What do you want to watch?

A friend of mine sent an email with various links on the politicians of this country. These are video clips links that are uploaded in YouTube. Very seldom I watched this country's politicians in actions. What I saw is indeed worrisome and unbecoming of a nation's leader. As much as there is progress in the country under the current government, some of the leaders conduct shows lack of integrity, self-control and humility.

I guess there are many things that can be seen in YouTube. If you want to watch the negative aspects of a leader, there are plenty of video clips on that. Even if you want to watch Las Vegas Shows you can even find it online. It may not be as good as experiencing it yourself at Sin City but my point is that you can find it online. So what do you want to watch. Be careful as what you watch will have an effect on you. Choose carefully.

Wedding finger....interesting thoughts

Why should the wedding ring be worn on the fourth finger?

There is a beautiful and convincing explanation given by the Chinese.....

Thumb represents your Parents
Second (Index) finger represents your Siblings
Middle finger represents your-Self
Fourth (Ring) finger represents your Life Partner
& the Last (Little) finger represents your children

Firstly, open your palms (face to face), bend the middle fingers and hold them together - back to back Secondly, open and hold the remaining three fingers and the thumb - tip to tip.

Now, try to separate your thumbs (representing the parents)..., they will open, because your parents are not destined to live with you lifelong, and have to leave you sooner or later.

Please join your thumbs as before and separate your Index fingers (representing siblings)... ., they will also open, because your brothers and sisters will have their own families and will have to lead their own separate lives.

Now join the Index fingers and separate your Little fingers (representing your children)... ., they will open too, because the children also will get married and settle down on their own some day.

Finally, join your Little fingers, and try to separate your Ring fingers (representing your spouse).

You will be surprised to see that you just CANNOT....., because Husband & Wife have to remain together all their lives - through thick and thin!!

Please try this out......... ISN'T THIS A LOVELY THEORY?

Penelope

In a world where beauty is perceived as one of the most valuable assets a girl can have, we find that many are drawn and trapped in unrealistic expectations of others. Indeed, we find many girls struggle with this unnecessary and unrealistic expectations to be beautiful. And Penelope is one of them. Born into a rich family where life should be great and without worries, she has to find her true self. Literally cursed with the Wilhern spell, she has a hideous nose that she has to bear with. The good news is that the curse can be broken, only if she finds love. The viewers are taken into her life's journey to find the true meaning of love and life.



I guess each one of us can identify with Penelope. There are many things about ourselves that we may not like. We have to struggle with our "hideousness" and hopefully, like Penelope, we too can find peace with it. This movie would be a great movie to watch. Bring your daughters to watch it if you can (it is showing beginning Feb 29th) and use it a good opportunity to teach them the true meaning of beauty.

If you want to know more about Penelope before watching the movie, check out this link.

Muslim leaders oppose ban

MUSLIM community leaders have spoken out against a school’s attempt to ban non-halal food from its canteen, calling the move a step backwards for the community.

Ridzuan Wu, chairman of the Centre for Contemporary Islamic Studies, which promotes conversations between different religious groups, said: “I think we’ve come to that stage in Singapore when it’s really not practical to look at things in such a narrow way.”

A furore started when Boon Lay Garden Primary School wrote to parents last Friday, saying that only halal food could be eaten or taken into its canteen, which sells only halal food.

The announcement upset non-Muslim parents, who felt it smacked of discrimination. The school said on Monday that it had made a mistake and will not go ahead with the move.

Yesterday, religious leaders said it was not wrong for Muslims and non-Muslims to dine together, as long as Muslims eat halal food.

Religious leaders and school principals The Straits Times spoke to all pointed to the need for more education to avoid misunderstandings. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Consfiscation of English Bibles in Malaysia

MAJLIS GEREJA-GEREJA MALAYSIA
COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF MALAYSIA
10 Jalan 11/9 Section 11, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Tel: 03-7960 8926 Fax: 03-79560353 E-Mail: cchurchm@streamyx.com

“United to build and to be a Blessing”
PRESS STATEMENT CONFISCATION OF ENGLISH BIBLES IN MALAYSIA

It has been brought to our attention that a Malaysian Christian has suffered much spiritual anguish and indignation as she had her English Bibles confiscated by the Custom Officers at the airport (LCCT) recently, when she returned from a visit to Manila, Philippines.

The Custom Officer had insisted that the English Bibles had to be sent to the Internal Security Ministry’s Control Division of Publications and Al-Quran Texts (Bahagian Kawalan Penerbitan dan Teks Al-Quran), for clearance .

The Council of Churches is flabbergasted that such acts are happening in our country with such frequency and impunity.We want to state categorically that the Bible is Holy Scripture for Christians. No authority on earth should deny Christians the right to possess, read and travel with their Bibles. The Council of Churches calls for the immediate release of the Bibles with an official apology by the Custom Department of Malaysia.

We call upon the Prime Minister, who is also the Internal Security Minister to make a clear and unequivocal statement to assure Christians in the country that they will not be subject to such harassment and that their holy books will not be subject to the scrutiny of the Control Division of Publications and Al-Quran Texts of the Internal Security Ministry. For a country that has celebrated, cultivated and sustained fifty years of religious freedom and harmonious living between all faith communities, this latest episode is another example of how the unilateral actions of certain government agencies are undermining the government’s stated claims of protecting religious freedom in the country.

Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri,
General Secretary
Council of Churches of Malaysia
4th February 2008.

CNY celebrations

Chinese New Year is here. Getting wishes from friends through SMS and emails. No longer the actual CNY cards received but mostly through the Net. Well, looks like times are changing and the ways to greet friends also changes. Not that I mind not having the actual CNY cards as most of it would be in the rubbish bin within a week. It is just that receiving CNY greetings through the Net is even a waste of effort for all the senders. Only and only if I know that there would be personal words of greetings, then only I would be bothered to open it. If I know it is only a forwarded CNY greetings, then it is deleted immediately.

Talking about CNY celebrations, I am not so sure how the celebrations would be like this year. Of course there would be the red colored packets or Ang Pau that would be changing hands between the parents. I recalled that there was one year, I received not red colored but gold colored packets. There is no gold inside it, just the same expected amount of money. I do hope however that this CNY would be an enjoyable and less tiring event.

Hands Off our Bibles

CHRISTIAN FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA

(PERSEKUTUAN KRISTIAN MALAYSIA)

Address: No. 10, Jalan 11/9, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Telephone: (03) 7957 1278, (03) 7957 1463, Fax: (03) 7957 1457

Email: cchurchm@streamyx.com


PRESS STATEMENT

Hands Off our Bibles

The Christian Federation of Malaysia registers its protest in the strongest terms, at the action of a Custom Officer at LCCT, who confiscated 32 English Bibles belonging to a Christian, who was bringing it from Manila for use in her church.

The reason given by the Custom Officer is that since it is the Bible, it needs to be cleared by the Internal Security Ministry’s Control Division of Publications and Al-Quran Texts.

Since when has English Bibles become a "security issue" in our country?

Why is it, the said Control Division is amassing such rights to itself that allow Muslim civil bureaucrats to decide for Christians what religious material they can read, or bring into the country?

We have received many complaints from Christians being told to hand over religious books to custom officers at various checkpoints in the country. Now they even want our Bibles!

The Bible is our holy and sacred book. We will not comply with any directive from government or its agencies that infringe on our right to use our sacred book and other Christian literature.

We appreciate that the Deputy Minister of Internal Security, YB Dato’ Fu Ah Kiow has taken action to have the Bibles returned to the person concerned, explaining that the Customs officer had no such authority to seize the Bibles.

But in view of the fact that this is not an isolated case, we call upon YB Dato’ Fu to come up with a directive restraining all government agencies from future harassment especially by the internal security enforcement officers.

In the run-up to the National Elections, it is important for the churches to be convinced that the policy of the Barisan Nasional guarantees religious freedom and would not tolerate any actions that undermine the religious rights of all citizens of Malaysia.

(signed)

Bishop Dr. Paul Tan Chee Ing., SJ

Chairman, Executive Committee

Christian Federation of Malaysia

5th February 2008

Psalm 23 -- explained

I got this from an email. Finds it very interesting and would like to share in this post.

This is an eye opener... Some probably never thought nor looked at this
Psalm in this way... even though they say it over and over again ..

The Lord is my Shepherd
That's Relationship!

I shall not want
That's Supply!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
That's Rest!

He leadeth me beside the still waters.
That's Refreshment!

He restoreth my soul
That's Healing!

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness.
That's Guidance!

For His name sake
That's Purpose!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
That's Testing!

I will fear no evil.
That's Protection!

For Thou art with me
That's Faithfulness!

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me,
That's Discipline!

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
That's Hope!

Thou anointest my head with oil,
That's Consecration!

My cup runneth over.
That's Abundance!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
That's Blessing!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord.
That's Security!

Forever
That's Eternity!

Local marketing magazine..where art thou?

Do we have Malacca Magazine? If yes, how come I never receive one before??? It will be good if the state government would print one then I can advertise my internet cafe there and get more business.

They should follow what Denver Magazine is doing. Publishing about local business, political and cultural buzz. It helps reader know what happening in their city.

We only have the nation newspaper with only a small column about a certain state one time a week. So we are not up to date on what's happening to our city. I wonder where the tax payer money gone too?

Crisis of beliefs - Part two

It took me a few weeks last December in this crisis of beliefs. My beliefs that God can provide for me and that God wants me to obey Him was put to the fire. How can I say the God can provide when carnally I trusted on the Sunday sales. How can I show to God that I am willing to obey His commands when I continued to work on Sundays and not having a day of rest for me and the business. It is indeed a time of crisis of beliefs.



At last, I know that I can do nothing else but to obey. The God who has been there for me in the past will always be there for me now and in the future. He convicted my spirit and faith that if I obey His commands (which actually for my own good), then He would take care of my needs. At times, things may look bad but I know who hold my future. He wants the best for me so whatever happens it would be for my own good.

Crisis of belief - Part one

Often times when we are tested in our faith for God, there will be a crisis of beliefs. It is a time when we have to face our own beliefs and prove it with our actions. When we say that God is a provider and that He owns everything, how can that be translated into actions. Last month, I had a crisis of my beliefs of God. Throughout last year, my cybercafe business is opened on Sundays. Last December, God challenged me and took me at my beliefs of Him. It is a crisis of trusting that God can provide on one hand and that of not making sense closing on Sundays for cybercafe (where normally the income is generally the highest throughout the week).

Children is a blessing

My wife has tendered her resignation and I worried that she will spend more time spending money than making money online after she resigned. She loves visiting baby stores to look at those cute lil item even though our youngest baby is almost 20 months old. Is that a sign that she wants a baby soon? She did mention that 3 is enough but if possible, I would want at least 4 children. I think I'll tell her about LilaGuide.com. Maybe from reading the reviews from other mommies about baby product, she would be tempted to have another baby. Hehe.

Managed to bath

One of the problems that I faced when working the WHOLE day at the shop is trying to get my bath in the evening. If there are customers at the shop, then it would be difficult for me to bath. I can't just leave the counter empty and go for my bath. What if there are customers coming into the shop and find nobody at the counter. Not good for the business. Times like these, I am very thankful and grateful for my wifey who took the efforts to come to the shop. She came not just to send me food but when she is there, I can have a quick shower. It is very refreshing to be able to bath when I am there for more than 8 hours. Thank you dear for coming to the rescue.

Thanks for the Essentials

When I am busy at work and had a tiring day, I am thankful to God for sustaining my health. Of course, I am grateful that with Usana Essentials, I managed to keep my body immune system on the healthy level. I am sure that if without the Essentials, my body will lack the necessary amount of nutritions needed to maintain good health. Been taking the Essentials twice a day throughout this week Had to do that or else I will fall sick easily due to the long hours of work. Thank you Lord for the supplements.

Watch or Play

I am a sportsman. I love sports; playing them and coaching others to play the game. However I am not a spectator. I prefer to be out there sweating it out because now, I take sports more as a form of exercise rather than competition. If some one where to give me a dozen Miami Heat Tickets, I think I would sell them to Premium Seats USA and use the money to pay for the sports centre fee where I can play the game myself.

I wonder whether Premium Seats USA would want to buy from me since they have huge selection of first-class tickets to all concerts, sports and theater events nationwide. Anyway, no harm trying right? Hehe.

Lack of sleep

This past one week has been a very tiring week. I have been working at the shop everyday from morning till midnight. Woke up in the morning, eat breakfast which is normally a mug of oat and then off I go to work. At the shop, do the mopping and cleaning of the shop before waiting for customers to come in. Had to be there until 12 midnite or normally after 1am. Then went back home, sleep and start the new day all over again. Manage to sleep only for less than 7 hours. Now feeling very tired and sleepy.

Wait a minute

"Hey, wait a minute. You better watch out." I reminded myself as I observed my stomach after I woke up in the morning. There is no sign of a thinner stomach. In fact, from my observation, it has grown and expanded a bit. When the stomach expands and at the same time I do not have enough exercises throughout the week, it is time for me to take precautions. I do not want to go for lap band Houston if possible. So the best thing for me to do is to cut down on my food intake and at the same time try to do some light exercises wherever and whenever I can.

Love Relationships

Reading a book by Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King entitled "Experiencing God". The book was given by a blogger friend Leah. This book is indeed a blessing to me. It reminded me that in our Christian life, the most important thing for God is to have a close and intimate relationship with each one of use. A close, intimate, real and practical relationship with God is really what matters to God. Not the ministry, not the "doing" of things for God.

It may be very difficult for most of us as we have the "doing" mentality for God. We measure our worthiness by our "doing" for Him but that is our measuring standard, not His. Time for me to change my thinking...paradigm shift again.

The sound of money

Can you believe it that every time someone visits your blog or website, there is money set aside for you. Yes, that can be a possibility only and only if you want it. You have the option to monetize your blog or site so that the audio advertisement that your blog visitors hear is the sound of money to you. Well, if you want to monetize your site, do it fast. Don't wait.

You better watch out

No, it's not Christmas carols that I am thinking about. I am thinking about my eyesight that has taken a dive. My current spectacle is no longer comfortable to my eye. My wife told me about the Great Discovery: Zenni Optical that she heard from her blogger friends. Her blogger friend said that it is indeed the Best Thing Found: Zenni Optical that has brighten her world. Indeed it has brighten her world for she got the offer for Zenni Optical $8 Rx Glasses. Well, I think I better watch out for my eyes. I definitely do not want to go blind at this young age.

Children Can Soon Go Cashless

Yes, that is what one credit card company is planning to offer. They will be offering The Tune Card which is a debit card for children to use. It is only offered for children aged 12 to 18 years old. The company announced that the Tune Card is a debit card that gives instant online approval with no credit check and allows for cash withdrawals at ATMs worldwide. Now that is something that most adults would hope to have too if the money is not theirs.

I believe with the introduction of this card, many merchants would have to Setup Credit Card Processing system in their business. Of course many would opt for Visa & Mastercard Payment Solutions as these two are the major card companies. The time will come when even small and medium size businesses would have the facility to Process Visa Cards as society moves towards a cashless society.

Now you want to listen to mommy?

Aucchhhhh....that must be very painful. Didn't Mommy tell you not to run with a fork.

Aiyaya....you are too young lah to carry a kavadi.

Homework and stomach

Helped Annabelle to do her homework two days ago. She had to write the word "ulat" and "ular". She complained that she do not know how to write the letter "a". I had to think of something that she can relate to and that she can remember to make it fun and easier for her to write. The first thing that came to my mind is the big belly and mentioned it to her. Hahaha...she can relate to it and even mentioned someone who has a big belly. Then she tried to write it. After a few attempts she got used to it and can write it nicely.

When I think of the big belly person that Annabelle mentioned, my mind wonder about the Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon. Maybe that person should consider going for the surgery if exercises do not produce any results. Then we would not think of him when Annabelle has to write her letter "a".

Nipping it at the bud

Annabelle lied about her homework yesterday. She asked the maid to do a little bit of her homework. Then she accidentally mentioned it to her mummy. When confronted, she denied it. Even though she was threatened to be thrown away from the car, she still denied it. She cried and cried of course, out of fear from being thrown away but yet she still does not want to admit.

After much persuasion and threats and love, she finally admitted that she asked the maid to help her. Haizzzz... Lying....at that tender young age. Must nip it at the bud. Discipline with love.

Indulging myself

There are a at least two things that I am thinking of getting for myself. One is the
go for my first spa experience. I was thinking of going for SpaLook for that. I am sure my wife would love to tag along. Secondly I would want to buy a big plasma television from AbTeletronics and put it in my room. It would definitely be awesome to watch movies from the comfort of your own bedroom. The good thing is that I can get it cheaper with promo codes from CouponChief. Check them out.

They are printing

Thanks to wifey's blogging fren who introduced to us a heavy duty printer, the students are coming to the shop to print their assignments. I truly believes that it is in God's timing that the Mummy bloggers met for the second time before the end of last year. God knows that the business needs a good and reliable printer and as such arranged wifey and me to meet Mr. Terrance. Bought the printer and it has indeed frees me from some headache. The old printer has been giving me problems with frequent paper jam.

Now, more and more students are coming to the shop and they are printing.

Chicken Golek

My wife loves to eat Ayam Golek or literally translated as "Chicken Rolled". It is cooked differently from roast chicken, though it looks almost the same. The taste is nice and the price is nice too, almost equivalent to the price of KFC value meal. I think my wife should learn more about chicken recipes especially on how to prepare and cook Ayam Golek. Then we need not go out frequently and can still enjoy nice and tasty Ayam Golek.

Tiring, very tiring

It has been a tiring day today. From morning till the end of my work shift, I had to attend to one customer. He, a foreigner who is also a doctor wanted me to help him prepare his documentations. He wants to apply for work in Malaysia. However, due to many other customers also requiring my attention, the work prolong for more than 6 hours. It is so tiring to work like that. And what is worse is that after everything is done, he asked to be given a discount. What lah.... the charges are already so cheap and yet still want to ask for discounts. Next time, I won't agree to help him unless he agrees to pay for the full amount.

Breast and God

I was quite impressed with the way my pastor shared about breastfeeding during one of her message. She was explaining about the name of God and in her explanation she mentioned about the “breast of God”. Well, the first thought that comes to most people when the word breast is mentioned is more on the sexual thoughts. However, the word breast when used for God has nothing to do with sexual thoughts. She explained it further.

Everyone has breast. Even the guys have breast. The only difference is that the women have bigger breast for the purpose of breastfeeding the baby. It is the mother’s milk that the baby received when suckling on her breast that nourishes the baby. It is different from Bottle feeding where the milk is not as nourishing as mother’s milk. It is this idea of the nourishing breast that we should relate to when we talk about the “breast of God”.

Nowadays, most mothers would prefer to give baby feeding bottle instead of breastfeeding their babies. As much as this is convenient for the mother, it would not the best for the baby. As the baby finds nourishment from the mother’s breast, we adults too can find nourishment from God.

Get a paying job

A few of my customers are working in the construction industry. Unfortunately, some of them were not paid regularly by their employer. Some was not paid for up to three months. Sometimes when I see them, I wonder how they had to "tighten their stomach" while waiting for their salary to be paid.

You can actually get a very good pay if you have ConstructionSkills as the demands for skill laborers are high. However, if you works for a non-paying employer like some of my customers, life could be difficult.

Maybe they should check out CSkills and look for other employers. Better still if they can further their skills by enrolling into any of the skill training institute or colleges. Then they would be able to ask for higher pay. Then they can come to my shop and use the computers there more often. Hmmm…I must recommend this to my customers.

Expired driving licence

I just found out that I have been driving my car and riding my motorbike for about 20 days without a valid driving licence. My driving licence expired on 17 December last year. Phew, I thank God that I was not stopped by any policeman or the JPJ after my licence expired.

Will renew my driving licence today.

Is there a problem?

My second girl Clarissa loves to stand near the TV whenever she watches any TV shows. We often tell her to stand far from the TV but after a while she would walk near the TV to watch. We have to remind her again and again not to stand so near the TV. Is there a problem with her eyes? My wife and I have thought of sending her for eye check-up.


Maybe we will check out this Great Discovery: www.ZenniOptical.com and find a suitable spectacle for Clarissa if she is required to use one. There are a variety of nice looking spectacles for sale. Hmmm...maybe I too can get myself a new spectacle. Want to get the classy spectacle and change my outlook appearance a bit.

Handy Manny Daddy

Bought a DIY bookshelf to put all the children's books. Annabelle saw it and was very excited to open and assemble it. She asked her Mummy to open it for her but her Mommy and Daddy was at the table having lunch.

Belle, "Mummy, fasterlah open the box".
Mummy, "Waitlah, mummy's eating"
Mummy, "You open the box lah"
Belle, "But Mummy, I'm not the handy manny like on TV"
Mummy, "Then you ask handy manny Daddy to do lah"
Belle, "Yah...can ask handy manny daddy to open the box"

Mummy, "Who's the handy manny daddy?"
Belle, "Handy manny daddy is my Daddy lah".

Hahaha...at least she can think of me as her handy manny.

Cheap Car Leasing

My wife has been asking me to bring the family for a holiday either to Cameron Highland or Genting Highland. 7 years ago, my car can afford to climb the slopes of Cameron Highland but now driving on the North South Highway it takes so much effort for the car and the air-cond will no longer be cold. Living in a warm climate, it is a dread driving without air-cond especially if you have 3 small children in the car.

Well if my wife keeps bugging me for the holiday then I will need to lease a car to bring her to higher ground. But then ah, leasing a new car here is so costly. I envy those living in UK. They can afford to cheap contract hire and car leasing of new cars. That is why you can see lots of them driving new car and even some changes their car very often because they have BuyYourCar. What this company does is, through its extensive database with hundreds of dealership and broker listings and will quickly obtain for you the best leasing deals to be found online. You will then be given several car leasing options to choose from and start driving them.

6th Real Skill

Finally after 2 weeks of pressing the keys on keyboards, I got my 6 Real Skill. Now I do not have target anymore. Felt so aimless when playing the game. I think I need to find new target but what ah?

Well, maybe I should leave the game for a while and concentrate on building my business and relationship with my customers. Blogging does not make much money anymore now. I need to get more income from my business.

Vacuum for the customers

“Maybe I can sell this old vacuum cleaner”, I told myself. The vacuum cleaner together with a few old computer monitors was dumped at the garage. The monitors are not working now and only good to be thrown away or sold to the recycle centre. “Wonder how much can I get from these scraps”, as I looked at all the items in the garage.

I had to bring back the good vacuum cleaner from the shop to the house. It is a good vacuum cleaner like the branded eureka vacuum cleaner. The house needs it more than the shop. However, I still need to get a good vacuum cleaner for the shop. I prefer to make sure that the shop is clean as it would ensure the comfort of my customers. Clean shop is another plus factor for returning customers and I hope my customers would keep on returning to the shop.

Managing the business again

My permanent staff resigned without any formal notice. On 31st December, he was playing online game (while on duty) and sent me a chat. He said that he has found another job at a restaurant where he would be trained to prepare western food. He said that is his interest and that his father encouraged him to work there. I told him that if he can improve himself with the new job, I would have no problems with it.

I guess I am not angry at all as I have been preparing myself to start working at the shop again. I have been "away" for about 2 months from the shop and after much thinking, I know that I need to be there working at the shop again. I truly believes that it is God's divine plan that my staff resigned voluntarily.

Now that I am back working at the shop, I have to rectify the various problems that occurred in my absence. One of the tedious challenges is to ensure all the computers are usable and does not give problems to the customers. Viruses, trojans, spywares and malwares have made their home in almost all of the computers as I did not subscribe and install a complete security solutions like NOD32 on the computer systems. These viruses and trojans are really a nuisance. The customers are partly to be blamed for this problem as they loves to download various files that are infected by viruses and trojans.

Exercises for the back - part 10

Stand with legs apart.

Put your hand at your waist.

Then lower your body by bending your knee as though you want to sit on a chair.

Then stand up straight and repeat.

Exercises for the back - part 9

This is quite simple.

Stand straight, legs together and hands at the side of the body.

Moves your body to the left as far as you can without moving the feet. Change side and repeat.

Pay back my money

A few of my customers still owe me some money. They bought the MS gold from me so that they can purchase whatever online game item. However, I allowed them to buy the gold on credit as I do not meet them everyday. I think that is definitely not a smart move.

Now a few of them have yet to pay me for more than a month. They say that they have yet to receive their salary from their boss. I can understand them as they are contract workers and most of the workers are not paid on time. There are some who are not being paid for months. But the problem is that they still owe me money and they keep on making promises that they will pay as soon as possible. Maybe they should consider applying for Credit Cards For People With Bad Credit. Then they can use the card to get some money and pay me.

Exercises for the back - part 7

The Horse Kick.

Go down on your elbows and knees.

Raise up your left leg as high possible.

Lower it down and raise up your right leg.

You only need to raise it up and not really kick to the back.

Also make sure that you wear something to protect your knee.

Exercises for the back - part 6

Okay...this is quite a tough exercise. I personally don't like this exercise but hey...if it is good for the back...just do it.

Lie down on your stomach.
Put both hands at your back, holding it together if possible.
Then raise both legs and hands together.
It should be that only your abdomen that still touches the floor while the other parts of the body are raised up.
Put your leg and hands down (and head) and repeat.

Beauty and the Datuk

The case of Datuk Chua Soi Lek has really caught the media’s attention. It seems that the lady is a hair and beauty saloon operator. I guess one needs to have some beautiful features before one can be successful in the beauty industries. Indeed there are many young girls who wants and are looking at beauty jobs as their lifelong career. The job benefits are very lucrative and as such the young girls are easily persuaded to go into it.

However, they need to be careful as they would be exposed to more challenges and snares of evil and wicked man. I am not sure whether the Datuk did offer money or political support for the lady, but if he does, it would not be a surprised if the lady succumbed to that temptation and give in to his sexual demands. Having said the above, I do hope that both of them would find forgiveness and peace from God.

Worldly pleasures = worldly pressures

Today’s Sunday message by Pastor Lee Neo touches on many important aspects of my life. I won’t go into detail about the various points shared in the message but I wanted to share something that was said in the message.

“Parents, we should not compare our past experiences with the present generation. We should not say, “I did it differently when I was your age”. You know why, because I believe today’s generation are facing greater pressure and temptations than the previous generations. And if we are not diligent in guiding this new generation, they would be lost when they reach the age of 20 when they go to further their studies.” Paraphrased by me.

As I ponder back on this statement, I find that it is very true. Being a father I at times do compare my children’s lifestyle and mine when I was young like them. I never have to study in kindergarten when I was still a child but my two girls who are only 4 and 5 years old are already in kindergarten, being “forced” to study. However, I would like to differ or add my thoughts to her statement.

My comment to my pastor’s statement is that it is not only the new generation that faces tremendous pressure. It is the lifestyle of today that creates such pressures. Even the old generation like me…hahaha…not so old lah… faces tremendous pressures now. We are being exposed to the same worldly temptations as the new generations. One good example is the Datuk Chua Soi Lek’s sexual intercourse scandal with a beauty saloon worker. He is already over 60 years old and yet the lure of sexual pleasure does not exclude him.

All generations, be it new or old generations have to face today’s worldly pressures. Of course, being the older generation we should have learned something from our mistakes and other people’s mistake and should be better equipped although that is not necessarily the case.

Exercises for the back - part 8

With leg aparts, hold your hands together and raise it up over your head.

Bend over to your left, up and right.

Repeat.

You should feel your side belly being stretched with this exercise.

Exercises for the back - part 5

Lie down on your right side.
Use your right hand to support your body.
Then raise up your left leg as high possible, making sure it is straight and parallel to the your right leg.

Change position by lying down on your left side.

Sweet things and grow smaller

It is very interesting that children can remember lots of things that we adults said to them even though we said it in passing. Sometimes they tried to use what they know in various circumstances, most of it not appropriate and suitable at all. It does not matter as they are still learning.

As I drove to church, my two girls said something about sugar.

Belle, “Daddy, you cannot drink sweet things….not good”
Daddy, “Why not good?”
Belle, “If we drink sweet things we will grow small and smaller.”
Clarissa, “Ya, if Belle drinks sweet drinks, Belle will grow smaller”
???..Somebody must have told them not to drink sweet drinks or else they will grow smaller.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity to teach them more about sugar, I continued the conversation with them
Daddy, “Ya, that’s why you must not drink a lot of sweet drinks like Pepsi or squash drinks. If you drink lots of sweet drinks it is not good for you. You can have diabetes and then the doctor will cut your leg.”
Belle, “Why cut the leg?”
Daddy, “Because if you drink lots of sweet drinks you can fall sick and get diabetes. Then the doctor will cut the leg. No more leg.” Well, didn’t really answer her question but I guess it is sufficient for her as she no longer ask the same question. Haha.
Clarissa, “No more leg, …pain pain”

Daddy, “Ya…then you cannot walk if no leg.” My mind remembered the few people who had to have their feet cut because of diabetes and had to depend on medical equipment the rest of their lives.

Clarissa saw a girl walking beside the road and we then changed the subject of conversation.

ATM Robbery - Truth or Fiction

In my earlier post, I posted about ATM Robbery and how to alert the police by using reverse PIN number. I received the email and without seeking to confirm it, I posted it assuming that it is correct. However, upon further investigation on the matter, I found this website on that issue.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/a/atm-911.htm

Here is what is said by the above link.

Enter your ATM Pin Number Backwards to Summon Police-Fiction!
Summary of the eRumor:
An alert that if you ever find yourself in a scary situation at a banking ATM machine, such as a thief forcing you to withdraw cash, just enter your personal identification number (PIN) backwards. That will automatically send a message to the police that you are in trouble and they will respond to the machine. The eRumor says that most people don't know about this.

The Truth:
The eRumor is false because there isn't anywhere that we could find where this emergency procedure at ATM machines is actually being used.

There is a seed of truth to it, however, in that the idea has been floating around for a while. One of the biggest proponents has been in Illinois attorney named Joseph Zingher. He says the notion came to him when he was a law student at the University of Illinois and one evening was withdrawing money from an ATM in a scary part of town. He patented his concept in 1998 and has been trying to talk banks into using it ever since.

Under Zingher's system, every ATM account would have two PIN numbers---the normal PIN used to withdraw money and what he calls the "ATM SafetyPIN" to alert police that something bad was happening at the ATM. It has also come to be popularly called the "Panic PIN." The SafetyPIN would typically be the reverse of the normal PIN number or some other variation that would be easy to remember. Legislation was passed in Illinois that would allow banks to adopt the system, but did not mandate it. So far, no banks or financial institutions have done so. Zingher has offered to let Illinois-based banks to use it for free but some of them have said they think it would be too expensive and that ATM crime is not frequent enough. Zingher says that ATM crime is much higher than believed because not all crime reporting reflects whether it has taken place in connection with an ATM or forced withdrawal of cash.

My apology if the previous post has caused any inconvenience to you.

ATM Robbery - please take notice

JUST SOME GOOD INFORMATION......

If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your Pin # in reverse.

For example if your pin number is 1234 then you would put in 4321. The ATM recognizes that your pin number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in the machine.

The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to help you.
This information was recently broadcasted on TV and it states that it is seldom used because people don't know it exists .. Please pass this along to everyone possible.

Interesting facts - numbers

Have you ever thought why........ 1 means "one", and 2 means "two"?

The roman numerals are easy to understand but what was the logic behind the phonecian numbers?

It's all about angles !

It's the number of angles.

If one writes the numbers down (see below) on a piece of paper in their older forms, one quickly sees why.

I have marked the angles with "o"s.

No 1 has one angle.
No 2 has two angles.
No 3 has three angles.
etc.

and "O" has no angles