ThOuGhT bUbBleS

Yesterday Once More Part 1

2008-12-29T18:02:00.000-08:00

As 2009 arrives, I’ve been thinking about how I have changed over the years and about how our environment including the people we meet and know shapes us into what we are… for better or for worse. Despite how much we may insist that we are slaves to no one or we were not influenced by anybody. We all have our heroes… we have all changed certain aspects of our selves due to our experiences, what we see, what we have learned and so on.

Back in my younger days until college, I used to have trouble fitting in. I was neither the jock in school nor was I the Einstein in class. But fortunately, I have made some good friends who helped steer me through the rough seas.

As we head towards the new year I will take some time to acknowledge the people who have made a difference in my life starting with Mom & Dad...

My Mom & Dad… Where would I be without them right? My dad wasn’t one of the most hands-on parent but as my mom explained, he was brought up in a very different and strict family so that has inadvertently shaped him into a very strict, by the book person. He was also very involved in the scouting movement so that pretty much contributed to his discipline. As a boy I was also a very naughty and had a bad temper… I used to explain it as I was just trying to be helpful and people just didn’t appreciate me… Let me give you some good examples…

There was this once when I really wanted to help burn the rubbish as I’ve seen my dad doing that… I mean… nobody told me I wasn’t supposed to do it while the rubbish was in the paper basket which happened to be under the curtain.

Then there was this one time when my grandmother was washing the clothes outside the house. There was this tap and my grandma was there slaving away and I happened to see her from about 10 feet above… It was a 1.5 storey house so I was at the garden above and I missed her so much that I couldn’t wait to run down the stairs… “Por Por… here I come” and whoosh… I jumped… I ended up almost splitting my head in two with 12 stitches as a souvenir. Fortunately my grandma didn’t have a weak heart or she might have had a heart attack right there and then seeing me appear out of thin air screaming to high heaven. Hmmm… maybe that’s why she rarely visited us in Port Dickson after that… She had enough of flying grandsons…

There was also the time my parents & relatives had introduced me to stamp collecting. This was long time ago when the Internet was only used by the military and there was no such thing as e-mail. Now ah? I don’t know if kids still know what a stamp is. Anyway, I had this knack of going through places I wasn’t supposed to and lo behold… I found this treasure chest of small little bits of thick colourful paper with nice stamps that I didn’t have. So… *tear* *tear* & *tear*… All my dad’s receipts were reduced to erm… there’s no way to describe the expression on his face when he found out and that lovely voice in the air calling out to me “AAAAUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN…….”.

With the above examples, I guess I should be fortunate that my parents didn’t disown me when they could have.

Well… my mom did take this opportunity to temporarily disown me whenever my report card didn’t have the right colour… Meaning the grades was in red la… I didn’t really think it was funny at the time but now that I think back, it was funny how my mom asked me to get my dad to sign the report card whenever I did badly but when I got okay to good grades then she took the credit. Talking about grades, one memorable moment was after the SPM results were released. While everyone was so sad and depressed about how they missed out on 6As, 7As or whatever I was hopping around in ecstasy… “I PASSED!! I PASSED!! I GOT GRADE 1!!! I PASSED!! I CAN GO FORM 6!!” Who cares if my aggregate was just one point away from Grade 2. Keh! Keh! Keh!

Anyway, there were some defining moments with my mom & dad as well. As mentioned, my dad wasn't one of those lovey-dovey parent and most of his letters to me were on office memo papers with his name printed and he always penned off "Yours Sincerely, Lim Chin Seng"... Grrr... There was this one time when I don't know what got over me and I wrote back about how I felt and you can imagine my surprise when the next letter came... It was signed "Love, Dad"... I think this was the single most memorable moment of my relationship with my Dad.

My relationship with my mom was relatively closer and she was as patient as she could with me and growing up the way I did, it's amazing how she managed to stay so patient with me. I used to be a very bad tempered and angry kid rebelling against my parents all the time and there was this one time when I had quite a big argument and after that refused to talk to my dad... Well.. I was quite insistent I was right which my mom agreed but she also told me that my dad grew up in a different time and he is the way that he is because of how he was brought up as well. I can't expect him to apologize to me and if I were to go on like that things will never get better. As well, she explained how I had to keep my temper in check as I would have problems socializing with others if I were to always show my temper. I guess just showing temper is an understatement as I had on occasion lost control of myself as well... Think Wolverine in his berzerker rage... minus the adamantium claws and healing factor... :-)

Oh well… more 'role models' in the next post…

Ticket To Ride...

2008-12-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

And the board game craze is starting to set in... Started out with some pics that a friend of mine took with her gaming friends and I was thinking how fun it would be. I then played Star Wars Monopoly with Bao Yi... lost... but the hunger started to set in.

Spent some money and got Ticket to Ride and that was it. Played 2 games today and Bao Yi's officially hooked.

The objective of the game was to built railway routes around a map (in my case, Germany) and complete as many destination tickets as we can. I got the special edition which also came with passengers that can be moved.

All Roads Pass Through Hannover... :-D

At the beginning, Bao Yi & I found that there were quite a number of things to remember but after we got the hang of it (after 1 game) it was quite okay and started to enjoy it. There's a good review here.

Interested anybody?

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year To You!!

2008-12-23T18:46:00.001-08:00

The video file above is hilarious and I was introduced to it from this lovely Blog by Beverly... It was so hilarious that I just had to add it to mine... Hope it adds a smile on your face this lovely day. Anyway, enjoy it cos' I rarely make a fool out of myself in this manner... ha ha... Hellllpppp... Christmas is making me weird!!

Seriously, I dunno why but somehow, no other holiday brings as much excitement and magic to me other than Christmas. At least I think so. For me, I actually prefer to celebrate Valentine's Day on Christmas itself cos' it has such a magical feel to it and the atmosphere is just so... erm... indescribable...

Christmas Carols, Christmas Songs, Santa Claus, Snow, Christmas Trees, Well-Lit Streets & Shopping Malls... Nothing compares...

As 2008 draws to a close and 2009 arrives, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of you out there a Very Magical & Merry... Merry... Merry & Loving Christmas.

Buy a Tee & Save Yvonne's Eyesight

2008-12-22T20:19:00.002-08:00

We've all at one time or another grumbled over how unfair life is to us and how come others win a car or a lottery and why not us. Heck... my nephew & niece says that all the time when they don't get what they want and I'm sure pretty much all of us who have been to Chagar Hutang (Turtle Volunteer Camp) have grumbled about the mosquitoes. I know I have... especially the first trip back in 2003 where for some weird reason I was attracting all the bites!!

Few of us stop to think about how fortunate we are that we have never been in a War, never been hungry, have pretty much been able to travel around the country... Well a lot of us at least.

Well... Check out the following post which I've copied from Pelf's Web Site and lend a hand. It is after all, the season to spread some cheer and to give a gift of love.

Yvonne Foong is a 22-year-old Malaysian who was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type II — an incurable genetic disease in which tumors grow in the brain and spine — 6 years ago when she was 16. When you or your kids or your friends’ kids bask in the glory of being sweet sixteen which comes with party invitations, cook-outs, stay overs, and what-have-yous, Yvonne has to deal with the disease. And the pain. And the deteriorating health conditions.

Yvonne has undergone 5 major surgeries since that fateful day in 2002, the last being an Optic Nerve Decompression surgery on Nov 19th, 2008. And now that you are busy shopping and wrapping gifts for your family and friends, Yvonne is raising funds to save her eyesight by selling some Heart4Hope T-shirts. The T-shirt costs RM15 each, instead of the normal price of RM25 each. Postage is RM5 per kilogram."

So help spread the word and share some of your joy with Yvonne and Merry Christmas to All. May you be blessed with good health, good fortune, happiness and may you bring joy to your loved ones.

Starting A Family Tree

2008-10-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

Like so many things that start out ever so harmlessly, my mom was asking me to look for this article that was written by her former teacher that named her so out of curiosity I googled my mom's name. The search result returned not only my mom but also my uncles and aunties from a site called www.geni.com and the rest as they all say is history.

2 days later, and with much digging around for information about ancestors, long lost relatives and erm... forgotten names... (this is too embarrassing to talk about so I won't elaborate), my family tree has grown into a jungle and although there are some missing links here and there, I'm quite pleased with the result.

You are able to invite your family members and they can add their extended family members and it goes on and on till before you know it, everyone's connected... as their tagline goes.

So fancy creating your family tree? Go give www.geni.com a visit.

Say "No" To Turtle Egg Consumption Is Now Online

2008-10-13T01:55:00.000-07:00

The Say "NO" To Turtle Eggs Consumption is now online so it is now even easier for you to stand up and tell everyone that consuming turtle eggs is NOT cool.

The petition was started some months back using paper forms but to make it more convenient for everyone to sign the form, the Turtle Research & Rehabilitation Group (Pelf.. I got it right this time... :-D keh keh keh) has ported the petition online. As such, all you need to do is send the link to all your friends, colleagues, masters, slaves, employers, employees... everyone. If you have signed the earlier one, do drop by this link and sign it again as it has been revised to include an appeal to the Malaysian Department of Fisheries and the Terengganu State Government to ban the collection, sale and consumption of turtle eggs.

Although the collection of turtle eggs has been banned in some parts of the country, the sale is not and it never will be as long as there is demand. And the demand is not just from local villagers as tourists and dignitaries also want to have a taste due to myths surrounding the consumption of turtle eggs.

Why does it matter? Most of us feel that it's too little and we doubt the change it would make but it was just a century ago that African Americans were considered slaves but today, there is a possibility that the next American president will be an African American so nothing is impossible and as the saying goes, a little bit each day will go a long way so spread the word and do your part. These gentle creatures are a sight to behold. Ask anyone who has seen them and they will agree with me. Turtles are already in danger from the moment the eggs are deposited... Fire ants, crabs, birds, fishes, monitor lizards and many more. They do not need the ultimate predator preying on them as well.

Why eat turtle eggs? No reason whatsoever!! There is no value from eating turtle eggs. The myth that turtle eggs are an aphrodisiac (something that arouses/ intensifies sexual desire) is just that... A myth!! To drive one of the oldest creatures on this planet to the brink of extinction is too high a price just to prove this point. Studies have determined that turtle eggs are not an aphrodisiac... In fact, turtle eggs contain much higher levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) than a chicken egg. So consumption of turtle egges will have the opposite effect. Why? Well... an erection is caused by the rush of blood into your penis and cholesterol clogs up those beautiful little arteries and veins of yours thus reducing the flow of blood... So forget virility cos' it's flaccidity that you'll be faced with!!

So what can you do? Tell your friends about the campaign and head on over to The Say "No" To Turtle Egg Online Petition and sign the petition. You can download the icon at the bottom of this post (or what the heck... go create a nice icon of your own) and put a link on your Website/ blog or facebook or friendster and tell everyone that consuming turtle eggs is uncool. We can all make a difference.

Thought Bubbles Goes Pink

2008-10-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

First of all, No! My blog has not been hijacked by Bao Yi (my girlfriend who for some reason loves anything pink). It's actually Breast Cancer Awareness Month therefore, Thought Bubbles goes pink... I've also been told to acknowledge her as she helped me identify the colours that I was using as I have this problem with colours so there... that's your acknowledgement. Thank You. :-)

A lot of us men brush off Breast Cancer as something that's not too close a threat but think again. People we care about and love are at risk. We all have mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers, friends, colleagues. girlfriends and wives. Most of us may not know it but even we men have a risk of getting breast cancer... well... call it chest cancer if you prefer but the fact is men can and have contracted the disease. Read more about it here.

The following are some information from the College of Radiology Website:

Breast cancer was the commonest overall cancer as well as the commonest cancer in women amongst all races from the age of 20 years in Malaysia for 2003 to 2005.
Breast cancer is most common in Chinese, followed by the Indians and then, Malays.
Breast cancer formed 31.1% of newly diagnosed cancer cases in women in 2003-2005.
A woman in Malaysia has a 1 in 20 chance of getting breast cancer in her lifetime.
The cumulative life time risk of developing breast cancer for Chinese women, Indian women and Malay women were 1 in 16, 1 in 17 and 1 in 28 respectively.
The peak incidence appeared to be 50 - 59 years old.

The following are information about breast cancer worth reading about:

So what can you do? It's Breast Cancer Awareness month so spread the word, 'pinkify' your blog or Web Site if you haven't already. Find out about breast cancer. Tell your loved ones what you have learned about breast cancer.

So how do you go about going pink? Register here and be counted.

Check out other Web Sites that have been Pinkified and read about what they have found out about breast cancer by visiting this link.

Add Go Pink Badges to your blog/ Web site.

Subscribe to Pink for October to keep yourself updated.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

2008-10-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

Star Wars is back and it is back with a vengeance. After the recent prequels including the earlier Clone Wars cartoons, the enthusiasm that I had for all things Star Wars kinda' faded due to disappointment. Don't get me wrong, a Jedi Starfighter will take out the USS Enterprise (Star Trek) anytime... even on a bad day... (Hope I don't get flamed for this) but I had very high expectations of Star Wars. After watching the prequels, one can't help feel that instead of bringing the Star Wars legend to a higher level, all it achieved was plug in some of the holes in the whole saga. Needless to say I left the cinemas without the 'high' I was hoping to get.

But anyway, that's in the past. After watching the first three episodes of The Clone Wars (TCW), I'd have to say that it has yet to disappoint. Part of this I feel is attributed to the focus on the battles rather than the relationships between the various characters which pretty much screwed up the prequels. This in turn can probably be attributed to the lack of chemistry between the stars.

TCW pretty much follows the events of Episode II and the previous Clone Wars cartoons back in 2003. For the uninitiated, the Clone Wars is the significant event in Star Wars history that led to the rise of Emperor Palpatine ending with the outlawing and subsequent extermination of the Jedi order.

TCW pretty much picks up from the the previous cartoons and centers on the adventures of Yoda, Obi Wan, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's new padawan (Jedi disciple). Yoda was back to his former comedic self and this brought back memories of him in The Empire Strikes Back (TESB) which coincidentally is my favourite Star Wars movie of all time.

There's sufficient action to keep us on the edge of our seats and battle droids are providing much welcome comedic relief as well.

The graphics is also much better than the 2003 cartoons and this is a big relief. What I think is interesting is also the way it has embedded messages into each episode such as "Great leaders inspire greatness in others" and "Belief is not a matter of choice, but of conviction" which I felt was good.

The force is definitely strong in this one.

TENJEWBERRYMUDS

2008-10-11T04:21:00.000-07:00

This is hilarious. To get the full effect, this should be read aloud. You will understand what 'tenjewberrymuds' means by the end of the conversation. This has been nominated for the best email of 2007.

The following is a telephone exchange between a hotel guest and room-service, at a hotel in Asia, which was recorded and published in the Far East Economic Review:

Room Service (RS): 'Morrin. - Roon sirbees.'
Guest (G): 'Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service.'
RS: ' Rye .. Roon sirbees .. morrin! Jewish to oddor sunteen?'
G: 'Uh..yes. I'd like some bacon and eggs.'
RS: 'Ow July den?'
G: 'What?'
RS: 'Ow July den? ... pryed, boyud, poochd?'
G : 'Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry, scrambled please.'
RS: 'Ow July dee baykem? Crease?'
G: 'Crisp will be fine.'
RS : 'Hokay. An sahn toes?'
G: 'What?'
RS:'An toes. July sahn toes?'
G: 'I don't think so.'
RS: 'No? Judo wan sahn toes?'
G: 'I feel really bad about this, but I don't know what 'judo wan sahn toes' means.'
RS: 'Toes! toes!....Why jew don juan toes? Ow bow Anglish moppin we bodder?'
G: 'English muffin!! I've got it! You were saying 'Toast.' Fine. Yes, an English muffin will be fine.'
RS: 'We bodder?'
G: 'No ... just put the bodder on the side.'
RS: 'Wad! ?'
G: 'I mean butter...just put it on the side.'
RS: 'Copy?'
G: 'Excuse me?'
RS: 'Copy ... tea ... meel?'
G: 'Yes. Coffee, please, and that's all.'
RS: 'One Minnie. Scramah egg, crease baykem, Anglish moppin w bodder on sigh and copy .... rye?'
G: 'Whatever you say.'
RS: 'Tenjewberrymuds.'

Oh Gross!!

2008-09-29T16:58:00.001-07:00

Was entering the car park lift this morning when I bumped into the cleaner going on his rounds emptying the dustbins. They basically go from floor to floor carrying this big garbage bag and empty the garbage bins into the bag. Well... as I walked into the lift, he entered before me and was so nice to press ground floor for me as well.

Thennnnnnnnn I saw the glove he was wearing... which of course was the one he was using to empty the bins... And by emptying, I don't mean overturning the bin into the bag.... No No No.. They normally pick up the garbage from the bin with the gloved hand and stuff the junk into the black 'Santa' bag they carry... And there was this brownish stain on the glove.

And it was this same gloved hand that he used to press those little buttons on the control panel... So what's the lesson here? Ladies & Gentlemen... Wash your hands!! :-)

Steamed Pork Ribs With Soybean Sauce

2008-09-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

This was really fast and easy to do. Very little mess as well. I bought a book a few weeks back from a Popular Book Sale at the Curve titled 'Fun With Pork'. I love pork. There's no other meat as good and versatile as pork. Think of roast pork (siu yok), BBQ pork (char siu), bacon, ham, pork knuckles... Need I say more?

I've never actually tried cooking ribs before. The thought of BBQ Pork Ribs has crossed my mind but never really got down to trying it so I was going through this book when I came across a recipe that looked pretty easy. Tried it out and it tasted a little bit like the ones that you get from dim sum stalls.

Ingredients
Group 1 - The Pork
200g Pork Ribs
10g Ginger
6 Cloves Garlic
1 Stalk Spring Onion
2 tbsp Soybean Sauce
1 tbsp Red Chilli (Diced)
2 tbsp Celery (Diced)

Group 2 - The Marinade
3 tbsp Plum Sauce
2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
2 tsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp Pepper
2 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Corn Flour

Method
Rinse pork ribs, cut into pieces. Mix with marinade and set a side for 1 hour. Peel ginger and garlic, chop and mash. Place all ingredients into steaming tray and steam for 20 minutes over high heat. Serve. Now if that's not fast and easy, I don't know what is...

Grilled Chicken With Curried Celery & Mushroom Sauce

2008-09-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

Was playing badminton while at the same time trying to figure out what to eat for dinner and had a sudden urge to cook up a surprise for Bao Yi. Some time back I bought some meatballs and she didn't like them so I buried them in a curry gravy which she said made the meatballs palatable. Well... not just palatable... she said they tasted great... :-) I then experimented further... Bao Yi (like a few other people I know) didn't like celery. Well, she would eat them but she doesn't like them.

Thing is, I don't have any like or dislike for celery but it's basically a base ingredient for a lot of sauce/ stock base due to its fragrance so I do use them. Anyway, I chopped the celery finely and threw them with some garlic & shallots then sautéd them till they were soft then threw in the same meatballs, some seasoning and again the curry powder. Voilà, she was eating the celery like they were chocolate… Ha Ha.. ok… ok… that’s an exaggeration but anyway, was thinking of a curry gravy of some sort with grilled chicken so dropped by Cold Storage on my way back so here goes…

Ingredients
Group 1 – The Meat
2 Chicken Breasts
Cajun Seasoning
Garlic Salt
Olive Oil
Black Pepper
Fresh Thyme
5 Spice Powder
Port Wine/ Red Wine (To deglaze the grill)
Group 2 – The Sauce
1 tsp Curry Powder
Shitake Mushrooms (Sliced)
Shallots (Chopped Fine)
1 Garlic (Chopped Fine)
2 Celery Stalks (Use as much of the stems with leaves)
Low Fat Milk
Group 3 – Potatoes
2 Potatoes
Dried Rosemary
Bolognaise Seasoning

Alright, firstly wash the potatoes then cut them into small little cubes. This is to help them cook faster. You want them bigger, that’s fine. These potatoes will eventually be stirred into the sauce but you can either fry them or steam them first… The latter would probably be healthier. The seasoning’s there because I was watching Chef at Home and he actually dumped some herbs into the water used for steaming the potatoes so I tried that as well… Damn fragrant the air after that… Didn’t do much for the potatoes though… Maybe all buried within the curry gravy as well. Anyway, just chuck all the dried herbs into the water and let them boil. I actually steam the potatoes so the nutrients don’t get leached out into the water (which happens when you boil the potatoes).

While the potatoes are steaming, season the chicken breasts. Where the chicken’s concerned, you want to leave the skin on cos’ that’s the best part. (The heck with cholesterol) but remove as much of the fat as possible then pat dry. Sprinkle some olive oil and basically chuck all the seasoning, herbs & spices in and rub well. Chuck the thyme under the skin and rub the spices underneath that as well. When the remaining fat renders on the grill it’s going to absorb the flavours.

The potatoes should be done by now so take them out and brown them in the oven with some olive oil while you heat up the grill. I use a grilling pan instead of an actual grill.

Once the meat is done, scoop them out then deglaze the grilling pan with some Port wine. I love this cos’ it actually absorbs the flavour seared onto the grill into the wine so the flavour doesn’t go to waste. Add some water then let it reduce for about 3 mins.

In the meantime, sauté the shallots & garlic till soft then chuck in the celery. Sauté for about 3 mins then pour in the reduced meat liquid then let it simmer for about 3 mins then chuck in the mushrooms. Mix well then chuck in the potatoes and again, mix well. Sprinkle some black pepper, Cajun seasoning and curry powder. Mix well then pour in the low fat milk (this is a substitute for coconut milk/ cream) then chuck in the potatoes. You can add some fish sauce/ salt to your taste.

You’re done. It looks like a long process but all it took me was about 30 – 45 mins and it didn’t really create a big mess. The cost for two persons? Only about RM 30 and I have lots of celery to spare. You can actually add more milk so you get more gravy in which case you need more curry powder as well and trust me… Get some garlic toast and dip ‘em in. Have fun.

Mid Valley Photo Shoot

2008-09-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

My first model shoot with the Mid Valley Centre Court decor as a backdrop. Ha! Ha! Yeah I know... Perasan... It was actually a fashion show by E'Tho. Well, enjoy the pics...

Balik Kampung Theme

Raya Spread

And last but not least, my bestest, favouritest model... :-)

Thought Bubbles Cyberspotted

2008-09-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

Keh Keh... Well.. technically, I am piggy-backing off the Turtle Research & Rehabilitation Group (TRRG) Web Site but oh well, it's still my few lines of fame :-) Certainly brings back early memories when I wrote in to the Star to write about the horrible conditions of the enclosures & cages in the Taiping Zoo. That's as far as I ventured into activism. Heh Heh...

I was in Form 4 (that would be back in 1990) and I actually written the letter and got all my classmates and friends to sign the letter. I actually signed the letter as A.L.F. which is supposed to be the acronym for Animal Liberation Front... Well.. that and ALF was one of my favourite comedies at the time. If you haven't watched it, it's about this cuddly Alien that crashes into Earth and loves eating cats... Yumm Yumm... An alien after my own heart!!

I do not know if that reached the intended audience but since then conditions in the Taiping Zoo has improved exponentially and it now has a night safari as well. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I were to say that it is better than Zoo Negara but then again, that's my opinion... So regardless if it had any impact, I guess I will just continue believing I have made a difference... :-) That and the hundreds of turtle hatchlings that have crawled to sea... Hope I have made up enough karma points to wipe out my sins... :-D

New DELL Battery

2008-09-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Yeah... As good as new... After close to 1 year of utilising my Dell Inspiron 1520 the battery was starting to behave like a handphone battery. Although it charges fully, it's noticeable that the charge doesn't last much longer than 1 hour. All the same, didn't pay much attention until I started getting the following message.

Anyway, a quick call to Dell Tech Support by my colleague, gave them the Service Tag and less than 24 hours later, I got the following...
A spanking new battery... I've told many people before that Dell Support is one of the best... Well, I'm now stating that publicly & officially... Hmm, maybe they'll stumble into this post and offer me a free Dell notebook. :-) But seriously, this is the second time I've called Dell for assistance and both times, they were friendly and as helpful as ever. My cousin has done the same as well. So has my colleague. With the standard 1 year warranty support package that comes bundled in, there are no questions asked, we just report and before you know it, they're at your doorstep. So next time you want to get a notebook or replace your present one, think Dell... It's affordable, support's great. You won't regret it. And No! I'm not getting paid for this...

Selamat Hari Malaysia 2008

2008-09-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

45 years ago on this day, 16 September 1963, Malaya, North Borneo, Sabah & Sarawak joined hands and formed Malaysia. Authorities has earlier planned for the formation of Malaysia on June 1, 1963 but it was later postponed to August 31, 1963 to coincide with the 6th Hari Merdeka but due to objections from Indonesia & Philippines with the formation of Malaysia, it was eventually delayed to September 16 of the same year.

Today, 45 years later it is my hope that we Malaysians irrespective of race, religion and background will be celebrating Hari Malaysia, hand in hand for many more centuries to come.

[History lesson courtesy of Wikipedia]

2008-09-14T23:19:00.000-07:00

September 16, 2008. Malaysian D-Day?

2008-09-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

Never once could I have imagined how interesting Malaysian Politics would one day become . To be frank, I enjoyed the US Elections more which is why prior to the March 2008 General Elections, I was actually following more of the US elections. Over there, democracy is at least like a democracy. You have political parties voting in their leaders and this is in turn based on the population voting in the candidate they trust most.

Even on election day itself, I wanted to avoid the rush so quickly went, had lunch and was back on CNN following the news of the US elections... :-) So much for patriotism... Little did I know the political tsunami that would arrive on our shores later that evening.

As we anticipate September 16 and our American friends await their presidential elections, one can draw similarities in both countries. The underlying hope that everyone has that it will be a better 4 - 5 years ahead. Where Malaysians are concerned, the hope that true democracy is in store and as well, a more transparent and democratic government will replace the cronyism & corruption of the past, propelling us forward to Vision 2020. In the US, the hope that democracy will shine through for all, the hope that Obama will be finally be the first African-American US President. Obama and our very own Pakatan Rakyat has one similarity... in that they in their own ways have gotten the younger generation enthusiastic and interested in shaping the nation's future and it is this single fact that has gotten me rooting for them.

My boss was asking me sometime back why I wanted so much for Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) to be the Prime Minister. My answer was simple... He gave me hope. The fact is, the recent general elections (GE) gave us one very important thing... Hope! First of all, I know DSAI is no saint but then again who in politics are? The fact is, it can't be any worse than it already is so why not give them a chance to prove themselves. The alternative can't exactly be that rosy. Prior to the GE most of us was content to just vote the opposition with the rationale of having check and balance (of course the ones we vote are capable ones of course... we don't pakai hantam (simply whack)) just so we can have representation in the parliament... Nobody had any notion that things were really gonna change. This pretty much accounts for the surprise when results of the GE trickled out.

All the same, it is still uncertain as to how things will pan out over the next few weeks but I'm thankful that since the elections, everybody has been pretty much been well behaved. This again I feel is one of the benefit that Pakatan Rakyat has given us a preview of. A country which is multi-racial in essence and not just in name. Prior to the GE, most of us would be cautious when we voice dissent and our dissatisfaction with the powers that be for fear of legal retribution and also ever so often has the racial card been played for the sole purpose of keeping a leash on the minority. This is sadly still the case most recently.

In the past, DAP & PAS as opposition parties have pretty much had a tough battle fighting the coalition government as both were seen as the extreme end on either side. It's not very far-fetched to say that PKR has become the glue that solidifies this partnership providing an avenue for the moderate Malays. And for an ethnic Chinese, it is really refreshing for me to hear a Malay leader preaching Muhibbah in the truest sense of the word preaching equality and fairness for all instead of just cautioning the ethnic minorities not to stir up unrest by questioning the rights of the majority. This in a great part has helped diffuse the tension that may have been a result of fear on both sides of the divide. It is my hope that this will continue to give us what can be truly described as a Malaysian Malaysia.

I am sure I speak for all my friends, Malays, Indians, Sikhs, Punjabis and Chinese when I say that there is no one questioning each other's rights. All everyone wants is a peaceful environment to raise a family and one where everyone is treated equally. After all, when we go to another country for business, study or to migrate, wouldn't we want to be treated on equal footing?

As it is, half of the country is governed by Pakatan Rakyat (PR). It is every moderate, right thinking Malaysian's hope that this new coalition will learn from history and avoid the temptation that is at present bringing down the Barisan coalition. PR has been given a very valuable opportunity to prove itself to Malaysians everywhere that it can do what BN has failed to do so it is now up to the elected leaders of the PR coalition to show us what they can do and show us they deserve another term.

Mongol

2008-09-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

A show worth watching if you like historically based epics. Think Braveheart, 300, Kingdom of Heaven and the like. Nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar for 2008, it's in Mongolian but the subtitles is pretty good. Mongol is a movie about the rise of Genghis Khan. The cinematography & acting was great. Some of the scenes kinda reminded me of 300 but overall, the movie stood out on its own.

Main complaint would have been that the entire story kinda felt compressed. I guess there was no way that the director could have squeezed the whole story of Genghis Khan's life into 2 hours and it kinda' focused on the main highlights of his life but probably could've stretched it a little bit more.

Considering whatever little I remembered from my primary school history which portrayed Genghis Khan as a barbarian the movie humanised him somewhat. The movie is factually thin and though the characters are accurate and most of the key characters in Genghis Khan's life are in the movie it's all very briefly covered and on occasions you get the feeling that the movie kinda skips...

Anyhow, it's still worth checking out.

You Don't Wanna Watch Zohan!!

2008-09-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

It's been busy lately sorting out work... sheesh... How come work never gets sorted out? I'm always sorting... and sorting... and sorting...

Since The Dark Knight (TDK), I've been away from the cinemas... somehow no urge to go watch a movie cos everything seemed so boring after TDK...

But anyway, went for a movie marathon last weekend. Was strolling along Mid Valley with Bao Yi with the intention of catching a movie. Not only did I not get to watch the movie I was thinking of watching, I had to endure watching a movie that should never have been made in the first place. What movie did I want to watch that bad? Well... It wasn't exactly an irresistable urge but was hoping to catch The Clone Wars. For those of you who don't know, this will be the prelude to the Clone Wars TV Series... Anyway, they only had one show and we'd missed it so we ended up getting tickets for 2 shows back to back... Zohan (Even the mention of it sends a tingle down my spine) and Wall-E.

Anyway, Zohan in 2 words is 'brainless comedy'... It's not that it was lousy acting... Rob Schneider (The Animalistic Man Whore) is in there and Adam Sandler was okay but I was not much of a fan of this genre of comedy so... I guess it's just me. Those who love Jim Carrey, Leslie Nielsen and Stephen Chow would probably be rolling on the floor but it's just not my cup of tea. Wall-E on the other hand was nice...

The week before that watched Mummy 3 although... yes yes yes... everyone pretty much told me it was horrible... But I guess I was a sucker for punishment...

My verdict? Well... It was still watchable la... If not for the acting at least for the action. Considering how well (in my opinion) Brendan Fraser was in so many other shows, I was disappointed with Mummy 3. Somehow, I just didn't feel like he was in the show. So much so that the brother in law that I found irritating in the earlier Mummies did much better. Sheesh... even the abominable snowmen acted better. And I'd rather not talk about the son and the 'new' wife.

Dato' Michelle Yeoh (DMY) & Jet Li didn't really shine in the movie as well. Although DMY started out in action movies and is more than capable of carrying herself in a fight, I kinda prefer her in dramas as she has that regal, classy air to her and she shines much much better in movies like Memoirs of a Geisha and the Children of Nanking... Jet Li? Well... still prefer his chinese movies.

That aside, special effects was ok... So far nothing has been able to surpass the joke that was The Scorpion King... I kinda liked the appearance of the abominable snowmen though.. I've always like the idea of mythical guardian creatures... :-)

Some have mentioned it was probably the lack of the Weisz factor... and you know, I'm inclined to agree. The chemistry between Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in the earlier 2 mummies was amusing and nice. This I suppose underlined the importance of a good cast and chemistry between the actors & actresses...

I can name several movies that sorta' flopped because of the lack of chemistry... The Star Wars prequels would be one... I mean... I am a Star Wars fan and if there's any show I would watch regardless of what people say, it would be Star Wars but sadly, there was no chemistry whatsoever between Hayden Christensen & Natalie Portman. The Dark Knight was a great movie... but they have also yet to find an actress to really fit in there... maybe that's why you never see the same actress twice in any of the batman sequels... Now compare these with films like Superman (Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder), Classic Star Wars (Harrison Ford & Carrie Fischer), Mummy 1 & Mummy 2 (Brendan Fraser & Rachel Weisz), Remington Steele (Pierce Brosnan & Stephanie Zimbalist)...

That aside, caught some nice movies though outside of the cinema... There's Fly Away Home (starring a young Anna Paquin & Jeff Daniels), Never Back Down (Djimon Hounsou), Felon (Val Kilmer & Stephen Dorff) and The Great Debaters. The Great Debaters deserve special mention... It's a drama based on the true story of a college professor (played by Denzel Washington) who inspired his students to form the school's first debate team that went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship so go check it out...

Happy Mid Autumn Festival

2008-09-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

Bao Yi's company is having chinese dress-up day in conjunction with the upcoming Mid-Autumn festival and she scrambled to get her qipao modified. Just got it by mail yesterday from her mom and she looked so stunning when she put it on that I just had to snap a shot... Well... several shots to be exact.

That and and I know it's about time to update the blog so what better excuse.

The mid-autumn festival or otherwise known as the lantern festival or mooncake festival is most commonly associated by the sudden mushrooming of stalls selling mooncakes and lanterns. Gone are the days where lanterns were made of transparent coloured papers that use small candles and feature the animals of the zodiac. Well.. you still see them but nowadays, you see more and more electrical lanterns using batteries, plastic with sirens as well... And the variety... Spiderman, Batman... You name it... they've got it!! The most popular one recently has to be Kungfu Panda...

Anyway, the mid-Autumn festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian calendar). This is the ideal time, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.

Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date and traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:

* Eating moon cakes outside under the moon
* Putting pomelo rinds on one's head
* Carrying brightly lit lanterns
* Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e
* Planting Mid-Autumn trees
* Collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members
* Lighting lanterns on towers
* Fire Dragon Dances

Speaking of moon cakes I really have to recommend Fook Pan's Chocolate Mooncake. It's only available from their factory which is in this small little shoplot on Jalan Ipoh. Well.. .supposedly there are distributors that buy from them and resell but I haven't seen any so far so the best is to get them warm from the oven... To get there just drive to Jalan Tun Razak, turn into Jalan Ipoh heading towards Kepong and look for a signboard just before a pedestrian bridge (it's before the Shell petrol station) and it says Fook Pan Cooking School... The chocolate mooncake costs MYR 10/ piece... worth every bite!! And a good point to note is that they were the first to produce chocolate mooncakes. At least as far as I know and this was several years back and I always go back every year.

Since then, I have seen chocolate mooncakes popping up everywhere but so far, none that quite tastes the same. 2 other ones that I liked this year is the Chocolate Maple Snowy Skin and Chocolate Citrus Snowy Skin... Anyway, you can call them at +60 3 4042 7676 or visit their Web Site for more details and a complete price list.

HIC! HIC! HIC!

2008-08-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ever had a hiccup that just won't frackin' go away? Well I had my first... Since yesterday night after dinner I had this danged hiccup that lasted an hour after which I was almost going nuts... I eventually swallowed 2 tablets Maalox Plus to get rid of the gas cos' I felt bloated with all the gas and I decided to try make myself puke... I didn't puke but the gas exited my stomach and Voila... it worked...

Problem is... it returned in the morning!! On my drive to work.. all of a sudden... HIIIICC!!! HIC HIC HIC HICking all the way to work!! You probably would have seen me in my car... head bobbing up and down every few seconds with an exasperated look on my face!! It went away again after breakfast but before you know it 30 minutes had not passed and it was back!

Anyway, desperation sets in... nothing works... I have tried a lot of cures in my time and none really so satisfactory... Among them drinking water... My girlfriend was actually asking me to take 7 big gulps of water and not thinking of the hiccup... needless to say, apart from feeling like a drowning whale, it didn't work... Somehow I have never been able to successfully scare myself silly and I don't have a paper bag handy (and I don't fancy suffocating myself as well by accident) so it's time to Google it!! And the first link I found worked and the good thing about it? No water, no cups, no nothing... Just sit in front of your computer and try it out... so here it goes...

Step 1: Start by inhaling through your mouth until your lungs feel full (when it feels like you cannot inhale any more). For overall best results, try to do this as quickly as you can. DO NOT LET ANY AIR OUT.

Step 2: Swallow. You are not really swallowing anything but it seems that without this act, it doesn’t work. DO NOT LET ANY AIR OUT.

Step 3: Now inhale some more. You don’t need to inhale a lot, but do get some more air in. It will start to get difficult to do this as you go, but keep trying. You obviously can’t suck in as much air as you did initially, but just a little will do (think of it as taking a “sip” of air). DO NOT LET ANY AIR OUT.

Step 4: Swallow again. This too will start to get difficult as you go. DO NOT LET ANY AIR OUT.

Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you cannot swallow again. While it seems you can almost always suck in just a little more air, it is the swallowing that gets to be impossible. When you feel like you cannot swallow again, swallow again anyway. It will be hard to do, your face will probably turn red, and you may make squeaking sounds. But you CAN swallow one last time. By this time, your lungs should also be quite full and it should be difficult to get much more air in as well. While you should try not to let any air out, if you have really repeated steps 3 and 4 as many times as you can, you probably will end up letting a little out before you can take that last swallow. If you find that air keeps escaping out of your nose even early in the process, try squeezing it shut with your fingers.

Step 6: Exhale.

If it works for you like it did for me... Well, drop by this 30 Second Hiccup Cure link and say Thank You!

Let's Put A Smile On That Face!!

2008-07-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ladies & Gentlemennnnn..... The Dark Knight smashes it's way into box offices and I'm putting it right beside all those shows that I consider the best movies of all time. Among the things that I look for in a movie, it has fulfilled all of them with distinctions. Entertaining, action, special effects, humour, drama, story, plot... It delivered on all levels. Soundtrack no need to say lah... As long as you get Hans Zimmer... somehow, it can't go wrong...

Since Batman Begins, Christian Bale has pretty much replaced Michael Keaton as my favourite Batman. He's still not someone I would call the perfect Batman... Not the same way Christopher Reeve is identified as the one and only Superman or Alec Guiness as Obi Wan Kenobi... But he did great.

And Heath Ledger... Man... his performance gives me chills... In my opinion, the villains in this installment pretty much stole the show. Heath Ledger was simply amazing as the Joker... His portrayal of sadism and cruelty simply puts him right up there as one of my favourite villain of all time. And it's not just that, say what you will... but he even made The Joker classy. And Aaron Eckhart pulled off Two Face satisfactorily as well. His portrayal of Harvey Dent and his eventual 'fall to the dark side' earns him brownie points in my books. It's such a pity that Ledger died such an untimely death as I felt his performance should earn him an Oscar.

Christopher Nolan has pretty much pulled off with the latest 2 installments of Batman what I felt the earlier ones failed to do... Believable villains and a believable Batman. Till today, I still shiver when I think of the nipples on George Clooney's Batman... I almost expected they were gonna use it as a weapon... perhaps to shoot poison gas...

Maybe it's just different styles whereby the earlier installment by Tim Burton wanted to make the villains more comical but I guess I preferred Batman darker. Batman in another way is just not Batman... sort of like a PG-13 Predator vs Aliens movie...

Oh... And catch these few other movies of Heath Ledger... Knights Tale, Casanova, Brokeback Mountain, Brothers Grimm & The Patriot. Especially Knights Tale.

Rating... 20/10.

The Incredible Hulk

2008-07-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Let's see... Was kinda eager to catch a movie after I got back from Redang... Had already missed Indiana Jones and choices that I had were Kung Fu Panda (Nah... Didn't feel like watching cartoons)... Hancock... Hmm... Nolah... Not really in the mood for comedies either...

Had kinda' set my mind on watching The Incredible Hulk queue to get tickets was like soooo long... Anyways, my girlfriend and I was having dinner when Lois called me up and told me she would be dropping by the Gardens so told her to get me tickets if she could... keh keh keh... Unfortunately tickets were kinda late in the night.. 11:30 show and it was only about 10 pm... Suan liao la...

Called Lois and checked if she was having better luck as she had crossed over to Mid Valley and was supposedly queuing for Kung Fu Panda and whaddaya know, Poon was in the queue.... and she was far ahead... So... to cut the long story short, got my tickets... didn't have to wait that late for a movie... Thanks Poon!! :-)

The movie was kinda ok... It was much better than it's predecessor a few years back (The one starring Eric Bana) but overall, I guess my expectations were much higher. Off hand, Edward Norton's an amazing actor. He wasn't that impressive in Red Dragon but was simply amazing in 25th Hour and of course, American History X.

Didn't have very high expectations of Liv Tyler though... Yeah she's a pretty face to watch but I didn't have that high expectations of her as an actress. No offence to all of her fans out there cos' that's just me.

I suppose when the whole show is banking on a character that's digital it's gonna be tough getting both the real and unreal to really jive. Unless if you're Peter Jackson of course... Gollum! Gollum! Gollum! And oh yeah... King Kong!! Btw, do you know that Andy Serkis played both? :-)

Anyway, again, show wise was okaylah... entertaining if I'm not too sleepy but I guess my main grouch is The Hulk was not as menacing as what I had hoped he would be. Yeah the effects were good... But still he didn't really strike it off as a truly menacing green monster.. more like a grouchy bully...

So anyways... I'd give it a 7 out of 10.

It's Back!!!

2008-07-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins and I'll bet that most of you heard it here first... keh keh keh... They have fortunately replaced Nick Stahl, the actor who played John Connor in Terminator 3 with.... *drum-roll* Christian Bale!! Who? Batman la!! The current installment will supposedly take place in the future. I've seen Christian Bale in a coupl'a movies and I'd say he makes the best Batman so hope he makes a more believable and less wimpy John Connor than the last one.

And nope... No Schwarzeneggar in the cast list. I think it's better that way. When? Early 2009.

In the meantime, go check out Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Not really that exceptional but still watchable la... Fills in the gap between T2 & T3... I'm kinda wondering if it'll eventually explain how John Connor in T2 became as wimpy as John Connor in T3... If for nothing else, go check out the babes...

PA's Homemade Pasta

2008-07-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend suddenly had a craving for pasta last night while I was getting the stuff for my siu yok & cookie recipe so got some Tagliatelle, some portobello mushrooms and pasta sauce. I normally make my own pasta sauce but in this case, was kinda lazy and wanted to do it fast so what the heck... got some mushroom (I have this thing for mushrooms... yum yummmm) pasta sauce.

Anyway, went shopping this morning and got some minced pork as well... can't do without meat, can we? I mean... vegetarians are good and all that but I don't see myself as a vegan... Nooooo way...

Anyway, marinated the minced pork, chucked it in the fridge and went about my business... When it was time to prepare dinner, I took out the ingredients and suddenly felt that the pasta was gonna be kinda empty so started scrounging around for more ingredients... I guess I kinda like it this way... looking around for what I have and tinkering around the kitchen... You'd probably notice that my kitchen is the nicest part of my house too... :-)

Anyways... it's pretty easy to prepare... Try it out...

Ingredients:
Tagliatelle (You can use whatever you like)
Olive Oil
Pasta Sauce
Garlic (Chopped Roughly)
Gourmet Chicken Sausage (1 should suffice... sliced)
Minced Meat (Marinated with cornstarch, soya sauce & fish sauce)
Portobello Mushrooms (About 5 Pieces)
Bacon (2 - 3 slices... cut as you like)
Port Wine (Optional)
Spices (Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Parsley) This is optional as the pasta sauce would already have it but I like spices in large quantities so what the heck

Directions:
Start boiling the Tagliatelle or whatever it is you prefer as it'll take the longest. About 10 - 15 mins...

In a wok/ pan, splash some olive oil and saute the garlic, spices, sausages, bacon & minced meat until it's golden brown and crispy...

Dump in the mushrooms... saute for about a minute and pour in as much pasta sauce as you like.

Turn up the fire and wait till it bubbles, let it boil for about a minute then add a splash of the Port wine to give it some zing... Stir, wait for it to bubble then turn off the fire.

Once the pasta's done, heat up the pasta sauce, drain the water from the pasta and chuck it into the sauce, stir & serve. Voila... shouldn't take you more than 20 mins.

Roast Pork From Hell @ Siu Yok

2008-07-12T05:14:00.000-07:00

I bowed to the temptation of Babe In The City's 'Siu Yok' (Roast Pork) recipe... Partly to try it out and partly to impress my girlfriend. Well.. it worked to a certain extent. She was impressed... :-) Unfortunately I was expecting better... To be honest, I doubt that any respectable chicken rice restaurant would serve it... Why? Cos' from the picture prior to cutting it... it honestly looks like it came fresh from the ovens of Hell... hence, I christen thee the Roast Pork From Hell... Looks aside, it was quite okay. Europeans may like it though... I could possibly get employed as an assistant chef at Deutsche Haus or maybe Bavarian Bier Haus... :-) Ok! Ok! Enough self flattery...

At any rate, the taste was not too bad but it was kinda salty at the bottom. I wasn't quite happy with the crisp factor as well... Overall, I'd give it a 6 or 7 out of 10. I told Babe In The City that if anything I try fails, it's the fault of the recipe... ha ha... But oh well... I probably just need more practice... I suspect that it's due to the thickness of the piece of pork belly (too thick) that I purchased and also the uneven distribution of the meat.

What's interesting though is that I tried 'grease-proofing' my oven cos' trust me... once the fat starts cooking... it's not a pretty sight... And anyone who likes his oven clean as a whistle will be groaning in agony... Anyway, I lined my oven with aluminium foil and it helped that pretty much every part of my oven could be taken apart. Fortunately. it pretty much worked...

Well... hope whoever tries it has more success than me... You can get the recipe from Babe In The City's Siu Yok.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies a.k.a Choc Chip Cookies

2008-07-12T03:50:00.000-07:00

Bao Yi: Wah... The cookies nice oh... Got chocolate chip summore... Wah got so much summore...

P.A.: Niceleh... Follow friend's recipe wan. Can taste the banana or not?
Bao Yi: Huh? Banana? What banana? I don't taste any banana...
P.A.: Hmmm... Sure boh?

Well... that pretty much explains why there's an a.k.a Choc Chip Cookies... ha ha... Anyway, it tastes okay but I think I probably should have put more bananas or maybe I should have used some other type of banana.

I got the recipe from Yozora's Website but I doubt I did it justice. I actually increased the quantity as her recipe made only 2 dozen and I was trying to make more so I roughly doubled the ingredients. But all the same, it was relatively easy to make... and yes Yozora... I have seen the light... I need to get an electric mixer...

Almond Chocolate Torte

2008-07-09T03:40:00.000-07:00

This no-bake thingie is catching... I suppose the convenience of not having to use the oven and the cleaning that follows. Unfortunately, for an amateur, it seems that whether I use the oven or not makes no difference cos' it takes more time than it says... :-)

This is actually the 2nd time I'm trying this recipe. If I remember correctly, the taste is pretty much similar as the first time but the first time I did not have a springform pan and I had difficulty getting the finished product out of the pan... Erm.. it pretty much looked like mush after I got it out. And having had this 'experience' maybe I should have deviated from the recipe a little... maybe a little more gelatin... Not sure if it would have made any difference in terms of firmness. Anyhow, I think it tastes great. Girlfriend thinks so too... sooo... pass lah... keh keh keh... Self praise is no praise but who the heck cares...

Well... try it out yourself and if you have suggestions how to make it firmer apart from chucking it in the freezer, do drop me a line... and by the way, how do you actually weigh 7 gm gelatin powder ah? My weighing machine (no I did not use the Ikea weighing machine).. it's a proper weighing machine and it doesn't give me that low a weight... Maybe I need a digital one... Erm... hint! hint. Anybody? My birthday's coming up soon... :-)

The following is what you need:

Ingredients:
Set 1
65 g sliced almonds, toasted. (Feel free to use as much as you want... It adds a great crunch to the finished product so I used quite a lot partly to give it a thicker base)

Set 2
224 g semi-sweet chocolate

Set 3 448 g cream cheese, softened
200 g sugar

Set 4
7 g unflavoured gelatin
60 ml cold water

Set 5
475 ml whipping cream

Directions:
You can do either one of the first 3 instructions as it's not affected by time. When you are playing with the whipped cream, you have to use it immediately so do that last.

1. Set aside as much almonds as you want as garnish. Chop the rest and use them to line the bottom of a greased 9 in springform pan.

2. In a microwave or heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate (Set 2) and stir until smooth. If using the hob, what you should do is have a pan filled with water and set another bowl with the chocolate into the pan of water and melt it that way. This way the chocolate will not burn. If you are using big chunks of chocolate it may take you awhile. Take the entire thing off the fire and let it cool a little.

3. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar.

Note: Once the first 3 are complete, start work on the following. 4. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Cook and stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved then beat into the cream cheese mixture (instruction no 3 above). Add the melted chocolate and beat until blended.

5. Lastly, start whipping the cream. Reason why I left this last is the first time I attempted this recipe, I kinda did this somewhere at the beginning and left it while I did the rest. What you end up with is mush... ha ha... You also can't beat it too much... just as long as the texture changes and is firm, you should stop and move on to the next step... Otherwise, the cream separates from the milk after some time and I think you will have low-fat milk...

6. Fold the whipped cream into the mixture.

7. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with reserved almonds. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. I left it much longer as with the last time, it didn't really firm up very much except the surface. I'm not sure if it would help if you add more gelatin. Perhaps some of you can try it out.

If yours turns out like mush as well don't fret... It tastes better than it looks... at least, I think so. The original recipe says it takes a prep time of about 20 minutes and it will be ready in 20 minutes... For me, all in, it took me slightly over an hour. And this doesn't include the cleaning that followed. But again... it was worth it. Good Luck!!

Recipe courtesy of Rhonda Lanterman, downloaded from allrecipes.com.

Chagar Hutang 2008

2008-07-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

At long last... gonna squeeze in some time to write about my trip to Chagar Hutang (CH). The trip was pretty much the same as in the past. The usual briefing at the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) campus where we would meet the other volunteers as well. I was supposed to meet Fong (last year’s RA) but the timing of my flight was out and she had to leave for Setiu on her other project. It was however pleasant to meet Karen again (a vet student whom I met during last year’s trip to CH). Anyway, we arrived kinda’ in the midst of the briefing so a tip here for volunteers would be to take the Air Asia flight which leaves at 7 am instead of the MAS flight which leaves at 9 am. Anyway, blah blah blah.. and we were then off to Merang after signing our disclaimer… so if anything happens to us in CH, UMT is covered… :-)

We arrived at Laguna jetty after 1 pm and Adie soon greeted us on Si Penyu (the speedboat belonging to the project). After loading the boat, we were on our way… Woo Hooooo…

The whole week was pretty much uneventful except for the stormy rains almost every night except on Friday and we had a sort of record landing and nesting as well, a total of 56 landings and 33 nestings thus ending up in 2^nd place so far (lost out by 1 nest). That was pretty much my personal record as well. On top of that there were at least 5 new nesting green turtles (nesting for the first time) and there were 2 hawksbill turtles… (of which I saw one) YES... a dream fulfilled!!

Activities throughout the week was pretty much the same except that on Wednesday there was a bunch of school kids from all over Malaysia who visited the island as part of an event organized by the Co-Curriculum Centre in an effort to create awareness & appreciation for marine life and as we were short-handed, I was given the honour of giving the briefing to the kids in the gallery. Mann was briefing on the beach patrol and other conservation work whereas Lea (the Research Assistant) would be briefing the participants on the efforts of the Conservation Program.

During the river hike, we also completed a mission… To place signboards of interesting spots… The river hike is pretty much an unguided one so I was thinking that it would be good to have the signboards in place so volunteers would know what to look for.
The turtle rock hike had to be postponed till Thursday as certain events kinda’ threw the original schedule out. In addition, the sea conditions were quite bad since Monday so snorkeling at other spots (e.g. Marine Park, Pulau Lima) also had to be canceled. We still had fun snorkeling off the beach.
This year, nests were affected quite badly by fire ants. There wasn’t that much monitor lizards lurking around (as I understand the staffs had gone on a lizard purging activity recently) but we were relocating nests on an average of 2 -3 nests a day due to fire ants attack. And it wasn’t a pretty sight. There was a nest that was attacked and though we managed to recover the remaining eggs and some of the hatchlings most of the hatchlings didn’t survive probably due to the injuries from the ant bites.
Food-wise, it was as great as ever. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that food is better than at the resorts. Even Bao Yi who doesn’t normally go for Malay food is now a believer!!
All in all, no regrets coming here again... now planning for the next trip... to French Guyana for Leatherback Turtles... Woo Hoooooo..... more like a dream... :-) Welll... enjoy the following pictorial account... and there are many more at my multiply album.

We saw turtles.... There were green turtle hatchlings...
And there were hawksbill hatchlings...

We saw the Green Turtle Mommy...

And we saw the Hawksbill mommy (My first time too)
We ate Bihun Goreng Chagar Hutang...

We had Ayam Masak Merah

And the Ayam Masak Tomato was outta this world...
However, some of us were still hungry...
We saw butterflies

We even had our Mr Chagar Hutang competition... Adie Won!! Siooottt!!!
We hiked up the river...

And we hiked up Turtle Rock...

We saw the sun rise...

And we saw the sun set...

Of course, we worked...

But we also lazed...

We posed...

We also snorkeled...

We lost a few...

But we also saved a lot...

Lets all make a difference... Pledge and say "No!!" to turtle eggs by sending an email to turtle@umt.edu.my with the message “I pledge NOT to eat turtle or terrapin eggs for the rest of my life” together with your full name and MyKad number (needed for authentification).

No-Bake Chocolate Cookies

2008-07-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

Was tinkering around with chocolate yesterday and dug around my list of recipes and came up with no-bake chocolate cookies. The name kinda' intrigued me so gave it a shot.

The following is what you need:

Wet Mixture
2 Cups Sugar (You can probably reduce this a little if you think it's too sweet)
1/2 Cup Fat-Free Milk (I couldn't find this so I substituted with low fat milk)
1/2 Cup butter/ Stick Margarine

Dry Mixture
3 Cups Quick-Cooking Oats
1 Cup Flaked Coconut (I used dessicated coconut... Not sure if it's the same)
6 Tablespoons Baking Cocoa
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Combine the wet mixture in a large saucepan and bring to boil stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes and remove from the heat.

2. Stir in the dry mixture. You probably want to pass the cocoa powder through a sieve cos' it may have lumps... Anyway, once the mixture is well combined, drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. You'll have to do this quickly as the mixture thickens fast due to the drying sugar. I used aluminium foil in the place of wax paper which would do the job as well.

3. Let stand until set, this takes about 1 hour ++.

The cookies doesn't take that much time to make actually. The bulk of the time was spent cleaning up and also placing the cookies onto the aluminium foil.

The Verdict:
Personally, I liked the outcome... It was kinda gooey though... Probably because of the oats & dessicated coconut so not crunchy like traditional cookies. Or maybe I did it wrong... ha ha.

Recipe courtesy of Carol Brandon, downloaded from allrecipes.com.

Reunion at Chillis 1 Utama

2008-07-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

I think it's coming close to a month since I last posted... What a month it has been. I was in Redang for a week (from 21st - 28th) on my annual volunteer work... :-) Trying to get some good karmic points. I'm still in the midst of what some of my fellow volunteers call the Chagar Hutang blues... defined as a down feeling that you get after leaving Chagar Hutang but I guess I'll survive.

Had a minor surgery yesterday to remove a boil on my forearm... Thank God I can still write but at any rate I'll be out of commission for a few days...

Anyway, the main event was a reunion at 1 Utama Chillis organised by Adrian & Joycelyn. The reunion was sort of like a farewell meet-up before he & Joycelyn uproots themselves to Melbourne Australia. It was a great reunion... meeting up with old friends... some of whom I have not seen for 10 years... Most with families of their own by now. Well... I've been told that my blog should contain more pics than words... so ... enjoy the pics... :-)

Khairul & I fighting over beaver skins in Montreal, Canada during a Summer trip.

Adrian, Joycelyn & I... Incredible Hulk Wannabes at Fork's Market, Winnipeg.

Khairul, Myself, Gabriel, Ngo, Adrian & Jean (Seated) celebrating Jean's Birthday at Kirkby Terrace, Winnipeg.

Adrian, Yuet Har, Irene, Liang Kwang, Chwan Keng, Myself & Urm.... forgot that guy... Fong I think... at Kings Park, Manitoba. Yeah... my hair was that long once...

Yuet Har, Joycelyn, Swee Sen (& Their Kids)

Myself, Faith & Yuet Har's Daughter... :-)

Las Hombres... The guys of Business Computing '92. Adrian, Khairul, Myself & Ngo.

Ngo & His Kids (Yi Leon & Yi Shion)

One Big Happy Family.

Fraser's Hill Landslide

2008-06-15T19:47:00.001-07:00

Just saw in today's newspaper pictures of the landslide that caused the road closure up Fraser's Hill. My friends and I went on a trip up Fraser's Hill in early May when we encountered a road closure forcing us to double-back and take the road from Tanjung Malim instead. At the time, we were told a boulder had landed on the bridge... From the picture below, I think that was quite an understatement...

Picture courtesy of Stephen Hogg/Aerovision

Chagar Hutang... Here I Come!!

2008-06-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

2 more weeks to go and I'll be off... My 5th tour of duty as a volunteer for turtle conservation at Chagar Hutang over in Redang Island. I can't wait. 1 week of utter isolation... no handphone... no e-mails... Woo Hooooo... Almost every year when it gets closer to my volunteer slot, I start thinking of the 300m long beach reminiscing of past memories and I've been going through some photos as well... Thought I'd share them...

Dawn at Chagar Hutang (CH). This was taken in 2005 and was taken in the wee hours of the morning using a long exposure. It was an eventful night as the speedboat used to ferry us between the mainland and CH had sunk. It was nearing the monsoon season so the seas were choppy and water collected in the boat causing it to sink... no thanks to the full tanks of gasoline that had not been offloaded. Fortunately, we realised what was happening and managed to get all the gasoline tanks before we were faced with an ecological disaster.

Sunrise in Chagar Hutang. This was taken just last year.

When the weather permits, we would just spread out the carpets on the beach and gaze at stars and just monitor landing turtles. This my dear friends, is not an experience you are bound to get in many places. A private beach... no tourists walking by... waves lapping... this is the pinnacle of relaxation and stress therapy... And a perfect place for meditation... No handphone signal... no SMSes... No lights apart from the torchlights and moonlight... About the only thing that would probably bother you are mosquitoes...

This was taken in 2004 by my friends. A turtle that came ashore late in the morning around 5 - 6 am... so by the time it was done, it was daylight and everyone managed to get good pics. We are not allowed to take flash photography at night.

Tomorrow's hope reaching for the open sea... One thing that amazes me is how the hatchlings are able to know where the ocean is. Even if they are in a tub, they are all clambering in the direction of the open sea. When we release them at night, they will always crawl towards the sea instead of haphazardly in all directions. A miracle of nature.

New life emerges. This was taken in 2005. We knew from the last evening's excavations that the hatchlings in this nest would be emerging any time. So we waited and waited and waited... And they did emerge... 4 am the next morning... But even then, the hatchlings were pretty much in this stationary position till about 6:30 am to 7 am before they started crawling out and into the South China Sea. This was one of the memorable moments of my time at CH.

Turtle tracks. A dead giveaway that a turtle had landed.

Turtle Rock hike. A planned activity where volunteers are taken on a daytrip to a rocky outcrop at the eastern tip of the beach.

Torchlight Uno... Few years back, there was no such thing as solar powered lamps so we relied on torchlights and candles while waiting for the tide to rise and patrols to start.

Say "No" To Turtle & Terrapin Eggs Consumption

2008-06-05T23:42:00.003-07:00

A campaign has been launched by the Turtle Research & Conservation Group to get pledges against consumption of turtle & terrapin eggs.

In many parts of the world including Malaysia, turtle & terrapin eggs are still being collected for the purposes of consumption in the belief that it is an aphrodisiac (means it will make you more 'keng' in bed ler) more so in fishing communities. In Terengganu, although the government has banned the collection of eggs in Pulau Redang and also some beaches on the mainland, one visit to Pasar Payang in Kuala Terengganu will show that eggs are still available readily. A quick check showed that eggs are being brought in from other states and some possibly poached as well.

The consumption of turtle eggs has been a tradition among the fishermen and is thought to have health and aphrodisiacal qualities. However, as with sharks fin, bear bile and also tiger testicles, medical experts have proven this to be untrue.

Realistically, the chances of ever being able to convince the older generation is slim however, the outreach program at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu is moving in the right step by having turtle camps for school-going children at Redang island, therefore trying to eliminate it with the next generation and also with the hope that some of them will be able to convince their family members.

The group is also launching a bid to get one million Malaysians to sign a pledge and that starts with each one of you so please do your part by sending an email to turtle@umt.edu.my with the message “I pledge NOT to eat turtle or terrapin eggs for the rest of my life” together with your full name and MyKad number (needed for authentification).

Thank you all.

Fuel Increase

2008-06-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

It Begins!! Effective midnight yesterday the government announced that it would be increasing petrol prices to RM 2.70... a hefty 0.78 sen by any standard. The thing is, I'm not actually griping about the increase. To be honest, I understand the need to gradually reduce the subsidies... the keyword here being gradually.

The fact that the increase came is not a surprise... The government had already held it back before the elections (gee.. I wonder why) but in the face of global fuel prices, it's tough to keep subsidizing to maintain the prices as it is.

2 Main complaints here...

Firstly, why not gradually increase it? If you need to increase it by 0.78 sen, fine... Why can't it be done gradually? Let's say 0.20 sen/ month over 4 months... You achieve what you need minus the hardship on the masses.

Secondly, for crying out loud, why not give advance notice? It's the same thing that our 'beloved' PM did during the elections... "No! No!... Parliament not dissolved tomorrow!!". Next thing you know, it was dissolved. And now, petrol prices will be increased by August... The fact is, I gave our government the benefit of the doubt and said "Nolah... by August.. means anytime between now and August... won't be so immediate wan...". Next thing I know, the New Straits Times stated that it would be by midnight.

Is it any surprise that our PM is losing credibility among the population. Anyway, as you all know by now it caused a massive jam everywhere. Even at 11 pm, most petrol stations were jammed and the congestion spilled over to most of the main roads... And who are the ones inconvenienced? That's right... The people.

Ultimately, it's true that not everyone will be pleased but a lot of us realise that the hike is necessary. Just that it should have been implemented gracefully. By giving advance notice, there would not have been a mad rush to fill up as everyone could have staggered it. Of course, there would be those who wait till last minute... Their pasal la... Why make everyone suffer!?? In addition, by staggering it, at least people don't feel that big a pinch... 40% increase is big man... Even for my 1500 cc Wira, we're talking RM 100 for a full tank!! Wahlaueh!! Ride bicycle already la...

The thing is, this is just one aspect of it... Word has it that electricity tariffs will be increasing as well by about 20% and you can expect that traders and manufacturers will now be increasing prices.

Shouldn't the rakyat also be entitled to better public transportation as the fact is, the situation in Malaysia is it's not that we don't want to car pool or make use of public transportation. Just that it's neither efficient nor convenient.... Not to mention dangerous...

And furthermore, if fuel prices are going to be increased to the market value how about motor cars? The excise duty on motor vehicles is among the highest in the world... Shouldn't it be reduced now that subsidies have been reduced?

Sharon Stone Controversy

2008-05-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

Lousy start to the day... Woke up at about 4 in the morning and couldn't really return to sleep thinking about current affairs, the China quake so hope I'm able to survive the day without pissing people off... :-)

Anyway, since I couldn't really go back to sleep went through some mails and was browsing the news channels for any good news on China but not much. Was also thinking about this article I read yesterday evening on something Sharon Stone said at Cannes about the China Quakes caused by Karma because of their stand on Tibet and I thought just how insensitive and obnoxious some people could be. Her exact phrase being "...And then all this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and I thought, is that karma -- when you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"

My God!! How on Earth can she justify what is happening to all the children and farmers as being punishment for their government's stand on Tibet. She started it off saying "I've been concerned about how should we deal with the Olympics, because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine" followed by the statement about the quake.

I would be sorely disappointed if the Dalai Lama were to condone such comments. Ultimately, he has been running all over the world criticising China and garnering support all over the world while his supporters are fighting the actual fight... So he doesn't appear to be someone who's comparable to people like Aung San Suu Kyi or let's say people like Hindraf back home who don't run away.

I realise that people should be allowed to voice their opinions... this pretty much is what I'm doing with this blog as well but I feel that people of Sharon Stone's stature should at least have common sense and have more brains to realise what she's saying and not just blabber about something that she does not understand... just because the Dalai Lama's her friend!!

Conservation

2008-05-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

Why conservation? Conservation comes in many ways, water, electricity and so on but what I'm refering to or my main area of concern has been conservation of species and bio-diversity. For me, wildlife conservation is about preserving bio-diversity and this involves many areas... Habitats, ecosystems and species. Most of us wouldn't see the importance in doing so but just imagine life Without bio-diversity... What if there was only one type of bird in the whole wide world? One type of cat, One type of fish... Would be very boring, right?

Conservation has a very important role to play now especially with the focus on Global Warming... Why? Well.. consider this simple fact. Global Warming means our atmosphere is warming up and as a result of this warming up, Polar Ice Caps are melting... In other words, the Arctic & Antarctic is getting smaller as they are basically formed out of ice. But that's not all, when they melt, sea levels rise... in other words, land masses are shrinking so God forbid that one day Pulau Batu Puteh may dissapear under the Johore Straits... There... land dispute solved!!

But anyway... Almost everything in our environment is connected sort of like a circle of life... (Plagiarised from Lion King... :-)). For example, in the ocean... there are small organisms called Plankton which feed small fishes which in turn feed bigger fishes who are preyed on by sea mammals or even bigger fish who are then preyed on by man or also other animals. I know that's not the point that was sent across in Lion King but that's my interpretation but When one goes, so will the other. When there's no plankton, the smaller fishes will die and when that happens, so do the big fishes... Anyway, you get the point.

For me, I am all for conservation because I am nuts about animals and as well, I want to be able to show my kids and grandkids (Wah... still a long way to go) what a turtle is... What a polar bear is... not from pictures but I want to show them a live one. It's sad knowing that future generations may not know what Polar Bears look like. I am blessed to have been able to see green turtles and hawksbill turtles but sad knowing that it's unlikely I will be able to see a live Leatherback turtle (Penyu Belimbing)... at least not in Malaysia.

I am lucky enough to have seen Orcas, Polar Bears and Pandas (albeit not in the wild) but I'm sure many of you haven't. All the more reason why we need to do our part starting now.

One goal that I have in turtle conservation is that I hope in 15 - 20 years, when I return (ha ha... If I return) to Chagar Hutang, Redang, one of the nesting turtles will be one of the ones that hatched when I was a volunteer in 2003 or 2005.

How about you? What have you done to ensure that we human beings are not the only ones left on Earth in the years to come?

Quake Lake

2008-05-27T20:30:00.001-07:00

Was going through some articles on the Internet and came across the above image. This quake lake has been in the news the past few days due to the potential for disaster. Basically, what has happened was during the quake, the river had been dammed by rocks, mud & gravel thus causing what has been called a 'quake lake'. Coupled with the rain, the lake has formed very quickly and will eventually burst causing massive flooding downstream. So apart from the human tragedy, authorities are scrambling to avoid further disasters.

Aerial View of TangJiaShan Lake & Surrounding Area

Mountain of Rubble

The above image pretty much shows the mountain of rubble that collapsed from one of the mountains damming the river.

Submerged Dam

The extent of the damming is so great that the lake extends 5 kms upstream and everything between the 'dam' up the river is submerged in water and water level at the lake is rising at about 2 metres each daily. The above image shows a constructed dam that has been all but submerged by the water and there are also concerns that these will be destroyed once the quake lake spills over wiping out everything in its path.

Even though the quake has not claimed as many lives as the Tsunami in 2004 (yet), I believe the extent of damage wrought in its wake is much greater and I do hope that things will gradually improve.

My heart and prayers goes out to all the survivors and those affected.

Sichuan 2008 Earthquake

2008-05-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

It's been more than 2 weeks and there's still no letting up. Aftershocks & tremors are still occurring every few days with more deaths being reported. It's shocking & depressing reading about such disasters. Just a week before the quake, it was Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and it wasn't too long ago when the Tsunami hit Aceh wiping the whole town off the map. Makes one wonder if this is Mother Nature's way of fighting back and to show that she is still in control. However, this post is not aimed at talking about the depressing news as there's enough of that in our newspapers and Web sites.

Instead, it got me thinking back to 2004 during the Indian Ocean Tsunami. I never thought so much about it at the time but in retrospect, it gives me hope to see that at such times, people are working together to provide hope and assistance to those who need it. It's during such adversity that we are able to see the human spirit of co-operation breaking down the barriers and one person from one country helping another person thousands of miles away without expecting anything in return. All we want is to help ease the pain and suffering.

During the Tsunami, I actually got to know that the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields was looking for donations & volunteers to assist with sorting and packaging of items to be sent to Aceh. There were hundreds of people there helping in so many different activities. Sorting of foodstuff, clothes by gender, size... Sorting through medication, packaging, organising and basically off-loading and loading the items into containers. Most of us have either taken leave from work to help or in my case, went there after work.

Like conservation work, it really felt like I was doing my part and it really made me feel good knowing that I have done my part to alleviate some of the suffering. Even then, I wish there was more that I could do now other than to just donate money.

Let's all pray for those affected and wish them well.

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

2008-05-27T02:13:00.000-07:00

He's small... he's hungry... he's persistent... Scrat's Back!! Pretty amazing how an acorn can last through the Ice Age followed by the great floods... and now dinosaurs!!

It's funny watching his obsession with erm... nuts... specifically acorns. I kinda' enjoyed the first one (The Ice Age)... Wasn't that particular about the previous one (The Meltdown) but I guess I'll be watching this third one. Let's see how many installments they can produce... :-)

Even if you don't stay for the whole show, you should pay the ticket just to watch this little guy in action.

Don't hold your breath though... Releasing only in July 2009.

Friendship

2008-05-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

Been pretty much out of things the past few days... Down with nasal infection, flu, sore throat and a slight cough... And with an MC in hand, I still had to attend meetings... groan...

But anyway, I was catching up on some TV series... one of which was Boston Legal... Very entertaining legal series... What got me thinking wasn't so much the show itself but one of the message. The episode was about the 2 main characters representing different sides on the same case. As the case involved an issue one of them felt strongly about, the topic of friendship came up and several quotes that struck me were as follows:

"That's the beauty of being good friends... Relationships with long shelf lives you can just stick up on the shelf..."

"...Friendships are a little like backyard gardens... We plan to tend to them. We just always seem to put it off till next week."

It kinda' got me thinking as I guess I've been pretty much guilty of neglecting my friends unless when I really needed them. I mean, it's not like I ignored them completely but I guess I have not been socialising much and it's been work and my personal life lately.

Maybe neglecting my friends wouldn't be that accurate a way to describe it... perhaps more of neglecting the friendships that I have. Over the years I have made many good friends, some that have helped me through some really rough patches. Some whom I've known since school days and there was also this French lady, a Finnish guy and also a Vietnamese guy that I got acquainted with while I was in Hanoi last year. The first 2 don't have access to e-mail but even then Pentti the Finnish guy actually sent me a post card... which I have yet to reply... The horror!! AArrgHHhh... Feel so bad...

As we get engrossed in technology nowadays... facebook, friendster, MSN, Yahoo, e-mail, how many of us actually still send snail mails... postcards... birthday cards or even just drop by to say Hi. We even download movies more than going to the cinemas... Well at least I do! Unless it's a really good movie worthy of the silver screen.

I guess with work and life getting in the way, keeping in touch has been getting more difficult but I realise that this should not be an excuse to just drop a line and tell a friend that they are thought of and remembered. Even my 7 year old niece can send me a "Hello Khau Fu... How are you" hand-drawn card once in a while... I am so ashamed... Anyway... I think should actually work harder at re-establishing communications with all my long lost friends... I think it's about time I dusted off my facebook account as well and start sending some pokes and also some growing gifts.

This doesn't just apply to friends but also family members. How about you folks? Remember an old friend that you have not spoken to in a long while?

"A Friend May Well Be Reckoned the Masterpiece of Nature" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thomas Cup 2008

2008-05-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Sigh. Another year goes by and still no Thomas Cup. Quite a waste actually. Again we were so close that we could even touch it. It's not like we lack the capabilities. Badminton is one of the very few sports that Malaysia has been able to excel in. A lot of us grow up playing badminton and have very good memories of it at one time or another.

Mine was in 1992 where the Thomas Cup returned to Malaysia. It just so happened that we had tuition at the time but fortunately, our tuition teacher was also hooked on the game so I easily excused myself every half an hour or so to check the results and update everyone. :-) It was an amazing game. Foo Kok Keong was at the twilight of his competitive career and his opponent Alan Budi Kusuma was in form. And theirs was the decider game. And you know what? Foo Kok Keong won! Not because of superior skills... Not because Alan was not playing well. But it was because Foo Kok Keong fought... and he fought hard. The nation's pride on his shoulders. He fought and he triumphed. Sadly, the pride in representing their country and also the fighting spirit is very rare in our athletes nowadays. Well... I could be wrong... Ultimately, I'm not a sports analyst and I was never really good in sports as well.

But anyway, through the years it has always been up and down and for some time, badminton was pretty much dominated by Indonesia and also China. Even Denmark & Japan has also improved significantly.

Recently, it seemed that we were finally catching up again and there were notable events such as Hafiz Hashim and most recently Koo Kien Keat & Tan Boon Heong winning the All England. Unfortunately, as is the case with most of our athletes nowadays, with the exception of Nicol David, the consistency is just not there. At any rate, our players have improved in recent years and except for the singles where I think the only reliable and consistent player is Lee Chong Wei, we have 3 reasonably strong doubles pairs.

Which brings us back to the recently concluded Thomas Cup 2008. It's really sad that Choong Tan Fook fell ill. With the performance that he and Koo Kien Keat gave us against Japan, I believe if they were paired off again, they would have easily beat China's top pair. It's sad considering how promising Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong's partnership was just a year ago but that's the way it is I suppose in competitive badminton. Their partnership is just not working and in any partnership, the feeling that you can depend on your partner is of utmost importance. This bond is just not there. As such, I really had a gnawing feeling that they were gonna lose. And I was right.

In the singles, Wong Choon Hann was just outclassed by Bao Chun Lai. Wong Choon Hann was one of our best players but the fact is, Bao Chun Lai's just younger and faster. And in a game like badminton, these qualities tend to dictate the winner and loser. And with Chen Jin in his prime...

Oh well, all we can do is ponder about what might have been...

Ultimately, I guess they have tried their best. And who am I to criticise them anyway... I'm not there and I'm not that great a player myself... :-) Maybe next Thomas Cup!!

Microsuck!!

2008-05-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

Don't you just frackin' hate it when your PC's running fine and all of a sudden, along comes one of those Goddamn Microsoft Patches, Rollup Patches or Security Hotfixes that are supposed to fix problems that you have or close loopholes in your programs.

Whenever I debate about what Microsoft should do better (in the interest of having them improve) and how they have so many security loopholes, my friends at Microsoft would argue that it's due to ignorant people who don't patch their PCs. They just don't see the frustrations that others face using their programs... Upon induction into the company, they are provided with these white cassette tapes, that they listen to in their car while travelling to and from work , that turn them into bloody zombies that chant Microsoft! Microsoft! Microsoft! and they have this impression that Bill is God!!.

Here I was hoping to have a nice long weekend just catching up on movies and TV series with my Windows Media Center PC but I've got a couple of patches waiting to install... My mistake... instead of just leaving it as it is, I wanted my PC in tip top condition so I update my PC. BANG! There goes my PC with a persistent problem that goes "Strong name validation failed for assembly C:\windows\ehome\EHShell.exe"

Fine. I do a System Restore to an earlier time and it seems to be restored but somehow the problem recurs... and again... and again... Internet forums are no good... Not that I can't find a solution... Quite the contrary, as usual, many have encountered the same problem... But none of their solutions help. So I decided to reinstall Windows. But somehow it keeps failing!! Alright... time to turn in. I left it and decided to just go to sleep.

Next morning... Mood's better so I try again... Did more research, and found one that says something about CD-Rom that's causing the re-installation to fail... WTF!! Oh well.. might as well... I get a spare drive that I have lying around and I retry the installation... and lo behold... Installation finally goes through...

But then, I haven't realised at the time that the problem could be due to patches and assumed that somehow one of my files were corrupted... so there I go happily spending the whole day re-installing drivers, applications and the hundreds of patches that Microsoft piles on me...

BANG!! The problem returns!! And no matter which Restore Point I try to return to, it doesn't help!! ARRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! The whole frackin' weekend bloody wasted!! God Damn MS!!! And they ask me why I always criticise Microsoft!!

Tribute to Drew Struzan

2008-05-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

Went for a movie on Friday and saw the new Indiana Jones (Indy) poster and I thought to myself "Wow!" This guy is really good! Well.. I'm referring to to Drew Struzan, the poster artist and not Indy. :-)

The first time I can recall seeing his art was way back during my studies in Canada when I purchased the movie poster for Ewoks : Battle for Endor. And I've also seen the ones that he did for The Goonies and also The American Tail.

Then came the Star Wars Special Edition back in '97 where George Lucas decided to edit his Star Wars trilogies to enhance the graphics and also to add in scenes that he felt was essential but never had the chance to do earlier. When the movie posters were released, I was blown away. Since then, I have been a fan... not to the point that I invest in his posters but this guy is way up there when it comes to art.

It's interesting to note that he has a long association with George Lucas & Steven Spielberg who gifted us with movies like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and many more. In tribute, this blog is dedicated to him and hope to see many more from him.

Comic Movies

2008-05-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

Wooo Hooo.... Iron Man blasts into movie theaters everywhere... I wasn't too sure about Robert Downey Jr. playing Tony Stark but I must say, he pulled it off. And Gwyneth Paltrow... ssssssssizzling.... The CGI and effects were really great and those of you who rushed out of the cinema after the movie... and didn't wait till after the credits... :-) Well.. you missed out on the cameo of ****... But.. I won't spoil the surprise.. go watch it again...

Anyway, to my delight, the past few years have seen an amazing onslaught of movies based on comic book characters and with the exception of the recent Superman Returns, I'd have to say I'm liking what I see so far and I can't wait for more, More, MOre, MORE!!!. So... what's coming up next??!! Read On...

The Dark Knight. The second remake of Gotham's nocturnal guardian. I used to say that Michael Keaton was the best Batman... That's until Christian Bale came along... And My God... Heath Ledger's Joker is gonna blow you all away... My only disappointment is the death of Heath Ledger cos' he should have been around to savour his masterpiece. RIP Heath!

Hellboy. Never really bought into the comics but the first movie was kinda interesting. I guess being a fan of Mike Mignola (the artist who created Hellboy) helped. From the trailers, the 2nd movie is gonna be more spectacular than the first one so... go watch it!

The Incredible Hulk. Another remake of a cult favourite. There was one in 2003 starring Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly (sayang cos JC is such a babe!!!) which I felt was a flop... sub-standard CGI and effects... This new remake starring Edward Norton, I hope, will pulverize that to gamma particles... Oooohh.. I shiver just thinking those words... "Please don't make me angry.... You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" ROOOOOAAAARRR!!!

Thor. "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy shall possess the power of Thor!!" Thor is the Norse God of Thunder, banished to live among men by his father to teach him humility within Dr Donald Blake, a frail, partially disabled doctor. He however, discovers Thor's hammer, Mjolnir and lo behold, the God of Thunder has returned as protector of mankind!!

Punisher 2. Yet another remake. Never was a fan of Punisher but oh well... Shortage of good movies nowadays so we'll see how this one turns out. Starring Ray Stevenson, last seen in HBO's Rome as Titus Pullo... Pretty decent acting I might add.

Frank Castle's family was brutally murdered and he was left for dead after witnessing a Mafia execution. Angered with the authorities in ability to bring the perpetrators to justice, he became the punisher... bringing death & destruction to organised crime.

If I'm not wrong, he's the first vigilante in comicdom... amongst all the superheroes.

Origins: Wolverine. Everyone's favourite cigar-chewin', adamantium laced canuck is BACK!! And he's gonna' be spilling more blood, eh?...

The story will reveal Wolverine's past in the Weapon X project and very likely his connection to Sabretooth & William Stryker long before the X-Men came about.

Origins: Magneto. The master of magnetism... not to be outdone by Wolverine returns in his own origin story...

Justice League. DC Comics' answer to Marvel's Avengers. A superhero team led by Superman with a membership including Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and so many many more... Unlikely that you will see that many characters in the movie. If you watch Smallville, you would already have seen appearances by some of the characters mentioned.

Conan. The word barbarian would simply have no meaning if not for Conan. A character most people would associate to Arnold Schwarzeneggar who portrayed the Cimmerian in the earlier movies.

Backpacking 101

2008-05-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

I was thinking of writing this sometime back but never really got down to it... But after a friend asked me when I was going for my next trip and that he'd like to tag along, I thought I might as well. So here we go... A Dummies Guide to Backpacking... by a dummy!!

First of all, backpacking is not really that difficult as some may think. To me, I suppose backpacking is defined as cheap travel. And it basically means... well... backpacking... You chuck everything into your backpack including the kitchen sink... And God bless the porter who helps you carry that up Everest/ Mount Kinabalu.

Anyway, for the simple fact that you will be carrying that ton of stuff you are carrying, well... best tip I can offer is travel light. Trust me, I have tried walking around downtown Madrid with my backpack strapped on... It's not fun...

Anyway, backpacking is fun... it's an adventure... Freedom at it's finest - you go where you want to go, you do what you want to do, you sit where you wanna... ok... forget the last 2... You have to consider local customs before you do something in a foreign country... But anyway.. let's get down to it...

Step 1: Planning Your Budget

Know where you want to go. Know how much you have to spend. This is critical otherwise you'll find yourself sleeping in toilets (I'm not kidding... I have friends who did this...) or on park benches (which is not advisable even if you are a guy)... Remember American Werewolf in Paris?? Never know what's lurking out there... :-) Basically, you start with a destination. This is pretty simple cos' South East Asia (SEA) is quite cheap to travel on a shoestring. Once you have decided, go look around for cheap airfares. With Air Asia, land travel is not necessarily cheaper anymore. For example, zero air fare is a common feature nowadays and when I went to Vietnam in 2007, I paid only RM 238 on fuel surcharges and airport taxes... The fare was zero.

Next, the best guide you can get is Lonely Planet & the Internet. For example, try keying-in 'tourist destinations in Hanoi' in Google or Yahoo. You will get hundreds & thousands of results... Lonely Planet is very good... Why? Listings of accommodations according to your budget. This will give you a good idea of how much you need to spend on accommodation. Try to get an idea (from friends who have been there or even doing a search on Google) on how much meals cost at your destination. But a good guideline is about USD5 for each meal... This is for SEA.

Basically, after Step 1, you want to know how much you would have spent on necessities. Based on my scenario, this would have come to about slightly over RM600 for a 10-day trip inclusive of return flight & meals. Accommodation can vary. Again, factor that in based on research that you have made before hand and work within that budget. And whatever remains of that from your initial budget of let's say (RM1,000) is for your domestic travelling, land travel and so on. Depending on your research, you can get a better estimate because a lot of details are in Lonely Planet so make use of it.

Tips: Ask friends, Lonely Planet, Internet

Step 2: Planning Your Itinerary

Be practical. If you want to travel throughout Vietnam in 10-days... What you want is Superman to ferry you around... so don't try to achieve too much and most importantly, work within your budget. Think about your objective... Do you have specific places you would like to visit? Do you want to see a little bit of everything or do you want to see everything in a specific destination. For example, if you want to travel from Hanoi to Central Vietnam, unless you want to dish out several hundreds more for domestic air travel you'll be wasting time cos' a bus ride from Hanoi to let's say Danang/ Hue will take you easily 16 hours. You will have to factor the travelling time into your schedule so let's say you take 10 days off, you will lose about 2 days just for travelling...

Anyway, know the country you are visiting. Look at the map. Again, do some research on the distances and the kind of transportations available to you. In most cases, Lonely Planet will let you know how to get from one place to another and the cost and duration as well.

When you already have a list of places you want to go, group them according to localities. From there, you can cover all the places in one locale before moving to another locale. This is plain common sense. I sometimes consider where I will be leaving for home from and I plan in such a way that I cover that area last because I can relax and rest and just laze around.

A good way to travel is to travel at night but this depends on where you are going to. in some parts of the globe night travel can be dangerous due to bandits and so on. But on the good side of things, you can't do much so why not travel at night. In other words, get a night train or bus and just sleep on the bus. You depart at night and by the time you arrive, it's early in the morning. You have saved one day of travelling... and most importantly, lodging for the night. I have done this in Europe, Thailand & also Vietnam and it's something that I swear by.

Tips: Travel at night (consider the safety), group your travel sites by locales.

Step 3: Travel Documents

Travel documents. Most important document will be your passport. Make copies of all your documents and credit cards and leave them with a friend/ relative so in case you lose them (touch wood), you can get a copy easily.

Find out travel requirements. Some countries require visas or travel permits. This is important if you want to step out of the airport in the case of long stopovers. For example, if you fly from Kuala Lumpur to let's say Sweden and you have a 5 hour transit in Tokyo. Surely you don't want to stay in the transit hall cos' that's what you will be doing if you don't have proper travel documents. In other words, even if you are not travelling in Tokyo but you would like to look around/ even step out of customs, you need a visa (if it is required).

Step 4: Packing

Two very simple principles of backpacking... What you bring, you have to carry and what you need, you will have to carry. To put it simply, carry only what you need. Most of us would like to have a change of clothes everyday or even twice a day but this would be impossible unless you wanna backpack with 2 - 3 luggage cases. So don't pack your entire wardrobe in to your back, otherwise you will definitely be paying a visit to the chiropractor once you return... if your spine doesn't give way in between. Travel light!! Most of us will buy t-shirts as souvenirs... so bring less... you can buy when you are at your destination... You have to consider not just what you bring but also what you will buy. Unless you are so disciplined and will not buy anything... Nope... I didn't think so...

Check this site out ----> The Backpacking Site

Ultimately, things you need will differ depending on where you go. A camping trip will be different from a sightseeing trip. A trip to Antarctica will be different from a trip to South Africa so know where you are going and find out what you need...

Tips: Travel light, carry what you need, make copies of important documents and leave them with loved ones

Step 5: Money

Check out the current conversion rates. XE.com is a good site to consider. If you need extra cash at your destination, you may want to consider withdrawing from ATMs that have the CIRRUS logo. It's possibly cheaper than money changers. As well, for safety considerations, you might want to consider traveller's cheques if you travel abroad and bring large sums of money.

I have also found it useful to wear concealed pouches especially in certain parts of Europe. In countries like Italy, Spain, Belgium, France and so on, pickpockets are rampant. Never, never, never take this lightly. In Spain alone, I came across 2 attempts. Once in Barcelona and once in Madrid. So be very careful in enclosed and packed places. Again, be aware of your surroundings and don't go to dark alleys on your own. Keep your cash in concealed pouches so they can't be taken easily.

Tips: Concealed Pouches, Travellers Cheques, CIRRUS.

There's definitely a lot more to backpacking than what I've got here but this would give you a very good start. Give The Backpacking Site a visit. And most importantly, enjoy yourself.

SEATRU Volunteer Work

2008-05-10T01:06:00.000-07:00

Volunteering for SEATRU conservation work is pretty simple & straightforward... It requires effort but I guess I find it meaningful and most importantly, I like sweating it out and not really having to use my brains that much... That I can get loads of back in the office. It's really different from the normal routine of going to the office and sitting in front of the computer and way better than attending meetings. And it's really effective in helping you lose weight as well...

In the mornings, volunteers' tasks start with the documenting of the last night's nests. Documenting the nests consist of writing relevant information on a nest marker. This includes information such as the identity of the turtle, the nest number and also the date the nest was deposited. The nest marker is a 1" x 1" stick painted red on one side (indicating where the clutch of eggs is located) which is normally placed during the nesting, but more on this later. At the same time, measurements are taken to document the distance of the nest from the surf and the foliage.

Once that's done, it's pretty much free and easy. Volunteers are free to swim & snorkel (up to 3 pm). In addition, depending on the weather, the staff will bring the volunteers to Turtle Rock a short trek up the hill on one side of the beach providing some of the breathtaking views of the beach as well as the North Eastern coast of the island. There's also snorkeling at Marine Park if weather permits and also a hike up the river on the other side of the beach.

A roster will be drawn up whereby volunteers will patrol the beach throughout the day to ensure the nests along the beach are safe. This normally involves checking each nest to ensure there are no signs of attack by fire ants, monitor lizards and ghost crabs. Other tasks include beach clean-up and any other odd jobs such as cooking, cleaning the camp, preparing the marker sticks and so on.

Late in the evening, excavation begins. Excavation involves the examination of nests which reach a certain age. This is done to document the progress of the clutch of eggs. In addition, by excavating nests, researchers are able to track the progress of hatchlings. From this process, we would also know if the hatchlings will be emerging that night. Once the nests reach a certain age, typically after the incubation period, the contents would be extracted for examination. From this, we would know how many of the clutch successfully hatched.

Once excavation is complete, it's time to wash up and prepare dinner.

After dinner, everyone lazes around waiting for the tide to rise. Once the tide rises, the fun begins. This is when turtles start crawling up the beach to lay their eggs. The volunteers together with the staffs and research assistant(s) will sit on the beach and chat (softly) under the moonlight while monitoring the beach for any incoming turtles.

Any sightings will be documented on a sheet of paper including time of emergence from sea, the time the turtle starts crawling up the beach, the species and also the time it starts nesting. The nesting can also be sub-divided into several stages, body pitting (where the turtle digs a hole to submerge itself), egg chamber (where it starts digging the cavity to deposit its eggs, sand bathing (where it camouflages the nest) and last but not least, return to the sea. During the process, volunteers will be treated to one of the greatest wonders of mother nature... Watching a turtle lay its clutch of eggs. The processes mentioned here are typical of a green turtle. Other species such as the Olive Ridley, Hawksbill or Leatherbacks will differ.

While the turtle is laying it's clutch, the team would also be required to document the identity of the turtle and if it has yet to be tagged, to tag the turtle. Any parasites such as barnacles will be removed from the carapace.

Now, things may not be as quick as it seems... What was documented in one paragraph sometimes takes hours to complete. For example, body-pitting can take up to 30 mins and if you are unlucky, the turtle may decide the feng shui is not good enough and decides to relocate. There were times I have tracked the same turtle zig zagging up and down the beach before finally depositing its eggs... after 3 hours.

This process takes place until daybreak however, after midnight, the volunteers will again be divided into shifts so they don't look like zombies at the end of the week long attachment.

As mentioned earlier, in the morning, nests will be properly documented. This is done using the data gathered on the forms the last night.

And voila... That's pretty much all you need to do the whole week. For those of you who like it, it will be a very enriching experience and it's not necessarily routine as you may have different experiences each day. Each night, the volunteers will look forward to a productive night surpassing the previous night. The most I have had on a single night is 5 nestings... Boy it was a busy night.

Having volunteered 4 times, I have seen turtles being tagged, I have seen them laying eggs, removed barnacles... the whole works... And it's not just that. The excitement of spotting a turtle crawling up the beach is out of this world. And in 2005, we woke up at 3 am to find that the boat was sinking.
Some volunteers enjoy stargazing and watching shooting stars. Last year, some of us even went on a night safari tracking mousedeers, river prawns and crabs.

Sea Turtle Research Unit

2008-05-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

SEATRU is an acronym for Sea Turtle Research Unit and it was created in the mid 80s with the specific goal of research on Sea Turtles. In 1993, SEATRU commenced conservation and research operations on Chagar Hutang, a roughly 350 m long beach north of Redang Island. Chagar Hutang plays a significant part in Malaysian Sea Turtle conservation as it represents the bulk of the green turtle nesting population in peninsular Malaysia. During the economic downturn in the late 80s (87/88) corporate sponsorship was scarce and thus was born the Sea Turtle Outreach Program (STOP) who's primary goal was to educate the public about sea turtles and in the process, provide means for the general public to adopt nests and turtles as well as participate as volunteers on the island, specifically on Chagar Hutang (CH). Since then, SEATRU's role have increased to encompass River Terrapin conservation and the name was subsequently changed to Centre for Turtle Research and Conservation (CTReC).

Sea turtle conservation is not unique to SEATRU as the fisheries department and WWF also has other projects such as in Malacca, Perak and also on other beaches on Terengganu. One significant difference is that SEATRU practices in-situ incubation, meaning the eggs are left where they are laid. This is made easier by the fact that CH is gazetted as a conservation site and is off limits to the public. In Perak & Malacca the nests are relocated to a hatchery nearby. Thus increasing irregularities and increase risk of damaging the eggs especially during relocation (But more about this later).

Sea Turtle Conservation work was not always the same as it was today. In the past, collection of sea turtle eggs was part and parcel of the fishermen's lives and most importantly, there was nothing to prevent collection of the eggs. As such, up till 2003, villagers were collecting the eggs for sale and consumption. To be fair, it's hard to condemn the activity as it supplements the income of the fishermen. In other parts of the world, Mexico for example, apart from educating the public the authorities also assisted the fishermen to look for other sources of income such as eco-tourism and so on therefore reducing the reliance on egg collections. Anyway, due to this the primary means that SEATRU had of conserving the green turtle population was to buy the eggs from the villagers and this was not cheap. Each nest normally costs between RM 100 - RM 200 depending on the clutch and SEATRU would spend hundreds of thousands each year on the buyback.

However, a major breakthrough was made in 2004 when the local government announced the establishment of turtle sanctuaries on all major nesting beaches on Redang. This included Chagar Hutang, Ma' Daerah and Ma' Kepit. The latter 2 are under the purview of the Fisheries Department and are smaller compared to CH. Since then fishermen are no longer allowed to collect the eggs. As such, things were pretty much different when I first volunteered in 2003 compared to my 2nd time onwards. With the reduced expenditure in buying the nests, SEATRU was then able to improve the facilities on CH such as new quarters to replace the decaying ones, toilets, solar power.

Pre-2006 Toilets... :-) These have since been replaced so don't worry.

Pre-2006 Bathroom. Yes... They've also been replaced... :-)

Pre-2006 Quarters. Yes Yes Yes... New Quarters now... Balinese style... :-)

Told you... Spanking new volunteer quarters as at 2006. The male volunteer quarters are adjacent to the female ones... Girls... whisper softly cos' we can hear what you are saying... :-)

New Solar Panels. But don't expect TV or Astro... These are mainly for lighting and necessary equipment.

New Staff Quarters. For those of you who've been there prior to 2006, these quarters stand where the volunteer quarters and kitchen used to be.

The dining area and kitchen with the office in the background

Alright, that pretty much covers the program... but how do you volunteer? Well, you have to register. Nesting season starts early March till end October so registration normally opens on the CTReC Web site in February and you have to be fast... and I do mean FAST cos' the slots sell like hot cakes!!

So... for those of you who are interested, do check out the Web site next year... :-)

Compromise

2008-05-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

How often have we gotten into an argument with our loved ones or our friends and colleagues with neither one willing to give way? Can any one of us say with honesty that we have never been in an argument?

Compromise is part and parcel of interpersonal relationships. It's a crucial part of marriage, work and life in general. From my own personal experience and also from observing situations at work I do feel that many a conflict could have been resolved if one party had just stopped to consider the point that the other was trying to make. In relationships, I myself have been guilty of imposing my will and sometimes just being plain stubborn. Of course I do have my point sometimes.

Where work is concerned, it's pretty much the same where both parties want to make a point but neither one is willing to concede his or her point. I have seen this in negotiations with certain customers where they insist that they are right although we have clearly stated the negative implications of going their way. Such disputes also occur between developers and the quality assurance team (QA) where the QA frequently argue that developers don't do sufficient testing and the developers have the impression that the sole mission of the QA was to make life a living hell for them. However, if both parties would just sit back and think, they would realise that both parties aspire for one thing... to deliver a good product. I suppose this is the main reason why a project manager or leader is required to moderate and make decisions in the event of a deadlock.

In relationships, most if not all of us would have had arguments with our significant other sometimes over silly little things and sometimes over significant issues. But again, right or wrong, both parties should realise that continued arguments would serve neither party. In the end, both will be unhappy. Sometimes, in an effort to resolve the dispute, why not just take a step back and consider the other party's argument and consider compromising.

It is understandable that this can be difficult as it is not possible to always compromise. In this aspect, I suppose both parties have to be reasonable. God knows that conflicts can easily be averted if we as individuals can be more compromising... :-D

Crazy Horse Memorial

2008-05-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

Mention Mount Rushmore and everyone will know it... Well... either that or the mountain with 4 Presidents' Head... :-) Mention Crazy Horse and 99%, if not 100% of you will go "Huh?!"... "Kuda Gila?". Crazy Horse is not literally a horse that has gone off his bonkers but in fact, one of the great native Indian war leaders alongside Geronimo and Sitting Bull... Ha Ha... Who??!!

Although these great people from American History were from different tribes; Oglala, Apache & Sioux respectively, they share a common goal... Fighting for their tribe's survival and ancestral lands in the face of the onslaught of the white settlers. You can get an idea of what these people were faced with from movies such as Dances With Wolves and Geronimo.

Anyway, it was during my University days that I drove down to South Dakota with a few of my friends and it wasn't till we went to Mount Rushmore that we heard of this ongoing project to carve another monument dedicated to the American Indians similar to Mount Rushmore. I have always been in awe of native american indian culture so before you knew it we were driving up the road to the the monument's visitor centre.

Like Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial is being carved out of a granite hill... Think it's easy? Think again. They use dynamites and precision engineering. Work commenced on the face in 1987 and 10 years later, they have just completed the face of Crazy Horse. Long way to go. But I think it's really interesting that you are able to see it in progress. They have a Web Cam at the visitor centre that will allow you to see the progress of the carving so check it out at the official Crazy Horse Memorial Web Site.

If you have the opportunity to visit the monument, don't miss it...

Save Our Sea Turtles

2008-05-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

A cause that's very close to my heart ever since I volunteered for my first wildlife conservation trip back in 2003. I was introduced to it by my friend, Sam and since then I have returned almost every year. Come this June I will be returning as a Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU) Volunteer to Chagar Hutang for my 5th time.

The first time I went, it was to experience actual conservation work and didn't really know what to expect and of course, it would be my first trip to Pulau Redang. But since that first trip, every return trip has been a journey of discovery... The landscape changes, the people change, the fellow volunteers are different but I guess if I were to list them, the following would be some of the reasons why I do it...

1. It's a worthy cause. Give back to mother nature.
2. Nature at it's best. Fresh water, fresh sea air...
3. Imagine watching a turtle crawling up the beach to lay it's clutch of eggs... trust me, it's a sight you will never forget.
4. Making new friends. My first trip there, I met 4 other volunteers... They are now some of my best friends.
5. Cutoff from the rest of the world... Can you imagine customers not being able to reach you on your handphone? Woo Hooo.... This alone is reason to go...
6. Your own private 300m long beach. It's all yours... Tourists are not allowed.
7. Of the people I have met there, 50% have or are planning to go again. I have gone 4 times and I am planning to go again.
8. It's way cheaper than Orca, Rhino or Tiger conservation.
9. Genuine Kampung, fisherman cooking...

One hope that I have is that I'll be around in 15 yrs time and when I return, some of the new turtles crawling up the beach to nest for the first time will be one that I have watched hatch and crawl from their nest to the sea back in 2003.

Well... I'll write more about my journeys in subsequent blogs... Till then, you can find out more about the program at the Turtle Research & Rehabilitation Group.

Volunteers 2003 (L-R): Sam MJ, PA Lim, Ng Poh Ling, Man (Staff), Eric, Ng Ai Ling, Shiaw Yang, Slyvester (Research Asst.)

Volunteers 2005 Top (L-R): Sam MJ, Cherng (RA), Ean, Mei, Shiaw Yang, Eric.... Bottom (L-R): PA Lim, Staff, Morita (RA)

Volunteers 2006 (L-R): PA Lim, Yee Suan, Hooi Hun

Volunteers 2007 Top (L-R): Felina, Nurul Radiah, Adie (Staff), Man (Staff), Ai Wa, Sang Sang, Karen.... Bottom (L-R): Seik Ni, PALim

Immobility

2008-05-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

Groaaaannnnn... This is officially my 2nd day without my trusty 'steed'... Fortunately Sulyn's been kind enough to offer me rides to and from the office the past 2 days and tomorrow as well...
It's depressing having to dish out the sum of money but the thought of having a my 10 year old car look brand new... well.. at least on the outside, is keeping me away from depression... :-) I've pretty much been collecting nicks, dents & scratches as I hate how everytime I get the car fixed, new scratches will appear very soon (touch wood)... There's some pretty mean looking dents all around but none as bad as the one I acquired on Saturday... and the roof's also showing signs of rust bubbles... So I thought what the heck... Might as well invest in getting it fixed and repainted... There goes 2k....

Mechanic told me he'd get it done latest by Tuesday... Hope I can frackin' last till then... It's weird though being a passenger... I've been so used to driving people around and I guess I like having my hands at the wheel... But oh well, at least I can have a couple of minutes more shut eye while Sulyn drives...

Thanks Sulyn!!!

Fraser's Hill

2008-05-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

What an exciting but exhausting weekend it has been. The first trip I've had with some of my friends & colleagues in a long time. Sulyn booked the Wavertree bungalow and ten of us planned to drive there in 3 cars on Saturday. Quite a simple plan actually... We were to meet at Setapak for breakfast and would start the journey at about 10 am. Well.. things pretty much went according to plan till' it started raining on the Karak Highway. It was still a pretty pleasant drive and within an 1.5 hours, we were in Raub following the signboards to the new path up Fraser's Hill at GAP... which was when we hit the first obstacle.

There was a boulder that fell onto a bridge thus the road was impassable to traffic... since mid March. Unfortunately, none of us knew. Well... it was supposedly all over the mainstream newspapers but since the recent general elections, I had stopped reading mainstream newspapers so... I take it so had everyone else. But anyway, the road was closed and we had no choice but to use the other route known to us... Through Tanjung Malim and Kuala Kubu Bharu. There was supposedly another route through Genting Highlands but none of us were familiar with it so what the heck...

After deciding to try the other route we started driving back along the Karak Highway to MRR2 then it started raining heavily. Just before the Karak rest area where I lost control of my car after driving into a puddle... Groan... All I could do was try to steer the car into the side railing rather than to end up in the path of other vehicles... Fortunately, I regained control shortly after... Thank God everyone was alright.
Anyway, after stopping to check on the car and finding no major damage other than dents... well... it could have been worse... sooooo... Well.. thank God the drive was pretty uneventful after that. There was some confusion as to which route to take after exiting at Tanjung Malim but after sorting that out, we eventually got to the Gap where we queued with other cars while waiting for our turn to drive up the 8km, winding, one-way road up to Fraser's Hill.

A trip that was supposed to take about 2.5 hours became a day long drive from one side of the Central range to the other side.. phew... But oh well, it was well worth it.

The last time I had been to Fraser's Hill was when I was very young... Not more than 10 I think and I went with my family and some family friends from Singapore. Not much that I can remember from then except for a pony ride but from what I can see, I believe things have not changed much since then. Tudor cottages, chalets or bungalows are available for rent. Ours came with meals as well and very big, clean and spacious rooms... and a fireplace as well.

Fraser's Hill is named after a Scottish pioneer by the name of James Fraser and consists of seven hills. Fraser's Hill is quite popular with locals and foreign tourists due to its greenery, fresh air and flower gardens. Bird watching is a very popular activity here and ornithologists 'flock' to Fraser's Hill for the annual bird race. There are also activities such as horseback riding and archery.

If you're looking for a nice place to enjoy nature and cool air, it's definitely worth going to. Check out the conditions of the road as the route to Gap is well known for landslides and erm.. misplaced boulders.

Oh well, car's with the workshop now... a hefty RM 2,100 price tag to get it back in shape and have it re-painted. Sigh.. imagine where I could've flown to... My last trip to Vietnam for 10 days cost me only RM 1,000.

Alright... Where to next??!!

Backpacking

2008-05-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

Travelling has always been one of my favourite pastimes... From as far back as my younger days when my mom would bring us to Singapore on the train. There are many ways to travel... Those who look for the convenience can simply opt for tour packages whereas those of us who are more adventurous can travel on our own whether by renting a car or by backpacking.

I guess I'm fortunate to have been able to pretty much try a lot of different modes of travelling. Each has its own pros & cons but I'd have to say that regardless of whatever setbacks there may be, backpacking's pretty much my preferred mode of travel... I guess this goes all the way back to my first backpacking trip to Europe where I travelled to parts of Spain, Lisbon (Portugal) and also Helsinki (Finland). The main reason why I chose to backpack was the cost. I was hoping to save by making my own travel arrangements and as well, wanted to have a feel of staying at Youth Hostels... Considering the conversion rate to Euro, doesn't take a genius to figure out why... :-)

But anyway, I guess I liked the idea of wandering on my own. I have pretty much travelled on my own in the past in Vancouver & Toronto. Those were quite easy as all you needed was a tourist map from the nearest tourist information center. From then, just identify the places you wanted to see and just walk around on your own... Backpacking is also a practical means of travelling especially if you like wandering around instead of following a timetable. With tour packages, ask anyone who has gone on one and they would tell you the same thing... Waking up at 7 am... rushing through breakfast.. whizzing on a tour bus from one place to another... and worst of all.. tourist traps!!!

Back in Spain... I had first planned a rough itinerary that included places like Sevilla, Toledo, Granada, Barcelona and so on... But due to some unforeseen circumstances, overstayed at Sevilla... I eventually decided to forego Toledo and moved on instead to Granada. This flexibility, I really liked. I was then able to wander around Sevilla a little bit more and in the process was able to visit Italica, which was an ancient Roman town... This has always been a dream of mine... Short of planning a trip to Rome... I could also move around at my own pace as compared to going on a tour package.

Since then, I've backpacked to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam... all of which are long stories of their own but I guess I really feel that everyone should backpack once in their life... Tell me your experience and why you like or don't like backpacking...

Hello

2008-04-25T03:15:00.001-07:00

Well.... whaddaya know... My first blog... Well actually, it's not my first attempt at blogging but I guess nothing came out of that attempt which is not to say that this may turn out to be something that actually makes me proud.. but what the heck... The birth of this blog doesn't actually mean that I want to make a serious attempt at blogging but purely because that particular site is not able to let me do what I want without some major programming knowledge required... and considering the last time I wrote a program was more than 7 years ago, you would probably understand why I am looking for an easy way out...

I guess introductions are in order... Well... My name is Puay Aun... I was trying to think of a fancy name for my site but nothing really came to mind... so I decided to stick with puayaun... for now... I was born into a family of 5... I have an elder sister and a younger brother. All three of us 2 years apart... Good family planning you might say :-D. Some of you may have deduced that I'm an IT Professional... To be honest, I can't claim to be a professional but yeah.. I've been in IT for the past 11 years and foresee that I will be still in IT by the time I retire in slightly over 20 years.

I don't really have what you would call a serious interest... I enjoy travelling (but who doesn't?), I love lazing in front of the television (but find it increasingly difficult with all the workload) and I'm also trying to improve my photography skills but that's pretty much it... I've actually got a multiply site where I upload the bulk of my photos; at least the ones I have in digital format and it's unlikely that I'll duplicate them here. You can view them at http://puayaun.multiply.com/.

Oh well... Enjoy yourselves, and do drop me a line...