Ketsana Tropical Storm

First of all, my sincere condolence to all of the Philippines and Vietnam people who are affected from this trenchant storm.

Sometimes, an event like these, reminds us of just how small the world is. And just how bad it can be if Mother Nature is pissed.

Philippines are often thought to be far away from West Malaysia. Yet, just as the tropical storm Ketsana hit them, it’s very apparent that we are just a pinch away from each other. Right now, as I write this, a weird weather looms Kulim.

The raining pattern is totally different here. Weird actually. It rains mega heavily for a few minutes, then stopped totally. Like TOTALLY. Then it rains again after a few minutes or hours. This is the second day, on my count.

So far, there are ZERO headlines on this from our politicians. I think there should be a heads-up of some sort. We know very well that Ketsana has moved from Philippines to Vietnam. And we've already could see the weird pattern here.

So, just to be safe, even in Malaysia, if I live in a land-slide prone areas, I’d get the heck out. At least until Ketsana is totally gone.

3rd Oct 2010 update: The weather in Kulim has been very stable and quiet for the past two days. It's a tremendously good news.

The similarities between Super Mario and Schumacher

What are the similarities between these two? A lot actually.

If you've played Super Mario before, you'll know that its easy to get eaten by those dreaded winged turtles and the Italian-eating plants with laser guns. And it will take more than 20 attempts to clear a level.

But the funny thing is, once you've cleared a level, it will only take you just 1 or 2 attempts to do it again.

You could say that the vast difference is due to the the learnings you've taken during those tries. But that's actually just the tip of the iceberg.

The real reason is actually the "psychological confidence" that you've gained during each 'little battles' to clear a level. Or you can simply call it the 'X-FACTOR'.

In short, those who have NOT won those little battles, does not yet have the x-factor.

In this sense, its easy to see why Schumacher is a champ. Since he's won on almost every circuits, his winning rate will keep inreasing so long he uses his winning experiences as a foundation. And that's not something that everyone else has. The x-factor.

So, this is why champions will repeat their wins. Frederer keeps winning Slam after Slam. Man United, league after league. Muhammad Ali. The Williams. Tiger.

Aston Villa, Blackburn, Spurs and Everton are great teams. But why can't they break into the top 4 or even win the league? Simply because they have yet to acquire the x-factor. That's exactly what they need to build first. On top of spending £100million on new players.

Unity, Merdeka & Politics

Written in conjunction of 31st August, tapi terlupa nak post ;-)

Unity is when everyone is looking at the same big picture and saying 'yes, let's do that!'. The big picture is a 'vision'. So, as long as there is a 'vision' that everyone agrees and commits to, there is unity.

Abroad, Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech and Kennedy's Lunar vision were 2 great examples of a vision that brought unity.

During those moments, there were no talk of differences. The whole nation would see everyone talking to each other about a common topic. Everyone was united.

Another situation that brings unity is during a sports event or God forbid, at times of war. *that said, never underestimate the influence of sports on patriotism*

So, as mentioned, a shared vision where everyone agrees on, brings unity. So long there's an objective that everyone wants to march to, you'll have unity.

Coalition between 2 political parties will not bring unity. Talking about unity will not bring unity too.

Malaysia needs a vision. Not an idealistic pretentious sort. A true vision that will change the quality of Malaysian life. Coz the truth is, we all truly do not know where the country is heading.

Other nations, even Thailand and Indonesia, are slowly overtaking us. Let alone Korea and Taiwan, that were once inferior to us.

We were once an agro based nation. Transiting to an industrial based nation back in the 80's brought huge unity. Step 2 was to be an IT-based nation, but political scene took the centre stage and India overtook us. Now what?

Our politicians who were entrusted to steer the country forward, unfortunately has stopped all works for the country and people, focusing on political matters only. And it has been going on for quite a while.

Japan were unified and worked on becoming the huge nation of the world. Their vision was so strong that it even became part of their culture. It basically explained why even a corporation like Toyota has a 300 year plan.

I doubt that our leaders have anything like that in mind other than winning the next election.

Until Malaysians can answer a simple question "where are we heading to now?", I don't think we will ever be united and progress.

Pretend, pretend, pretend

Have you ever pretended to be someone you're not? If your answer is no, you're probably pretending.

We live in a world confined with laws, guidelines, cultures and social etiquettes. On most times, our creative expression will always be limited.

Still think that you're not pretentious?

Remember during your courting days? Laughing at jokes you didn't find funny? Or the time you pretended that it was not you who just farted?

For adults, most pretendings are done in the office. You mostly pretend to 'care' for your colleagues. You even pretend that you care for your company's market share more than your salary's increment. And most often, you pretend to agree to your boss when you think his idea is crap.

Another classic is the time you pretended to 'love' your in-law's cooking and said "Sedaaaap". Need I go on?

Our true self is usually exposed to our mom and spouse. Now, to these 2 persons, we're as transparent as a glass house. Maybe that's why it is with these 2 that we really 'let loose'.

So, in a day, more than once, we do pretend to be someone we're not. By abiding to social norm and cultures , pretentious keeps the world in order.

So if someone says "Why worry what people say about you... unless you're pretending"; just say "Heck yeah, my whole life is about pretending!". Coz if you don't pretend, that means you're perfect. And we know that other than Nabi Muhammad SAW, nobody's perfect.

So, let's keep our feet on the ground

Sent via BlackBerry

Nokia Netbook? Nokia? Netbook?

Sara has been bugging me for a netbook. So, saya yang menurut perintah, went for the hunt. And I was certain that I wanted the N280 Atom powered HP netbook.

Until I saw Nokia's press release. Click here at nokia.com

Nokia, after 25years in the handphone market, enters the PC market without losing its pizzazz in design and innovation. A potential giant killer. Confirm, saya mahu.

Some ask, worth the wait? How does 12hr battery life sound to you?

Eating Pork

Interesting fact on pigs is that they are very smart. More clever than dogs and horses. They are also omnivores, just like humans. In fact, they have the same digestive system as humans. Even their heart valves could be used as replacement for human's heart valves.

But even then, Jews and Muslims are forbidden to eat pork. In fact, swine is considered unlawful and impure by all prophets, including Jesus. These prohibitions were mentioned in the Qur'an as well as in the Bible (book of Leviticus, Deuteronomy & Isaiah).

But religion directive aside, based on logical reasoning, it's easy to rationalize why any humans should NOT eat pork.

Number one, the reason pigs were created. Every living form has its functions within life's ecology system. Pigs were designed to be nature's rubbish incinerator. It's a poo-eating machine. Even in a clean breeding facility, by nature, they'll still enjoy clearing their own as well as their friends 'excreta'.

With that in mind, pigs by nature, have excess fat as well as having thousands of worms. Some of them (e.g. Taenia Trichuriasis) has ovas that will not die even under normal cooking heat. These 'eggs' will travel into the blood stream and cause some serious slow damage to whatever organs it lands on.

So, it's not news that eating pork can cause no less than seventy different types of diseases.

With over breeding, it's actually no surprise that the world will constantly suffer from deadly epidemics originated from pigs. The latest ebola and swine flu are a huge reminder why pork is bad and was never designed to be eaten.

God mentioned it. Science verified it. But, sadly, most people love eating pork too much to let it go and chose to be ignorant.

So, lets just get used to the seasonal epidemics.

Another Micro Four Third: Panasonic Lumix GF1

I've always loved Panasonic. All of the fans, air-conds, water-heater, rice cooker, oven-toaster in my house are Panasonic. When it comes to compact cameras too, I think Panasonic rocks. That basically explains why I've owned 5 Panasonic compacts with current being the FT1.


Anyway, after Olympus released their Micro 4-3rd, E-P1, the next event that I was waiting was Panasonic's respond to it, being another Micro 4-3rd manufacturer. And after a few months waiting, on Sep 2nd, 2009, they announced it; the Panasonic Lumix GF1.

Here are some pics I chedok from dpreview.com. My first impression: Lovely. Not as beautiful as E-P1, but much more macho. And the pop-up flash is a winner.


Will I buy it? Not yet. Mainly coz I'm not really sure how the absence of body-stabilizer will fare on the 20mm prime-lens. But it will definitely be under my radar screen!