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Showing posts from 2011

Boy and gadget

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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 bl

Why you allow your baby to watch TV?

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

Born on 14 Oct 2011, 11.30am.

The PC experience

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 t

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

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

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 Chri

Birds, lilies and treasures

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

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 wher

Big Mac economics

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

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

Micah will have a brother soon...

Where would you raise your kids?

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

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 me ans 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, t

Boy likes cat

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

Bintulu trip

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

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

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 eva

This is our God

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

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)

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

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

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 make the change in this round of election? We'll know soon.

Let the bullets fly

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. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

2 years

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....