Business offer

A friend of mine told me that he is interested to open a bookstore. It seems that he is planning to retire/resign from teaching this year and has in his mind to start a Christian bookstore. He approached me inquiring whether I would be interested to start the business together with him. Well, I was quite surprised to hear that he is resigning from teaching. He is a good BM teacher and I am sure many students have benefited from this teaching. As for the business opportunity, I need to ask God to see whether I should join him and if yes, where I can fit into the plan.

He is back

Philip told me that Mr Wong Kow Fu had came back to Melaka. Mr Wong was a national footballer and is actively involved in coaching young people in soccer. Wow... that is good news. Will be contacting him if he can help out with the RGFC team. Hope he has time to come and train us. Then it would be to the team's benefit to learn from him.

Choose correctly

When you car broke down you know you need to find a good mechanic to repair your car. And a good mechanic would recommend to you to buy the original spare parts of the specific car model. If you own a Ford Taurus and the radiator need to be replaced, then you need to find one Taurus Radiator and not just the ordinary radiator. However, if you are not so concerned about original parts, you still need to find a good and certified Ford radiator OEM style. And not every time you need to use the original spare parts. If your car is as old as my old junk, using OEM parts is still acceptable. My old Datsun car radiator had to be replaced and the mechanic simply installed an expensive branded radiator without my knowledge. Imagine a branded and good quality radiator in an old junk. It just looks funny and not making sense. Anyway, if you need to find good radiator, check out radiator.com.

ISLT training postponed

Received a phone call from Philip Devadas. He told me that the ISLT Level 1 training that is scheduled to be held next week had to be postponed to sometime in June. The reason is because the dates coincide with the beginning of school holidays and most of the students would have church camps to attend. As such the dates would not be suitable. Had to inform Andy about it as he is interested to attend the training.

Plagiarism

What would you do if you have no ideas to write for your post? Well, one way is to go to other people's blog and copy what was written. That is called plagiarism and this lady experienced someone copied her post without linking it to her post. Even after being reprimanded, nothing much was done by the copycat to rectify the matter.

If you are really desperate, you can copy but please link it to the original post.

You need PowerBroker

Do you know that most big companies are running their computer systems using UNIX or Linux? Yes, as much as most end users would think that Windows based operating system is better than Linux, the opposite it true. I read an article on the comparison done between Windows and Linux operating systems and the winner is Linux. The comparison was done on various factors like how many times the computer crashes, security, costs and many other important factors. Big companies placed the utmost importance in security as important and vital company data are stored in their data storage computers and servers. If you are looking at what these big companies are using for their computer security, check out this power broker and Power Password software by Symark. It can provide secure access for your servers, applications and network devices. Do not compromise your vital company data, invest in PowerBroker.

The Saloon is opened

Mo Style Saloon has just opened for business. It is only 2 shoplots away from my shop. The owner Iven is a trained and skilled hairstylist. He worked in KL for a few years and decided to open his own business here. So if any of you in Melaka wants to do your hair, go to Mo Style Saloon near Giant Hypermarket. He is offering promotions now, discounted prices for the hair cuts.

Everything in place

So far, I have tried to make complete the services provided by my business. All the necessary additions in terms of printer, computers, food and beverages are done. There is of course a possibility of adding another 2 new computers but that will be on hold until the need arises. As for now, the number of computers in the shop is sufficient. Everything is now in place.

Thank you Clarissa

I received something beautiful today. And it is from someone special. She came in with joy on her face and with a beautiful smile gave me the small bouquet of flowers. “Here Daddy, flowers for you”, said Clarissa, my second daughter. No, it is not red roses but the different flowers she pluck from our garden. The flowers are not arranged as beautifully as the florists would do it but that does not matter to me. It is the sincerity and love shown on her face that makes my heart melt and fill with joy. Thank you Clarissa for your beautiful expression of love to Daddy.

Good News for the business

One customer told me that in June 2008, there would be a group of about 600 students who will be staying in a nearby apartments. Wow! This is really good news for the business. I do pray that this good news will become a reality and the students will come and use my internet services. Waiting and praying for it to happen.

Exercise your eyes

Told Clarissa that she needs to exercise her eyes. Since she has to wear the spectacle, she has to take time to exercise her eyes. Taught her a few eye exercises and she seems willing to try out. The only problem is that I have to make sure that she exercise her eyes and make time to exercise our eyes together. Should would not do it on her own.

We Did It, We Did it

We did it, we did it. Yes, we did it at last. It is our first time doing it. After much thinking and delaying, we finally pick up our courage and went there. There are so many options on how we want it done but we went there with an open mind. Unfortunately, when we went there, the place was packed and so we decided to come back again on another day. We went to Dr Fish instead for our body massage. This too is our first time doing it.

Then the next day, while I was at work, she called and said that she did it. Wah… at last, we have our own gold saving accounts. Yes, we have been thinking about opening the gold saving accounts but it did not materialized due to various reasons. We were thinking about buying US Mint Coins as another way of investing our money but we finally decided on the gold saving account. Yes, we did it.

They came, they go

The group from Penang came. They are from PERDA, making a learning tour about Melaka's E-Program. A whole bus load. They came to have a look at my shop. Then Andy and I gave a short briefing on what we have done with the Program E-Melaka. After the short briefing, we allowed them to ask questions which we managed to answer. After that, we were presented with a gift each from PERDA and off they went to another cyber-cafe.

It is updated

Last year, my business account is really in the mess. I do not have all the proper receipts and vouchers. Even my bank account statements were not properly kept and some got missing. I had to pay the bank to provide me a copy of the missing statements. All these is because of the income tax requirements.

Now, I make sure that all the transactions and payments are properly recorded. It takes a great effort on my part as I am not the administrative type of worker. I am happy as all my business accounts are all recorded properly and is up to date.

Get another engine

When your car has turned 20 years old like my old junk, you can have 3 options in front of you. Firstly, you can get a totally new car which will cause you a big dent in your pocket. Of course your monthly installment payment must also be taken into consideration. Secondly you can continue using the car and repair it whenever and wherever it broke down. There is the hassle of you being in nowhere when your car starts broke down. And you will never know when and where the trouble will appear. Thirdly, you can check out midwest auto recycling and get a used engine and fix it into your old junk. It is much cheaper than to get a new car and you can still enjoy driving your old junk. I did it for my old junk and am still satisfied with the used engine’s performance. No complaints from me.

It's convenient to have Paypal account

I needed to buy Alz for my Cabal game. The only way to do that is to buy it from the various websites that offer Alz for sale. And the payment can be made via Paypal. Since I got a Paypal account with some money still in it, I managed to buy the Alz that I needed. Come to think of it, it is very convenient to have a Paypal account, not only to buy products online, but also to buy game items. Now, I need to find money to transfer to my paypal account.

New online game for me

I've stopped actively playing Mosiang Online game for a few months already. It has been great and good for me since I have to attend to other matters in the business. Anyway, I still keep the ID as most of my customers are still playing Mosiang and I need to use my game ID/character to help them in various ways. Now, I am into Cabal Online. The only reason I decided to play this game is because I can train my character skill without the need to press the keyboard all the time. It can be set for auto attack mode and the character will attack the mob until the mob dies. This is suitable for me as I can do other things at the same time. Now still actively training my character skill.

Worth your investment

Want to make money via trading in stock options? You can do it the conservative way by reading the newspaper and whatever information you can find in the media or you can do it via PowerOptions. PowerOptions is the software that you need to get ahead and be fully aware of all the possibilities in the trading market. You can easily get the information of more than 2900 optionable stocks and 190000 options. Now if you want to sort that amount of information the conservative way, you will turn your black hair into white in less than a month. Not so with PowerOptions which enables you to automatically sort, filter and analyze the entire amount at your fingertips. Get PowerOptions now if you wants to ensure that you can find all your options express. Just a little investment of this software but it would be worth every penny of it.

At last

At last I decided to service my shop air conditioner. Since the day it was fixed to the wall until now, it has yet to be serviced. I do clean the filter from time to time but that does not really help. After much thinking, I finally decided to call the service guys and they came. Wow, it was dirty, covered with much dust. Really glad that I made the right choice. Will ask them to service another unit of air conditioner by next month.

Restless

Quite restless now. With no tasks at hand, I find myself living life aimlessly. Yes, I can play the online game but that does not truly satisfies my soul. Still memorizing the Scripture, now at chapter 3 of James. I need to do some kind of project. Maybe will paint the bedroom. But do I have the time to do it....haizzz.

I shoot you lah

There is one game that is catching up in this part of the world. It is the Paintball. Imagine the thrill and excitement of finding an enemy and shooting him down. Yes, that would indeed be thrilling. I have a group of customers in who loves to play Counterstrike. The excitement of finding the enemy and shooting the enemies down is shown by their shouts of joy and frustrations. What more if they can play the real "counterstrike game" i.e. the Paintball. I'm sure it would be a lifetime thrill for them. Maybe I should consider venturing into providing Paintball in my state. I can easily get the paintball tanks, paintball guns, goggles, hats, hoodies and other items from ZephyrPaintball.com. Anybody wants to joint venture? I provide the place, you can provide the capital.

Be like Sherlock Holmes

As I expected it to be, the game The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes provides the player with the classic investigation methods. The player is given opportunities to solve various cases from the missing jewelry to murder. I decided to try out (or in this matter to solve) as many cases possible within a 60 minutes period. Well, that attitude to finish as many cases possible does not help me to think carefully about the possible suspects in each case. In all three cases, I have chosen the wrong suspects. However, thanks to Sherlock Holmes, the cases are solved and the suspects are caught. I should have used my mind and consider all the possibilities and clues given in the game.

In all the three cases that I managed to play, the player is given the opportunity to spot differences in two similar pictures. Of course with Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass, the task is made easier. The differences are not easy to spot but that should not be a worry to the player. Each player is given a limited number of hints to find the differences. Try not to use up these hints unless you really cannot find it.

The players too are taken to task to remember various items to be identified with various suspects. It is to test your memory. I kind of enjoy this part of the game. Among other things that the players have to do is to solve various puzzles.

Well, this game is definitely not for small children. It requires a certain level of understanding and lots of thinking if one wants to guess the correct suspects. For those who want to exercise your mind, I would surely recommend this game. As for me, I will make sure I guess the correct suspect in the next case to solve.

Time to go Shopping

One of my favourite pastime is to go out with my wife. It is not so much of the places that we went to but more so of the companionship with her that I enjoyed. No, personally I don't like to go shopping. I only go shopping when there are things that needs to be bought. Or I really got nothing to do and really bored with what I am doing at that time, then only would I consider going shopping.

I prefers to stay at home and if possible do all my shopping at home. Yes, shop online. If I can do most of my banking via online, now I can do my shopping too via online. That's the convenience of having internet and a computer at home. Just check out ShopWiki.com and you can find most of the things you want to buy there.

Shopping online is now much easier. You can compare the prices from various retailers without the need to physically be at the various retailers. You can find various products like XBox+360, women's clothings, electrical items and much more. You can even find motorcycles parts. I've been thinking of getting myself a leather jacket. Hmm...I need to check out my paypal account first.

Time passes by

Time passes by nowadays. More like time flies by. It's been 7 years since the day I said "I do" to my lovely beautiful wife. It was a memorable wedding ceremony where my wife uses the float on the swimming pool as she "walked" to the wedding altar. Seven years flew and I am blessed with a more devoted wife and three beautiful children. God has been the focus of our marriage and has blessed us and protected us during our various times of trouble and hardships.

Not many of my things still existed since that day. Most of my clothes are gone. Even my muscular shape body has changed from the V shape to the H shape. I hope it would not going to be the pear shape. Hehehe...must do something about that. Even my watches does not last. I do not even remember how many watches that I have used since I got married. No, it has nothing to do with my wife. It is just the watches are not of good quality and not suitable for a sport person like me.

Maybe I could recommend my wife to get for me fp journe watches for my birthday. There are beautiful and creative designs of FP Journe watches that caught my eyes. It sure looks stylish and suitable when I have to meet with other businessman. That reminds me that I would be meeting about 40 delegates from Penang who would be visiting my cybercafe shop this coming Friday. I wonder whether the watch that I am using now is suitable for the occasion or should I get a new one.

I tried to find any ladies fp journe sport watches but to no avail. There are diamond decorated watches although not from the same designer that are really beautiful but that is really beyond my means. I am sure my wife would love it as our 7th year Wedding Anniversary gift to her but that would have to wait. Maybe we will wait for another 7 years before we could afford it.

Gas again!.... good tips for you.... read lah...lol

Since the last post is about gas (or petrol in this part of the world), I thought I post this tips about gas (or petrol lah) that I received in my email.

Now that the price of gasoline (or petrol lah) keep on increasing, maybe this would help you a bit in the long run (marathon style).


TIPS ON FILLING YOUR CAR(S) (Good information)

I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol....
But here in Durban (*not Dubai but Durban which is in South Africa), We are also paying higher, up to R7.35 per litre. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every litre.

Here at the Marian Hill Pipeline where I work in Durban, we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LRP and Unleaded. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.

Only buy or fill up your car or bike in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground.

The colder the ground the more dense the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return.

If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine.

Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.

Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a fuel truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy, DO NOT fill up--most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

Steve Caines

DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS! And Yes... you can be a copycat like this Indian blogger and copy this post. Just don't copycat my personal post like this stupid Indian blogger did. ...lol

Ran out of Gas

The other day while driving back from work, I noticed that my car gas indicator pointed to empty. Haizz, ... been busy thinking about various matters until I forgot to check my car petrol. Anyway, that incident reminded me of this beautiful and humorous story. Enjoy.

A little girl asks her Mom, "May I take the dog for a walk around the block?" Mom says, "No honey, the dog is in heat."
"What's that mean?" asked the child. "Go ask your Father. I think he's in the garage". The little girl goes to the garage and says, "Dad, can I take Susie for a walk around the block? I
asked Mom but she said the dog was in heat and said I should ask you".

Her Dad said, "Bring Susie over here".

He took a rag, soaked it with gasoline, and scrubbed the dog's rear end with it and said, "Ok, you can go now but keep Susie on the leash and only go one time around the block". The
little girl leaves and returns a few minutes later with no dog on the leash.

Her Dad asks, "Where's Susie?"

The girl replies, "Susie ran out of gas about halfway down the block -and there's another dog pushing her home!

Very Painful lah

Had my first taste of reflexology at Tiara Beach Resort. Wow... not as I expected it to be. What did I expected it to be? Well, I expected it to be a nice wonderful titillating massage session. But boy..was I wrong.

It turned out to be very painful and torturing. The reflexologist has strong hands and fingers. I really can feel the pain as he pressed the blood veins on my feet.

Not sure whether I want to go for another foot massage in the new future.

My FIRST time

As I walked out of my hotel room, I noticed that at the end of the corridor two small stands beautifully decorated with mini water fountains and mini calla lilies. "Why is the room decorated as such?", I wondered to myself. As I walked near the room, I noticed the door decorated with strings of beaded seashells. Hmmm.... what is this room for? A sweet aroma flows out from the room. In a glance I saw the inside of the room. It is dimly lighted with wall lightings at each corner of the room. There are decorated sofas in it and a couple was chatting away while watching the television. As I had to go somewhere else, I did not linger around to further check out the room. But my mind wonders about the room. Maybe I'll check it out tonite.

I told her about the room and she too was curious about it. We planned to check it out after supper. After supper, we changed to our casual clothings, me in my shorts and she chose to wear her T-shirt. We walked towards the room and the sweet aroma caught my attention. It is a different aroma from the evening aroma. The Calla Lilies are still there. We were quite nervous as to what we will find out about the room but we are willing to take the risks. I pushed the beaded strings of seashells and saw the couple still in the room. But this time, there is another man together with them.

We walked into the room. Immediately the couple and the man stood up and looked at us. They smiled and after a brief introduction, asked us to be seated. The couple then went inside another room and both came out with a tray of lotions and towel. The man asked us to relax and put our legs out on the cushion stools which we did. What happened after that was indescribable. The lotions were poured on my skin and with skillful hands the ordeal began. It was so nice to be massaged with lotion but most of the time it was painful.

Ahhh....my first reflexology session.

Tiara Beach Resort for holiday

Went to Tiara Beach Resort, Port Dickson for a holiday break. Just the family and MIL. About an hour drive from home. It was a hot day. The day earlier, I wasn't so sure whether I could make it for this trip. Had headache and feeling like vomiting while at work. Thank God by Sunday morning my body got better and able to attend church service. So off we went to Tiara Beach Resort reaching there at 3.30pm.

Don't let the name deceives you. The Resort is not situated at the beach. However, that does not stop them from creating a man made beach within their compound. To their credit, their man made beach is very nice. The water is clean and clear. Very suitable for the children to enjoy themselves. The only setback is the water slides are not properly aligned. It is not smooth and all the children and adults seems to have difficulties sliding down the slides uninterruptedly.

The rooms are quite nice and clean. However, for a non-airconditioner lover like me, sleeping in the room with the air-conditioner switched on (without any means of controlling the temperature) is not a nice experience. Switching off the air-cond would meant sleeping in a non ventilated room unless I want to invite the mosquitoes in by opening the window. Thank God it is only for a night.

Oh ya, we didn't get to eat buffet breakfast but had to order ala-carte breakfast. Quite disappointed about that. Though I am not a heavy breakfast eater, I would still want to enjoy my breakfast especially when I am on holiday and already paid for it. The service was quite slow. Even the family that sat near us also complained to me about the slow service.

Overall, the children enjoyed themselves. That's the most important thing as this is to celebrate Annabelle's birthday.

Would I want to go there again? Maybe yes, only if I go there in a big group. Reason being the resort have lots of facilities for group activities. And hopefully by then they would have done something about the water slides.

Happy Birthday Annabelle

Annabelle is 5 years old already. Yes, time does fly very fast. At times I can't believe that it has been that long. I can still remember watching you coming out from your mother's womb into this world. You are indeed a joy to Daddy. Every time people see you they will say that you have your Daddy's look. That makes Daddy very happy. At times Daddy would look at your beautiful sweet chubby face and wonder.

But what makes Daddy happier is to see you grown to be a sweet, kind and caring sister to Clarissa and Barnabas. Daddy loves to hold you in Daddy's arm and to receive your blessings and kisses. It is indeed a joy to be your Daddy. You are indeed God's wonderful blessing to Daddy. Thank you and please remember that Daddy loves you very much.

Happy Birthday Dear Annabelle.

Elephant Savings

I got a cute elephant shaped "piggy bank" from Hong Leong Bank for depositing RM500 into my daughter's saving account. Well, my daughters would not have the money or coins to put into their new piggy bank but I know I do have. Most of the time, I would come back from work with extra coins in my pocket. The coins would then find their rest in the elephant "piggy bank". My daughters observed what I did and soon they too would drop in any coins that they find into the piggy bank. Good habit for them to practice.

Maybe one day when they are old enough they can start the habit of collecting rare coin. Yes, that would be good for them. Not just as a hobby but also as a form of investment. Come to think of it, the bank interest rates are very low. It would be much better to invest in gold bullion or rare coins as the value would go up in the future. Furthermore the value of gold does not fluctuate easily. Now I should convince their mother to invest her extra money in gold.

Skin care for you

Living in a hot country has many disadvantages. When it is too hot, it will definitely affects my skin. Too dry or too oily are common problems that I faced. So I had to resort to skincare products. Yes, I use skincare products too. Not only my wife uses it but I do too. For those of you who stays in hot countries like Malaysia, you know that the weather is hotter compared to 10 years ago. We can really feel the difference.

I have use a few brands of skin care products in the past. Currently I am using Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion and I am very happy with this product. I love sports and being outdoor most of the time definitely have the effect on my skin especially my face. My face skin is dry but Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion helps it to be moisturized. I enjoy using it everyday. It is not oily unlike some other products. The skin really absorbs the lotion like a sponge thirsting for water. And the effect is almost immediate. My face is no longer dry after using the lotion. Side effects? Nothing that I know of.

Would I recommend it this product? Yes, absolutely. Not only for ladies but for men too. Try it out and I am sure you will be satisfied with it. I know I am.

The Footstep of Paul the Apostle

It always marveled me to read the missionary journeys of Paul as written in the Book of Acts. Paul and Barnabas journeyed from Antioch through various cities at that time, preaching and sharing the Good News, first to the Jews then to the Gentiles. The hardship that both of them had to go through during the first missionary journey. Paul later went for a few more missionary journey with Silas, Timothy and Luke.

There are many Holy Land tours being offered. Now there is Christian Cruises offered, in particular the Footsteps of Paul the Apostle tour being offered by livingpassages.org. In this Christian Cruise, you will be sailing away in a luxury yachts from USA on the 19th July to Athens. You will be taken to Mars Hill, Parthenon, Pergamum and also the beautiful beaches at Ephesus. You will have the chance to enter the amphitheater where Paul spoke to the Ephesians. Well, it would not only be about visiting places but you will also be able to hear the Word preached during the tour. Of course I am sure many women would love to go shopping and you will be able to do that during the tour. It would indeed be a memorable experience. So, if you want to know more about Christian Cruises, check out Living Passages.

Good doctors & technology

There are many doctors all around town. Some are well known for their expertise but mostly are just mediocre. Thinking about those doctors that are good in their field, I would recommend Dr Subra from Klinik Kulit Subra in Jalan Ong Kim Wee, Melaka. He is a skin specialist and I am glad that my mother brought me to see him to treat the fungal infection on my toes. Within week the fungal infection was gone. That was about 20 years ago.

Even at that time, Dr Subra has already use the computer to record and search for the latest advances in medicine for skin matters. I think he might have use the drug reference guide when prescribing the medicine and ointment for various skin diseases. I think it is good for every doctors to use drug reference guide. The reason being that most doctors would not be able to remember various names and descriptions of the medicine available in the market. Some may only remember the outdated type of medicines which are not suitable to the current type of diseases.

So how do you know whether a doctor is good or not? Firstly, by words of mouth and recommendations from others. Then, check whether he has the facilities that enables him to be updated regularly about the current advances in medicine.

p/s: “This announcement was paid for by Epocrates.”

How and If?

Most of the time we tend to follow what other people accepts as true. Even simple phrases that we hear and see everyday seems alright at first glance. What is we think about it slightly deeper? Maybe we will laugh at it... enjoy.

How do they get a deer to cross at that yellow road sign?
How do you get the "Keep off the Grass" sign on the grass?
How do you get off a non-stop flight? How do you know when you've run out of invisible ink?
How do you throw away a garbage can?
How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings?
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
If a jogger runs at the speed of sound, can he still hear his Walkman?
If a pig is sold to the pawn shop,is it considered a ham-hock?
If a turtle lost his shell, is he homeless or naked? If athletes get athlete's foot, do astronauts get mistletoe?
If blind people wear dark glasses, why don't deaf people wear earmuffs?
If corn oil is made from corn, where do we get baby oil from?
If I save time, when do I get it back? If rabbits' feet are so lucky, then what happened to the rabbit?
If Superman is so smart why does he wear his underpants over his trousers?
If swimming is good for your shape, then why do the whales look like the way they do?

Mia and the Bugaboo Bugs

Young children are more computer literate compared to their parents' generation. In my children years, we only know about playing in the orchard or paddy field. We climbed trees and pluck fruits when we are hungry. We got dirty playing on the ground everyday. We got hurt and wounds but that are normal and our parents do not even raise an eyebrow about it. The wounds got healed and we are still fine.

But gone are those days. Even if I want to let my children to experience outdoor activities, I will make sure that they are being monitored by a trusted adults. The neighbourhood is just not safe nowadays. With the increase of children abduction being reported in the media, the fear has sipped in.

There is a limit as to what my children can do in the house. But the good thing is that with the computer, the children can play various games in the security of the home. No, I am not talking about online game like Warcraft or Cabal or Final Fantasy XI. These games are for adults although most children as young as 9 years old are already into these games. What I have in mind is interactive learning games like Mia Reading: The Bugaboo Bugs.

This game is about Mia the mouse and her adventure in solving the problems at hand the Bugaboo Bugs. The Bugaboos has invaded Mia's charming Victorian house and made noisy and uncivilized activities. Should the humans take notice of them, the exterminators will be called and this will be dangerous because all the pests will be in trouble. The player are required to help Mia to get rid of the Bugaboos. With the game, the player will also learn to associate images to words, punctuation, phonics, rhymes, spelling, sentence structure, vocabulary, reading comprehension, word recognition, verb tense, adverbs, following instructions and much more. Yes, your children will be able to learn all these by playing and enjoying the game.

How can you get the educational game like Mia. Well, it is available on a hybrid DVD-ROM for Windows and Macintosh and is available at TOYS 'R US, The Apple Stores, and other fine toys and computer stores with a suggested retail price of $24.99 and is aimed at five to nine year olds.
There are many more games available from http://www.kutoka.com for you to choose from. So what are you waiting for? Get one for your children and enjoy the game TOGETHER with them.

Wining Lottery Number

No, I did not win any lottery number. What I did is to preach about Psalm 1:1-3 today in church. It is about how we Christians can receive God's blessings. I'm sure when I mentioned the word "blessings" many people especially the people of this world would think about winning lottery numbers. It is not a surprise that many would buy lottery numbers because they want to get rich fast. However winning lottery number is not God's way of blessings His people. God's way to receive His blessings is stated in Psalm 1:1-3: -
- Do not walk in the counsel of the wicked
- Do not stand in the way of sinners
- Do not sit in the seat of mockers

- But we must delight in God's Word
- We must meditate on God's Word day and night

The blessed man is liken as a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruits in season and whose leaf does not wither. Everything he does prospers.

So God's way to His blessing is not by way of wining lottery or 4 digits.

Respect Cannot Be Demanded; it must be earned

Paradigm Shift must happen in the minds of the people before changes can happen in society. I must say that I clearly respect Raja Petra for his unbias thinking. If only the majority of people can see and evaluate various issues in his manner, this world would be a better place to stay.

Raja Petra: Respect Cannot Be Demanded; it must be earned
Submitted by Raja Petra Kamarudin on Tue, 2005-05-24 06:24.

Respect cannot be demanded; it must be earned Raja Petra KamarudinAli Al-Ahmed, the director of the Saudi Institute in Washington, wrote the following in his piece, Hypocrisy Most Holy, which appeared in The Wall Street Journal on 20 May 2005:

"With the revelation that a copy of the Quran may have been desecrated by U.S. military personnel at Guantanamo Bay, Muslims and their governments -- including that of Saudi Arabia -- reacted angrily. This anger would have been understandable if the U.S.government's adopted policy was to desecrate our Quran. But even before the Newsweek report was discredited, that was never part of the allegations.

"As a Muslim, I am able to purchase copies of the Quran in any bookstore in any American city, and study its contents in countless American universities. American museums spend millions to exhibit and celebrate Muslim arts and heritage. On the other hand, my Christian and other non-Muslim brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia -- where I come from we are not even allowed to own a copy of their holy books.Indeed, the Saudi government desecrates and burns Bibles that its security forces confiscate at immigration points into the kingdom or during raids on Christian expatriates worshiping privately.

"Soon after Newsweek published an account, later retracted, of an American soldier flushing a copy of the Quran down the toilet, the Saudi government voiced its strenuous disapproval. More specifically, the Saudi Embassy in Washington expressed "great concern" and urged the U.S. to "conduct a quick investigation.""Although considered as holy in Islam and mentioned in the Quran dozens of times, the Bible is banned in Saudi Arabia. This would seem curious to most people because of the fact that to most Muslims, the Bible is a holy book. But when it comes to Saudi Arabia we are not talking about most Muslims, but a tiny minority of hard-liners who constitute the Wahhabi Sect."The Bible in Saudi Arabia may get a person killed, arrested, or deported. In September 1993, Sadeq Mallallah, 23, was beheaded in Qateef on a charge of apostasy for owning a Bible. The State Department's annual human rights reports detail the arrest and deportation of many Christian worshipers every year. Just days before Crown Prince Abdullah met President Bush last month, two Christian gatherings were stormed in Riyadh. Bibles and crosses were confiscated, and will be incinerated. (The Saudi government does not even spare the Quran from desecration. On Oct. 14, 2004, dozens of Saudi men and women carried copies of the Quran as they protested in support of reformers in the capital, Riyadh. Although they carried the Qurans in part to protect themselves from assault by police, they were charged by hundreds of riot police, who stepped on the books with their shoes, according to one of the protesters.)

"As Muslims, we have not been as generous as our Christian and Jewish counterparts in respecting others' holy books and religious symbols.Saudi Arabia bans the importation or the display of crosses, Stars of David or any other religious symbols not approved by the Wahhabi establishment. TV programs that show Christian clergymen, crosses or Stars of David are censored."The desecration of religious texts and symbols and intolerance of varying religious viewpoints and beliefs have been issues of some controversy inside Saudi Arabia. Ruled by a Wahhabi theocracy, the ruling elite of Saudi Arabia have made it difficult for Christians, Jews, Hindus and others, as well as dissenting sects of Islam, to visibly coexist inside the kingdom."

Another way in which religious and cultural issues are becoming more divisive is the Saudi treatment of Americans who are living in that country: Around 30,000 live and work in various parts of Saudi Arabia. These people are not allowed to celebrate their religious or even secular holidays. These include Christmas and Easter, but also Thanksgiving. All other Gulf states allow non-Islamic holidays to be celebrated."The Saudi Embassy and other Saudi organizations in Washington have distributed hundreds of thousands of Qurans and many more Muslim books, some that have libeled Christians, Jews and others as pigs and monkeys. In Saudi school curricula, Jews and Christians are considered deviants and eternal enemies. By contrast, Muslim communities in the West are the first to admit that Western countries-- especially the U.S. -- provide Muslims the strongest freedoms and protections that allow Islam to thrive in the West. Meanwhile Christianity and Judaism, both indigenous to the Middle East, are maligned through systematic hostility by Middle Eastern governments and their religious apparatuses."The lesson here is simple: If Muslims wish other religions to respect their beliefs and their Holy book, they should lead by example."

Malaysia, of course, is not as bad as Saudi Arabia, if what Ali Al- Ahmed wrote above is correct and not an exaggeration. However, though Malaysia is not as drastic as Saudi Arabia, the attitudes here and in Saudi Arabia are similar. For example, we Muslims condemn non-Muslims as ‘members of hell’ (ahli neraka). We justify this, no doubt, by saying that this is what Islam says, so to dispute this would be unIslamic and tantamount to blasphemy. If I were to say I do not agree to this, I would be condemned by fellow Muslims who would advice me to go find a guru (teacher) so that I can improve my religious knowledge. Some will even say that I am now no longer a Muslim for daring to argue against the concept that all non-Muslims are automatically destined for hell. Sure, the Hindus too feel their religion is the correct religion and all other religions are wrong or false. The Christians, Jews, Buddhists and all others too feel the same way. But do you hear Malaysian Christians, Hindus or Buddhists label Muslims as Members of Hell?

We allow the Quran to be published in all languages and we encourage those of other religions to read the Quran in the hope they may convert to Islam once they have read it. But the Bible cannot be published in Jawi (Arabic alphabet) and, until quite recently, the Bible was forbidden in Bahasa Malaysia. Today, due to political pressure and to ensure the non-Muslims will not desert the ruling party, the Bible may be published in Bahasa Malaysia but it has to be stamped as ‘non-halal’ (forbidden for Muslims). We want the non-Muslims to understand Islam. We want the non-Muslims to understand Islam by reading the Quran in the language they understand best; whether it is English, Chinese or any language of the world; but we refuse to allow the Muslims to understand the other religions -- and they would certainly not understand the other religions if they do not read the holy books of that religion. In fact, we do not even regard the holy books of the other religions as holy books. But we want the others to treat and respect the Quran as a holy book. Our excuse for not allowing Muslims to read the Bible is to prevent them from being influenced by Christianity whereby they may leave Islam and become Christians. Are we admitting that Islam is so bad, and Christianity better, that if Muslims were to read the bible they may discover how better Christianity is and leave Islam? Is our confidence level in Islam so low that we are scared of allowing Muslims to understand Christianity because we feel once they understand Christianity they may convert? We demand that non-Muslims respect Islam. But we do not want to show other religions this same respect. Respect cannot be demanded. It has to be earned. And have we earned this respect of those from the other religions?

Until Muslims can learn how to respect other religions; never mind if you think those religions are wrong; Islam will never be respected by the non-Muslims. And the more Muslims demand that non- Muslims respect Islam, the more you will gain their disrespect. Copyright © 2004 Malaysia Today | www.malaysia-today.net

Building networks

Gone are the days where one builds his network connection by words of mouth. Now, people do it by using the technology of the internet. One way to expand the network connection is to join 3gb community www.3gb.biz. It is not just about social networking but it is also a way to have fun while doing the networking. You can listen to the latest mp3 hits or just chatting away with your friends. The good part is that you don't need to get out from your office to be able to chat or talk to your friends. Start making new acquaintances with people of the same interests and needs. The day will come when you will benefit from your new community.

Thank you Lord

Sometimes in the busyness of managing the business, my mind got lost in other things. Many things requires my attention and very often I failed to rest my mind in you, in your words. Help me O Lord to delight in your word. Let it be the place where my mind wants to rest. Let it be the place the mind wants to return whenever it goes away. For in the busyness, you still wants to commune with me. You are still there waiting. Thank you Lord for waiting and being there always.

"One Hard Question"

There was a student who wanted to be admitted to the University.

He was smart enough to get through the written test, a GED, and was to appear for the personal interview. Later, as the interview progressed, the interviewer found this boy to be bright since he could answer all the questions correctly. The interviewer got impatient and decided to corner the boy.

"Tell me your choice," said he to the boy, "What's your choice: I shall either ask you ten easy questions or ONE real difficult. Think well before you make up your mind."

The boy thought for a while and said, "My choice is ONE real difficult question."

"Well, good luck to you, you have made your own choice!" said the man on the opposite side. Tell me: What comes first, Day or Night?"

The boy was jolted first but he waited for a while and said: "It's the DAY, sir."

"How???????" the interviewer shot back, smiling. ("At last, I got you!" he said to himself.)

"Sorry sir, you promised me that you will not ask me a SECOND difficult question!"

The student was admitted to the University.

Persona, Rent A Car or Change Engine?

We still have not decided to buy the Persona because my car still can move. Another reason is, I am not ready to commit to paying almost RM600 a month for 9 years.

Unfortunately for long journey or to drive up high places, I don't think my car perform. This almost means that we still need to rent a car when I want to bring my family for holiday.

Another option is, I could get a used engine from midwest auto recycling to change with my existing one. That would only be one time spending. But how long can the engine last, that is unknown.

Malay Malaysians May End Up Sleeping in the Street

Posted by Raja Petra Kamaruddin
Sunday, 16, March 2008

Indonesia is one of the world's most richest countries in terms of natural resources. God has blessed Indonesia with gold, uranium, copper, oil, timber, beaches, seas and other wealth. The land is fertile with abundant rain. Stick a twig into the ground and it grows into a tree. Yet Indonesians sleep in the streets. Food is expensive. The average Indonesian eats some rice, tempe,tauhu and may be some vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday. An average Nasi Padang meal for four persons in a single star Indonesian restaurant can cost RM60.00 (160,000 Rupiah). This is way beyond the income of the average Joko or Ketut in Indonesia.

Why is this so? The answer is because the ruling elites in Indonesia do not care about the people. They have pillaged the country. They craft policies that only serve to keep the elites in power and the wealthly.The same thing is happening in Malaysia. There are also millions of Indonesians who go to school and university but do not learn skills that can help them survive in the real world. They are very poor in European languages like English or Dutch. All their education is in Indonesian. So they cannot keep up with the latest developments and technologies. They cannot compete. They remain poor.

The children of the elite are sent overseas for their education. An average Indonesian university graduate cannot bring world class skills to his employers. He or she therefore earns a pittance. This is happening in Malaysia. Bumiputra university graduates only strike it rich if they get Government jobs where they do not do much work but earn a good salary with a pension. In the private sector they may not get a job or earn only a pittance. That is why 100,000 graduates remain unemployed in Malaysia.

Bumiputra university graduates are turning up for interviews as taxi drivers and shop assistants. What about those who flunk out after SPM? They become Mat Rempits (Motorcycle Racers ). Last Saturday I saw another Mat Rempit get killed at the road races in Shah Alam (near Section 7).

In Malaysia, just like in Indonesia,food is getting very expensive. But the wages and salaries of the people, especially the Malays, is not keeping up with the increase in prices. Instead of developing the competitive ability of the people,the Government has been using the failed NEP to provide subsidies and dish out money on a plate. Everything is subsidised, even cooking oil,flour, rice, sugar, fuel, etc. The Government has been providing these subsidies so that the people will keep voting for the ruling party. So it has never been to the Government's advantage to make the Malays independent. A Malay who is independent of the Government may not vote for the BN. It is therefore better to keep feeding with subsidies. So, for the past 50 years, everything has been subsidised. But now with 27million people in the country of which more than half are Malays, subsidies are getting more expensive. There is also much much more thievery and wastage by the elites in Malaysia. But there is no bottomless well full of money. Everything has its limits. The money will soon run out. Without the subsidies for cooking oil, sugar,flour and petrol, how are the people, especially the Malays, going to survive? Already university graduates cannot find jobs or compete in the private sector. What happens when the oil money runs out? What happens when (not if, but when) the Government cannot simply spend billions of oil money to sustain its voting base any longer? That is when we may see people sleeping in the streets, just like in Indonesia. If that happens this country will go up in flames. We will all be consumed.

In Indonesia, the Government has not mobilised its hundreds of millions of people (over 250 million Indonesians) with the competitive skills to grow enough food for themselves. Hence food is expensive. They do not even have simple survival skills like coming to work on time, organising themselves to do simple tasks, maintaining good hygiene and cleanliness and so on. They are poorly read and not informed about many things that are going on around the world. Their Government has failed in all these aspects. Hence the average Indonesian remains poor.

The same thing has happened in Malaysia. Our young people, especially the Malays, do not possess basic survival skills. We are not talking about competitive skills but just basic survival skills. The Government is not serious about giving them useful competitive skills either. The Mat Rempits are being glorified by the politicians as saviours of the nation (Mat Cemerlang). Correction. they are drug users, gang rapists, snatch thieves and street fighters.

When an efficient Policewoman called Nooriyah Anvar was appointed Chief of Traffic Police she went after the Mat Rempits with a vengeance. Does anyone remember her? She confiscated their bikes on the spot. But soon the Mat Rempits called their political muscle and Nooriyah Anvar was kicked out. To date she holds the record of being the shortest serving Traffic Police Chief in Malaysia. She has been replaced by Senior Asst Comm (II) Datuk Hamza Taib.

So the Government is not serious about improving the position of the Malays. It serves the Barisan Nasional Government to keep the Malays down and out. Then the Malays can go to the Government for crumbs. This way the ruling elites get to keep the whole loaf to themselves. Go and visit Indonesia. This is what is happening over there. It is happening over here too.

Does Malaysia have a problem? yes the Malays are not happy, the Chinese are not happy and the Indians are not happy. They spoke out at the polls two weeks ago and hope things will change for the better, now they have some oppositions who promised change. The Malays are being duped by their corrupted leaders by using the religion, the Chinese and Indians are being marginalised by the ruling elites. Let us all Malaysians wake up and fight the corrupt system for the benefit of everyone. Let us all unite and stand together and change the system for once and for all. We are not Malays, Chinese or Indians, we are Malaysians.

Istana Zakaria

When the news about the Istana Zakaria was published, I was not sure of the reason why it created a big huhah. Only when I saw these pictures I was hit by the reality of the issue. The "castle" is really impressive and for the owner to build it without the local municipal permission is indeed a slap of unfairness to the public.

A tinge of envy swept over my heart as I look at the pictures. This guy Zakaria (deceased) is very rich indeed. Of course some questioned as to how he can be so wealthy.
Could it be the people's money that he easily received via government tenders and contracts because of his political connections. Hahaha...no wonder the people voted for the Opposition during the last election. Even after the scandal was published in the media, the various government agencies failed to take actions against this Zakaria. What lah!

That all being said, I have to agree that this Zakaria had high class mentality. Maybe he thinks he can be like the Sultan of Brunei.

Having fun the kids way

No, I am not talking about going to Disneyland although my wife could get some Discount Walt Disney World Tickets. Yes, I know it would be nice to go to Disneyland. I am sure my children especially the two girls would jump for joy if they are in Disneyland. Hahaha...I think even my wife would jump for joy if she can go there.

I am talking about enjoying the warm water swimming pool in Genting Highland. We (my wife, my two girls and I) went there and had some fun trying out various games the Outdoor and Indoor Theme Parks have to offer. However, the best time for my two girls is playing the water and going down the slides. Hehehehe...even I too could not resist going into the water and trying out the slide.It was fun and refreshing. Many times we define fun in the adult's definition of fun. However, children are very much simple minded when it comes to having fun. And being in the water pool is much more fun that sitting on the thrill rides.

The castle of my dream

When I was a small boy, I used to read books about castles. My favorite books are "The Secret Seven", "The Hardy Boys", "Famous Five" etc where they solved mysteries. Often the stories took place in castles where there are secret doors to a secret basement where there are many secrets to be found.

Well, I have yet to own my own castle and I don't think I will ever own one in my lifetime. Found this beautiful picture of a castle with beautiful surrounding. Don't know where the castle is located but I wish I could go there one day.

Proposal to punish non-Muslims for khalwat

Proposal to punish non-Muslims for khalwat
By IZATUN SHARI (The Star - 2rd April 2008)

KUALA LUMPUR: Non-Muslims committing khalwat (close proximity) with Muslims should also be held liable for the crime, two Islamic bodies have proposed in a resolution to be sent to the Attorney-General's Chambers.

The Islamic Institute of Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) and Syariah Judiciary Department Malaysia said non-Muslims found committing khalwat with Muslims should also be sentenced, perhaps in the civil courts.

"Muslims are sentenced in Syariah courts ... but we don't have the jurisdiction to sentence non-Muslims," Syariah Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Mohd Asri Abdullah said at a seminar on reviewing Syariah laws organised by Ikim and the department.

"Their non-Muslim partners can probably be sentenced in the civil courts, to be fair to both parties," he told reporters after closing the two-day seminar on Wednesday.

He said the proposal, contained in a draft resolution from the seminar's findings, would be forwarded to the Attorney-General's Chambers (AG's Chambers).

"It is up to the AG's Chambers or the relevant authorities to decide how to create such law," he said, declining to say when the proposal would be made to the Government.

The two bodies have also proposed stiffer penalties for Muslims caught in such offences as khalwat, prostitution, alcohol consumption and gambling.

My response:
- From the moral aspect, it seems to be a good idea. Sin is crouching near the couple who loves to be in secluded places. Desires or lust to be exact finds more opportunities to rear its ugly head in dark quiet places. However, I am against the idea of the giving the responsibility of enforcing moral obligation into the hands of the government. Moral issues should not be govern by the government but it should rest with the parents, and religious institutions. There is a danger of giving the government agencies the power of enforcement as abuses of power will definitely become rampant.
- The suggestion itself indirectly indicate that the two islamic bodies wants to enforce its beliefs upon the non-muslim people. It is a subtle way of doing it. And the gist of it is that it is trying to encroach on the freedom of others. Why should there be punishment for something that is not wrong in a person's religious beliefs? It should not be.
- Punishment should be in the hands of God. Why should human enact laws that punishes people when first and foremost the wrongdoing is unto God, then to others, and to society.
- The two islamic bodies should not focus on this issue but should spend more time thinking about how to educate and instill good religious beliefs among the muslims themselves. Why think about the non-muslims when they can't even take care of the muslims?
- Stiffer penalties does not help much to reduce the wrongdoings. They must find ways to find the root of the problem and deal with it accordingly. Death by hanging for drug traffickers does not help much in eradicating drug problems in Malaysia. In fact the drug problems have become worse.

Left Behind

We were so excited to go up Genting Highland that I forgot to check my handphone. The day before, I left it near the television set at my brother's living hall. I did a mental reminder to look for my handphone but somehow forgot about it during the business of packing our things and putting stuffs inside the car. So we left to Genting without the handphone. I only realised about the missing handphone once we arrived at the Theme Park Hotel. That does not worry me as I too do not want to be disturbed during my holiday break.

There are ample public phones in Genting Highland. I wonder whether the phones line use VoIP Phone Systems as it is much cheaper than the fixed phone line. So, we were free from phone calls during our holiday. We only went back to get our handphone on the way back to Melaka.

Logo is important

Who says brand is not important. In certain countries, your status in society is determined by what kind of branded stuffs you have. Like this branded car.

Hahaha...I think the owner of the car wants to make sure that everybody knows that he is rich and able to afford a Mercedes Benz.

Smallest Countries - No 1

Vatican City -
0.2 square miles -
The world's smallest state, the Vatican has a population of 770, none of whom are permanent residents. The tiny country which surrounds St. Peter's Basilica is the spiritual center for the world's Roman Catholics (over 1 billion strong).

Also known as the Holy See, Vatican City is surrounded by Rome, Italy.