Reaching for the stars

The boy had the opportunity to meet 'The Angkasawan' today when he dropped into his school. To be exact, have the book that the mrs queued up to buy yesterday, autographed by 'The Angkasawan' himself. The boy could stop talking about how he wants to be one in the future. But according to a friend who happened to be listed in the top 1000 during the selection said, "kalau dah mata empat tu lupakan je lah"... hehe ...

By the way, I was thinking, since the Angkasawan is doing the school circuits now, I think he could contribute to the development of the young. Being a hero and role model to them. In a world today, I think that it is essential for them to have someone that they can look up to. For me personally, I could say that the money spent on the space programme could have been utilised better but now he has to do his bit in nurturing young interests towards science or in life for the matter.

Now I would just reach for the birdies and pars, as my attempts to get back into the game have been proved futile and I have a game tomorrow. Berapa selubang esok? RM2 ..

BA vs JC

I'm not sure how this set of addiction occurs. I think that my first exposure to donuts would be of the home made type and our local version of kuih keria. It means that I don't have any craving for it or would go out of the way to get some. But I did had a phase with Dunkin Donuts during my secondary school, where we would go on outing have have a filled a bag to the brim with their munchkins.

When I went for my studies in the UK, i was exposed to the strawberry filled jam donuts much favored there, plus one chocolate coated custard filled from Greggs, and oh, how could I forget, cheese & onion pasty and savoury roll. Then late last year I discovered JC, where you have to queue to buy up donuts. First impression was made, and the heaven berry have become a standard order on every visit. Then friends told me about BA and found out that it has similarities with JC.

Back to back comparison reveals that most has similar spread of choices. Taste wise BA has caught on to JC. Also BA has a lot more outlets, hence lesser queuing time and its a tad cheaper too. All in all this has been leaning on BA for me. And that is not the only thing, the scale have been leaning on the higher side for me now.... maybe some day they'd come out with a lite-donuts...

e-Filing

This is the second year that I have utilised e-filing for my tax returns. I've decided to do it early this year as from previous experience waiting till the last minute is not advisable due to system congestion (as per my co's performance appraisal exercise). Surprisingly, I found out that the system was ok and in fact fast when I accessed it even from the office. But then again I have a few gripes about it as per the following list :

1. Trying to remember your password from last year was a PITA. The system will try to lock you out after the third unsuccessful try. How could you remember it when you only use it once a year?
   
2. You'll know how much you owed IRB after filling up the form but what you can't see is how much they owe you. Easy in Hard out for them eh?
3. I have jumped into a higher tax bracket for this year and attempts on further reduction s futile. Wonder whether the system recorded all the figure inputted in the event of adjustment to lower your taxable income?
4. Onus of record keeping of the deductions documents is on you and the documents has to be kept for a minimum of seven years.
5. The song that they use too promote it is CORNY ...
   

All in all I think that this is a good move by the IRB to collect due tax. Saves you the hassle of actually filling out and queuing at your local IRB to submit the forms. Just hope that they could change the theme song on the adverts...

Ignorance is a bliss?

Its good to see that parents in Malaysia are more aware about the safety for their kids whilst driving. This was a step in a good direction, as opposed to holding on to your kids instead of a designated child seat, and one of my pet peeves is seeing a reckless parent holding their kid in the drivers' seat whilst the vehicle is in motion.

But one thing that caught my attention during the daily commute today, a concerned parent did had a rear facing child seat installed, but it was in the passenger seat of a car fitted with a passenger airbag!!!!

I think in most cars there are this sticker pasted, meaning DO NOT USE REAR FACING CAR SEAT IN A PASSENGER FITTED AIRBAG, unless there a special switch or sensor that can turn it off. So he's taking a risk of decapitating his child in the event of the airbag sets off. And you might never know when it may go off as the slightest knock to the car in front may have set it off.

Or else save up to buy this car, fitted with eight of these airbags ... hehe ...

Quick Updates

• Had to work away this weekend on a project that I'm supervising. Hence, I've missed the boy participation and subsequent winning as runners-up in his school sukaneka. Better not miss the next sport meet next weekend, so I have been warned by the Home Minister.

• During the work trip, manage to catch up with the Eastern Kerandutz chapter. Hehe, some things still don't change eh? Message to the central chapter & King Kerandutz, buck up or your leadership will be challenged. BTW, did the 'candy' worked? if it's not up tp expectation, there's always the 'cane' with traditional preparation, hehe..

• Got a new toy, well not exactly a toy but a new accessory. Plug in your orifice type of thing but could be used publicly. Wonder why I didn't get one of those earlier. (To those who got the wrong idea, it goes to show how 'clean' your mind are)

• Managed to catch up on my reading. Had been on a 'local flava' phase for a while.Sometimes it just nice to be able to finish up a book without holding on to it for too long. What's the next phase I wonder?
  

Tell me where you get your body from

Baby where u got your body from,
Tell me where you got your body from,
Baby where you got your body from,
Tell me where you got your body from,

~I got it from my mama ~

~I got it from my mama ~

~I got it from my mama ~

~I got it from my mama ~

If the girl, real fine nine out of ten,
She fine just like her mama,
If the girl real pretty, nine out of ten,
She pretty like her mama.

Habis tu papa dia dapat apa?

Ni anak angkat you ke? Grrrrr....

Hooked on the stupid box

I would have to admit that being a proponent of no satellite tv at home, the choice offered on terrestrial tv was somewhat lackluster. Rarely would I follow any show, except for the Ghost Whisperer (JLH...drool). But nowadays I found myself waiting up every Wednesday for Actorlympics TV. An impromptu show where there are similarities with the Whose Line Is It Anyway(which I prefer the British version) albeit with a local touch. Some parts of the gigs have left me bursting at the stitches.

It just amazes me that Afdlin & Co can just think on their feet and perform along seamlessly episode after episode. And their guests actors would also add color to the show. Nice one Afdlin & keep up the good work.

So which one is better, JLH or Afdlin?

Trampled by a giant

No, this is not about a human or being of great size, more like a faceless giant corporation. As per previous post, somewhere near my neighborhood, a new hypermarket was opened. Naturally, we would patron the hypermarket as it is near to us as the others were about 5-1o km away. But as we progress along, we found out there were some differences in the prices of similar item and range of product carried in between these hypermarkets.

I'm not the one who would blindly stick to a brand, as long as it provides a value for money for the quality offered. Also I'm not rigid in the sense of brand loyalty or premise of purchase but do keep an eye upon the so called deals offered.

Imagine to my dismay, one shopping trip ago that a necessary item bought at this particular hypermarket were offered at the same price but upon reaching home only did I realized that the quantity was reduced. I mean, come on, you project yourself as a pioneer in price reduction, but in this case it was the same price for less quantity. Not only this particular item, but on the whole where some things that we need are priced slightly higher. Also most of the item on offer were on the Purchase with Purchase scheme, meaning that you would have to spend a minimum amount in order to get the 'savings'

Better change your tagline to, same price, same brand but lesser quantity (20% less to be exact)

Quick updates:

Haven't be able to update the blog regularly due to work schedule, hence this all-in-one updates :

• Been on the road too much for the last 1 month. I have clocked in 3000 miles / 4800 km driving distance in one month. This meant that I have gone through half of the recommended service interval, which normally last for 4 months on average. Now looks like a visit to Amiaq is on the horizon, which by the way I still owe him for the last servicing.

• The mrs will be starting work on Monday after two months maternity leave.

• Took the boy to a specialist ENT as he’s been complaining about pain in his ear. This has been going on since 2006, but visits to the GP & so called ‘pediatrician’ haven’t been able to solve it. What the doc did was removal of some stubborn ear wax, did a quick scan and declared that his ears are ok. But what concern him are the tonsils, which have been noted in the boy’s medical records. He has suggested tonsillectomy, the removal of the tonsil, a common procedure nowadays. So now seeking second opinions from qualified & trained doctors among friends plus well informed parents about taking up this procedure. The boy had so many ‘medical procedures’ and ‘unwanted/not needed’ body parts removed than me and he’s only 7.

Unlike this guy who had a major part of his brain missing yet he's still able to run the 'greatest nation on Earth'

• Latest in Adi’s development milestone, she can now ‘oohh’ and ‘aahh’ along to our conversation, which makes her part of it. As if she’s contributing to the conversation. New pics of her included below.

• Went to Keranduts Inc gathering, meeting called by none other than HM King Kerandut himself. As per Keranduts tradition, no significant others were allowed, as it was a boys nite out only. Some of them I haven’t met since leaving school and how time flies during the session.

• The Boy took his karate test and managed to be upgraded to Green Belt. Way to go Boy, we are proud of you.
• 

Karate Kids

At a crossroad

I am in a dilemma,
on which path to take,
the path forward,
is something that I would wish for,
for going through it would also brings innovation & advancement,
But its not something that I should rush into.

The path on the left,
would just leave me in the stream,
just enjoying the odyssey to the next destination.

To choose the right path,
would be leading into the grand living,
also serenity associated with it.

Alas I know,
all the three path I could not take at once,
hence please provide guidance,
on which path to take,
because it will not only affect me,
but everyone around me as well.

Life Monopoly

End of the month Community Chest : -

A day in the life of a superhero

Miss N Osyrep Orter (MNOO):

Here we are, in front of SuperHeroes Inc, where all the SuperHeroes(TM) worked. Let's see if we could find someone that we could talk to. Hey, that's the super famous, Mr Dependable. Hey, Mr Dependable, do you have a minute?

Mr Dependable ( MrD ) :

Sure, I could spare some time for you. Wadda you wanna know?

MNOO :

We saw you leaving the office a few minutes ago, then you went back in as fast as you went out. Is that a rescue mission, some damsel in distress, a town attacked by giant monsters ?

MrD :

Ohh, that....hmmm.. how do I put it, I was about to undertake a task as per assigned by my sector head but then as soon as I set foot out, the task was revoked and I was instructed to be back at the SHInc.

MNOO :

I see. So you have some sort of command structure here. Can you take us through your hierarchy ?

MrD:

Sure, we got the Powers-That-Be, which forms the I-have-the-Power group, then the Grand Powers, Chief Powers and General Powers, which I am in. So I report to the Chief Powers, they to the Grand and the Grand to the PTB.

MNOO :

So it must have been an important task to have one revoked in a matter of minutes?

MrD :

Oh yeah, totally. I was asked to standby...

MNOO :

To standby, for what, care to elaborate ?

MrD :

Standby for the PTB man... that is the best job around. I mean, you got all your tasks revoked and you are asked to be waiting at some uncertain location in case the PTB has any questions for you. I mean, the questions asked are normally a life-and-death kinda of question, national security etc, restricted access, eyes only, top secret etc if you get my drift ....

MNOO :

OK, meaning that you were called off your assigned task for something more important.. Gee.. what a great job you have MrD...

MrD :

Yeah, it was awesome...like I could sit around all day pretending to be busy coz I'm on standby, not that I want to but I have to be prepared to be summoned by the PTB at any time...so yeah, its cool... never have I thought that a piece of paper in hand and during your walkabouts around the office puts you in the same league of the Grands, man...

MNOO :

Wait a minute, does that mean that you were called off an actual task and were asked to do nothing except for looking busy? If thats the case, that would be a waste of resources right where actual action could be taken and lives would actually be saved. Ouch... hey did you just lasered me?

MrD :

Sorry about that, my firing trigger seems to be misfiring today. Need to go to the SHInc lab to attended to it. Do not underestimate the importance of the standby duty man... got to go, see you around

MNOO :

There you have it folks, Heroes called off assigned duty to be put on standby. Ouch..da*m it MrD, it hurts..Miss N Osyrep Orter, sigining off infront of the SuperHeroes Inc Head Quarters.

MrD (from afar ) :

Sorry ......

Adi's new do & Mention in 'Mainstream Media'

1. Adi's New Do

Adi got a brand new do yesterday, in keeping up with the tradition of 'mencukur jambul'. I was given the task to ensure that Adi was cleanly shaven as it was done as cautiously as possible to avoid hurting her delicate head. The results ? Have a look for your self :-

Muka bulat, mata bulat , rambut ... takde ...

Mini-me

2. Mention in a mainstream media

Your truly was having lunch @ Bangsar the other day and was walking towards BV when I was stooped by two ladies. Initially I brushed them off, thinking that they were soliciting funds of some sort of charity organisation. Then they told me that they're doing a piece on whether the internet & SMS had influenced the recent general election. Being intrigued and seeing whether they would skewed the response from 'a man on the street' I decided to participate. This was the piece as published on NST Sunday 16 March 2008. They took my pics but didn't use it.

ST Online » Focus 2008/03/16

Surf’s up with Net power

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WHILE some thought it annoying, others welcomed the flood of SMSes that “beeped” throughout the election period.

In addition to this “new” source of news, they also relentlessly surfed the Internet for “unbiased” news.

Cecilia Anthony Das, 33, was one of the thousands who clicked through various political websites, hoping to learn more about the March 8 elections.

“I sat in front of my computer for as long as 14 hours a day, since nomination day. I would start as early as 9am and only stop at 11pm. I do read the newspapers but I don’t rely on them 100 per cent. I read a lot of political articles on the Internet, but I had already decided who to vote for long before switching on my computer,” said the lawyer.

“Although I received hundreds of SMSes throughout this election period, I was doubtful about their authenticity, especially since most were jokes and rumours. However, they did make you think.”

Sharizal Shamuri, 34, said the Internet provided unbiased reports on political matters before, during and even after polling day.

“The alternative media definitely affected the general election this year.

“The public got to view the situation of the country from their homes.

“I lost count of the SMSes I received. I read each one of them but some of them were not credible. They were sent just to stir things up,” said the engineer from Kuala Lumpur.

Das and Sharizal joined thousands of Malaysians who were surfing the Net to gobble up news and information about the general election, especially on polling day and the following day.

For instance, the New Straits Times website received 970,000 visits from midnight on election day to midnight the following day.

A spokesman for Jaring, the internet service provider, said the NST traffic increased threefold from 30 megabits-per-second (mbps) (the total information flow over a given time) on normal days to 96 mbps during the election weekend.

He added that traffic related to polling, which included registration and results, increased by more than nine times during the announcement of the results compared to the previous week.

Incoming access from overseas users also doubled.

A spokesman for Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) said the highest Internet traffic recorded on election day was from the central areas of the Klang Valley.

And particularly so from Brickfields, Cyberjaya, Kelana Jaya, Wangsa Maju, Klang and Putrajaya.

“Internet users in the central areas alone utilised 17gb (gigabyte) of internet bandwidth. The highest Internet traffic was recorded around 4pm,” she said.

Mobile phone operators too saw an increase in SMS traffic on election day.

A spokesman for Maxis said the increase in voice and SMS traffic on March 8 came close to matching traditional high-traffic seasonal events such as New Year’s eve —the busiest day for voice and SMS traffic.

“Our SMS traffic increased by 31 per cent and voice calls by 27 per cent on polling day, compared to a normal day.

“SMS-based news alert services were also popular, with a large number of customers signing up for election updates and results.” Maxis, which has a subscriber base of over 9 million, serviced 600,000 customers who accessed the Election Commission (EC) link from their mobile phones.

This data service enabled customers to check on the contesting parties in their voting area and polling centre locations, through a link which connected clients to the online EC website.

The Maxis spokesman added that although this service was also available during the 2004 general election, only 500,000 subscribers took advantage of it then.

Celcom saw an increase of 0.5 per cent for average daily SM usage during the election period from Feb 24 to March 8.

A spokesman for Digi said: “We noticed an average increment of five per cent for SMS traffic leading up to voting day and a 15 per cent increase on polling day, compared to with normal day.”

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Now Listening To

Hujan - Bila Aku Sudah Tiada

A song from one of the latest local offering - not bad for an independent band. Request from a fren...sorry JD, that day don't have it on me so can't BT... muahahaha... sendiri mau sendiri cari la...

Minor updates

1, My immediate boss was transferred to another department today. So all of us in the unit has managed to chip in for some going away present, which was well received. Something profesionallly done yet have the personal touch. Good luck in your future undertaking boss and thanks for the mentoring, nurturing, guidance and words of encouragement all this while. Words could not express our thanks and gratitude to you.

2. The election fever is at its highest today. Tomorrow all the eligible Malaysian would be casting their votes for their choice of the government that they want. Please vote and let yourself be heard otherrwise you might just as well suffer in silence.

Image from here

3. Steamyx suck man -for the past few days have been experiencing poor service plus connection to my fav sites have been throttled. The office connection was even worse ..... Grrrr ...

4. Adi is more responsive nowadays plus her patterns have more or less been established. Some new photos :-

Me : Bi, which part again of her that looks like me? Most of her features looked like you je...
Mrs : Adalah, the receding hair je ... hahahaha

Yang Mana Satu

Yang Mana Satu
Idaman Kalbu
Tidak Tertahan
Menanggung Rindu
Mungkinkah Jauh
Hingga ke Bulan
Atau Dibalik Dacing Yang Biru

Kalaulah Aku
Jadi Temanmu
Kroni Mengkroni
Serah Padaku

Kalaulah Aku
Jadi MPmu
Minda Rakyat
Aku Cuci

Oh Tukang Timbang
Aku Tak Sudi
Hai Tukang Roket
Mata Hitam Turun Ke Hati
Aku mencari biar berpadan
Asal dihati Dapat Berkenan

Inilah dia, yang dicari-carinya
Mainstream Media, Aku Yang Punya
Ini Orangnya, Idaman Dara,
Internet Ada, Blog Pun Ada

Oh Sungguh Susah, Cari Pasangan
Tak Mau Yang Merah, Biru Pun Bukan
Hati Dah Bosan, Tidak Berkenan,
Sebab Perangai Semuanya Tidak Siuman

~ sing to the tune of Yang Mana Satu - P Ramlee & Saloma ~

Yang Mana Satu ek?

Election day dah dekat

Got it from youtube. Hillarious!

Sums up the sentiment nowadays.

Here's one I made earlier

I've been thinking about how to remember Adi's birth, especially to capture the things that she has when she's small. I meant like foot or hand print that we could look at years later and say that how small you were when you were born but it will only be a print. So in looking high & low, I've came across an imprinting & casting for the lil one hand and feet.

The box - available from Mothercare

The box and the salesperson said that this is an easy to do, safe for the baby and 100% foolproof. Imagine how I felt when I botched up the first attempt (not feeling so clever then). The thing that pisses me off is that I followed all the instructions to the t, plus including my own set of failsafe methods only to botch it up. Grrr....

Luckily, the supplied kit has more than enough material to cover for the failed first attempt. After becoming wiser, I have in fact manages to get 3 castings out of the remaining material with the luxury to choose from in case I screw up again.

The whole process is quite lengthy as the time needed for preparation and letting the plaster set. From experience, I knew that this is one process that cannot be rushed in order to achieve the highest possible quality my skills (and luck) would allow me.

Pointers to those who would like to try this, ensure that the container for the mold would fit the subject nicely, too big then it would be a waste of material and too small you wouldn't get all the details. Also, the imprinting material sets quickly, so better for you to mix a small batch and cast the mold rather than mixing it all in one go.

The mixing of the porcelain plaster is also quite tedious for you to ensure a good result, no air pockets and a smooth finish. Please observe the instruction in doing layers on casting, rather than pouring it all in one go. Point to not is to use a flexible container for the mold as it would facilitate the removal of the mold and ensuring that you did not break any digits off the cast.

The results?




I think I did OK. Well not in the league of professional/amateur artist but I should be able to preserve Adi lil hand & feet in 3D for our memories.

Changes..

Changes are an inevitable part of life. We see changes everyday and adapt to it. But for a certain few things, we would like to see no changes at all. As a creature of habit, we like to create a comfort zone around us and would like to control this comfort zone so that minimal changes affect it. But sometimes, we have to accept the fact that changes have to happen and whether we like it or not, adaption has to made to it.

These adaptation and ways to cope with the changes would be different to everyone. How do you react to changes that affect you directly or indirectly? There's no rules or logic condition to be applied as each changes are unique. A change too fast too soon might have a detrimental effect to a person likewise too slow too long. Anyway, how we react to the changes would affect our lives as well.

Even if we are mentally prepared for the change, but when the time comes, it still going to hit you like more than you were prepared for. So whether we like it or not, there's always a time for a change.

Loteri Halal

We decided to take another stab at the loteri halal again. Hopefully this time brings a better luck to us. Maybe the god of fortune is in a good mood during these festivities to bless on us or maybe he's to busy entertaining other more affluent offerings from those who would want to be in power when Malaysia Decides on Mrach 8. All in all I hope it would work out well.

With the water mains pipe issues and dipping into the lottery pool activity, money has been flowing out like water from my bank account into someone else's, sengkek oi bulan ni....

Feels like listening to this ...