The HOT Special smarter 1

To the HOT Special smarter 1 = you...that was how my dear cell members greeted me in the unique handmade birthday card. Thorn from a Digi flyer, Ivy Ang produced this wonderful piece of artwork. Maybe you should specialise in cosmetic surgery. Anyway, I love how it was made as it really reflected your hearts, beloved cell members.

Unlimited time and care. I do not really know how much I've impacted you all. Tonight, from the very least of appreciation shown, I would say it is sufficient to know that you have been blessed. I've been blessed trumendously amidst all the difficult times I had to perservere. Thank you very much. I see the fruits now. Fabian and Ivy, lead the CF cell well. Give them unlimited time and care even if it means unlimited sacrifice.

Richard, Kenneth and Joan thank you for being there to encourage me with your presence in cell. Without you guys, there will be lesser laughters, lesser fun. You all have made my life more colourful. Definitely cheered me when all I could think off was to quit being a leader. Richard, your trust and faith in God even at this time of trial has moved me. Kenneth, your continuous support for given to the cell I appreciate alot. Joan, although you are a much younger Christian, your commitment has compeled me to commit even more. To the rest of the cell, I thank you very much for the support, laughters and moments shared. Nomatter where you may be now, as long as you were once part of us you will always be.

You guys are the HOT, Special and smart ones. Thank you!

Opinions needed

Not on the coup or to start a coup. I'm concerned with the current boom in development in Sitiawan. I'm afraid if the only motivation to develop Sitiawan is monetary in nature then the heritage of this small little town will be lost forever. There are some buildings and people and businesses that make Sitiawan Sitiawan.

I trust that you, Sitiawanians would also be equally concern. My hope is that you would give me your opinion on where and what to document. Btw, I'm going out this week till Thursday to document some heritage with a trusty camera and note pad. Maybe I'll make it into a scrap book? or if anyone here has better suggestions? Please contribute...

My thoughts on the coup

After reading and updating myself amidst the busyness of preparing for the Monash Ball 2006 and attending it as well a friend's wedding, I discovered that most Thais are not disapproving the coup. The surprising thing that caught my attention was that the Thai monarch was also behind this event. With His Royal Highness's blessings, I believe most Thais who revered Him as a demigod would have blindly followed Him in approval of the coup taking place. More over, General Sonthi and other influencial persons are behind this coup. It is not coincidental that Gen. Sonthi as a Muslim is heading this coup. We all know that the South have been in a state of unrest over religious issues and so on and so forth.

Now it seems that the coup has brought peace to Thailand where previously (most recently) there were bombings by a certain group of irresponsible people. I still do not understand why they must resort to violence and when the Pope raised this fact, they raised their hands. Dumb! That aside, the coup as I would reemphasise my surprise is a success after all, at least for some quarters. Thaksin and his supporters are the ones who are at lost. Yesterday's news reported that he had already flown 2 Thai Airways airplanes loaded with his assets out of Thailand. He knew about this afterall. Not surprising.

Quoting a commentor...
"siamese coup is super common lar. thaksin survived for the first season without a coup but this second season, he is definitely not doing well. that smartie ass is now in new york!
neway trust me the economic aspect of thai will not be affected at all. i monitor the sea import and export, thus i know! hahahaa.."

To say that the coup had no impact on neighbouring economies is unfounded. If monitoring the sea import and export alone will help determine the bigger picture, then the Thai economy is minute. Yes, Siamese coup is super common but should it be that common to prove that the government is unable to seperate the powers of the army with politics? All this comes to show of their unability to distinguish the issue of the seperation of power. If you are a investor, would you invest in a country with super common coup or a country where their is autocratic rulling but stable and welcoming? I had earlier placed a hyperlink to show the effect of the coup on regional markets. I guess the share market will reflect a better and clearer picture of the economic state not import and export flows. Import and export will only stop in my opinion when the country runs into a state of emergency. But then again Brunei has been in that state since the Sultan's rulling.

Siamese Coup

My question is this,would the coup in Thailand have a ripple effect on the regional economic and politcal environment?

I am afraid it would have an adverse effect on them. Already there is instability in Myanmar with the Junta rulling with an iron fist. What more with Thailand being ruled now with Martial Law at the Generals' disposal? The insurgence from the Muslim quarters in the south have already brought unwanted unrest. The aftermath of sporadic bombing has been devasting to the tourism industry (be it explicit or not), the keyword when one speaks of Thailand.

When will it

Here for more updates...on the situation.

* It did had it's effect on the Asian and other markets

Girls vs Guys

It took me an hour to buy an intended item..but it took my friend more than 2 hours to buy an unintended item..

Show me the money!

Jeff Ooi had just blogged about the nation's missing money. You would wonder, some of you, how much did it take to build Sri Perdana, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Malaysia. But lets change the focus on how much it takes to maintain it. The cost of maintaining can buy a whole street of terrace houses in USJ, Subang Jaya or any average housing estate for the matter. It cost a whopping RM20 million. For the breakdown of the expenses check ScreenShots.

It makes you wonder why Kenny Sia is so shocked to see 90% of voters think the nations has not been maturing enough. Why is there peferential treatment of Malaysians just because the state was run by an Islamic Politcal Party? If the royalty paid by Petronas belongs to the state government, the federal government should have respected that. Malaysia is one big messed up place despite the development and growth. I wonder how we achieved that. To top that up we have immature politicians in the form of Pemuda-pemuda (youth wing). Don't they know they are only destroying the already weakening bond of national unity? Our fore fathers fought for indepedence through unity, which I think is much stronger then. Why destroy it when we can make it a competitive advantage? Pak Lah & Co., start working like matured adults and take responsibility.

Food Review: Lamb Shoulder

Recently my friends and I celebrated the birthdays of two of our friends'. We had a simple dinner at Chilli's One Utama. One thing about Chilli's that I see having an advantage over some other eateries is the dual section concept where walking chimneys can happily puff away without having anyone complaining. Anyways, we are going to talk about food not tar laced smoke.

I ordered grilled lamb shoulder. Since it was stated New!...was and new, so contradictory. Never mind, the grilled lamb shoulder didn't take long to be served. The serving isn't the biggest or the most tempting in terms of presentation. Nonetheless, it was sufficient to fill up one hungry stomach. Keyword for serving size is, one hungry normal man's stomach. I do eat alot but this was just enough to make me feel full.

like the sauce one would get on KFC's wedges. I like how they have neglected to peel the skin of the potatoes prior to mashing them. It gives character to the normally boring mashed potatoes. Oh and there is this miserable "missing person"On the little bits of food they arrange on the plate. The is ofcourse a piece of lamb shoulder. I was expecting to see a whole shoulder. Was a little disappointed but what you pay is what you get, right? RM23.95 was the price for this piece of lamb shoulder. The lamb shoulder was grilled medium rare to maintain its slightly chewy and juicy texture. It was pink in colour- it should be that way. To be noted, I suppose the secret ingredient they used to marinate the lamb did the job to compliment the almost rare meat. Accompanying the juicy lamb were blanch broccolis and cauli flowers. They were abit too soft for my liking, overcooked in other words, and abit on the bland side. On the other hand and thank goodness for the mashed potatoes. They came flowing with this spectacular white sauce with some chilli flakes. The white sauce taste a little bit garlic bread slice too.

That's very simply my experience with miss juicy lamb shoulder. Not forgetting the free flowing guava juice that I had. Good idea. Anyway, it should be the way in every cafes and restaurants in this league. Service wise, Chilli can still improve on it-not too bad though. Forgive me for the other picture showing the juicy lamb isn't good by my standards to be shown. I was too hungry that my hand was shaking when I took it. My usual "I'm hungry excuss".

Life's Truth

My Friend is a Terrorist

One of my friend is a terrorist. This guy Victor together with a few others are my fishing kaki. More like my fishing sifus. They introduced me to night fishing, seaside fishing and mosquito fishing. I do hope he doesn't introduce me to shooting and bombing and flying. Damn, he is talented. He was one of the top golfers in Perak when he was in secondary school. A terrorist indeed...check Bobby's blog for in-depth introduction to this terrorist who hails from my backyard!

Question : What is the truest definition of Globalization?
Answer: Princess Diana's death.

Question: How come?
Answer: An English princess
with an Egyptian boyfriend
crashes in a French tunnel,
driving a German car
with a Dutch engine,
driven by a Belgian who was drunk
on Scottish whisky,
followed closely by Italian Paparazzi,
on Japanese motorcycles;
treated by an American doctor,
using Brazilian medicines.
This is sent to you by an Indian,
using Bill Gates's technology,
and you're probably reading this on your computer,
that use Taiwanese chips,
and a Korean monitor,
assembled by Bangladeshi workers
in a Singapore plant,
transported by Pakistan lorry-drivers,
hijacked by Indonesians,
unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen,
and trucked to you by Mexican illegals.....
That, my friend, is Globalization

How "accurately" it described the flow of the"product". Quite accurately, not absolutely..I've no intention to downplay the death of Princess Diana. This is just humurous, I thought.

Truth about islam from an ex-muslim lady

This is so true from my perspective and I think from many others who have witness what has happened since the insurgence or should I say birth of Islam not too long ago.

Perhaps Love

There's complication in love. Love itself is the complication. Love is complicated. The world's perception of love constantly bombards our mind and heart. These bombardments challenges the foundational truth about love that has taken root in every person. This is where the complication begins. A different view of love, a changing in our perception changes our reaction and action towards love. The musical Perhaps Love portrays sacrificial, generous and selfish love.

The sacrificial love believes in allowing choices to be made. It allows himself to be hurt in order for a better outcome, so he believed. When there is a sacrificial thought, there is generosity. Is it true at all times? Not in this world. Although the actor sacrificed, he had still wanted to end the relationship his way. Maybe that is the only to project his thought. Does selfishness always end badly? I wouldn't really know, but it should, shouldn't it? There was this scene where soup noodle will be served in the vicinity of the studio. The noodle seller only sells this particular suan lak mien (sour and spicy noodle). Even when the actor asked for coffee, he says "Try my sour and spicy noodles.". As I can understand, this noodle represents the emotions of grief, hurt, joy, happiness and so on in our lives. It is all the same emotions everyone has to taste regardless of the different experiences that brings about them.

The lyrics, No Love, No Hate...translated from Mandarin to me shows life without meaning. At least if there is no love, there should be hate. But what is hate without love? Isn't it the opposite? How can there be an antonym if there isn't one to compare with? The world's perception of love, no matter how realistic is sounds has become of a perversion. Many of us, sadly only know of this love. I for one was confused by it. There is only one love. One true Love. There is no perhaps, only certainty in this one and only Love.

Simply irResist@ble

Since I last blogged about raw ingredients for cooking and on my photoblog, I showed pictures of food, I suddenly remembered about what my bro cooked up for us sometime back.

The ingredients very simply includes:
1) Boiled spaghetti
2) Pan fried potatoes seasoned with salt and pepper
3) Pan fried beef patties with minced calamari (squid)

4) Bolognese sauce:
a) Prego Traditional Pasta Sauce
b) Calamari slices
c) Minced Beef
d) Salt and pepper to taste
Enjoy the pictures below. Drool over it, let your saliva drip all over your keyboard...

Marketing

Not the marketing business students are taught in tutorials and lectures. Recently I had the chance to go back to Sitiawan. Since I was back there and my brother, James decided to cook up a dinner for us, my dad thought we would do marketing early last Saturday morning. How early? Not very early, just before 7 a.m. So, I thought I would bing my camera and capture a few frames. Being inexperienced in shooting that early in the morning and with the flourecent tube being the only source of light, some initial photographs turned out too dark. The later ones were much better. By the way, ACHTUNG! Gory sight ahead. All the pictures shown were shot with ISO800. Only minimal editing were done. Only pigs and fishes were killed in the event. Gangsters in training? Now we know why they fight well! Best cooked with black-sweetened vinegar

The first stalls that we went were those that sold pork. Somehow, my dad would go there first. His all time favourite, roasted pork is a must buy item. A must have for many Chinese
Moving on, another favourite of many Chinese families is fish. We believe that consuming lots and lots of fish will make you more intelligent. Is it so? I wish it is. My dad is so crazy about fish that he bought a freezer to keep them together with the pork he buys. The freezer is in the kitchen. Imagine eating fish everyday, almost every meal. I'm talking about the same fish but different parts of it. Normally he would buy Grouper, our favourite, more like his. He don't buy small ones which weigh 2-3kgs but thouse which weigh 5kgs (whole fish), 90kgs (part), 200kgs above (head and flesh). We have fish head for lunch, dinner and it goes on for a week until either we can't take it or the freezer is empty. I swear it was this big! I'm freezing, me too, me too....
What do you need after having so much meat, meat and meat? You need a balance diet. You need fibre to wash all the protein that you have consumed. If not you will have constipation. Constipation, it hurts! Some say it lubricates your digestive track
My friend is a fan of papaya
There you go, Saturday morning at the market. I have people asking me if I am a photographer of a magazine. I should have nodded and smiled and tell them a whole bunch of stories. Oh well, infact I am a photographer of a magazine, Monga (Monash Gazette). Before I sign off, some words of wisdom. A papaya a day keeps the pain away!