two 5'x2.5'x2' aquariums custom-made at the cost of RM2350 for my Indonesian Chilli Red and my Malaysian x-back, in addition to several other smaller aquariums of varying sizes. I was deeply into this hobby for 1.5 years before I sold everything and started travelling again. I miss the hobby and the photographs of my arowanas bring back fond memories.

Cholesterol, anyone?

2005-07-30T23:15:00.000+08:00

When I was a young man, an eon ago, the universal phobia was the disease tuberculosis or TB, for short, and when this topic was discussed voices would be lowered several decibels, very often to almost inaudible whispers and sometimes the disease would be alluded to as TZ by the superstitious ostensibly for fear of angering the gods who might cause the speaker to come down with the affliction for daring to talk about the disease openly. Then later tuberculosis lost its lustre and was replaced by cancer or euphemistically referred to as the "big C" . At the time when cancer was the pet fear, know-alls would come forth with all sorts of recommended "sure cures" and advice on what food should be avoided in order not to fall prey to the dreadful disease. Then cancer was replaced by aids and once we were educated enough to realize that aids could be avoided if we did not share needles and practised safe sex we moved on. Today the favourite topic of doom is cholesterol. A lot of people are obsessed with cholesterol. They go for their yearly cholesterol level checks, they take cholesterol lowering drugs and they avoid certain foods like the plague and as a result their lives become that much duller. A friend of mine was put on cholesterol lowering drugs by his doctor and every evening he would suffer an attack of nausea and disorientation. Very often he did not know where he was or what he was doing!
The other day I was in a queue at an economy rice stall when a voice behind me said, "Aiyoh, you dare to eat squids, ah? They are so full of cholesterol!"
Squids, prawns, crabs and lobsters (The latter item one can hardly afford nowadays because they cost a bomb!) are my favourite and as far as I eat sensibly I don't think I should worry about the extra cholesterol that comes with them. If I feed on squids every meal every day, I must be crazy or I must be tired of living but I feel that two squids with my meal once a fortnight or once a month shouldn't condemn me to the grave ahead of my time. I stopped going for my annual cholesterol test some years ago when a consumers' association came out with the news that they sent three batches of blood from the same person to three different laboratories for testing and the results that came back were shockingly dissimilar. Nowadays I try to "live dangerously" once or twice a month when I throw caution to the wind and eat my favourite "char koay teow" or "goo bak koay teow".
For the information of people who are interested the 5 types of food that have the highest cholesterol content are:
per 100 gm of food and cholesterol content in mg
1. quail's egg 3640
2. pig's brain 3100
3. ox brain 2300
4. egg yolk 2000
5. cuttlefish 1700

FLOWERS AT THE 2005 FLOWER SHOW, BOTANICAL GARDENS, PENANG

2005-07-30T06:53:00.000+08:00

East European Tour 13.5.05 - 22.5.05

2005-07-29T23:19:00.000+08:00

When we first booked the tour the date of departure was a different date. Two weeks later the tour agent rang us up and told us that the date had been changed to Friday, 13.5.05, and wanted to know whether we would mind taking off on that date. We thought we would be the rare few to defy the gods but on our arrival in Vienna we found that there were 30 other people who, like us, did not believe in that old wives' superstition. The direct flight from KL to Vienna by MAS took approximately 11 hours and the time in Europe is 6 hours behind Malaysian time. The temperature at this time of the year was between 12 and 14 degrees Celsius. A light jacket would suffice. There was a lot of walking to be done and a backpack would come in handy for the camera and a bottle of water. The days were long and the nights short, daylight was at 4.30 am and nightfall around 8.30 pm. We woke up early, around 5 am, and we could take a walk around on our own before it was time for breakfast and the day's departure. The tour took us to Budapest in Hungary where there was a city orientation tour, a Danube River cruise and visits to Heroes' Square, Matthias Church, Fisherman's Bastion and Gellert Hill from where we had a fantastic view of Budapest; Munich in Germany where we tried a pig's trotter with 3 tankards of German beer and the bill came to 45 euros or approximately RM225 (the exchange rate was actually RM4.98 per euro when we left, today it is about RM4.64) and we also tasted German sausages at a market square; Brno and Prague in the Czech Republic with city orientation tours and visits to Strahov Monastery, Konopiste Castle, Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral; Bratislava in Slovakia with a city orientation tour and visits to the Old Town Hall, Opera House and George Fountain and finally Vienna and Salzburg where apart from the city orientation tours we visited Schronbrunn Palace and a vineyard. The meals provided alternated between Western food and Chinese food and the hotels were good. From Prague, enroute to Munich, we were taken to the infamous Dacha Concentration Camp where we learnt of the horrors perpetrated to the Jews during World War II. In Salzburg of the "Sound of Music" fame, we visited Mirabell Garden, Hohensalzburg Castle Fortress, Music Festival Hall, Domplatz, Residenzplatz, Mozartplatz, the bustling Geitreidegasse and Mozart's birthplace. In Vienna apart from Schronbrunn Palace, we were also taken to Belvedere Palace with its beautiful Baroque terraced gardens, Ring Strasse with the Parliament Building, Burgtheatre, Voltif Church, the majestic Hofburg Imperial Palace, Pallas Athene Fountain, Town Hall Building, Opera House, OPEC Building, Beethovan Memorial and Hunderwasser House. We also visited Stadt Park to view Johann Strauss memorial and St Stephen's Cathedral. The palaces and cathedrals in this part of Europe are a sight to behold!

IF

2005-07-29T14:14:00.000+08:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds - and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it
And - which is more -
YOU'LL BE A MAN, MY SON

----Rudyard Kipling

INDIA 22.8.04 - 28.8.04

2005-07-29T05:04:00.000+08:00

We went on a tour of northern India from 22.8.04 - 28.8.04, covering New Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, primarily to see the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world. The hotels were good and the food, nearly every meal, was Indian food except for one meal when we were taken to a Chinese restaurant where we were given Chinese food, cooked Indian style. However, Indian food in India does not contain as much chilli oil as the mamak food we get locally and it was therefore kinder to the stomach. Apart from the Taj Mahal, we were also taken to several forts and palaces, all of which were still in a very well-preserved condition and very beautiful. The Taj Mahal did not disappoint, it is as beautiful as the text books have described it and to guard it against environmental pollution, our bus, just as all other buses, had to stop some distance away from the monument and we were transported by electric buses for the rest of the way. Just as in Cambodia, the world beyond our hotel perimeter in India was greatly in contrast with the luxury and opulence of modern living. Even in New Delhi rubbish was everywhere and the better shopping areas we were taken to were nothing compared to the malls in our country. Nevertheless, the aim of the tour was not to shop but to see one of the wonders of the world and the other historical places which India had to offer.

DESIDERATA

2005-07-28T05:10:00.000+08:00

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nuture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

---- Max Ehrmann (1872-1945)
lawyer, poet, essayist

Cambodia 31.7.04 - 3.8.04

2005-07-26T07:09:00.000+08:00

We went to Cambodia from 31.7.04 - 3.8.04, primarily to see Angkor Wat, one of the wonders of the world and we were not disappointed. In Siem Reap we were put up in Hotel Goldiana, a lovely hotel and still very new. Outside the hotel it was a totally different world, so removed from the luxury and opulence of modern living. The splendour and perfection of Angkor Wat did not disappoint. The parts of this historical site that we visited were only a small fraction of the vastness of this ancient city, many parts of which are still not open to tourists because of uncleared landmines. We spent 2 nights in Siem Reap, taking a cruise on Tonle Sap and visiting a floating village, the vast and famous lake in Cambodia, before flying to Phnom Penh. In Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, we visited the infamous Killing Field and were shown the places where the atrocities were committed and also Tuol Sleng Museum, a former high school turned into a prison and a torture chamber during the Pol Pot regime, where we heard more horror stories. We were also taken to the beautiful Royal Palace which has been restored at great cost. In the grounds of the Royal Palace, we visited a Buddhist temple, the floor of which was paved with solid silver tiles! Outside the Royal Palace as in many other places we visited there were adults and children with missing limb/limbs begging. A visit to Cambodia is a valuable lesson in that we feel so much luckier to be where we are.

PRAYER 2

2005-07-25T12:24:00.000+08:00

LORD, GRANT THAT

I MAY NOT SO MUCH

SEEK TO BE CONSOLED AS

TO CONSOLE; TO BE

UNDERSTOOD AS TO UNDERSTAND;

TO BE LOVED AS TO LOVE;

FOR IT IS IN GIVING THAT WE RECEIVE;

IT IS IN PARDONING THAT

WE ARE PARDONED

-------ST FRANCIS OF ASSISSI

YUNNAN SPECIAL TOUR 20.9.03-28.9.03

2005-07-25T10:14:00.000+08:00

The 9 day Yunnan Special Tour was from 20.9.03 to 28.9.03 and it took us to Kunming, Jiuxiang, Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Dali and Lijiang. We were taken to Yu Long Snow Mountain where a winter jacket and a bottle of oxygen were provided although most of the members of our group did not find the oxygen necessary, Pai Sui River, Yu Feng Temple, Bai Sha Wall Drawings, Black Dragon Pool, Shi Fang Jie Old Town, Butterfly Spring, Dali Old Town, General Tu museum, Er Hai Park, Three Pagodas, Mountain Chang by cable car, Yan Families + 3 cups of tea + Bai Minority Dancing, Yuan Tong Temple, Grand View Garden, Golden Hall, Loh Shi Bay Whole Sale Area, Western Hill by cable car, the Stone Forest and Jiuxiang Cave. Special meals provided included "Guoqiao" Bee Hoon, Clay Pot Chicken, Cantonese Seafood, "Yiliang" Roasted Duck, Sa Ni Da Bing Ai Ni Special, Chinese Herbs and Dali Fish Head Clay Pot. There was an overnight stay in Singapore before we flew to Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, to begin our tour.
The weather in Yunnan in September was ideal for walking tours and although it was a bit nippy at times, a jacket was suffice and provided comfortable warmth. At Jiuxiang caves there was a lot of walking to be done and at one stage we had to climb several hundred steps to see the stalactites and stalagmites. Senior citizens need to be quite fit to survive that climb but there was a gentleman in his seventies in our group who did not show any sign of stress in the climb. Most of us agreed that the hotel rooms were both clean and comfortable and the meals were good. As a matter of fact the hotel room we stayed in at Jiuxiang was equivalent to that of a 5 star hotel. Toilet facilities in the parks and gardens and in some restaurants where we had our meals, however, left much to be desired and in quite a number of places we could smell the toilets before we came to them, unlike in the big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. For one of the dinners we were taken to a farm-house where the farmer's family prepared the dishes for us. To reach the farm-house we had to trek through a field strewn with cow dung. Not a pleasant sight to behold prior to a meal! Visits to see the minority ethnic groups and to witness their dances were both interesting and educational. In all, the Yunnan Special Tour was well worth the money spent if we remember that it is not fair to compare rural environment with that of the cities. Most people are still apprehensive to take on a China tour because of the horror stories they have heard about the poor toilet facilities but apart from the fact that one should not expect toilets in the rural areas to be comparable to those in 5 star hotels, the necessity to hold an open umbrella, as the story goes, while you are doing your business of answering nature's call does not arise. In 1993 when we first went on a very extensive tour, 14 days in all, of China the hotels were already first class, some even more beautiful than the ones we have in Kuala Lumpur. For scenic beauty it is our opinion that no country, not even the European countries, can beat China.

Wedding Dinners

2005-07-25T02:40:00.000+08:00

Last night the missus and I attended a wedding dinner. At this stage of our lives we have become selective of the wedding dinners we choose to attend. Unless we cannot escape, for example the weddings of the children of very close friends and relatives, we would rather cook up some excuse for not being able to make it. Two very good reasons for this are that wedding dinners have the outrageous habit of starting late, very often as much as one hour late, and the other is that the volume at which the "music" is played can drive you up the wall. Once we attended a wedding dinner at one of the beach hotels which had not started even one and a half hours after the appointed time. When I left the ballroom to go to the washroom, I met the bridal couple and their entourage waiting outside the hall. When I asked them what was holding them up, they said that they were waiting for the bride's maid's corsage which was being held up in a traffic jam in town. Can you believe that? In the meantime the guests were groaning and complaining of being hungry. When you attend a wedding dinner it is wise to go armed with a set of ear plugs. If you are seated near one of the loudspeakers, you will probably end up practically deaf at the end of the dinner. It would appear that most people think that music can only be appreciated if it is played at high volume. The only time the missus and I managed to sit through an 8 course wedding dinner was when the host arranged for a 5 piece string ensemble to play at the wedding. Not only did we enjoy the beautiful music but it was also one of the rare occasions when we enjoyed the dinner. As a matter of common practice we would never sit beyond the 4th course of a wedding dinner. We would usually make an excuse to leave early to avoid being driven up the wall by the loud "music". On that particular occasion we not only sat through up to the dessert but we also lingered long enough to wish the married couple well. I was told that a friend once waited for an hour at a wedding dinner which did not show any sign of starting and he was so incensed that he took out his red packet, removed 50% from its content, marched up to the bridal main table, handed over the red packet to the couple and left. Probably he went for a better dinner with the other 50% from the content of the red packet! The moral of the story is to delay handing over the red packet until after the dinner so that you can determine the size of the red packet according to the civility of the host. Wedding dinners in this part of the world are hardly civilised affairs!