I Believe

The testimony of Christians

2009-11-22T17:23:00.000+08:00

In my years of being a believer, I have observed that the strongest testimony of a Christian is when a non-Christian praises him/her for the way he/she behaves. Giving a testimony from the pulpit is not the only way to testify to one’s faith. It is easy to be a ‘good’ Christian in church or among fellow believers, singing praises, worshipping , praying and saying all the right phrases. We are all believers and we know what is expected of us although there may be the odd one who is still not sure!

We need to be true to our faith not only in church but wherever we are, at work or at play. The non-believers not only judge our beliefs but also the church we belong to based on our actions. If we are going to make disciples, we need to be one first.

We have many programs and events to which we are asked to invite our non-Christian friends to attend. Our living testimony will go a long way when we do invite these people as they know how we live and what we stand for. So, honesty, trustworthiness, clean language and a friendly nature is itself a powerful testimony for the Lord. When we do business with non-Christians, we need to be fair and honest. When we play games, we also need to be fair and honest and friendly. That is also our testimony.

We need to be reminded that the living and the speaking must go hand in hand for us to be effective disciples for the Lord. It is not easy but then, what is?

Have No Fear!

2009-08-17T01:03:00.003+08:00

How does one actually reach the stage of having no fear? Is it possible in this lifetime to attain that level? I have always wondered about this as so many people are afraid of their own shadows when they are alone.

We are fearful of death, accidents, snatch thieves, robbers, evil spirits, satan, the list goes on. As believers, should we be fearful?

Matt 8::26 "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" asked Jesus.

Matt 14:29–31 And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

I have come to believe that herein lies our problem with fear. We have little faith. We need to be reminded of the verses in the Bible that will help us get on the right track regarding what we should fear and what we shouldn’t.

Fear God:
LK 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

PROV 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Fear not the evil one:
Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

We should not fear because evil cannot separate us from the love of God that we have through Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Appropriate Church Hymns by Profession

2009-04-07T14:47:00.000+08:00

Good evening, friends, and welcome to our hymn sing. We are pleased to
announce that we have a hymn for everyone. Our program this evening
will include:

The Dentist's Hymn - Crown Him with Many Crowns

The Weatherman's Hymn - There Shall Be Showers of Blessings

The Contractor's Hymn - The Church's One Foundation

The Tailor's Hymn - Holy, Holy, Holy

The Golfer's Hymn - There Is A Green Hill Far Away

The Politician's Hymn - Standing on the Promises

The Optometrist's Hymn - Open My Eyes That I Might See

The IRA Agent's Hymn - I Surrender All

The Gossip's Hymn - Pass It On

The Electrician's Hymn - Send The Light

The Shopper's Hymn - Sweet By and By

The Realtor's Hymn - I've Got a Mansion, Just Over the Hilltop

The Massage Therapist's Hymn - He Touched Me

The Doctor's Hymn - The Great Physician

And for you motorists:

45 mph - God Will Take Care of You

55 mph - Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

65 mph - Nearer My God To Thee

75 mph - Nearer Still Nearer

85 mph - This World Is Not My Home

95 mph - Lord, I'm Coming Home

Over 100 mph - Precious Memories

Relationships

2007-12-14T20:32:00.000+08:00

Ever wondered how we tend to click with certain people even though we are of different religion and race? We spend a lot of time with those of the same religion and yet there are some people whom we don't meet so often and yet there is more closeness and chemistry in the relationship.

I have a few friends who are not of the same faith as me, but when we get together we really enjoy our time together and we can also talk about almost anything under the sun. Strange as it seems, the friends we have made in church (not all) are not this close.

In the journey of life, we meet so many different kinds of people. If we can make a handful of close friends, we should be very happy. Brothers, sisters and relatives we don't have much choice. Friends we can choose. So choose wisely and make some good friends who will last a lifetime.

FREE BURMA

2007-10-04T15:51:00.001+08:00

Food For Thought

2007-10-01T00:18:00.000+08:00

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,

do it with thy might;

for there is no work,

nor device, nor knowledge,

nor wisdom, in the grave,

whither thou goest.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Words To Live By

2007-07-04T23:39:00.000+08:00

When you are down and the situation around you looks hopeless, do not forget to look to God for He is always true and will be your help and guide through difficult times as well as good times.

1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 1

Words of Comfort

2007-06-20T18:00:00.000+08:00

For all those who are sojourners of "BOLEHLAND", here are some words of comfort from Habakkuk :

Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls;

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.

(Hab 3:17-19)

Loneliness

2007-04-22T15:07:00.000+08:00

The meaning of loneliness from Wikipedia is :
“Loneliness is an emotional state in which a person experiences a powerful feeling of emptiness and isolation. Loneliness is more than just the feeling of wanting company or wanting to do something with another person. Loneliness is a feeling of being cut off, disconnected from, and alienated towards, other people. The lonely person may find it difficult or even impossible to have any form of meaningful human contact. Lonely people often experience a subjective sense of inner emptiness or hollowness, with feelings of separation or isolation from the world.”

The reason for this topic is I have been left ‘alone’ for a few days a couple of times this month as my wife was away attending meetings. I wasn’t completely ‘alone’ as my son is still with me.

For a married man, there is this emptiness during the night. In the daytime we can attend church activities and in the evening arrange games (tennis or golf) with friends and so on. When it is time to be home and one half is not there, there is this strange feeling of not being complete. Nobody to talk to, or make fun of or laugh with. Watching TV alone is also not fun anymore even though we get control over the remote! Happiness is when it is wrestled from someone! Heh heh.

I know quite a number of friends who live alone. I wonder how they manage to overcome this feeling that I went through for those few days. Things are back to normal now. I don’t have to think about what to eat for dinner! Even the shopkeeper seemed to know something was amiss when I started to buy so many buns. “Isteri pi mana?” she asked. When I told her my wife is outstation, she said no wonder eating bread only! Bread or buns is the easiest thing for dinner and breakfast. Believe me. I know.

God did not intend for man to be alone.
Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

What Is Normal?

2007-03-26T00:33:00.000+08:00

I was watching a movie on the telly today - 'Family Stone'. It was about an American family and their relationship with each other. It looked like a disfunctional family to me.

The son brought home his girl friend to meet the family and declared his intention to marry her. After the scene where he manages to convince his mother that she is the one, somehow he falls for her sister instead! The girl friend manages to get herself drunk with his brother and in the end they both end up together. They have a mute son who happens to be gay and has a black man as his boyfriend. At the end of the show, they are seen with a black baby! The producers of this movie have managed to make it look like this is a typical American family! What crap! This is the power of the American media. They can change anything and make it look good in a very subtle way. It permeates the very fabric of our society and people like Elton John will be telling us what is right and what is wrong!

When we got married and wanted to have children, my greatest fear was that our children might not be normal. Normal in the sense of missing limbs, hole-in-the-heart, blind or even mentally retarded. This was our greatest fear. We are thought to pray about it and leave the rest to God. Whatever the outcome, the child will still be ours and we will learn to love and accept the child in whatever condition. This was not an empty promise but a commitment.

We thank God that we have two normal and healthy boys. As they grew, I still had that nagging feeling about other things like 'homosexuality'. I don't have to worry about that now. I will never know how I would have tackled that problem if it had surfaced. We learn from the bible that the union is between a man and a woman and the two shall be one. Then only can they have a family and there is procreation. Call me puritanical but this is what I believe. Some people would say it may not be 'cool' and very archaic, but this is normal to me and good enough for me and my family.

Mentally Challenged

2007-03-25T09:53:00.000+08:00

On some mornings I go to this Chinese coffee shop behind my house for breakfast. They have nice steaming 'char siew pow' available very early in the morning. I usually have one 'char siew pow' with a cup of coffee. As usual, I was at that coffee shop having my breakfast and I noticed a Chinese girl sitting at a nearby table having her bowl of noodle soup. I have seen this girl many times before at this shop and also at one of our local churches that help to look after and train the mentally challenged.

She has money to pay for the breakfast and knows how much change she should get. I was wondering what would happen to people like her if there was no one to give money for the daily needs. She doesn't work and so doesn't have a steady income. Her parents are probably giving her pocket money. What will happen to her if they are not around? It will be a sad story.

The Trinity Baptist Church in this city has set up a center to help people like her to learn a trade through which they can earn some money. The church also collects old newspapers and other stuff which can be sold for re-cycling and the money from this helps to support this center. This is a very good community service that the church is providing besides the dialysis center that they also operate. I feel that any church today that talks about evengelism without having a program to help the needy is not going to make an impact. Visiting the old folks home once a year is not it.

Looking For Food

2007-02-22T23:33:00.000+08:00

During Chinese New Year, it is quite common to see people(non-muslims) driving around looking for food. Most of the Chinese restaurants would close for at least 4 or 5 days. The food outlets that are open would be the ones that are 'franchised' like KFC, McDonald or Pizza Hut and so on. If one is looking for a place to call dishes, tough luck.

Most people would settle for 'mamak'(Indian muslim) food. The good thing about living in Malaysia is that there are a variety of food that is available to those who do not cook at home. During the CNY holidays, one can eat 'briyani' with curry chicken or mutton with a bowl of 'sup kambing'. 'Mee goreng' or 'mee rebus' is also in demand during this period. For those who like Malay food, it is also available. One other choice would be the Indian 'banana leaf' food. This of course is limited to 1 or 2 stalls as the Indian community is a minority here.

The truly desperate would settle for Maggi mee as they can't get 'kuando mee' or 'koay teow teng' or 'fried koay teow'! It's good to live in a multi-racial country. You won't starve to death during festive occasions if you are a bachelor or if you are not good at cooking.

A Walk In The Park

2007-01-30T10:07:00.000+08:00

Went for a walk in the park this morning. It was about 7.15am and the air was cool with a gentle breeze blowing. The sun was still sleeping. The birds were chirping high up in the trees and I felt fresh and enegertic as I walked along the footpath, enjoying nature and what it gives us for free when all of a sudden there was this piercing sound coming from behind me. Systematically done at a certain beat.

I turned around and there was this person clapping and walking. The clapping produced a sharp piercing sound and was amplified due to the quietness of the surrounding. I wasn't sure if the clapping was following the heart beat or some music inside this person's head but it sure spoiled the tranquility of that place at that time. I decided to stop and let this person go ahead of me as I got irritated by the clapping. I have no idea how the clapping is helping this person in keeping healthy. But I guess this is part of our democratic system. The right to clap in the park! What a bummer!

I'm Still Alive

2007-01-28T10:28:00.000+08:00

I came across this humorous poem in one of our local newspapers entitled 'I'm Still Alive'. I just had to post it as you don't come across such humour that often.

I’m Still Alive

Just a line to say I’m living,
That I’m not among the dead;
Though I’m getting more forgetful,
And more “mixed up” in the head.

For sometimes I can’t remember,
When I stand at the foot of the stairs,
If I must go up for something,
Or I’ve just come down from there.

And before the fridge so often
My poor mind is filled with doubt,
Have I just put food away, or
Have I come to take some out.

And there are times when it is dark out,
With my nightcap on my head,
I don’t know if I’m retiring,
Or just getting out of bed.

So if it’s my turn to write,
There’s no need in getting sore.
I may think that I have written,
And don’t want to be a bore.

So remember I do love you,
And I wish that you were here.
But now it’s nearly mail time,
So I must say, “Goodbye, dear.”

There I stood beside the mailbox,
With a face so very red,
Instead of mailing you my letter,
I had opened it instead!

Originally posted at Seniors-Site.Com
[http://seniors-site.com/poetry/mixedup.html
Sent in by dicgall@worldnet.att.net -- My Aunt of 81 years gave it to me and said she had had it for some time. Thanks.]

Flood In Johor

2007-01-15T13:16:00.000+08:00

The southern most state of Malaysia - Johor, has been badly hit by floods in most parts of the state. More than 104,000 people have been evecuated. When the first round of the flood waters started receding, everyone breathed a sigh of relief even though the houses were in a sorry mess and properties damaged by the flood waters. Suddenly came another round of torrential rain and the flood waters started to rise again, sending the victims scurrying to safer ground, salvaging whatever they could on the way.

We had some of that experience last year just before Christmas though not as bad as what the Johorians are going through. It is a terrible time to rough it out in a relief center, and knowing that your possessions will be floating down the river while you are helpless to do anything about it. The government and the private sector have mobilised relief volunteers to help distribute goods for the flood victims. Below are some pictures of the flood situation in Kota Tinggi, one of the affected towns in Johor.

Wet Weekend

2007-01-07T16:41:00.000+08:00

The Meteorological Department warned us on Thursday that we are going to have a wet weekend due to strong northeast monsoon winds blowing from South China Sea. The winds are expected to reach a speed of 65kph and will pass through north Peninsular Malaysia which is where I live.

True to their 'prediction', it has been raining all day today. No strong winds or lightning or thunder. Just rain, rain, rain, rain.... Water everywhere and this has caused some traffic jams in our fair city. The rain is not totally to blame of course. The situation has been compounded by development works along major roads which the City Council has seen fit to implement simultaneously just when the school terms begin. A number of traffic lights were also knocked out by sub-contractors who were digging the road.

With no policemen around to man this mess, it took much longer to get back home after picking up my son from school. It's a jungle out there with the motto 'who dares wins' attitude of many a motorist! I hope the rain will stop tomorrow. Otherwise it will be another hectic drive to town and back. I never liked city life which is why I moved back to my quiet hometown but it looks like the city is catching up with me and I have to learn to put up with it.

With this kind of weather all outdoors activities are off. No more tennis or golf. Karaoke anyone?

Dumpsite Treasure Hunt

2007-01-04T10:27:00.000+08:00

RM 80,000.00 find sparks a treasure hunt at the dumpsite along the Kuantan-Segamat Highway reports the Star today. What was a tragedy to many people seems to be a boon to some people. A lot of people have started scavenging through the rubbish hoping to find valuables that were washed away from the flooded homes.
Picture from the Star:

There is a fine for such an activity - RM 500.00, but these people are not bothered with that. For the person who found RM 80,000.00 in cash, it would mean less RM 500.00 only. No big deal! Many have found gold chains, gold coins and other jewelery which people usually keep in their homes. It never occured to any of them to return the valuables or at least make an attempt to return them. It looks like finders keepers policy at the moment. No time to sympathise with those who have lost so much because of the flood.

It reminds me of some scenes I have seen on Animal Planet where one animal is left behind because of sickness or injury. The poor animal can't keep up with the rest so it gets left behind. The predators who are lurking not too far away move in for the kill and get their lunch. Whatever is left behind is cleaned up by the vultures. Nothing goes to waste. Looks like some human characteristics are quite similar to those of the animals!

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T00:31:00.000+08:00

What Handicap?

2006-12-08T23:27:00.000+08:00

To many people, losing the use of both arms would definitley be tragic as that would make us handicapped. I can't even begin to imagine what life would be like if I don't have both of my arms.

There are a number of people without both arms who have overcome their handicap and are making the best out of the situation. They have learned to use their feet and their mouth to earn a living. I am refering to the Mouth And Foot Painting Artist who are stationed in Kuala Lumpur and display their works in a gallery in Ampang Park. Their association reproduces the original artworks into bookmarks, greeting cards, calendars, wrapping papers, etc. Self-help, not charity, is the MFPA’s motto.

I purchased some of their greeting cards which are shown below :

The Star had a write up about the MFPA and the information on how to join this group for those who qualify is as below :

Who can join MFPA?
Any body who has lost the use of his hands and paints with the mouth or foot can become a potential member of the association. They must submit six paintings, a medical certificate stating that they are unable to hold a paintbrush with their hands, two photographs and a short biography. All materials will be sent to the association’s headquarters in Lichtenstein for evaluation before one can be accepted as a member. MFPA can be contacted at (03) 2161 8860/8502.

Christmas Cheer

2006-12-04T00:47:00.000+08:00

It is that time of the year when supermarkets and shopping complexes start decorating and blaring out the special offers for Christmas. It is so easy to get caught up with all this hype and go on a buying spree. The attraction is "This is cheap, a great deal there, buy one get one and so on". What is it about Christmas that started this sales pitch all over the world?

It was a time for giving. The Christmas story is about God's greatest gift to us in the form of Jesus Christ who was given to us for our salvation. From this event we started this fad about buying gifts for people around Christmas time. When you give something to someone it shows you care about that person. Actually it should be about caring and loving your neighbour as yourself not only at Christmas time but all year around.

But being mortals, we tend to forget the real meaning of Christmas as we are too engrossed with our work or our hobbies or our careers or our families and our friends. At Christmas time we suddenly become more sensitive to the people around us and we become extra nice or generous to fit in with the Christmas spirit. For some, this 'caring' moment might even stretch beyond Christmas into the new year eve party where there will be more giving of gifts.

It is not a bad thing actually and maybe with time the caring spirit might last longer with the years until it becomes a part of our daily routine. Until such time I guess we will have to carry on with the practice of buying and giving gifts during Christmas. At least we would have made some poor soul happy for that short time. Something is better than nothing!

World's Best Dermatologist?

2006-12-02T10:52:00.000+08:00

Came across an advertisement in our local daily announcing the Festive Season Special Offer by one 'Dr Murad'. In the advertisement he claims to have been voted the 'World's Best Dermatologist'.

I immediately brought this piece of information to the attention of my dearest wife who is suffering from atopy eczema. She has seen so many skin specialist that sometimes when she happens to be attended by a doctor who is sitting in for the specialist at the government hospital, she ends up telling him what medication she wants. That's how experienced in skin matters she is. So, when I tell her about this 'World's Best Dermatologist', she asks to read further to find out who awarded him that title.

I read the fine print and it says 'VOGUE Magazine, Aug 2001 - LA USA'. When I gave her the information, she says that magazine is to cater for women's vanity. It's not a medical journal to give out such titles. Anyway, "LA USA is not the world." she says.

How true. It is typical of the Americans though. Whatever they do, they will declare it world standard or universal standard even though it is only their backyard. No wonder they lost in Vietnam and are now stuck in Iraq. They don't bother about the rest of the world but declare themselves champions of the world.

Coming back to this 'World Dermatologist', I was curious to see what a world class dermatologist had to offer us Malaysians.
1. Black heads and White heads
2. Pigmentation and uneven skin tone
3. Fine lines and wrinkles
4. Acne scars and blemishes

No wonder VOGUE was interested in this guy. His playing field was right down their front yard! I thought he might have some news for those suffering from soriasis or eczema or some other skin deseases that millions of people are suffering from.

This is capitalism in its truest form in a democratic society. Make money where you can and when you can and from whoever you can.

Well, that's life!

The Sudden Departure

2006-11-19T15:28:00.000+08:00

Attended a Muslim funeral today. This friend of mine (a lady) who had a mild stroke some years ago, looked like she was recovering and being herself again. She managed to get back her speech functions. She even phoned to invite me to her daughters wedding some time ago. We visited her and she was so happy to see 'the gang' again.

We (the gang) worked in the same office in the 80's. Now everyone of us had married and with children, hardly had time to meet. Her daughter's wedding was one of the occasions we could meet and laugh over old times.

Last night I received a message saying this lady had passed away. Life is so unpredictable. The circle of friends is getting smaller. I find that when you get older its not easy to make friends. You only make acquaintances. Mostly because when one grows older, you are not so forgiving, tend to be critical and very set in your own standards. You don't feel the need to change to accomodate new friends.

We need to go out and be more open and more adventurous. Life is not only short, it is also so unpredictable. No one is really prepared for death. We only talk about life after death. Not death itself. So, don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today as you don't know what tomorrow holds!

About Life

2006-11-13T11:53:00.000+08:00

I received this short write up on life through the internet
which I think is well written and beautifully stated.

About Life

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't
supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your
heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time.
You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was
broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love
for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too
fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many
pictures,laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt
because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of
happiness you'll never get back.

Don't be afraid that your life will end,
be afraid that it will never begin.
~anonymous~

Conversion Issues

2006-11-12T23:30:00.000+08:00

Received this info through the internet. Useful for the non-muslims.
Read and be well informed.

Silent Jet

2006-11-07T11:20:00.000+08:00

Came across an interesting article in the papers about the unveiling of the 'silent jet' in London by a team of researchers from Massachusets Institute of Technology and Cambridge University. This 'jet' would be so silent that from outside the airport it would be about as noisy as a washing machine.

I was attracted to the shape of the plane as it reminded me of a creature that has existed for a very long time under our oceans. I wonder if the researchers copied the shape from the original?

The Copy

The Original

The Technically Challenged

2006-11-02T09:53:00.000+08:00

This ought to make you feel better about your computer skills!
Unbelievable, but supposedly all true!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech support: What kind of computer do you have?
Female customer: A white one...
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Customer: Hi, this is Celine. I can't get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the Button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it's really stuck.
Tech support: That doesn't sound good; I'll make a note.
Customer: No , wait a minute... I hadn't inserted it yet...
it's still on my desk... sorry....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech support: Click on the 'my computer' icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Male customer: Hello... I can't print.
Tech support: Would you click on "start" for me and...
Customer: Listen pal; don't start getting technical on me!
I'm not Bill Gates.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer: Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can't print.
Every time I try, it says 'Can't find printer'. I've even
lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor,
but the computer still says he can't find it...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer: I have problems printing in red...
Tech support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah....................thank you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at the 7-11.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Tech support: Are you sure it's plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can't get behind the computer.
Tech support: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back.
Customer:! OK
Tech support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes
Tech support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in.
Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there's another one here. Ah...that one does work...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tech support: Your password is the small letter "a" as in apple,
a capital letter V as n Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer: can't get on the Internet.
Tech support: Are you sure you used the right password?
Customer: Yes, I'm sure. I saw my colleague do it.
Tech support: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five stars.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Tech support: That's not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry...Internet Explorer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer: I have a huge problem. A friend has placed a screen
saver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter 'a' in the address,
but how do I get the circle around it?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem
with her printer.
Tech support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point.
The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window,
and his printer is working fine."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And last but not least...
Tech support: "Okay Bob, let's press the control and escape keys
at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the
screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager."
Customer: I don't have a P.
Tech support: On your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: What do you mean?
Tech support: "P".....on your keyboard, Bob.
Customer: I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!

A Tribute To A Great Man

2006-10-28T21:03:00.000+08:00

Muhammad Yunus

Who is this man? I have never heard of him before but it seems he has been busily cracking his head to help the poverty stricken in his homeland - Bangladesh. It was the famine in 1974 which devastated the country that triggered this mans' desire to help the poor and needy. He is an Economics professor who quickly learnt that the book economics he was teaching wasn't helping the poor people in Bangladesh.

He went to the root of the problem by visiting the people most affected by the famine. It was there he found out about the middle men and the money lenders who were squeezing the life out of these people. The loan was given on condition the price for their work would be fixed by the money lenders and the goods must be sold to them only. The were as good as slaves under these terms. They wanted to work and do business but had no capital and the existing financial systems were not helping. The banking system did not consider the poor as good investment and as such refused to give out loans to them. It was then that Yunus decided to give them the loan, as little as $27.00, to start a business that was income-generating to support themselves. Initially he targeted women as they were the most under-priviledged and discriminated against by the banks.

The success of this scheme started the formation of the Grameen Bank in 1976 which lent small sums of money to the poor without collateral thus helping millions of poor families start income-generating projects which made them self supporting. This scheme is called microfinancing and due to its great success in Bangldesh, it has been adopted by the Asian Development Bank to help the poor in other countries. Ashok Sharma, South Asia head of microfinance at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, said that Yunus and his bank threw out all the conventional rules of banking, and succeeded in making people view poverty from a different perspective.

Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank were the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winners. They deserve it. The world needs more people like Yunus who use their knowledge, their talents and their time to help the helpless and the needy.

What Does Love Mean?

2006-10-24T23:30:00.000+08:00

What does Love mean? From the mouth of babes....

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca- age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"
Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is
handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image)
Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."
Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8

What more can I say!

Trinity Baptist Church Fair

2006-09-30T15:30:00.000+08:00

The Trinity Baptist Church of Alor Star organized a food and fun fair at their church grounds yesterday to raise funds for an orphanage and an old folks home. They intend to buy two houses nearby for this purpose. They already operate a dialysis center, a soup kitchen and a center for the physically and mentally handicapped. The response from the locals (non-muslims) to this event was tremendous. Below are some photos of this fair.

For The Believers

2006-09-27T23:01:00.000+08:00

Came across this encouraging piece of writing on the internet.

The CROSS

A young man was at the end of his rope, seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer "Lord, I can't go on," he said.
"I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place
your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief and said, "Thank you Lord," and he did as he was told.

Upon entering the other room, he saw many crosses; some so large the
tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.

"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.
The Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

When life's problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around and
see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself far more fortunate than you imagined.

YOUR CROSS

Whatever your cross
Whatever your pain
There will always be sunshine
After the rain

Perhaps you may stumble
Perhaps even fall
But God's always there
To help you through it all

High Cholesterol Problem

2006-09-21T18:03:00.000+08:00

The test results came back from the lab. Still not good. I tried three types of drugs to lower the cholesterol level but to no avail. Instead they all gave me other problems that never existed before.

The HDL is 0.94 (should be >1.0). The LDL is 3.77(should be <2.58). The triglyceride is 2.16(should be <1.68). The Total Cholesterol / HDL ratio is 6.1(should be <5.0).
The reading for the platelets is lower than 150(should be between 150-450).

"So, what next doc?" I asked my doctor. He said I am one of the very few who do not respond to the standard drugs(mostly statin group) prescribed for lowering cholesterol levels. I am also affected by the side effects. For the moment, no more drugs for me. He advised me to try green tea. They are reputed to contain a high concentration of polyphenols that act as powerful antioxidants. Polyphenols will then help in neutralizing the free radicals that are freely causing damage inside my body.

As of today, I am now a tea drinker(three cups a day). I used to drink a lot of iced coffee, milo and nescafe. Now for health reasons, green tea it is. The occasional beer at the karaoke is still on though. He didn't say anything about that. heh heh ...

Medical Lingo

2006-09-15T15:22:00.000+08:00

When you are over 50, you tend to pay more visits to your doctor, test your blood more often and learn more medical terms than you care to know about. You may have heard of these medical terms somewhere along the line but they didn't mean anything at that time. When you move to the other half of the century, things are different now. You get real personal with these terms and you try your best to understand them so that you can come to terms to what is happening and take remedial measures for your own well being. Some of the medical terms that have cropped up lately in my life are as below:

1. Prostate Specific Antigen - A protein produced by the cells of the prostate that can be elevated in patients suffering from prostate cancer, abbreviated PSA. To check if one has prostate cancer, a PSA test needs to be carried out. (A test on blood sample).

2. Testosterone - Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. Testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females although small amounts are secreted by the adrenal glands. In both males and females, it plays key roles in health and well-being.

3. Thrombocytopenia - Thrombocytopenia is the term for a reduced platelet (thrombocyte) count. It occurs when platelets are lost from the circulation faster than they can be replaced from the bone marrow where they are made. Can be caused by statin drugs taken to lower cholesterol levels.

4. Cholesterol - High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are small, dense molecules responsible for transporting cholesterol to the liver. This type of cholesterol is actually good for your body because it helps remove cholesterol from the arteries and protects against dangerous blockages (plaques) in the arteries.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) carries the majority of cholesterol through the bloodstream and delivers it to the cells of the body. These LDL-cholesterol molecules are larger, less dense, and less stable than HDL, and readily oxidize and deposit plaques on arterial walls. Therefore, LDL cholesterol is known as the "bad" cholesterol because it is more likely to clog arteries and lead to heart disease.

5. Cervical Spondylosis - Degenerative disease of the neck vertebrae. Compression of the spinal cord and cervical nerves by narrowing of spaces between vertebrae causes radiating neck or arm pain and stiffness, restricted head movement, headaches, spastic paralysis, and arm and leg weakness. Cervical spondylosis can resemble neurological disease with unrelated arthritis. It is treated with rest, traction, and possibly a cervical collar. Removal of herniated disks or fusion of vertebrae may be necessary.

6. Haematology - the branch of medicine that deals with diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs.

7. Endocrinology - The study of the glands and hormones of the body and their related disorders.

8. Hypothyrodism - Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormone. Since the main purpose of thyroid hormone is to "run the body's metabolism", it is understandable that people with this condition will have symptoms associated with a slow metabolism.

9. Osteophytosis - Outgrowth of immature bony processes from the vertebrae, reflecting the presence of degenerative disease and calcification. It includes cervical and lumbar spondylosis.

Hope there are no more medical terms coming my way. Good health and old age is acceptable.

Tennis, Tennis, Tennis

2006-09-11T10:40:00.000+08:00

While the US Open was going on in Flushing Meadows, we were having our own tennis tournament here in my home state, Kedah, Malaysia. The Kedah Closed Tennis Tournament was held from the 7th till the 9th of September at the Northern University of Malaysia tennis courts. The university is situated in Sintok, a town near the Malaysian/Thailand border. The participants ranged from the Under 12 group to the over 50 group.

It was a trying time for the parents who drove their children to this remote part of Kedah so that their children could take part in the tournament. Many of the participants had to wait until nightfall to show their talents on the court. Below are some photos taken at this event.

Driving to the university early in the morning.

Players in action.

At the end of the day there will be one! My son the Under18 champ.

Travelling Bees

2006-09-06T23:47:00.000+08:00

Had a small fright at the tennis courts today. Here we were enjoying our game of tennis, almost like these two in the pic below.

I was taking a rest while my wife played on with her friend. It was a cloudy day and I was wary of the rain clouds looming above us. Suddenly I saw little drops on the ground and immediately I grabbed the tennis bag and wanted to head for cover in the pavilion. My friend from the next court shouted to me saying, "Bees! Bees!". I looked around but never thought of looking up. My wife suddenly screemed and said look up.

There were so many of them, it was a sea of blackness. We all started running to the next court but it looked like they were following us. We ran again to the 3rd court and still it looked like we were being followed. By this time we decided to run to the right - to the adjacent court. Suddenly they were not following us anymore. Actually, they were migrating and we were running along their path. Fortunately nobody got stung. Those little droplets were actually drops of honey. There was a strong smell of honey in the air after the bees had left.

The court attendant told us these type of honey bees won't attack if you don't disturb them. Yeah right! So we said goodbye to the bees and continued the wonderful game of tennis. There were one or two bees that got lost, so we gave them the plan to their home.

Time Travel

2006-08-20T00:27:00.000+08:00

Remember that guy who wrote the science fiction novel, The Time Machine - Herbert George Wells? Well his sci-fi came to my mind the other day when I was caught in a traffic jam. I thought, how wonderful if somehow I just tripped over that machine on one of my forays into the suburban 'jungle'. Then, whenever I got caught in a traffic jam, I could just adjust the dials to an earlier time when there would be no one on that road, cross the problem area with ease right up to the target destination and then turn the dials and come back to the present time!

As I pondered further, I began to worry if there might be somebody at that exact spot in time which I had targeted. Would I be able to miss that person or would my action cause an accident which could cause an irriversible tragedy and upset the course of history forever! I might accidentally eliminate a future Olympic gold medalist for this country and everyone would hate me. That was such a frightening thought.

So I decided that should I get hold of such a contraption, I would go to a deserted place to try it. I would go backwards in time as this would be to my advantage as I would be the smarter person if I came across someone from 'ulu' days. But then I thought, if I went back too far and to a time when there was not much development, there might not be anybody to show off my 21st century knowledge to. What then? And this H G Wells fellow did not think about safety features for his machine. It is open to marauding creatures of the jungle. What if it was still a jungle and the wild animals would be looking for their next meal! I would be a sitting duck inside that machine. It would not have been built like a Humvee or a sherman tank. This isn't working for me.

Another nagging thought was if I went back in time, will I be growing younger and younger until I reach the point of my conception and then 'poof'- I am gone! This is too much for me. H G Wells can have his time machine back. If I ever trip over it, I will cart it to the 'botoi shop' and sell it for scrap. At least I will get some money from that encounter. heh heh ..

Indian Delicacies

2006-08-14T13:01:00.000+08:00

When I say Indian, I don't mean the whole of India but only to the southern part specifically, Tamil Nadu. I was not born there but my father was. I have vivid memories of that place as it was such a long time ago when he took me there.

Being married to a Chinese I have lost touch with the Indian food. I remember my mother used to cook a type of curry from a leafy vegetable. It is called 'keerae kari' and with just that curry I could finish two plates of rice. Of course the 'achar' will be there to boost the taste buds and a glass of 'moeru'.

Then there was the 'mochukotai and karuvadoo'(a type of beans with anchovies) curry. Where to find all these!!! I liked her 'nandu'(crab) curry with 'rasum'(a type of soup) the best. This dish I still get to eat once a year at my friend's place during Deepavali celebration. This is a finger licking good Indian dish.

My mother also cooked 'sambar', which we ate with rice and fried fish. Sometimes she fried the fish with a little vinegar. Fantastic stuff! The combination of the meat and vegetables plays an important part in the alluring taste of the recipe.

My brothers and sisters are into vegetarian stuff. Not my cup of tea. But they are an understanding lot and when we meet during Deepavali, there will be chicken or mutton curry for us.

Have No Fear

2006-07-27T00:06:00.000+08:00

"Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" asked Jesus. I have come to believe that herein lies our problem with fear. We have little faith. We need to be reminded of that great verse in Psalms 23 as shown below :

Illegal Racing Menace

2006-07-19T08:50:00.000+08:00

It was our usual weekend activity to go 'karaokeing' at our club. Almost all of us were present and counted for except for one lady. She promised to come by 9.30pm but it was already 10.30pm and no sign of her. Little did we know that she was lying inside her car with an injury at the neck about 700m from where we were.

When the lights turned green, she made a right turn at the t-junction and as she was turning, this motorbike with a pillion rider smashed into her car at the driver's side. The motorbike rider didn't stop for the red light. By the time she was taken to the hospital, she started feeling numb from the shoulders down. An MRI was taken which showed one of the discs at the neck area (c4-c6) had moved forward, probably due to the whip-lash effect on impact, and was touching the spinal chord. The surgeon advised an operation to remove the offending disc and replace it with an artificial one.

All of us visited her to give her support during this time of pain and uncertainty. I told her I was removing her form the karaoke list for awhile and when she was well agian she will be reinstated. She tried to laugh but the collar support 'thingy' was obstructing her. I thought it best not to crack any jokes and moved to the end of the bed. The operation was successful and we went to check on her again. The colour on her face was coming back and she was looking better. We estimated she would take about 1 month to be able to stand up on her own.

Last week she suddenly became listless and looked depressed. After some blood tests were carried out, it was found that she was lacking in potassium and sodium. The hospital staff took the necessary remedial measures to correct this problem. Three days ago during the night she had a mild stroke. Yesterday, she was still not responding to anyone. She has lost a lot of weight. When I visited her during lunch time, the hospital technician took an x-ray of the chest area. They still don't know what's wrong with her. A lot of tests are being carried out.

All this because of some youngsters crazy about speeding, taking part in illegal racing along the main road! The two guys had some fractures on their legs and would most probably be racing again in a month's time. The lack of enforcement has caused a lot of pain and disrupted the normal healthy living of many a law abiding citizen. When will we get an efficient and responsible police force? When are they going to do something concrete about the illegal racing along our main roads?

For now we can only pray for her to get well.

What Space Travel?

2006-07-15T21:41:00.000+08:00

As I was waiting for my son at his school, I was parked under one of the many trees that line the road in his school. I reclined the drivers seat to relax while waiting. Outside the sky was clear with a few puffs of clouds floating by. Just staring at the big expanse of blue sky makes you feel really, really very small. The night before the same sky was filled with blinking stars and now it seems like that they have taken the day off after a night of heavy blinking.

How can one even think of traveling to those distant stars. With the technology of today we can hardly set foot on the moon and be back for lunch. Yet we dream of deep space travel. Lets look at some speed facts. The speed of light is approximately 300,000Km/sec. or 187,500miles/sec. As light years are used as units of measurements in space, multiply the speed of light (187,500miles/sec) x 60 x 60 x 24 x 365 to get how far light has traveled in 1 year.

What is the diameter of the Milky Way? It is 100,000 light years! What does that mean? Multiply the distance light travels in 1 year by 100,000 to get the approximate diameter of the Milky Way and then begin to wonder at the greatness of God’s creation.

We are not going anywhere in the form we are in and with the mode of transport that we have today. Your car could have a speed potential of up to 150 mph. The speed of the space shuttle is approximately 17,500mph.

The Voyager spacecraft left the solar system at 37,000 mph. At that speed, it would take Voyager 80,000 years to reach our nearest star - Proxima Centauri.

Just imagine you are a goldfish in a bowl that has been fixed to a toy pickup truck with batteries.

You are now trying to cross the Sahara desert. What are your chances? zilch!

We have only thought about the speed and the vastness of space. We are our worst liabilities. Most of us have an average life span of 70 -75 years. So, how far can we go with that time frame? 70 -75 is from birth to death. The actual useful time is much less. We also need oxygen and food. The vehicle also needs fuel. How big can the storage of this vehicle be to travel for such a long period of time. This is assuming we can develop a spacecraft that can travel at the speed of light which is still not sufficient. It has to be able to travel many times the speed of light. The only way we are getting out of this solar system is in a different form, probably in a spirit form. Back to the Star Wars movies or Star Trek to travel to space at warp speed! Whatever that means! Below are some photos of interest for future space travellers.

Distance Comparison

Supernova

Space Shuttle

RM490 million Sports Training Center!

2006-07-12T16:35:00.000+08:00

Who says Malaysia has no money. The Malays were reported to be 'spending' RM4 billion a year on liquor and gambling and now the government wants to build a sports training center in London estimated to cost RM490 million! Who makes these decisions? The Government under our Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has allowed prices of goods to spiral. The advice given to the people is to be thrifty. The government has no money for development projects in the country it seems.

Now we hear of this project to build a sports training center in London! If we are so concerned about raising the standard of our athletes, why not bring the coaches over here. That will definately be cheaper and more athletes will benefit. We know that if the training is to be held in London, not everyone going there will be a genuine article. Some so called 'athletes' and a big number of officials and their relatives will manage to squeeze in just to go to London.

Why build in London? The sprint kings are in the U.S. What do you hope to get from London? The English didn't even make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. I can't understand the reasoning behind this decision. We don't have world class athletes (track events). The only world class players are Nicole(squash) and some badminton players. In the 70's our hockey team was a force to be reckoned with. Now we are a spent force.

We might as well start building sports facilities in every state for the people and employ competent coaches (not your in-laws or cousins who are jobless) to raise the standard right here in our backyard. When we can produce top level athletes then we send them overseas to fine-tune their skills. Look at how China is producing world class ping-pong players, badminton players, tennis players and divers. We've got to believe in ourselves, play fair and choose our athletes on merit. That's how it's done elsewhere.

And please stop increasing the price of goods, the toll charges, the electricity rates, the parking rates (Star Parade in Alor Star has raised its parking fees) and fuel prices.

It's That Time Of The Year

2006-07-10T17:35:00.000+08:00

It's that time of the year when we travel to a neighbouring state(Penang) to take part in the annual Tennis Invitation organized by the Penang Sports Club. Penang is one of the northern states in Malaysia sharing the border with the state where we live. It's about 1hr 15 mins drive (96Km).

This year there were no foreign teams participating. The participating teams were from Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Federal Teritory and Penang. Altogether there were 12 teams. Three groups having 4 teams in each group playing 'Round Robin' to semi-final in their respective age groups - 35 above, 45 above and 55 above. 1 ladies doubles and 1 mixed doubles.

It was fun taking part in such a tournament. Playing at odd hours and on different turfs. In the past we had teams from Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore taking part. Times must be bad as they were all missing this year. Some pics taken at this event.

A Trip To The Market

2006-07-04T10:15:00.000+08:00

Wife wanted to eat 'jagung' today. She suggested I take a walk in the market instead of in the park. So off I drove to the local wet market. Had my breakfast of 'wan tan mee' first to build up the energy for the walk in the market.

Typical market scene with the stalls by the roadside. The wet stuff is displayed behind the front row stalls.

Looked around the stalls by the roadside and didn't find any 'jagung'. So, had to go in, jostling with the usual market crowd. Went one round and still didn't see anyone selling 'jagung'. Met an old colleague who was waiting faithfully for his wife who was busy with the buying somewhere inside the market area. Chatted with him for awhile about old times, our health and the current economic situation and then proceeded to look for my 'jagungs'. Went out to the road again and met up with my primary school teacher. He wanted to know if I worked for the police. I said no and asked him why. Someone had knocked into his car and rudely told him to contact the insurance company if he wanted compensation. He was pissed off with this man's behaviour. Another old friend who happened to be his classmate was there and he wondered if this could be one of the reasons people think Malaysians are rude as reported in the papers recently. I told him the survey was done in K.L. and that it was not a very accurate one. Anyway, I advised my ex-teacher to report the matter to the police.

After we parted, I remembered that my good friend who intoduced the 'Taiwan jagung' to my wife worked nearby the market. Decided to call her but the phone was off. So I walked to her clinic and peeped into her room to see if she was there.

ooooooopppppssss...wrong room..

No one was in the room. Only the empty dentist chair. Just not my day. Asked the nurse outside if the good doctor was on leave she said no. She said I was too early as work starts at 8.00am. The doctor will be coming soon. I couldn't wait for her so I went home without the 'jagungs'. Much later the good doctor phoned to enquire why I was looking for her and after listening to my story she told me she will buy the 'jagungs' for me tomorrow. Hurray for the good doctor!Problem solved.

Dogs, Dogs And More Dogs

2006-07-02T13:04:00.000+08:00

Man's best friend got him into trouble. Not one but twenty five of them. The man claimed they were his best friends and kept all 25 dogs in his terraced house. 13 of the dogs were shot by the dog shooters from the Municipal Council of Seremban. They said they had a court order to cull the 25 dogs after receiving numerous complaints from residents in the same taman regarding the foul stench and the noise from the canines in his house. It caused an uproar among the dog lovers in Malaysia. The owner was actually given a 6 months grace period to move the animals to another area but he refused.

Lets look at the situation rationally. A terrace house is most probably 22ft by 45ft with a hall, a master bedroom, two smaller rooms, a dining area and a kitchen with the bathroom and toilet beside it. How are you going to live with 25 dogs in such a small place? You share both the side walls with other house owners. The only outside area is the 22ft x 15ft in front of the house for parking your car and a small 'garden'. Where are the dogs going to exercise? Taking care of one dog is already a problem for some people what more 25! Are they getting proper food and care? How does he clean up after 25 dogs? Judging from the numerous complaints, he obviously does not do much cleaning. I am glad he was not my neighbour.

Anyway, the right thing for the Municipal Council to do would have been to give away most of the dogs to the many dog lovers around Seremban or to the RSPCA if there was one there. It wasn't really necessary to shoot the dogs just because of a stupid man's stubborness. The humane nature of the Municipal Council is missing. Below is a picture of the man trying to save some of the dogs by putting them into his car and driving off but he didn't make it.

The last I heard of this story was that two of the dogs were kept by the owner and the rest that were not killed have been moved to a new location. All the neighbours heaved a big sigh of relief as they can now 'breathe' easy.

World Cup

2006-07-02T11:13:00.000+08:00

The World Cup is coming to a close. Many teams gave their best but just did not make it. Of the many that got booted out were Brazil and England.

I always liked to watch the Brazilian team play. It was like they were doing their samba on the field. They were passionate about their game. Even when the teams stood for their respective national anthems to play, you could see the Brazilian players actually singing their anthem. Some African teams just stood there, rigid and looking 'woody' almost as if they were afraid of being shot if they moved. But anyway, the French played better with Zidane and his teamates which saw the Brazilians being 'kicked' out.

The English on the other hand seemed to not do well on penalty shootouts. England was the favourite with many from our country. This is probably because we are so familiar with their players after watching so many English League games. But they seemed to have too many injured star players on their team. Some one had to win and so Portugal gets to go into the semi-final to meet France while Germany will take on Italy. I think the French have a good chance of winning this World Cup. Anybody has other opinions?

Commentator

2006-07-02T10:14:00.000+08:00

I read an article in the paper about Huang Jianxiang, the Chinese commentator for China Central Television(CCTV). He was on the job for the live broadcast of the play-off between Italy and Australia. It was reported that he was very one-sided throughout the match. He was rootin for the Italians while putting down the Aussie team. This TV commentator had taken sides! How unprofessional!

When he was questioned by his colleagues he said that he was human and not a machine. He had feelings and as such he cannot be completely impartial! He went on to say that he really didn't like Australia and he didn't want them to win. If that was the case he should have resigned from his post and started his own broadcasting company and support any team he fancied. As long as he is working for someone else he has to follow the rules. As a TV commentator he must know that there are viewers who also support Australia.

He acted very irresponsibly. But what I am interested in is what did the station do about his unprofessional outburst? Was any action taken immediately. The match would have lasted more than one hour forty five minutes. He was heard shouting hysterically for the Italians during that time. Weren't the people in management aware of his antics?

In contrast, look at what happened to Andreas Wenzel, a stadium announcer in Berlin. He used the announcement of a substitution to tell the 72,000-strong crowd in Berlin's Olympiastadion that the German team needed their support. Although he was a veteran announcer for the German national team, he was promptly substituted at the microphone by the local organising committee. What was the comment by FIFA's director of communications, Markus Siegler? "This had no place in the balanced neutrality of an announcer. It's not acceptable".

I guess the CCTV management team don't have the same views regarding such incidences. In Asia anything goes as long as can make money!

Wimbledon

2006-06-26T22:34:00.000+08:00

It's Wimbledon time again! The magic of grass court tennis where the players serve and volley. What a beautiful game to watch (and play if your knees permit). Unfortunately, the weather in England has other plans of its own. It seems bent on raining over the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club this week. The opening match between Paradorn and Calleri was stopped midway in the first set due to rain. What a bummer!

But the good thing about the live telecast for the Wimbledon is that you get to see all the great games of the past while waiting for the rain to stop. Looking at the attire and the hair styles of the players in the 60s and the 70s is nostalgic. Even the small racquets we all used during that time. How could the the pros hit the ball at the sweet spot most of the time? Fantastic players.

'Moi" in the 70s!
Nowadays the racquets are large and the frames very light. The shorts are not shorts anymore. Look at Nadal. I don't know what he is wearing but he is a top class player. Sharapova dresses like she is in the bedroom getting ready to go to sleep! I guess we have to move with the times and that includes the way we dress. But anyway, my favourite male player to win this year's Wimbledon is Roger Federer. He stands a good chance. The female section does not have a clear leader. We just have to wait for the early rounds to be over to see who is in form.

Househusband?

2006-06-21T23:04:00.000+08:00

As I was driving my son to school, I was listening to the car radio and the DJ threw a question to those wives who were listening. He asked them to call and tell if their husbands helped with the chores around the house.

There were many wives phoning in to tell their story. One told how her husband did the cooking. He would always make a mess of the kitchen but it was worth it as his cooking was very good. Then there was this lady who said that her husband was very understanding and would help her mop the floor. One guy even phoned in to tell that most husbands would help at home but the degree of 'help' would be different.

There was this fiery lady who called in and asked what do you mean by help? Isn't it supposed to be a partnership? Isn't the house ours and aren't we both living in it? Why is it that when he does something it is called help and when I do it, it is my job? I think the chores around the house should be the responsibility of both the husband and wife.

She sounded like my wife! I agree with her though. It not only involves both parties but includes anyone living in the same house which means the kids as well. We don't have a policy of paying our children to put out the trash or wash the car or wipe the furniture. That is part and parcel of staying in the house and enjoying all the benefits that goes with it. We have come to an understanding in which I do the things that she cannot do and she does the things that I am not 'good at'. So far it has worked fine with us. The boys have learned to do their chores without grumbling and I hope it helps with their family life in the future.

The Power of Prayer

2006-06-19T09:56:00.000+08:00

This article appeared in Frank Kaiser's Suddenly Senior column. Should be an eye opener for many in the medical field.

THE POWER OF PRAYER IN MEDICINE
People Who Are Prayed for Fare Better By Jeanie Davis
Nov. 6, 2001 -- Here's more evidence that -- in medicine, as in all of life -- prayer seems to work in mysterious ways. In one recent study, women at an in vitro fertilization clinic had higher pregnancy rates when total strangers were praying for them. Another study finds that people undergoing risky cardiovascular surgery have fewer complications when they are the focus of prayer groups. The fertilization study -- conducted at a hospital in Seoul, Korea -- found a doubling of the pregnancy rate among women who were prayed for, says Rogerio A. Lobo, MD, chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University School of Medicine in New York City. His study appears in the September issue of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine." It's a highly-significant finding," Lobo tells WebMD. "I'm first to say we don't know what this means." The randomized study involved 199 women who were undergoing in vitro fertility treatments at a hospital in Seoul, Korea, during 1998 and 1999. All women were selected for the study based on their similar age and fertility factors, Lobo tells WebMD. Half the women were randomly assigned to have one of several Christian prayer groups in the U.S., Canada, and Australia pray for them. A photograph of each patient was given to "her" prayer group. While one set of prayer groups prayed directly for the women, a second set of prayer groups prayed for the first set, and a third group prayed for both groups. Neither the women nor their medical caregivers knew about the study -- or that anyone was praying for them. "We were very careful to control this as rigorously as we could," Lobo tells WebMD. "We deliberately set it up in an unbiased way. "That meant not informing patients they were being prayed for, so it would not influence the women's outcome. Whether the patients were praying for themselves -- or if others were praying for them -- "we don't know," he says. The women in the "prayed for" group became pregnant twice as often as the other women, he says. "We were not expecting to find a positive result," says Lobo. Researchers have re-analyzed the data several times, to detect any discrepancies -- but have been unable to find any, he says. Lobo admits there may be some "biological variable" that they have not discovered, which could account for the high success rate among the prayed-for women. He and his colleagues are already planning a follow-up study also involving in vitro fertilization.

The second study involves 150 patients -- all having serious heart problems, all scheduled for a procedure called angioplasty, in which doctors thread a catheter up into a clogged heart artery, open it up, and insert a little device called a stent to prop it open. Patients who were prayed for during their procedure had far fewer complications, reports lead author Mitchell W. Krucoff, MD, director of the Ischemia Monitoring Laboratory at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center in Durham, NC. His study appears in the current issue of the American Heart Journal. Krucoff enrolled 150 patients who were going to have the stent procedure, and then randomly assigned them to receive one of five complementary therapies: guided imagery, stress relaxation, healing touch, or intercessory 'off site' prayer -- which meant they were prayed for by others, or to no complementary therapy. All the complementary therapies -- except off-site prayer -- were performed at the patient's bedside at least one hour before the cardiac procedures.Seven prayer groups of varying denominations around the world -- Buddhists, Catholics, Moravians, Jews, fundamentalist Christians, Baptists, and the Unity School of Christianity -- prayed for specific patients during their procedures. Each prayer group was assigned names, ages, and illnesses of specific patients they were to pray for. None of the patients, family members, or staff knew who was being prayed for. None of the patient-prayer group matchings were based on denomination. "This was a very rigorously controlled study, just as we would look at any therapeutic -- a new cardiovascular drug, a new stent -- and see the results in terms of patients' outcomes," Krucoff tells WebMD. The goal was to determine which therapies warranted further study in a bigger trial. Those in the "prayed for" group had fewer complications than any of the patients, including those receiving other complementary therapies, he says. "Although it's not statistical proof, it's not certainty, it is suggestive -- to the point that we've already begun a phase II trial. "He has already enrolled more than 300 people in a phase II study.Why did prayer produce the best outcome? "There are no satisfactory mechanistic explanations," he says. That's why studies that measure patients' outcomes are best for this kind of study, he says. Even if you don't understand why it's happening, at least you have something to measure -- how the patient did. "Both studies are "well-controlled," preliminary trials "providing more evidence that there's something to it all," says Blair Justice, PhD, professor of psychology and psychobiologist (mind-body medicine) at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston.Justice, who has followed prayer research for several decades, reviewed the reports for WebMD. "Research into prayer has been going on a lot longer than is reflected in mainstream journals," Justice tells WebMD. "Since the 1980s, there have been several well-controlled prospective studies, good evidence that this wasn't some product of a good imagination. "Some of the studies conducted in Europe involved nonhuman organisms -- enzyme cells, bacteria, plants, animals -- which could not be affected by other complicating factors, including faith. Groups were assigned to pray for their growth; then the prayers were reversed, and people were praying against growth. Each time, the plants responded according to the focus of the prayers. "There seems to be something to it," he says. While current technology does not allow researchers to understand the mechanism behind prayer -- what makes it work -- it's much like gravity and other natural phenomena that were considered mysterious forces by earlier cultures, Justice tells WebMD. "Keppler was accused of being insane when he said tides were due to the tug of lunar gravity, even Galileo considered it to be ravings of a lunatic -- until Marconi proved the theory," he says. "It's just like anything else, you don't have to believe in it for prayer to have an effect," says Justice.
© 2001 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved.

Family Camp

2006-06-18T11:23:00.000+08:00

Attended our annual church family camp at the Cinta Sayang Golf Resort in Sungai Petani. The resort is located approximately 36 miles south of our city. The camp was from the 15th till the 17th of June. Most of the church members and their families attended the camp.

The speaker talked about the mindset of many Christians today. The message revolved around Romans 12:2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

It was a refreshing time for all of us as we also had the opportunity to fellowship and get to know one another better. You can be a member of a church for many years and still be a stranger to many! It is during such occasions that you 'discover' new friends. Below are some pics from the camp.

Me

My Family

The Room

The Driving Range

Session I
The Younger Generation

What a day!

2006-06-11T08:49:00.000+08:00

June the 10th, 2006. We were invited to a memorial service in a friends home. Their son died of cancer at the age of 16. There was some singing after which the Pastor led in a prayer for the family and friends and also remembering Raj (the son who passed away). It wasn't a sad atmosphere as some might have thought at a memorial service. The family knows that he is in a better place and that we will all be together one day.

This was also a chance for friends to get together and talk of old times and see the changing faces and shapes of our children. Some were taller vertically and others had grown sideways. There is always the one who plays outdoors so much that the aunties would comment, 'Haiyah! Why so dark one?'. The 'dark one' would reply 'I just came back from tennis competition la, aunty.'

The food was good. Chicken curry, mutton curry, 'vadai' chapati, tosai, etc... There was so much food the host insisted we take back some for dinner(they know we don't cook, heh heh).

That evening my wife and I had arranged a foursome for tennis. This was where we had a chance to burn away the extra calories. After three sets I was really tired. On the way home we stopped at the local 'mini market' and bought some durians and one big water melon. Together with the food from my friends place, this was our dinner while we watched the French Open Ladies Finals. And as I had predicted, Justine won. What a day!

For those who don't know what a durian looks like :

Durian

The French Open

2006-06-10T10:41:00.000+08:00

Who will be the King and the Queen of the French Open for this year? Can Federer capture the title? Will Henin be let down by stomach cramps this time? I don't know but if you ask me, my money is on Federer and Henin to capture the respective titles.

Latest : Nadal took the French Open crown!
Latest : The new French Open Queen is Justine! (felicitations my dear!)

Lowering Cholesterol Level

2006-06-01T21:08:00.000+08:00

When you have reached that age when you can't throw caution to the wind and eat anything you like, you start looking for solutions to your very serious problem of having a high cholesterol level. When I say 'high cholesterol level problem' I mean having a Total Cholesterol level which is greater than 5.2, having an HDL level which is less than 1.5 and the LDL level being greater than 3.4.

Any doctor worth his salt will tell you these readings are not good and that they would belong to someone who doesn't exercise, who smokes heavily and drinks (alcohol) a lot. I do not fit into this description yet I have the same readings. Final conclusion, hereditary problem. Both my parents had suffered from 'stroke'. So what should I do? I tried drugs to solve the problem and ended up with more problems from the side effects.

Now it's back to basics. Control the type of food that goes into the body, which means reducing the intake of oily or fried food. Continue the exercise program and try not to get injured in the process and finally take the secret recipe for lowering the cholesterol level! What is the secret recipe? Very simple and very affordable.

1. 1-2 cap of Red Yeast Rice 3 times a day before food.
2. Squeeze half a lime into a glass and if half a lime doesn't produce enough juice, use the whole lime like I do. Add a pinch of salt to adjust the PH factor. Add 1 tablespoon (teaspoon if too sweet) of honey, add water, stir ('but not shaken'- for the Bond types) and throw down the hatch every morning on an empty stomach. This is what I am doing. Does it work? Ask me in 3 months' time when I go for my blood test. heh heh..

Cheers mate!

SUKMA

2006-05-24T21:39:00.000+08:00

SUKMA short for 'Sukan Malaysia' (Malaysian Games) has kicked off as of today in my fair city. I will be posting pictures of the various events from time to time as this event will go on until the 4th of June. Below are some pics showing the torch run and the official lighting of the torch in Alor Star.

The torch being lit, to be sent to Alor Star, the main venue for the games.

The torch bearer with his 'body guards'!

The man standing beside the mascot(the 'eagle') is my friend.

The Lawn Bowling event has started. Below are two pics of the ladies in action.

Happy Mother's Day

2006-05-14T09:48:00.000+08:00

I would like to wish all mothers who pass by this way a Happy Mother's Day. Below is a poem especially for you :

A Villanelle for Mother's Day

A villanelle for Mother's Day
Should take me just about an hour:
Writing it is child's play.

Because I know just what to say,
And rhyming's quite within my power,
To write it should be child's play.

Yet plain speech is not my way:
I look for leaves to shade my flower,
This villanelle for Mother's Day.

I do not wish to sound too fey,
Obscure, mystic, gushy, sour--
Arggh! Writing's never child's play!

Yes, childish! To my dismay,
Far beyond the allotted hour,
This villanelle for Mother's Day

Dawdles on. Let me just say
It plain: I love you, and so end our
Villanelle for Mother's Day.
(Well … writing it was child's play.)

- Nicholas Gordon

The Misery Of Rain

2006-04-20T08:14:00.000+08:00

In this corner of the world we don't get snow. We have sunshine and rain, rain, rain and more rain. Of late it has been raining almost everyday.

Rain is not a bad thing. The padi farmers wait for it during the planting season. The problem for us tennis players is that it rains from 4.00pm till sunset and sometimes into the night. This week two of the tennis appointments were washed out by the rain.

This isn't one of our courts but the situation is the same.

I can't blame the weather though. Maybe it has something to do with one of our members. This lady player is also learning to dance the cha-cha, waltz, fox-trot and maybe the salsa too. I suspect she got her steps all mixed up and was actually doing the rain dance. My suspicions will be confirmed if it doesn't rain in the coming days because she will be away. But that's just my theory.

By the time she reads this blog she will be far away and I will be safe...for awhile.. heh heh..

I Wish

2006-04-14T01:22:00.000+08:00

I wish I will have enough money to travel and see places. I have always been fascinated by distant lands, their people, their culture, their structures - both natural and man-made. I used to watch Lonely Planet and now Globe Trekker and envied all those young people who get to go to various countries and see and experience so many different things.

If given the chance I would like to go and see the places in the pictures that are shown below but not necessarily in their order of appearance. Some people will tell me to dream on but this is my wish and yes, my dream.

Exercise anyone?

2006-04-10T11:50:00.000+08:00

I decided to post some pics of the park where I go for my morning walks. It is called "Taman Jubli Perak"(Silver Jublee Park). This park attracts a lot of people both in the mornings and in the evenings. We have the very young and the very old, and the very healthy and the not so healthy and everyone else who just want to sweat it out in the fresh air.

You have one large group of line dancers who start early in the morning. Near this group you have a group of 'old timers' doing the 'chi kung'. In the same area is another group doing some aerobic exercises led by an energetic young lady.

In the middle of the park are our yoga enthusiasts who get together only on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the other side of the park are the really old timers who stand around swinging their arms with some small movement of the legs. We also have a group doing the'Tai chi' near the monument. The rest either walk or jog along the track or around Hole 2 & 3 of the Royal Kedah Club Golf Course which is nearby.

Below are some of the pics I took with my H/P during my early morning walk :

The jogging track.

That circle of stones is
for reflexology.

Resting place for the willing spirit
but weak flesh ...

Slide for the young ones..

Can't tell the tree
from the parasite..

The people with the yellow
t-shirts are the line dancers.
The group in the front
is doing the 'chi kung'.

The 'tai-chi' group
doing their thing
near the monument.

The all important 'LOO' ..
no credit cards, only cash.

Hole3, RKC Golf Course

Car Park area. On the left
is the park and on the
right is the golf course.

Another Setback

2006-03-20T23:54:00.000+08:00

Just when I was enjoying myself with my early morning walks and the tennis in the evenings disaster struck. I had arranged for a game of doubles at 5.30pm. We had to finish the game by 6.30pm as my wife and I had to attend a dinner at 7.30pm. Everything was going smoothly. My wife and I won the first set. During the second set I was at the net trying to poach when the calf muscle of my left leg gave way. I think they are called 'gastrocnemis' and 'soleus'.

I couldn't move as any slight movement caused pain at the calf. The muscles there were tightening. That was the end of the game for me. Fortunately there was a lady tennis player who was warming up at the retaining wall. She gladly took my place. I was carried out of the court. I was also 'carried' to the car by my wife and my lady opponent who is also a good friend.

Went home and applied a cold pack at the wounded part. Nothing else to do. Now using crutches to move around. I found this pic showing how to treat an injured calf muscle.

Missed the dinner. This means at least two weeks of rest. The orthopaedic surgeon (who was one of my opponents-the other was an orthodontist) said the key word is rest. That settles it. Back to the keyboard and the tv remote. Maybe by two weeks my fingers and arms will be stronger. heh heh..

RM 4.4 billion

2006-03-18T11:09:00.000+08:00

Our Prime Minister has asked the people not to dispute the decision to use the RM4.4 billion raised through savings from the reduction in fuel subsidies to improve the public transport system. I wonder who is the idiot who wanted to dispute that? The world is full of idiots.

But anyway, the recent spate of demostration that was not reported in the media was about the reduction of the fuel subsidies and the glaring non-transparency in the funds from our petroleum company - Petronas and not about how the RM4.4 billion was going to be used. We do not have enough information about the dealings in Petronas and where the money earned from our natural resources goes to or goes to whom!

Most Malaysians were happy to hear that statement from the Prime Minister when he said the money will be used to improve the public transport system. Our public transport system sucks. In my city I don't think we even have one. We do have some buses plying certain routes and if the bus driver likes you he might stop....heh heh.. just kidding. We don't really have an efficient transport system like the Singaporeans . As long as we have touts we don't have a system. The proposal by the PM is in the planning stage. If he doesn't oversee this baby I am very sure it will go 'kaput'.

When the PM said public transport system I am sure he meant for the whole country. I fear the sharks have already prepared beautiful working papers of how to improve the transport sytem in Bertam, Putrajaya and the Klang valley for RM4.4 billion! At this stage they can even prove how every cent is spent. The beautiful part of it all is you don't even know who they are but they have access to the Prime Minister's department!

I bet we will see some new bus companies run by Bumiputras under this plan, some new flyovers for the Works ministry to foul up in their construction and plenty of rural roads in Kelantan for the next election. The Indians in the estates can go and watch their favourite movies arranged by their minister. Life goes on.

City of Alor Star

2006-03-05T10:15:00.000+08:00

Alor Star is the capital of the state of Kedah which is in Malaysia. It is located in the northern part of peninsular Malaysia nearer to Thailand as can be seen in the map below :

Here are some photos of Alor Star city.

A Minor Setback

2006-02-28T23:34:00.000+08:00

As usual, my wife and I went to the club at 5.00pm for our tennis game. We had already arranged with the other pair to meet at the club at the appointed time. When we made the arrangements the weather was beautiful. Beautiful for our tennis players means a cloudy day.
When we arrived at the courts the weather had changed. The clouds had decided to move toThailand or somewhere far away from us. It was blazing hot but that didn't deter us from having our game. It was probably the heat that made me forget to warm up and do some stretches before starting the game.

Everything was fine until the second set. I was going forwards to retrieve a drop-shot from our opponent when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my thigh. It was probably the ham strings just below the biceps femoris. That was the end of the game for me. Fortunately for the remaining three players there was somebody at the pavilion to replace me. I slowly hobbled to the pavilion and watched the rest of the game from there.

When I reached home that evening I applied a cold pack on the wounded part to control the swelling and the expected internal bleeding. I guess it will be at least a week before I can do any physical activity.

There goes my tennis and my plans to resume golf! What a bummer! The magic word now is RECUPERATE. Rest and let the body heal itself or maybe I can go to the swimming pool and just use my arms to move around... heh heh..

An Old Lady's Poem

2006-02-08T15:44:00.000+08:00

Received this poem by email. Supposed to have been written by an old Scottish lady who died all alone in a hospital near Dundee, Scotland. Such a beautiful and meaningful poem. I just had to post it so that those who pass this way can read it.

CRABBY OLD WOMAN
What do you see, nurses?
What do you see?
What are you thinking
When you're looking at me?

A crabby old woman,
Not very wise,
Uncertain of habit,
With faraway eyes?
Who dribbles her food
And makes no reply
When you say in a loud voice,
"I do wish you'd try!"

Who seems not to notice
The things that you do,
And forever is losing
A stocking or shoe?

Who, resisting or not,
Lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding,
The long day to fill?

Is that what you're thinking?
Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse,
You're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am
As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding,
As I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten
With a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters,
Who love one another.

A young girl of sixteen
With wings on her feet
Dreaming that soon now
A lover she'll meet.
A bride soon at twenty,
My heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows
That I promised to keep.
At twenty-five now,
I have young of my own,
Who need me to guide
And a secure happy home.

A woman of thirty,
My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other
With ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons
Have grown and are gone,
But my man's beside me
To see I don't mourn.

At fifty once more,
Babies play round my knee,
Again we know children,
My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me,
My husband is dead,
I look at the future,
I shudder with dread.

For my young are all rearing
Young of their own,
And I think of the years
And the love that I've known.

I'm now an old woman
And nature is cruel;
'Tis jest to make old age
Look like a fool.

The body, it crumbles,
Grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone
Where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass
A young girl still dwells,
And now and again,
My battered heart swells.

I remember the joys,
I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living
Life over again.

I think of the years
All too few, gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact
That nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people,
Open and see,
Not a crabby old woman;
Look closer . . . see ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an old person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within . ... .. we will all, one day, be there, too!

Freedom Of Expression

2006-02-06T21:31:00.000+08:00

The recent blunder by some Danes in drawing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed shows very clearly the great divide between Westerners and the rest of the world. They are too concerned with the individual's rights to freedom of expression to the extent they forget about the feeling of others especially regarding religious beliefs.

They ridicule anything and anyone as can be seen in the sit-coms or talk shows where the politicians of their country become the targets. When you start ridiculing religions in the name of freedom of expression you are treading dangerous ground. The Danes have found that out the hard way. Many of them will be wondering if it is safe to go on tours under these circumstances. Although many of them do not agree with the culprits who started this problem, they are undoubtedly affected by this whole episode.

The whole world should learn an important lesson from all this. We need to have mutual respect for each others beliefs. Malaysians know this and we have lived peacefully because we respect each others cultures and religious beliefs. Lets hope that this silly incident will in no way destroy what we have in Malaysia. There is a disturbing trend from some people who come back from the Middle East or Pakistan after studying there and suddenly show very little tolerence towards other races or other religions than their own. The Arabs have their own culture. The Pakistanis have their own culture. We don't need to follow them as we have our own and it is beautiful. Let us show the world how to live peacefully in diversity. We have managed so far and we can still do it for many more decades.

I Am A Christian

2006-01-17T11:31:00.000+08:00

A good friend forwarded this to me and I found it to be so true. Many of us will be able to identify with these statements.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'.
" I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven.

" When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
And need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Sci Fi Movies

2006-01-10T23:18:00.000+08:00

It's been along time since I wanted to comment on this topic. I don't have any friends who are really interested in science fiction movies. Most go and see the movies because of the ratings given and the fantastic marketing carried out to boost the movie into box office hits and ofcourse the special effects for which Holywood is very well known. I get very dissapointed with many of them because of the glaring lack of details. Even after spending millions the story line is weak. Take for example the Alien. They conjured up a powerful creature that has two mouths with a lot of teeth. Obviously this is related to whatever strange thing it eats. It could be at the top of its food chain.

It has what looks like legs and sometimes looks like tentacles. It lives deep in the ground and the mother alien lays the eggs much like our queen bee. So how did the science officer come to the conclusion that the alien will impregnate our heroine and lay its eggs inside her so that he can then smuggle the eggs inside the heroine back to earth without being detected by the immigration authorities back on earth. What gave him the idea that this creature will consider an earthly female as a good place to lay its eggs? Did you see the size of the alien queen when it was busy laying eggs. Earthlings do not fit into their biological environment.

Another thing which bothers me is what do they eat. What is their staple diet? Surely not humans. They are from a different zone altogether. The humans happen to invade their space and got eaten up. Obviously they are not the staple diet. So what is it? What kind of creatures roam this bleak space station? They have to be in large numbers, large enough to support all the aliens. Surely not cockroaches or rats ... blank blank blank...

And when our human mercenaries go to battle these aliens whose fluids are so acidic they can burn a hole in the floor of the spacecraft several floors, what do they wear ... t-shirts or singlets to show off their biceps, triceps or in certain cases boobs. What a bummer.

They deserve to die and the aliens should go on with their orderly egg laying lifestyle. Long live the aliens, heh heh..

Transition

2006-01-05T11:26:00.000+08:00

Transition is defined as the act of passing from one state or place to the next. For the Christian our life here is a transitional state. We are actually on a journey to a better place. Transition is also defined as an event that results in a transformation. Exactly what we belive in. We will be transformed into a state where there is no pain, no suffering and no agony which are all associated with life here on earth.

Why am I writing about this. I just attended a wake last Tuesday. A good friend of mine (52yrs old) passed away. She died of cancer. Towards the end of her life she was in great pain as the cancer had gone to the bones. The pain killers were of no help. I believe she is now in a wonderful place where there is no pain or suffering. For those of us who believe there is life after death, this is what we believe in. We don't need proof, we only believe and have faith.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb 11:1

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Jhn 14:2-3

Death is inevitable. We do feel sad when someone close to us dies. We just take comfort that for them a new life has begun. Life goes on for the living. We need to prioritise and spend more time on the things that are important to us. As you can see I did not mention what the important things are as everyone has their own list of what is important. One man's meat is another man's poison. To each his own. Take care and God Bless.

New Year Resolutions

2006-01-01T22:56:00.000+08:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone. Now it is suddenly the year 2006! Everything happened so fast, what with the flood and all. Next thing you know people are talking about new year resolutions.  It's the same story every year. As for me I have stopped making new year resolutions. I've come to the point in my life where I don't need to wait for the end of the year to make resolutions as to what I am going to do the following year. If I want something done I will go ahead and get it done. Life has been much better since.

     I read somewhere that procrastination is the thief of time. How true. We go through life telling ourself that we will do it tomorrow or next week or next month and before you know it, it is next year and we still haven't done what we planned to do. Then we go and make more resolutions.Making resolutions is not a bad thing in itself. It serves it's purpose when you fulfill your promises.

     Then there are those who set unreachable targets. They look at themselves in the mirror and make a resolution to lose 50kg in the next month so they can look like Brad Pitt or someone like him. It is possible to lose a few kilograms through exercise and dieting but set a reasonable target. You will never look like Brad Pitt. There is only one like him. Be your self and most importantly be happy with your body. The important thing is to be healthy and fit and you will look good. And one more thing, don't forget to smile as it radiates the beauty within your inner self.

     As Christians we have the peace and joy that is ours through Christ Jesus.  It helps us through trials and tribulations and we learn to accept our self as we are even as God has loved us the way we are. Now we can only improve and get better. Incidentally our neighbourhood is waiting for rain to wash away the mud from the flood. The strong smell from the mud is still hanging around. As we are living in the tropics the rain will come. It is just a matter of time. A friend sent me this new year greeting and I would like to share it with whoever visits my blog :

Faith makes things possible;
Hope makes things work;
Love makes things beautiful;
May you have all three to begin the new year;
Happy New Year.

Evacuation

2005-12-26T23:54:00.000+08:00

The flood waters finally came into our house in the early hours of the morning while I was out surveying the neighbourhood in my wellingtons. My wife frantically called me on the cell phone to inform me of this new threat to our castle (a man's home is his castle). I rushed back or waded back as fast as I could and we gathered all our important belongings and drove through the flood waters to safety which was actually the southern part of our city.

Our close friends(husband & wife) invited us to stay at their house until the flood subsides. We are grateful to have such friends who can come to our aid in time of need. In fact we had several choices actually as we have quite a number of good friends in this city.

Anyway most of our neighbourhood was inundated with filthy, smelly flood waters. In general it was about knee high although in some places it was a few inches but neverthless once the waters gets into the house there will be a layer of mud deposited in every nook and corner. We were more fortunate than the Jitra folks who faced the water level as high as one's chest or even higher. I managed to get some pics of the flood at it's peak and also took some of the places that were bone dry just to see the contrast within the same city. The other half of the city had a better drainage system. Somebody better do something about this before history repeats itself.

We moved into our house last night after cleaning up the place for three days. It was a back breaking job. They say this flood has a 17 year cycle. I will be 73 if it happens again and I don't think I can do this type of house cleaning at that age, if I live that long that is!

Friends dropped by when the flood was receding.

More Flood Pics

Our Porch

Side Of House

In Front Of The House

Early Morning View At the Front

Indian Temple Near The Stadium

Entrance To The Royal Kedah Club

Another Friend's House

The Southern Part Of Our City Which Was Bone Dry

Friend's House On The Right(where we took refuge)

Alor Star Tower

Alor Star Fountain

Siamese Temple

Telok Wanjah Road

Mother And Son Having Breakfast

House Flooding

2005-12-20T20:26:00.000+08:00

I wrote about the flood in a town 20Km away. Now the flood waters from that area has come down to our city. My house is surrounded by flood waters. Just another inch or so before the water comes into the house. Have to move some of the electrical appliances to a higher place. When you live in a single storey house, a higher place would be the table top.

We are fortunate in that it has not rained for the last two days and we still have electricity. The water pressure is very low and it takes a long time to fill up a pail from the garden tap. The flood waters is still rising. Tonight we will be on vigil, watching out for the creeping water.

All the cockroaches and centipedes are coming out of the sewer system. Have to take care of them to as the wife is allergic to cockroaches. Took some pics for posterity.

Back of house

Side of house

Road junction

Front of house

Neighbourhood

Flood

2005-12-18T23:09:00.000+08:00

Received a call from a friend this afternoon. She stays with her friend in Jitra, the town that was having flood problems. She wanted to go and check on the house as the house owner was also outstation.

I agreed to go with her and we made a few calls first to determine if the roads were passable. The highway was closed due to flooding and so was the old road to Jitra. The only other route available was the country road that went around the flooded areas but led to the center of the town. The journey was fine except for one or two places which were under water about 2 - 3 inches which was no problem for our car.

We reached the house in good time and started to move the electrical things to a higher place. Pulled out all the plugs from their sockets. Having done all that we could we started our journey back. The few short stretches that were flooded before were now much longer and more than one foot deep. My friend started praying and pressed on the accelerator. It was like driving through a lake. We could not see the road. We kept our eyes on the vehicle ahead of us until we reached dry ground. That road would have been closed to traffic by now. The flood waters from our left flowing across the road was so swift that at times we were afraid we might get swept off the road. What an experience.

The water level in the river is still rising but the rain has stopped. Hopefully when the tide goes down in the morning the river water can be discharged to the sea. Below are some photos of the flood taken with my handphone while in the car.

Rain

2005-12-18T13:46:00.000+08:00

For the last four days it has been raining in this town. Some times it rains cats and dogs and other times it just dribbles, neverthless it is still rain. So many clothes waiting to go out in the sun. So many tennis players waiting to play in the sun. We even sang 'rain rain go away, come again another day' but to no avail. What a bummer. The 'padi' planters were very happy though as they needed the rain for their 'padi' to grow.

Some of the tennis players.
[ I am the handsome one - the far right, front row, :) ]

The damp, wet atmosphere can get you down. I am not one of those who curls up in bed with a good book during such times or any other time for that matter. I will end up snoring and the book will most probably be on the floor.

The rain did not stop our regular weekly karaoke session though. We sang all the oldies to our hearts content and hoped the singing would have stopped the rain. It didn't. We all went back in the rain.

Woke up this morning and heard the chirping of birds. That was a good sign. When I went out to look at the sky there were some blue spots and one very bright whitish spot where the sun, blocked by clouds, was supposed to be. It looked like a good day today.

Not so good news from Jitra, a town about 20Km from here. Some parts of the town was flooded and the water level in the nearby river was still rising. Hope it doesn't rain for a while and the tide recedes to allow the excess surface runnoff to be discharged into the river and straight out to the sea. I wonder how Noah felt when it rained for forty days and forty nights and then have to live with the flood waters for another one hundred and fifty days! Of course he didn't have any tennis appointment .. heh heh.

Keeping In Touch

2005-12-14T11:45:00.000+08:00

Hi ST,
Thanks for dropping by. I agree with your veiws on relationships. Those whom we do not have much contact with tend to fade away. Whenever we meet the topic will be more or less the same. As you said, we tend to exchange pleasantries only. The real friends are those that we have contact with regularly either at work or because of common interest.

If we really value the friendship that we once had with someone, we should try to keep in touch so as to nourish that friendship even if they are far away. Friends are hard to come by. As you get older it becomes harder to make good friends. Most probably because we tend to be set in our ways and we become too rigid. When we were young we were more tolerent and 'cincai' and so our friendship list was quite long. We also don't have the time to do all the crazy things that we did that brought us together.

I am glad we(my wife and I) still have some good friends with whom we have good times. The internet has come in handy, in keeping in touch with those friends who are far away. Life is so unpredictable. We need to treasure every moment that has been given to us and be a blessing to those who come our way.

Picture

2005-12-11T21:25:00.000+08:00

Me On Da Floor

Finally decided to publish my picture. Why? Just because .....

On Da Floor meant sitting on the floor and not on the dance floor as some people might have assumed. Just came back from Ipoh attending a college reunion - the class of '77 M.U. It wasn't my class but my wife's. I was just the driver. Listened to all their past activities at the university. What this guy did, what that girl did, a particular lecturer's behaviour and so on and so forth. Who married whom and how many children everybody had. All in all it was entertaining and a lot of laughs. Even an outsider like me was able to fit in and chip in my two cents worth once in a while.

Another walk down memory lane for some people. We need these trips to remind us of life and how fast it is passing us. Maybe it will help us see if we had made right decisions (the major ones) concerning our life. Some of us are too busy amassing wealth at the expense of our health and even our spiritual health!

The bible says what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul. This is in reference to life after death.

If we reflect on this it would help us to rethink our strategies, futuristic plans and our lifestyles and realise how temporal these things are. We need to be more concerned about the eternal life which is forever.

Keeping Fit

2005-12-09T11:18:00.000+08:00

After all the good food at the various functions I realized that I did put on a 'few' pounds. Some people might disagree with me on the word 'few' but I am not a stickler for details. Anyway, decided to go to the gym with my son. He to do some muscle strengthening and me to lose some 'pounds'. Went well for the first two days but on the third day overdid my knee lifts and injured my left knee (the one that had the torn meniscus repaired in May). There goes my keep fit plan. Maybe things will be better after the weekend when we get back from Ipoh. Meanwhile it's back to the tv and blogging time! heh heh..

Memories

2005-12-06T15:30:00.000+08:00

Attended an old friend's wedding anniversary - 25th. Good to see old friends from our past. Very thrilled when the power point presentation was displayed showing us when we were young. The bell bottoms and the side burns and the bermuda shorts and not forgetting the hair on the head which some of us have lost. Ah, what a past. So colourful. Of course in today's context colourful would mean dying your hair in various shades of colour and wearing gaudy coloured clothing! Whatever makes them happy. It was a fun time and a walk down memory lane for me. Hope the next 25 years would bring more colourful memories.

wellmadeplans

2005-05-18T11:15:00.000+08:00

The plan was to play golf in the mornings, tennis in the evenings and relax in front of the idiot box at night....after retirement that is.
Reality - going for cervical traction as conservative treatment for bulging disc in the spine which stopped the golf, carpal tunnel syndrome and knee problem stopped the tennis, only the tv watching is still intact! So much for planning.
Man plans but it is God who decides.

Intro

2005-05-18T00:00:00.000+08:00

Heloooooooo...bloggers. I have just created my blog corner and this is my first posting and for the moment... heh heh.