I've Hit 100k

Its 100,000 and going.

At 11.31 a.m today (31st July 2009) this blog hit 100k. Thanks to all visitors that made this happens.

Going To My NPL Today

The Xperienceoflife has 99988 hits now and 12 more to go. I was expecting will hit the mark on 1st or 2nd August when I am in Malacca for the 4th Circuit of My NPL tournament at Dataran Palhawan. It was basedon an average 100 hits per day. But this morning when I checked the stats meter is has already surpass the halfway mark 0f 99900 hits. So I am assuming that it will be 100kby today.

Today I will be leaving for Malacca with my team- Yakuza. We are hoping to do the best in this tournament and hoping to make it to the podium but to put such a high goal will put us into more pressure. We know that there teams who had been making the podium since the first tournament and to be with them might be an uphill task but we brush that aside since paintball is not just tactical but the element of luck is in it too.

Why I say luck plays some role in determining the winner. Even though paintball is a subjective sport where paint marks eliminate the player but base on experience I was called 'OUT!!" on two occasions during the first tournament. On both occasions the paint mark on me was not from hits by my opponents but paintballs scattered on the ground. I do protest that I broke the pellets while sliding on the ground but the ref still count me as out. So as not to be unfair to my teammates, I walked out. Or else it will be a ONE to ONE and another player nearest to me will be pulled out too. Is that not luck?

Mini Olimpik Malaysia Officiated

The inaugural Mini Olimpik Malaysia was officially launched at MSN Mini Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight. The launching was officiated by Datuk Shabery Cheek, the Minister of Youth and Sports in a simple reception.

Athletes from eight sports during the opening ceremony

Oath taking ceremony led by National Archer Cheng Chu Sian

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters....S.T.R.

Remember the late Yasmin Ahmad passed away due stroke while she was at TV3? She had a clot in her head and passed out. She was sent to the hospital to have the clot removed but remain in coma until her last breath.

I was spring cleaning my Yahoo mail box and read this email from Cute Mails. I think I'd love to share with my visitors and readers.

This is the content of the email:

A nurse sent this and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can semember something this simple, we could save some folks. Seriously......Please read

STROKE IDENTIFICATION

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a littlefall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) but she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plateof food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6.00 pm Ingrid passed away). She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the sign of a stroke , perhapsIngrid would be with us today. Some don't die.....they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this.

A neurologistsaysthat if hecan get to a stroke victim within 3 hours,he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke.....totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Remember the THREE steps, STR.

Read and learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors says a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking THREE simple questions:

S Ask the individual to SMILE.

T Ask the person to TALK and speak a simple sentence (coeherently, e.g It is sunny out today)

R Ask him / her to RAISE both arms.

If he/she has trouble with any one of these tasks, call 999/911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New sign of a stroke: STICK OUT YOUR TONGUE. Ask the person to 'stick' out his/her tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke. A cardiologist says if you can spread this news, you might save some lives.

Smoke Free KL?

Vientiane, the capital of Laos will be host to the 25th Edition of SEA Games in December this year. I was browsing the SEA Games website and foud this good news.

We in Malaysia say if they can do it, why can't we. Now I am asking if Vientaine can become a smoke free city, why can't Kuala Lumpur?. Health is everybody's right. But his/her right is being sodomised (ooppssss) daily by inconsiderate people nearby. And one of them is smokers. I just couldn't think why most smokers are so inconsiderate to other people. They just light up when and where they like sending unhealthy toxic tainted smoke to innocent by standers around them.

I would become restless whenever at eating outlet and someone smokes. And worse still the smoke blowing into my direction. I will always hold my breathe until the smoke flow past or at times when the smoke keep coming in, I will curse silently because I have to turn away my head tp breathe. They are so inconsiderate.

So how nice if Kuala Lumpur can create a smoke free city too.

Picked the news below from HERE.

KPL) Vientiane Capital will become a smoking free area city by upcoming month.

The move is under the preparation which expects to be announced early this August, Vice Vientiane Mayor said.

The meeting on preparation for Vientiane to be the smoking free area city took place on 24 July under the chairmanship of Vice Vientiane Mayor, Mr Somvandy Nathavong who responsible for controlling the establishment of non-smoking area in Vientiane Capital.

Participants have discussed the way for cooperating in implementation of smoking free area in Vientiane Capital so as to welcome the upcoming 25th SEA Games and celebration of 450th anniversary of Vientiane Capital.

An official announcement to set up Vientiane Capital as a smoking free town is expected to be effect in August or September.

Smokers allow smoking in the specific areas and can not smoke inside public places including offices, restaurants, hotels, guesthouses, relevant agencies and other organization, he said.

The movement would be maintenance of Vientiane residents health and the environmental protection and pollution reduction in the Vientiane. Luang Prabang and Champassak provinces have already been become as smoking free areas.

26 Teaspoon of Sugar Daily

Thats the amount of sugar consumed by Malaysian daily on average. It was in 2005. This year we are ranked as the world's eight highest sugar user. Thats good mah.....after all with the Malaysia Boleh spirit, we want to be the best in the world. We want to be the first in everything. So when are we going to hit the worlds highest sugar user. I think this does not include sugar daddy and sugar mummies.

In the 70s,Malaysians only consumed17 teaspoons of sugar per person ber day. Consumer's Association of Penang is confident the number has increased this year because the figure of 26 teaspoons daily was in 2005.

Sugar is linked to 60 ailments such as cancer,diabetes, obesity, heart problems, osteoporosis, kidney problems, asthma and allergies. Malaysia also sits at a good ranking of having the fourth highest number ofdiabetics in Asia with 800,000 cases in 2007 and expected to increase to 1.3 million in 2010.

The Star HERE.

Going 100K

At the moment I write this post, Kennedy Western University Online visitor counter has recorded that 99483 visitors landed on this blog. So if517 more visitors hit this blog it will reach the 100,ooo mark. If the average of 100 visitors a day visits then by 2nd August, I might hit it. This coming 2nd August I might still be in Malacca to take part in the Fourth Curcuit of the My NPL paintball tournament.

The above draft was written last night (28th July) but I did not publish it because I can't upload a picture to the post. So I saved it. The problem was Blogger could not upload the pictures even after 1 hour of waiting. And that was using P1 Wimax supposedly no jam on the highway but it turn up to be just a jungle track full of thorns.

This morning I am using Maxis Broadband (lucky still not barred cos did not pay this month bill yet, LOL). When I check counter is is already showing 99529.

If I really hit 100k mark on that day (or earlier) it will be more sweeter if my team Yakuza too can make it to the podium. Just like the what the picture below depicts (posted it on My Sport). The can drink will surely be sweet even if there's no sugar in it. Hahahahaha.........

However, I might already hit that mark if I were to place the counter from day one, I created this blog on 4th May 2006 with this posting. To all visitors who drop by, thank you for making the number.

Squash CIMB Malaysian Open

Dato' Nicol will play today (28/7/09) at 6.15 p.m.

Venue National Squash Stadium

Bukit Jalil

FREE Entrance

Al Fatihah To Late Yasmin Ahmad

CONDOLENCE

Al Fatihah to her soul

Yasmin Ahmad passaed away at Damansara Specialist Hospital at 11.25 p.m.

Tribute to Allahyarhamah Yasmin Ahmad.

The entertainment industry lost another talented producer. The blogging world too lost another blogger this month after Ancient Mariner.

Allahyarhamah's Blog

The Storyteller

Her last post, A song of longing I'm hoping to use a for the ending in Wasurenagusa. The storyteller, Part 2. I can't understand the meaning. Maybe someone can translate the lyric and reveal her feelings through this song.

Again Al Fatihah

picture credit The Star and The storyteller

The Last Training

Today was our last paintball training in the run up to My NPL in Malacca next week. As usual I was worn down due to the intensity of the activities. Even though tired during the training, I found out that my fitness level had improved a bit. I could manage to jog around the field during the warming up. I am glad that I took paintball (maybe by accident) since it forces me to put on my jogging shoes and track bottom.

Paintball is not for those with low aerobic level. The need to move fast and swift from bunker to bunker needs the anaerobic energy system within the aerobic base. Why a players gets breathless easily is due to the adrenalin rush on one hand and the facemask pressing on the nostril reduce the amount of oxygen inhaled. This is also backed up by the part of the mask covering the mouth. So in order to play better paintball, one need to build both the aerobic and anaerobic energy system. To build this one has to leave the paintball field. It is to be done seperately as an activity by itself. I once overheard a paintball player at ASTAKA commenting a few rugby players who were jogging around the recreation track and he said, "If I were to ask to jog like them, I'll stop playing paintball." OMG, for someone involved in sports building the aerobic endurance is considered compulsory.

Aerobic endurance is the base for all sporting activities. When a player cannot cope up with his aerobic endurance, his performance will deteroirate. His mental toughness will get shaky and this will result in loss of concentration. Worse still it is a risk to injury.

Compared to the first few training sessions, I was flat out even before I reach home and the next morning the muscle will be aching especially the hamstring and gastrocnemius.

After the training today, and after reaching home, I still have the energy to go out to Bukit Jalil Sports Complex to witness the effort but up by a few NGOs and Kementerian Belia dan Sukan to be listed in Malaysia Book of Guiness Record as the largest car gathering in Malaysia. Thats why I consider that my fitness level has improved. Fitness can be defined as the capacity to carry out the day's activitiesmeans to be able to carry out the activities of the day and without undue fatigue and at the end of the day still have the energy to meet emergency stuations.

However it will be just nice at this time to go for a massage like this.

Its Paintball All The Way

From this week onward, it will be paintball all the way for me. This is my mental preparation for the coming My NPL to be held at Dataran Pahlawan in Malacca. The ground will be of good turf. Hope it is real grass not artificial turf. Reason? we have been training on real grass and our body movement is adapted to it. So, if we are going to play on artifical ground, the body will have to do some more adaptation.

Tomorrow there will be my last training with my team Yakuza at ASTAKA in Petaling Jaya. I have never played elsewhere ever since playing this sport so I can't compare the venues. However what I can say is that seasoned players who train there were not stingy with technical and tactical advice. We will always get comments to improve our skills. Expecially those from Delta Rovers. Eventhough we did not ask for tips, they were ever willing to provide some. Thats the beauty of training at ASTAKA.

As I mentioned earlier its paintball from now until the My NPL in early August. Playing in a tournament is not recreational anymore as compared to training. Tournament is all about results; whether it outcome or performance. For my team I think we need outcome. We are gearing to end up on the podium. Ending on the podium means automatic upgrading to Division 3 in 2010. Being on the podium too does not mean just prize but status. It means indirectly gaining respect from opponents in future tournament. It will mean some psychological advantage for us in future because the element of confidence of winning seeps in.

Yes, I want to get the taste of being a winner. My playing years is not much due to my age. So, once in my playing life, I want to feel how it is like to step on the podium.

Winning is a matter of mindset and perseverance. A player has to set up the mind (mental skill) with a positive winning attitude. If he want to win, his whole body will work to win.

I would like to share the philosophies to Teamwork and Leadership by Jimson Lee who posted his article in speedendurance.com. Read the details on the website.

1) Find the right player

2) Give each player a valued role - everybody is important.

3) Create a unique identity to the team (Yes!!!!! we are The Yakuza)

4) Commit to winning.

5) Give them a vision

6) Play / work with passion.

One way of preparing the mind is to visualize. Sit back in a relax position and visualize yourself in the game. How you move, where you move, who to eliminate or bunkered? Move from one bunker to another and eliminate. Study the field and plan the move in your mind. Visualization is one of the important exercise in preparation for competition . It is part of training that provide not only competitive edge but also renewed mental awareness and sense of well-being.

For the last few nights, I have been downloading video clips from You Tube and will be using those to help me visualize the technical moves and tactical moves from experienced players especially those from European and US including tutorial video clips. Watching, remembering and memorising the moves will help a player during the game in terms of providing manipulative information that he might be able to pick and use in the game situation.

The mind has to be set from now on.

mini Olimpik Malaysia

National SportsCouncil is hosting the inaugural mini Olimpik from 29 July to 9 August 2009 in Kuala Lumpur. Read More............

Who's The Real Jacko - ITS HOAX!!

Updated. Thanks maRCus for highligthing the situation. Now dear visitors go and read this hoax if you have free time to spare.

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/michael-jackson-dead.html

Get this in my email and I think it is worth sharing. However there is no URL link to the source of the story. So I just copy and paste the content from my email.

Who is the real Jacko?

Is this real????

SANTA BARBARA, CA -During a search for evidence at the Neverland Valley Ranch, investigators discovered a corpse that has been identified as that of Michael Jackson, Santa Barbara police officials announced Tuesday. "Coroners have officially pronounced Michael Jackson dead. From what we can tell, he died between 18 and 20 years ago," forensic investigator Tim Holbrooke said. "We are not certain, at this time, who-or what-has been standing trial in that Santa Maria courthouse." According to Holbrooke, Jackson 's corpse was buried just inches below a stretch of the miniature-train tracks that run throughout Neverland. The largely desiccated corpse wore the remains of a red, zipper-covered leather jacket and a single glove. "We positively identified the body as Jackson by his dental records and DNA," Holbrooke said. "But even before we conducted a single forensic test, we began to suspect that that we'd uncovered the real Michael, and that the disturbing figure claiming to be Jackson was a fake ." Holbrooke said that, although the corpse was in an advanced stage of decomposition, when investigators compared the body to early-career publicity photos of Jackson , they saw a striking resemblance in bone structure and facial features. But when they compared the body to photos taken after 1987, the resemblance was negligible. "This discovery raises a lot of questions, but it also sheds light on a number of disturbing incidents," Holbrooke said. "Frankly, Jackson had been acting pretty strange." Above: Investigators move Jackson 's body, found buried at Neverland Ranch (above). Forensic experts and music critics are postulating that Jackson was dead before the release of the multi-platinum album Bad. Detectives are currently analyzing the lyrics to "Man In The Mirror" for any clues relating to a look-alike entity that many suspect murdered the youngest member of the Jackson 5 and assumed his identity. "We believe that Neverland served as some sort of freakishly whimsical tomb constructed by Jackson 's killer," Holbrooke said. "We also suspect that all of the iniquities that occurred on that ranch were the work of the imposter. I wouldn't have ever thought it possible, but we are looking at a situation where the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old cancer patient is the tip of the iceberg." Holbrooke said that, while the living Jackson is the leading suspect in the murder investigation, he "could be another victim of some sort." "Basically, we have no idea what type of creature we are dealing with," Holbrooke said. A member of the investigative team that discovered Jackson 's body described the experience as "otherworldly." "As we neared the perimeter of Neverland, the dogs started whining and howling like crazy," Santa Barbara County detective Frank Poeller said. "We had to pull them into the house. When we got to Jackson 's bedroom, one of them almost choked himself to death on his leash trying to get out through the window. Minutes later, the same dog led us to the corpse." A representative from Jackson 's self- created label, MJJ Productions, said he was not surprised to find out that the current Jackson is an imposter. "When we were recording 'Heal The World' for Dangerous, I could tell something was terribly, terribly wrong," MJJ manager Luke Allard said. "Michael didn't seem like himself anymore. He'd demand bizarre food and sit for hours in a hyperbaric chamber. His appearance began to become more and more peculiar. Soon afterwards, he started wearing a mask and confiding in a chimpanzee." "I remember thinking, 'This man has become a monster,'" Allard said. "If only I'd known how right I was." Above: The creature that claims to be Michael Jackson. Allard said he thinks that the imposter broke ties with Jackson 's former friends and surrounded himself with children who were too young to notice the radical change. Vanity Fair reporter Beth Pither visited Neverland in 1994. "A strangely fearful staff member led me to Jackson , but ran off before I opened the door," Pither said. "Standing there with my hand on an ice-cold doorknob, I heard strange, unnatural sounds-leathery wings flapping, a sorrowful wail, and loud hissing. A wave of dread passed through me as I opened the door, but all I found was Michael and some kids in pajamas eating ice cream and watching 101 Dalmatians." While their claims have not been corroborated, other Neverland visitors have reported that when when Jackson entered a room, lights flickered, faucets ran blood-red, and screams escaped from the walls. To aid in the investigation, the FBI enlisted Dr. Richard Weingarden, a noted expert on the paranormal from UC Santa Barbara. After only two hours, Weingarden abandoned the project. "The smell of sulfur, the decaying facial features, the bizarrely high-pitched voice-it sounds exactly like..." Weingarden said, trailing off. "I'm sure it's nothing. Not a big deal. Nothing to be terrified about, certainly. I have to go. I've got a family." Thomas Sneddon, the prosecutor in Jackson 's child-molestation lawsuit, said it remains to be seen how the shocking discovery will affect the trial. Megan Gustafson, who left her post as presid ent of the Akron , OH Michael Jackson Fan Club after the singer was accused of molestation, offered a positive view of the grisly revelation. "This is very disturbing news," Gustafson said. "But to be honest, it's kind of a relief too. Thriller and Off The Wallare really amazing records. Now I can pull them out of my 'ruined by child abuse' storage bin and start listening to them again."

Thailand: Land Of Smile

Thailand is graced with Land of Smile because of the smile of their beautiful fair ladies and the beautiful ladyboys ever popular at the tourist resort beach in Pattaya. However negative reports of scams and corruption among uniform personnel is nothing to be surprised about. Malaysians who use to cross the borderinto Thailand has been paying 'forced bribe' since time unknown.

Everybody who cross the border into Thailand with a valid travel document has to pay the so called petition writer stationed at booth set up just before the immigration booth. These petition writers who were not uniformed will register the travel document with a sum of fee. If you don't want to pay, he will just ignore you and you are not going to get your document stamped from the Immigration officer. Don't you think that is bribery? Just imagine how much money the officers gets daily from thousands tourist who enter Thailand at border towns. That is just bribe of the lowest form.

Mahaguru posted in his blog a case of Suvarnabhumi International Airport scam involving two British IT expert , Stephen Ingrim and Xi Lin. They were accused of shoplifting a wallet from a duty free shop. When the Thai authority approached them to check their baggage for the supposedly shoplifted wallet, their ordeal starts. Read the story HERE as reported in BBCNews.

Sometimes ago I received an email from a friend relating the same modus operandi scam also at the same airport. That scam involves Malaysian tourist to Bangkok. The incident also begins at the Duty Free shop. Read about it at If You Go To Thailand.

The two indicents might only be the tip of the iceberg. Phuket Wan has more to tell.

Just sit back and ponder. If you or any of your relatives or friend were to be the unlucky victim of the scam, how much help can you get from the Thai enforcement authorities when they themselves are part of the plot. Whichever way it goes the victim will still be the cucumber while the Thai authorities are the durian.

I have no intention whatsoever to scare tourist to Thailand or to spoil tourism to the Land of Smile but, just to share and warn about what others had been experiencing when travelling to foreign countries. It will take ages to clean up dirty tactics like corruption because it is already part of a lifestyle just like in Malaysia. However the government has to take serious action to safeguard and respect tourist since their visit helps the economy of the country.

A reader who visited my blog left a comment on my blog exposing that her husband too was a victim to such scam but happens in Medan, Indonesia.

This is what she posted in the comment; Suami saya menerima nasib yang hampir sama, tapi di Medan. Dia meringkuk di penjara selama lebih kurang 6 bln (?). Berpuluh ribu RM terpaksa dibayar kepada polis, negotiator dan juga hakim dalam usaha membebaskan beliau.

Malangnya, walaupun telah beberapa tahun berlalu, paspotnya masih ditahan oleh PDRM?

Whipped For Consuming Alcohol

A model was fined RM5,000 and ordered whipped six time for consuming alcohol in public last year. The Star report stated that Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor, 32, from Sungai Siput, Perak was charged under Section 136 of the Pahang Administration of the IslamLaw and Malay Custom Enactment. The sentence was passed by The Syariah High Court in Kuantan.

She was accused of committing the offence of consuming beer at Cherating Bay Lounge, the Legend Hotel in Cherating.

I just wonder what the outcome of the sentence will be if she was sentenced for consuming alcohol in either Kedah or Kelantan.

In Memory of Blogger Ancient Mariner

CONDOLENCE

pic taken from hig blog The Ancient Mariner

I never knew him in personbut do visit and at time read his posting. Now he has been called back by the Almighty. Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya dan menghimpunkan Allahyarham bersama-sama orang yang beriman. Al-Fatihah.

Miri City Fan

The only place that I visited while in Miri for 6 days is the Miri City Fan. The reason is because the garden is situated on the way from the hotel I am staying to Miri Stadium.

Miri City Fan is a fan shaped urban civic park comprising about 26 acres located near the hub of sports activities in Miri. The public swimming pool, Miri Stadium, Mini Stadium, Paintball arena are all within walking distance from the fan. See what I saw HERE.

Roti Canai Teh Tarik In The News

Teh Tarik and Roti Canai...........................

Pics credit to The Star online.

This is not about my blog but coincidently has the same name with this blog.

Its about just having One Ringgit Malaysia, you can have a light breakfast in line with the norm of typical Malaysian breakfast. A piece of roti canai costs RM 0.40 and a glass of teh tarik RM 0.60. Now this restaurant is proving to all mamak stalls and restaurant in the whole country that you can still make profit with that meagre price of food.

Ukhwah Restoran Rakyat 1Malaysia at Lorong MedanTuanku Satu, Kuala Lumpur will definitely get full support from customers especially in this time of economic downturn. They have already create shivers among mamak restaurant who sent the operator clear message to "maintain the market price". Thumbsup for the operator who exposedthe actual price of the favourite Malaysian breakfast food and those mamak roti canai sellers had been doing cut throat business because customers have no choice.

However there will be a steback for restuarant in the near future. Those mamak restaurants around the area will do something put the Ukhwah Restoran in bad light and maybe in bad shape. It affect their business.

This exposure should open the eyes of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Ministry that the mamak stalls have been doing cut throat business at the the consent of consumers. Now the government can't give another excuse of flour price increase to keep the roti canai at its present price of between RM 0.80 and RM 1.00. If Ukhwah Restoran can still make a 20 cent profit by selling it at RM 0.40, why not decrease the standard priceof roti canai then.

Now with this news read also how much I paid for a plain roti canai in Miri, last week.

@ KL Central Waiting

waiting at KL Central. Switced on thelaptop to try reload my prepaid using Cimbclicks but OMG, service is temporarily unavailable. So, online transactions is not 24/7 as supposed to be.

Hownice now to see loading on my laptop is speedier compared when I was in Miri yesterday. Phewww!!!!. But wait till I go back home and use my P1 Wimax. I'll be stressed again. Hey! Control your stress!!!!!!. Oh ya.....now on Maxis Broadband. OKla middle of Klang Valley

Blogging In Miri - Airport

Sitting here at Miri Airport is my last day since arriving here on 12th July. Waiting for my Airasia flight back to KL at 8.45 p.m. Drafting and posting this blog from Starbuck at Miri Airport that provide Free WiFi. Before coming to this location, I tried to surf from another location, Mr Bean Restaurant on the first floor. There is signal from Starbucks but connection is poor. I tried using my Maxis Broadband too, there is network but problem logging on to the internet. So had abandoned the first location.

Concluding, this visit is not a fruitful one, in terms of blogging, since my intention to blog something new about Miri seems futile. I just do not know where to go and stayed most of the time in my room whenever I am free. Places of attraction seems do not motivate me to write about them anymore. Besides that, I have transportation problem.

The Grand Old Lady: I've seen her in both condition; her maiden contidion and her present condition. When I visited her in the 90s, it was in her original form and "unadulterated". A friend of mine took a handful of the oily soil to show to his students back home how soil at oil producing area look like. What a thougthful teacher he was.

Well, I visited the place again in 2007 and everything changed. The area surrounding the Granny were already landscaped and there is no more originality in a place that has historical value. No doubt the intention is good but from my opinion at least just keep the Granny and the soil around her in the original condition instead of covering it with pebbles and stones.

Deep in my heart I felt sad because future generation had lost the natural view of history.

Stayed at Mega Hotel and it is the most convenient place to be for visitors. I conclude this from my observation and experience. It is centrally located with easy access to banks. Just within 5 minutes walking distance there CIMB, Maybank, Overseas Union Bank, RHB Bank and just across the road is EON Bank. There is also a shopping complex within the building but not much choice for visitors except maybe for the convenience store opened 24 hours or you want to have Singapore Chicken Rice.

The hotel provide Free WiFi in all rooms besides lined connection. Since the signal is weak and signal drops so frequently, I requested for the lined connection which is also Free except that you have to pay a refundable deposit of RM 25 for the connection cable cable.

The ground floor house a coffe house, The Chatterbox but breakfast has not much variety. The main dish is rice ; either nasi lemak or fried rice and fried noodle or koayteow. What can be complimented to the chef is that the taste is suitable for diabetics and those who are concerned with healthy eating habits: less salt and less sugar. Food at the coffee house (breakfast) I can give 8/10.

Talking about health, there is also the Sakura Health Centre and room service can be ordered until 12 midnight. Hey, what are you thinking about?

Mega Hotel has a swimming pool too on the fourth floor.

Malaysia Airline and Maswing office just behind the hotel. I could see Airasia agents office too. Er......erm.......for you who want to relief your tired feet (and body) there are a few Reflexology Centres nearby and you can let the lovely "China Doll" (?) massage your feet and also based information from local friends a good full body rub too (wink).

Just across the road there are some Malay restaurants and will be very convenient for Muslim visitors which is open till late midnight. However one experience I learn is that the price at one of the restaurant is quite exorbitant for such an outlet. A glass of Iced Lemon Tea (medium size) costs RM 1.90. OMG!. One evening, I took plain roti canai and Iced Lemon Tea and was surprised the price was RM 4.00. If the Iced Lemon Tea is RM 1.90 then the price of apiece of plain Roti Canai is RM 2.10. Oh......writing this I am getting angry. The name of the Restaurant is Serai Wangi, next to EON Bank. In the picture (below), it is somewhere there I sat for a RM 2.10 plain roti canai the evening before. Comparing to another mamak restaurant at the back of the hotel, I ordered Iced Lemon Tea and Roti Telor for just RM 3.80. Can you compare the price. Well!!........thats another Xperienceoflife.

I had an experience and lesson learnt from the convenient store next to the hotel. Maybe it is the same at other places. I bought a RM 10 reload and the charge is RM 11.00. It might be normal for consumers here, but why do they have to charge extra Ringgit when they are already getting commisions from selling the prepaid reload. So I turn to be wiser on the second reload where I decided to go to Maybank ATM and reload from there. However, I couldn't reload from Maybank ATM because that particular service was not available at the time. So I went to CIMB instead and learn some new lessons.

Lesson 1: When I insert my ATM Card, a message " DEVICE FAILURE" appeared. After trying on another machine, the same message appears and I decided to inquire at the counter. I found out that the chip on my card is not readable that constitute to the failure. So the lady at the counter asked me to change to a new card and I have to pay RM 12.00 for it. I have no choice because I will have to use the ATM card for future transactions.

Lesson 2: From there I learn that mobile reload can be done at CIMB ATMs. I knew before, that it can be done using online banking. So a lesson learnt is that reload is easier with CIMB because reloading is automatic compared to Maybank where you will receive a transaction slip and have to reload manually. That is what I call The Xperience of Life. It is always an ongoing learning process.

I will update later if time permits. Going to check in first.

Mean while watch this.

Blogging In Miri - Going LCCT-MYY

I thought I have to fork a few hundred Ringgit more to buy another flight ticket to fly to Miri from LCCT. It was quite a stressful ride on the KL Central- LCCT shuttle bus and the speed of the bus seems so slow. Time is running fast for me.

My flight from LCCT, Sepang to Miri was at 15000 hours (3.00 pm) and the bus took off from KL Central at 1.10. The journey will take about 1 hour. It all started when my daughter can't send me to KL Central by car because she is playing in the Futsal tournament at Kompleks Sukan Negara, Bukit Jalil. My other daughter too went to Johor to attend a wedding and my wife can't drive. So I have to take the LRT from Bukit Jalil station to Mesjid Jamek before changing to the Kelana Jaya line to KL Central.

As usual when one step down to the ground level to where the express bus to LCCT is stationed, ther will be the company's worker canvassing for passengers to ride their company's bus. There was a group of worker from the yellow bus company (can't make up the name of the company) waiting to grab prospective passengers. The bad image about them is that they will approach you thug like. Of course they are not thugs but the way they lure prospective passengers are like thugs. I repeat, they are not thugs but just to competete with another shuttle provided by Airasia which is RM1 more than the yellow company. Airasia bus is RM 9.00 per trip while the other one is RM 8.00. Travel duration more or less the same.

It was 1.00 p.m. One of the guy (quite an old thin guy) asked me for my flight departure when I asked him when will the bus leave. He told me it will leave at 1.20 and I will reach LCCT about 2.20. So it merely mean that I might miss my flight. He even toldme that I have to buy another ticket to fly. When I turn and see the Airasia bus, he told me that the bus will leave at 1.30. So he said if I don't want to miss my flight, I must take a taxi and he called a guy, whom I think is a taxi driver. Immediately what came into my mind is there might be some sort of secret dealing between both of them. Or else why will the guy be there when it was suppose passengers go to the taxi terminal to board.

I decided to take the bus after all because, eventhough the schedule is 1.20, but usually, the bus will leave without waiting for the scheduled time if it is full. I sat in the first row and then suddenly the Airasia bus that the guy told me will leave at 1.30 left at 1.00 and 20 minutes earlier than the bus that I am on. I do curse the man in my heart. Meanwhile, all the while I was praying that there is full capacity and the bus will leave before schedule time.

We arrived LCCT at 2.10 p.m. I took my luggage and rushed to the check-in counter. Then at the baggage scanning machine there was a long queue and that raised my stress further. Immediately after scanning, I rushed to counter R21 and saw that the signage has been switched off. However, there are still staff manning the counter and I asked to be checked, and she asked for my ic. Phew!! what a relief for me at the moment. I manage to check in and am on my way to Miri.

There were grouses and complain that Airasia does not honour time and some people change the tagline "Now Everyone Can Fly" to Now Everyone Can Be Late". But maybe passengers on that flight AK 5186 were among the lucky ones. The plane landed 15 minutes before schedule time. So "Now Everyone Can Be Early".

Miri, here I come again and could see some visible changes. The last time I came there is no flyover but there is one somewhere near Dynasty Hotel (the first hotel I stayed on my first trip to Miri years back. There are new building and some high rise around.

GMA IL Warning is Genuine?

Received a Gmail reminder asking to "VERIFY YOUR FREE GMA IL ACCOUNT NOW". It was from Gmail Team: This message is from Gmail messagin center to all Gmail free account owners and premium account owners. It has come to our notice that the rate ofphishingattacks against Gmail! uders recently is at an alarming rate. We have taken steps to protect your Gmail! accounts through a mail verification process. Please fill in the following details.

The details requested are Gma il ID, Password, Date of birth, country or territory.

Then enter Security Image.

Seems like Gmail, sounds like Gmail but I am not sure its genuinely from Gmail.

There's also a warning.

Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his or her account within Seven days of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.

Thank you for using Gmail !

Warning Code:XXXXXXXXXXXX

Thanks,

The Gmail Team

G MA I L BETA

I have not responded to the email with particulars requested because of suspicion.

Why do they want my password when password is not to be given out to anybody? Then why is it GMA IL and not Gmail. Even the M in Gmail is not in the form of an envelope.

I think most Gmail account holder receive this email. Whats your response?

The Xperienceoflife Will Be In Miri Again

The first time I step foot in Miri was in 1997 and during that first visit I had the opportunity to go to Lutong and also to visit the Grand Ole Lady. After that I go to Miri a few times more. In 2007 , I had a very memorable visit because Ladybird organised a bloggers gathering and I was invited to attend. It was so nice to have met some popular Miri bloggers and until now I do visit their blogs from time to time. Hope to stumble upon some of them when I am inMiri.

12 - 18 July 2009, I will be in Miri again and this time hope to find more interesting corners of Miri to blog. I know there is no end of materials to be blogged.

SHOULD KELANTAN GET THE PETROLEUM ROYALTY?

The lates issue and is an issue for the Manek Urai (MU) by-election is petroleum royalty that should be paid in cash to the Kelantan Government. I am not good at elaborating the issue because I am not in that of business. But after reading blogs I think you must not miss reading this blog by Shieh Kickdefella. He posted facts and figures and Read it HERE.

BN is using Petronas as their hiding bunker as announced the PM in the news yesterday. Petronas will clarify the issue to deny the right of the people of Kelantan to share the country's wealth. This is what 1Malaysia is all about. Only one group gets the share.

MU's NEW LOGO?

This, I think, is one of the most popular and well known badge or logo the world over especially among football fans irrespective of whether they support the English League or not. Manchester United, who will be coming to Kuala Lumpur in preparing for their Pre Season Asian Tour and playing with the Malaysian National Team at National Stadium, Bukit Jalil on the 18th July 2009.

But before they arrive, MU has a new logo. Just like Manchester United fans becoming excited to see before their eyes the best English Team playing, Malaysians too are excited to see this new MU's performance. Scroll down for the new MU logo.

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MIRACLE OF ALLAH

These two Arabic character is the most popular writings to be seen everywhere. The name of Allah The Almighty and the spelling of Muhammad (PBUH) the last prophet sent to mankind. Physically people write in the most beautiful of handwriting of Islamic calligraphy known as khat.

Both logos taken from HERE.

Both these names has been widely used by Muslims all over the world not only as decorative purposes but as a reminder to always remember Allah Azzawajalla, the creator of the universe and all its contents and prophet Muhammad (PBUH). However these two names are not only written by the human hands but also naturally in many places and beyond our normal thinking of its visibility to show humankind the greatness of the creator.

I found this You Tube video clip and would like to share with my readers the miracle of Allah the Almighty

What was seen from Apollo 11

A RENTED BUNGALOW AND A MANSION

NST carries the story Gerakan quizzes CM over rented bungalow. Penang CM moved to a newly renovated bungalow from his official residence. This spark jealousy from Gerakan Youth Vice Chief H'ng Khoon Leng. Maybe Lim's bungalow is much bigger than his. So what is wrong for him not to stay at his official residence if he feel that it is more comfortable and that constitute to peace of mind. A good home is where someone feels comfort. This is the picture (credit to NST online) of the bungalow which Gerakan Youth Chief was jealous about.

I can still remember when I was in Kedah, the Menteri Besar of Kedah too did not stay at his official residence in Seri Mentaloon but somewhere else. Why Gerakan or any BN component did not question his choice of residence? Maybe Penang Gerakan is still sore that they lost the state last year. What a sore loser.

UPDATED

In today's The Star there is a follow up of the above story. LGE moved out of the official residence after an inspection carried out by theNLC General Pest Control (North) on June 29 that revealed termite infestation in the building.

Dr Chuah Chong Cheng, an academic consultant at the Geocosmic Centre of Yijing Meta-science Research Malaysia, said he advised LGE to move out because the location of the residence is politically unfavourable to him according to I-Ching because the mansion is sitting on an "insectarium".

His predecessor Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon never stayed at the mansion but did Gerakan Youth Vice Chief H'ng Khoon Leng, made any noise about it? Dr KSK is also Gerakan what? I think Gerakan now has nothing to do but to find mistakes of the government.

On the other hand mStar and The Star reports that Khir Toyo's house at Section 7, Shah Alam is valued at RM 24 million. Why does Gerakan not question about this mansion below? Is this comparable to the one that Penang CM rented?

UPDATED 7 July 2009

Pakatan calls Khir Toyo's bluff.

SEX

I purposely put the tittle that way.

I know most people will be interested. Its basic needs after all but talking about it is taboo in our soceity.

Are you interested in sex after all?

Don't bullshit me and say no.

I decided to write this posting after surfing The Sun UK to find the news of Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan wanting to buy Newcastle United.

Want to read more about sex? Go HERE. Read for yourself. I was reading this page and therefore linked to it. But wait!. Don't read it as a pervert but be an adult and look at the educational side of sex.

Web Forgery = Phishing

This warning notice came from Firefox. Firefox 3 has built-in Phishing and Malware protection to help keep online surfing secure.

The warning came after I clicked a link from twitter.

I open Google Chrome browser and test the same link sent from the same twitterite and this is the warning given.However I did not block the twitterite from my twitter because a few other link given seems to be genuine. But as personal security reason, I'll not give out any personal information to this twitterite.

PIG STORY

The issue is centred around pigs. First the world is on pandemic alert due to Influenza H1N1 or commly called swine flu. Change it to H1N1 virus strain and the pigs will be spared of being put in a bad name. Just like the predecessor, bird flu was transmitted from bird to humans and AIDSfrom monkeys, H1N1 was also transmitted from the animal kingdom. Am I correct? : correct! correct! correct................. hahahaha. Errr.....can human transmit virus back to the animals? In Malay it is called as selsema babi and the word babi can be deemed as vulgar if used to curse on someone while in anger. What is common is some humans do behave like animals and one of them is throwing newly born babies in rubbish dumps, or leave it somewhere and in certain cases the innocent baby dies. Do monkeys, pigs and other animal do that to their babies?

Up North in Kedah is also a story that is pig related. The issue is about the authority demolishing the only pig arbittior in Kedah that is at Kampung Berjaya. Kampung Berjaya is where my family home is located. It is just about 2 km away from the city centre andjust across the Sungai Kedah, on the way up to Kangar. The area was a mix of padi land and nipah swamps before being reclaimed and converted into dwelling areas. That was back in early 1960s. I can still remember we moved to this place in 1964 after the kampung where my family stayed at Lorong Sena in Telok Wanjah (its across the road opposite Star Parade (Pacific) Alor Setar. The 25 families who were victims of a fire at the place were resettled in this new place now known as Kampung Berjaya. The state government built 25 house to resettle the families and I can be proud to be part of the earliest inhabitants of Kampung Berjaya in 1964.

During the early days the area where the present Pasar Mergong is, there is only two buildings. Both are arbittiors and i used to play football at the empty field next to the two buildings. There was the slaugtherhouse for cows side by side to the pig arbittior. I am not sure when the cow slaughterhouse was moved but the pig slaugtherhoue remains. During the nights (after midnight) we can hear cries of pigs being slaughthered. Even though the noise do disturb the peace of our sleep, the communities just grouse among them but did not take any action legally or illegally. Read the chronology of the slaugtherhouse issue HERE.

Google Map showing the arbittior (circled in Yellow) andthe surrounding areas

Is it right for Majlis Bandaraya Alor Setar to demolish the arbittior? As part of the resident of Kampung Berjaya, I agree with the action. The arbittior is not suitable anymore to remain in the area. It is now part of the city and around the building are three Malay dominated communities namely, Kampung Berjaya, Kampung Telok Yan and Kampung Seberang Terus. The area too that fall under Mergong has now become an industrial area and will one day be within the city centre. So is it suitable for the arbittior to remain?

After the time grace given to the administrator of the arbittior, they should have put more effort to find a new place and relocate it. The plan to relocate was put in since 1995 and do they have to take more than four years to find a suitable place for a house that is less than half the size of a football field. I see that the authority has to take that action or else the issue will still be nagging and one day we find a slaugther house in the middle of a city.

This issue to me has nothing to do with racial. It is about environment and health reasons not because its a pig slaugtherhouse but now being taken politically and racially. DAP being so vocal resulting in them pulling out of the Kedah Government PR coalition. I am wondering why DAP took the issue so harsly when by right it should be MCA or Gerakan as opposition. Is DAP so easily bought over by BN that they are bing used as scapegoats within the Pakatan Rakyat. The action by DAP will not mend the relationship between the Chinese and Malays when they go hand in hand to oust BN out of Kota Darulaman state Seat. During the next election, do I have to stay away from voting or spoil my vote if DAP were to contest with BN?

Now that small issue had given the opportunity to the mainstream media especially TV3 to blow it from ripple to waves. BN too took this opportinity to propagate that Pakatan Rakyat is so fragile. My point of view is that there is more democracy in Pakatan Rakyat when they can disagree with one another compared to BN who are made up of yesman.

Don't let pig stories bring down the PR.

KL FESTIVAL 2009

I found out about this festival has begun. I "accidentally" knew about it just after surfing Berita Harian online. KL Festival is a month long celebration of varied cultural festivities. Schedule of events can be downloaded from HERE.

Just wondering why they are not using bloggers to blow the whistle since in this age of new media, blogs can be a powerful tool in disseminating information.

KL Fest will focus on local cultural arts not found in other countries and this will be presented to tourists who visit places in search of things not found back home.

Six categories of activities were laid out including performing art, visual art, heritage and culture, language and literature, traditional games etc.

In performing arts there will be 31 activities comprising of three elements of art that is singing or music, dance and theater performance. All these activities will be at Istana Budaya, Aswara, Taman Budaya KL, Panggung Bandaraya,Petronas Philharmonic Hall, Central Market, Bintang Walk , KLPac, KL Tower etc. Download location map HERE.

Out of the 31 activities, 80% are local performances and the remaining from overseas.