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

GE13 Photos, Miri

Some photos I took in Miri for GE13...

The above was put up by BN regarding the country's debt. Unfortunately I have to disagree with the way it is presented. It does not mean that at 52%, M'sia won't go bankrupt.
There are other factors which need to be taken into account, eg, is the borrowing for operational or investment purposes? How much reserved has the country got? (I understand M'sia reserve is a miserable amount compared to all the countries listed); etc...
Sorry for this burr photo ... my first! HAHA I hope it doesn't give you headache.

The above poster for Dato Seb is very good. I have to agree that it adequately describes his quality! But alas, don't put that poster on the right lah... it spoils the "clean" look.

Now, after comment by my fb friend, I finally understand! In M'sia, we all said "Ubah", ie, electing party instead of person. So, for the above, you look at the picture, who would you vote? It tried to shift your thinking away from party to personality... psychology!

A picture of Anwar taken during the recent ceramah...

This photo was taken after Dato Seb successfully submitted his nomination paper!

Malaysia GE13 Voter Education - must watch

I hope you will spend a few minutes of your time to watch the following voter education series.


Episode EP01《 Pendidikan Pengundi - Voter's Education 》- Ambiga 安美嘉
Episode EP02《 Pendidikan Pengundi - Voter's Education 》- Patrick Teoh: The Polling Station Layout
Episode EP03a《 Pendidikan Pengundi - Voter's Education 》- Wong Fat Hong《 黄肥鸿 》
Episode EP03b Explanation《 Pendidikan Pengundi - Voter's Education 》- Indelible Ink/Dakwat Kekal
Episode EP03b Explanation《 Pendidikan Pengundi - Voter's Education 》- Indelible Ink/Dakwat Kekal

Curtin University, Sarawak, Graduation Ceremony, 2013

27-April-2013 Today, Curtin University, Sarawak, held their annual graduation ceremony. This year, they have 173 graduants from the Engineering and Science faculties.
The breakdown is as follow:
60 - Chemical Engineering
26 - Civil and Construction Engineering
3 - Computer Systems Engineering
 7 - Electrical Power Engineering
6 - Electronics and Communication Engineering
42 - Mechanical Engineering
24 - Applied Geology
1 - Computer Science
7 - Computer Systems and networking
Compared to last year, I don't feel the busy graduation atmosphere. Perhaps, I was there at the wrong time.

Ceremah in Miri 26-April-2013

Last night I attended Ceremah by SUPP (BN) and PKR (opposition).
For the BN side, which was at Sebakas, there were probably about 100 people. I think the location wasn't too good. The number of people for PKR in front of Dr Teo's clinic probably ran into 10,000 people. It took me 30 minutes to find a parking lot. Anyway, see the video blow.

Ceremah by PKR at Boulevard 22-April-2013

Last night ceremah by PKR was held at Boulevard. Normally, the respond wasn't very good at that place as the place is quite small. I wish the car park of Boulevard can be used but understandably, Boulevard will never agree to that.
I have no idea where is the ceremah for BN being held. Anyone knows where can I find the details?

A day after nomination

Sunday, 21-April-2013

In Miri, we don't see much political activities going on. Banners have been placed at roundabout only by BN. This is probably understandable as Dr. Michael Teo of PKR was fielded just 24 hours before nomination.
Eunice Lim is supposed to be fielded for DAP but was pulled out at the last minute.
Everywhere I go, people seems to be talking politics nowadays.
Ok, here is a nice song on transformation Malaysia... enjoy!

Nomination Day, 20-April-2013

Today, we saw PKR and SUPP fielding their candidates for GE13 election.

At SUPP (BN) side, we saw at least 1000+ people who is fielding Dato Sebastian Ting. Accompanying him were all the big guns from SUPP Miri.

However, another big gun or two were missing....

On the PKR side, they fielded Dr. Michael Teo. He has a small crowd of well wisher.

But we cannot judge based on the size of the crowd as one of the supporters told me that last year they have similar crowd but they won!
For PKR side, we didn't see Eunice Lim from DAP coming to give support. Original plan was to field Eunice from DAP but due to the fiasco from RoS, only one can be selected.

Another candidate from Star was fielded and I did manage to take a picture of him.

For more photos, click here.
Starting tomorrow, I hope to give more updates on a daily basis to report on Miri election.

Disgraceful Advert From BN

Last three days, the BN government put up a half page advertisement in See Hua newspaper trying to tell people how life would be like under PAS/hudud policies. Of course they are trying to preempt how life would be like with PAS/Hudud law being implemented.

The above appeared on Monday. 

It seems to suggest that non-Muslim only enjoyment are women, alcohol and fun at karaoke. How disgusting!

The above tell people how dull life would be when makeup has been taken away. But the BN gov forgot that beauty is your natural self rather than hiding behind a thick layer of artificial makeup. The right image was doctored to exaggerated the effect.

The above advertisement drove me up the wall!
I can say that this is the MOST insulting advertisement to humanity from BN government. What is wrong with someone who is not handsome or charming to do work for you? Are they not deserving to earn a living simply because of their look? The most important is that they are competence and not a bunch of retard who dare to put such a half page advertisement on See Hua Daily News. I call this a disgrace, discrimination cos of look and gender discrimination. Haih .... can't our gov be more sensitive and humane ? Or is our care taker government telling us that if you are not handsome or charming, you have no place in the society?

Watch this super noodle...

Jon brought back some noodle on Friday, 12 April, 2013. I tried some and found that the noodle was cooked with chili powder. Since non of us like something this hot, we just left it on the table.

On Saturday, I found that the noodle still smell fresh and no sign of decay! Yesterday, there was still no sign of decay! So, I decided to move it to the kitchen and put a bit on this plate to see what would happen from now on. The rest has been discarded.
So, for those who like this noodle... watch this page to see what will happen to the noodle....
Update: 17-April-2013
I forgot to take a photo of the noodle yesterday. So this morning, I found the noodle suddenly turn moldy!

In another word, it took 6 days for mold or fungus to grow.
Without preservative, it normally take a day or less for the noodle to turn slimy. In this case, the noodle just becomes drier and no rotting.

Does this mean that this noodle is full of preservative?

Maxis mobile cost saving tip

If you have Maxis mobile and you find that overseas/international calls are very expensive, why not try using their Internet phone facility? The sound quality is still as good.

To use their Internet calling facility, just dial 132 before you dial the phone number:

Dial [132][00][Country Code][Area code][Phone number]
[00] is optional

Check out their price here for the various countries
: http://www.maxis.com.my/idd/index.asp?iStruct=0%3A4%3A1

For calling Brunei from East Malaysia, it cost only 0.165 cents every 30 seconds.
Calling Singapore is just RM0.25 for every 30 seconds.

E-Mail con job! Beware!

I received an email a few days ago and the content is like this:
------------
Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2013 15:40:32 -0700
From: xxxxxxhoo@yahoo.com
Subject: Bad Vacation Trip...........xxxxxxxxHoo
To: 

Hello,  I really hope you get this fast. I could not inform anyone about my trip, because it was important. I had to be in Manila,Philippines  for a program. The program was successful, but my journey has turned sour. I misplaced my wallet on my way back to my hotel  after I went for sight seeing. The wallet contained all the valuables I had. Now, my passport is in custody of the hotel  management pending when I make payment. I am sorry if i am inconveniencing you, but i have only very few people to run to now. i will be indeed very grateful if i can get a  loan of  ($1,900)  to settle out my hotel bills, I promise to refund it back as soon as I get back home because I still have  some cash in my account but I cant access any here right now, I've already canceled my credit card and am at the public  internet library where am making use of the free internet access, I will forever be grateful if you can help me. Waiting to hear  from you quickly because my flight leaves in couple of hours but I need to settle the  hotel bills. Many Thanks Surname. -------------- When you receive this type of email, you will notice a few things: 1. My friend never address me with "Hello" 2. My friend never sign off with his surname only 3. He never went to Manila 4. Why would anyone lost everything in the wallet but not the credit card and why would a smart guy like my friend in question would cancel his credit card?! Doesn't make sense! 5. When you do a reply, look at the receiver email: xxxxxxh0o@yahoo.com The crook changed the email address slightly and replace one of the "o" with a "0"! So, there are many clue to tell you that this is a con job! Just ignore it. A phone call confirmed everything.

Make sure that you quickly change your email password!

He turned over a new leaf in 3 days!

Must watch video. Make sure you watch to the end! If you want to know more about the DiZiGui (弟 子 规) he talks about, please click here.
English translation can be found here.

Download the original text and English translation book, click here.

Save Piasau Oriental Pied Hornbill

On the afternoon of 6-April-2013, we saw a group of some 400 people turning up in support of preserving Piasau Park for it rich environment where lots of different kind of birds can be found there.

Shell will eventually move all the staff out of Piasau Camp, probably due to the high cost in maintaining the camp. When this happen, it was speculated that the land will be returned to the government and some people will immediately turn it into development.

I hope that we don't see another concrete jungle there.

To see more photos, click here.

10 top tips if you are now retired

I have a friend who gave away everything at retirement his son to start his business. He lost everything and now the old folks are penniless! It is very depressing. To add more disappointment, the son "disappeared".
1. Do not retire.
If you're over-aged, retire and get all the benefits but find another income-generating job or open a business that will keep you active physically and mentally. Travel and bond with true friends, play a sport, learn a new hobby and volunteer in your community or parish. Don't loaf around. Your spouse will hate you because you've become a sloppy, listless bum with nothing good to say about the household and things that you never bothered about before. Solve crossword puzzles, play Scrabble, write your memoirs, and above all, read ...this will keep you alert and keep Alzheimer's at bay.
2. Live in your own place to enjoy independence, privacy and a solo life.
If you move in with your children, your rank or degree of importance is reduced to that of a bed spacer who has no place of honor or, worse, like crumbling furniture merely displayed with no added value. Might you kowtow to conform to their own rules that are not kind, considerate or mindful of you? If you witness your children engaged in a war of will and wits with your grandchildren, whom will you side with? Will they even appreciate your arbitration? Remind your children that silence is not a sign of weakness; you are merely processing data that is taking longer to complete.
 3. Hold on to your nest egg, bank deposits and assets.
If you want to help your children, do give, but not to the extent that you wipe out your life's earnings, singing heroically not a shirt on my back nor a penny to my name. Staying solvent and in the black is a good hedge against all kinds of tempests. You will sleep better, you will not be afraid to express your opinion and you will be confident about yourself.
4. Don't believe your children's promise to care for you when you grow old.
Priorities change. Many children are not guilt-ridden or filled with a sense of moral obligation when the wife and offspring take top billing in their lives. There are still children who would consider it a privilege to show compassion, genuine love and deep concern for their parents but be warned that not all children think alike.
5. Expand your circle of friends to include young ones who will definitely outlive your old BFFs.
Keep up with new inventions, trends, music and lifestyle including all the scams and schemes you should guard against. Remember that when you mix with the young, you also open a fresh avenue to channel your thoughts, experiences and values through so that the lessons you learned are not lost, forgotten or buried with you.
6. Be well groomed and smelling fresh of spring water all the time.
There's nothing more depressing than seeing people exhale when you walk by because you reek of baul (camphor chest) or lupa (dirt). Old age or bust, don't look and smell like a corpse when you're not one yet.
7. Do not meddle in the life of your children.
If they ask for your counsel, give it, but be ready to accept that they may not take it. Their situations in life cannot be compared to the situations that you experienced in your life. The playing field has changed and they need to develop their own set of survival skills. If you raised them to be street smart, they can handle themselves in tough situations and be able to read people. Champion and encourage their dreams and desires but on their own terms.
8. Do not use old age as your shield and justification for turning grumpy.
There's nothing more annoying than an arrogant, old fool. Welcome each day as another chance to be kind and forgiving, to yourself and to others.
9. Listen to what others may say.
Do not throw your weight around just because you are a septuagenarian or a nonagenarian. You are not a depository of knowledge. Even if the roles have been reversed, make growing old a fun-filled, pleasant experience for you and your brood.
10. Pray always and focus on your eternal life.
You will definitely leave everything behind, a final journey detached from burden and care. Be more accepting that, sooner, not later, you will croak. Prepare your swan song with a humble and contrite heart. If you believe in a merciful and loving God, there is no need to strut like a star. Nobody is. Money - Your last power at old age !

Huge problem with concealed piping system

Concealed water piping system seems to be very popular for a very long time. But, after just about 20 years of usage, concealed piping is giving so many problems that I wish it was surface piping from the start.

We have a water bill of RM26 today whereas the norm was less than RM10. So I knew that the leak within the wall at the kitchen is getting very serious.
I broke open the plaster and found a serious leak. I have no choice but to repair it. At the meantime, I applied a temporary fix.
It seems that even with copper tubing, it won't last more than 20 years. Problems started appearing so many years ago and now, my house is full of patches due to leaky pipe.
So, if ever, I will never use conceal piping again. It is simply too problematic. Not worth the trouble!
There is another leak under the bathtub and that would be my next repair work!

If you are in the United States and would need brass compression fitting, you may try Gruner.