Typical Malaysian Drivers

Have a laugh... perhaps you are one of those?! BTW, I often ask the car in front to drive faster or move to the inner lane.... hahaha.

I like the car which can automatically park for you.

Horror accidents on video

As the Raya holidays is just days away and many people will be on the road to balik kampong, I just share this video with you to remind you to drive carefully! Most accidents can be avoided if you remember to check your car before setting out your journey, sleep well and if you are tired, stop your car at a rest point and take a short sleep.
Be safe and arrive safely. Your loved ones are waiting for your arrival!

Have a blessed Hari Raya to all my Muslim friends....

Sin Siang Hai Annual Furniture Fair

Sin Siang Hai Furniture Fair for 2013 is even better than 2012!! Go over and pay them a visit. They have fantastic offer of up to 45% off during the fair only. Extra discounts are given by the vendors who were on site to explain to you about their furniture.

More picture, click here.

Brian and Pheobe Wedding

Last weekend, 29-Jun-2013, our church member Brian and Pheobe got married!

You may see some of the photos I took here.

Emergency Light From Cooking Oil

Power supply from Sarawak Electricity Board seems to be more stable but when there is a power failure, it seems that it is more widespread and lasted for much longer time. During the last Thursday (27 Jun 2013) outage, many scrambled to buy candle or dry cell, until the whole town went out of supply!
But is candle the only viable "emergency light"? What sort of fuel is readily available that we can use? I read from the internet about making light from cooking oil and orange core. So, I gave this a try...

During my childhood days, kerosene is always used for lighting. But as electricity is getting more readily available, this oil is getting out of fashion besides being expensive.
Emergency light using orange skin is very simple:
1. Half an orange. Only one half can be use!
2. Take out the flesh carefully and not breaking the center core (I think it is called pith).
3. Put in cooking oil.
4. Use a candle (or whatever) to light up.
Note that lighting up using cooking oil and a wet core is not immediate. It may take up to a minute.
Beside being an emergency light, it also emit a nice smell.

If orange is not available, any container and a holder for a wick will do. Perhaps, I will give suggestion on an easy to make emergency light in future.

One thing you can now do is to collect some used cooking oil for emergency lighting use.

Haze is on the way ...

The burning in Indonesia seems to be affecting Miri now. We noticed high altitude haze since two days ago. I just hope that this haze will not descend to low level or we will be choked once again.

This photo was taken this morning and it is clear that even the sun has lost it glorious ray!

The return of cicadas

We take the noisy cicadas for granted but do you know their life story? Watch this video and surely you will learn something!

You made Miri proud!

These young people from Miri really made Sarawak, or rather Miri proud.

Billy Lau from Miri and his team from Korea and China has found a way to crack open Apple's iOS with ease with his custom-built charger! Read more here. So, as a precaution, don't ever lost your charger in future. You can never tell what the manufacturer put in there.

Then we have SmartWard, which is another Apps that aims to reduce hospital paperwork has won a competition to find the best new business ideas. This idea is from Dr Michelle Teo who is the daughter of YB Mr Michael Teo of Miri.

Read more of the SmartWard news here.

Congratulations to both of them and team. Miri boleh! I am proud of your achievement.

Empurau Fish

This video is actually very educational, especially for those who have never heard of the Empurau fish (or Unforgettable in Chinese), from Sibu, Sarawak, which I think is probably the world most expensive, at RM800/kg (or almost US$270/kg). Anyone knew of any other fish that is costing more?
This video was made by a Taiwanese travel channel 世界第一等. It shows how the fish was caught and finally how it was being cooked.
I just realised that this fish loves to eat seed and the scale is also edible! This reminded me of my childhood days when we use rubber seed to catch cat fish in the wild.
A little more information can be found here.

飯前香蕉 百病消!太厲害了! Eat banana b4 meal!

日本東京大學教授山崎正利利用動物試驗，比較了香蕉、葡萄、蘋果、西瓜、菠蘿、梨子、柿子等多種水果的免疫活性，結果證實其中以香蕉的效果最好，能夠增加白血球，改善免疫系統的功能，還會產生攻擊異常細胞的物質 TNF 山崎教授的試驗也發現，香蕉愈成熟即表皮上黑斑愈多，它的免疫活性也就愈高。所以從現在開始要吃熟一點的香蕉唷！香蕉不會使白血球盲目增長只有在數量少的時候才會大幅度加。因此，專家們研究認為，香蕉具有的免疫激活作用比較溫和 , 在人體狀態健康時並不會使免疫力異常升高。但對病人、老人和抵抗力差的體弱者則很有效果。 
在日常生活中，我們不妨每天吃１∼２根香蕉，透過提升身體的抗病能力來預防感染，特別是預防感冒和流感等病毒的侵襲。山崎教授指出，在黃色表皮上出現黑色斑點的香蕉，其增加白血球的能力要比表皮發青綠的香蕉強８倍。 
 研究顯示，兩條香蕉，可以提供足夠能量維持 90 分鐘劇烈的運動。但是，香蕉不單隻提供能量。還可以幫我們克服或治療好多病症和身體狀況，所以我們必需把香蕉加進每天的餐單。1.  抑鬱症：患抑鬱症的人，在吃過香蕉後，感覺好好多。因為香蕉含胺基酸，會轉化成血清促進素，令人鬆馳、提升情緒。2.   貧血：香蕉鐵質含量高，能刺激血液內的血色素。3.   血壓高：香蕉含極高量的鉀，但鹽份低，最理想是降血壓。最近，美國食品及藥物管理局宣佈，允許香蕉業宣傳：香蕉能降低血壓高和中風機會。4.   腦力：在英國  Twickenha就有 200 名學生，為了要提升腦力，幫助考試，在學期開始，於早餐、小休和午飯，都吃適量香蕉。研究顯示，含豐富鉀質的香蕉，能提高學生的專注力，對他們讀書有所幫助。5.   便泌：香蕉的纖 維 質很高，可幫助回覆腸胃正常活動，消除便泌，無需服用輕瀉劑。6.   宿醉：香蕉奶色加蜜糖可以即時解酒。香蕉鬆馳胃部，蜜糖提升血糖水平，抒緩精神和製做炭水化合物。7.   心絞痛：香蕉對身體有一種天然的制酸性，有鎮痛作用。8.   早上無精打彩：早餐後午飯前，吃少量香蕉可保持血糖水平。9.   蚊釘蟲咬：用香蕉皮內部輕擦患處，可退腫消炎。10.   緊張：香蕉的 維 生素 B含量高，可幫助抒緩神經系統。11.   超重：澳地利心理學學校研究發現，工作壓力大，使員工會不斷進食巧力克和薯片去抒緩情緒。研究員對5000 名醫院的病人做研究，發體型肥胖的，通常都是司職壓力非常大的工作。研究總結認為，要避免引起對抒緩情緒食物的欲念，就應該約每兩小時吃一點高炭水化合物的食物，以降低身體內的血糖水平。12.   胃潰瘍：香蕉是調理腸胃失調的食方，因為香蕉有著柔軟的纖維而且柔滑。對於長期患者來說，香蕉是唯一可以進食的未煮熟食物，而不會有不良反應。香蕉還可以中和胃酸和減少疼痛。13.   體溫控制：在不同國家、地區和文化中，都有把香蕉作為一種「降溫」的果物，可以用作降低身、心的熱度。在泰國，孕婦為了使嬰兒出生時有較為涼快的環境，臨盆時就會吃香蕉。14.   戒菸：香蕉可以幫助戒菸。香蕉含維生素 B6 和 B12，也含鉀和鎂，可以複元戒菸者，因為沒有了尼古丁刺激的影響。15.   壓力：香蕉所含的鉀，可以調節心跳使之正常化，從而將氧氣順利送到大腦，與及調節身體的水份。當受到壓力緊張時，我們的新 陳代謝就會加快，因而使鉀的水平一降。鉀含量高的香蕉，正好作補充。16.  中風：據著名醫學雜誌"The New England Journal of Medicine" 的研究指出，長期吃香蕉，中風死亡的機會率大大降低 40%。香蕉的確可以治療許多疾病。如果跟蘋果比較，香蕉多四倍蛋白質、多兩倍碳水化合物、多三倍磷質、多五倍 維 生素 A 和鐵質、多兩倍其他維生素和礦物質。香蕉也含豐富的鉀，是最有益的食物。所以，應該把那句老句子改為：「一日一香蕉，醫生遠離我。」猴子經常都情緒高漲和開心，應該是吃得多香蕉的原因。還有，想皮鞋潔亮如新？嘗試用香蕉皮的裡面，直接擦到皮鞋，然後用乾布擦淨，效果立見。真神奇的生果！17.   香蕉緩解眼睛干澀避免其過早衰老 :
在電腦前工作的人常常會覺得眼睛干澀或紅腫、疼痛，如果每天吃一根香蕉，就能起到一定的緩解作用。這是台灣番薯藤健康網站的一篇文章日前告訴讀者的。文章中指出，香蕉保護眼睛的功能：首先和其中含量豐富的鉀有關。人體攝入鹽份過多，會導致細胞中存留大量的水分，引起眼睛紅腫。香蕉中的鉀可以幫助人體排出這些多余的鹽分，讓身體達到鉀鈉平衡，緩解眼睛的不適症狀。此外，香蕉中含有大量的胡蘿素。當人體缺乏這種物質時，眼睛就會變得疼痛、干澀、眼珠無光、失水少神，多吃香蕉不僅可減輕這些症狀，還可在一定程度上緩解眼睛疲勞，避免其過早衰老。

10 Common Habits That Damage the Kidneys

My friend just got a kidney failure and is now on dialysis. No one know what is happening or why it happen. But did you realise that kidney disease is usually found out too late resulting in dialysis? Here is a summary of 10 most common habits which will give kidney problem. However, if you want to read the whole article, click here.

1. Not emptying your bladder early
2. Not drinking enough water
3. Taking too much salt
4. Not treating common infections quickly and properly
5. Eating too much meat
6. Not eating enough
7. Painkiller abuse
8. Missing your drugs
9. Drinking too much alcohol
10. Not resting enough

Seeds of Death - Genetically Modified Organisms

This documentary is very informative. If you have time, watch it. It is about genetically modified food which you may be eating and how it may harm you! It also review how big corporations are going around the system to have their product marketed without hindrance.
To find out which countries require labeling, click here. Although Malaysia is on the list, how can we be assured that there is proper enforcement?

Leaky pipes ...

After 30 years, the water and gas pipes are giving way. The nastiest one is behind the bathtub. And finally, I removed the useless bathtub... 

Removing the bathtub is not a real big issue. But removing the over engineered support around the bathtub is big issue. After a week, I still can't remove the support for the bathtub.

 ... These are the tools I use. I think what I really is a jack hammer!

 Hot and cold pipes feeding the shower and bathtub. Both pipes are seriously corroded.

 The cold water pipe running horizontally across is the cold water pipe which is also corroded.

The corrosion for the hot water is so bad that  the whole pipe is almost severed.

So, having said all these, how do you know that your gas or water pipe systems are having issues?

1. Water or gas bill is increasing every month although there is no change to usage pattern
2. Water pump is frequently switched on
3. Gas or water meters are moving even though there is no usage

How to spot where the leak is?
For gas, it is very difficult! Perhaps, during heavy rain, you may spot bubbling water. However, your nose could be your best gas detector.
For water, look out for wet spot or pool of water which suddenly appear.

For concealed pipes, look out for wet ceiling, wet concrete wall or localised wet soil.

To repair, perhaps it is better to get in profession and replace the whole system rather than follow what I have been doing. I found that copper piping do corrode over time. I will never use concealed piping system again. It looks good but the problem it is giving is simply not worth it!

A KOREAN GIRL DRAW WHAT SHE SAW IN HELL...

Part 2 What do Chinese people want - politically speaking?

This article is from https://www.facebook.com/LeongDLu. If you like it, do go to her fb and share it out!

Part 2. (for those who don't understand our political motivations)
What do Chinese people want - politically speaking?

#1 So, Chinese people spread ourselves thin throughout the globe. Why? Besides the fact that we are always running away from each other (due to the obviously intensive competition to survive) overseas Chinese always see opportunity for a better life far FAR away from the crowd. The further the better. All we want is to quietly make a better living and put food on the table. All we look forward to is to enjoy our food, our shopping, our travels, and time with our family.

#2 However, we are a people who are NOT AFRAID to LEARN. We are taught to embrace learning at a very young age. Our parents are never afraid of our culture being lost by learning from others. We play the piano. The violin. We play chess the western way. We learn ballet. We embrace Christianity and Islam. We marry out of our race. We learn everything English, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Malaysian, etc to the extent that we can no longer read or write in Mandarin...but it is okay with our parents. People take one look at us and they STILL call us Chinese all over the world :)) - that is our curse.

#3 We LEARN because we are dying to move forward. Whatever it takes. We strive to differentiate our skills so that we can stand apart from our carbon copies. Without differentiation, we are but a mass of yellow people.

#4 We are able and willing to adapt to the local culture because we see the good in learning from others. We see the benefits of diversifying ourselves. We know we need to be different from each other to succeed. And we-don't-want-to-go-back-where-we-came-from because we have worked TOO DAMN hard to get away from it!

#5 What we want is progress and to BE ACCEPTED. We will trade our sweat, our tears, our undying efforts, our intellect, our creativity, our knowledge, our talents, our tenacity, our inclination for numbers, our ability to grow wealth, our innate instinct to survive, our diverse communications skills, our discipline, and all else that we can offer as a collective culture in exchange for ACCEPTANCE as patriotic Malaysians.

#6 All we want is a government who can accept us and 'acknowledge our contribution' to the nation. Taking over the government of the country is not in our best interest. But the harder we work in our professions, the more our government and our country gains from us (in taxes, in jobs created, in shepherding a new generation).

#7 But it pains us to see the hard earned money we made, together with our bumiputra and non-bumiputra brothers and sisters, each day flow like a leaking tap due to poor administration and corruption within the government. It grinds us to our very core when our leaders cheat their way to wealth and power on the backs of the poor and average hard working citizens.

#8 Pardon me. But we cannot stand wastage. Especially when it comes to money. Our DNA rejects it like a plague. Harness our ability to curb wastage and the whole country will gain.

#9 We offer you our best young talents (sacrificial volunteers). Our politicians. They are trained professionals who have stepped up to the task their society demands. Honestly, being a 'politician' is not a sought after profession in Chinese society. It is considered a 'thankless job'. Only the most dedicated will volunteer themselves. History has taught us that politicians don't last long. Today they are loved. Tomorrow they are out. Take a look at those in MCA. Take a look at other Chinese leaders in the world. If they don't deliver, we vote them out. Yes, we Chinese are a performance based culture. Pride for politicians comes when they are able to 'deliver' progress to the people. The people, however, are more interested in...you guessed it...making more money for a better life.

#10 What the Chinese in Malaysia want is - a better management team. We understand that a diverse country needs a diverse team of people with diverse backgrounds and diverse skills. We KNOW that progressive Malaysians from ALL races can do a better job of running this country if they are chosen base on their ability. We know that we can effectively HELP underprivileged youths and families (regardless of race) with more meaningful development programs if our funds are not siphoned away by greedy individuals. We know we can work hand in hand with our bumiputra brothers and sisters more effectively to create a better nation.

What we want LOUDLY is not to be marginalized and not be cheated at the polls.

What we want is to be called MALAYSIANS next to our brothers and sisters of this land after 56yrs of Independence and 600yrs since Puteri Hang Li Poh set roots here.

Our political motivation is to create a united Malaysia and put the right people in the right jobs, so that the rest of us can go about our own lives in peace. Honest.

Why Chinese People Work So Hard?

This article is from https://www.facebook.com/LeongDLu and I thought it was brilliantly written. So I shared it here...

Why do Chinese people work so hard to succeed in life? Here is the plain truth.

 #1. There are over 1 billion of us on this earth. We are like photostat copies of each other. You get rid of one, 5 magically appears (like ballot boxes). Yes, it is scary, especially for us. We acknowledge that we are replaceable, thus we are not particularly 'special'. If you think you are smart, there are a few thousand more people smarter than you. If you think you are strong, there are a few thousand people stronger than you.

 #2. We have been crawling all over this earth for far more centuries that most civilizations. Our DNA is designed for survival. We are like cockroaches. Put us anywhere on earth and we will make a colony and thrive. We survive on anything around us and make the best of it. Some keep migrating but others will stay and multiply.

 #3. NOBODY cares if we succeed as individuals or not. But our families take pride in knowing we have succeeded. Yes, some will fail. We take nothing for granted. We don't expect privileges to fall on our laps. No one owes us anything.

 #4. We know we have nothing to lose if we try to succeed. Thus, we have no fear trying. That is why Chinese are addicted to gambling. We thrive on taking risks. All or nothing.

 #5. From young we are taught to count every cent. What we take for granted like money management, I have found out recently, is not something other cultures practice at home with their children. It surprised me. But truth is not all societies or cultures teach their young this set of skills because it is rude to them. Yes, most of us can count because we are forced to and the logic of money is pounded into us from the beginning of time (when mama tells us how much she has spent on our milk and diapers)

 #6. We acknowledge life cycles. We accept that wealth in a family stays for three generations (urban myth?). Thus, every 4th generation will have to work from scratch. I.e. first generation earns the money from scratch, second generation spends the money on education, third generation gets spoiled and wastes all the inheritance. Then we are back to square one. Some families hang on to their wealth a little longer than most.

 #7. It is our culture to push our next generation to do better than the last. Be smarter. Be stronger. Be faster. Be more righteous. Be more pious. Be more innovative. Be more creative. Be richer. Be everything that you can be in this lifetime. Be KIASU.

 #8. Our society judges us by our achievements...and we have no choice but to do something worthwhile because Chinese New Year comes around every year and Chinese relatives have no qualms about asking you straight in your face - how much are you making? When was your last promotion? How big is your office? What car do you drive? Where do you stay? You have boyfriend? You have girlfriend? When are you getting married? When are you having children? When is the next child? When you getting a boy? Got maid yet? Does your company send you overseas? etc etc etc. It NEVER ENDS...so, we can't stop chasing the illusive train - we are damned to a materialistic society. If you are not Chinese, consider yourself lucky!

 #9. We have been taught from young - if you have two hands, two feet, two eyes, and a mouth, what are you doing with it? People with no hands can do better than you (and the OKU artists do put us to shame)

#10. Ironically, the Chinese also believe in giving back to save their wretched materialistic souls. Balance is needed. The more their children succeed in life, the more our parents will give back to society (not for profit) as gratitude for the good fortune bestowed on their children. Yes. That is true. And that is why our society progresses forward in all conditions.

Nobody pities us. We accept that.
No one owes us anything. We know that.
There are too many of us for charity to reach all of us. We acknowledge that.
But that does not stop us from making a better life. This lifetime.
Opportunity is as we make of it.
So, pardon us if we feel obliged to make a better place for ourselves in this country we call home. It is in our DNA to progress forward for a more comfortable life.
But if history were to be our teacher, look around this globe.
Every country has a Chinatown (seriously) but how many government/countries are 'taken' over by the Chinese people. Don't be afraid of us overwhelming your majority, we are not looking to conquer. If we have moved away from China and Chinese governed countries, we are NOT looking for another country to administer. Our representatives are only there to look after our collective welfare. They are duty bound. We prefer to blend in and enjoy the fruits of our labor. We enjoy the company of like minded people of all races. After all, we are only passing through a small period in the history of time...so, use our skills and we can all progress forward together.

Debt and Bankruptcy...

Imagine that you earn only RM3,000 a month and your expenditure is RM4,500 a month. So, you go out and use your credit card to do your purchase every month. But at the end of the year, your debt is only 50% of your annual earning. When do you think the credit card company will sue you for bankruptcy?

On the other hand, you earned only RM3,000 a month and you saved RM1,000 a month. However, you wanted to start a business, got a loan for RM72K and earned money. That means that your debt is now 200% of your earning. Will you go bankrupt?

If you have not seen my analogy, I am comparing the debt of Malaysia against Singapore whose debt stand at 50+% and 100+% respectively. M'sia borrow money to hand out but S'pore borrow money for capital investment. That is the major different.

The above is my simplistic comparison. It is of course a little more complicated than this.

So, don't be mislead into thinking that at 50+% debt is safe for Malaysia. It all depend on how the money is used. At the end of the day, you and me and future generations are responsible to pay back!!!

... and don't ever think that getting all the free money from the BR1M, etc is a good thing! WE, people of Malaysia, must eventually pay back!

Now Facebook pages blocked, political videos blocked

Now, our opposition DAP facebook pages, youtube, etc etc... are all blocked! So how do you overcome the system at the moment?

Try putting https:// in front of URL may work. eg, https://www.facebook.com/DAPMalaysia

Someone is getting very desperate now.

For technical discussion, try to read this: https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2794929. We have expert there.

PKR and SUPP Ceramah, 30-April-2013

The Ceramah (Political Rally) for PKR attracted substantial number of people. However, for SUPP, there were not many, probably because it was near to closing time.

More posters

Today, we saw a few more posters from both side being refreshed.

The submarine poster replaces the four faceless people which was put up a few days ago.
Other posters, eg, the "Stop lying" poster on the country debt is now at more places.
The poster regarding the demolition of temples is now also at more places