My Leatherback Adventure: Day 1

Previously... Prologue

I arrived in Manokwari on June 24, after flying overnight on 2 planes with transits in Jakarta and Makassar and eventually landing in Manokwari, the former capital of West Papua.  Heri, a twenty-ish cheerful and friendly looking young man who happened to be one of the crew members of the project met us at the airport and after a 10 minute drive we were at the jetty where Natlie, another crew member was busy arranging the supplies on the boat. From Manokwari, it was a nine-hour boat ride to Jamursba Medi.

Rendani Airport, Manokwari

Overweight! Overweight! Natlie trying to figure out how to load our stuff.  :)

This is what the boat we'd be sitting in looks like.  Nicknamed the spider by Manjula.

At the fish market.  Fresh yellow-fin tuna.

About the only thing I dreaded about the entire trip were 2 things; the 9-hr boat ride and the long walks.  We are not talking walks to the market but walking the entire span of 18 – 20 kms of beach patrolling at nights and so on.  This makes the patrols on Chagar Hutang seem like a simple walk to the toilet.  And considering that I only walk a combined total of about 5 – 10 kms in an entire year, you can imagine my concern.

Anyway, it was an uneventful day filled with lots of snoozing on the boat.  After capturing some of the scenes, I figured I’d catch up on sleep.  Besides, it was about the only thing you could do and it would help kill time.  The 9-hour boat ride gave me a sense of how big the island of Papua really was.  And perhaps it is also this fact that has managed to reduce the amount of development these isolated beaches received therefore making it still a haven to wildlife.  It wasn’t really an open sea boat ride and we were always right by the coast and one thing that I found interesting is once we got out of Cenderawasih Bay, you see very little development on the island.  It’s jungle cover all the way to the beach.  It’s a very big contrast from places like Japan which has golf courses visible from air as far as the eye can see and even Malaysia where you see beach side resorts once you get close to land. 

The boat ride didn’t turn out as bad as I thought it would be as it was wide enough for two to lie down side by side and it was also long.  And as soon as we got out of the bay, the boatmen put up a makeshift cabin out of specially made 90-degree angled wooden supports and a tarp.

Shelter from the elements...

Village along Cenderawasih Bay.

This is the life, man…  Natlie, one of the project crew who manages all the logistics served lunch which was simple but delicious.  Rice with fried fish and curry chicken that reminded me of rendang.  Heri on the other hand, was sitting at the bow and having long conversations on his cellphone presumably with his other half.  There I was…  Sitting on a boat that was speeding towards our destination having a hearty meal and all my stresses started flowing away.

Lunch!

This is what Heri was doing for pretty much the first 30 - 45 mins...

This... Is Papua!!!

Toward the setting sun...

We arrived at the Batu Rumah base station late in the evening… around 5pm and it was an interesting experience being in a boat all day watching the sun rise and eventually set but this is it…  we were here!  As we turned the bend, Heri pointed out a rock that stood about 10, maybe 20 meters off the beach.  This rock was called Batu Rumah and it is what has given this beach its name.

We were greeted by Ricky, the local project manager, who also happened to be doing his PhD in Alabama and was probably in his early forties.  There were another 6 – 7 guys in their early twenties.  All graduates from UNIPA’s marine program, with Vidzond being the odd one out as he was fairer than the rest… hmmm… sounds like a line out of Snow White.  Anyway, while most of the crew were from Papua, Vidzond hailed from Moluccas…  or Maluku.  Which explained his unique features.  Like Heri, everyone was friendly and most of them had already met Manjula the year before but I guess I stuck out like a sore thumb.  It was like being in Nigeria once again, walking into a lecture hall filled with Nigerian lawyers.  Ricky later said that they were all surprised that an Ongkor (not sure how that’s spelt but it basically means a chinese business man from the city) would take a trip out here to this remote area and be doing the kinda things they’d be doing there.

But anyway, we quickly hauled off the luggage, first time I actually travelled with 30kgs of camping equipment, clothes and books (which I never even touched throughout the trip) and as it was starting to get dark, Manjula and I were led to a clearing near the base station and were told that we could set up our tents there.  It looked comfortable enough and clean as the crew had already tidied up the area.  The crew’s tents were about 30 metres away.  We were later informed that the area Manjula and I were given had ants which was why they setup their tents elsewhere…  Really thoughtful, guys.  Thanks!

Anyway, after tidying up and getting settled in, we had dinner and exchanged introductions.  Wooo hooo…  I was on the island of Papua!!!

My home for the week...

Sunset at Batu Rumah...

My Leatherback Adventure: Prologue

After years of longing to see the Leatherback Turtle, my dream came true in the middle of this year, thanks to Prof. Chan and Dr. Manjula.  It was actually one of my New Year 2012 resolutions so there you have it, I do work on my resolutions.  :)

My 10-day trip to Jamursba Medi (JM), a beach on Irian Jaya was also made more interesting in that I have always felt that Papua New Guinea had this mysterious, frontier feel about it.  And whenever it is mentioned, my mind would start conjuring images of cannibals with tusks embedded in their noses doing war dances as they cook you over a pot; a product of my over-active imagination and too much fiction literature.  The fact that the location was a 9-hour boat ride away added to the excitement.  This is as remote as it would get.  No access road.  No electricity (except via solar panels & generators).  No chalets or resorts.  I’d be camping!

The JM project was a collaborative effort between the State University of Papua (UNIPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and it was thru Prof. Chan’s acquaintance Dr. Tiwari of the NOAA that I would finally get the experience of a lifetime.   The JM project spans the 21kms long Jamursba Medi beach and another beach 30kms east of JM called Wermon.  And guess what, there are estuarine crocodiles in Wermon (Not that I saw any although I did go looking...).  These are the really mean-looking, big ass ones that you see the late Steve Irwin wrestling with.  It’s like I’m living a naturalist’s life.  

Unlike the project in Chagar Hutang on Redang Island, this was on a bigger scale, partly due to the stakes involved and also the size of the area.  The challenges faced were also different.

The Bird's Head Peninsula.  Jamursba Medi is located between the major cities of Manokwari and Sorong.

Jamursba Medi is a beach located along the north coast of the Birds head peninsula in Papua and includes 3 beaches with a total length of 21 kms.  It is flanked by 2 capes, the Jamursba cape and the Medi cape, Hence the name.  There are villages (Saobeba on the Jamursba cape and Warmedi at the other) at both capes but both are separated from the nesting beach by rocky outcrops.  The Jamursba Medi beach is divided into 3 sub-beaches; Wembrak which is at the far west followed by Batu Rumah in the middle and Warmamedi in the east.  In addition, there is a separate beach called Wermon, located 30kms away from Batu Rumah.

Next... Day 1: The Journey to Jamursba Medi

Ticket To Ride...

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!!

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

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

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

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

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:

• 22 Myths About Breast Cancer
• Breast Cancer Statistics in US
• ACS: What is Male Breast Cancer?
• ACS: Risk Factors for Male Breast Cancer
• Malaysian Breast Cancer Welfare Association
• Facing Breast Cancer
• Breast Cancer Support Group

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

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

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!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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]

September 16, 2008. Malaysian D-Day?

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

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.