Life, Travel, GRACE

Boy likes cat (again)

2012-01-28T15:08:00.001+08:00

Played with neighbour's cat.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New year...

2012-01-15T07:31:00.004+08:00

I think it's not too late to wish everyone a happy (belated) new year. New year's resolution again? What about last year? Any of the resolutions accomplished?
God has been faithful by providing financial support. We had a healthy baby boy. Nothing much we can ask more.
Hopefully this year God will extend his grace upon us... providence, wisdom in work, teachable son and health.

.

Boy and gadget

2011-12-26T18:21:00.003+08:00

Boy likes to play with mobile phone. He just simply clicks and touches. What a fun!

Oh, I've got a message in FB...

Hometown delicacy - feature video

2011-12-24T17:11:00.003+08:00

Apparently, the cream tart which I mentioned previously had been featured in Astro channel few years ago. Well, at least we know how it is made. Basically, the tart consists of three parts: base, egg white and egg yolk. Sounds like tiramisu recipe except that you don't mix the egg white and egg yolk together. Anyway, please ignore the presenter in the video - very annoying indeed.

Growing

2011-12-18T14:58:00.005+08:00

After two months, baby Marcus has doubled his weight. This is above the average data at his age. Could it be mom's milk is more nutritious?

Old aircraft

2011-12-13T21:14:00.005+08:00

Do you know there's a Royal Malaysia Air Force museum in Sungai Besi? That's the plot of land which the government will re-develop. Wonder where will the museum be relocated then. Anyway, been there recently for some aircraft shootings. Though the exhibits weren't great, they were good for me to practice with my new camera body. As the weather was cloudy, so the outcome of the images weren't so fantastic.
One must wonder if these aircraft really can be flew. Are the engines still intact? Opps... did anyone sell the jet engines?

Hometown delicacy

2011-12-04T13:41:00.005+08:00

Have not had this type of cake for almost a decade. As far as I know, it's only available in Sandakan. Maybe they have it in KK too? Somebody in Singapore is selling this there. Local people called it "cow dung tart". It's actually a baked cream put on top of a sponge cake. Twenty years ago, the sellers will put the tart in a cigarette carton box (the long type) for take away purchase. Now they use plastic tray. Used to be my favorite snack. Sadly, it's not available in PJ. Or maybe there is, which I may not know.

4 degrees of separation

2011-11-26T12:07:00.003+08:00

There's a theory saying that everyone is connected to everyone by six degrees separation. Literally speaking, you are connected to Obama through five other people (friends of friends). Now with Facebook, everyone is connected by four degrees separation. You might not know some of your friends in your Facebook list. You just keep accepting their invitation. That's why it's so connected.

1 month for the junior

2011-11-21T09:28:00.003+08:00

Baby Marcus has reached 1 month old recently. Apparently, he is easier to take care compared to his brother. What will be his character? Time will tell.

Parenting according to Lord's Prayer (Part 2 of 2)

2011-11-06T14:04:00.003+08:00

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matt 6:9-13

Verse 12 gives guidance how should we deal with other people. The basic relationship is forgiveness. Teach our children that forgiveness is the basic to the heart of God. There's a story about forgiveness - the parable of the unforgiving debtor as in Matt 18:21-35. Teach them to forgive, to confess their sins and recognize the forgiveness that God has given us through Jesus Christ. As a reminder, resentment will hurt our children. Educating children to forgive is paramount (Phil 4:7).

We close this with God's provision and protection as in verse 13 that God is our protector and solution provider. Teach our children to ask for blessing in prayers.

Why you allow your baby to watch TV?

2011-10-19T16:22:00.003+08:00

Psst, it's no good for baby under 2 years to watch TV. Recent research has pointed out that watching too much TV will cause development delays. No wonder Micah has speech language delays; because he watched too much Baby Einstein and TV? No doubt educational programs are educational, but they are only effective for toddler above 2 years old (when they know how to differentiate things, recognize stuff etc). What about iPad apps? No research on this yet. Perhaps few years later we will know.

Marcus

2011-10-19T15:53:00.002+08:00

Born on 14 Oct 2011, 11.30am.

The PC experience

2011-10-11T10:53:00.005+08:00

I remember my first PC experience was when I was in primary school. At that time, I had a fun time with the dos-based PC game with a schoolmate (you can say he's from a wealthy family background as buying a PC at that time cost a lot). Few years later, my secondary school had its first ever computer lab. Everyone was very excited. If I remember correctly, at that time only two notable PC brands were prominent: IBM and Apple. The school chose the former brand though. PC had become a cool tool to do your word processing. That's my PC experience back then.

As time evolves, so as PC technologies. Windows system was lauded as the most popular and successful PC system in the late 90's. Though some praised on UNIX system, which I came across in my previous Engineering Faculty. Then there was a hype on Apple's new iMac. My first impression was that it had a very sleek design - unconventional. But I had not a single idea about its system. Thought it was the same as Windows. At the same time, internet had become a boom. So PC experience was about word processing and internet.

The PC experience did not alter much in the early 2000's decade. My PC experience changed substantially when I had my first iPhone. I knew about iPhone from my ex-colleague. Back then, I had no clue what's so great about this product. The first touch was really excited. Imaging you can do internet browsing, play games, make call and sms on the same device. This was and is still a real mobile phone for me - beating my expectation and really surprising me. From then on, I had great respect on Apple's product. There was a divided view between Apple and PC. While having a Windows-based PC was a bliss, it didn't have the great user experience. Boot time was long. The system takes up so much space, etc.

From iPhone, I had iPad. Another milestone of the product lineup. I first bought it with the intention for book or magazine reading. Though reading physical book is more practical. But after a while, due to the nature and quality of the paper print, the book's pages become yellowish and unappealing. Because of this, I seldom buy and keep books. So the PC experience for now is mobility and knowledge gaining albeit social networking is more.

All these PC experiences somehow have been influenced by the Apple's co-founder. It's interesting to see how the products and user experience will advance from now.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Parenting according to Lord's Prayer (Part 1 of 2)

2011-09-25T23:52:00.005+08:00

How should we educate our children based on the Lord's Prayer?

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matt 6:9-13

We first teach our children that God is our heavenly Father (Matt 6:9). This is the first step to cultivate a sense of security in the children. This same verse also set the ground of teaching children to honor God.

In verse 10, we are to instill God's purpose in our children.

As we come to verse 11, we are reminded to teach our children that God is our provider. God provides our physical, emotional and spiritual needs. How then should we educate our children to respond to God's provision? We teach them to share, trust and give thanks to God's provision.

Christian haters

2011-09-04T10:34:00.004+08:00

The main cause of the hatred of early Christians in Roman society lies in their distinctive life-style....Men always view with suspicion people who are different. Conformity, not distinctiveness, is the way to a trouble-free life. So the more early Christians took their faith seriously the more they were in danger of crowd reaction.

Thus, simply by living according to the teachings of Jesus, the Christian was a constant unspoken condemnation of the pagan way of life. It was not that the Christian went about criticizing and condemning and disapproving, nor was he consciously self-righteous and superior. It was simply that the Christian ethic in itself was a criticism of pagan life. (Shelley, Church History In Plain Language, 38-39.)

Any difference with our country's current situation lately?
After all the years, it sounds like meaningless to celebrate the National Day where the majority of the people has taken advantage of the media in persecution of a certain Christian groups.

Birds, lilies and treasures

2011-08-25T06:43:00.004+08:00

I read Luke 12:22-34 again. This is not the first time I read it. It is said that God will provide us. Interestingly, this time verse 34 got my attention.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So if we treasure gold, there our heart will be. We will think about it day and night. Worry if someone will steal it.
If we treasure life, there our heart will be. We think about people we love and care. We pray for their blessing.
So what are the things that sit in your heart and become your treasure? Financial providence, life and all the nitty-gritty?

Note: I just realized this is the 500th entry. Time flies. Lately have been writing less frequent. Hope will share more insightful thought in future writing.

Debt settled

2011-08-15T10:27:00.002+08:00

Interesting illustration on debt settlement in an economy system:

A merchant happened to come across a village on one of his travels. This village was not doing well economically. Business was slow, jobs were hard to come by and many people were in debt. He stopped by an inn to see if he likes it enough to stay for the night. He put a $100 bill on the counter as deposit to the innkeeper to allow him to inspect the available rooms.

While the merchant was busy checking out the rooms, the innkeeper went out, taking the $100 with him, to see his supplier. He gave the money to his supplier to pay his outstanding bills for supply of goods to the inn. After receiving the $100, the supplier then gave it to his employee as wages which he had owed for a long time. The employee then went home and on his way met his neighbour who had lent him money several months ago. He repaid the loan from his neighbour with the $100. The neighbour who took the money then went to the inn where a hooker had been providing her “services” to him on credit. He paid the $100 to the hooker to settle the amount owed to her. When the innkeeper returns to the inn, the hooker gave the $100 to him as payment for the room which she had been staying for the past week.

Just then the merchant completed his inspection and said he will not be staying at the inn after all. He asked for refund of his deposit and the innkepper promptly handed the $100 bill back to him. The merchant then left the inn for another trip elsewhere.

The merchant did not lose anything, nobody became richer but all debts of the innkeeper, his supplier, the employee, the neighbour and the hooker have been settled.

Now, back to reality. If that sounds easy, then there will be no debt in the countries, which is not the case.

Big Mac economics

2011-07-30T21:16:00.006+08:00

The Big Mac's index has been updated for this year. This is the gauge comparison of purchasing power of a country against the US dollar (USA literally). Big Mac in Malaysia cost USD2.42 a piece compared to USD4.07 in the USA. Well, it's not that expensive. Who says our food price is increasing and getting expensive these days? We are still far better than a lot of countries (Wait until you see the price index chart. Then you will know why they said our stuff prices are increasing). Hong Kong and India have the cheapest Big Mac though. I bet you would want to live in Hong Kong, not India. Cheers.

PS: Don't let this piece of info passed to our ministers. They will brag how good is our economy.

Discount coupon

2011-07-30T09:33:00.003+08:00

Lately there are a lot of websites offering discount coupons in some of the local shops or restaurants. This is not a new thing as it has gained popularity in US. Notable company in this business is Groupon. This company is on its way to be listed too. Wow, selling coupons can get you fat incomes. Before the online coupon, we had printed coupons in the newspapers. It's the same stuff but only posted on website this time.

So at the end of the day, who gain from this coupon businesses? Consumers and the coupons coordinator companies. The down side of this, consumers will tend to spend more - irresistible great discount. At some points, we find it exciting with discounts in certain stuff which we've planned to buy for long time. But we try not to be carried away or obsessed with it.

Sibling

2011-07-17T09:11:00.001+08:00

Micah will have a brother soon...

Where would you raise your kids?

2011-07-03T15:24:00.004+08:00

There was a research concluded that city folks have higher level of stress compared to country dwellers. I thought everyone concurred with this long ago. However, it also said the earlier a child live in a city, the more prone of early-life stress. Well, so true that we can see our city school children have stressed out to the max in order to gain better result. In some parts, parents are the main culprit. Send your kids to live in countryside and they will have a good growing experience? Maybe.
Should we raise the kids back home?

Read more here.

Note: Micah likes to stack things. Does he envision a high tower living?

Movie buff

2011-06-19T13:24:00.006+08:00

We had watched a few movies over the past one month. Two of them are notable and in its own class.

X-men: First Class was some sort of a reboot for the X-men franchise. It tells the story of the origin of the X-men team. The story evolves around good vs evil, love vs hate, humanity vs survival, discrimination vs acceptance. It offers great acting and good plot too. Definitely won't disappoint you. I would say it's comparable with Star Trek (2009) in terms of fresh idea. Now we know why Professor X is in the wheel chair and how Magneto got his helmet.

Super 8 is not your regular superhero movie. The title itself simply means super 8mm film being used for the filming by a group of teenagers. While filming a scene at the train station, they witness a train accident. Apparently the train is carrying a precious cargo and the "thing" escapes. It has a plan. And so as the teenagers. If you like E.T., this movie could give you some resemblances of it. Bear in mind, the whole movie is not about the "thing". It simply evolves the passion of the teenagers in filming and the interaction of their life while the "thing" only serves as background. There's a bit of mystery line in it too. After all it is the same person who gave you Star Trek (2009), Lost and Fringe. So far this is the best movie of the summer. Oh, be sure to stay back for the end credit.

Note: The producers and directors owe us two-hour time slot. So they better deliver us a good, entertaining, educating and inspiring movie.

Boy likes cat

2011-06-11T16:54:00.003+08:00

Half a year ago, he was afraid of animals. Recently he has developed affection to domesticated cats and dogs, and even rabbit.

Bintulu trip

2011-06-11T16:31:00.005+08:00

Earlier last month we went back to Sibu. At the same time also had the opportunity to visit Bintulu. Went to the beach. Though is not the best of its kind, it's considered nice. Beach visit was worthwhile. However, the drive from Sibu to Bintulu was somewhat unpleasant. Bad road condition but not as bad as those logging trails.

Family photo

Ponder it - Dam

2011-06-02T00:45:00.004+08:00

We all know about the Bakun dam in Sarawak. And there's plan to build more. Read here.
Recent drought in China has brought us to ponder the implication of man made structure which could alter the environment. It is said the Three Gorges Dam has caused some areas to have lower river level which in turn resulting insufficient water for farming. The condition is worsened with the drought which is not seen before. More stories.

Across the pacific, we have evidence that a dam has altered the local weather (read here). So what do you think by having 12 dams in Sarawak? More drought is coming?

Salt and light

2011-05-30T22:11:00.003+08:00

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matt 5:13-16

It was said that in order to share the Good News, one must experience the transformation himself first. He/she should experience what is like in trusting God. And of course, to confirm if that person really lives in God, one can ask the people around him. The closest people to testify will be immediate family members and friends. Thus, the sharing of Good News starts within the family or close friends circle. No need to go to further places for evangelism. It can be done within your circle of life.

And so to say, God is so great that He can hold the world by his hand. And yet He lives in us. Since God is great, He will certainly explode out from us should He lives in us, literally speaking. That's the whole idea of sharing the Good News - to live a life that can radiate the love of God.

A sermon sharing in Mega's Church.

This is our God

2011-05-18T23:18:00.001+08:00

This post is in response of the current event which centers around the rejection of Christianity. Certainly it is due to uninformed of the nature of the belief in other party. As much as I like Hillsong's songs, this clip has the best description of who God is.

The Joseph Road - a dream that cost you a life

2011-05-14T21:51:00.003+08:00

Joseph had dreams - strange dreams (Gen 37:2-11). But the dream itself is a prophecy of Joseph's life. He told his dream to his brothers. Somehow they felt Joseph was being arrogant with the dream. The brothers made a plot to give him a lesson; even to the stage of killing him. Joseph was then left in a pit. The next event saw him being sold to a trader (Gen 37:23, 28).

We acknowledge that people have dream or hope. Some are maybe God's plan (might not be through dream though). If we listen to God clear enough, we will follow his path. But in case our dream or hope being shattered, let's listen to God as well.

The Joseph Road (Introduction)

2011-04-30T21:23:00.003+08:00

On last March 13, Dr Jerry White was in town to minister a rally. The turn out of the rally was amazing. Just because the speaker is a foreigner, so people are eager to come? Anyway, he taught us about the life of Joseph from the book of Genesis. The title of the rally was "The Joseph Road". This is also a title of his book. I must say the book is well written. If you've missed out this rally, fear not, you can read the book instead. He delivered the same content but in a condensed way.

The Joseph Road is about the choices that determine your destiny. He pointed out our life may not turn out to be the way we expect. This is certainly differ from our dreams and hopes. But what does God have to do with it?

Night glow

2011-04-24T14:32:00.008+08:00

There was balloon feast in Putrajaya last month. Been to this even last year but it was at day time. This time I took the opportunity to go at night; they were organizing a night glow event. Thought of practicing my night photography skill. It didn't turn out well for all. Probably the shutter speed was too long (I used 1 sec then reduced to 0.67 sec). Hope to go again next year.

Ubah

2011-04-16T14:25:00.004+08:00

Went back to Sibu last weekend. Attended one night of ceramah organized by the opposition party. This time around they came out with a mascot. And came out with a good marketing material - the Ubah bird. Well, can the bird makes the change in this round of election? We'll know soon.

Let the bullets fly

2011-03-27T18:57:00.002+08:00

By far this is the best Chinese movie in the list. It tells a story of a bandit posing as a city major in order to gain fortune. At the end, the act becomes a war deal between the bandit and the warlord of the city. Many film critics thought the movie has numerous metaphor. They might be true but I find the movie quite entertaining and in certain scenes it's humorous too. Perhaps the best script from the movie is this:

張麻子：「你說是錢對我重要，還是你對我重要？」　

黃四郎：「我」

張麻子：「再想想」

黃四郎：「不會是錢吧」

張麻子：「再想想」

黃四郎：「還是我重要」

張麻子：「你和錢對我都不重要，沒有你，對我很重要」

This is the metaphor between power and money. Perhaps it's a reflection of China's struggle as world power and greatest economy house.

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2 years

2011-03-20T18:27:00.004+08:00

Hey, what's that? A birthday cake.

Err... what am I supposed to do? Sing? Blow off the candle light? Let me touch it.

Since they didn't allow me to touch the cake, I just broke down. Haha....

Discovering God from the life of David

2011-02-28T23:22:00.005+08:00

Last Sunday, we attended a teacher session by Teng Yang on discovering God from the life of David. The speaker brought us to see the content of the book of Samuel. Briefly we were told the life of David and his surrounding events and peoples. That was very brief and easy to follow. The history lesson led us to study Psalms written by David. Psalm 23 is somehow very special. It can be used in good time and bad time. The psalm was probably composed around the time when David was selected to be future king by Samuel (when Samuel went to Jesse's house). Each phrase in Psalm 23 has attribute of God. The audience were inspired to explore each of the phrase. And the session was indeed inspiring.

Psalm 23
¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³ he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,^a]">[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Of Penang foods

2011-02-28T22:18:00.004+08:00

Over the weekend, we went up to Penang to attend a friend's wedding. Stayed one night in Prai. Then the next day crossed over to the island to savour the local delicacy. Of course in the eating list were Char Kuey Teow and/or Asam Laksa. Unfortunately, the Char Kuey Teow in Ayer Itam was rated average only.

Our local tour friend then brought us for Asam Laksa, with fish meat in Farlim's developed shop area. Rating: below average.
Next we sampled the hawker food in Jalan Macalister. Section 17's "Ample drink" is way much better. Another disappointment.

Before we left the island, we stopped for cendol somewhere near the Komtar. That was ok; the taste was similar with the one in Melaka. Finally, our friends had prawn noodle. By that time, SY and I were full. According to our friends, the taste was somehow not as good as their previous visit.

There's nothing to hype about the food. Probably I will give a credit for the wedding dinner on the first two dishes.

No food photos were taken as it was not desiring for photography.

From east to west and back to east

2011-02-15T14:09:00.003+08:00

Micah was flown to PJ to be with his parent last December. Then he got to spent his new year with father's family in Sandakan. His last stop was back in Sibu where he was united with his grandma. Of course, his mum would miss him when he's not around. The plan is for Micah to come over to his parent this coming May.

You may be asking after 2 months separated from his maternal grandma, can he still remember her? Of course no especially at his current age, his memory is very short term. But some how he knows who is his real mother. Strange...

Last but not least

2011-01-23T00:21:00.003+08:00

After the USA Pavilion, I thought I could make it to China Pavilion. Unfortunately, time was not at my side. So I just able to gaze its beauty. And that's wrap up the Word Expo trip for me.

USA Pavilion

2011-01-16T18:47:00.003+08:00

Photos taken with mobile phone are incomparable with DSLR camera, even though it's 5MP camera phone.

From Europe zone, I walked towards the end, passed by Africa and South America zone. The destination was USA Pavilion. Why that pavilion?

Because in that pavilion you can only find empty hall and cinema hall. Simply because their method of presentation was in video form, which is what they are good at. The video presentation was presented in 3 parts.

The first part was welcoming, followed by Americans culture and life, and finally environmental consciousness. At first sight, it might be quite a boring pavilion, but after viewing all the video presentations, you'd appreciate the message. After all, this is what Hollywood good at influencing people through movie making.

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Fluctuation of stock causes heart disease?

2011-01-08T16:30:00.003+08:00

Funny, but I don't think this is entirely true.

The chart below explains on the x-line it's the daily point changes in the Shanghai composite, and on the y-axis, it's the changes in the rate of coronary death on those days. Well, there are the fewest heart attacks on days when the stock market moves the least.

Read here for more.

7 billion

2011-01-08T15:47:00.005+08:00

An interesting fact by National Geographic.

Meditation

2011-01-02T11:50:00.002+08:00

Because reading the Scriptures without reflecting is like eating without chewing...
Sometimes we read because we thought we ought to. At the end we learn nothing from it. There's God in every page of the Scriptures. Do not miss him.

Psalm 63

1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.

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Looking forward with faith

2011-01-01T00:27:00.002+08:00

Another year ended, another new year dawn. Sometimes things happen which we may not comprehend. Things happen beyond our control. And we all should know that God is at work.
The events of history have become acts of destiny. Little actions have great significance. Happy new year.

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How to celebrate Christmas?

2010-12-27T07:06:00.003+08:00

We had not really celebrate Christmas this year. We didn't go to church either. Let alone any dinner or lunch with friends. So what did we do?

We spent time with family members at home and hyper mart. But the essence of Christmas is still within our heart. One commented why non Christians are so excited about Christmas. Do they know what Christmas means? They should ask this to their fellow Christians friends. And that's the time the gospel can be shared.

Mum was told Christmas isn't about going to church. You remember the purpose of the birth of Jesus. You remember the sacrifices of Jesus to us. You remember that we have a loving Father.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.

Expo 2010 - Other pavilions

2010-12-19T15:10:00.005+08:00

Some of the pavilions which didn't manage to visit due to time constraint and crowd. So just took the picture of the buildings instead.

Both the UK and Germany pavilions had huge crowd. The queue could easily stretch to few kilometers. It was really crazy.

After these few photos, my DSLR battery drained out. So the subsequent photos were taken with iPhone4 (not mine though).

Expo 2010 - What's more inside the Swedish Pavilion?

2010-12-19T13:47:00.003+08:00

More Ikea's furniture and decoration stuff.
More publicity on what was made / discovered / created in Sweden.

KL International Motor Show 2010

2010-12-13T14:52:00.005+08:00

Went to this event with colleague and friend last Friday. Overall the exhibition was over-exaggerated. The first booth by Perodua was a wow. But the momentum continued to drop as we went from booth to booth. Better off with ordinary auto showroom.

Note: The photos have been enhanced contrasty.

The Perodua Bezza which looks like Iron Man mask.

Though the design is pretty futuristic, it doesn't have an engine on it.

One of the Lotus cars.

Proton Emas - the electric car - to be used by Putrajaya folks?

Another Lotus cars - posterior view.

Lekiu by Proton

Chevy Camaro

Wait a minute, they have the actual Bumblebee too.

Expo 2010 - The Swedish Pavilion

2010-12-02T23:28:00.005+08:00

What would you associate Sweden with? Ikea? That's right. That's what you will see inside the Sweden Pavilion. Some of the Ikea stuffs are on display. After all, that's Swedish biggest success apart from Sony Ericsson.

In one of the halls, there's big portrait display, kinda 3 dimensional portrait with the theme of environmental awareness. If you view from the right side, it tells you the impact of the environment pollution. If you view it from the left side, you'll have a sunny day. The difference is just a few steps of your action.

The social network

2010-12-01T23:07:00.004+08:00

This is a movie about Facebook. Don't expect to see love story or how-to-find-your-love type of movie. In fact, it tells the story behind the creation of Facebook. It was told that Facebook was created out of dissatisfaction and anger of Mark (the founder) after a breakup. Subsequently, he faced lawsuits from the creation of Facebook - illegal hacking of university's system, intellectual property, ownership of the corporation.

Personally, the narration of the movie is quite fresh. Thanks to director David Fincher (he directed the previous Benjamin Button and Fight Club). At the end of the day, maybe we should emulate the creator passion and determination of doing what he thinks is right and then perfect it. And fight for what is yours.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Say No and Yes

2010-11-21T08:49:00.006+08:00

Read two inspiration sharing from Daily Bread which I think both are very related. It tells about our sinful nature and how to resist from sinful urge.

Phil 3:9 tells us that we are found in Him, not having our own righteousness, which is from the law, but which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. When we receive Christ, we are set free from the penalty and the power of sin. We are able to say no and yes in our daily decision. We can say no to the desires of the flesh or "youthful lust" (2 Tim. 2:22). Hmm....what kind of "youthful lust"? Is it the lust that most of the youths experience? So when they grow older, the desire is not there? Maybe partly because most youths commit more wrong doings, at least that's what reported in the newspaper. So the heart of the youth is wild - need to be tamed :)

We should flee from the "youthful lust" (figurative speaking) and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. Say yes to righteousness, faith, love and peace.But even Christians also struggle with flesh and its sinful desires (Rom. 7:18-19). Fortunately we are alive to God in Christ. We can respond in a God-honoring way by obeying the instructions of Rom. 6:13: Do not present any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but present yourself to God as an instrument of righteousness. Sin shall no longer be our master, because we are no longer under the law but grace.

May the Lord give us strength to quench the desire to do things our own way.

Note: The author borrowed the "yes" logo from yes.my. It is not a mean of publicity but as an appreciation of the design.

Afghan Star

2010-11-17T16:22:00.005+08:00

A documentary about Afghan version of singing competition (a la American Idol).

As reported, since 1979, the Afghan people have suffered foreign invasions, civil war and Taliban rule. During that time, music was considered disrespectful and sacrilegious by the ruling body (yup, Taliban). From 1996, it was a crime to dance, listen to music or even watch TV.

In 2001, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was formed. In 2004, the first elections were held. Restrictions on music and dancing were lifted. Afghan Star is the country's first televised talent competition. Its first inception was in 2005 and the show is still running as of this year. Despite continuing conflict, the TV station is searching the country for a new generation of music stars.

Male contestants outnumbered female contestants. Yet, the people support their favourite stars regardless of ethnic.

The documentary features four contestants journey throughout the competition - their glory, fame and persecution. One of the female contestant accidentally revealed her hair on stage. To make the issue worse, she even danced. This was a no no for the strict religious men in the country. She was despised and even received death threat.

It's a good piece of documentary though. Fellow countryman should appreciate the technology and democracy of this land.

Expo 2010 - Denmark Pavilion

2010-11-14T15:06:00.007+08:00

Welcome to Denmark Pavilion. You have option to hire a bicycle and explore the pavilion or you can choose to walk. It said its city is the bicycle city - everybody moves around by bicycle. Don't know how true is this.

The original little mermaid statue was relocated from Copenhagen to here. This could be the main attraction right after you entered from the main entrance.

What would be Danish export to the world - none other than its famous Danish beer, Carlsberg. Well, no free beer here.

Besides Carlsberg, Lego is shown here. I didn't know Lego is from Denmark. Do you?

Overall, Denmark Pavilion did not offer much. Its selling point was the environmental conscious city - the bicycle city. At least it's no ordinary tourism exhibition.

In gold we trust

2010-11-07T23:40:00.004+08:00

I've heard people investing in gold lately. Particularly because gold price has risen sharply. This year alone it has risen 20% or more. I read an article and couldn't help to agree with the analysis about the weakness of gold investment. Here are the lists:
1. It produces no income.
This should be a bad news for gold investor. Don't expect to receive dividend from buying/ investing gold. If you are lucky, you will get appreciation of the gold value.
2. It has witnessed a long periods of underperformance.
History speaks it all. As quoted: after gold price reaching a record high of $850 per ounce in January 1980, gold prices fell over 40% in two months. It took gold 28 years to reclaim the $850 level. Will we see a repeat incident of gold's historical head fake?
3. It has high ownership cost.
Unless you invest gold in paper form, you will certainly have to pay higher ownership cost for acquiring gold (physical gold -be it gold bar or jewelery etc). Transaction cost, commission, tax, insuring and storing - all of these are additional costs.

Well, this doesn't mean I'm against gold investment. Just a perspective and reminder so we won't be too obsessed and greedy with it.

Expo 2010 (In-between...)

2010-10-31T16:11:00.002+08:00

Came out from Norway Pavilion, no plan where to head.
Next to Norway Pavilion were Sweden Pavilion and Latvia Pavilion. Denmark Pavilion was nearby too. Hmm...it was getting dark, so better decide soon.

Expo 2010 - Norway Pavilion

2010-10-26T23:16:00.006+08:00

The theme for Expo 2010 Shanghai is "Better City, Better Life". So one may think each country would project or present its interpretation based this theme. Now I can't comment what's the them for Malaysia Pavilion as I didn't manage to pay a visit. But report has it saying Malaysia Pavilion does not meet the theme, looks like pasar malam, and even the brochure has wrong English spelling. No comment on that.

Norway Pavilion has it's design focused on minimalism; even the building itself looks nothing extraordinary. The entrance is spacious though. As you step inside the main hall, there's big screen projection about Norwegian people and it's interpretation of better city.

On the exhibition are Norwegian costumes, utensils etc - daily stuff which used by Norwegian.

One must not forget Norway's biggest export - Nokia. It's on display too. Rather than showing the latest mobile phones, it only shows the concept of future communication.

Expo 2010 (Excursion)

2010-10-24T00:14:00.007+08:00

When you are in Shanghai, you should not miss out the most happening event of the year - World Expo. I planned for an evening visit. Why? Cheaper entry price, lesser crowd and cooler weather. After got out from the subway, the impression was - HUGE. I was in EU's pavilions zone.

First stop - Norway pavilion.

Note: The entire trip in Shanghai was captured using prime lens 35mm f/1.8.

The loving for iPad

2010-10-13T22:47:00.006+08:00

You know why some people are loving the iPad? Because they can't get the Macbook. So they get the simplified version of it. Joined the queue in Apple store. Luckily was not in the long queue like those iPhone crowds. The queue was less than 5 minutes though. Then asked for the stuff and paid. So why this?

After using it for 2 weeks, the owner find it's best for book reading and mobile surfing. Have downloaded lots of e-magazine to enjoy. Worth it. I think the owner will underuse his aged iPhone.

The madness for Apple

2010-10-09T00:35:00.004+08:00

Apple Store, IFC Mall, Shanghai. This is a good place to hang out. You can play all the gadgets there. No one will disturb you. Even taking photograph.

A happy new iPhone 4 owner is trying his new gadget on the spot.

The madness for iPhone 4

2010-10-08T23:37:00.003+08:00

iPhone 4 was launched in China on 25 Sep 2010. So I took a trip to Apple store in IFC mall, Shanghai. Guess how many people were there?

No wonder the company is making good profit.

Active

2010-09-30T06:59:00.003+08:00

Boy is active and likes to play, and running around.

Mid-autumn in Sibu, 2010

2010-09-19T01:19:00.004+08:00

This year Sibu has better mid-autumn decoration compared to last year. More lanterns are put up. More colors are available (with the addition of green, blue and purple). There's 1Malaysia theme as well.

Moon cake again

2010-09-05T14:02:00.004+08:00

Every year moon cake packaging design has becoming more and more creative. These are some packaging designs for the year. Needless to say, the price also increases every year; as an effect of increased raw material cost.. After all, moon cake festival is held once a year,

Ramadhan Bazaar

2010-08-29T17:40:00.004+08:00

Went to Sibu's Ramadhan bazaar last week. Could see that the main patrons were Chinese. Nevertheless. it's a nice place to get your meal and snack.

Prayer

2010-08-29T15:45:00.005+08:00

Probably the most effective prayer is: God, help me.

Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.
James 5:16-18 (The Message)

If Elijah can pray and got answered, so as we. What is needed is transparency if we pray. Therefore, we need to confess first. Consider this humor:
During a cell group session, the group members are encouraged to confess their sins, which have not been confessed publicly.

Pastor A: I used to take marijuana before I joined the bible college.
(The group members were in shock upon hearing this)
Paster B: I sometimes use foul language when people overtake me.
(Again, they were taken by surprise with the revelation)
Pastor A: How about you? Any sins that you want to confess"
Pastor C: Ermmm.....I'm a compulsive gossiper. And I can't wait to get out from here.

After all, we all are human being.

Shenzen

2010-08-28T11:57:00.004+08:00

Had a short working trip to Shenzen recently. The city itself is very well developed; totally triumphed our KL. Condos and high rise buildings aplenty. When move to the suburb and outskirt, development is everywhere - of course it starts with road construction. Not a city for tourist though. Somehow their beef dish is very tasty - tender and juicy.

Flood

2010-08-25T07:14:00.004+08:00

Went back to Sibu last week. There's CNY mood around the town. This is because part of the town was flooded. Common sight during CNY. But this time around is no CNY. Must be La Nina effect.

Prambanan

2010-08-18T00:27:00.006+08:00

This should be the last post for Java travel. Took a year to publish it. Must be not an exciting place you think. Well, it's historical. But now I'm not a big fan of temples (after visited Angkor Wat and Thai's temples, I think enough is enough).

A day trip to Melaka

2010-08-01T13:08:00.005+08:00

We went to Melaka for...

...Jonker Street heritage walk.

...chicken rice ball....Nyonya dessert.

...but Micah was terrified with the colorful trishaw.

Dream within a dream

2010-07-25T14:20:00.003+08:00

Perhaps this is one of the most innovative movie of the year. The idea is to plan an idea inside someone's mind through dream. The idea must be deep enough that it can alter and affect that person once he wakes up from his dream. In order to plan the idea deep enough, the team will need to go deep into the person's dream, or in other word dream within a dream. They had 4 level of dreams. Totally out of logical mind.

iCrap

2010-07-23T21:30:00.003+08:00

Colleagues of mine went to Shenzhen lately. Unfortunately, they were conned by street man. What appeared to be an iPhone 3GS was actually fake, not even a phone. Here's how they constructed it.

The LCD background was made from a black card board!The whole construction was just a few steel bars and a cardboard. And it only cost RMB400.

Well, we should know the Chinese are very cunning and smart. Beware of imitation products when you shop in China. Good luck!

Forbidden City (continued)

2010-07-17T22:48:00.008+08:00

Forbidden City

2010-07-17T22:02:00.004+08:00

In my previous trip to Beijing, I was able to slot it a day tour to Gugong aka The Forbidden City. Took the subway from the Olympic Sports Center station to Tian'anmen East. That's about 13 stations in between. I must say Beijing has a very good subway system. It costs RMB2 for any journey. That's about RM1. Once stepped out from the station, I could feel the frigid temperature. Not a good day on that day as the weather was hazy. Here are some photos from within the Forbidden City.

14 months

2010-07-11T08:30:00.003+08:00

These were taken when Micah visited his parents in May 2010.

World cup fame

2010-07-10T23:29:00.005+08:00

The greatest attention for this year World Cup is not which country won or best players but a creature named Paul. By far it has predicted 100% accuracy of the winner in World Cup 2010 matches involving Germany. Let's see if it will make another correct prediction for the match between Uruguay and Germany.

One wonders if the accuracy is pure luck as the chance of getting it correct is 50-50.

Update: Paul predicted correctly that Germany would beat Uruguay.

Sandakan in 1950

2010-07-04T23:08:00.003+08:00

Found these 2 photos posted in Facebook. Even though I was born and raised in this town, yet I have not seen these photos before. It was taken at the terminal bus area. Until today that area still serves as terminal bus. Fifty years no changed.

Say the right praise

2010-06-24T22:32:00.004+08:00

Effective praise can motivate a person.

...Dweck did (a series of experiments) with four hundred new York fifth graders...It's goal was to see how much a tiny signal - a single sentence of praise - can affect performance and effort, and what kind of signal is most effective. First, Dweck have every child a test that consisted of fairly easy puzzles. Afterward the researcher informed all the children of their scores, adding a single six-word sentence of praise. Half of the kids were praised for their intelligence ("You must be smart at this."), and half were praised for their effort ("You must have worked really hard"). The kids were tested a second time, but this time they were offered a choice between a harder test and an easier test. Ninety percent of the kids who'd been praised for their effort chose the harder test. A majority of the kids who'd been praised for their intelligence...chose the easy test. Why? "When we praise children for their intelligence," Dweck wrote, "we tell them that's the name of the game: look smart, don't take risk making mistakes." The third level of tests was uniformly harder; none of the kids did well. However, the two groups of kids -- the praised-for-effort group and the praised-for-intelligence group -- responded very differently to the situation. "(The effort group) dug in and grew very involved with the test, trying solutions, testing strategies," Dweck said. "They later said they liked it. But the group praised for its intelligence hated the harder test. They took it as proof they weren't smart. The experiment then came full circle, returning to a test of the same difficulty as the initial test. The praised-for-effort group improved their initial score by 30 percent, while the praised-for-intelligence group's score declined by 20 percent. All because of six short words. Dweck was so surprised at the results that she reran the study five times. Each time the result was the same. - Daniel Coyle

Read the full research here.

So never praise other people for their intelligence. That means we need to get creative in praising so that it will bring benefit to other people.

From insidework.net

When the new generation rises

2010-06-18T22:17:00.001+08:00

It all started with good opportunity. Next they moved to big city to reach their dreams. God knows how difficult life is in the big city. And the opportunist took advantage on the cheap labor. Workers have been exploited. Somehow these youngsters know how to react. I guess it's due to the flat world. They got the attention. Read here for more.

Wonder if our Malaysian youngsters have the gut to rise so. Or think creatively.
If you are one of them, what will you do? Will you do the same?

The author found the youngsters' action impressive with such maturity of handling the issue by not jeopardizing company's property. Thumbs up.

Give and receive

2010-06-13T23:31:00.004+08:00

Heard this message about Matthew 25:14-30 (The Parable of the Talents). We know that it's about stewardship. But this passage is more than that. The Bible says the master gave the talents to three servants. He didn't loan or borrow, but give. So it's a gift. And the master left for a journey. The interesting point is that the Bible doesn't say the master would return to settle the account. The master did return.

So the talents that have been given are analogous to the gift that each servant had received. Two of the servants embraced the gift and worked it out for a return. The other servant didn't get any gain from the talent. He might have not appreciated the gift (because he was given one talent while the other two got more?). This could be the same with us. Each of us has gift according to His will. And not all of us use it fully. Be it to bring glory to God or to advance His will. The reason?

Sometimes people are reluctant to receive gift. They receive it and put it aside. The purpose of the gift is to bless the receiver but the receiver doesn't embrace and share it with others. At the end, that's not much productivity. Gift goes wasted and unused. Are you having this dilemma?

Ripe for harvest

2010-06-10T23:26:00.002+08:00

This was my second attempt of shooting in Sekinchan. Previous attempt was in December last year. Went there in the late afternoon. There was thunderstorm. No great photos taken from that last trip.

This time a friend and I went there in the morning. The weather was good. We spent two hours in the field. Though not many photos shot, overall it was satisfactory.

LOST can be theological too

2010-06-06T22:47:00.006+08:00

There are six seasons altogether and I only watched the last three seasons. The plot is easy. A group of air flight passengers got stuck in an island after a plane crash. They encountered some mysterious events while on the island. There’s an attempt to leave the island. The last three seasons are about this group of people leaving the island and coming back again. It seems like the island has a rule that no one shall leave. As a result, the group who left earlier then realizes something is amiss. And there’s another group who somehow get teleported to different time. They stuck in that era and continue to live on. This same group of people plans to correct the past or specifically to prevent the airplane crash from happening.

In the last season, the story splits into two timeline: current time line and alternate time line. One may think the second group has successfully prevented the airplane crash. Thus, creating an alternate universe. This may need a bit of science theory to explain. After all, the series is created by the same guy who made the new Star Trek film version last year. Also it’s the same guy who created another science related series (Fringe). Back to the story, well, they actually didn’t prevent the airplane crash. Whatever happened, happened.

[Spoiler ahead]
In the finale, it was revealed the alternate universe is actually an afterlife (purgatory) of the survivors. The interesting part of this “alternate universe” is that everyone gets to see each other regardless when they die. Time is irrelevant in afterlife universe. Though the portrayal of afterlife universe is somehow questionable in the sense that the survivors are still continuing their usual life as before. The plot could be generalized from major religious doctrines to visualize a general idea of afterlife .

Rev 21:4 …there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

More on Borobudur

2010-06-05T23:53:00.004+08:00

Photos around the Borobudur temple....

Borobudur

2010-05-29T17:51:00.004+08:00

From Kawah Ijen, we headed back to Probolinggo to catch a night bus to Yogjakarta. We arrived in Yogja before sun rise. So we had to wait for an hour more before the next itinerary. Nevertheless, we started our next itinerary despite had not had our morning shower. Hehe....

The first stop was in Borobudur. The temple itself can rival Angkor Wat complex. However, the latter has more bas reliefs and temples. Borobudur temple has nine storeys of platform which represents the Buddhist cosmology. And climbing up to the top platform is not that difficult. You can stop at each platform before proceed to the next level.

Reasons why thinking is so poor

2010-05-24T23:30:00.003+08:00

Which one is more important: a detailed road map or the ability to drive a car?

Often time we don't really think, creatively and critically, for all issues. If this would happen, there won't be any argument or conflict.

Some of the reasons why thinking is so poor:
- no thinking classification (in education and library).
- we left it to the philosophers.
- ignorance.
- perception ignored, because we thought logic is all.
- the availability of computer and internet.
- complacency.

1 year

2010-05-15T07:35:00.005+08:00

Time flies. Now I'm a year old. I will be naughty; disturbing all the things I see. Haha...

Phalaenopsis

2010-05-09T18:25:00.004+08:00

After a sumptuous lunch in Ulu Yam, we headed to Waltex Biotec, an orchid farm. Amazingly, there were a lot of orchids there, like a sea of flowers.
This place marked the last destination of our Labor Day retreat.

Selangor State Park

2010-05-03T16:29:00.003+08:00

If you take the road from Batu Cave to Ulu Yam, you will pass by Selangor State Park. A not-so-gorgeous place but good for weekend escapade. This is Sungai Tua. You can then head to Ulu Yam Lama for the famous Loh Mee.

This is my first HDR photography. Needless to say, more practice is required. Done a few mistakes during shooting.

Wangfujing street of Beijing

2010-05-01T07:24:00.006+08:00

王府井
At one section it looks like Petaling Street with all the street food. On the other section, it's Jalan Bukit Bintang look-alike with high class shops. The whole street has even been declared off limits for vehicles.
Noteworthy store to visit there: a whole building block of bookstore. Actually there are 2 bookstores on that street. That's enough to put our bookstore in shame. It also has a whole block of toy store (dubbed as toy city). Enough for you to spend a whole day there.

The sulphur of Kawah Ijen

2010-04-25T16:31:00.007+08:00

Many Javaneses depend on sulphur from Kawah Ijen for survival. Although there's coffee plantation at the foot hill, they choose to collect sulphur at the crater. The wage is not high and the job is quite seasonal. Perhaps it is one of the most dangerous jobs on earth. They don't wear any personal protective equipment. They have to carry the heavy load of sulphur stones from the crater mouth and up the hill and down to the foot hill. Each sulpur stone weighed at least 10kg.

From the peak, it's about 200 metres descending towards the sulphur source. As I descended quite slow, so SY and the rest descended further. Mind you, the sulphur smell is extremely strong there. Below photos were taken with compact camera at the sulphur mine.

The road to Kawah Ijen

2010-04-23T23:53:00.005+08:00

Probably we took three hours to get to this turquoise sulphur lake of Kawah Ijen. As it had less tourist, so it felt more personal and near to the nature. One could see the sulphur steam billowing from the crater. Smell of sulphur, you bet it.

When too wired is too excessive

2010-04-23T22:56:00.003+08:00

It's weird to know that the country which has the highest broadband penetration is also having domestic cultural problem. People has become so obsessed with online game that they have forfeited their normal way of life. (Read this article.)

It has been said , for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him (2 Pet 2:19).

By the way, are you addicted to Farmville until you have forgotten there's actually a real farm out there?

What's in your backpack?

2010-04-17T21:47:00.005+08:00

You have a backpack. Now imagine that you need to stuff all your belongings into the backpack. Your career, family, hobbies, mortgages, photos of the past, cars, apartment, two-storey linked house etc. Now you have all stuffed in. And image you are starting to carry the backpack. Strapping in onto your shoulder. Feel the weight and the burden?

Ryan's philosophy of life is being free of any attachments. He works as a corporate downsizer (you get pay by firing people on behalf of their bosses who are too coward to do so) and therefore, have to travel extensively throughout the year. In the end, he manages to earn 10 millions miles mark. But soon he realizes life with relationship is worthwhile. He has to start afresh after being let down in a relationship.

Even though technology has enable to us to convey the message via internet or sms, it is still better to do it face-to-face. Nowadays, you can dump your girlfriend or even quit your job by just an sms. This is the other side of the message. Emotional management is better off with face-to-face.

Quote from the director: "In one sense, it’s a movie about a man who fires people for a living. In another sense, it’s a movie about a man who collects air miles excessively. In another sense, it’s about a man who meets a woman who’s so similar to him that even though they both believe in the idea of living solo, they begin to fall in love."

The right job

2010-04-10T16:21:00.005+08:00

Finding the right job takes time, some experimentation and patience. Consider the right job if you have the following signals:
You like the people there a lot. You do not need to fake yourself.
It has opportunity to grow as a person and a professional and having the feeling of learning that you didn't even know you needed to learn.
It has option of giving you credential that you can take and has future.
You are making the decision (ownership) of the job, not by fulfilling someone's wishes like parents whom wished their children to be a doctor and so on.
And finally you love the work content, having fun and meaningful moment.

From Winning

Up the balloons

2010-04-04T09:39:00.004+08:00

This was at the 2nd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2010. There supposed to have more than ten balloons as advertised. But the day we went there, only 5. Been cheated. However, on the first day of the event, it did actually have the full participants. Here are some photos as snapped by fren's fren.

And here is what we got after the first day event launching.

Lateral thinking

2010-04-03T12:06:00.003+08:00

The random word tool for creativity:
Get a focus theme for brainstorming.
Choose a random word (can be from dictionary, random pointing in the newspaper etc).
Then use this random word to generate ideas about the subject.

Example, your focus is to have a new idea for an internet business. A random word is "scream". What would scream has anything to do with internet business? You can sell bottled scream, or post paid-video of scream etc. Ideas are not limited. It could be illogical but at the end you can make a sense out of it.

From Think!: Before it's too late.

Birthday game

2010-03-29T23:41:00.003+08:00

You place few items in front of a baby. Then you let him choose what he likes. The item he chose will be his destiny in future. Do you know this game? I've heard about it but don't quite sure what it's called. And so baby Micah chose the car keys at first. Then he got scared. He made another selection - a book. What does it mean? He'll be an F1 driver? Or a boss? Or a teacher?

Of philosophy and fairy tale

2010-03-26T23:16:00.008+08:00

Since he doesn't know much about Chinese history, let alone the background of renown philosopher, this movie didn't bring any wow effect to him. It was interesting at the beginning. Towards the end, Confucius chose to isolate himself and live within his philosophy stand. Boring ending. Maybe that's because he was educated in non-Chinese education system, therefore not able to appreciate the life and essence of a Chinese philosopher.

And so this story is familiar for non-Chinese educated people like him. Bet not, this is not the exact same story as the original bedtime story. It's a continuation of Alice's adventures after she grew up. Though the adventure is ok, and a bit gloomy too, it does provide hope. His Chinese-educated wife did not like it. Probably due to different educational background? That's why two different education system products perceive thing differently.

Multigenerational planning

2010-03-18T19:04:00.005+08:00

"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."

John Adams, 2nd President of the United States.

Literally speaking, you need to work and plan smart so that your children will have a better choice, a better life.

Did you know The Navigators?

2010-03-16T19:46:00.006+08:00

Will anyone do the same slide for Malaysia's Navigators?

And the volcano journey continued

2010-03-14T18:01:00.000+08:00

And so we have completed Mt Bromo tour. From Cemoro Lawang, we came down to Probolinggo. The van would then dropped some people and picked up some. At the end of the day, there were 6 from Malaysia, 6 from France and 1 from Argentina, headed to Kawah Ijen. The journey to Kawah Ijen took one full day, considering we departed late. We met 2 Malaysian backpacker dudes and 2 ladies. Guess what, the dudes also had the same travel itinerary like us but in reverse. They started their trip from Yogjakarta and left from Surabaya. To get a different perspective view of Java, access the two dudes' blogs below.

Xiaowei's blog
Teh's blog

to be continued...

Beijing's Olympic Green

2010-03-14T09:33:00.007+08:00

(This will be the last post for Beijing's Olympic stadiums series.)

On my last day there (which was in January 2010), I found out one needs to pay 50 yuan (RM25) in order to go inside the National Stadium. That's pretty on the high side considering you just only get the view without doing anything. Fortunately, during winter time, the inner stadium will be converted into ice skating area. The fees package for ice skating started as low as 80 yuan (if I remember it correctly). That excluded skating equipments. And that's another steep price to pay for.

From bird's eye view, there's a canal within the Olympic Green which is reminiscent of a dragon. It looks more like a seahorse instead. Probably another feng shui related design.

Wealth management - everything begins with values

2010-03-12T23:45:00.005+08:00

IMHO, these are some questions that you need to ponder if you are growing your wealth...
(1) What do you want to accomplish with your life and your wealth? It could be one of these...
- maximize your financial security in retirement.
- channel your assets into additional wealth-building pursuits.
- spend your money.
- create a special place to bring family together (eg: a holiday island, villa etc).
- become a collector (eg: art).
- donate money and/or time to worthy cause.
- give money and companionship to people you care about.

(2) For how long do you want your values to shape your family's future?

(3) When it comes to investing, would you rather "eat well" or "sleep well"? (This is regarding your investment risk appetite)

(4) How should your family communicate about its wealth?

(5) Do you plan to build family leadership to grow your wealth over multiple generations?

Personally, he does envision to have a special place for family get together. Of course, wealth management should be cultivated in next generations.