Ted Earl

Solids

2012-01-17T13:16:00.006+08:00

Baby Cyrus has turned 6 months and started taking solid foods. We have fun experimenting with foods and seeing his reaction to them.

Today we're trying pumpkin porridge

Wat the....?!

So we switched back to what he's familiar with...

...and added some of the pumpkin porridge

But he found out...

...and kept his mouth closed. Lol.

He did finish the whole thing in the end. We've found out that he likes apple, bananas, grapes (with a very sourish face) and papayas. Sweet potatoes, potatoes...not so popular with him. We hope he will enjoy as wide a variety of food as we can give to him, with it being easier now at this age when he can't talk back or refuse to eat.

Season's Greetings

2011-12-27T12:39:00.002+08:00

It's been an unforgettable year for many reasons and we'll cherish the good ones and learn from the bad. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2012!

An Altercation

2011-12-03T11:59:00.001+08:00

Something interesting happened this morning. I was with a customer and suddenly there were these voices (a young man and an uncle) shouting at each other. I didn't see the incident before that but apparently a child was playing around while his parents were paying at the cashier and didn't see the uncle pushing a trolley in the adjacent lane and got his head knocked. A very minor incident, not even a bruise... but not for the father. His fists were raised and ready to strike the much older man down.

The younger man ironically shouted that the uncle had no manners and didn't even apologize, and the uncle said back to him in this frame 'as if you should be talking about manners'

To the uncle's credit, he tried to calm the younger man down saying that he didn't see the child running or turning, and the parents should have been more mindful of their child. The younger man got so pissed that it could have been his fault and started shouting at the uncle, that he should be more careful when there are children around.

The 'triumphant' father who has defended his family's honor...or has he?

The whole thing is silly really, it's really no one's fault and accidents happen all the time. So has the young man really won? It would appear so. But then again, what the father is saying indirectly to his child is

1) It doesn't matter if it's your fault, I will bring you their severed testicles on a plate for lunch.
2) It's ok to be rude.
3) It's ok to be disrespectful to strangers, especially the weak and elderly.

Great parenting dad! Watch out for the little one during his rebellious teenage years... you won't be spared.

Bugs and Beeps

2011-11-23T13:43:00.001+08:00

2 bugs and 2 dragon beeps (soft shutter release)

Yes I'm preparing for the X10... heheh

Modified Nutella Cake In 90 seconds (+++)

2011-11-18T13:19:00.001+08:00

It definitely took way more than 90 seconds to make this. I actually got this recipe from here which linked to here, who got the recipe from her e (... thank goodness for rebloggers I guess?). It looked simple enough so I had a go.

I didn't have any cocoa powder at home, so I used the next best thing - Milo Fuze 3-in-1. This also eliminated the need to add any sugar, the instant pack milo is sweet enough.

Ingredients
1) 1 tablespoon (and a bit more) of Nutella
2) 1 heaping tablespoon of flour
3) half teaspoon baking powder
4) 1 packet Milo Fuze 3-in-1
5) 1egg (beaten)

Mix everything together and put the mixture into a microwaveable bowl or container. Set the microwave to 70% and set the timer for 40-60 seconds. I initially set 30 seconds but nothing happened. So I set another 20 seconds and saw the thing 'rise'. It's mostly trial and error, watch it closely to see it still retains that moistness.

Ta-da! Yes, it's as delicious as it looks. Seriously! Will add a scoop of ice cream next time I make this.

Wishlist

2011-11-09T15:52:00.000+08:00

Fujifilm X10, I can't remember the last time I've been this tempted by a digital camera...

X10

Well to be fair, I was a bit tempted when it's elder brother, the X100, was launched but the price was a turn off. This one may be a stripped down version of the X100, but there are some things I like about it - Full HD video mode and zoom lens.

Image from Guido ... I want that black and white ladybird on the X100 shutter button too!

It seems I may have to clear out my dry cabinet to make a space for this fella...

How Come I Didn't Notice This Before?

2011-11-03T15:26:00.002+08:00

A customer was returning some strips of blood pressure medications he had bought from me earlier because there wasn't a need for it anymore. He's one of the very few people who has managed to control his BP and come off the medications.

So I was checking to see if the medications have already expired and I noticed something...

Top to bottom : Spade, Heart, Square, Asterisk, Pentagon

See those symbols next to the batch number? Has it always been there? Why didn't I notice this before? There are 2 sets of each symbol in a box of 10 strips. This is the first time I've seen something like this and I think it's quite cute. Anyone else noticed this?

Some people handle situations...

2011-10-27T13:25:00.000+08:00

...some situations handle people.

Recently my staff had a huge personal problem and took a few days off to settle it. Normally my stance towards issues like this is that work and personal issues are two separate entities and should never mix, but in real life that's not always possible. Days turned to weeks and to say that we weren't affected at all would be a lie. Yes, we were short-handed at the office, but more importantly concerned for her. We've all worked together for so long that we know each other quite well. To cut a long story short, she initially decided to 'settle' her problem by avoiding it and thought it will go away by itself, but we know that this can sometimes make it worse and it did. Thankfully she came to her senses much later on, put her foot down and with a couple of police reports lodged, things are heading in the right direction.

You know what they say, that challenges can either make or break you, and I'm glad that it was not the latter. I got to talk to her after that and I can sense the determination and courage in her, qualities that were lacking before. A couple of things I learn from this -

1) Never whine about what a deep mess you're in. Focus your energy instead of solving that mess. I won't go so far to say be thankful for challenges, but you'll definitely be better off one way or another after having gone through it.
2) If something calls for urgent action, ignoring it won't do you any favors. You will still have to face it later on, together with all the additional problems caused by your inaction.
3) It's important to have people you can count on for help and support. No man is a pulau.

I hope I'll remember all this when I'm going through a rough patch.

Hate Broccoli?

2011-10-18T12:23:00.000+08:00

I know I used to. These days I've made peace with it, eating it for its benefits rather than for its taste. But there's way to get around that bitterness and what you do is overcook the damn thing.

There's this article that I enjoyed reading and I must admit I wouldn't have a clue what it was going on about if I'd read it 4 months earlier. After my son's delivery, the confinement lady (CL) prepared all our meals. We purposely went and bought a rice cooker (yes we didn't have one before that) that allowed for steaming. CL would cook the rice and to save time, (and tend to the baby and other chores) she set the rice to cook with the vegetables in the above compartment to steam. Many things have been said about not overcooking vegetables and the decreasing nutrient contents with prolonged cooking, but I guess that was the last thing on CL's mind.

The results were surprising. The vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snow peas) became soft, sweet and pleasantly disintegrated without much chewing. Broccoli? Sweet? You'd better believe it. So what happened here?

"It's true that when vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables, are cooked, the damage to the plant's tissue brings about reactions between compounds that are usually kept separate," he said—hence the sulfuric aroma. But, he emphasized, if you continue to cook these foods, "at a certain point the aroma will dissipate, and you'll end up with the flavor compounds left in the plant, including its sugars—especially if it's cooked and served in a way that the sugars aren't poured out with the cooking water." -from 'The Soft Approach' article

So here's a tip when cooking for picky eaters who hate greens, overcook it! It is a fact that the anti-cancer properties of broccoli is highest when raw (yucks!) or lightly cooked, but I think it's a better compromise this way, eating diminished nutrients vs none at all.

Nyan

2011-10-12T13:00:00.001+08:00

I would have preferred a propaganda sticker with a dog instead, but come on, Chairman Meow? Genius!

Peek-a-boo!

2011-10-05T13:07:00.001+08:00

Somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd month of life, Cyrus started blabbering and using his voice to express a wide range of emotions. His first word wasn't mama or papa but Earl (highly disputed by my wife who claims he was saying uggh instead. I beg to differ...). The one event that made us drop everything and stare at him was when we realized he was laughing. Oh yes he'd smile before this, and try to laugh, but always without the accompanying audio.

Why are babies amused by peek-a-boo? And we tried peek-a-boo-ing with two people hiding behind the blanket instead but he wasn't amused at all. Then we returned to just one peek-a-boo-er and he resumed laughing like normal. Remind me to check the rules regarding multiple peek-a-boo-ers/peek-a-boo-ees.

NATO Straps

2011-09-28T12:03:00.000+08:00

I must admit that I'm not a very careful person sometimes and because of this I seldom wear a watch with a metal bracelet anymore.

That's 14 years of wear and tear, I remember wearing it to play football too

Recent watch purchases have seen me opting for leather or rubber straps instead. The above mentioned watch hasn't featured in my watch rotation for a couple of years now, making that odd appearance only for special occasions. It was a gift from my father and a watch which I like very much. I feel it's a bit of a waste if it just sits in my drawer. Then some random links led me to a forum where they were discussing the origins of the NATO strap and I knew I had to get one...or maybe two.

Ok maybe more than two

What I like about the straps is that they can be changed according to what my outfit for the day is. And there's always a plain black NATO or leather for more formal occasions. The only thing I had to learn to do is remove the spring bar and the old strap, then it's plain sailing after that. I ordered both the NATO and the ZULU straps (with the rounder rings) but after trying out both, I still prefer the NATO ones.

One of my favorite combo at the moment, Seiko 5 Military Sports

I like the straps so much that I'm thinking of getting some more!

A Milestone

2011-09-09T12:33:00.002+08:00

Baby Cyrus has turned 2 months last weekend! He's grown at such a rapid pace that I use him for weight training now.

There was a bit of a worry when Cyrus produced this weird black pepper like stools 2 days after his 2 month vaccination. He didn't have any fever and was looking and acting his normal self. We were stumped, but decided to wait and see since it was a Sunday and the clinic was closed. We found out that the vaccination can cause diarrhea but it mentioned nothing of this. Thankfully it got less and less and disappeared totally the next evening.

As you can see from the pattern, I caught the explosion 'mid-spray'

I've not been able to do a lot of thing that I used to do (Develop film? Catch a movie? Get enough sleep? Forget about it!) All these have taken a back seat for the time being. This goes without saying, but having a baby changes everything.

I'm not complaining though. When he rewards us with such a smile, everything is worth it. In fact my wife was saying that he's growing so fast that she regrets that we can't spend more time with him because of work. That makes every second we spend with him that much more precious, even if it's watching him sleep.

East vs West

2011-08-25T13:39:00.000+08:00

So how do you spot an East Malaysian at the KL LCCT Airport? Easy, go to the LCCT Emporium and check out the Gardenia buns section. He/she will most likely have a shopping basket full of buns.

Ok, maybe that was an over-generalization. That person could've been buying for an East Malaysian friend he/she was visiting. The first time I became aware that Gardenia don't sell their buns here was when my wife asked me to get her some Gardenia Ikan Bilis buns when I went over to KL. I also found out that the best place to get the freshest stocks is at LCCT, having spent quite some time looking around in various locations. The LCCT Emporium knows that they are catering to the East Malaysian market and makes quite a lot from this. Gardenia sells their plain bread here, but why not the others (I don't know if it's the same for Sarawak) ? Oddly enough, I've never had the ikan bilis bun till I moved over to Sabah from PJ so maybe Gardenia knows what they are doing...

There's another thing I've missed since moving here. The KFC stores in Sabah don't offer Thai Chili Sauce (TCS) to their customers, relying instead on ketchup and normal chili.

The first few times eating KFC without TCS was terrible. I considered buying one bottle from the supermarket and bringing it with me everytime I go to KFC, but common sense told me to suck it up and deal with it. 4 years later, I can't remember how fried chicken tastes with TCS anymore... *making a mental note to eat KFC next time I go back to the peninsula*

And McD's...huh! No free refills! The first time I asked the cashier for a free refill was also my last time. I might as well have asked if her mom had a hairy chest because she would have given me the same look.

After 4 years here in Kota Kinabalu, I'm not so bothered by these minor differences in products and services offered by the big chain companies like I used to be. But hello KFC, I really really hope you will listen to what I'm saying. Ahem.

Hacking The DX Coding On The Film Canisters

2011-08-08T12:02:00.001+08:00

Mom: So is there anything you'd like me to bring over when I visit?
Me: Hmm, ya. Whatever happened to my old film camera?

So she searched around the house and found this.

My old Olympus Mju-II. This camera accompanied me through my college and uni years and to many places in Europe. It's a reliable old friend. There was one problem with it though, it automatically sets the ISO based on the DX coding on the film canister. That may be alright for normal photography but a massive inconvenience when shooting with redscale or black and white films.

So how to get around this?

Changing from 400 to 1600

Fool the camera by changing the DX coding. The film at the bottom is at normal 400 speed and the film at the top has had its paint scratched so the camera reads it as a 1600 film instead. Probably the best thing about this is that the Olympus is such an easy camera to handle that I can be in the pictures more often.

With available window light and spot metering on the Mju-II

Darkroom Fun

2011-07-27T12:02:00.002+08:00

Following up from my last post, I tried my hand at developing my own black and white film. The very first time, I had a few issues to iron out, like getting all the chemicals at the right temperature (20 deg c) before starting. I tried putting ice in a basin but it wasn't getting anywhere near that figure, so I just stuck them all in a freezer till it dropped. Thanks to the timer from the Massive Dev Chart App on the iPhone, once everything starts, it's pretty easy. I took a shot of my setup and here it is.

I've done 3 rolls so far with 2 different type of films and the results vary quite a bit. I think I may have been a bit overenthusiastic in agitating the chemicals in one of the sessions but I'll know more after many more trials and errors.


He's wearing a 'I love mum' shirt... -.-

This last film with Delta 3200 - oh the grain!

Thankfully there are many things to shoot these days. Cyrus is growing really fast and looks different everyday.

Now there have been people who have been saying that Cyrus looks more like his mom and yes, if you look at the shots above, you can see the similarities with the nose and the chin. But if you look at him from another angle, you will see that he looks EXACTLY like me.

Huhuh! Thanks for such great hair dad!

What I've Been Doing Last Weekend

2011-07-19T11:15:00.000+08:00

My black and white film developing kit has arrived recently and I've been practicing what I initially thought is the hardest step in the whole process - taking the film out and loading it into the tank in the dark.

All the various parts


Going into the changing bag

Magic happens... kinda like solving a rubik's cube up a cow's backside

Tadaa!

Checking to see if everything is done correctly

It's easier than I thought it would be. Now the next step will be making the toilet into a darkroom then it's on to the chemicals! I've got a couple of black and white films bought 5 years ago that can finally be put to use.

A New Family Member

2011-07-12T12:40:00.000+08:00

... and one that doesn't need to be stored in the dry cabinet too! We welcomed the arrival of our baby boy, Cyrus, last week with much joy and relief. It's been a long journey for my wife and I, one in which we've faithfully recorded daily in a journal.

One day I will hand it over to him so he will know the ups and downs we've been through together and the many sacrifices made by his mother, but until then, I've got some words for you Cyrus. Think of it as an instruction manual for inheriting your new set of genes, though I can only speak for my part... So let's start off with the not so good news first.

1) Acne/Pimples

Yup, truly sorry about this. I wish I didn't have to pass this on to you. If you wonder why you don't see any of daddy's pics on the day you were born, it's partially due to the fact that I was the one behind the camera. I had a bad outbreak prior to your birth and didn't want that to be immortalized.

I know what you're thinking and hoping desperately for, 'Mom has such flawless skin! So maybe my skin takes after her!' Don't get your hopes up too high, it's a dominant gene. How do I know this? My mom (your grandma) has flawless skin too and she told me she's never had a single pimple, but not my dad (your grandpa). Unfortunately my sisters and I had none of the 'flawlessness' our mom had and had to go through our teenage years 'dermatologically challenged'. So you have around 13 years or so to enjoy baby smooth skin, but hey, thank God you've got pharmacists as parents eh?

2) Facial Hair (or lack of)

Nothing I can do to help you out here... I've looked at the male relatives from your mom's side and the prospects aren't that fantastic either. Clean-shaven all the way then... I don't know if it works but you may want to try finding a hairy wife? Looking at the bright side you'll save a lot of time from all the shaving that you don't need to do.

3) White Hair

Late 20's ... but it doesn't really bother me one bit.

Despite all the flaws, you'll be inheriting my wit, charm and sense of humor. That will be more than enough to see you through whatever life may throw at you. Welcome to the family son!

How To Make White Sauce

2011-06-23T11:43:00.000+08:00

I was thinking of making a fish and broccoli dish yesterday but I needed a sauce to tie up the ingredients together.

Normally we buy those ready made sauce mix but I was feeling a bit adventurous and decided to make my own sauce. How hard can it be? I found that the basic recipe for most white sauce is

1) 2 tablespoons butter
2) 2 tablespoons flour
3) 1 cup milk
4) Whatever else you want that sauce to taste like

So first melt the butter and add in the flour...

Then the milk...

Stir till it doesn't look lumpy and add whatever you want. I added black pepper, salt, cheese and some Italian herb mix.

And the result...

Tastes better than the ready made mixes but hey, I'm biased. A few things to add, I didn't measure the ingredients exactly and just threw whatever amount that I felt right. It took only a few minutes to make and wasn't that hard at all. It's interesting and I'll probably experiment more in the future.

So Why Can't I Resist From Buying That...

2011-06-15T13:50:00.000+08:00

... gadget? shoes? dress? or camera? Usually the last one for me. I recently read about this concept of 'ego depletion' and it may explain a bit. What it means is that willpower (or any conscious effort that require self control) is a limited resource, like the amount of petrol in a car. So the more we use our willpower, the more liable we are to giving in to our splurges at a later stage. There are 2 experiments that demonstrate that it exists (and if you're not interested just skip the colored text below).

Experiment 1

- A bowl of radish and a stack of chocolate chip cookies were placed on the table

- Subjects were asked to skip one meal to induce hunger and then split to 3 groups - control (who didn't eat either the radish or cookies), radish and chocolate.

- The radish group were placed in the room with both foods and asked to eat only the radish while avoiding the chocolate, and vice-versa for the chocolate group.

- All participants asked to solve an unsolvable geometric puzzle (which was unknown to them).

Results: The radish eating group gave up earlier than both control and chocolate group, which both had similar times.The radish eating group also felt more 'tired' after the puzzle.

Interpretation: The radish eating group had to use more willpower to avoid the chocolate and have used up some sort of psychic energy.

Experiment 2

-The problem with the first experiment was that the task was unsolvable and it can be argued that the radish eating group was 'smarter' in realizing this and therefore gave up earlier.

- The participants were asked to watch videos, some being humorous and some sad.

- They were split into 2 groups, one was asked to suppress all emotion when watching and the other had no restrictions.

- The subjects were given anagram letter sets.

Results: The emotion suppressed group had far fewer anagrams than the other group.

Interpretation: This proved further evidence that some resource was depleted after an act of self control.

Hang on a minute? Isn't life a series of choices?


Sleeping in vs hitting the gym

Reading up on recent developments vs Facebook-ing

Healthy lunch vs not so healthy

Getting the camera vs saving for that vacation

So back to the question... why can't we resist? Simple. Its because we've been working too hard and making too much of the right choices lately. *GRINS* Go have that fried chicken. It's better for you on the long run.

Seeing In Squares

2011-06-10T12:33:00.001+08:00

Medium format photography is something that has been on my mind for quite a long time. The digital ones are ridiculously expensive but thank God I'm into film!

It's a bit of a challenge to frame my photos differently, with the looking at the camera like 'checking if my fly is open stance' instead of bringing the camera up to my eye, but I enjoy the experience.

One for the family album

The only downside is that it's really heavy but hey, I'm thinking of it as practice for carrying a new family member.

Allergies

2011-06-02T13:07:00.000+08:00

For about a month, my lips have been very dry. Cracked. Flaky. Constant applications of lip balm gave relief for a while but in the morning it will hurt like I've been kissing sandpaper the whole night. To worsen things, the sandpaper gave me an STD - it got swollen and itched. So I tried cutting down on salty foods, drinking lots of water and all but it got no better. Eventually I realized that my lips were a lot itchier right after I brushed my teeth.

I'm allergic to the toothpaste? Heh? I just bought this toothpaste a few days back. Some more this is the second tube I've bought and I've been using it for ...oh.... a month. Ahh...

It made a lot of sense after that - like why the lip balm had no effect even after so long. I immediately bought another toothpaste and almost overnight the symptoms disappeared. Its still a bit dry and it'll probably take some time for it to go back to normal but what am I going to do with the full tube of toothpaste? I could throw it away. Or I could remind myself to never buy that toothpaste again..

I've decided to keep it.

New Skins

2011-05-25T11:15:00.000+08:00

It took a month of patient waiting, but my new camera skins finally arrived!

I decided to go with a custom made skin for the Oly Trip 35, and if it looks familiar that's because you've seen it somewhere before.

The old skin needed to be removed and the body cleaned before the new skin can be applied. It's so simple that even I (with multiple bubbles of dirt under my iPhone screen protector) can apply it almost flawlessly.

I ❤ Oly Trip

There may have been 10 million Trips that have passed through the manufacturing plants, but I'm sure there's only one like this. I have an idea for another skin design, we'll see in a couple of months time!

Gotong Royong and Precisa CT100

2011-05-19T11:26:00.000+08:00

I've been spending a lot of time cleaning in the past few weeks, both at home and at the office, I don't really know why but I feel like I have to. Some kind of paternal instinct kicking in maybe? We've been cleaning a lot of places that we don't usually cover in our weekly cleaning, like the grill and under the bed (my God! The amount of dirt!).

On another point, I've been testing out the Agfa Precisa CT100 film recently.

Scorching sun is good for...

...doing the laundry

I've been shooting film almost exclusively for quite some time and should have tried this film sooner. It has that greenish-yellowish-bluish tinge to it with the super saturated blues when you cross process it. In other words, its the 'lomo' feel.

It is a very light hungry film, and the effects are best achieved on a bright sunny day. I had a couple of indoor shots with flash but it turned out quite ordinary, save for a slight yellowish hue.

I like it! I think I'll be using this film more often.

Fructose - Something To Worry About?

2011-05-10T12:53:00.001+08:00

There was this middle-aged man who was so frustrated with having many episodes of gout attacks. He told me that he's already cut down everything imaginable - no red meat, no kacang, no seafood and no alcohol at all. Still, he will be needing painkillers and gout medication almost every other week. When I pressed further, I discovered that he has quite an active lifestyle. Eventually we traced the problem down to his consumption of 100-plus. He drinks two 1.5L bottles everyday...for as long as he can remember. I read sometime back that there's a link between sweetened/sugary drinks and gout and suggested he stop the 100-plus. He did. The incidence of gout attacks totally reduced and he's bought painkillers just once in the past year.

The keen business mind might point out that I just killed off a source of repeating income and that gives me a lot of food for thought. More importantly there's all this buzz going on about sugar and fructose in particular. Check out the video by Prof Lustig from UCSF, it's a full length lecture but a very compelling case against fructose.

Unfortunately fructose is very common in our modern diet and it mostly comes from High Fructose Corn Syrup (55% Fructose - 45% Glucose) and table sugar / sucrose /gula (50% Fructose - 50% Glucose) used as sweeteners in many beverages and foodstuffs. Recently due to the bad rap against HCFS, they've changed the name to corn syrup (sirap pepejal jagung), but its the same thing. So how exactly does fructose increase uric acid?

Eh? Whadaya mean bollocks?

It does far more damage than just increasing the uric acid concentrations in the blood. There are links between high fructose intake and blood pressure, increased triglycerides, diabetes and quite possibly cancer. But before we go overboard with an ascetic lifestyle and totally swear off sugar, I'd like to say a few things in defense of fructose.

i) It is present in a lot of fruits. Dates, raisins, prunes, grapes, pears and apples are a few with high concentrations of fructose.
ii) Our bodies are made to handle fructose.

So what's the fuss about? Looking at a typical Malaysian diet -

Breakfast: Tausa pau, Dim Sum (dipped in ketchup), Coffee (with condensed milk)
Morning Snack : Apple and Kiwi
Lunch: Sweet and Sour Pork Rice, Soya Cincau
Afternoon Snack: Yogurt Drink, Tiger Biscuits
Dinner: Baked Beans and Tuna (with mayo) with lettuce in tortilla wrap, Mixed fruit juice
Dessert: Cheesecake
Supper: Roti Telur and Teh Ais

Do you see the problem here? And this is on a relatively healthy day, not yet including soft drinks, various types of snacks (chocolate/ice cream) or fast food meals. We mostly focus on eating healthy 'main meals' but we tend to forget the hidden sugars present in the small titbits and condiments that accompany it. The obvious ones are the drinks (including the fruit juices with no added sugar printed on it - not so healthy after all). Another thing we can see is that almost all processed foods contain sugar.

I'd like to state that there's nothing wrong with having sugar in our food, the problem happens only when there's chronic overconsumption and this is where Prof Lustig hits the spot. We're eating too much of it because we didn't know that its everywhere. And we're wondering why the metabolic syndrome and cancer rates are going through the roof.

It is also not just about 'oh, I'll go do more exercise and burn off the calories from sugar'. If you have 120kcal from a piece of white bread and 120kcal from a bottle of coke, the white bread contains mostly glucose and that can be utilized by every cell in the body. Coke on the other hand, has 45% glucose only and the 55% of the fructose have to be broken down by the liver thereby placing an extra burden on it, not to mention the by-products of fructose metabolism (uric acid, triglycerides). It is like telling an alcoholic to do more cardio exercises to burn off the calories from the bottle of whiskey he's just polished off, it doesn't work that way.

A few years back, I would have probably said 'Life is short! Control your food for what oh? Eat what you like!' but I don't subscribe to that view anymore. Earlier this year one of my in-laws passed away due to complications with cancer (quite ignorant of lifestyle modification advice by the doctors I heard). Another family friend has just spent RM300,000 in 3 months for cancer treatments and I am hearing firsthand the suffering and difficulties they are going through. Tragic isn't it? You've retired and are supposed to enjoy life in the golden years, but what little you have left of your entire life of hard work goes to keeping you alive. Instead of traveling the world with your loved ones, you're contributing to your doctor's vacation fund instead. Or traveling around looking for a cure.

I'm probably not going to stop eating sweet stuff like cakes and ice cream but I'm definitely going to do it in moderation. No one can say for sure now how much is too much, but one thing's for sure, we will benefit from eating less sugar.

Beach Outing

2011-05-04T11:56:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since I had a beach picnic. I think the last one is when my mom came over and we went island hopping. Last weekend was a long weekend and when my wife's colleagues organized one, I was looking forward to it.

We had a couple of hours with nice blue skies before it started getting cloudy. It rained after we left.

My wife's company bought an inflatable boat as their location always suffer from bad flooding during the rainy season. So I had a go in it.

With the new addition coming to the family, it'll be quite a while till we're able to have an outing like this again. This was quite a timely trip.

(all pics taken with Oly Trip 35 and Ektar 100)

Work/Play?

2011-04-26T12:33:00.001+08:00

Home cooked meals are usually prepared by the lady of the house, until late last year when the thought of food made her retch. So I had to step up to the plate, literally, and have been the household chef for half a year.

My second office

The last time I did any sort of regular cooking was during uni days in Scotland and even then, we were more like line cooks putting out dishes from a small deli with a very limited menu. Every evening my housemates and I will all take our places in the kitchen/pantry and automatically carry out our roles - there will be a fella to chop the garlic, onions and sausages (we put sausages in a lot of things), peel the potatoes (if necessary), prepare the chicken (toughest job I think, because its always frozen) or cook the rice (hmm...I don't remember ever doing this). For one year, we ate more or less the same thing over and over. I didn't mind.

This dish turned out messier than I expected...

Now that's something my wife finds hard to accept. She yearns for variety in her meals and it shows in her cooking, she has never cooked the same dish in the same way twice if she can help it ... and its a good thing I can eat almost anything. So I felt the need to reciprocate and tingle her taste buds.

Initially it was hard for me. The focus of my cooking was 'I hope it is edible'. Or 'God, let there not be food poisoning'. After a while, I started getting better at organizing the workflow and deciding how I'm going to attack the ingredients and transform it into a nice meal. Only then did I think about other things like trying out new ingredients and giving thought to the presentation.

I didn't expect to say it but I enjoy cooking. I was thinking of handing the portfolio back to my wife after the delivery and all, but I'm thinking otherwise now, maybe we'll take turns. I love planning the meals for the upcoming week, looking for new recipes to try and especially seeing the finished product, whether it succeeds or fails.

I've been thinking about why this is so. Maybe its because I work in the service industry, where you clock in at a certain time and then use a few liters of your saliva throughout the day. Then close, recuperate and repeat the next day. For all the efforts put in, the results are intangible and usually only a figure on a piece of paper at the day's closing report. Also the amount of saliva used is NOT PROPORTIONAL to that final figure.

It's different when doing the things I enjoy - lets say photography.
1) The result is tangible. It can end up as a printed photo in a frame or photobook.
2) The result is proportional to the creative input. It also inspires more intrinsic learning and researching to improve that result.
3) I have complete autonomy over the whole process...this last one being one of the most important.
Sounds very much like cooking then.

That's not to say making money from your saliva is a bad thing, but I do realize that I'm subconsciously seeking a balance. And its not about one being work and the other play, photography and cooking can be either work or play. It's all about the mindset then. Bon Appétit!

Antenatal Class at Hospital Likas

2011-04-19T11:48:00.000+08:00

We attended an antenatal class at Hospital Likas last Saturday. Someone suggested it to us, my wife did some asking around and we were told to be there for the registration at 8.30am.

There were quite a lot of people present already and the morning started off with a tour of the facilities, the labour wards and the delivery room. We then adjourned to a hall where they delivered a series of lectures.

First time parents get priority with the Dum-By (Dummy Baby)

Topics included pregnancy and complications, an introduction to painkillers during delivery (including epidural), medicines to avoid during pregnancy, breastfeeding and some hands on tutorial sessions with the nurses.

The practical sessions were what we found most useful, particularly the handling and bathing of the baby. The nurses were very experienced (most of them being mothers themselves) and walked around supervising as we listened to the instructor.

Its quite daunting sometimes when I think that I'm going to be a parent soon. On one hand I'm very excited but on the other there is some nervousness as to how things are going to turn out and whether I'm prepared for it. But one thing I'm sure of is that I'm grateful for all the advice and support given to us so far from many experienced hands.

Meal Snap

2011-04-13T12:08:00.001+08:00

There's this app that I really like, Meal Snap. I've started counting calories few years back after having successfully lost close to 20 kilos and was determined not to gain any of it back. Its more of a guesswork than exact science...having to look at a dish and 'oh 200 kcals maybe?' So I read about this app, downloaded it and highly recommend it if you're looking to keep a tab on your daily caloric intake.

The first time I tried it, I was quite impressed. The values are more or less in the range of what was on the label/what I guessed.

I was more impressed that they described the 'Lurve' as multigrain chips. Its as if there's some human operator going through all the snapshots, googling the product and then sending them back to the app.

Hmm...so what if I...

Not bad. How about...

And this one?

All in all, a pretty fun app to use. However, the app lags quite a bit. One search can take anywhere from 15mins to an hour (maybe needing a referral to a human to determine what that thing is). Sometimes longer. I had a couple of searches that were 'lost' - as in totally no results at all. It will just show you a blank snapshot instead of the one you submitted.

Still, its a new app and I hope they do improve with subsequent updates.

Ubik

2011-04-06T16:28:00.000+08:00

I love reading good stories. Stories that are so captivating that it just sucks you into whatever world the author has in mind and so compelling that you just want to keep turning the page to find out what comes next, despite having to be at work in a couple of hours time. 'You just can't put the book down' kinda thing...

...or rather can't switch the book off.

For me, one such book is Ubik. I was googling 'The Adjustment Bureau' trying to decide which movie to watch a few weeks back and from wiki, one link led to another before eventually ending with this book. I got the soft copy and what a read!

Unfortunately thanks to excessive googling for reviews, I started already knowing how the surprise twists will play out later in the book (DAMN!!!). In spite of this, I still was hooked to every single word. And I don't generally read science fiction but I enjoyed this one, literally not putting down my phone till I've finished it in the wee hours of the morning.

The beginning may be a bit of a turn off with all the jargons and futuristic (despite the story being set in 1992, but hey its written in the 1960s) technology like 'cold pac', 'protophasonic flow' and 'homeopape' but yes you do have to invest some time absorbing this for the story to be rewarding. Kinda like Inception, where you learn about the 'architects', 'dreamers' and 'limbo' and how the story revolves around those basic ideas.

There are some news about this book being made into a movie in the near future as have many of the author's other works - Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, The Adjustment Bureau to name a few. Sadly it was only after his death that his works gained much recognition and he struggled with financial difficulties throughout his life. Some may say he didn't know how to market his genius. I think he was way ahead of his time.

Goodbye

2011-03-29T12:24:00.000+08:00

I got a very early morning phone call from one of my aunts last Tuesday and she informed me that my grandmother had passed away.

Initially I felt sad and grieved over her death, but as the day passed and the more I thought about the circumstances in which she had gone, the more I see things differently. She's lived to a ripe, old age of 94 dying peacefully in her sleep, virtually free of disease - no hypertension, no diabetes, normal cholesterol levels, no 'fong sap' and is a great grandmother many times over. Most of us will be lucky to achieve that these days. When my plane touched down in Penang that night I had fully accepted the fact and was ready to move on.

The only regret that I have is that I didn't get to know her better. There was this massive language barrier, us with our laughable command of hokkien, we probably sounded to her like Phua Chu Kang talking 'engrish' with a foreigner. We knew her through our parent's stories of her days back in China and all, but conversations between us were few. The only words I remember her directly addressing to us the grandchildren were to 'study hard and succeed in life.'

There are no excuses though. Language is a barrier yes, but not insurmountable. My wife, ever a beacon of support, summed it very nicely by saying in her consolation that there may be regrets but its time to move on holding the important people in our lives closer. I couldn't agree more.

Moon

2011-03-22T11:37:00.000+08:00

I was walking to my car after work on Saturday and saw this massive halo around the moon. I've heard about the moon being the brightest and biggest that day but I didn't expect to see the ring. It was awesome! Some people, when faced with such a beautiful sight like this, would be overcome emotionally, or feel a sudden desire to write poetry. Maybe even call a loved one and share the experience together. All I could think of was "Tripod! I need my tripod now! And a wide angle lens!"

After a very quick drive back, I was fumbling with the keys to the house before I realized that that the moon was going nowhere that night. In fact I didn't need to rush, I would later spend more than 10 minutes under the moonlight in the garden, experimenting with long shutter speeds and generously feeding the mosquitoes.

There is beauty everywhere, even in the ordinary and mundane, if you care to look for it.

Unrolling A Film

2011-03-18T12:57:00.001+08:00

I shot one roll of film through a camera last week before realizing that the shutter did not open at all. Now I've read about unrolling the film from an already wounded roll few years back, but never had a chance to do it. What I did is take another roll of unwanted film, lick it and stick it into the film canister. The saliva is supposed to snag on to the film leader and drag the film out to be reused, but trust me this is harder than it sounds. I managed the feat after half an hour.

Here are some tips that I've learned.
1) Never lick the film. Uggghhhh! The unwanted film had already been developed and the chemicals tasted terrible. Spit or rub some saliva on it, but never lick it!
2) Make sure you insert the unwanted film deep enough. A good measure of how deep is when you see the film canister rolling (the pic below) in response to your pushing, then you know you've latched onto the film.

3) Try turning the film around in the canister. Sometimes when the film has been rewound, the leader has gone too far inside and its difficult to latch on to it. Turn it around a bit and try again, if the leader is in the right position then it will come out easily.

Decision Making

2011-03-07T20:10:00.000+08:00

I saw some polaroid cameras for sale last week on an online camera site and it threw me into a dilemma. Buy? Yes? No?

Well money's not an issue here, it will just set me back a couple of hundred bucks but a voice deep behind my kneecaps said (well the voice used to be in my head, but I banished it somewhere else so I can overrule it more often than it can do me) I should not just buy for the sake of it being cheap. Then I realized that we're talking about a polaroid here, a legend in its own right! Having this is my collection will be awesome! Ok hang on, will I have the space for this? Or even the time to use it? I mean look at it, its bulky! While it may not beat my Olympus Trip in weight and ease of use, but surely I've seen the wonderful photos it is capable of producing, right? And not to mention the instant photos I'll be able to file in my journals and all. Oh ho ho, I say that but will I be able to get the films easily? How many vendors carry that nowadays?

Deadlock.

So I tried taking my mind of it and did some mindless net surfing, and as fate would have it I came upon this Newsweek article titled 'The Science of Making Decisions.' In short, it mentions the importance of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, the part of the brain behind our foreheads) in making decisions.

The more complex the problem, the more activity there will be in the DLPFC when looked under a fMRI scan. But with too much information and overANALysis, the DLPFC short circuits and that's when people are more prone to making errors and bad decisions.

So with this information, my next course of action was to sleep on the issue and not give it too much thought for the time being.

END RESULT? After a few days I decided that I really didn't need the camera. What I have in my collection is currently more than enough for me. Ok truth be told, they sold out all the models already...crap! So in a way, this sleeping over the problem thing does help. Now iPad 2...hmmm....

Jerks

2011-03-02T12:26:00.000+08:00

So there's this really interesting article about jerks...

That unintelligent people on average die faster is common sense and proof of natural selection. So the world is constantly getting 'smarter' and more competitive with time. So how about jerks? Is the world a nicer place to be in now than a decade ago? Stupid people die young but how about jerks?

You know we all mostly say we hate jerks and mean people, but nothing can be further from the truth. We worship them.

Yaaa...as if you watch American Idol because of Randy Jackson

A jerk made American Idol the way it is. The jerk has left and so have many of the audience.

Some have said that American Idol based its panel of judges on a tried and tested formula of the personality of presenters at Top Gear, a jerk, a pretty face (prettiest among the lot) and a boring person. And it works very well. Top Gear would not be the same if there were three James May.

This fella needs no introduction. His words may have been responsible in a restaurant owner's decision to commit suicide.

So back to the question, is the world a nicer place to be? Not really. One thing's for sure, jerks may die young but they are getting richer.

Going Postal

2011-02-24T12:05:00.000+08:00

During my trip home earlier this month, I managed to get a copy of the Going Postal DVD from my sisters.

I was quite excited by this since Moist von Lipwig is the first Discworld character that I've gotten familiar with, but I had my reservations. Half the fun of reading Discworld novels come from the witty narration and I've always thought that its hard to translate that charm onto the big screen or for telly. Not impossible though. It was enjoyable to watch.

However, I've always had a mental image of Lord Vetinari as this.

And for me, the right kind of person to play this character would be none other than...

As badass as Hugo Weaving may look, the more important feat in portraying the Patrician lies in projecting the cold, cunning yet benevolent character that Vetinari has. And in that respect, Charles Dance has done a great job. Besides, Mr Weaving would have been expensive...

Yes I know I'm nitpicking here. Its a very fun 4 hours to watch and if you're a fan of the Discworld novels, I highly recommend it. I'm looking forward to the next Discworld book on von Lipwig, rumored to be 'Raising Taxes'.

Counting Our Blessings

2011-02-18T12:35:00.001+08:00

CNY celebrations this year came to an official end yesterday. It's been a trying two weeks with many highs and lows in between. This one definitely a low - it took 4 hours and close to 100km of driving to renew my work pass yesterday, due to poor communication by the immigration department. So much time was wasted there that I didn't manage to finish my other tasks for the day.

It doesn't really matter much now that I've sat down and thought about it. I must learn to look at the positive things and not dwell too much on the the rest. And so the positive - a couple of days ago my wife and I went to the clinic for a checkup, and I'm pleased to announce that we will be expecting a baby boy somewhere in the middle of this year.

Being an Asian parent, I got down to some hard thinking. How can I best prepare for my future offspring? There will be the obvious buying of many baby items, clothes and accessories, but what else? How can I give him a headstart in life?

The answer? Get him a facebook account.

He'll thank me for it one day. All those points/traps/mechanisms/gold that he will start playing those FB games with when I pass the account over to him will give him a leg up over his peers. Here's hoping tomorrow's facebook won't be obsolete like today's ICQ. Come to think of it...maybe I should sign up for 4 more facebook accounts *grins*.

CNY 2011

2011-02-10T11:55:00.000+08:00

Ted's version of Chinese New Year will not be complete without...

Traveling


Food... these prawns were a gift from my mother-in -law to my mom


More food - I ate close to triple my daily caloric intake during this period


'Tis the season to flood the nation with new RM1 notes

Having fun with the family and relatives

CNY celebrations are always over faster than you can say 'how come you don't give me ang pow anymore? Some people still do leh.' Nevertheless I've had a great time. I hope you enjoyed your CNY break too!

Hare Cut

2011-01-24T13:33:00.000+08:00

With Chinese New Year just a week away, I went for a haircut yesterday. The normal salon that I frequent has recently started becoming popular, with me having to wait for an hour the last time I was there. Now changing hairstylists is never easy and sometimes brings regrets, but the long waiting time is a bit too much. So I tried a new salon.

The first thing they gave me when I sat down was a catalogue of hairstyles. Right from the start I spotted a problem. It can't be considered a haircut if I walk out of there with longer hair then I came with right?

I wish I had hair like that

There was only one picture in that catalogue that was realistically possible and I showed it to the hairstylist. She glanced at it, said 'Oh, so you want short ah' and started work with a shaver. I noticed she didn't even look at the instructions that were on the page, much less follow it.

After 10 minutes I ended up looking nothing at all like what the picture suggested but I knew better than to protest. Genetically with the cards that we've been dealt with, sometimes its not possible to achieve that ideal model look. Well not for 20 bucks and 10minutes anyway. Nevertheless I'm satisfied enough and will probably consider returning in the future.

No, You Cannot Have Burgers For Chinese New Year

2011-01-14T11:55:00.000+08:00

John 'The Orange' checked his watch. It's five minutes to midnight, five more that he needed to remain alive. The dimly lit hypermarket offered many places of refuge and he was more than thankful for a life-sized vat of wasabi peas at the centre of the SNACKS/BISCUITS aisle. Personally, he'd prefer pistachio but those half opened ends looked like they could hurt. He sank his arms under the peas leaving only the top of his forehead visible. There were whispers. John closed his eyes and strained to hear the words."Concentrate," he said to himself.

"Look, he doesn't have to do anything but if we don't kill 'The Orange' in the next five minutes we don't get paid," 'Brinjal' hissed at 'Ramly.' "We need to split up."

'Ramly' nodded. "I ambil section 'ni, you cari dekat 'tu susu dan jus."

'Brinjal' turned and ran. He's going to find that bloody 'Orange' and skewer him with sharpened chopsticks. Literally. Eight hours earlier, twenty-five men from various organizations had each been give a pair of chopsticks and a mission - kill the assassin 'Orange' before midnight. It would be safe to assume that 'Orange' himself had a pair too, judging by the wounds on the twenty-three deceased men so far. 'Brinjal' turned a corner and spotted the lifeless corpse of 'Baked Beans' impaled through his heart with, you guessed it, a chopstick.

"Unnngghh....hnnngghhh....urrgghhhh!"

'Brinjal' stopped dead in his tracks as he heard 'Ramly' struggling. He ran back to where he had left him only to find 'Ramly' crumpled on the ground with a chopstick sticking out of his jugular. He clenched his chopsticks. Surely 'Orange' can't be far...

"Shhheeeeeeuuuwwwtt!"

The lights went out. 'Brinjal' was crying.

"What the f..."

The tears kept flowing from 'Brinjal's' eyes like a full bladder at the urinal after a beer drinking contest. It took him some time to notice that the tears more viscous than normal tears should be. He felt his face and for the first time realized that the lights hadn't been switched off but rather there were chopsticks pierced into his eyeballs. They were heavy, weird almost. He looked up and felt the blunt end of the chopsticks brush his eyebrows. With a quick bone-twisting crack, he fell to the ground with his head facing the back.

"Mahai!" Orange shouted. 'Noobs! All of them!"

Clicks! (There were more than one...) Light flooded every corner of the hypermarket now. A large contingent of men in suits made their way towards him. He saw his employers - 'The Committee.' A large man spoke.

" 'The Committee' thanks all the representatives from various Guilds, Associations and Unions for participating in the 2011 membership application of the 'Chinese New Year Essential Items Register.' We regret to inform you that there will be no new additions this year. Please try again next year." The crowd dispersed.

John heard the President of 'The Bak Gua Producers Union' offering his condolences to his counterpart from 'The Brinjal Growers Association'.

"Close fight this year! Better luck next time!"

Of course, 'Bak Gua', 'Nian Gao' and 'Mandarin Oranges' are permanent members on 'The Register.' John wondered what it would be like had 'Brinjal' won. 'The Committee' being men of their words would've gone all out, conjured a brinjal dish/snack and marketed it as the 'must have' this season. These were powerful men - they owned countless chains of stores, markets and restaurants globally and every decision they make influence worldwide consumption. That's unlikely to happen though with 'The Committee's' last defeat in the annual event occurring half a century ago to a well funded consortium of various farmers, manufacturers and fishermen. Everyone takes Yee Sang for granted now.

John headed for the main exit. The staff were hard at work mopping up blood and storing body bags with lamb and beef parts in the freezer. Fireworks lit the sky outside as people celebrated New Years Day. John's mind was already on his next job two weeks from now. By then he'll be 'The Chocolate.'

Once A God, Now Not Even Acknowledged By A Dog

2011-01-10T20:30:00.000+08:00

I'm a dog person. One of the reasons that I look forward to visiting my mother-in-law (MIL) is to see Shiki. Now I don't know how Shiki does it, but each time our car appears from a distance he will already be barking and jumping with joy. Shiki will not stop the barking till we're inside the house or have given him a pat/belly rub. Sometimes both.

Shiki

Frankly, I enjoy the attention. I had a cat for quite some time and all it ever does is eyeball me with an expression that says 'you wanna fight?' Being greeted so warmly makes you feel godly - like having your theme music played whenever you arrive. This must be how the WWE stars feel as they enter a ring.

Unfortunately the theme music stopped a couple of weeks back.

Shiki doesn't welcome us nowadays. Sometimes he'll wag his tail, sometimes he'll totally ignore us. Not a single bark of acknowledgment.What's gotten into him? The only way I can coax some response from him is if I have a doggie snack.

I'm thinking teen angst. Shiki will turn 2 later this year, meaning he's almost approaching puberty in dog years. All those raging hormones and potential territorial disputes with the more established dogs in the neighborhood must have got him depressed. MIL, however, offered a different explanation.

Normally MIL will unleash Shiki once we arrive and put him back on the leash after we've left. Recently she's stopped doing this, preferring to unleash Shiki once we've left. So before this Shiki has equated our arrival with his freedom, and he was so happy to see us because of that!

It seems like we've read this one wrong... we were the theme music all along.

It's all about me...

Mousehunt

2011-01-04T13:58:00.002+08:00

"There are rats on the roof."

"Are you sure? I thought that's the sound of water running through the pipes."

"They're rats."

Entrance to the roof

So says my wife. I think she must have x-ray vision because I wasn't really convinced that they were rats. Since the noises kept her awake at night, something had to be done.

I bought a steel cage, armed it with a bait that no rodent can refuse and set it on the roof. It was a piece of chicken skin (KFC, taken from the thigh, Original Recipe) dipped in some cheese sauce (from the cheezy wedges) and marinated for few hours in a container of leftover gravy (from the mashed potatoes). My mouth's watering as I type this...

There was a loud 'PRRRAAAPP!' slightly after 1am and I immediately knew the trap had sprung. I thought of dealing with it the next morning, but it was making such loud frantic noises trying to escape from the cage that you can hear it from downstairs. I left it outside with its final meal.


Lil' Jimmy

Problem solved? My wife still hears some sounds. Probably Jimmy's siblings. Timmy...or Tammy. I'll have to make another trip to KFC soon.

Unexpected Gift

2010-12-25T20:56:00.004+08:00

Yesterday (Christmas Eve) at 3pm, I received a package that I thought would not arrive within the week. A very unexpected but delightful christmas gift!

It is a photobook of my recent trip to Australia! I started working on this project earlier this month and I surprised myself when I finished it in a record 2 weeks. It shows how you can get many things done when you are as disciplined as I am...

Ok so I lied. I was supposed to have the project wrapped up by October. October turned into November and very predictably November faded away faster than Rafa Benitez managed to lose his job at Inter. I decided that I was not going to let December slip away too. So I clicked and tapped away at the keyboards as much as I could. I devoted a couple of hours each day to sort through the photos that I've carefully chosen to ignore for the past few months (By the way, ask any photographer this and he will tell you that one of the worst things about photography is what comes after you're back from a long trip or a wedding. I don't think I've met anyone who enjoys sifting through gigabytes of pictures on his computer).

When I uploaded the finished files last weekend, I read the FAQ and noticed them mentioning that due to the festive season it may take longer than usual to process and deliver. To their credit they delivered on time. I must say that I'm very pleased with the finished product as well.

Since some of my favorite shots from the trip had been taken with a film camera, I had to include them in the album. I was a bit worried about the quality of the lab scanned images since a lot of them were averaging around 1MB but they turned out great. Even the cross processed ones.

Four of the pics you see in here are taken with the Olympus Trip 35 and FED 5C film cameras

If anything, seeing our finished album has made me want to go and travel even more in the coming years. Ok, I said ours but If you flip through the book, its more like my wife's album. Since I'm the one behind the camera most of the time, I can count the number of times I've appeared on the album with the fingers on one hand. We'll need to work on that for our next adventure.

All in all, its been an eventful year for us and I hope its been one for you all as well. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2011!

A Thousand Words

2010-12-15T13:37:00.000+08:00

A local hypermarket put up on its notice board the following picture. Its a picture of a charity home that they support.

Baby A: So what are you in here for?
Baby B: I smacked my brother in the face with a Ben 10 watch.

Now I'm sure the photographer had nothing but the best of intentions when he snapped that pic but it turned out to have a different feel to what he or she was trying to achieve. What do you think?

Turning 28

2010-12-06T14:13:00.001+08:00

I celebrated my 28th birthday last week in a very quiet manner. Not that I mind. For the better part of this decade, I feared birthdays. Birthdays usually involved lots of lies and deception...along with plenty of flour, eggs and water. There were always 2 birthday cakes - one for the guests and one for your face. More time was spent in the planning of the 'sabo' and the cleaning up than the actual celebration itself. And that's why I know I'll be safe at home where my cleanliness obsessed wife will never pull off such a thing. My wife did give me something else though.

I really appreciated the gesture and thought it was very sweet of her. It did leave me thinking... who did I have to beat to be the Best Hubby of the Year? Who were the other contestants?

"The people in this house" she said. "That means you, you and you!"

"So who won?"

"You lor!"

Heh. Ask a stupid question get a stupid answer huh. Its a good thing she didn't do this in an elimination style voting, kinda like the World Cup venue picks. I'd be pretty suspicious if I (either you or you) had been eliminated in the first round like England. Also retaining the title will be pretty much a cinch. I've (you, you or you) got this title in the bag for many many years to come.

How I Inspired A Stranger To Be A Doctor

2010-12-01T16:55:00.001+08:00

Its the school holidays. Everyone loves holidays. For the adults they can wake up later in the mornings knowing that the roads are not as clogged up as usual. For children, well they can pretty much do whatever they want.

There are a small number of high school students who take up temporary jobs, some I'm sure not by their own decision. There was this girl who had just finished her SPM and was working at the hypermarket in front of my pharmacy. My staff befriended her and they had something of a hi-bye friendship.

After the SPM results came out, this girl told my staff that she was leaving to continue her STPM. She confessed that thanks to us she has decided to pursue medicine after her STPM. My staff wished her well and asked what was it that made her decide to study medicine? Then she said she wanted to study pharmacy initially, but after observing us and seeing how boring it can be in a retail pharmacy, she decided to switch. Furthermore, she was convinced that I was a bit not right in the head because she saw me smiling and grinning to myself at times (I blame various people on my MSN contact list for this). So yea thanks to us...

I've never spoken a word with her before but at least I've influenced others in a way (though you can also argue that an outbreak of genital herpes influences the way people make decisions as well). That happened 3 years ago. I'd like to think that because of us and our example, she's in a med school somewhere.

You're welcome.

Increasing Testosterone : Power of Body Language

2010-11-24T17:59:00.001+08:00

In my practice, countless men have asked in various ways for help in boosting their testosterone levels. Testosterone affects everything from energy levels to sexuality and who can blame them for seeking help? After all it has been shown that alpha males and people in powerful positions generally have higher testosterone levels.

Besides taking supplements there is another way to increase testosterone levels. The author of this article participated in a study where he was asked to take up different power positions that symbolized authority - putting the feet on desks, doing a hawk pose and all those. Within 15 minutes his testosterone levels doubled.

Obama - not so much different from...

...this guy

There's almost no practical way I can incorporate this into my practice (huh? you're asking me to put my feet on the desk?) but it does not mean there's no value in it. What I think is more important here is mind/body over matters. If you exude confidence then it shows in your posture and actions leading to a physiological advantage. This is also a reminder that a lot of life's battles are won or lost in our minds even before we enter the battlefield. And even if you have not always felt particularly confident, thank goodness for a way to short circuit your body into believing that you are - just clear those desks!

2 Weddings in 2 Days

2010-11-19T15:00:00.004+08:00

The last weekend was a very memorable one. Here's why...

The Batu Pahat Wedding - Saturday

With only 3 hours sleep under our belts, Milton, Ken and I set off from PJ at around 3am plus. We didn't know much about what was in store but the plan was to reach Batu Pahat at around 7am where we will fulfill our roles as hengdais.

The windscreen wiper hard at work against bird droppings (or night insects)

The games were not really that tough actually... I think we managed to get in quite easily with our dignities intact.

Must have been one hell of a stag night

Emmanuel (the groom) is from Batu Pahat and we were quite fortunate to have Milton (a Johorian) drive us around as he was able to provide a running commentary on the sights and histories of the places we went to. However, the driver is from Muar and since there is some rivalry between those two towns, the commentaries were at best, completely biased.

'Muar is a great country, I hope you all brought your passports!'

As we were waiting for the lift at the hotel lobby where the wedding dinner was taking place, I casually commented that the hotel was bigger than any we've seen at Muar. Not missing a beat, Milton the driver asked, "Ted, how will you be going back later leh?" I quickly muttered something about quality over quantity to appease the Muarian.

Congratulations to Emmanuel and Shermaine!

It was a very beautiful wedding and I'm glad that I did not miss this. After the dinner I followed Ah Seng (the part time magician) back to KL and was back on my pillow at exactly 3.30am. Exactly 24 hours...

The Klang Wedding - Sunday

In contrast to Saturday's hectic schedule, this was literally a walk in the park. It was a very laid back affair. The only minor hiccup was being called together with the guys on stage to dedicate a chinese song to Ah Seng. Thankfully I learnt from my Sibu experience and lip synced all the way (it was the exact same song by the way). My wife and I really enjoyed the company of our ex-university mates, some of whom we rarely get the chance to see since we stay in Kota Kinabalu.

Congratulations to Ah Seng (no relations to the magician) and Thien Thien

As we were driving back to PJ, my wife commented that Ah Seng and Thien Thien are the last couple in our batch to tie the knot and therefore we should see less red bombs appearing in our mailboxes from now. The idea goes something like this.

Anticipated trends in wedding invitations in years to come

The past couple of years we've seen many of our friends and peers getting married (Point A) and the next peak (Point B) will be when the children of our friends/peers get married. That will probably be 20 years or so down the road. So that means we are somewhere in the decline to the trough of the graph.

Then I suddenly realized that none of my 3 housemates are married yet. When I told my wife about this, we realized that the same goes for her as well. Crap!

How long till the next one? 1 year? 1 decade? (disregard the fella at the top - he's expecting his baby girl soon)

I don't know when they will marry, but I do know that within 10 years time prices for air tickets will not stay the same. And I cannot promise that within the next 10 years the head count in the Ch'ng family household will remain at 2. Fortunately I have a few things up my sleeve.

1) Get them LV-ed

...and by LV I mean Louis Vuitton. I'm taking a leaf out of LVMH's tactics here in acquiring Hermes shares stealthily and at half the current market rate. Based on the principle of 'money in my pocket is better than money in your pocket' I can offer them their advanced ang pows at today's market rates. Regardless of how the market rates for ang pows will be like 10 years down the road, the ROI on the principal sum that I've handed to them should give them a better profit depending on how wisely they invest that money. So far only 1 person has rejected this proposal...

2) Get them to marry Sabahans

This will ~~save me a lot of money~~ do them a big favor since Sabahan girls are really pretty. Any girls (or guys) interested please contact me through this blog.

3) Get them to marry together

Since there will be a lot of repeating names on the guest list, why not get them to tie the knot all on the same day? I'm sure many more people will turn up for this instead of attending 3 separate functions. Some more they can save on the cost for the wedding dinner! An even better idea is that if my 3 housemates marry my wife's 3 housemates.

"What??! Why you so cincai one? How can simply marry like that?!" my wife asked when I suggested this. However she saw the merits of my side of the argument when I pointed out that it will be six separate wedding functions, versus just one big one. One shot kao tim all.

If any of my housemates are reading this, please don't take any offense yea. You know I talk a lot of rubbish sometimes (but I'm quite serious about the advanced ang pow thing...please consider it carefully). It was great meeting all of you, and I look forward to the next time that will happen again.

Be Water, My Friend

2010-11-08T16:06:00.001+08:00

I've never really been a fan of Bruce Lee to be honest. There were a few reasons for this. Firstly there weren't much of his movies to go around and local television stations fed us instead with a staple of Jackie Chan and Jet Li flicks. Secondly their styles were vastly different and us being children, we were probably more amused by Jackie's humorous antics and resourcefulness at fighting with everyday objects. You laugh at Jackie hitting his head or getting a few jabs occasionally, but laughing when Bruce takes down the whole room? No no...never. Also, the No-Shadow Kick was a more popular talking point than the One Inch Punch at our primary school.

Last night I was planning to watch the Arsenal - Newcastle game but after some channel surfing, found the screening of 'How Bruce Lee Changed The World' on Discovery and was too totally absorbed in it to change back to the match.

The 2 hour documentary is a must watch for all Bruce Lee fans. Bruce was a visionary man and his life, albeit a short one, commanded such an influence that it inspired countless numbers future actors, artists, sportsmen and ordinary people alike. I think what I like most about him was his discipline - in both advancing his physical prowess and his art.

I did some digging and found out that we do share the same views when it comes to nutrition. After our marriage, my wife and I (rather reluctantly for me at first I must admit) did an overhaul of our family meals - forbidding all junk foods and buying only those that offered real nutrition to our bodies. A lot of emphasis was placed on fruits and vegetables with meals occasionally taken with lean meat. Refined carbs were seldom taken but not cut off altogether. We started increasing our protein intake and also avoided huge traditional meals and preferred to instead eat smaller meals throughout the day in the form of healthy snacks. There are times when this is unavoidable, like if there's a function or wedding dinner to attend... but we will revert back to our normal routine of eating small meals. To this day, my wife has never fried anything in our kitchen, opting instead to steam or boil.

What we do is nothing novel, with most modern health magazines advocating such steps. However when you think that Bruce Lee did all these 50 years ago, you can't help but to marvel at the man. This is surely a testimony to his revolutionary ideas and also to the phrase 'there is nothing new under the sun'. I may have been late but nevertheless, finally a fan. Time to break out those Bruce Lee Classics!

Heal Me! ...(but not too much)

2010-11-02T12:28:00.002+08:00

MR SMOKER : Hey! Thanks for the medicines! Its really helped me a lot!

ME : You're welcome! (This uncle bought some nicotine patches a few weeks back in an effort to quit smoking) So how's the progress so far?

MR SMOKER : Very good! I've stopped already!

ME : Oh, you've stopped smoking? Congratulations!

MR EX-SMOKER : Er no...I've stopped the medication already.

ME : You've stopped the medication? How come? Giving you some side effects?

MR NOT-YET-AN-EX-SMOKER : Not at all. Its good and helped me cut down from 2 packs to just 1 pack a day. With the patch I can go a day without smoking actually. Really helped me save some money but I think that's good enough.

ME : Why not continue a few more weeks and then cut down to half pack and then eventually stop? That will save you even more money right?

MR I-STILL-WANT-TO-SMOKE : Nah, its not advisable to change my habit so suddenly. Even my Dr told me its not good to drastically stop like that and said cut to half my consumption ok already... Anyway thanks for your help.

ME : -.-"

------------------

You know I think he was pulling my leg there...either that or we're seeing a master salesman plying his craft. What say you Einstein?

2010 New Year Resolutions - Kao Tim!

2010-10-26T11:50:00.001+08:00

Earlier this year I set two goals to focus on for 2010.

1) Get six packs.
2) Blog at least 50 times this year.

The six packs are there (though they show up on a part time basis. They're also a bit shy and may require some flexing and adept positioning of lights to see clearly - but its there trust me!) and this is my 51st blog post for this year. So I think I've achieved terms to declare victory for the first time. Ever!

Hang on Ted, I thought you were going to learn to read Chinese as well?

Err... yes. I did mention that as a goal, but if you read carefully I did not mention that it has to be achieved this year *evil grin*. I did however spent the earlier months of 2010 going through some of the lessons but the habit died off somewhere in April. So its...

So what do I do with the rest of this year? The slacker in me tells me that I can pretty much stop blogging this year and eat fried chicken every other day. Fortunately, I do enjoy blogging and keeping fit so his vote is vetoed. I'll work on offering my part time six packs a full time contract before he does a Wayne Rooney.

As for next year, I'll need to plan my resolutions more carefully and specifically - with the focus on leaving as little leeway for loopholes and procrastination as possible. Oh and maybe I can have a 2 month head start on learning to read Chinese. Maybe...

Defy Aging?

2010-10-21T13:31:00.002+08:00

There was a very interesting article that ran in Nat Geo last month.

Remember Einstein's theory of relativity? Well it has been proven on earth that time is affected by gravitational pull. Researchers used two very accurate atomic clocks and placed them at different heights, one about a foot higher than the other. This will expose the lower clock to a slightly higher gravitational pull and sure enough, the lower clock ticked slower than the elevated one.

Now if you're staying in a high rise condominium and going 'Oh crap!' after reading this, you don't need to worry. The difference is so minute that over a 79 year lifetime the variation is only 90 billionths of a second.

It may not make a difference on earth but you know when space travel is available(when and not if) to the masses and enables people to shuttle to different planets with differing gravitational forces, it leads one to wonder if that will have any effect then. Variations may probably not be significant too but tell a woman that she will age more slowly living on another planet and see if there won't be an exodus. Some beauty products don't do much significantly too other than boosting morale and hope and users swear it makes them 10 years younger. Who knows, human colonies in Jupiter (Surface gravity 24.79 m/s²) may be renowned for their youthfulness while their Martian counterparts (Surface gravity 3.71 m/s²) are probably overrun by old hags.

Oh by the way, Mr PM... buat apa you guna saya punya duit bikin itu 100 tingkat tiang!? I see your wife is very concerned about her looks and I don't want her to be affected by the ...er... gravitational forces at such giddy heights. Why don't you use the money to built a rocket (or buy one cheap from China) and send her off to Jupiter where she'll be forever younger? Just a suggestion...

Olympus Trip 35 : A Review

2010-10-18T19:46:00.003+08:00

Again, yes I have to admit, another impulse buy and from the same seller that I bought my FED5C as well. I've since ignored all his posts on his blog and facebook page. I think nothing but a mint condition and reasonably priced Leica can tempt me any further than the collection I have now... I hope.

The Olympus Trip 35 also has a selenium light meter (around the lens) but that is where the similarities with the FED ends. The FED is a rangefinder, this is a compact point and shoot. The FED can break your skull while this one will probably only give your skin a bruise. The FED is a bit complicated to use while the Oly can be drawn from your bag, shot and returned in under 5 seconds without your subject even aware of what you have done. The soft click of the shutter helps as well (take note all you stalkers...).

I got this camera before I left for Australia and I quickly shot a roll of Velvia using it. I got mixed results. That made me quite hesitant in bringing this camera for the trip. Thankfully I decided to ditch the FM2 and bring this one along due to its lightness.

All in all this was a very fun camera to use. Composing was easy enough and since it is practically a point and shoot all you have to do is click the shutter. I especially love the color and contrast of the images thanks to its Zuiko lens.

After analyzing the shots from the first test roll, the failed ones were mostly the ones that were shot in very dim light while the outdoor shots were perfect. So I kept this in mind while I was in Australia and used it exclusively for the outdoors. However I've been following a Flickr group for quite some time now and I always marvel at their ability to coax some great images from their Trips in very low light conditions. I don't believe my Trip is not capable of this. I'll need to go and try again.

If you're thinking of buying this camera, go ahead! There is one thing that you have to be wary about. This camera is essentially a point and shoot and therefore the selenium light cell is key to its functioning properly. Do make sure you confirm that this is in working order before buying. Even if you end up with a non working meter, they're so cheap that you can just get a new one or if you choose, replace the meter. Olympus sold 10 million of these cameras over the years so you don't really have to worry about parts. Hey, maybe I'll get another one for myself too...

Posts with Oly Trip 35 - Beach Outing

Left Behind

2010-10-13T13:19:00.000+08:00

The things that people leave behind at the pharmacy counter... whether on purpose or accidentally.

This is quite common. There are some who loathe carrying small change.

This one is more of absent-mindedness but happens a lot as well. Paying for medicines and forgetting to take it.

Discarding receipts. Also very common. This is why we only issue receipts if specifically requested.

Hmm, now this one is a first. I didn't exactly see the customer leaving these behind. What's even weirder is that they were left by two separate customers on two different nights. The garlic came first and then followed by the onion few nights later. I'm wondering if the customer saw something that I should be aware of. Vampires?

Phillip Island Penguin Parade

2010-10-06T11:44:00.003+08:00

There are a lot of animals that are unique to Australia - kangaroos, wombats, koalas are among a few of them. A lesser known one is the Gippsland earthworm found in the state of Victoria. These giants can grow up to a length of 3m. Of all the animals we saw down under, the one that I will remember the most are the fairy penguins.

(Image from Wikipedia)

These penguins are not as famous as their more well known cousins the Emperor Penguins. They weren't even among the 3 different species of penguins featured in the animated movie 'Happy Feet'. They are naturally very small in comparison to other types of penguins with the average adult measuring under 50cm therefore earning them their name (Fairy Penguins, Little Penguins, Little Blue Penguins).

You can see these penguins in a zoo (we saw some of them in Sydney and the Gold Coast) but I do advise you to see them in their natural habitat, Phillip Island. It makes the experience that much more special. There are many day tours that operate from Melbourne that will take you to Phillip Island.

The penguins normally go out fishing as a group at dawn and return to their burrows just right after sunset. This is a safety precaution. Though they are master swimmers and divers in the water, they are not very good at walking. They feet looks disproportionate and not capable of sustaining their own weight on land. If you see them up close, it almost looks like its struggling to walk - almost always stopping and panting after a few steps. Imagine sticking two 20 sen at the bottom of the iPhone and try making it walk. Very wobbly and unstable. It is this handicap that makes them easy targets when they go out and come back from fishing.

They're not always on time you know

It is also this handicap that makes viewing this awesome penguin parade possible for us. There are stands and walkways built all around the beach where the penguins come home. At the appropriate time, we will be ushered out to fill the seats and await the penguins' return. Once the first group of penguins come ashore, the main spotlights will be switched off within an hour. So normally what everyone will be advised to do is adjourn to the walkways where we can get a more intimate view of the penguins. Touching is definitely a no no and so is photography. There are many park rangers scouring the vicinity so its better to keep the cameras in your bags.

An amazing fact is that penguins are generally monogamous. When they find a mate, its really 'till death do us part'. Literally! Penguins will only find another mate once their current ones are deceased. Also, have you ever wondered why penguins have black/blue backs but white bellies? Its another safety design. When penguins are in the water, airborne predators will have a hard time differentiating the penguins from the air thanks to their black/blue coats. The same goes for seaborne predators who look up and see the white bellies that are similar to the rays of light shining in from the sky.

After many of the tour buses have left, our tour guide asked us to follow him to a corner of the car park where we found a couple of penguins in a dark corner. There weren't any rangers around so I quickly snapped a shot in bulb mode. Can't risk using the flash because that will be like throwing flashbangs in front of them.

If you're ever in Melbourne, I do urge you to consider going for this. Looking at our itinerary in Melbourne, I thought the highlight of the whole trip will be the 12 Apostles and the Great Ocean Road. I wasn't expecting much from the Phillip Island day trip but I was proven wrong. This was a lot more memorable to me than looking at huge rocks and winding roads!

We couldn't pet them but we did bring one home

Old Is Good

2010-10-01T17:09:00.000+08:00

Barely a month after getting my car back from the workshop, another problem appeared. The car boot was always wet during a rainy day and the wooden board that was there had turned into sludge-like material. So it wasn't any good just replacing the board, it had to be certified water tight so this does not happen again.

There weren't many workshops around that are willing to test for leaks and repair them but I did find one eventually. That was the first time I've been there so I looked around at how their other customers repairs were going along. Interestingly I was the only one at the shop for repairs, all the others were there to upgrade. A burly chinese man was installing new lights and door handles to his Ninja King (Land Cruiser), a JPJ officer was lowering his car and changing the rims and another fella was haggling over a new sport suspension kit but decided in the end to just change the bodykit on his Dmax.

This got me thinking too... my car is currently about 13 years old and there will definitely be an increased cost of maintenance due to its age, so why not just get a new car? As I was entertaining this thought, I noticed something.

I had the whole car repainted while it was at the workshop and so fast there's a major scratch! Most of the time my car's exposed to a lot of things when I'm at work. Its an open air and a high traffic car park at a hypermarket and who knows someone might have knocked a shopping trolley into it accidentally or parked too close and swung his door open carelessly.

These things are unavoidable in such an environment. I don't know who did it, but I do know that I'm not going to get a new car now. The heartbreak will be a lot more intense! I'll probably drive this one till its wheels fall off or situations or am in a situation that makes it necessary for me to get a bigger/new car.

A Life Lost

2010-09-29T15:18:00.001+08:00

"Your business is about to f**king swim down the Hudson," Ramsey said to Cerniglia, while offering advice on how to turn his business around.

One must really wonder how much influence the words Gordon Ramsay bluntly said to restaurant owner Joseph Cerniglia in 2007 had on the latter's decision to take his life in that particular manner. If you've watched his shows then you will realize most of the time his lips will be moving but there will be no audio. That's because its mostly profanities.

When he was interviewed by Jeremy Clarkson on an episode of Top Gear, Jeremy brought up the topic of Gordon having received an OBE and jokingly asked if it was for services to swearing. Gordon doesn't just have colorful language but gets angry a lot and is very rude. Well no doubt this helps the show's ratings. The main reason why many people watch American Idol is because of Simon Cowell though no contestant has taken their lives yet. And thats 2 for Gordon! Well I think its because Simon looks like a buffoon anyway and no one takes him seriously.

In our line of work we meet all sorts of characters daily and this is a very timely reminder to never take anything personally no matter how much pressure we are under. The results can really be fatal.

I'm Back!

2010-09-23T15:20:00.000+08:00

I've spent the past couple of weeks travelling around Australia and its been a blast. There were many things to prepare and attend to but it was all worth it. My wife and I visited Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane in a space of a couple of weeks and left with many fond memories and pictures.

A kangaroo gets close

There will be more posts on the trip after the photos have been sorted out. I do plan to make them into an album as well but that will be much later. Here are some thoughts on the trip...

- Zebra crossings (the ones without traffic lights) mean nothing in Malaysia but over there, they are very important. Pedestrians always have the right of way on zebra crossings ... a concept that I found very hard to get used to. I almost ran over 2 people and had to remind myself to slow down and look out for people each time after that.

- Koalas sleep 20 hours a day! And don't call them koala bears. They're not bears.

- 50% of the people we meet in Brisbane are Asians.

- It must suck to be a tourist from China. Souvenirs are all made in China and I wonder how its like to fly over seven thousand kilometers to a foreign land and buy products at prices that will cost a trivial sum if they had bought it at home. I didn't see any Malaysian products there though I did pity the fella who was driving a Proton Persona (Wira).

This kangaroo got too close...heheh

- Planning a trip all on your own as opposed to going for an all-inclusive tour package (like our Korean trip last year) is a lot more fun but tiring. No one is there to greet you at the airport, take your luggage and ferry you around. You have to read maps, learn train routes, decide between different modes of transport, etc. It was a great experience but will think twice before doing something like this again.

- Nothing beats the feeling of coming home. Really.

Mobile Blogging

2010-09-07T23:10:00.002+08:00

I'm giving this mobile blogging a go and updating my blog from my iPhone. Now this isn't the first time I've posted from the phone but this is the first time doing so while uploading a picture.

I'll be going to Australia later this week so it's just as well that I discovered this option of emailing the picture from the iPhone camera roll to a predetermined blogger mail account.

I'm also glad that my friend Mr Procrastinate is no where to be seen. I've started packing slightly earlier than usual. It was a tough choice deciding what cameras to bring but I decided to go with my gut instinct and bring 4. With few days left to decide that may change. But no matter what I bring, I know it'll be a great trip and am looking forward to it.

Lessons from the Walk

2010-09-03T12:45:00.003+08:00

I was involved in a car accident a few weeks back and it forced me to find an alternative method of transport. The workshop promised that they will have everything up and running in 3 weeks time. They took 4 weeks. But it doesn't matter. I could not have been any happier than I was yesterday when I drove to work in my own car again. It didn't bother me that the radio station I listen to chose to do a Justin Bieber marathon and my ears were bleeding by the time I arrived. No sir, not bothered at all.

There are a few experiences that I'll probably never forget from my 4 weeks of walking to work.

- There are things you think about when you walk that you probably wouldn't even bother when you are driving. You notice the terrain more ... well maybe because YOU HAVE TO! You learn which stretch of road has the most dog shit. You notice where the trees are and the shade they provide. There's one awful stretch of road that has no shade at all and takes me a brisk 9 minutes to cover.

- The weather. I've not been affected by meteorology since my time in Glasgow but how the weather fares here will determine how fast I get to work. On hot days I can reach in 23 minutes tops but on nice cloudy days, probably 30minutes.

- Roadkill. Birds. Dogs. Cats. Rats. Urggh.

- There are some really kind people out there. I've been offered a ride to work twice.

- Conversing on my terms. The first time I was offered a ride, it was a non-stop high-speed MLM sales pitch till my destination. That made me resolve to control the conversation should I come across the same situation again. Second time round was another fella, a neighbor of mine. Nevertheless I avoided asking obvious questions like, 'so what do you do for a living?' or 'what interests you?' and stuck with safe topics like weather and politics.

- And finally, if I had to do those four weeks all over again, I'd rather buy a bicycle.

FED 5C: A Review of the Soviet Rangefinder

2010-08-25T20:16:00.006+08:00

There was no doubt about it. This was an impulse buy. The sensory stimuli that began from cells in my eyes sneakily bypassed my brain and led my hands straight to my wallet. Thankfully I only had to fork out RM190 for this. Dirt cheap yes?

The FED 5C is a rangefinder camera made in the Soviet Union. The company initially started off by making copies of Leicas in 1932 as was evident in their earlier FED models. They then started mass producing the cameras and for such a cheap price, they were notorious for their shoddy quality control.

I had to wait 3 weeks before my camera arrived from Russia. When I took it out from the package, my first thoughts were 'Wow, this is heavier than I thought'. If it turned out to be a dud I could always use it to pound chili or something.

What I love about this camera is the metering. And that it doesn't need batteries. It uses a selenium cell light meter (as you can see below) and I must say that I'm pretty fortunate to get a working copy. Indoors it may get a bit tricky, but outdoors it works like a charm. If you have a camera that has this type of metering, always remember to keep it in the dark when not in use. This will help you to preserve the life of the light meter.

Another concern about this camera was the lens that came as standard on this model. The Industar I-61 L/D lens is not only famous for being sharp but radioactive as well. This is because it contains the the rare Lanthane in its glass elements. After doing some research, I found that the radioactivity emitted by the lens is negligible. You'd probably get more radiation from sunbathing than by carrying this around.

The bottom line is how will this camera perform? Is it just a looker but empty on substance? Is this rangefinder going to be a Kournikova or a Sharapova?

I'd say Sharapova without the grunts. This is probably the start of something beautiful.

Vegenomics 101

2010-08-20T12:53:00.004+08:00

A very common gripe among those involved in retail is the constant threat of a price war with your competitors. On the short term this may benefit the consumers and those who gladly cut their prices, but on the long run this may make the business too competitive and many players will exit altogether. The retailers who remain may find that while they have the volume, their margins are so pitiful that they wonder why do they still want to do whatever they do. It is usually the retailer with the deepest pockets that will survive. As for the consumers, there are less shops for them to choose from and maybe they have to drive further to find the things they want.

But wait...if you think retail is tough - have you been to a market?

I was at the Kundasang Market a few days back and it really got me thinking - how do they survive? If you see the picture below, the 3 red arrows are the same items being sold but by 3 different stalls. The same goes for the blue arrows. Yes - the stalls are really that close to one another.

So lets say the average space between two tiangs (columns) can accommodate 2 stalls. From the picture all the way to the end I can see around 8 tiangs. Given that I took this photo somewhere in the middle of the long market, there are probably around 25-35 stalls in that one long stretch of road. All selling more or less the same thing. *Gulps*

To their credit, most of them offer the same pricing. There were some who after peeking over their shoulders to see if their neighbors were listening, quoted slightly below market rate. There were a few that were more enterprising and sold additional items that the rest did not - flowers, cacti, etc.

However, I should not judge them based on all my preconceived ideas. They may seem to have many challenges, but who knows they do make a lucrative living and are very happy with what they do. The latter one being what I consider as an invaluable resource.

Bus Number 11

2010-08-11T12:48:00.004+08:00

What a week it has been! So much has happened that the end result was me being relegated to doing something that I've not done since my university days.

I was involved in a car crash about a week ago. It was raining heavily and as I approached a traffic light that was turning yellow, I instinctively stepped on the gas not realizing that the car in front of me was already stationary.

This is the first time I've been involved in a major accident and I hope it will be the last as well. It will take up to 3 weeks (I hope they keep to their word) to get the car up and running again, but till then, my mobility has been seriously reduced. Its a good thing that I stay relatively near to my workplace - it takes around 20-25 minutes walk. Public transport is less of a convenience than walking and definitely not an option.

Good Ol' Bus Number 11

What gets me most is the timing of the accident. My mom is coming to visit me later this weekend and without a way to get around ... well I guess we can do some work on the garden!

Monochromatic Dreams

2010-08-03T15:49:00.003+08:00

I don't think you can ever shoot with film in its full glory until you've tried shooting black and white. And I don't mean shooting in color and then converting to monochrome. I've picked up a few rolls Ilford XP2 Super 400 and immediately got hooked like flies to turd.

All pics shot with Canon EOS 5 with 50mm

Haven't touched this in quite a while

Since I was using a Canon, I also tried using my flashgun for some off camera lighting. What's scary about this is that the EOS 5 does not support E-TTL. So I have to park the flash in manual mode and guess the output. Also this is not digital... so if I get the exposure wrong, I'll only know in a couple of days time.

Fortunately it turned out alright. After I finished this shoot, I realized that I could've shot with the exact settings on my DSLR first, then apply the same settings to the film camera... but hey, where's the fun in that right?

Prison (Holiday) Break!

2010-07-24T16:03:00.004+08:00

Normally when someone mentions to you 'prison' or 'jail' what comes to your mind? A dark, dirty and undesirable place that no one in their right mind will ever want to go is what came to mine (we have stories from the oh so feh-mes Kamunting). Rightly so! These places serve as a deterrent.

Apparently some folks in Norway thought otherwise. So they built Halden - the World's most humane high-security prison.

Unbelievably, they've spent around $1 million on paintings, photography and light installations! Rooms are fitted with en-suite bathrooms with ceramic tiles, mini-fridges and flat screen tvs. And according to them, 'Officials say sleeker televisions afford inmates less space to hide drugs and other contraband.' Rrrrright...

This looks better than some of the hotels I've stayed in

The windows have no bars - though anyone trying to escape is probably stupid

This is the scariest picture so far - a dental chair! *gasps* The sound of drills...

And if you do get bored of your stay, you can choose to do some workout, rock-climbing or take up a course (where they'll refer to you as a student and never an inmate). They go to great lengths to do this because they reason that criminals will have to rejoin society sooner or later and they try to make this phase of transition as similar as they can to the real world experience. While this is a very noble idea with lots of merits, it will never work in Malaysia. There will be a sudden surge in crimes as people jostle for places in these so called prisons (yours truly included).

So Not Haute!

2010-07-16T12:53:00.006+08:00

I have this black singlet that I have been wearing as a pajamas for about a year or so.

Recently within the space of 2 weeks, I've spotted 5 different individuals that wear the exact same garment (with the Red Edwin words at the back) - 2 at the gym and 3 at my work place. I have such a generic taste in clothing? Or maybe Edwin was having a huge sale. Yea that must be it.

There is a logical explanation to all this. Lets say you're in a department store. Out of the whole floor selling men's clothing, the store will designate a small area to selling underwear (This Edwin garment was bought in the underwear section of a department store by the way...I bet those 5 other guys bought them at more or less the same place too). So thats like what? 10% of all the clothing on that floor? This is not including the independent/chain retail clothing outlets that are also in the mall. So on the whole, lets say Mid Valley, I can safely say that 5-10% of all the clothing sold there are undergarments.

So lets say all the PJ residents shop exclusively at Mid Valley and so the 2 million or so residents get their fresh supply of underwear from more or less the same place. Therefore - if you were to randomly approach people and start pulling down their pants...

TOFWPATA being 'The Other Fella With Pants Around The Ankles'...

Do you see what I'm saying here? Normally I should not be bothered by this, but 5 different people in 2 weeks is a bit too much. I can't sleep well at night knowing that I'm wearing the same thing as the balding uncle with a huge potbelly. Maybe its time to shop at a more exclusive place. Victoria's Secret maybe...and I don't care that they don't cater to men.

Out With The Old

2010-07-06T12:41:00.002+08:00

I have always believed that plants were immortal. That given the right conditions and absence of disease, they will live forever. A few months back, someone expressed amazement at the fact that our tomato plant has survived for so long. Since the seeds were the type you can get commercially for under RM2, it is believed that they have a limited life span.

Initially I found it hard to believe. Then suddenly one by one the branches started drying up for no apparent reason. Adding more organic soil or fertilizers did not help at all. Eventually it was no more. So I guess there may be some truth to it (either that or I messed up somewhere... its easier to blame plant genetics in this case).

Immortal or not, there's one thing that I'm pretty sure is finite - real estate. So the tomato is gone and another plant has been groomed to take its place.

I don't exactly know what plant this is yet. My wife brought back some seeds one day and we just planted it. It is definitely a fruit bearing plant, that much I am sure. Oh we'll find out in a couple of years...

Film is Forever

2010-06-26T12:09:00.003+08:00

Call it fate. I don't really know how else to describe it. Its like the stars magically align themselves in pushing me to a certain direction. I've been toying with the idea of getting a lomo camera for some time, but never really acted upon that desire. The idea of sending film to the photo lab to develop and print never really appealed to me. The last time I shot with a film camera (my dad's Minolta SLR) was when I climbed Mount Kinabalu in 2007. I never got around to finishing that roll of film and even if I did... sending it to process was a hassle for me. My nearest photo lab doesn't deal with film anymore so I have to drive further to find one that is willing to develop.

Recently this idiot (sorry but there's no other way of calling him...believe me, I've tried to think of some) started posting on my facebook wall about scanning film with the DSLR in addition to sending me messages on MSN asking me to google the topic. I did. There were some interesting techniques and the results they got weren't too shabby.

In addition to that, another friend visited me in Kota Kinabalu a few days ago after he climbed Mount Kinabalu. That reminded me of my roll of film still sitting in my camera. I knew I had to finish it off quickly so I can try the above technique.

I downloaded a flashlight app for the iPhone recently - didn't know it will come in handy this soon. What I did was unroll the film, place it over the screen with the flashlight on and the took a picture with the DSLR.

After that, it was just the routine photoshop work.

It may not look great, but suddenly having a lomo camera made sense. Heheh.

This is from the Blackbird, Fly camera. Still getting to grips with using it, but will do a full review on it soon.

3G-Sutra

2010-06-18T14:14:00.003+08:00

Ever since I've gotten my hands on the iPhone, it has allowed me to access the web in many locations that I wouldn't normally be able to. And I mean it. I do not have to be stuck at a desk but I can take advantage of the gadget's size and bring it with me during my morning routine on the throne.

However the more I use it, the more I realize that the internet speeds differ at different locations of the house. Naturally, since this uses the phone provider's 3G services, it is akin to getting better phone reception at certain places. Surfing on Safari is a joy because of its almost instantaneous loading times... but if the 3G services are not living up to their billing it can be equally as frustrating as using dial-up.

This led me to do a test to find out the best spot for internet surfing. I had a stopwatch and used Safari to load 3 pages one after another at different locations - Facebook, Soccernet and my blog.

The first most obvious location was the couch on the living room. It took just under 2 minutes to fully load those 3 pages. Not too bad actually. I then moved a few steps away to the dining area and got half that time.

The toilet got a similar time to the living room but the bedroom was the worst with 3min and 20s. There is one thing I observed when I did this test - that in all those areas, 3G services were very intermittent. If it kicked in, the page loaded very fast - and if it didn't then tough luck. When I did the toilet times again I found that it varies quite substantially.

There is one place in the house which excels at this test and posts consistent times of under 1 minute every single time. It is also a place in which there is uninterrupted 3G coverage. I must say I discovered it by accident...

The best spot! - On the railing at the top of the staircase

I don't really know how it started, but it must have been a time when I was waiting for the page to load while I was shuttling between rooms or the toilet and just left it on the railing. Whatever it was, I definitely struck gold!

Well, I've stopped looking for better locations now because it seems that even if the results can beat the 50+ seconds benchmark it would mean having to sacrifice my comfort. What if I get a 30+ second result for this test under the fridge? Or beside the water tank in the roof? Nah... I don't want to find out and then go through settling for second best.

$h!t!

2010-06-11T11:19:00.003+08:00

Everybody swears. They all do. Even the most docile of characters have some swear words lying dormant within them - ready to be utilized if sufficiently provoked. Now the World Cup is about to kick off today and we already have some odd news.

Wayne Rooney will find his temperament under even greater scrutiny in England’s opening World Cup fixture on Saturday.

It emerged last night that the match officials have taken a crash course in English swearwords as part of a crackdown on abusive language.

Rooney has already been warned about his temperament by Fabio Capello, the England manager, and by Jeff Selogilwe, the South African referee who booked him and accused him of using foul and abusive language during the final warm-up match, against Platinum Stars on Monday.

Now the temperamental striker will be alarmed to learn that Carlos Eugênio Simon, who will referee England’s first group C match against the United States in Rustenburg, and his assistants have been given a list of 20 English profanities to clamp down on.

Hahah! I mean seriously? Referees already have many things to worry about during the game and the last thing they need is to reach into their pockets for a small flashcard and worrying about translations.

I'm not one to pepper my speech with profanities, but I do recognize their place in popular culture. Consider this exchange between two actors in a particular movie.

J : You used this towel?

V : Yeah, to dry my hands.

J : Didn't you wash them with soap first?

V: I did. But its hard to get it off.

J : I used the same soap you did!

Not very interesting is it? 'No kick' as they say. That was from the movie Pulp Fiction and featured a conversation between Jules and Vincent who were cleaning their blood-soaked hands. Somehow I don't think Pulp Fiction would have been as iconic as it is had it been censored to such a degree. Here is the colorful version in its full glory...if you're interested. - LINK

It is said that Wayne Rooney's passion for the game has often been misunderstood as anger. It is just an outlet for him to release his frustrations on the pitch. Well its definitely better than head-butting an opponent in the chest... and here's where he can learn from us Malaysians.

We are a multilingual society - and that means we are capable of cursing in more than 1 language or dialect. Fabio Capello should teach his players to swear in other languages so they do not risk losing. I mean if the players cannot vent their anger in their normal ways, it will definitely affect their performance. All that rage within them will turn them green like Hulks. Unless its Rooney - then its green like Shrek. They've been training for 4 years for this one moment (swearing all the way through their qualification I'm sure) and now you ask them to change the night before? Impossible!

Sobering Up

2010-06-08T12:09:00.004+08:00

It was quite late in the evening when this man approached the counter. You can smell him from quite a distance away... he had been drinking quite heavily. Either that or he had been soaking in a jacuzzi full of beer.

Uncle : 'Gi-gi-give me this...er....what is it...you know...the one for flu? Wh-wh-white colour one, quite big tablet, not sleepy wan.'

I showed him Clarinase.

Me : ' This one? Clarinase?'

Uncle : 'No-no-no. Not this one. This is Clarityne. I don't want Cl-cl-clarityne. I want the other one for flu. The bi-big round one.'

Me : 'You sure its not this one? This is not Clarityne, its Clar-'

Uncle : 'Yea yea, not this one. I'm ve-very sure. Hang on let me ca-call... call my wife.'

I left the Clarinase with the box on the counter and attended to another customer while he made the call.

Uncle : '(After the call) Yea my wife said its the big, white round tablet...'

Me : '(Pointing to the box of Clarinase that was still on the counter) Is this the one? Clarinase?'

Uncle: 'Yes! This is the one! Clarinase!'

So... two facts.

Fact No. 1 Alcohol messes up with the brain's cognitive abilities and renders it ineffectual. Its like a train that pulls up a few metres short of the station - no one can get on or off to make use of it.

Fact No. 2 Nothing sobers a man more (and/or faster) than a conversation with his wife.

Sore Loser

2010-06-03T12:37:00.009+08:00

I've had my PSP for a couple of years now and it has entertained me through the many ups and downs in my life. A game in which I have logged a considerable amount of time on is Winning Eleven (or Pro Evolution Soccer).

Initially I started with the easiest level available in the Master League setting and then when I started winning by at least 5 goals in each match, raise the difficulty by one level. Winning on a higher level may be difficult at first, but with time and patience, you can beat the machine (As opposed to playing against another human where more is required. You must always be wary of dirty tactics - like your opponent messing with your controller when you are about to score...not that I do that kind of thing).

On the subject of playing with another human gamer, there are also emotions to consider. Like if you constantly leave your gaming partner eating the dust in your latest duel. There are people who thrive on this kind of challenge, they resolve to get back at you and make you eat humble pie. And then there are also people who are sore losers... eventually you'll have one less gaming partner because they will be very reluctant to play with you.

Recently my PSP started acting like a human.

I've been playing at the 5th highest level of difficulty (out of 6) for some time and have been winning a bit too comfortably. After this current Master League season I'll probably start playing one level higher. Then Mr Pee-Ass-Pee started pulling this stunt.

Each time the ball is in my possession, it will somehow revert to the Quit Menu. Even worse - the game doesn't pause itself! What a low blow. Main belakang ni...

The Quit Menu can only be accessed by pressing the HOME button on the bottom left corner of the screen and as you can see in the video my finger was no where near it. I had to press the HOME button again to get out of the menu.

To say its irritating is an understatement. There are few things in this world that are more annoying than Justin Bieber and his songs but I'd rather put a mop on my head and sing 'Baby baby baby ooooh~!' than be unjustly cut off when Gerrard is about to score from 30 yards out. But I guess I'd better let it win once in a while. After all you know what happen when you try to call someone who is very bad at losing over for a game. They ignore your call and messages or make up excuses. One day Mr PSP may not turn up for the game at all.

Happy Hour

2010-05-27T11:21:00.005+08:00

The heat wave that we had some time back seems to be replaced by days and days of rain. It was not too long ago that Facebook was filled with countless status updates about how people will die if they do not have rain soon, how their brains could not function in the heat and so on (and even if it did rain there will be multiple updates to say its not the kind of rain that they wanted). I actually loved the heat wave. I was thankful for it because it meant a couple of months doing easy gardening.

Everything in my garden wilted and died...except for the plants that I chose to shower my watery mercy upon. And this was excellent! Suddenly I had lots of time to do other things. However, good things never last. A brief spell of rain and...

Opportunity cost = 2 hrs on the PSP

Its never easy to nurse a plant you want to fruition, but these undesirable shrubs hardly need any encouragement. If I remember my high school biology right, pollens are like plant male sperms. And they need to travel somewhere to fertilize the female component. They normally can't copulate on their own and they need to rely on some trigger to move them about physically. As I did the gardening last weekend it occurred to me "Damn! I'm facilitating plant sex!"

Inter-species copulation

Goodness! I was like a bartender handing out free drinks in a singles (and desperate) only bar! The birds and the bees were probably putting in their fair share as well but I think I was the only one that realized that I had been sucker-punched. Well the bees get a kick out of doing it - they get nectar for their efforts, I get allergies.

There is a way around this problem. The plans include building a concrete wall around the perimeter of the house (reducing the weeds and shrubs from growing through the porous green fencing at the moment) and getting some professional landscaping done (low-maintenance carpet grass). This costs money.

Not wanting to pile on more debts, this is a solution that can only be achieved later rather than sooner. So I'll let the weeds win for now. One day lah...you watch out. When the laborers are doing the concrete wall and the landscapers busy with their work, I'll make sure I blast Semisonic's 'Closing Time' over and over again, especially the part before the chorus 'You don't have to go home but you can't stay here!' If talking and singing to plants make them grow better, this is psychological waterboarding.

Till then, come get your free drinks! Last call is still a long way off.

Here Horsey

2010-05-25T13:15:00.003+08:00

Ever thought of owning a horse? Check out the advert below.

I must say I've never thought a horse will be as cheap as RM 1300 each. Some more you buy 4 you get Rm1000 each only! That's empat ekor! Wow! One Honda EX5 Dream costs more than that! Some more if you notice the ad to the right, satu ekor anjing is way more expensive. Pound for pound, the furrier one costs a fortune.

If I had a bigger garage...hmm, I may just ride to work everyday.

Ketua Perangkap Tikus

2010-05-20T11:57:00.004+08:00

Britain has a new Prime Minister. While David Cameron may have been very busy in appointing ministers and officials to key government positions, there is one post that greatly interests me. That is the position of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office (this title - as with a lot of other titles or names - holds a lot more glamour than its malay translation).

Appointed officials are considered 'civil servants' and reside at the iconic 10 Downing Street. Operating from such a position, you will get the opportunity to be involved in the heartbeat of the current administration, rub shoulders (among many other body parts you can choose from) with top dignitaries from around the world and be the social and media darling. Downside? You only get paid £100 per year. Oh and you must meow.

As the name suggests, your job is to exterminate the little furry rodents that scamper around the hundred or so rooms at 10 Downing. The last Chief Mouser was Sybil.

Looks like her dad must have been a cow at some stage

Sybil started her term on the 11th September 2007, but failed to settle in and left after six months. It was rumored that Gordon Brown disliked Sybil, though I suspected it was the other way round. She died in July 2009.

Sybil patrolling the grounds

Now, her predecessor was something of a legend. Humphrey held the position so long that he served under 3 Prime Ministers.

Some highlights of Humphrey's career:

-Humphrey was said to be of considerably better value than the Cabinet's professional pest controller who charged £4,000 a year but was reported to have never caught a mouse.

- In November 1993, Humphrey was found to be suffering from a kidney ailment and a strict diet was instituted. A ban on feeding him treats was put in place.

- In June 1994, Humphrey was accused of killing 4 robin chicks who was nesting in a box outside the office of the Prime Minister. Then Prime Minister John Major exonerated him the next day.

- In June the following year, Humphrey went missing. He was found patrolling the nearby Royal Army Medical College where he was taken in on the assumption that he was a stray. Upon his return to 10 Downing, Humphrey issued a statement through the civil service saying, "I have had a wonderful holiday at the Royal Army Medical College, but it is nice to be back and I am looking forward to the new parliamentary session."

- Humphrey was manipulated out of office months after the Blairs moved in to 10 Downing Street. He was apparently sedated and forced into retirement.

- He died March 2006.

I could definitely make use with a Chief Mouser in my office too... but too bad, I'm a dog person.

Movie Karma

2010-05-17T13:37:00.004+08:00

Going to the cinema to catch a movie has turned out to be something of a luxury for me. It hasn't always been like this - but with many other social and work commitments it has been relegated down the priority list. Its usually confined to public holidays and even then, not always.

This schedule effectively means that I will miss lots of blockbusters ... the 2012 movie showing being one of them. I thought it would't be that bad since I had borrowed a DVD version, but it turned out to be a dud.

I'm Dud

Fortunately the Gods of All Things Cinematic (Oh yeah, its a real deity alright! Talking loudly during a movie will ensure you get crappy front row seats for the next few movies you attend...that sort of thing) has decided to step in and show some mercy. When my wife found out that 2012 will be showing in a test run to the opening of the new GSC at Suria Sabah, we jumped at the chance.

It may have been a long time in coming, but well appreciated nevertheless. You know what the best part is?

It's free! Heheh.

Pano for iPhone

2010-05-12T11:59:00.007+08:00

I'm pretty sure that I'll be bored with the iPhone one day. Its always the case with technology, something will render it obsolete sooner or later. Not now though, I'm still having loads of fun with it. Got myself the Pano app over the weekend. (Please click on the pics for a larger view)

Putting the app through its paces

Sundays at the gym, that's one of the reason why I like to go at that time. You can set all the treadmills at the same speed then run all the way from the first one on the left to the last one on the right by treadmill-hopping.

Mixing Pano and Macro - Pacro!

This app makes me taller too!

Why My Mom Is Great

2010-05-09T16:46:00.002+08:00

Does your mom brush her teeth with the same toothbrush she uses to scrub the toilet? WELL MINE DOES! BEAT THAT!

Ok, I have to explain that was my fault. My sis was hospitalized and my mom sent my dad home to get supplies for her to spend the night there. My job was to grab her toothbrush. Well, we were in a rush... and...er...it was a toothbrush.LOL.

Good thing moms are forgiving. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

It's Been A Year

2010-05-05T12:29:00.005+08:00

A year has passed since I've gotten married. Sharing your life with someone means a life of compromise, a need to embrace new responsibilities and shed some old habits.

One of those habits that immediately got axed was my unhealthy snacks. Within minutes of officially moving into our home after our wedding, my wife did a stock check of the supplies in the kitchen. She found some packets of instant noodles, (bought by my family members who stayed over at my place for the duration of the wedding in Kota Kinabalu) said 'Don't eat this stuff - its not good for your health' as she placed it into a black plastic bag that was destined for the dustbin.

I wouldn't say I really love to eat instant noodles. It falls under what you call the 'comfort food' category - easy satisfaction and cheap thrills. I do however like to eat my mi goreng in a very specific way.

-----Ted's Mi Goreng Special(TMGS)-----

1) Mi-Goreng - 3 packets

Indomie/Ibumie/ Mi Sedaap all ok- but not Cintan, somehow the taste doesn't go well with the third ingredient in this list.

2) Eggs - 2 of them

When the noodles are almost done, crack two eggs in and just let the egg whites cook quickly. I like to leave the yolks runny, so later when you drain the noodles, you break the yolks and let it run all over the noodles.

3) Cheese - 3 slices

Then you add the cheese slices into the still hot noodles (with the runny yolk) and let it melt thoroughly. Ohhh~ *salivating*

---------------------

That's like what... 1300+ kcals there? I usually like to have the TMGS a few times a week, and mostly as supper after work late at night. This is one of the reasons why I ballooned to 85kg at one point.

Its been a year since I've last had the TMGS, but I can still remember exactly how it tastes like. While shopping for groceries last weekend on our anniversary, I did suggest we get a packet of instant noodles...for old times sake. My wife gave me a look that would have re-frozen all the polar ice caps. *shudders*

Maybe next year la...

Take Your Meds

2010-04-30T12:19:00.004+08:00

There are many people who refuse to take medicines. I have a customer that comes very frequently to check her blood pressure. As far as I remember her reading has never dipped below 150/90. Initially, my advise for her was to meet with her doctor as soon as possible. After many times, she just refuses to listen. Nowadays, after she finds out what her reading is, she runs away before I say another word. -.-"

This sort of thing is common. If she refuses to help herself, I won't lose sleep over what she decides to do with her health. Unfortunately, I have a close friend who has the same predicament and is equally as ignorant with her health.

Having been diagnosed with hypertension by at least a few doctors a year ago (yes she has had many second opinions done already), she still believes she can get by without blood pressure meds. Frighteningly, her pressure hovers around the 170/100 range. She complains frequently of headaches and eye pain.

I've had many talks with her regarding this. I've tried reasoning with her, warning her of the risks she is taking. Such a high pressure in her system is damaging her organs on a daily basis. She has even taken care of a bedridden family member who has had a stroke - witnessing firsthand the distress and all. So you can say she is pretty well versed in all this. She knows what she is going up against but still decides to treat herself with 'herbs.' It has reached a point where anything more I say will constitute nagging.

A few days back she had such a terrible headache that she could not walk. She vomited in the car on the way to the clinic. The clinic visit revealed what she knew was wrong with her. The doctor tried to admit her to a nearby hospital but he was valiantly turned down. She went home and watched National Geographic.

The Unfinished Portrait

Former US President Franklin Roosevelt famously complained of a 'terrific headache' during a portrait session before he slumped forward in his chair and died of a stroke shortly after. The painting was never finished. I fear my friend may be willingly walking down this path as well. There's really nothing more I can do short of force feeding her the medications . I've considered putting blood pressure medications in her food...but that will mean I have to follow her around daily with a bottle of crushed Norvascs. Worse still she if she credits her improving stats to the 'herbs' which obviously don't work.

Please, all of you who have been prescribed medications, do take them. It would be very foolish to do so otherwise. You can play around with your money all you want, but don't neglect your health. The next words I say to my friend may be a 'I told you so' besides her hospital bed. Even then she may not recognize me anymore.

Yoga's Killing Me

2010-04-27T11:19:00.005+08:00

Or to be more specific, my wardrobe.

Right in between the family jewels section

This is the second pair of pants I've had to retire recently - and I suspect due to the body contorting acts I endured during yoga. I probably still can wear it in public, provided I walk tightly and real cautiously. Notwithstanding the title of this post, I still think yoga is very beneficial. Time to shop around for new gym clothes soon then.

Another good news, this is the last of the Vincent clothes! Ever since the dobi somehow chose to address me as Vincent (despite my laundry receipt having the name TED), I've been living in Vincent's pants, literally that is. Now Ted can finally really be Ted. Bye Vincent!

Macro Photography on iPhone

2010-04-19T13:21:00.005+08:00

The iPhone 3GS has a pretty decent camera. Given the fact that is is also a phone means that more often than not whenever I want to snap a picture, this is the only camera that I have on me.

If you are into macro photography, there is a very cheap solution for you to get the most out of your iPhone (or any other phones too). All you need to get is a pocket magnifier/jeweler's loupe.

Jeweler's Loupe 30x21mm

The normal rules for taking macro photography will apply here as well. That is :

1) Keep your hands steady. Any movement you make will be multiplied many times over through the lens. Hold your breath before you take the shot.

Mealybugs

2) Make sure you are in a well lit area. Usually taking macro photographs with your phone will involve you (and your phone) to be very close with the subject you are taking. This will sometimes block the light source and make the picture either very dark or grainy. Try to move around a bit and let the light shine favorably on your subject if you want to shoot without lighting aids.

3) Holding a magnifier before the camera lens is similar to manual focusing on a macro lens mounted on a DSLR. There is a sweet spot you have to be on the lookout for. It is a very thin margin between the subject being in focus and total blurring. Be patient and perservere. It gets easier with practice.

Lastly, remember to have fun! You can take a macro of almost anything you want! Even if they are not safe for public viewing...

Merseyside Bankers

2010-04-14T12:00:00.004+08:00

Liverpool FC has recently unveiled their new home kit for the 2010/2011 season featuring their new shirt sponsor Standard Chartered. It is similar to the shirt won by the championship winning team in 1990 (hopefully this is not the only way they are thinking of improving the squad after a dismal season). 'Oh we wear the same kit...so we can win the league next season'... righhhttt

Over the years Liverpool FC has been synonymous with Carlsberg. Their partnership dates back to 1992 and such a tenure creates a feeling of attachment and nostalgia. I was quite disappointed when Standard Chartered were taking over from Carlsberg...until I realised how much more StanChart were going to pay.

Under the old agreement with Carlsberg, Liverpool got a paltry £7 million pounds a season. Their peers were getting:

Chelsea - £50 million for 5 years with Samsung (£10million/season)

Man Utd - £54 million for 4 years with AIG (£13.5 million/season)

Tottenham - £34 million for 4 years with Mansion House (£8.5 million/season)

Let's talk home loans and interest rates

StanChart's deal costs £80 million over 4 years, bringing in the much needed £20 million each season to the debt ridden owners. Its a lucky thing they signed this last year before Liverpool bombed in the league, heheh. I doubt they will ever get this amount if it were being negotiated now.

As for Carlsberg and all the nostalgia? Nahh... long forgotten. Cash is king.

What's In Your Water? - Six Degrees of Lipitor

2010-04-09T11:16:00.004+08:00

A couple of years back, I recall a conversation I had with a friend regarding the many cases of ovarian cysts among our female friends - with some of them requiring surgery.

'I tell you, there's something in the water!' he said...

Well it seems he was right. There really is something in the water. It may or may not be the actual cause of the above mentioned predicament, but then again no one knows at the moment how it affects us. So what is in your water?

It has been discovered that drug residues are increasingly being present in the water supplies in the US. How did it get there?

1) Flushing your unwanted medications in the toilet or emptying the syrups into your kitchen sink.

2) Peeing. What goes in must come out - and some drugs are excreted in the urine almost unchanged chemically, so its just like step 1.

3) Bathing and showering. Imagine lathering on steroid and antibiotic ointments during the day and then washing them off during a shower. Previously a lesser known contributing factor, a recent article is bringing awareness to this route of contamination.

A partial list of the drugs found include birth control pills, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, tranquilizers, antibacterials, antipsychotics, ACE inhibitors, nitroglycerin, steroids, ibuprofen and caffeine.

You may think 'Oh this doesn't affect me, since I have the latest water filtration gadget that costs a kajillion dollars at home and my family drinks exclusively from it.' Do remember that the meat you eat didn't have the luxury of drinking that water when it was still moving. Neither do the vegetables that go on your dinner plate, I doubt if anyone will use Diamond water for their livestock or crops.

So how has it affected us? The worrying thing is that no one can say for sure yet. More research will be needed before a definite conclusion can be drawn. It has however, created a new breed of Fishy-Gagas.

In the 1970s, scientists began detecting pharmaceutical residue in waterways, but in an era when rivers were choking on industrial sludge, traces of drugs seemed a small matter. It would take until the 1990s for that view to change. That was when pharmaceutical estrogens, principally from birth control pills, began showing up in the water too, leading to male fish with androgynous sex organs. Scarily, it did not take much estrogen to affect the fish — just 5 or 6 nanograms, or billionths of a gram, per liter of lake water

Sounds frightening eh? I'm not sure how stringent the testing of water quality is in Malaysia, but I'm guessing this will be a bigger issue in the future.

iPhone Comes To Digi

2010-04-03T12:25:00.009+08:00

Digi has caused lots of speculation and anticipation since it first announced that it will be selling the iPhone quite a while back.

Digi announced its packages two days ago and those who were hoping for an iPhone price war have been greatly disappointed. If you had been following the local iPhone forums, you would have known that Apple strictly controls the pricing of the phone itself and the only thing left for the telcos to fight over will be over their subscription plans. In fact the only way to reduce the price of the iPhone - and we have to do this together - is to convince Encik Leher-Penyu that we don't want what he's selling.

Encik Leher-Penyu explaining how all our wallets are belong to him

Think about it. That's the reason why there are clearance sales. It's not that nobody wants the products but rather not many people are willing to fork out the cash for the retail price, but if it were sold for less...they may just be convinced to get it. So even though we cry and have vivid wet dreams at night over the iPhone, when Encik L-P with his Levi501 blue jeans walks up on stage and shows us his latest gimmick, we look him in the eyes and say 'Hah! We're not buying one.' Encik L-P will be negatively affected by this given his health considerations and will decide to relent and sell the iPhone cheap cheap till they are as worthless as Po Chai Pills.

Ok so that will not work. In a stare out game with Apple, I blinked first and bought myself the iPhone. I am at your mercy, master...I'm not worthy... Yes master? The iPad? Ok I'll order three now...

Big Brother's Watching

2010-03-31T11:29:00.005+08:00

The delivery service at Amazon.com has always lived up to my expectations. Yes, I always choose the cheapest option, which in turn takes quite a while for the book to reach me, but I don't mind. However, the latest package took a couple of weeks longer than the stipulated time. When it arrived it looked like it just barely survived a journey in a Toyota.

Not so virgin package

The culprit

So Big Brother is the cause for this delay and mess heh? This is the first time I've heard of KKDN (Kementerian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri) and the first time I've had one of my packages opened by them. I imagine there must be this group of people sitting in a room opening packages and reading other people's books and touching people's things? Sounds like a dream job! Note to self : Never buy lingerie or underwear online.

A Time for War

2010-03-26T12:49:00.004+08:00

WARNING: PLEASE DON'T READ THIS POST RIGHT BEFORE YOUR MEALTIMES. COME BACK AGAIN AFTER YOU'RE FULL. BUT NOT TOO FULL - YOU MAY HAVE TO CLEAN UP YOUR KEYBOARD...

Almost 2 years have gone by since we've caught any rats. Though we hardly see the nocturnal pests, they leave behind their wastes to remind us that they had a blast while we were away. Rat glues were set but they did not fall for it this time. The steel cage fared no better.

We were told to adhere to strict rules while preparing the traps - that is you must never ever under any circumstances make any obvious reference to it. Words like 'rats', 'mouse', 'tikus' are forbidden. So we called it 'our friend'. Somehow I think it figured this out too and they didn't bite.

So we gave up. Since they were able to hear us, we verbally told the rats not to disturb our stocks and we won't disturb them. Miraculously for over a year, our stocks went unharmed. Sure, we had to clean up their feces and urine but occasionally they showed some affection and brought over Kit-Kats and Smarties (which we don't sell). Paying their rent maybe... how cute.

Our contract grew sour when they began to make more of a presence. Our stocks were still unharmed, but their colony grew to a stage that our shop reeked of their smell and I truly understood what the phrase 'I smell a rat' meant. So we were forced to act.

Kit-Kats and chicken wings

The hungry fella

Almost immediately, they retaliated.

So we retaliated too...

Seems they've bitten more of my stocks this morning. My staff summed up my thoughts by saying 'Maybe we should let them be and don't kacau them again?' Hmm... maybe, but not without a fight this time. These rodents should be put in their proper place and know who's the boss here. Then after that we can negotiate a re-settlement project or something. Go bother the bakery next door or something!

Food Chain Haiku

2010-03-23T12:05:00.004+08:00

In this game called Life

Nature conveys its bias

Lucky predators!

Power clouds judgements

As moss ravages concrete

How the tables turn!

Weekend Getaway

2010-03-17T12:16:00.002+08:00

It is interesting to note that there aren't any public holidays in March. So we decided to utilize our complimentary voucher for a night's stay at the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Beach Resort and give ourselves some time off.

This was the very same venue where we held our wedding dinner a year ago and the service provided by the team at the hotel impressed us very much (In fact, they were so much in demand that when we attended a wedding dinner at an auspicious date here last year, we got lost trying to look for the correct venue. A manager found us wandering aimlessly and took us to the correct venue. We were told they were hosting six wedding dinners that night!) This time round, they were able to match that top notch service again.

A handwritten welcome card found in the fruit basket

L'Occitane Toiletries!

Our stay was a brief one but we've managed to squeeze as much into it as humanly possible.We hit the gym, played some tennis (or rather spent most of the time picking up balls), did some swimming, roasted in the steam bath and the sauna, simmered in the jacuzzi and had a great 5 star buffet breakfast. The only thing that we failed at was getting access to the Wii consoles at the Kid's Club - our impersonations of 10 year olds failed spectacularly.

The view from our patio

What a weekend it has been! If you have any more complimentary vouchers Mr Andrew Steele, please don't hesitate to send it my way. You know how to contact me, heheh.

Manliness +5

2010-03-12T11:48:00.008+08:00

Its almost been one year to the day where I moved in to my house and I must say that we've been blessed not to have any major faults with our home. A streak like that is unlikely to go on forever anyway and it became a question of how soon before I had to break out the 'oh-still-very-virgin-toolbox.' I didn't have to wait long.

The master bedroom light refused to switch on yesterday morning as I prepared for work. I have changed light bulbs before, so there was probably nothing much to this one. At least that's what I thought.

As we walked in to the lighting shop where we bought most of our stuff from, my wife suggested testing whether it was really the fluorescent tube that was at fault to which the shopkeeper obliged. Much to my chagrin, it lit perfectly. So the shopkeeper deduced that the transformer (at least that's what I think he said) was at fault and suggested I replace it.

Mr Optimus Prime

When I saw what a transformer was, I was a bit worried. Those two dangly bits you see on the left side means that I have to connect them to the live and the neutral wires, something that I've never done before. I asked for as much advice I could before leaving, but as I reached home, I realised that I forgot to ask if I needed to ensure the current for the entire room needed to be turned off.

Hmm, maybe I should wear rubber gloves? Since that will be good insulation...but I don't have any. Rubber slippers? Zilch. I decided (correctly) to just go ahead and rewire it since the light switch was turned off anyway and that meant no current was flowing through.

The whole thing was a piece of cake really. Heheh. Having stepped out of my comfort zone and succeeding in my mission was a milestone for me.

TED

Total Experience Points Gained : +10

Repair Skills: +5

Manliness Rating : +5

Until it failed to work again this morning...

#$%@

TED

Total Experience Points: -5

Repair Skills: -2

Manliness Rating: -7

Well its back to Mr Handyman after I get off work tonight. I hope I wouldn't have to summon a Mr Fred Fixit from the Night Shift.

A Brush with the Law

2010-03-06T12:10:00.004+08:00

As I was driving home after a long day at work yesterday, I called up my wife to let her know I was coming back and bade her good night as she wanted to retire to bed earlier. Now I've made the same kind of call countless times throughout the years and they last no longer than a couple of seconds. This few seconds last night were different though, because a patrol car just happened to overtake me and caught me with my hands up (holding the phone that is). What are the odds of that?

Unfortunately I must be honest and say that I've never had a pleasant experience with our men in blue before. I've made 3 police reports in the past (two robberies and one pickpocketing) and talking to them was like being in the presence of a god. At least thats what they think they are and to remind you of that they will be unnecessarily intimidating at intervals when they feel their god-o-meter rating is slipping.

So you can imagine all this negative emotions racing through my mind as the two officers walked towards my car. Mr Sergeant opened my driver's car door gave me a big smile and said 'Good evening!' Mr L/Cpl walked around my vehicle...I guess trying to be wary in case I tried to be funny. I stepped out of the car, handed my licence and ID over when Mr Sergeant asked for it politely.

Since the two officers were really in a jovial and polite mood, I reciprocated and smiled all the way. I admitted that I was at fault and asked them for forgiveness. THEN, I WASN'T PREPARED FOR WHAT HAPPENED NEXT...

Mr Sergeant turned into Uncle Sergeant mode!!!

1) Uncle Sergeant told me he was concerned with many people who drive while talking on handphones and the accident rates speak for themselves. He advised me to get a hands free kit or if really necessary just pull over, put on the signal and take the call. He asked me how many kids I had, and to think of my loved ones should anything happen to me.

2) Uncle Sergeant shouted at Mr L/Cpl to write up a lenient sentence for me since I was a gentleman, admitted my wrong and he told me he had the right to do so. So my ticket actually states that I failed to produce my licence (which was a maximum of RM50 fine). Had I been 'kurang ajar' he said he would have whacked me with the 'using the handphone while driving' offence which would have been up to RM300. I guess asking to be let off would have been pushing it a bit.

3) Uncle Sergeant proceeded to give me some tips on how I can get a discount for the RM50 when I go to the balai -.-" Seriously.

4) Uncle Sergeant, Mr L/Cpl and I shook hands, wished each other farewell and a safe drive to our destination.

To their credit, at no point in the entire episode did they try to solicit any sort of bribe from me. Their advice was genuinely from their hearts and I could sense that they have a passion and pride for their jobs. A very rare breed of cops indeed! Yes there may be some rotten apples in the police force, but its very refreshing to have encountered these two officers. I will definitely remember these two men for the rest of my life and out of respect for Uncle Sergeant, I will definitely take his advice and not talk on the phone while driving again without a hands free.

Harvest

2010-03-02T14:36:00.003+08:00

A couple of months back, it was struggling to survive. And now...

Tadaa! Fresh from the harvest! I was expecting the tomatoes to sport a darker and deeper red than this, but it tastes just fine. As for the chili, it produces so much that we have to give a lot of it away. Just let me know if you want any, the next batch is coming soon. A word of warning though, it is VERY SPICY.

The Tiger Roars Back!...meekly

2010-02-20T12:33:00.004+08:00

If you happened to watch ESPN last night, you would have seen a live telecast of Tiger emerging from his solitude.

A lot of things have already been said about Tiger but can he recover from this seemingly deep pile of 'tahi' that he is in? I believe he can, and here's why I think so.

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1) Bill and Hillary Clinton

Bill Clinton is an exceptional man. He oozes so much charm and confidence that he makes Obama looks like an immensely shy and introverted teenager who still wets his bed. Unfortunately his scandal with Monica Lewinsky became his undoing as it brought a lot of controversy and eventually kickstarted impeachment proceedings.

Hillary about to administer a karate chop when Bill was eyeing some 'candy'

Aftermath - Bill and Hillary are still married. You can argue that there is of course no other way as a divorce will jeopardize Hillary's political career. Besides, these two have a synergistic combination that will be worthless if they went their own ways. Bill remained hugely popular after he left office, even more so after the voters suffered 8 years under the idiot that succeeded him.

2) John Terry and Toni Poole

John Terry was publicly disgraced after failing to secure a super injunction that prevented the press from publishing stories of his affair with underwear model Veronica Perroncel. So when the whole thing blew open and details were explosively released, JT lost his England captaincy and Toni took the kids to Dubai.
Aftermath - What part of Toni's face says 'I'm still damn pissed with you for cheating behind my back?' John may have lost the England captaincy but at Chelsea, he's still the top dog. However, its still early to say what long term implications this may have on his career but if he plays his cards well, it will fall to his favour.

3) David Letterman and Regina Lasko

In October last year, David announced on his show that he was being blackmailed regarding his alleged affairs with the subordinates on his show. He also confirmed that the allegations were true.
Aftermath - David publicly apologized to his wife and stated that he has his work cut out for him. His ratings did not seem to be negatively affected by the scandal but on the contrary boosted it slightly.

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I'm not saying its alright to cheat on your spouse, let's be clear on that. However, I think Tiger can draw some lessons from some of these men. All these men may have erred, but they are good in what they do. Despite all the mess in their personal lives, when they are doing their jobs they are among the best in the world.

Tiger needs to be seen saying the right words and doing the right things from now. And once he comes back to the golf course and does what he does best (on the golf course I mean) all will be forgiven. Everybody loves a winner despite all the imperfections. This is the year of the Tiger after all.