mUsInGs On A mArK

Missing Missy

2010-06-29T17:15:00.001+08:00

Got this from an email forwarded by my dear colleague Mama Fer (formerly known as Cik Fer). Wanted to share this as this email conversation made me struggle from not making a scene in the office from LOL, ROTFL & also having to compose myself as I had a discussion with my boss shortly afterwards. On a more serious note, if Missy is truly missing, I hope Shannon is able to find the cat. I know how it feels to have a cat gone missing & never to return.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster

Hi
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.

This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.
Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
That is shocking news. Luckily I was sitting down when I read your email
and not half way up a ladder or tree. How are you holding up? I am
surprised you managed to attend work at all what with thinking about Missy
out there cold, frightened and alone... possibly lying on the side of the
road, her back legs squashed by a vehicle, calling out "Shannon, where are
you?"
Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I
will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the
speedy return of Missy.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
I never said I don't like cats. Once, having been invited to a party, I
went clothes shopping beforehand and bought a pair of expensive G-Star
boots. They were two sizes too small but I wanted them so badly I figured I
could just wear them without socks and cut my toenails very short. As the
party was only a few blocks from my place, I decided to walk. After the
first block, I lost all feeling in my feet. Arriving at the party, I
stumbled into a guy named Steven, spilling Malibu & coke onto his white
Wham 'Choose Life' t-shirt, and he punched me. An hour or so after the
incident, Steven sat down in a chair already occupied by a cat. The
surprised cat clawed and snarled causing Steven to leap out of the chair,
slip on a rug and strike his forehead onto the corner of a speaker;
resulting in a two inch open gash. In its shock, the cat also defecated,
leaving Steven with a foul stain down the back of his beige cargo pants. I
liked that cat.
Attached poster as requested.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
It's a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you
understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome
constructive criticism. I don't come downstairs and tell you how to send
text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I am willing
to overlook this faux pas due to you no doubt being preoccupied with
thoughts of Missy attempting to make her way home across busy intersections
or being trapped in a drain as it slowly fills with water. I spent three
days down a well once but that was just for fun.
I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,
I don't have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend's cat for a week
but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of
kitty litter, I kept the cat in a closed cardboard box in the shed and
forgot about it. If I wanted to feed something and clean faeces, I wouldn't
have put my mother in that home after her stroke. A week later, when my
friend came to collect his cat, I pretended that I was not home and mailed
the box to him. Apparently I failed to put enough stamps on the package and
he had to collect it from the post office and pay eighteen dollars. He
still goes on about that sometimes, people need to learn to let go.
I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed
instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of
several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of
this. If anybody calls and says "I haven't seen your orange cat but I did
find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you
want it?" you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian
bill.
I knew someone who had a basset hound that had its hind legs removed after
an accident and it had to walk around with one of those little buggies with
wheels. If it had been my dog I would have asked for all its legs to be
removed and replaced with wheels and had a remote control installed. I
could charge neighbourhood kids for rides and enter it in races. If I did
the same with a horse I could drive it to work. I would call it Steven.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

Till later, live long & prosper.

FB settings adjustments, deactivation & kamikaze

2010-05-15T08:29:00.004+08:00

This article appears layman enough for many non-truly IT savvy people to understand. FB & Twitter are fast becoming important networking tools to the community at large. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that we should be cavalier in our online privacy. A friend of mine currently swears that he'll never open an FB account for fear of virtual identity theft. I may not hold my virtual privacy to that level, but I do like to limit what disclosed about myself on the world wide web. Anyhow, please evaluate your own virtual privacy comfort level (in this case, on FB) & have a safe online networking experience.

How to: delete your Facebook account, and adjust key privacy settings
Facebook is embroiled in an ongoing row over privacy. Here, we talk you through some of the key things you need to do to manage your Facebook account

By Claudine Beaumont, Technology EditorPublished: 2:30PM BST 14 May 2010

Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, is facing a backlash from users and the technology community over recent changes to its privacy policy Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Facebook's privacy policy is a whopping 5,830 words long. As the New York Times recently pointed out, the Constitution of the United States is just 4,543. In recent months, Facebook has made revisions to its privacy policy that makes a growing amount of information public by default; users must opt out if they want to keep their information private, or share it only with a trusted group of friends. The changes have caused something of a backlash among both the user community and the technology industry, with some commentators questioning whether these changes are the thin end of the edge, and may even result in users leaving the social-networking site in their droves.

Committing "Facebook suicide", as it's known, is a very drastic option. Facebook, to its credit, does allow users to have complete control over their profiles and the way their personal information is shared – but you do need to plough through 50 different settings and around 170 different options if you want to control every single aspect of your account. Here, we look at how to deactivate and delete your Facebook account – and the difference between the two – as well as how to lockdown some of the most important privacy settings on your profile:

Deactivating your Facebook account
Deactivating your account simply involves going on a temporary hiatus; it does not permanently delete your personal information. If you deactivate your account, you immediately become invisible to other Facebook users, who will no longer be able to access your profile. However, Facebook "saves" your profile on file, so that if you choose to reactivate your account in future, then all of your friends, photos, lists of interests, games and other preferences, are automatically restored so your account looks just as it did before you deactivated it.

Deactivating an account is fairly simple: when you're logged in to Facebook, click on the Account tab on the top right-hand side of the page. From the drop-down list, select "Account Settings". The final option on the page is "Deactivate" – click on the link to be taken through to the deactivation page. Facebook tries to tempt you in to reconsidering, telling you that your friends "will no longer be able to keep in touch with you"; it also asks you to say why you are deactivating your account. At the foot of the page is box that allows you to opt out of receiving future emails from Facebook – if you do not tick this box, then you will continue to receive email notifications every time a former Facebook friend tags you in a photo, invites you to an event, or asks you to join a group. Ticking the box means you will no longer receive these messages.
To reactivate your Facebook account, log in to the site using your usual email address and password. You will then be sent an email to that address containing a link which, when clicked, restores your Facebook profile in its entirety.

Permanently deleting your Facebook account
If you've reached the end of your tether with being poked, bitten by vampires, asked to take endless quizzes or are simply concerned about privacy issues, then completely deleting your Facebook account is the nuclear option. When you delete your account, Facebook promises to discard all "personally identifiable information" associated with that account from its databases – that's things like names, email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses, instant-messenger screen names etc etc. However, Facebook says that copies of some material, such as photos, may remain on its servers for "technical reasons", but that the material is "completely inaccessible" to other Facebook users, and is completely disassociated from any information that makes it possible to link that piece of content back to an individual user. If you deactivate or delete your account, says Facebook, it will no longer use any content associated with it, either.

Committing Facebook suicide, though, takes a little effort – it's not quite as simple as clicking a few buttons to exorcise your social networking presence. Instead, you need to send a message to Facebook, requesting the permanent deletion of your account. Log on to Facebook, then paste the following address in to your browser window: http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=12271. It will take you through to a Help page that describes the difference between deactivating and deleting an account. At the bottom of the second paragraph is a link, which takes you through to a page where you submit your deletion request. Click on the link, read the warning entitled "Delete my account", and then click Submit. The account is deleted immediately, but it can take up to a fortnight for Facebook to clear your information from its cache.

Adjusting your privacy settings
Facebook has a difficult job: on the one hand, the reason the social network works so well is because of the easy sharing of information between users; on the other hand, people are growing increasingly wary of sharing too much, or sharing it with the wrong people, and are suspicious of Facebook's desire to share some of this data with selected third-party companies, such as Microsoft and Yelp.

Facebook says its extensive privacy settings allow users to have granular control over what information they share and who they share it with. So, which settings should you prioritise as soon as you set up your Facebook account, to ensure you're not sharing personal information, private comments and photos with the wider user community? Here are what we think are the five most important settings to check and set:

Configure your friend lists
This is a time-consuming process, particularly if you are insanely popular, with hundreds of "friends", but will make every aspect of controlling your privacy that much easier. Friend lists allow you to group your contacts in to groups, so that you're only sharing certain information with certain people. For example, you might create four lists: "Close friends", "Acquaintances", "Family", and "Work".

"Close friends" is the group you will happily share your most personal information, photos and Wall posts with; you'd probably prefer the "Work" group of friends to see a somewhat sanitised and censored version of your Facebook profile. By setting up these lists, you can ensure that no one gets to see something you'd rather keep private. You can add the same person to more than one list, but it's worth spending time on getting this aspect of your Facebook settings right.
* To create and edit friend lists, log on to Facebook and select "Friends" from the list under your profile picture on the left-hand side of the page;
* On the next page, click the "Create a List" button;
* Enter a title for your list, and hit Enter;
* Add friends to the list by typing their names in the "Add to List" field, or selecting them from the list;
* Click "Create List" to save these changes, and generate your new group of friends.
* To control what information each group of friends can see, click on Account, choose "Privacy Settings", select "Profile Information", and then work your way through each option, selecting the group of people you're happy to share information with from the drop-down lists.

Opt out of searches
If you don't want your Facebook profile to appear online, either when it's searched for on Google or through Facebook itself, you can turn this function off. Click on Account, select "Privacy Settings", and click on "Search". If you only want friends to be able to search for your Facebook profile, select "Only friends" from the drop-down list. Under the heading "Public Search Results", uncheck the box marked "Allow" to ensure your profile cannot be searched for on sites such as Google.

Protect your photos and videos
We've all heard the horror stories about people who have been fired, or dumped, after an embarrassing photo or video came to light on Facebook. You can avoid this problem by restricting who can view photos stored on your profile, and even who can view photos in which you've been tagged – even if that picture appears on someone else's profile page. To manage this, click on the Account tab, choose "Privacy Settings", then "Profile Information". Navigate to "Photos and videos of me" – select "Only Me" from the drop-down list if you don't want anybody, apart from yourself, to see pictures and videos you've been tagged in; even if you're less concerned about incriminating material, it's wise to restrict this content to certain groups, such as the "Close friends" group you created earlier. You can also restrict access to every photo album associated with your profile: below "Photos and videos of me" is "Photo albums"; click on this to choose exactly which groups of contacts can view which sets of pictures.

Control what personal information you share with applications and partner websites
You can install lots of fun games and applications on your Facebook profile, but many of these will request access to certain elements of your personal information. You can control what information these apps are able to access by adjusting your privacy settings. Choose "Privacy Settings" from the Account menu; click on the link labelled "Applications and websites", then "What you share", and adjust the permissions for each application accordingly.
The "Applications and websites" section is also the place to control what information your friends can share about you when they are using certain applications and programs (yes, that's right – your friends could be sharing your information with third-party websites without your explicit consent) – make sure you go in and uncheck every box if you want complete control over how your personal information is divulged. You can also opt-out of the controversial "Instant Personalisation" scheme through the "Applications and websites" page – this scheme is designed to help you "connect more easily with your friends on select partner websites", such as Yelp and Pandora, and is switched on by default. You need to uncheck the box at the foot of that page to opt out of the service.

Make your contact information private
Security experts warn that people's propensity to publish their full dates of birth, postal addresses and other contact details on Facebook – and then leave their profile's open to the public – makes it easier for cyber criminals to commit identity fraud. You must ensure that only your trusted friends are able to see this information. To lock down your contact information, click the Account button and select "Privacy Settings" from the drop-down menu. Click on "Contact Information" and then adjust each category by selecting the group of people you are willing to share that information with from the drop-down lists.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Welcome Vermaelen, to the Emirates

2009-06-22T13:17:00.001+08:00

Am a bit late in posting this, as I was not online throughout the weekend. Apologies.

Hopefully, Vermaelen's recruitment doesn't mean the exit of any of our existing rearguard. Despite what other Gooners says, I still believe we can get good service out of Gallas & Silvestre whenever they are fit. Senderos, if he truly has improved from his loan spell @ San Siro, should fight for his place.

Arsenal sign Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax on long-term deal

guardian.co.uk, Friday 19 June 2009 16.44 BST

The Belgium international defender Thomas Vermaelen has joined Arsenal from Ajax on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old, who captained the Dutch club last season, made his first-team debut at just 18. He has played in the Uefa Cup and the Champions League during his 143 appearances for the Amsterdam side, including two appearances against Arsenal in the 2005-06 Champions League group stages.

Vermaelen has made 21 appearances for Belgium, now being a regular in his country's set-up since making his full international debut in March 2006.

"Thomas is a great signing for Arsenal, and we are all delighted that he is joining us," the Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said. "Thomas is a solid performer with good experience of Champions League and Uefa Cup football and is also a regular with the Belgium national team.

"Thomas is primarily a left-footed centre-back, but he's multi-functional and can also play at left-back. He is strong technically with a positive winner's attitude and I have no doubt his arrival will strengthen our team. Thomas Vermaelen will be a huge asset to Arsenal."

After completing his move, Vermaelen said: "Firstly, I have to say that I'm sad to be leaving Ajax and I would just like to thank everyone for their help and friendship towards me over the past eight years.

"I'm just so happy to be joining Arsenal. This is a great club with a world-class manager, high-quality players and a fantastic stadium. Everything is set up for Arsenal to be very successful for years to come and I joined this club because I know Arsenal will be challenging for trophies.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Insurance premium rebates implementation on track

2009-06-22T13:16:00.001+08:00

I soo agree with this stance of BNM. With all due respect to the insurance agents, not all members of the public depend on the agents for advice on managing their insurance coverage & assistance in claims handling. There are insurers who invested in good & useful claims processing system & the policyholders can make a claim just by calling the insurers directly. Hence, members of the public who can manage their insurance on their own should be given an avenue where they can benefit from acting independently. Those who cannot should then use the services of these supposedly well trained agents (& thus, allowing the agents to earn their commissions).

'No backtrack on insurance premium rebates'

Business Times
Monday, June 22, 2009, 09.24 AM

BANK Negara Malaysia will not backtrack from implementing premium rebates for the direct purchase of general insurance covers from insurers as it is meant to put more money into consumers' pocket.

Thus, come July 1, individuals who purchase general insurance covers directly from insurance companies will be eligible to receive a premium rebate.

The quantum of rebate, however, will depend on the type of insurance purchased.

For motor insurance, individuals will receive a five percent premium rebate in the first year of implementation and 10 per cent thereafter.

"This is something that is fair for consumers. Over time you cannot stop this kind of innovation taking place," Bank Negara's deputy governor Datuk Mohd Razif Abd Kadir said at a Press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

According to him, there has been "pressure" to withdraw the policy from being implemented.

"But it is aimed at putting more money back into consumers'' pocket, which is in line with the government''s intention of enhancing consumption," he said.

As at end of 2008, the general insurance policy premium amounted to RM4.4 billion, of which half was motor insurance and 15 percent or RM450 million came from direct channel, but without getting any rebate.

"Now, individual consumers will benefit from the rebate," Mohd Razif said.

Bank Negara, he said, has engaged in various discussions with industry players with regard to the implementation of the insurance rebate.

The policy, he added, was also to enhance the ability of consumers in having a wider access to financial products and services.

In line with this, insurance companies have also increasingly introduced direct delivery channels to market their products and services which provided consumers with the options that will best suit their needs, Mohd Razif said.

Thus, the insurance companies are well prepared with the infrastructures that is needed to enable consumers to deal directly, he said.

Despite the emergence of direct distribution channels such as Internet, the 40,000 insurance agents in Malaysia will remain an important intermediary in the general insurance sector to provide personalised services for the convenience of policy owners as well as value-added services such as advice on insurance products and in providing assistance in claims handling.

Customers have the option to use the services of agents to meet their insurance requirements, particularly for complex and sophisticated products.

To facilitate agents to move up the value chain and enter this new area, the government and the insurance industry have and will continue to provide the necessary training and capacity-building opportunities, Mohd Razif said.

Initiatives by Bank Negara and the insurance sector include putting in place appropriate training programmes and requiring agency training expenses to be part of minimum training expenditure, he said.

However, there is no plan to implement such a policy for other insurance products, Mohd Razif said, adding that the idea to increase motor vehicle insurance tariff, which has seen no change since 1978, is still being studied. - Bernama

Till later, live long & prosper.

Extreme CL Semis exit response in Nairobi

2009-05-08T12:34:00.001+08:00

Got this article link from a concerned colleague who emailed a few of us Gooners yesterday, with a message 'guys pls dont try this...' :) Don't worry MMH the Inter fan, I've still got lots to do in life & hence, will not casually end it, not to mention there is a religious issue with taking one's own life.

On the 5 May 2009 match @ Emirates Stadium itself, I felt it was a nightmare that after performing rather well at Old Trafford in the 1st half, the team like disappeared when playing on home ground in the 2nd half. On an evening where the Gunners could've set up a revenge date with Barca, it was definitely an utter waste. Sad, sad... Graciously, I salute Sir Alex's squad. The Gunners' defense frailties were truly exposed with injuries to key players in that area.

I guess I'll just be supporting TH14 come the CL Final. ;)

ESPNsoccernet: UEFA Champions League

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Gunners fan hangs himself after United victory

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An Arsenal fan hung himself following his team's 4-1 aggregate drubbing by arch-rivals Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final, police said. Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, a 29-year-old Kenyan living in the capital Nairobi's Embakasi neighbourhood, hanged himself in his Arsenal shirt after the match.

"We were watching the match at Bamba 70 pub, and when Arsenal was defeated, Suleiman just walked out in protest and he was crying," Calvin Otieno, one of his friends, said.

"We didn't know he was going to hang himself until this morning when we received the reports and came here to find his body at the balcony," Otieno said outside the deceased's home.

Arsenal slumped to a 3-1 defeat at home in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, capping a disappointing season for the Gunners who were already out of the Premier League title race early in the season.

Till later, live long & prosper.

BBC's (apparent) list of 100 books

2009-04-08T07:46:00.000+08:00

Found out about this via a Notes posting on FB by my brother, who tagged me. Initially drafted my results on my Notes on FB but decided for it to be a mOAm musing, since my FB Notes receives mOAm feeds. Will tag FB friends when this pops up on my FB Notes. I rarely do tagged stuff unless it interests me, so those tagged can choose to ignore. On to the item in question...

The BBC came up with this list of 100 books.
Apparently the average number of books from this list that people have read is 6.

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'X' after those you have read.
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Tally your total at the bottom.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee [X]
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens [X]
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchel
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll [X]
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame [X]
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hussein
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell [X+]
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas [X]
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hard
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker [X+]
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [X+]
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton [X]
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas [X+]
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Well, I am above average by having read 10 titles (out of which, 4 I loved). I have not finished the LOTR trilogy & barely started Order of Phoenix (someday, I'll at least complete LOTR trilogy plus the Hobbit, which I have a copy on my bookshelf since like a few years back). Some of the others, I've not read it proper but have seen the movie adaption (we all know how accurate those can be :P). Regretfully, some titles I enjoyed reading, like Phantom of the Opera, are not in the list.

Do give the list a go & see what is your result.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Goal.com: Arsenal buys Juve player

2009-04-02T13:34:00.005+08:00

Riots In Turin As Sebastian Giovinco Signs For Arsenal

The city of Turin is now a warzone after Juventus transfer chief Alessio Secco confirmed that club favourite Sebastian Giovinco will be joining Arsenal in the summer.

1 Apr 2009 11:15:11

Every Juventus fan’s worst nightmare has come true this morning – Sebastian Giovinco – the future of the Bianconeri, has been sold to Arsenal.

The ‘Atomic Ant’ is widely regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in world football, and he is tipped for greatness, both for club-and-country. Giovinco was seen by many Juventini as the heir to the symbolic Alessandro Del Piero, and in March he really exploded into life with a series of magical performances. Only last night, Giovinco was again wowing audiences as he scored in Italy Under-21s 1-1 friendly draw with Holland Under-21’s.

However, there have been reports in the press over the past few months that Juventus were considering selling Giovinco in order to fund a raid for Sampdoria enigma Antonio Cassano.

Juventus sporting director Alessio Secco this morning confirmed that a deal has been completed to sell Giovinco to long-term admirers Arsenal, and that the Old Lady will use the money recouped to sign Chelsea’s Florent Malouda.

“It is no secret that we are actively searching for a replacement at left midfield for the retiring Pavel Nedved, and for this reason we have had to make a tough decision,” explained Secco.

“We did not really want to sell Giovinco, but the truth is that €10m was too good to turn down, and we can use this money to sign Malouda, a world class France international, who will be the perfect successor to Pavel.

“I understand that many fans will be upset by our decision to release Seba, but I say to them, please trust my judgement. I know what I am doing. I feel that Seba is just a little too small to really succeed at the top. He gets pushed around a bit.”

Supporters have refused to trust Secco, who is already enemy No.1 after masterminding a host of disastrous signings, including Sergio Almiron, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Dario Knezevic, and Christian Poulsen.

Around 5000 tifosi have taken to the streets in Turin, and the situation can only be described as utter chaos. Shops have been looted, effigies of Secco, Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, Jean Claude Blanc and Claudio Ranieri burnt, while the house of Secco has been fire-bombed.

Gangs of ultras have gathered outside the club's headquarters in Corso Gallileo Ferraris, armed with slingshots and baseball bats. They are ready to show their ferocious opposition, and the uprisings are likely to continue as the angry protesters have gathered support from other breakaway groups. It is guerilla warfare, as the fans use militia-style tactics in an attempt to overthrow power and destabilise the club following Giovinco's sale.

There are now fears that 20,000 season ticket holders at the Olimpico will turn their back on the club.

Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spoken of his delight after finally capturing Giovinco.

“I have been trying to buy Giovinco since he was eight-years-old, and I almost got him last summer, but the marriage fell through when Philippe Senderos refused to go in part exchange because he wanted Milan instead.

“But the wait has been worth it, and Giovinco will be a fantastic addition to our squad. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the best youngster in the world after Lionel Messi. He is going to be a legend.”

Sources close to Secco say that he is shaken up by the violence in Turin, and will spend the next few days in hiding at Massimo Moratti's secret countryside retreat.

April Fool

:P Apparently, this is 1 of Goal.com's April Fool's joke. The article sounded plausible at 1st, but then the price of €10m so that Juve can replace Nedved with Malouda started to smell. Nevertheless, if it comes true, I ain't complaining. The Gunners CAN afford this lad if they want him.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Earth Hour

2009-03-28T20:00:00.000+08:00

mOAm supports earth hour too. Will switch off lights as much as possible. On a longer term, will try to reduce resource wastage via a relook @ mOAm layout.

For more info, do visit http://www.earthhour.org/. Locally, Earth Hour will be upon us in 30 minutes or so.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Sunday Star: No stop-gab measures for Dr M

2009-03-22T16:53:00.001+08:00

I generally enjoy reading on/seeing interviews of Tun Dr Mahathir, a real statesman indeed.

The Star Online > Nation
Sunday March 22, 2009

No stop-gab measures for Dr M

By JOCELINE TAN

Former Umno president and ex-premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had a hand in choosing both the outgoing and incoming Umno presidents and he is now endorsing Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for the party’s No. 2 post.

THERE is something about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s office on top of Petronas’ Tower One.

The decor is an ultra modern contrast of glass, steel and leather, and of course there is the man himself, seated behind a curved, glass desk.

Nice view: Dr Mahthir showing a view from his office on the 86th floor of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur recently. When the former premier talks, everyone listens, but his doctor now wants him to stop talking, literally, that is.
The city seems chaotic especially when one is stuck in the notorious traffic congestions but the view is awesome from the 86th-floor penthouse of the former premier who is now adviser to Petronas.

But he is evidently not one for gazing into the horizon because he sits with his back to the view. He prefers sitting facing the wide entrance to his room beyond which is a spacious sitting area and an even more expansive meeting room.

It is all polished wood and tanned leather, luxurious and very masculine, with a cigar club sort of ambience.

Even the air-conditioning has a good scent. So this is what oil money looks and smells like.

Apart from a nagging cough, Dr Mahathir is looking well after a vacation in Argentina, where he spent most of his time horse-riding.

For a while after his heart surgery, his clothes had looked two sizes too big. But he has put on some healthy weight again and, really, no one looks more charismatic in a nehru suit than him.

“My doctor said I should stop talking,” he quipped.

Metaphorically?

“No, literally, to stop talking. But that is my stock in trade. The only thing I know is talk,” he said with a cheeky grin.

He is of course being ironical because he knows very well that he is no ordinary speaker.

When Dr Mahathir talks, everyone listens, regardless of whether they love or loathe him. His opinions still matter for many Malaysians.

Yet, he has been rather restrained about the imminent hand-over of power despite having played such a strategic and peerless role in it.

In 1999, after the sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, he had picked Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as his deputy.

Then in 2004, just weeks after handing over the premiership to Abdullah, he pointed out that Najib was the most suitable man to be the deputy prime minister.

It was a seemingly off-the-cuff remark at that time, but those who had been around him long enough knew that it was not a casual opinion. Moreover, Abdullah could hardly refuse after being handed the coveted post on a silver platter.

His public battle with Abdullah barely two years after Abdullah’s massive 2004 electoral mandate marked the start of the slide in Abdullah’s public image. It culminated in the electoral losses suffered by the Barisan Nasional and that set into motion the process of a change at Umno’s top leadership.

In that sense, the outgoing and incoming Umno presidents were of Dr Mahathir’s making. And as everyone knows, Dr Mahathir also played his hand at trying to push Abdullah out after the general election. He spoke at public forums, he gave interviews, he tried to pitch candidates against Abdullah and, in a final act of frustration, he resigned from Umno.

He was the most powerful president that Umno had ever known, but without the powers of the post he could no longer force his hand the way he used to and it was Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who lit the spark that led to the early transition.

Muhyiddin won admirers as well as enemies for that but he might want to take consolation in the fact that Dr Mahathir is among his fans.

The former premier has made no bones about his endorsement for Muhyiddin as the next deputy president and deputy prime minister.

He appeared at a dinner with Muhyiddin and Najib and, during the last Hari Raya, he even went to Muhyiddin’s open house for the very first time.

“Yes, I am supporting him. I believe he can do the job,” he said.

Supporters of the other deputy president contender, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, are as angry about this as they are over the perceived preference of Najib for Muhyiddin.

They say the choice should be left to the delegates. Besides, as they have quite disingenuously pointed out, Dr Mahathir’s choices for the country’s No. 2 have failed more often than it has succeeded.

Even Dr Mahathir admitted it: “I am not good at choosing leaders.”

Of his four deputy PMs, only one, namely Abdullah, succeeded him. Even then, Abdullah had come under fire and lasted a little more than a term.

“We cannot read the hearts of the people. When I was the PM I did not want the family to be involved, I did not even allow mine to contest in elections, I thought that would be an example. The moment he (Abdullah) became PM, he gave a role to his family. I cannot foresee these things, I am only human,” he said.

And the animosity between them is unlikely to end any time soon.

Abdullah and his family deeply resent Dr Mahathir’s role in the former’s political exit and Dr Mahathir on his part in reserving comment on the power transition until it takes place.

He has also been coy about whether he will attend the opening of the general assembly. The last time he attended the opening after retiring was in 2004.

“I haven’t decided. I have been invited, but I’m not an Umno member you know. Besides, the opening is only the president’s speech.”

And is he confident about Najib, the man he had picked five years ago?

“Maybe, if there is nobody above him and if he gathers sufficient courage to act on his own. As far as ability is concerned, I know he has that because I had worked with him. I had given him jobs and he has done his work properly. His experience and qualifications are there; the political will remains to be proven,” he said.

“We don’t expect geniuses or fantastic people to lead country. Ordinary people can also lead the country as long as they don’t do wrong things. To develop the country is not difficult but when you do things to stop development and give priority to cronies and family, that is wrong.

“I was also accused of giving to my cronies but this was not true. These people came up because they have abilities. I like to help people with abilities. If I give things to people with no ability, they will squander it.”

Dr Mahathir campaigned against the culture of money politics in his final years as party president but had failed quite miserably.

The party had missed the first chance by not going out hard enough on those who used money during the nominations stage last November, he said.

“If they (the delegates) now endorse people who are known to be corrupt then they can kiss another opportunity goodbye. When Najib forms his Cabinet, if he chooses people who are known to be corrupt, then they are going to be out in the next round,” Dr Mahathir said.

And these are the stern warnings given by the statesman as the country enters another juncture of its political history.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Prudential Insurance, UK's new CEO

2009-03-20T12:30:00.001+08:00

This article bodes good news that non-Caucasians can now rise to the apex in the corporate Western world. Obama isn't/wasn't a 1 hit wonder. Prudential's policyholders should probably feel a warm fuzzy feeling. :) Nevertheless, I still feel that non-EU passport holders would still find it harder to survive in the UK, what with the change of immigration rules that favours EU nationals. An added bonus is that he is a Gooner. Woohoo! This guy has good footballing acumen.

The new man from the Pru - 46, an Arsenal fan, and Britain's first black chief executive
• Appointment seen as big step forward for equality
• Chief executive will be paid £875,000 plus bonus

Julia Finch, City editor The Guardian
Friday 20 March 2009

It took more than 200 years for the US to elect a black president. It took Britain a bit longer to install its first black chief executive of a leading company. Tidjane Thiam is a former government minister who survived a military coup, a one-time management consultant and a serious Arsenal fan. Yesterday it was announced he will take over as chief executive of the Prudential insurance company in October .

The 46-year old describes himself as "black, African, Francophone and 6ft 4ins". Thiam is not a new face in corporate Britain: last year he was ranked second on the Powerlist of the UK's 100 most influential black people, behind billionaire entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim and ahead of the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, and government minister David Lammy.

Yesterday's announcement comes 12 years after Marjorie Scardino became the first female boss of a top UK public company. There are still only three women leading the biggest names in British business and two of them are American. There are even fewer black faces in the boardroom; apart from Thiam there is only one black director of a FTSE 100 company - Ken Olisa, a part-time non-executive director at Thomson-Reuters.

When Derek Higgs published a bitter critique of Britain's boardrooms six years ago, he said it was time to change the "pale, male and middle-aged" culture. Since then, little has moved on.

Michael Eboda, who compiles the Powerlist, said: "If you look at America, one of the reasons Obama was electable is because it is not unusual to see black people in positions of authority there."

Yesterday the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is run by Trevor Phillips, ranked fifth on the Powerlist, refused to comment on Thiam's promotion and why it had taken so long for a black person to lead a top UK company. "We don't know enough about the recruitment process," a spokeswoman said.

But Joe Lampal, professor of strategy at the Cass Business School, said: "To become a chief executive in Britain you have to belong to the right social networks. Performance counts less than being well connected. It is not so much about back-scratching, but about boards preferring CEOs they are familiar with and comfortable with."

A headhunter who advises several FTSE 100 firms said : "There are plenty of people in management roles from Asian and other ethnic backgrounds, but once you get to the top, it is all about how clubbable you are and how well you fit in with a largely white male team."

In a statement yesterday Thiam paid tribute to the current chief executive, Mark Tucker, who hired him and is stepping down.

Both Thiam and the Pru refused to comment on his rise, but in a previous interview with the Guardian Thiam revealed he had refused to attend any more job interviews unless headhunters told potential employers that he was black before they met him: "I was tired of the usual answer, which was, 'We like you, you are a great guy but this is a division with 10,000 employees and we just don't think they would understand having someone like you at the helm.'"

Thiam, who will earn £875,000 a year with a bonus scheme which could double that, was born in the Ivory Coast and educated in France and by his mid-20s was working for McKinsey. He then moved back to Ivory Coast and became a government minister until a coup saw him back in Paris after a spell under house arrest.

Till later, live long & prosper.

The Star: EPF declares 4.5% dividend for 2008

2009-03-17T13:26:00.001+08:00

Reading this newspaper article initially, my impulsive reaction was 'WTF?!' However, after considering the world's economic situation as well as M'sia DPM cum Finance Minister's speech when tabling the 2nd Stimulus Package, I speculate that perhaps a smoothing mechanism is in effect in view of the envisioned poor investment returns in the future. What it means is that, despite poor returns in the future, EPF may still be able to declare a respectable rate in the coming year. It really depends on one's personal preference, whether to receive a big return now & say, half of the current rate next year, or a somewhat similar rate of return for both years. It is psychological, in some aspect. For me, perhaps this smoothed return is better to manage reasonable expectation in the longer run. What about you?

The Star Online
Tuesday March 17, 2009

EPF declares 4.5% dividend for 2008

PETALING JAYA: The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Board declared a 4.5% dividend yesterday for its members, blaming the lower rate of returns on the global economic crisis.

EPF declared a 5.8% dividend in 2007.

However, despite the financial meltdown, EPF recorded its highest ever earnings of RM20bil in gross income last year, up 9.36% from the RM18.29bil recorded previously.

“While last year was challenging due to the unprecedented global financial crisis that has impacted economies worldwide, EPF’s investment portfolio for the year performed better at the gross income level compared to 2007.

“But due to the sharp decline in the equity markets, a large provision has to be made, resulting in marked reduction in net income,” said its chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman.

The dividends will be credited into members’ accounts on March 23.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Quote on Woman

2009-03-13T17:17:00.000+08:00

I like this Quote of the Day, which was forwarded to me by cik Fer, who got it from her boss. Nevertheless, it doesnt mean I agree or disagree with it. ;)

Quote of the day:

Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater.

If you give her sperm, she give you a baby.

If you give her a house, she will give you a home.

If you give her groceries, she will give you a meal.

If you give her a smile, she will give you her heart.

She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.

So, if you give her crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Percayamu

2009-02-26T23:45:00.001+08:00

I dedicate this new song 'Trust You' by the talented Yuna Itou to my better half, NIA. Darling, thank you for making me undertake to commit something big with you, which we will settle in due time. No one else managed that.

To other mOAm readers, enjoy the promotional video of this ballad if you like. This talented singer is quite an eye candy too. :D The 'Trust You' single will be released on 4 March 2009.

Till later, live long & prosper.

P.S.: I initially tried to upload an *.flv file of this video several times, but the upload never got completed & this musing has been like pending for nearly a week. Hence, finally resorted to using a Youtube embedded object.

Barclays Global Fans' survey: Most Popular Player

2008-12-15T14:01:00.001+08:00

w00t! Yeah, baby, yeah! Va-va-voom! Hail King Henry for being voted the most popular player ever to grace the EPL. And, which EPL club did he play for? Come on, do be shy. Say it: A-R-S-E-N-A-L, Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal! :D

Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry all-time fans' favourite Premier League footballer

By Charlie Caroe, Telegraph.co.uk
Last Updated: 10:25AM GMT 11 Dec 2008

Barcelona and France forward Thierry Henry has been voted the most popular ever player to appear in the English Premier League, a new survey has revealed.

Henry, 31, who spent eight seasons in the Premier League playing under compatriot Arsene Wenger at Arsenal won 34 per cent of the popular vote, ahead of Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and former Leeds and Manchester United midfielder Eric Cantona, who topped a previous survey.

The Barclays Global Fans' survey – in which 32,000 supporters from 185 countries around the world participated – is the world' biggest ever football fan survey, and Henry, who left Arsenal last summer as the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 174 goals, is clearly not forgotten despite his move to Barcelona in Spain.

The Frenchman, who won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups while in London, was also voted as preferred strike partner to Liverpool's Fernando Torres, the world' favourite current Premier League player.

Henry's team-mate in Spain, Lionel Messi, is the person fans would most like to see ply his trade in the Premier League: over 50 per cent of respondents selected the Argentine player, while Guus Hiddink – current coach of Russia's national team – is the coach most supporters would like to see work in England's top division.

Only 14 per cent were keen to see England manager Fabio Capello manage in the Premier League, just ahead of former Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Borderline A$$hole

2008-12-15T13:46:00.006+08:00

I reckon that a few readers (my 'bro' *eech-y boy comes to mind) would say that it doesn't take a test tell me something that is rather obvious. However, I'd counter that such test, especially those that seem authentic, give credence to the assessment.

Henceforth dear mOAm readers, Mark is a borderline a$$hole. :D I shall take necessary actions to mitigate the risk of being a certified a$$hole, lest I wanna invite all the negatives that come with it.

If you too are interest in finding out your a$$hole-ness, surf here for the test.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Rain Rant

2008-11-27T22:43:00.004+08:00

It has been raining rather heavily in the evenings & nites for the past few days. This evening was no different. As time approached 5pm, I could see thick dark clouds forming in the sky from the window next to my workstation. When I was about to leave at half past 5pm, it started to rain heavily. My instinct was to stay & go to gym. However, after remembering how heavy was the traffic at 8pm last nite when I went home (it was still raining) & traffic was still at a level that can be termed 'normal,' I decided against staying back.

True enough, traffic was moving & I reached Klang in what can also be termed 'normal travel time.' There were of course deep puddles of water that I drove through without much problem. Today that action did create a problem with my trusty Iswara. The car horn short circuited (for the lack of a better term) after I used it like twice this evening. Out of the blue, it started blaring, first for a short while, then in long intermittent periods. I thought it was the car behind me initially. You see, my car horn has been 'shy' for a year or so now. 'Shy' in the sense that at times, it won't sound when I press the horn button & it's loudest is what some people press on their car horn button lightly. So, it occurred rather late to me that it was MY car horn that's making noise. However, other drivers (luckily) didn't really notice as the horn sound was partially drowned by engine sound & I managed to drive to a car accessories outlet without drawing too much attention.

Replacing the car horn cost me nearly RM100 for a decent set. Could get a cheaper set for around half the price but the outlet people told me that it's of low quality. Despite me not wanting this unplanned car expenditure as I need to undertake a major service plus some parts replacement for the Iswara due, amongst a few big things I will be spending on in these few months, I do not want to be changing the car horn again before say, 2010. So, now the Iswara blare with more gusto & I joined NIA & her sisters for dinner at McD (that was a few doors away from car accessories outlet, thank God) before heading home.

Now, as I mused this posting, heavy rain has resulted in a flash flood outside the house. Water level has risen alarmingly to the extent that it started to come into the hall. Bathroom & toilet are also flooded. Proton Wiras (a car of this model tried to drive along the flooded road & was almost stuck, had some neighbours not persuade the drive to reverse back & go via a different route), Perodua Kancils, Kelisas & the likes are in danger as water reached the based of the cars. Again, I thank God as the Iswara has a higher profile. I hope the water doesn't reach the base of my car, as that would mean the house would be flooded too.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Saying it as it is - Gunners

2008-11-25T13:57:00.001+08:00

I can't say it's a scenario I never imagined ever since the suspect temperamental William Gallas took the Arsenal captaincy from the departed Thierry Henry.

It's rather unbecoming of a club captain to air dirty linen in the media. Only M'sian politicians from both sides do that! Hence, Gallas had it coming for him. No doubt he has some points to be taken note, but the manner in which he went about it turns me off. It's good to see Wenger taking action & passed the armband permanently to Cesc. Now, I like many many other Gooners hope that he will beef up the squad come the next transfer window or scarily, we might lose further ground in getting back to where Arsenal belong, at the summit of the English Premier League. I am a realistic Gooner. Should the team perform badly often, we should just call them crap, despite the beautiful football. Otherwise, Arsenal is what they are, the best team in the world. w00t!!!

I attach these 2 articles from the Guardian UK & Telegraph UK respectively, which I agree largely with what's written.

Arsenal needed soldiers and got a centre-forward in pink boots
A soft-centred performance conﬁrms Gallas was right and Bendtner's footwear feeds the stereotype

Daniel Taylor at City of Manchester Stadium
guardian.co.uk, Monday November 24 2008 00.01 GMT

"We need to be soldiers," William Gallas had volunteered in his brutally honest assessment of Arsenal's shortcomings. But what did they get here? A team lacking any form of togetherness and a centre-forward who decided this was a suitable occasion to wear pink boots. They were the brightest shade of Barbie-doll pink imaginable and, unless Nicklas Bendtner was simply being ironic, the ultimate fashion faux pas for any striker who wants to be taken seriously.

Gallas has been accused of a lot of things since the end of last week, but dishonesty cannot figure on the crime-sheet. He had complained of Arsenal becoming a soft touch, of dressing-room cliques and team-mates not being "brave enough in the battle". He has subsequently been accused of traitorous disloyalty and Arsène Wenger was so incensed he effectively suspended him. But who could possibly argue with the gist of Gallas' complaints after witnessing this dishevelled, utterly limp Arsenal performance?

Wenger did not even try, repeating the mantra that there was "nothing to discuss" in a series of post-match exchanges. "We can go on to midnight if you like," he offered at one point. "You appear to be ducking all the relevant issues," he was told, and it is difficult to think there have been too many times when he has looked so unhappy, almost grey with anger.

Leadership on the pitch can come in many different guises, of course, and does not necessarily have to involve players pumping their fists and pushing out their chests. Robinho, it could be reasonably argued, is not just a sublimely talented footballer but an inspirational leader for the way he always wants the ball and to take responsibility, no matter how many opponents are around him. It is known as competitive courage and, for any team to be successful, it is essential.

Arsenal have plenty of footballers with these qualities, just not all the time. Fulham, Hull City, Stoke City and Aston Villa have already exposed this soft centre and, on Saturday, Arsenal conformed to just about every negative stereotype that has attached itself to Wenger's team since he moved on the last of his great tacklers. As soon as the game started to go against them, the players went into a shell and collectively lost their voice, then their shape and, finally, their will.

It was as half-hearted an Arsenal performance as any in the past few years and all this, remember, against a side that had been flirting with the relegation places after one win in the previous eight games. Wenger described it as a "flattering victory" but it was nothing of the sort and Mark Hughes was entitled to be irritated. "He's being a little ungracious saying that," City's manager retorted. "I don't think it flattered us at all. We created six or seven opportunities, they created one."

Wenger hinted that Gallas would "maybe" return to the side for tomorrow's Champions League tie against Dynamo Kiev. Briefly he lifted that hard, impenetrable veneer to insist that "of course" Gallas still had a future at the club, but he would not identify which player would captain the side.

It was obvious he felt let down and betrayed but, whatever the rights and wrongs of Gallas' public criticisms, Arsenal certainly need him back judging by the defensive errors that, for example, allowed Stephen Ireland to sneak in and strike the ball confidently past Manuel Almunia for the opening goal at the end of an error-strewn, directionless first half.

Thereafter the confidence came flooding back for the home side, with Ireland, Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips taking turns to torment the visiting defence. Wenger, in mitigation, was missing nine senior players, but it was still shocking to see an Arsenal team capitulate so weakly to their heaviest league defeat for 20 months.

Robinho, who deserves every superlative in the football glossary, doubled the lead when he was sent running clear by Wright-Phillips and clipped a millimetre-perfect shot over Almunia, the kind of exceptionally taken goal that only a small and exclusive band of footballers are capable of. The home supporters had been berating Darius Vassell and demanding the introduction of the out-of-favour Elano inside the opening seven minutes, but the negative vibes were long gone by the time the substitute Daniel Sturridge made it 3-0 from the penalty spot.

A fatal blow to Arsenal's title hopes? Hughes certainly thought so, pointing out that "no team can expect to win the league if you have lost five or six times" - especially, he could have added, when the season still has six months to go. Naturally Wenger begged to differ, but it was depressing to see such a noble football man sound so unconvincing.

As much as they love Wenger, the sorry truth for Arsenal's followers is that Gallas seems to be the club's only employee who is willing to say it how it is.
Man of the match Robinho

The Brazilian now has eight goals in 11 league games and his goal here, Manchester City's second, was his best. "He's one of the few players in world football who get people out of their seats," said Mark Hughes

Best moment The sublime way in which he clipped his goal over the 6ft 4in Manuel Almunia - a difficult skill at any time, but particularly brilliant given that he had been running with the ball

How Gunners' crisis unfolded

Stumped by Stoke
November 1
Arsenal are unable to cope with the Potteries side's physical approach and the dreaded long throws of Rory Delap, slipping to a 1-2 defeat at the Britannia Stadium that Arsène Wenger initially concedes is well deserved. Later, however, the Arsenal manager hits out at Stoke, accusing them of deliberately trying to injure his players

Villa end the revival talk
November 15
The optimism engendered by a magnificent victory over Manchester United and a thrilling display by their youngsters in the Carling Cup win over Wigan is dampened as Martin O'Neill's team outplay Arsenal at the Emirates, winning 2-0. Villa's performance suggests they are capable of stealing a top-four place from Wenger's side

Theo blow
November 18
Theo Walcott, one of Arsenal's brightest performers this season, dislocates his shoulder while training with the England squad ahead of the friendly against Germany in Berlin. He is subsequently ruled out for three months

Gallas blows a gasket
November 20
Arsenal's captain William Gallas makes a withering public critique of his team-mates, accusing them of "not being brave enough in battle". He also makes what appear to be veiled attacks on the attitudes of Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Eboué and Samir Nasri in particular.

Leadership crisis
November 21
Wenger responds to Gallas' outburst by stripping the Frenchman of the captaincy. Gallas remains in London while his colleagues travel to the Premier League game at Manchester City

Embarrassment at Eastlands
November 22
Arsenal go down 3-0 at Manchester City and slip out of the top four. It is their heaviest league defeat since March 2007 but Wenger insists his players 'had a good focus' and claims the win flattered City.

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Arsenal's new captain: Cesc Fabregas
The timing and manner of the appointment of Cesc Fabregas as Arsenal captain might have sent shock waves through the club, but his eventual elevation to the position will have surprised no one at the Emirates Stadium.

By Jeremy Wilson, telegraph.co.uk
Last Updated: 11:36PM GMT 24 Nov 2008

Just as Michael Atherton became known as FEC (Future England Captain) in his early years at Lancashire, Fabregas has carried the aura and appearance of a player who was destined for leadership long before his ultimate promotion.

“I always felt he had the qualities of a leader,” said Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager. “He has experience and the confidence of the rest of the team. When I played I was a captain. It's not especially linked with age. Most of the time the responsibilities make you grow, make you become more mature and you deal with the situation."

Wenger, though, is already keen to stress that the responsibility of leadership must not simply rest on the slight shoulders of his 21-year-old midfielder. "I don't believe in one man who sorts out all the problems in the dressing room," he said. "He will be one of the leaders in the team. We have to share that leadership."

There is, however, little doubt that Fabregas will relish the chance to follow in the footsteps of men such as Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry. After the recent match against Stoke he outlined his desire to captain Arsenal, and on Monday he said: "It is a great honour for me to captain one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"I know it's a big responsibility but together with my team-mates, I know we have the spirit and commitment to get back to winning ways and fulfil our potential."

For Wenger, it is a calculated gamble. He may have some concerns about placing too much pressure on one player, but knows that he must find a personality with the ability to unite the squad.

At a club who have largely built their reputation on stability, diplomacy and a tendency to deal with problems behind closed doors, Fabregas will also be regarded by the majority of supporters as a more suitable figurehead than William Gallas.

Wenger will also hope that captaincy can bring out the best in Fabregas, the footballer. After helping Spain to win the European Championship and being so influential for Arsenal last season, there has been a sense that his form has dipped during this campaign.

Fabregas is certainly confident that his performances will be lifted. In August, after a 3-1 win against Stuttgart in a friendly, he said: "I've shown that I can take that responsibility and if I was made captain, I'd give even more. I don't know where I'd get that little extra from, but I'd try to find it."

Wenger's decision to raise Fabregas' status at Arsenal will also be perceived as an attempt to ensure that he is not tempted by interest from Spanish clubs.

The entire Arsenal project rests on the vast majority of his young squad deciding to remain together and the departure of Fabregas – particularly if the club failed to quality for the Champions League – could have a devastating impact.

While there have been suspicions regarding Gallas' status in the dressing-room, few would also doubt the esteem in which Fabregas is held. "His performance over the last couple of years has been fantastic," defender Gael Clichy said. "It's a good choice from the boss and all the players will give him all the support he needs.

"When he started playing, people said Cesc was too young to have the responsibility in the team. But he's shown he's a key player in the squad and fully deserves this honour from the boss. It's all about togetherness.

"The only thing Cesc has to do is play his best football. I think Tony Adams was given the armband at 19. Now he's one of the greatest for all the fans. I hope Cesc will do the same."

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My hope is that all at Arsenal FC sort out whatever that is going on there. The diehard Gooners will stick around through thick & thin, but the fence sitters & light hearted ones will leave once they get turned off with all the messy stuff.

In Arsene we trust, still.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Tanda tangan Che Det

2008-11-20T23:24:00.004+08:00

I is happy & delighted. :D

After listening to a very enlightening talk by this great leader when he officiated the International Takaful & Retakaful Conference 2008, I had not only the chance to greet him again, but this time I managed to get him to autograph my copy of his book 'Selected Letters to World Leaders.'

Though some may brush it off or what not, this made my day as getting him to sign my copy of 1 of his books has been a wish of mine for a long time.

As colleague cik Fer would say, 'w00t!' No, make that double w00t!

Till later, live long & prosper.

Solace for Quantum

2008-11-14T07:31:00.002+08:00

Since I am somehow earlier in the office today, I thought I'd pen my thoughts on a movie I saw last nite with NIA.

The 22nd instalment of the James Bond films is certainly unlike most of the others in the franchise. I believe my current FB profile status sums it up 'Mark opines the solace from the loss of Vesper has increased the quantum of violence in the latest Bond film.'Yes, basically the latest Bond movie is non-stop action from the word 'go' where we are greeted with a chase sequence between an Aston Martin & an Alfa Romeo (primarily), along with machine guns blazing. It doesn't relent as Bond goes from 1 lead to another (killing most of them in the process, to the dismay of his superior M) pursuing Quantum for professional & personal reasons. The movie ends with Bond getting one of the top guns of Quantum, settling things with Vesper's boyfriend & walking away into the nite.

That's it.

The movie is exciting will all its stunts & action sequence, but with a simple storyline. There is no over the top scheme or superb hidden base or a megalomaniac supervillain that we are accustomed to in a Bond film. The closest other film with a rather straightforward script that I can remember is Licence to Kill. In recent times, comparison can be made with the Bourne Ultimatum movie, although I opine that the underlying plot of Jason Bourne finding his past make the storyline heavier than Quantum of Solace. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie.

On censoring of the film by the local film board (supposed moral guardians), I only detected 1 odd jump in between scenes; during the opening montage. Also, perhaps during the scene where Bond invited Strawberry Fields (forever?) to help him find where the hotel puts the stationery in the room, there was a cut. If there were others, it was executed rather well.

I've gone to the cinema to watch all the Bond films released since Pierce Brosnan took on the role (during Timothy Dalton's days, I just rented the video). So, I obviously recommend watching Quantum of Solace.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Phil Brown: 'How can you criticise Arsenal's Arsene Wenger?'

2008-11-12T13:19:00.000+08:00

I like this article written by Phil Brown, current Hull City FC manager. If you recall, his team became the 2nd ever EPL team to win at the Emirates Stadium since it became the home of football after the Gunners moved from Highbury. This guy is sensible & I wish him success at Hull City.

Originally from the Telegraph, UK:

How can you criticise Arsenal's Arsene Wenger?

By Phil Brown, Hull City manager
Last Updated: 12:03PM GMT 10 Nov 2008

Watching my players compete against my old club on Saturday was different to say the least.

In fact, it was surreal. I gave 15 years of service at Bolton, and so it was strange to suddenly be hosting them at the KC Stadium.

But at the end of the day, it was just another game of football, that was how I tried to deal with it. The most important part of the game was the result, and we failed to get one. Frustrating, because we deserved to take more away from it.

I'm sure that there will be people out there who will say that if there is anyone who knows how Bolton Wanderers play, it is Phil Brown. So why couldn't I break them down? The fact of the matter was that there was one person, a good friend of mine, standing between us breaking them down on Saturday: Jussi Jaaskelainen. It was almost a one-man challenge against us. Even Geovanni, who has so far this season been our match winner on a number of occasions, failed to beat him.

That was our third Premier League defeat on the bounce, but it is not a cause for too much concern. There have been some high expectations after the start we had, especially with our victory over Arsenal at the Emirates, but defeats to Chelsea and Manchester United are no cause for shame. That win over Arsenal has proved that we are capable of playing in this division, although we have to realise that we were perhaps fortunate not to have come up against the Arsenal that defeated United on Saturday.

I have been fascinated by the criticism that has been levelled at Arsene Wenger over the last few days, and I think that result should silence his detractors to some extent. Arsene has put his credentials and his credibility on the block with those comments last week after the Stoke game, but nobody in the game of football, certainly not at my level, can criticise him for what he has done for Arsenal over the past 10 years. He is a model for any young coach, manager or chairman who want to achieve.

Arsene took over from Bruce Rioch, who was my manager at Bolton Wanderers. Bruce used to say that Arsenal would be the only club that he would have considered leaving Bolton for, because of Arsenal's stature. It is steeped in tradition. Not only has Arsene got a hold of that football club and taken them to a new stadium and a new training ground, he has taken the style of football from a 1-0, back-four mentality to massive levels of entertainment, and I have nothing but admiration for him.

When I first came into coaching 10 years ago I had the good fortune to sit down with him to talk about management. At the time he was living in Hertfordshire, in a hotel which became a focal point for him and his initial plans.

We spent an hour or two talking about his philosophy of the game, and it was, frankly, inspiring. There was a young foreign manager coming in, driven by a vision that he had for Arsenal. Now all of a sudden he has gone past his vision. The fans are now expecting the side to win titles year-in year-out, but he has a grander dream – such as playing entertaining football and cultivating youth.

But that said, his philosophy has got to be Premier League and Champions League-driven. That is the frustrating thing for him. Wenger's work will not be done until he has won the title again, and more to the point, until he has won the Champions League.

There are Arsenal fans out there who are not happy with Wenger, I know, and I would love to sit down with those guys and ask the reason why. As far as I am concerned, he should be a template for any young coach or manager. Any one wanting to get started in the game, should study Arsene Wenger.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Home Loan Website

2008-11-10T13:09:00.003+08:00

Clearing my emails accumulated over the past fortnite, I came across this Google Alert about Money 3 website. This website & the company behind it appears to be some sort of financial advisers. Currently, the main focus is on housing loan financing. That's what caught my eye. Although currently I am not in need of housing loan financing advise, I do know of a few people who are contemplating or are in the process of looking for a home to buy.

The information on purchasing a home appears extensive, including steps towards purchasing a home, the housing loan financing process, Malaysian property listings & even a sector with some tools to help one estimate his/her loan repayment amounts. I have not gone through the website in-depth. If any mOAm readers have done so, do let me know your views.

Till later, live long & prosper.

RHB Bank OTC transaction charge

2008-11-03T11:50:00.003+08:00

I went to a nearby RHB Bank branch earlier to help NIA top-up her savings account, for auto-debit purpose, since when she went to the Shah Alam RHB Bank branch last week, not only was the cash deposit machine (CDM) out of service, the IT system was also offline. Guess what, the CDM at the branch I visited was also out of service, & I waited about 20 minutes for the branch to open.

Upon filling up the deposit form & queuing up, my turn came. After I passed the deposit form & cash to the bank counter staff, I was surprised when informed that since NIA's account was opened in one of the states of (those that I can remember the lady mentioning) Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu & Johor, this over the counter (OTC) cash deposit will incur a 50 sen fee. She further said if I used the CDM, there will be no 50 sen fee. I stated with a matter of fact look that their CDM is out of service, to which she said there is nothing she can do as the system registers the fee the moment she inputs the savings account number. Go figure!

I duly paid the 50 sen fee, settled the transaction & as I left, I saw the CDM being repaired. It got me thinking whether this CDM out of service thingy is part of a plan by RHB Bank to gain from such fees. I do recall that Maybank imposes some similar fee if a customer insists on doing an OTC transaction that can instead be done via the automatic teller machines or CDM. However, this OTC charge for out of state or out of zone accounts in new to me (perhaps this has been going on to my obliviousness). Even several months back when I reactivated the CIMB Bank savings account I opened in Kuantan during my student days, I was not charged anything for the RM10 contra transaction (maybe coz it was still in the same whatever zone?). Perhaps mOAm readers can update via Feedback on some of this (I shall use a nice word) 'unique' charges that Banks levy on us customers.

On a final note for this musing, no doubt in this competitive financial environment, financial institutions fight to get customers by offering products that benefit the customers. Instead, financial institutions try to gain via other creative methods. However, there are some practices that are not transparent or looks fishy need to be addressed. In cases like what happened to me when the CDM is out of service thus forcing customers to do OTC transactions, any fees or penalties if I must say that result from not having the cheaper option should be waived.

Alrighty then, on to more important business.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Ways to Maintain Health Level: Insanity

2008-11-02T11:38:00.003+08:00

In light of the unhealthy times we live in now, what more with the growing threat of financial turmoil, I thought I'd play my part in helping others keep healthy.

This set of tips was sent to my Inbox from a dear friend, who these few months will be spending afternoons sipping Earl Grey tea (in honour of Jean Luc Picard) in a very English setting. I on the other hand prefer tea with vanilla flavour in it, like non-alcoholic Irish Cream tea of Whittard of Chelsea or the Vanilla Rooibos (had it at Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal). As another one of your friends reminded, don't forget to stick your little pinkie out as you sip the tea from the cup, Shiowch. :)

On to the Insanity health tips:

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write " For Smuggling Diamonds"

7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."

8 . Don't use any punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."

12.. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......

Share This With Someone To Make Them Smile. Its Called ....... therapy

Hehehe, stay insanely healthy, alwiz.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal

2008-11-01T21:22:00.000+08:00

When I attended the IAIS 2008 Annual Conference recently, I had the privilege to stay at the Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal in Budapest, the very location where the host country Hungary chose to have the conference.

Located at the heart of Pest side of Budapest, it is situated on one of the main streets, namely on Erzsébet Boulevard or on Erzsébet krt. For those familiar with Kuala Lumpur, it's akin to being located on say, Jalan Sultan Ismail or Jalan Ampang. On the outside, it looks like an old refurbish building. Once you enter the hotel lobby, you will be greeted with a sight similar to any top class hotel (or based on those I've seen thus far).

Of the facilities, one must have a view of their beautiful grand ballroom, which to my benefit, was where the conference was held within the hotel. The ballroom's decoration is a real sight, with carvings from the ceiling down & also portraits of prominent figure in Hungarian history aligning all around the the area where the wall meets the ceiling. As the grand ballroom was constantly in use, I didn't get the chance to linger around for some photos of the place.

However, I did manage to take a few shots of my room. It is one of the standard rooms offered by the hotel. I like the bathroom though, & while bathing in the bathtub, I was contemplating whether having such a bathroom design in a home would be feasible. :)

Anyhow, do enjoy the few photos of the room. The official website of Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal offers some more photos of their facilities.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Ulangtahun hari lahir NIA

2008-11-01T10:11:00.000+08:00

Happy birthday, darling NIA.

May all your wishes continue to come true with Allah's guidance & blessings.

Lotsa love,

Mark.

Spurred, splattered

2008-10-30T06:08:00.002+08:00

For a neutral, it was a fair result from an expectedly exciting derby match. For a Gooner, it was 2 points lost, especially with both ManUre appearing to be winning their match & Chelski causing an away upset to the new 'big gun' Hull City, the last time the scores update flashed on the telly.

The 2 mistakes; 1 each when Almunia couldn't hold on to the ball when it hit him square in the face & also when Clichy slipped, thus giving away the ball in a dangerous areas within the Arsenal half of the pitch, basically ruined IMHO what was up till then a splendid performance from the team that plays the best football in the English Premier League (Arsenal of course, you definitely can't mean Spurs). It allowed Spurs to claw back 2 goals & in the dying minutes of extra time, equalised the score. Wenger appeared furious at the touchline as the Gunners lost possession that lead to that 4th Spurs goal.

Oh well, 2 points lost. *sigh* How it'll impact the season, we'll know in the next few months. Nevertheless, it was a good performance (not splendid due to the gaffs). Happy to see both our centerbacks & both strikers on the pitch scoring in the same match.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Unhappy Week

2008-10-24T20:01:00.000+08:00

This haven't been a truly happy week for me. No doubt that from the 1st two days of the week, my spirit was lifted as I made some progress with regards to the journey of my life, this was subsequently countered on Wednesday.

As usual, on Tuesday nite, I left my laptop switched on to enable completion of bittorrenting the latest episodes of Gundam 00 Season 2 & Heroes Season 3. When I got up for work the next day, the laptop was switched off. This switching off by itself incident has occurred several times before, so I didn't pay much attention to it. Little did I know what was to come when I returned home on Wednesday nite.

When I switched on the laptop, there was a clicking sound from the hard drive, like a ball bearing getting caught in the motor. I was horrified as that can only mean on thing: hard drive motor failure aka hard drive kaput! True enough, when accessing the BIOS, no hard drive was detected. ARGH!!! A high percentage of the data on the hard drive hasn't been backed up!

The kaput hard drive has now been replaced with a newer hard drive that has 3 times its capacity. It was for a fair price too, for an IDE hard drive that is fast getting out of date, as newer laptops uses SATA hard drives. As such, I've been spending my time at home since last nite reinstalling Windows XP and all other software on this new hard drive. I kept the kaput hard drive so that I can try to find an avenue to recover the data within it in the future.

On another note, on Thursday afternoon, our department in the Organisation got news of another round of management level reshuffling. We stand to lose a deputy director who got promoted to director-ship and our own director has been seconded to a new subsidiary, to be replaced another director no less competent. Despite us middle management people will strive our best to minimise disruptions to work (the key word here is 'minimise'), there will still be disruptions. The reshuffling news is bittersweet. While the news stands as a testament of the management's confidence in our department's leaders, the department stands to lose two of its key family members.

Finally, this morning we got news that the home of one of our other deputy directors got broken into. Thankfully, no one in this person's family got hurt. Besides the lost of assets, the is the issue of emotional scars. I pray that the family perseveres through this traumatising experience. Truly, a sign of times in light of a pending worldwide financial turbulence.

I am hoping that there is no more unhappy news for the rest of this week. Next week, we begin by celebrating Diwali on Monday. May the festival of lights shine our lives in the coming days.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Mobile Musing

2008-10-12T22:00:00.002+08:00

This musing is coz I thought it'd be funky to be blogging on the go & this is something I rarely do.

I am currently in the MAS Lounge here in KLIA. Am off to Pest in the eastern side of a continent. Nope, I am not off on a holiday. This is work. Else, I'd get NIA to tag along. :)

The food in the lounge isn't that many in terms of variety, compared to the last time I was here (which is a very long time). Ok, the boss whom I am attending this conference with has just popped into the lounge.

Till later, live long & prosper.

P.S.: It's either hardware or something related to the wi-fi network, as the internet connection to my laptop keeps getting disconnected & the wireless radio turned off. Hence, I am posting this some time later.

Eid Mubarak 2008

2008-10-03T22:25:00.005+08:00

On this 3rd of Syawal, Mark wishes all Muslims Salam Eidul-Fitr, Maaf zahir & batin. Do enjoy the festivities, but lemme go into the health conscious mode by saying that we should try not to gain what we have lost very soon. It feels nice that the slacks are somewhat loose around the waist. ;) Oh, do watch for the sugar, chillies & rice intake.

For those who traveled & will be making the trip back over the weekend before resuming work on Monday or Tuesday, do drive defensively & safely.

It's back to many meals a day & the gym, ya. :D

Till later, live long & prosper.

Mark's Brother's SD Gunplas

2008-09-21T00:42:00.005+08:00

As mentioned in the previous musing, my younger brother has accumulated a number of gunplas in his collection.

As such, I thought I'd mused this quickly while watching Bolton vs Arsenal EPL match where a win will propel the Gunners to the summit of the Premier League table for the 1st time this season. Sluggish start from Arsenal though. Hope it's not a jet lag effect from the draw against Dynamo Kiev.

Anyhow, the following pics that I took prior to the Gunners' match are several of my bro's Super Deformed (SD) Gundams, mainly from the Gundam Seed & Gundam Seed Destiny universe:

Till later, live long & prosper.

Mark and his Gunplas & Plamo

2008-09-14T17:24:00.006+08:00

I wasn't really into replica models during my younger days, be it planes, military vehicles, cars nor sci-fi items. I'd look with admiration but never actually wanted to buy & put together 1. As I grew up, I did learn to appreciate models though. ;)

My younger brother, however, is a different case. Ever since he was in primary school, he was into those Dash-something cars. Now, with his pocket money, he embarked on collecting Gunplas aka Gundam models. These models range from those of sizes 1/144, 1/100 & 1/60 among others based on their supposed real size. He also has a dozen or so chibi versions of Gundams. His collection has been mostly from the Seed, Seed Destiny, SD, Sangokuden & of course, the Gundam 00 series.

Me, I got into this gunpla bit when I went to Tokyo for a fortnight on course last year. Walking around Ginza at around close to 8pm, I stumbled into this corner lot 4 storey toy store. After looking around & just before the store closes for the day, I decided to buy a no-grade 1/144 Strike Freedom gunpla as the price was much cheaper that what I could remember in Malaysia, thanks to my bro asking me to check out prices of those things for him once. The Strike Freedom didn't get built until nearly a year later, after I suddenly bought my next Gunpla, a HG 1/144 Dynames & I wanted to start with a simpler grade gunpla. The Dynames is still in its box till today. :D

My bro got me a HG 1/144 Tallgeese 3 as a birthday present. Now, this is somewhat an old Gundam model, from the Wing Gundam series circa 1990s. From what I gathered, this is a not easy to find set. Hence, I am not sure whether to built it (kiasu & SSS in eyes).

I did however purchase & promptly built the Code Greass R2 1/35 scale plamo of the Knightmare frame Rolo's Vincent. I just liked it & with my bro's gunpla cutter, I settled Rolo's Vincent in a few nites of short sessions (after work & before going to sleep). The Dynames is still in its box, while I use the excuse that my bro took with him the gunpla cutter when he reported to uni for the new term.

I tried to find the gunpla cutter at all other place except where he bought it (I have never been to Berjaya Times Square & lazy to go in view of my perception of traffic in central KL). There is another brand but I hesitated in buying it based on my bro's comments on it.

Anyhow, I very recently got another gunpla, HG 1/144 Al-Saachez's Enact Agrissa type. Bro informed me that when he returns home for Eidul-Fitr, he'll bring back the gunpla cutter & leave it with me, so that I can't use him as an excuse for keeping Dynames & Enact sets unbuilt in their boxes. Me thinks if he got the time, he'll probably go to Berjaya Times Square, buy another gunpla cutter & claim the cost from me. Yes, he'll probably do that...

May you be happy in your boxes, Dynames & Enact, until my bro returns & I actually go about to putting you together.

Till then, live long & prosper.

Article: Petit says leaving Arsenal is his biggest life regret

2008-09-09T08:06:00.000+08:00

Reading this article made me smile. Hopefully, the likes of Flamini, Hleb & all other Gunners (hint: Adebayor) who wish to exit Emirates Stadium will take heed that life may not be all that good (besides the money) when not under Wenger's tutelage. Arsene knows.

Source: The Spoiler, UK
French star says leaving Arsenal is the biggest regret of his life
September 8th, 2008

Former Gunner’s book shows how fancy transfers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Take heed Robinho…

Thierry Henry might be thinking it, but Emmanuel Petit has come out and said it - baling out of Arsenal to join Barcelona iwas the biggest mistake he ever made. This will come as excellent news of the serves-you-right variety to all those Gunners’ fans who remember the eagerness with which Petit scarpered in 2000, although it may bring a degree of gallic bafflement to the face of Patrick Vieira, whom Petit openly encouraged to join him in Spain at the time by testifying as to Barcelona’s all-round wonderfulness.

Alas, according to Petit’s new book, the Catalans treated him like just another chump, even though they weren’t apparently as clever with the cash as they traditionally like to think they are. “I was making 150,000 euros a month. So I asked Gaspart (Barcelona vice-president) for twice that. He wavered but agreed eventually.”

The freshly enriched Petit then trotted off to join the squad in Holland, where they had already begun their pre-season rituals. His joy at doubling his salary didn’t last long. “I turned up for a friendly, and when I went in to meet my team mates most of them ignored me.”

His first meeting with coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer wasn’t a whole lot more rewarding. “The night I arrived, the boss asked another French player, Richard Dutruel, to translate. Richard, visibly embarrassed, told me not to laugh, but said the boss wanted to know what my best position was! I thought he was joking. But I soon realised I was only there as part of Gaspart’s plot to become president.” Before long his relationship with Serra Ferrer had reached such a low Petit observes “I have never met anyone whose head is more like a marble.”

The book goes on to detail how various senior Barcelona players, including current coach Pep Guardiola, took him to one side to tell him off like a schoolboy, and the day he wanted to smash Jose Mari Bakero’s face in. Indeed so unpleasant was the experience that “each day that passed I was a day closer to freedom.” This could be Mandela speaking! Who says Sepp Blatter was wrong about slavery? If only Manu had warned Thierry in time, though, another Frenchman could have been spared the agony…

On a final note, this article can also be a heads up to potential recruits within Arsenal's radar. Come one, come all!

Till later, live long & prosper.

Invasion KL ?!

2008-08-27T09:47:00.006+08:00

ZOMG! We can hear the sound of jets around KL air space! Military 'copters flying around (refer photo)! Padang Merbok area filled with transport vehicles carrying many uniformed people! Is this the supposed march by Anwar, the PM in-waiting, to Parliament. Kenapa-Lah tidak ada warning daripada kerajaan?... dia tido kot.

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Actually, it's just the participants practising for the Independence Day (Merdeka Day) parade at Dataran Merdeka.

Have a productive day ahead. ;)

On a more serious note, although there are no roadblocks post Anwar Ibrahim victory in Permatang Pauh by-election yesterday, there are instead road diversions at areas near Dataran Merdeka due to the Merdeka Day parade practice session this morning. This resulted in many people arriving late to the office, including few colleagues in the department I work in. Luckily, Mark arrives at work between 7am - 0730 when the road diversions have yet to commence.

Till later, live long & prosper.

The Star Online: ‘Blackouts’ for users of pirated Windows

2008-08-26T22:24:00.000+08:00

Link

*sigh* Lost the posting I mentioned in mOAm's 'Interrupted Mark Musing Multiplied' musing. Anyhow, I seem to have the interest to re-do this concurrent posting on Multiply Mark & mOAm. So, here goes:

The above link is the for the article below, which I just read on The Star Online website. It's tagged as a 'latest' news.

Tuesday August 26, 2008 MYT 8:16:36 PM

‘Blackouts’ for users of pirated Windows

By STEVEN PATRICK

PETALING JAYA: Starting Wednesday, users with pirated copies of Microsoft Corp's Windows XP Professional operating system (OS) on machines that are Internet-capable could find their computer displays going black and with no screen icons visible.

There are 8.6 million users of Win XP Pro in Malaysia and about three million are expected to suffer the “blackouts,” according to Microsoft Malaysia.

To continue working, the user would need to reset the machine’s desktop background. Everything will return to normal. But when 60 minutes are up, the black screen will reappear and the user must go through the whole process again.

This will keep happening until the user licenses the copy of Win XP Pro on the machine by going to a Microsoft reseller or getting a licence online at the www.microsoft.com/malaysia/genuine. Each licence costs RM580.

This initiative is part of Microsoft’s antipiracy campaign, dubbed Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), aimed at educating users on the benefits of using genuine software, K.T. Ng, Microsoft Malaysia’s director of client business group, told The Star on Tuesday.

Win XP Professional was chosen for the antipiracy blitz because it is the most pirated version of Microsoft’s Win XP operating system. The other version is Windows XP Home, which is for home users.

This is the second time that Microsoft is needling users of pirated copies of its operating system to go legitimate. Two years ago, it sprang its WGA initiative on local users of Win XP Pro and Win XP Home.

That time, a pop-up message showed up whenever the PC with a pirated Windows OS was switched on, with the intention of shaming business and home users into getting legitimate copies. The message said “This copy of Windows is not genuine.”

It was quite successful. At that time, there were about 5.1 million pirated copies of Windows XP Pro and after the exercise, about two million of the copies were validated, said Microsoft Malaysia.

“We are encouraged by that response,” said Ng. "So this time, we have escalated the penalty to a black screen that reappears every hour until the user validates his or her copy of Win XP Pro.”

Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, chief executive officer of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), lauded the WGA campaign.

MDeC is caretaker of the country’s MSC Malaysia initiative, which is working to build up the nation’s knowledge economy.

“MDeC respects the rights of companies to protect their intellectual property. It’s a reminder that software piracy doesn’t pay, especially when Malaysians are themselves putting a lot of effort into creating original software,” he said.

Not clear
Several users and industry pundits that The Star spoke to believe Microsoft is using its WGA campaign to herd business users into upgrading to its newest operating system, Windows Vista, which hasn’t garnered interest among companies because of its higher hardware requirements.

“Microsoft has stopped selling Win XP in the market, so you have to wonder why it is spending time and money to take down users of pirated copies of this OS,” said a PC user, who asked for anonymity. “Why isn’t it also targeting users who have pirated copies of Windows Vista?”

“So if I’m using a pirated copy of Vista at this time, I won’t be hassled? Got to wonder about that.”

Ng replied that the concern now is XP Pro, which is widely pirated. “Vista isn’t pirated as much. WGA is continuous and should there be a Vista piracy problem, we will address it down the road,” he said.

My thoughts on this article is that it's possibly a marketing ploy disguised as an anti-piracy drive. I mean, it's known that the acceptance rate for Windows Vista ain't that great (even I am still using a genuine Windows XP Home edition). Next I suspect Microsoft would be going after pirated Office suites.

I generally support the need for purchasing genuine copies of software. However, I tend to agree too that for private non-profit educational purposes, it is possibly acceptable. Locally, the prices of software somewhat mirrors it's real price sold in USA, UK or Europe. Heck, that means it's like between 3 to 7 times the price in numerical values there, when we convert it to it's real value for the sake of selling it at the same prices. Many just cannot afford it & yet, we want to have an IT literate community. What is sad that even local software developers tend to price their software based on these foreign market prices.

To combat bootlegs, something must give in. Software maker cannot expect people paying what is deemed to be a premium amount & be happy. In UK, I may earn GBP3k per month & I can not mind paying for a Windows XP Home that cost like GBP60. However, a local earning RM3k per month would definitely mind paying for a Windows XP Home that cost say, RM420. Can we see the differential here? It's no wonder bootlegs of Windows XP Home selling for RM30 are thriving. I am not saying it's right, but it must be in context. Charge like half of it's real value based on overseas prices, perhaps that will help. The music industry did it & it worked to a fair degree. Perhaps with such carrots, education consumers on the pitfalls of piracy will succeed.

On a final note, I'd like to congratulate Anwat... opps, Anwar Ibrahim on your victory in the Permatang Pauh by-election, as mentioned in this other The Star Online news article. I hope that with this, we the rakyat will not suffer i.e. roadblocks, from you crossing swords with political enemies. Sceptically, I hope you are the saviour some people described you as.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Interrupted Mark Musing Multiplied

2008-08-26T21:45:00.002+08:00

I saw an online news piece of interest, & wanted to share it via mOAm. Surprisingly, the online newspaper do not list Blogger in its 'share' function. Hence, when seeing that Mutiply is available, I thought of doing a double posting via Multiply Mark, that is, posting an entry on Multiply Mark & it'll also concurrently appear on mOAm.

Once I completed the initial draft of the posting, I proceeded to preview before making any cosmetic changes. My IE7 took some time to process the command & it ended up with a 502 Proxy Error. Tried refreshing the browser a few times to no positive result. Even tried accessing Multiply Mark's general page & cik Fer's blog, also same 502 Proxy Error.

Bummer. Hope the draft is still there, as I don't feel like re-typing the musing fr scratch. If the draft has been saved, I'll publish it once Multiply Mark is accessible again. Else, I'll think about whether to re-do the posting.

Just thought I'd let off some steam. This week is not going too well for me. Nevertheless, I am generally in a somewhat ok mood.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Mik outta ManUre

2008-08-21T08:14:00.001+08:00

Welcome Mikael Silvestre to the Gunners. You definitely look better in Arsenal red. ;) It's no wonder that Arsene was willing to let Justin Hoyte leave for Middlesbrough. Silvestre will definitely shore up the Gunners' defensive capabilities with his reliability, experience & adaptability in playing at center back & left back.

Now, we fans await the arrival of the experienced midfielder Wenger mentioned he will sign before the Champions League qualifier match against Twente @ Emirates Stadium next week. No doubt Arsenal still have a wealth of young midfielders at the club, we could still used some experience there. Arsene knows...

Till later, live long & prosper.

stretch yawn

2008-08-20T16:37:00.005+08:00

It has been one of the slower weeks, probably coz it's the school holidays. The cloudy & rainy weather, with the lack of people in the department (some on leave, some off attending courses, meetings or workshops) make the colder surrounding perfect for an afternoon nap, which is probably what my dear Kiki is doing back home & I cannot do here in the office.

At least, my working hours will end soon. Then, I can go face the Wall-E.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Kuih Bulan

2008-08-19T22:35:00.009+08:00

The Mid Autumn festival is upon us. How do I know? Is it from astronomic calculations or looking at the Chinese calendar? Actually, I know when I see shops selling mooncakes. :D Hehehe.

What are mooncakes? Well, they are cakes (duh, of course) that are round or rectangularish. The pastry of the mooncake is hollow but is densely filled with thick paste & can include one or two egg yolk. Mooncakes are sold throughout the mid autumn festival period & this festival ends with a harvest celebration with many lanterns being lit & hung. That's as far as I understand it. For further insight, visit Wikipedia's write-up on mooncake here. You can also find out on the mid autumn festival via some links.

Mooncake prices have been steadily going up, even the traditional versions. Non-traditional versions include ice cream mooncake, jelly mooncake & even mooncakes of the pastry crust & softer dough crusts with variety of paste fillings made up of green tea, chocolate & even durian. Those who do not want to spend on mooncakes or cannot afford the better ones will have to make do with the cheaper produced ones whose crust are hard & the filling, it's paste taste more of sugar than any other flavourings, amongst other things which I shall not elaborate.

This year, the hotel that runs the Organisation's cafeteria is selling mooncakes at reasonable prices. It's reassuring too that I have a permissible source of mooncakes to buy & share with those who are not familiar with this delicacy. Anyhow, I bought some today. Buying a set of four, I got a nice box that can be used to keep other stuff. I was also able to mix & match the mooncake. Hence, I chose 1 of each of plain lotus & plain red bean filling, both the normal pastry crust & the chilled dough crust versions. No egg yolk in my mooncakes, I prefer it that way (but I have no issue eating a mooncake with egg yolk). Both of these versions turn out to be yummy & the paste are not too sweet with the texture just alright. Maybe after receiving my paycheck, I might spend a bit more on more mooncakes.

Alrighty then, I'll leave it at that while I go finish one of the opened & cut mooncakes.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Vacation privacy tip

2008-08-15T15:39:00.002+08:00

I was again going through my email archive to search for some info & found the following anecdote:

Getting away from their high-stress jobs, a couple spends
relaxing weekends in their motor home. When they found their
peace and quiet disturbed by well-meaning, but unwelcome,
visits from other campers, they devised a plan to assure
themselves some privacy.

Now, when they set up camp, they place this sign on the door
of their RV:

"Insurance agent. Ask about our term-life package."

It goes to show that in many parts of this earth, people still look at insurance agents as an annoyance. I wonder how we can improve the insurance & takaful agents' public image so that they are seen as the financial professionals that they should rightfully be?

Till later, live long & prosper.

Sailing away...

2008-08-14T23:59:00.003+08:00

Dear calon adik ipaq Uu-un,

Here's to wishing you all the best & have a safe journey tomorrow from KLIA to Arizona. Enjoy the inflight movies (see 3-4 of them if you cannot zzz). Study hard & most of all, study smart. Oh yeah, make sure you visit Disneyland when you travel during term breaks & vacation period. :)

See you after 4 years. Will try to visit after some knots are settled.

Take care.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Lanai Kijang @ nite

2008-08-11T23:27:00.007+08:00

I had to attend a late meeting this evening (I try not to let such things happen often). So for dinner, I went with a few colleagues to the newly opened Lanai Kijang. Lanai's facilities are opened to the Organisation's staff.

As we were there for a quick meal due to my meeting, I didn't explore much. However, I took the opportunity to quickly take some photos of the area (mostly at level 3) with my N95 since there were very few patrons there this evening. Enjoy the shots, without people in it. :)

Darn, accidentally uploaded a test shot of my humble workstation when my N95 acted strangely earlier today. Err, I am gonna leave this pic here, ok.

Photos above & below are of the pool side area.

Slightly blur shot of the surau interior

A view of the lobby from the center ornament

Till later, live long & prosper.

EPL's Back 2008!

2008-08-10T22:05:00.007+08:00

It's back! The English Premier League's season 2008/09 is starting with the curtain raiser Community Shield match, playing currently with ManUre against Portsmouth. It has been some years since beloved Arsenal played in this match. We Gooner believe it'll be rectified soon.

Speaking of the Gunners, this evening I saw a repeat of the goal fest of a match from the Amsterdam tournament's 1st day, where before that Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan drew goalless against Sevilla. Unlike the prior match, Ajax vs Arsenal was a goal fest of a match. Wenger's boys worried Gooners everywhere with poor finishing in the 1st half of the match started by Adebayor wasting the 1st chance of the match. Same ol'Ade you say? I tend to agree at that point. The misery was capped when Almunia (numero uno goalie now) was well beaten, not once but twice, by Luis Suarez & Klaas Huntelaar respectively. After that, it became the Adebayor show midway through the 2nd half of the match. 1st, he headed in a superb cross from the much maligned Eboue. Then, he set up substitute Nicklas Bendtner goal (to level the match) before shooting in the winner via great team play with Denilson providing the assist to Adebayor's 2nd goal of the match. All these, within 16mins. It was heartening in the end to see that Arsenal can still win matches with drama. There were glimpses of Aaron Ramsey & Jack Wilshere, 2 of Wenger's young recruits. Too bad Samir Nasri had a knock to heal from, as I've yet to see this guy play. Anyhow, yet another entertaining match from the best English football team.

On 29 July 2008, I paid some good money to watch what can be the most expensive English team make a select team of Malaysian player look like EPL material. Of course, I am talking about the bore fest that was the Malaysia vs Chelski match at Stadium Shah Alam, part of Chelski's Asian tour. The Blues' lacklustre performance made the fickle 'true blues' local fans support the local team as well as gave the Malaysian boys stick when after getting the ball, they tried to dribble or perform fancy play against Chelski. Chelski (except Deco & one or two of the younger players) didn't even bother chasing after the ball. Heck, Sheva appeared useless when coming on for Anelka in the 2nd half. At the end, the score was respectable to Malaysia, as they lost only 0-2 to the Blues. To me, the man of the match was not Lampard (as decided by the officials) but the Kedah goalkeeper (whatever his name is). After seeing this match, I am somewhat game to go see some local football at this stadium, for RM10 or so, & not RM100+.

Half an hour has gone & the ManUre - Portsmouth match is still scoreless. Come on Harry! Inspire your boys to victory!

Till later, live long & prosper.

I am not for you - SEPI

2008-07-22T23:28:00.004+08:00

I am feeling feverish, yet having trouble sleeping for the past more than half an hour. So, if you need to call me soppy or what not, don't. Blame it on the paracetomol. :P
...
...
...
...
...
whatever.

I saw this movie at NIA's behest some weeks back. It was entertaining actually, despite me having an opinion that perhaps the director should have ended the movie with the happy endings of 2 of the 3 tales within SEPI, instead of ending it as it is & hence, tying to the loneliness theme.

No, no, no. I didn't shed a tear or what not, but Mark appreciated the emotions that the film evoked. Nevertheless, at one time, I still couldn't help exclaiming softly, 'hey, LRT doesn't go all the way to KTJ.' :P

Anyhow, SEPI increased my appreciation of seeing Malay movies at the cinema, coz ever since I had that bad experience with Mistik, I tried to stay away from Malay movies except some Horror themed ones like Anak, which was actually entertaining & not so s*u*ip (personal opinion) like Mistik. Hmm, maybe I'll watch this movie whose trailer I saw during SEPI - Susuk & perhaps be game for other Khabir Bhatia directed movies (my staff said CINTA was good too when to her surprise, I said I've seen SEPI).

Lastly, lemme leave you with this cover version video of Rossa's Aku Bukan Untukmu by Zaf & Lah, from SEPI's soundtrack. Sounds catchy, the song. Good nite.

TIll later, live long & prosper.

PS: Darn, uploaded clip got problem (prefer to upload a clip over a YouTube link as some organisation blocks YouTube). TIll I settle the issue (I is sleepy now), please also find a YouTube embedded music video of Zaf & Lah's Aku Bukan Untukmu.

PPS: Yatta! It works, the uploaded video, after publishing the musing. Anyhow, will leave both versions. :)

mOAm Maintenance: 10072008

2008-07-10T07:58:00.003+08:00

*yawn* Another sleepy morning for Mark, as I went home (& slept later) due to a 9pm movie outing yesterday evening.

This is a blogkeeping update.

mOAm readers will notice that I've removed from the sidebar of the blog layout the following: 'mOAm Talk' Google Talkabout chatback badge & 'Trace Schedule', which is a link to Google Calendar. Why did I removed these 2 items? Besides being items that I don't really use, it didn't meet the purpose I added it for. 'mOAm Talk' was a novelty thingy that allowed mOAm readers to contact me whenever my Google Talk status is green i.e. in an 'available' mode. However, I normally chose to be in a red 'busy' status, but that has never stopped those who know my email to contact me. Alas, this means one can never contact me via mOAm. Hence, my decision to remove the 'mOAm Talk' chatback badge. 'Trace Schedule' Google Calendar link was a good-to-have link that I just didn't was it there anymore for now.

I've also changed 'Mark Traces' from a bloglink list to a blogroll list. What this means is that instead of a static link list to some of the blogs Mark reads/follows, it will now list the blogs Mark reads/follows together with updates. The mode I currently chose is to sort based on top several most recently updated. Besides that, I am trying out restricting comments to registered OpenID users & having back links to mOAm musings.

I am also on the lookout for a change in mOAm layout template, possibly, & a return to more frequent & meaty musings.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Pagi yang cerah

2008-07-09T08:01:00.002+08:00

Well, not really sunny, but the weather is just nice this morning, as compared to yesterday's downpour of rain that resulted in flash floods & badly congested traffic.

I left home yesterday for work at 0625, 5 mins earlier than my normal expected departure time, yet I arrived at my parking spot in the office at 0740, even by using the NKVE to supposedly cut short my travel time. This would be the arrival time if I left home after 0630 but before 0640. Yes, people, I actually figured out these estimations to ensure I am at the office before 8am on most days, best estimate + PRAD + risk charges & all. The photo is the view from my workstation at 8am yesterday. I guess since most people were stuck in traffic getting to KL, the roads seem clear. However, 30 mins later, it was the usual morning jam.

Today, leaving home to work at expected departure time, I arrived slightly earlier than expected. The traffic getting out of Klang was less congested at that hour of the day & the Federal Highway traffic flow was smoother than usual. Ahh, bliss! A good start to the day that allowed me to layan my sudden craving for chee cheong fan at 0730, which I duly had for breakfast at our food court medan Kupang.

Have a productive day ahead.

Till later, live long & prosper.

I'm Yours

2008-07-01T22:54:00.002+08:00

You know who you are, darling.

So I won't hesitate no more, no more

It cannot wait I'm sure

There's no need to complicate

Our time is short

This is our fate, I'm yours

-Jason Mraz-

Till later, live long & prosper.

Working things out

2008-06-30T23:26:00.000+08:00

This posting is generally to test the cross-post to Blogger function on Multiply's blog service. Yup, I have created a blog on Multiply named (what else) Multiply Mark. I intend it to be a cold back-up of mOAm. I've updated it to a certain point in recent time, now all I need to do is figure out how to further update Multiply Mark from recent postings of Musings on a Mark. Hmm...

I shall leave it for another day, as Mark is knackered from work & a good gym session. Yes, even to the disbelief of those around me, Mark has start to go to gym again, to try to bring down his weight & keep fit. The idea is to visit the gym for at least a 20mins workout at least once a week. 3 weeks have passed & hence, 3 visits. I am slowly beginning to return to my previous personal gym program. What people say is true about gym workout: once you stop, resuming it doesn't mean you start from square one, but rather square negative. Wish me luck,pray for me & do motivate me if you are one of those around me.

Good nite.

Till later, live long & prosper.

P.S.: The posting was a success. Just like Windows Live Writer previously, some things do get screwed up such as time stamp & paragraph formating. Oh well, similar things happened when I imported mOAm's musings to Multiply Mark. Incompatibility is the keyword, but at least the services ARE talking to each other, which is a good thing. Take each day as it comes, they say...

EURO 2008

2008-06-30T13:39:00.001+08:00

EURO 2008 is officially over early this morning (local time) with the Spaniards being crowned champions after a 1-0 victory over the Germans. It apparently wasn't truly a pulsating game apparently as the Germans didn't play well. In fact, some viewed that had Turkey not been plagued by suspensions & injuries, it probably would have been them in the final match against Spain, instead of Joachim Loew's boys.

Anyhow, I missed the match. Yes, despite going to sleep a bit earlier than I usually do & planning to get up at leave during half time. I dozed off on my newly changed bed sheet & pillow case (lets leave it at that & not talk about the state of affairs in my room) & only opened my eyes when my alarm rang for me workday wake up time. Darn! Actually, due to work & the time zone difference, I only saw a handful of EURO 2008 matches (& none of them the full match). Those I can remember were the group tie games of France, Italy & the single group match that Germany lost. I miss the time when I was in London during World Cup 2006 where matches were at more acceptable hours due to the shorter time difference. Then, I was somewhat more involved in the event; watching either at the school cafeteria after class, at some pub over a few glasses of expensive soft drinks or even via my laptop in my room as BBC streamed some of the matches. I am not keen on staying up late for matches at midnight or at 3am in the morning & becoming a pseudo-zombie, accident prone person the next workday. Probably should've taken leave this morning for the final match but decided against it since I already took half day leave on Fri & still saving my annual leave for rainy days.

The team of my choice, Les Blues, performed like crap, somewhat expected. Yesza, me is a realistic fan. After the fiasco of the previous World Cup & last EURO, I didn't expect much from Thierry Henry & co. However, their somewhat successful exploits in World Cup 2006 made me surmised that for EURO 2008, France will either crap out in the group stage or go all the way to the final. The former came true. Did we truly missed Zidane, or is it due to our talismanic striker being unfit, who knows? Some post mortem analysis needed now. Nevertheless, I shall still support Les Blues come World Cup 2010.

Lastly, I am now considering whether to get Spain EURO 2008 away jersey. Already got the German EURO 2008 away jersey, probably should complete the set of the finalists (not really keen on the home ones).

Till later, live long & prosper.

Here in my Home

2008-05-27T08:17:00.003+08:00

I 1st heard this song on Hitz.fm while driving to work some time ago (it's a familiar modus operandi for Mark with songs these days). Subsequently, I was pleasantly surprised that this is actually a Malaysian effort. As they say in a local slang, 'bangga, siot.' Had a niat to download this song even if I had to pay a few ringgit for it (hey, a few ringgit is expensive in this current rising inflationary environment). Hence, you can imagine my surprise when after finding out of the official website of the initiative that recorded this song, Malaysian Artistes for Unity, this song in various formats, along with its music video, ringtone, lyrics, chords, among others, are available for download FREE there. Do visit the website for the song, get more info on this initiative as well as support them (there's even a Malaysian Artistes for Unity Facebook group, apparently).

I am adding this catchy song to my current playlist & into my N95's microSD.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Garfield of the day

2008-04-29T19:56:00.004+08:00

Being a cellphone enthusiast, I enjoyed today's Garfield strip as read on my iGoogle.

Till later, live long &prosper.

10,000 BC

2008-03-15T23:30:00.000+08:00

The premise of this movie is simple enough: boy meets girl, boy & girl grow up to man & woman while loving each other, bad guys attack & kidnaps woman, man goes after bad guys, overcome many obstacles, man destroy bad guys & saves woman. In this movie apparently set during the Mesolithic period, man is D'Leh, woman is Evolet & the bad guys (in my opinion) are like a mixture of Egyptians & Incans.

The settings & sights are nice, computer generated or not. The action is paced fast enough with a likeable though simple story woven into it.

Note: this musing suffers from being one of the few incomplete drafts. I have included more stuff, including an unfinished summary, but eventually decided to remove it, as I can't recall how I wanted to end it. All I can remember now is this movie TGV promo cup my younger brother bought. For a summary or narration of this entertaining film, try wikipedia.

I am just gonna post this anyhow, short as it is, several months from the initial musing date.

Till later, live long & prosper.

mOAm 2nd Anniversary

2008-03-15T23:18:00.003+08:00

Bring out the fireworks, mOAm is now 2 years old! Woohoo! To add extra joy to the celebrations, the Ides of March is also Fer Bear's birthday. Happy birthday girl! Hope you had a beary good time celebrating it. This year, besides Azib, there's Paris & Nicole too right?I thank God that mOAm provides me with an avenue to pen my thoughts & share interesting tidbits with my friends & whoever else who tunes in to my musings. Thank you readers also for your support & constructive comments. mOAm has managed another 75 postings since 15 March 2007 & God willing, another 75 more by its next anniversary.As a brief update, I am now with another team within the Organisation. 1.5 months already. I am adapting somewhat alright to the different focus & more variety of tasks as well as the mode. It's a challenge, yes, & I pray that I shall persevere.Till later, live long & prosper.

L-Carnitine supplement

2008-03-13T13:32:00.001+08:00

After a recent chat with the Pharm Guy, Yeech, I was introduced to this thing called L-Carnitine as dietary supplement for weight management purposes. Curious, I surfed the internet to find out more of it since I have also started taking liquid L-Carnitine as recommended by Pharm Guy to make sure I will always be able to fit into my current trousers' size (& perhaps some of my older trousers). Pharm Guy is using it to be lean & mean to conquer Gunung Kinabalu & impress the lasses at his gym (he'll kill me on the 2nd part).

I share this article I found on the Nutritional Supplements Health Guide, which I believe basically gives an overview of L-Carnitine & its effects:

L-Carnitine Side Effects You Must Know About

Many people now take L-carnitine as a dietary supplement and if you are one of them, we surely hope that you are aware of the potential L-carnitine side effect. This is not to say that L-carnitine supplements have dire side effects, but taking any medication or supplements does require proper knowledge of potential side effects.

What is L-carnitine?

Carnitine is actually an essential nutrient found in the body that helps in transporting fat into your cell mitochondria where it is transformed into energy which can be used up by your body. L-carnitine can help increase burning of fat in your body, increasing your energy level, promoting a healthy heart, a healthy circulation and a healthy liver. Carnitine exists in three forms: L-carnitine for heart and cardiovascular conditions, acetyl-L-carnitine, which is used for treating Alzheimer's disease and mental problems, and propionyl-L-carnitine which is also used for improving heart conditions.

L-carnitine is widely used as a natural method for weight loss since it enables burning of fat at much higher speeds. It can also decrease your cravings, increase your energy during exercise and increase your metabolic rate. In the same way, carnitine is used to promote heart health and in treating and managing angina, arrhythmias and other heart ailments. It is also used by athletes to promote further sports endurance.

Normal L-carnitine Dose

For all three forms, a dosage of 500 to 1,000 milligrams taken thrice a day (with food) is usually recommended. L-carnitine supplements are now being marketed as L-carnitine capsules, tablets and powder form.

Side Effects of L-carnitine

So what are the L-carnitine side effects that you should know about? Taking normal levels of carnitine does not lead you to experience unpleasant side effects. However, you may be able to experience having too much energy when taking them, and if you take them later during the day, you might have difficulties falling asleep. These side effects are not really reason for concern in many people, as they are mostly mild to moderate, and easy to deal with. Some reported acetyl-L-carnitine side effects include vomiting, nausea, headache, diarrhea, stuffy nose, restlessness and sleeping difficulty. Some serious side effects may include fast heartbeat rates, increase in your blood pressure and fever.

L-carnitine Safety Issues

However, if you have low or border-line thyroid levels, you should not take L-carnitine as it may impair the action of your thyroid hormone. Also, if you are on dialysis, taking L-carnitine (and other supplements, in general) is highly discouraged. As a dietary supplement for weight loss, the only danger that L-carnitine poses is the risk for anorexia nervosa (an eating disorder marked by starvation). Because L-carnitine can decrease your appetite, this desired effect can worsen and you can end up starving yourself due to physiologically reasons or in hopes of losing more and more weight.

Is L-carnitine safe to take?

Well, based on the facts presented above, the advantages of using the supplement go far beyond potential risks. It is very safe to take as long as you take it in the prescribed dosage. L-carnitine side effects can only prove harmful to you if you do not use it as advised.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Blank Gunners

2008-03-10T01:59:00.003+08:00

I knew it! I just knew I should've just slept & gave the Wigan-Arsenal away match a miss. For the famous slayers of AC Milan at San Siro, relegation threatened Wigan was such a handful. Arsenal were like missing chances & back to their clumsy best. Even the return of Robin Van Persie & Kolo Toure failed to prevent a 3rd straight EPL draw. Bloody boredom. Heck, I even decided & managed to blog during half time break & minutes into the 2nd half of the game. Now, ManUre is just 2 points behind & with a game in hand (Chelski also got a game in hand). Bravo! Argh!

As a fellow Gooner would scream, 'Muppets!!!' I may just have a Jose Wong level Monday Blues in the morning.

TIll later, live long & prosper.

12th Malaysian General Elections

2008-03-10T01:01:00.002+08:00

On 8 March 2008, Malaysians of all walks of life, who are of eligible age & who are registered with the Elections Commission (EC), came out to vote on a generally cloudy Saturday to decide the ruling line ups for states & the country.

For Mark, he woke up sometime around 9am. Parents settled their voting early morning & by the time I felt like going to my polling station, NIA text to say she also settled voting. I finally went to vote at noon, the same time as my neighbours.

It was smooth sailing going to the polling station & finding the room for me to vote it. Then, my transformation started. I was suspected to be a pengundi hantu. Yes, folks. Fear me coz I am (as the opposition parties wil accuse) 1 of those illegal voters who are brought in to help the National Front (BN) win. Bleh! What happened was that in the records of the EC, my full name includes my dad's Chinese name, which my MyKad doesn't. I was called by the person in charge in the room & questioned. I was also asked to fill in a declaration form to declare that I am the real deal & not a creature of the spirit world. :P I bluntly asked to the guy whether I am suspected to be of nocturnal origin & state that I've voted twice before & never had this problem before. He replied it's just a formality & I could vote after declaring I am me. I even repeated the allegation query to the lady who checked my name in the list, to which I believed she was a bit slighted in her reply (in Bahasa Malaysia) 'If it's up to me, I wouldn't care.' I finally voted & left for Tesco to do some shopping.

Fast forward 10 hours plus, news trickled that the opposition parties consisting of DAP, PAS & PKR were making gains & made giant killing feats against BN big guns. My phone was also ringing with text alerts that I subscribed just for the general elections. By the time I managed to sleep, the opposition became the ruling coalition for 3 states & denied BN the vital 2/3 parliamentary majority, a 1st in the history of BN.

To be honest, I am alright with the results of the general elections. Me feels Pak Lah ain't good as a PM. Whatever people say, I am a proud Che Det supporter. Just coz Pak Lah got the resounding victory in the previous general elections & has been basking in the feel good factor ever since, he hasn't done anything to even stand up side by side with Che Det. Well, Pak Lah, where's your feel good factor now? You should just retire now. If he did get another great result, I am sure he'll continue to govern the country fair & square, passing on any increase in prices or what not to the rakyat. So what if the Organisation I serve say we got x% growth? I don't see it coz I am hit by rising prices of goods & essentials as well as petrol price increases. Despite I don't swallow the crap DSAI said about bring down fuel price, it doesn't mean I like the higher price level it is at now.

I have rant much, incoherent perhaps. If I feel like it later, I might clean up this posting.

I pray this is a wake up call to the BN government to buck up & make amends with the rakyat.

On a final note, it heartening to see that Tok Mun managed a few hundred votes. :)

Till later, live long & prosper in this new Malaysian political landscape.

Inspirational Tok Mun

2008-03-07T12:16:00.002+08:00

This is my way of showing motivational support to 89 year old Maimun Yusuf who will tomorrow be one of the candidates for ballot in the P.036 Kuala Terengganu seat for the 2008 Malaysian General Elections. I admire her for standing for what she believes in, despite her advanced age & all. Though the odds are against her, I sincerely hope she wins. If I am in your constituency, I'd be incline to vote for you, Tok.

If interested, you can visit Tok Mun's blog and her Facebook profile.

All the best tomorrow, Maimun Yusuf.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Vantage Point

2008-03-05T22:36:00.003+08:00

Having started the day in good spirit following the Gunners' Italian Job at San Siro, I thought of watching a movie & hence, texted Shiowch after reading her tongue-in-cheek Facebook update during lunch about being the government's PR writer. Turns out, she herself was thinking of asking me whether I was interested in watching the movie Vantage Point, starring Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker & Sigourney Weaver. It was that or Before The Devil Knows You Are Dead. Checking the show times at GSC 1U, we agreed on Vantage Point & set a meeting time.

I left the office at 1730 & managed to reach 1U about half an hour earlier than expected as the roads were clear half the journey there. Spent the free time viewing an F1 exhibition at the concourse from afar & visiting Marks & Spencer to browse what they actually have here compared to the range in UK. We duly met at the stipulated time, visited briefly 2 bookstores & had dinner before the movie.

Vantage Point is in the nutshell about an assassination attempt on the President of the United States (referred to in short as POTUS in the film) during an anti-terrorism summit in Salamanca Spain over a period of less than half an hour. What made this movie as long as it is can be attributed to the different point of views that the viewer is treated to before the plot is resolved (hence the movie title). There are 5 points of views, namely those of the TV news crew, followed by those of a US secret service agent, a Spanish police officer, an American tourist and lastly, the POTUS himself. The 1st perspective (from the TV crew) establishes what has happened in general & each subsequent perspective adds additional info until the plot resolves after the POTUS' point of view arch.

Though I found it engaging, the presentation of various perspective or point of views do get tedious after a while. In my humble opinion, losing 2 of the perspectives or combining 3 of them may have made it less repetitive (despite the different points of views, some elements of the story remain the same throughout each perspective). The plot twist is palpable but the car chase across the narrow streets of Salamanca is rather surreal for me. I mean, how is it that the cars involved in the chase are always able to maneuver without hitting those whom they are not meant to hit (i.e. those walk at the side of the roads) & there are always space between vehicles even in heavy traffic? When I was driving into Klang after 2130 just now, the traffic was still terrible & there's virtually no space to conduct a car chase on a 3 lane main road. Perhaps drivers in the continent are really good drivers who drive with a safe distance between cars, unlike the devils behind the wheels here.

I give Vantage Point 3 stars out of 5. Do watch it for the vantage point or various perspective on an event.

I am gonna have some supper before zzz.

Lastly, as you may notice, this post is the 4th one of the day, a landmark for mOAm. Ok, ok, the 3rd posting was an old review that I just completed & posted. However, even at 3 postings, it's a rare. Many views of different things, eh? :D

Till later, live long & prosper.

Beowulf belated musing

2008-03-05T22:24:00.001+08:00

Thanks to the local Nokia Nseries 'My Nokia' website, I was able to get 2 free tickets to attend a screening of Beowulf on 13 Nov 2007, 2 days before its general local release.

Heading to the cinema after work, I was caught in heavy traffic. A 30-45 mins journey in normal traffic ended with me taking just over 90 mins to arrive at the shopping mall where the cinema is located in. It didn't help that I had to attend a meeting at 4pm (was only informed of the meeting on that morning itself since the email notification was sent @ 1935 the day before, well after I left the office @ 1915) that lasted about 2 hours. Yes, I left the Organisation 1 hour later than expected & arrived @ the shopping mall 1 hour later similarly. Luckily, the movie screening was at 9pm, & I was able to have dinner without rush.

This 2007 Beowulf movie is based on an Anglo Saxon heroic poetry that was recorded on an untitled manuscript. The language in the manuscript is Old English.

Quoting the wikipedia article (I am feeling lazy on summarising the plot & the Wiki paragraph on it appears concise & aptly worded to me), 'This adaptation of Beowulf tells the story of a Heroic Geat who travels over seas to come to the aid of Legendary but drunk King Hrothgar to help rid the people of Heorot of the monstrosity known as Grendel. But by defeating Grendel he incurs the wrath of his evil yet seductive mother, without any scales and claws. Told to kill the mother by Hrothgar, Beowulf enters her cave and becomes the latest victim in a century old tradition of deceit and destruction that has sentenced many kings and their kingdoms to misery and death.'

The movie itself is just about 2 hours long. The USA rating is PG-13. Hence, I was surprised that the local rating of U was applied to it (Shiowch who watched the movie with me states that since it cannot be 1 of the other 3 18-ratings, so U it is) but just after we exchanged comments, a PG-13 notification flashed on the screen. Hehe, no issues then.

Beowulf 2007 is actually a computer generated imagery (CGI) film. A similar but perhaps not really same film that comes to mind is the Final Fantasy movie, both the Hollywood produced & Japan ones. However, for Beowulf, it is not entirely CGI but rather real actors acting & filmed on a motion capture stage. The film is then altered/animated. So, if 3D animated movie ain't your cup of tea, do give it a miss & don't bother buying the DVD. Just wait till it's shown on satellite TV or you get to watch it during a flight or something. I found it watchable & enjoyed the CGI (not just Angelina Jolie). :)

On a final note, this review was started like a day after I went for the movie screening but never got about finishing it during last year. Hence, I apologise for the abrupt end to this review.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Shelling out for a Ferrari

2008-03-05T09:16:00.008+08:00

This is the closest I'd get thus far to playing with a Ferrari car.

The previous set of 6 model Ferrari cars from petroleum corporation Shell last year, I managed to collect them all despite starting a bit late from the time the cars were offered. To buy a model car, customers would have to purchase a certain amount of Shell fuel 1st. With NIA's help, I even managed to eventually even get 2 of the Enzo Ferrari model that was elusive to me in the beginning.

This time around, 7 model Ferrari cars are being offered. However, they each cost more than those of the previous set (albeit with better engine sound apparently) & one needs to pump even more Shell fuel to qualify to buy the model Ferraris. I don't plan to collect the entire set (simplest excuse: where to store them?) but had my eyes on the FXX Ferrari model the moment I saw it in the cover of the Sun newspaper yesterday. Since I am now a mostly Petronas patron (despite Shell being my 2nd choice of petrol for my Iswara), no thanks to CIMB now not giving points for petrol purchases, & also due to my Maybank Petronas Visa card, how to get that model car?

Luckily Izzy, a colleague, uses Shell petrol for her Satria Neo & had to fill up her car's tank yesterday evening. So, with her kind help, I am in possession of the FXX Ferrari model car you see above. Shall open the packaging & have a 'drive' with it tonite. *grins* Lastly, based on the brochure Izzy got together with the model car, there are 2 more Ferrari model cars available to buy only via a Shell Helix engine oil purchase. Talk about promoting your products, Shell. :P

Till later, live long & prosper.

Fab-ulous Italian Job

2008-03-05T07:53:00.001+08:00

As usual, for an early morning (local time) Arsenal match, I'll get up about the time when the match is at half time or into its 2nd half. This morning was no difference as I switched on the television at around 5am to see an Eboue shot on goal flew wide across the goal mouth.

From the commentary, the Gunners controlled the game at San Siro from the start. Even from when I watched it, Arsenal were playing 'their game' with good passing play & restricting AC Milan's attack quite well, rendering Kaka & Inzaghi ineffective. The defense, marshaled by mon-capitan Gallas were alert for any sudden attack or counter attack from the opposition, with Senderos having one of his better games (in my humble opinion). Nevertheless, we Gooners were left at the edge of our seats as our team was misfiring in attack.

As the clock ticks towards the final quarter of the game time, Wenger introduced Walcott for Eboue shortly after Gilardino replaced Inzaghi. Gilardino seemed to disappear after that while Walcott made his mark later in the game. The Gunners reaped rewards for their efforts when a 25 yards or so shot from Cesc Fabregas went past AC Milan 'keeper Kalac & into the net. We are almost through, as away goal rule applies & AC Milan needs to score 2 goal to defend their championship!

The icing on the cake came 2mins into stoppage time when after some beautiful passing play, Walcott crossed the ball from the right for Adebayor to tap into goal. 2-nil to the Arsenal! The blow of the referee's whistle capped another stunning performance by Arsenal at San Siro after the 5-1 trashing of Inter Milan at the same stadium in November 2005 (AC Milan & Inter Milan share the same stadium, something somewhat familiar in the Italian league).

Smiles & high fives amongst us Gooners. :D

Till later, live long & prosper.

No Direct Access to petrol points

2008-03-03T23:27:00.006+08:00

Earlier I was writing a cheque for my Direct Access Card payment. It's a cheque instead of using the cash deposit machine coz I spent a bit more last month. *feels hole in pocket*

Anyhow, while I cross checked the statement to make sure I recorded all the necessary details at the back of the cheque, I noticed my points earned was lower than the amount spent for the last month. There was an asterisk next to the points earned. After finding the relevant footnote, it stated that petrol purchases are not entitled for points. Wok?!

At home after work, I checked the previous 2 statements before the 1 that I just issued the cheque for. In Dec 2007, there was no such clause. However, the clause appeared from the Jan 2008 statement. It got me thinking, could this be a way of promoting CIMB's new Petronas (the national petroleum corporation) Mastercard, given that Direct Access is now a division of CIMB Bank? I recently got myself a Maybank Petronas Visa card that for these few months, allows cardholders to earn 5 times more points for Petronas petrol purchases. Nevertheless, by using the Petronas Visa, one cannot earn Kad Mesra (Petronas' loyalty card program under the Real Rewards scheme) points at the same time. Darn. Me wonder if similar to the Maybank Petronas Visa, the CIMB Petronas Mastercard also doesn't allow for Kad Mesra points accumulation? The inability to earn Kad Mesra points happens as after approving the use of the Petronas affiliated credit card, the petrol pump kiosk does not prompt for the Kad Mesra.

I shall ask NIA to check her recent CIMB card statements to verify if this exclusion of petrol purchases for point is for all types of CIMB credit cards (besides the Petronas Mastercard). I wonder too if the exclusion of petrol purchases extends to other banks' credit cards? I do remember at one time that as part of the settlement to allow credit card transactions for petrol purchased, it's rumoured that these purchases do not accumulate points. Dunno wok happened after that? Could this be the result?

This cross promotion or co-branding with banks exists for many of the petroleum corporations here. Those I know of besides the 2 mentioned above are Standard Chartered-BHP and Citibank-Shell. I do not know of any banks tie-up for Caltex, Esso & Mobile (any petrol corporation I missed?). Shall we term this tie-ups as 'Bancpetrol'?

If you can shed some light on this, do update me via the comments page or what not.

Addendum on 4 March 2008: NIA checked her CIMB credit card statement. Her standard CIMB credit card is also now not entitled for points when used to purchase petrol. Darn.

Till later, live long & prosper.

mOAm Talk Chatback badge

2008-02-26T22:00:00.006+08:00

Google yesterday added a new cool feature called Chatback to Google Talk. Simply, it allows guests of webpages or blogs to chat with a Google Talk user via a little application or 'badge' as they call it. The badge will be customised to a particular Google Talk account holder (in the case of 'mOAm Talk,' it's me, Mark). The person or visitor to the webpage need not be a Google Talk nor Gmail account holder to be able to chat with the person whom the badge is linked to. Nifty, eh?

In the side bar, you can see a section called 'mOAm Talk' with a Chatback badge. Within the bubble, if mOAm Talk is blue in color & has a green dot next to it (indicating I am available to chat), do click on the blue font 'mOAm Talk.' A new window with a familiar chat display will pop up & you can chat with me.

A little note though. Those who know me will attest that my basic status on Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger & YM is 'busy,' but that doesn't prevent them from nudging me or initiating a chat with me. If I am truly busy, then I will inform them so. However, Chatback disables the link to chat with me if my status is not 'available.' For mOAm sake, I shall try to be on a green dot Google Talk status occasionally. Then, friends can test this new feature. Also, do introduce/identify thyself as in the chat window, you'll be known as Guest or something synonymous.

For more info, please visit this Google Talkabout entry. It includes detail on how to create your own Chatback badge.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Gigi - 11 Januari Music Video

2008-02-19T21:52:00.003+08:00

My education into the Malay & Indonesian music scene continues as I listen to HotFM 'Lebih Hangat Daripada Biasa.'

AS you may have surmissed, this is the latest song that caught my attention, Gigi's 11 Januari. I couldn't find the video to download & upload to mOAm. Hence, I present the music video of the song from YouTube. Enjoy, as I did.

Till later, live long & prosper.

29 September... revisited

2008-02-19T09:29:00.007+08:00

29 September Bermula

Perjalanan Kisah Kita Ini

Bila Dikau lafaz Engkau Milikku

Bahagia Sudah Ku Kecapi

Bertahun Kulalui Bersamamu

Kusedari Engkau Lengkapi Diriku

Akulah Temanmu

Akulah Sahabatmu

Akulah Kekasihmu

Kuharungi Setiap Liku Hidupmu

Bilaku Mengguris Hatimu

Buat kau Hampa Pada Diri ini

Maaf Kerena Ku Insan Biasa

Akulah Temanmu

Akulah Sahabatmu

Akulah Kekasihmu

Kuharungi Setiap Liku Hidupmu

Kau terima diriku

Sebahagian hidupmu

Kau ubah diriku

Kau ku gelar sayang

Senyummu juga sedihmu adalah Hidupku

Kau Nyawaku, Habibiku

Kita Bersama

Selamanya...

Inspired & adapted from Gigi's 11 Januari

Till later, Live Long & Prosper

P.S.: For novelty reasons, I waited till the ideal time of the day to post. ;)

It's wok computers have become...

2008-02-17T23:22:00.005+08:00

There's a thing in my pocket,
You can see the lump,
It ain't a growth,
Yet it blew a hole in my other pocket,
It screams, it shouts, it sings,
Yet it has no voice,
It can record great pics with it's eye,
Store them in memory,
Yet it cannot see,
It can also help me find my way,
Yet it has no knowledge of direction,
I can make it perform many tasks,
Yet it has no intelligence to learn,

There's a thing in my pocket,
Yet it's not one thing,
It better be more things,
Coz it was my January splurge of the month.

Photo courtesy of Fer Bear, taken with Eja's Sony Cybershot T70.

I was taken into upgrading my N70 after seeing how possible convenient it is having a wifi enabled device (which I do use in wifi enabled places such as at home & at the office's cafeteria area) as well as a GPS enabled baby, even more so after Fer Bear got her P3600i. Well, this gadget does have assisted GPS. At the end, even after considering HTC or some other PDA phone, Nokia still ends up being my choice, primarily as the N95 has all the stuff I needed at the price I wanted. It would have made my day had this baby included a qwerty keyboard and/or touch screen, but those are really just icing on the cake.

I also chose the N95-1 over the N95-2 aka N95 8Gb as I value the availability and convenience of the microSD card slot that the N95-2 remove in view of it's large internal memory. Further, I dare not risk the lack of a camera lens cover (which the N95-2's designers have removed) knowing that the device will be in my pocket with my keys. With the phone software upgrade to version 20, it appears that some of the issues previously experience by early adopters of the gadget were address. So, to those wanting to get any of the Nseries devices, alwiz update the phone software 1st before customising and using them.

I am enjoying the experience thus far. The N95 has stereo speakers and the 5 megapixel camera is handy too. Phone network reception is good with clarity during call. I just need to get used to slider phones as previously, I stuck to the candy bar form factor. I have experience the phone 'hanging' with the removal of battery required a few times in order to restart the N95, but these incidents are rare.

If you are thinking of getting any of the newer Nseries, I say go get what computers have become.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Website on second hand car prices

2008-01-29T10:15:00.000+08:00

The Insurance Services Malaysia (ISM) has set up a website on used car valuation estimates, as reported in the following Bernama article:

January 28, 2008 17:01 PM

New Website To Get Used Car Valuation Estimates
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- ISM Insurance Services Malaysia Bhd and EurotaxGlass's AG have developed a new website at carprices.ism.net.my for consumers to obtain used car valuation estimates online.

The valuations are updated monthly and determined from thousands of observations of actual market prices from a variety of sources throughout Malaysia, the two companies said in a joint statement Monday.

"The idea to provide a complimentary online service was a strategic decision by our stakeholders to provide better transparency to those who need it most, the consumer," said ISM chief executive officer Carl Rajendram.

He said the website will provide consumers with an independent valuation of the market value based on extensive research conducted by its team.

Rajendram said a service was being developed to provide consumers with a valuation certificate with adjustments for mileage, condition of vehicle and optional car accessories in the next few months.

"A fee of RM10 will be charged to issue the valuation certificate which can be used as a second opinion on the value of the car," he said.

This website is handy for when we want to buy a used car, sell a car or (for me), as a reference point when renewing motor insurance (for determining the sum covered). Go check it out.

Till later, live long & prosper.

StoOpid...

2008-01-25T15:02:00.001+08:00

For kicks on a Fri afternoon, Eja forwarded a link to some of us to undertake a Stupid Test. Yes, you read it rite. I took it, answered it crazily, & the test determined that I am...

I was sniggering like mad after seeing the results. Eja, Ding-Ding & Fer Bear were worried. Hrhrhr.

Till later, live long & prosper.

"If you hate Tottenham, stand up!"

2008-01-23T23:05:00.001+08:00

After 21 games over the years, suffering Spurs fans finally was able to stand tall & proud. Why? Their latest manager, Juande Ramos managed to string a teams that finally trashed their bitter & hated rivals the Gunners 5-1 in a match.

'Who cares if Le Professor fielded a team consisting mainly of squad players for this 2nd leg of the Carling Cup Semi Final?' 'Serves the Arse's right for undermining the great Spurs.' 'This year Spurs will replace Arsenal at the summit of the EPL.' 'Berbatov stays, Spurs bigger than even ManUre.' I can just imagine those poor Spurs fans gloating.

Let them gloat.

Damn, I still hate the Gunners losing ANY match.

Till later, live long & prosper.

This doesn't concern you... walk away...

2008-01-17T14:17:00.001+08:00

Got this from Fer Bear via a link to 'I can has cheezeburger!'

moar funny pictures

I can just imagine our male cat Choky achieving this skill level once he completes his Jedi training. :D

Till later, live long & prosper.

Gundam 00 2nd OP

2008-01-13T21:21:00.000+08:00

As of episode 14, Gundam 00 has a new opening sequence accompanied by a new song, Ash Like Snow by The Brilliant Green. Although the graphics are nice (new units in the form of the Gundam Thrones: Ein, Zwei, and Drei!), I still like the previous song, Daybreak's Bell, & would have happily accepted the new sequence with that song. :)

Anyhow, do enjoy this video of the 2nd opening sequence to Gundam 00.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Transfer listed

2008-01-10T23:25:00.000+08:00

Firstly, I'd like to wish everyone Salam Maal Hijrah. Semoga anda terus diberkati rahmat Illahi dalam tahun 1429H ini.

As I was rather knackered last nite, I sleep somewhat earlier but failed to get up early for the Arsenal-Tottenham Carling Cup Semi Final 1st leg match @ the Emirates Stadium. I got up at around my normal work day. Rushed to the idiot box, turned on Astro & lo behold, Theo Walcott scored the Gunners' equaliser to cancel out Jermaine Jenas' earlier goal for Spurs. Man, Walcott is slowly & surely gonna be a future Arsenal legend if he progresses well. As it is, a goalless draw at White Hart Lane after extra time should see us through to the Final.

The month of January is also the mid-season transfer window period for the EPL & several other leagues in Europe. As it is, clubs are busy recruiting to make up for long-term injuries, filling up gaps in their current squad or even trying to find the player(s) that will ensure championship/survival. As usual, Arsene Wenger will try to not make any transfer dealing in this inflated player price period.

Keeping with the football analogy, last Monday I was called by the gaffer to his office. My mind was buzzing on what have I done since normally in the morning, the Jose is a bit moody, Monday blues & all. Knocking on his door, he invited me in & asked me to take a seat.

The gaffer asked how was my new year break & all. We had a bit of small talk on traffic at the Malaysia-Singapore causeway & places to shop for value priced electronics & computer stuff in JB. All this led to him telling me that I have been transfer listed. The club has held talks with another club & they have agreed in to me moving clubs. Jose would have liked me to stay but he would not prevent me from better opportunities elsewhere i.e. better contract or more playing time on the pitch. The reason he called me was to discuss my transfer date. The football association (I am transferring to a club within the same league) wanted the transfer completed in the middle of the month, but both the gaffer & I felt it's rather soon. I wanted time to clear out my locker, settle some league games & say my goodbyes to the team. Hence, it was agreed that I'll stay till the end of the transfer window & move clubs at the end of the month. All that is to await now are the transfer papers to truly be certain of the move.

Basically, I am happy with this. I am after all moving to a fast rising club. However, there is this sad feeling as I am leaving a club that I have served for the last 6 years & 4 months to this date. Although we'll still be in the same league, when we meet on the pitch, we may have different objectives & tactics. Nevertheless, I have indicated in the past that I will accept whatever that arises from this affair & I shall stick to my words. In fact, friends & team mates have advised that I'd be the talk of the league for some time should I reject the transfer. So, here's looking to a brighter future.

I shall miss the Chinese kopi & roti bulat from the stall under the bridge though...

Till later, live long & prosper.

Ransom Notification

2008-01-07T10:50:00.001+08:00

Beware, Ding!

The cute canine of yours is under threat! Cik Fer aka Fer Bear might some time in 2008 actually kidnap it for real & deprive thee of a lunch nap companion.

This public service message on mOAm is brought to you by Mark, on a slow Monday morning. :D

Till later, live long & prosper.

Note: those in this posting are real individuals whose names have been altered to enhance their coolness factor.

New Year, New Job, New Note

2008-01-02T09:47:00.000+08:00

Not me on the new job, as I am still working in this Organisation. ;)

I'd like to wish my bro Yeech all the best in his new job. After serving 7 years as a GUMY bear, he decided to up a notch & become a Care(ing) bear effective 2008. Don't worry, bro. Since the outlet where you are Care bear is closer to my home than when you were a GUMY bear, I can visit you more often for samples & freebies. :D

Also, I've received my copy of the special pack to commemorate the launch of the new RM50 currency banknote. The special pack was sold to the public from Boxing Day last year for RM60 at the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)'s headquarters & its branches throughout the country. In it, you'll get an RM50 note that is mounted in a booklet with some info on the new currency note. 20 000 of the special packs were produced & from the information I heard, the stock at BNM HQ was exhausted by 3pm on Boxing Day itself. BNM branches may still carry some stock of the special pack though. Collectors & members of the public alike gave good response as besides the special pack being a limited edition keepsake, the 1st 50 million copies of the banknote features Malaysia's first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj at the historic declaration of Malaya’s independence and the logo of the 50th Anniversary of Independence on the reverse side.

I am sure this coming Chinese New Year, many will rush to get the new RM50 banknotes & likewise, many will be hoping to receive RM50 in their angpows. Hmm, now I gotta look for recently married Chinese friends & relatives & be extra nice to them. Too bad Yeech let the previous one go, else I can pow him for an angpow next month. Hrhrhr. :)

Till later, live long & prosper.

2007 Year-end Outing: JB

2008-01-01T23:01:00.000+08:00

Thanks to colleague JF who organised his wedding dinner far south of Malaysia, NIA & I had our year-end outing in Johor Bahru. It has been a practice for me to end my working days for the year sometime between Christmas & New Year's Day.

Woohoo! The Gunners made a dream start to our home match against West Ham. Eduardo Da Silva scores within 2 minutes of the start. The Gunners need to be mindful of this team whose last match was a fightback from a goal down to win 2-1 against ManUre.

Most of us in the division who attended JF's wedding traveled to JB on Sat morning last weekend. The weather was good after it rained & rained for the past fortnite. We arrived at Naza Hotel at about 1pm after need to make a few turns while locating it. WNH's party had arrived a little earlier than us & were already at the restaurant ordering lunch. After checking in, we duly joined them for lunch.

Naza Hotel is apparently rated 3-stars. However, what welcomed us in the rooms were not (to my opinion) worthy of 3-stars, maybe 2-stars. The room carpets were dirty with stains & the bathroom had some dirt setting into the wall & bathtub edges. Luckily, the toilet seat looks squeaky clean. I also found out later that the shelves in the wardrobe were also not wiped clean & were covered with a layer of dirt (more layers on the edges), as I felt itchiness after wearing a t-shirt I left on 1 of the shelf.

Yeah, another goal! Adebayor scores with a bit of luck as his shot from a near impossible angle hit the post & spinned into the net.

Our 2 groups then discussed on the 'indah khabar dari rupa' situation of Naza Hotel & WNH's group decided to change hotel to Puteri Pan Pacific, where the wedding dinner will be held. NIA & I decided to stay as the conditions were acceptable to us. We believe that perhaps the hotel was recently purchased by Naza Group & they are in the midst of renovating the place. So, maybe cutting them some slack is justified. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting.

JF wedding dinner was held at the Persada International Convention Center located next to the Puteri Pan Pacific Hotel. In fact, there is a bridge connecting these 2 buildings. The dinner was an enjoyable affair with no delays what so ever. It ended a good 15 minutes before 11pm, the time that JF told us it would end. Me suspect ManUre & Chelski having games at that time got something to do with it. Hehehe. My only complaint is on the waiters & waitresses. Despite them being attentive to our requests, they seem to be rushing it most of the time. Our plates & the 1st few servings of the Chinese menu dinner were cleared in record time, even before we finished the food. Things got a bit better after I had a chat with the waitress serving our table. Hope she didn't spit in my food or anything as since our table was next to the wall of the ballroom, we could hear the waiters & waitresses bitching about those attending the wedding dinner, even about the smell of the perfumes worn that apparently was not pleasing to the nostrils of these young people.

On Sunday, we had a late buffet breakfast a the hotel restaurant. The spread was mainly local, with only toast, frankfruters & cereal making up the western menu. Local choices were nasi lemak, chicken rendang, fried noodles, fried rice & porridge.

We then headed to the nearby 'the Zon' duty free complex for some window shopping. We met WNH's group for the last time during our JB trip there. There were some good offers at the duty free complex, such as work shirts, but I've exhausted my wardrobe rotation budget to the Year-End-Sale. However, I did buy a foot design cushion for a bargain price. :) We had a later lunch at Danga Bay, a coastline area developed as a recreational site with restaurants, stalls & even a fun fair for all young & old. We drove around JB city before heading back to the hotel. Dinner was at a place called Restoran Zorro (go figure!). We had a group set meal with wedges & otak-otak on the side.

A final souvenir from the JB trip was a sore throat that I woke up on new year's eve having. As with most sore throat attacks, the body aches & a headache beckons too. It wasn't too bad, had paracetomol & lozenges with me & with a bottle of Livita, I was in good enough shape to drive back home. Spent the rest of new year's eve evening & new year's day recuperating from the sore throat.

Tomorrow, it's a the beginning of another calendar year working in the Organisation. Here's to a productive & successful working year. Kampai (Cheers, in Japanese)!

Till later, live long & prosper.

Sayonara, 2007

2007-12-31T12:57:00.000+08:00

As we busy ourselves texting each other via SMS, I'd like to also use this final mOAm posting of 2007 to wish family, friends & readers of mOAm a very Happy New Year 2008. I hope that 2007 was overall good for you & that 2008 will be even better.

God bless you alwiz, take care & keep in touch during the next year & beyond.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Super EPL Sunday

2007-12-17T02:10:00.000+08:00

Yeah, we Gooners stand proud tonite!

This is the weekend of the season thus far for the EPL football. The top 4 teams meet at at Anfield & at Emirates Stadium with the Scousers hosting ManUre followed by a London derby where Chelski traveled to Arsenal. For foreign fans like me, it's a late, late sleeping time as by the time the Gunners' game settled, it's close to 2am & I had previously decided against taking any leave from work. *yawn*

I saw the Liverpool-ManUre game from 33mins onwards. The Reds were marginally dominating the game, yet it was the Red Devils who scored from a corner just before half time as Liverpool were more concerned with keeping close to Shrek the Ogre but forgot his Uruk-hai 'cousin' who duly scored. Despite increased Reds pressure in the second half, it ended 0-1.

The Arsenal-Chelski game started less than 30mins later. Teams news saw the return of Fabregas, Flamini & Hleb. It was a cagey affair with the Gunners applying pressure from the start but the Blues found their foot as the minutes ticked. There were many tackles & a few yellow cards were shown to players from both sides. Then, in an incident, Chelski captain John Terry fouled Cesc sinisterly. He escaped the sending off but limped off later from a challenge with Eboue. Initial news puts it as a metatarsal injury. Just at the stroke of half time, similar to ManUre, the Gunners got a goal, courtesy of the our former Chelski player, captain William Gallas. He headed in the ball into the net from a corner.

More scraps & great football from both teams. Chelski had a few shots on goal but it's the Arsenal who were left edgy as 2 goals from substitute Van Persie (yes, he is back too) & Adebayor were ruled offisde. The match ended with a tackle by Cashley Cole (boo, boo) on Cesc. Somewhere in that scrap, the final whistle was blown & those on the grounds & us watching the television (including the commentators) realised it when Fabregas was punching the air in victory after the ref settled his last yellow cards for the match.

The result is good for Arsenal & ManUre beating Liverpool sorts of nullify the Reds' game in had. Ideally, I'd prefer the Liverpool-ManUre match to have ended in a draw. Oh, well. *yawn* Think I am gonna wear maroon to the office in a few hours time.

Lastly, despite it being a home game for Arsenal, I just had to show off my latest Gunners replica kit. I like this season's 3rd Jersey. I am seriously considering getting the season's away strip too.

Good nite.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Crapping in Andalucia

2007-11-28T05:42:00.000+08:00

It had to happen some time, & it just did within the last 94mins. Luckily, as the commentator had said, it happened when the result didn't really matter that much, unlike if it had happened in the English Premier League or in the knockout stages of the Champions League Cup.

What happened? Arsenal went down to Sevilla (1-3) at an away Champions League group stage match. Why didn't it really matter? It's coz the Gunners have already qualified for the knockout stages & could actually afford this defeat, in a way. The one consequence that comes to mind is that it may most probably mean that Arsenal will face the top team from another group. But then, it has been said by some pundits or press reviewers that some teams may avoid finishing top of a group as a strategy to win the Cup.

What matters, again as mentioned by the match commentator, is not the loss itself, but the manner of the loss that would be of concern to Arsene Wenger. I got up at 5am & watched about the last half an hour or so of the match. Deep within me, I had a sense that the unbeaten run in all competitions might end after 28 games, but hoped that the team might just scrapped it through via a draw at least. Yet, that wasn't so.

From what I saw, the teams performance was utterly terrible. Passes were not fluid (worse than the performance against Wigan last weekend) & lets not talk about the defending, particularly from a certain Swiss Senderos. I used to defend him when our department's CO, Nordi dished him on how he is a liability to the team, saying he is getting better, but after today, I believe we Gooners need to see another center back within the team's ranks, especially so when Kolo leaves for the African Nations Cup in January & Gallas can be out for longer periods when he gets (unfortunately) injured. Hopefully, Senderos' compatriot, the on-loan @ Birmingham Djourou, has better consistency that Senderos. Heck, it seems 2 of Sevilla's 3 goals can be attributed to his defensive errors. Had it not been for Toure's efforts, Almunia may not see duty @ goal again (I'm thinking that this may be Lehmann's golden opportunity to get back into the team sheet).

This game saw Wenger resting Gallas & Adebayor with Clichy joining the list of injured (he would have perhaps been the better option instead of Armand Traore to halt Sevilla from marauding through their right flank). While I agree with Wenger's view that excluding the 2 in-form players means Arsenal cannot win the game, what part of the match I saw made me think the Gunners on the field could have benefited from Gallas' commanding presence (& complementing Kolo).

Gilberto Silva had a rare start & with Flamini possibly injured, he may get more starts. Nevertheless, I am convinced that a comment from a fellow football fan that loyal Gilberto may not have the speed & reflexes to cope with the Gunners' fast paced game. On Eduardo, his performance & goal shows he can actually be a Gunner legend (not just for Croatia).

There are positives & lessons to be gained with regards to the depth of the Arsenal squad from this match. The loss may be of little consequence, but it is a loss nonetheless, & my dear bro made it known via a comment to mOAm within an hour from the end of the match.

Go Gunners. Here's to resuming our winning ways this weekend.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Article: 'Efficiency drive in defence and attack is proving Arsene Wenger right'

2007-11-26T08:44:00.000+08:00

Found this article on the Times Online, UK website. It contains an assessment on Arsenal's attack & defense based on data gathered by Fink Tank. I found it insightful & hope Gooners reading mOAm would too.

From The Times

November 24, 2007

Efficiency drive in defence and attack is proving Arsene Wenger right
by Daniel Finkelstein

I know who you are are. I have your addresses. But don’t worry, your secrets are safe with me.

After Fink Tank published its top ten rankings last season, I received plenty of “feedback” from Arsenal fans. There was the guy who said: “Take it from me as an AFC season-ticket holder, Alexander Hleb’s inclusion invalidates your top ten list. I have never disliked an Arsenal player as much as I dislike the inconsequential Belarussian.” Your secret is safe with me.

And the reader who exclaimed: “I nearly choked on my cornflakes. How could you rate Hleb so highly? My hope is that, because your column is so highly rated, a manager might buy Hleb.” Your secret is also safe.

These days, of course, the feeling about Hleb is rather different at the Emirates Stadium. So what else can the data tell Arsenal fans about the club? In particular, why is this season going so well for their team? Dr Henry Stott and Dr Ian Graham have been investigating.

The starting point is that things were not as grim at the beginning of this season as some commentators suggested. The underlying data - goals, shots on goal – put Arsenal among the top four. The idea that Tottenham Hotspur were about to overhaul them was fanciful. From the start of the campaign, we always ranked Arsenal as having a strong shot at the title.

And now? Arsenal are still ranked third by our model, but they are, on the basis of points won, second favourites to be champions. We give Manchester United a 41 per cent chance of title glory, Arsenal 36 per cent, Chelsea 17 per cent and Liverpool 4 per cent.

For the past four years, our model shows Arsenal as an attacking team – at no point has their defence ranking been above their ranking for attack. One reason for their improvement this season is that the gap between their defence and Chelsea’s has begun to close and the decline in their attack in the second half of last season has been reversed.

Let us drill down a bit farther. As the graphic shows, Arsenal are scoring more goals, shooting more and getting more shots on target, so their attack is improving in all departments. But their defence is different. They are letting the opposition shoot more, and shoot more on target. But – and it is a big but – they are letting in fewer goals.

As you can see from the conversion graph, what has happened is that Arsenal have become more efficient. They are converting more shots into goals and keeping a higher proportion of their opponents’ shots out of their own net.

Does this mean that Arsène Wenger, the manager, was right to sell Thierry Henry, the club’s prolific striker, and drop Jens Lehmann, the Germany goalkeeper? Well, first a word of warning – this could be down to luck because all these figures move up and down. but, at the very least, it seems that Wenger has not done the team any harm.

A critical reason was age. Wenger is right to put his faith in younger players. Henry, 30, was still a big asset when he played, but this was not that often last season. In any case, typically, 24-year-old strikers score 16 league goals per season, while 30-year-old strikers score only six. Lehmann’s age, 38, may also be a factor in his variable performance, which has been noted in the past.

And other attacking players were to hand. Robin van Persie added almost as many points per game to the team as Henry. And I have already mentioned Hleb. Not that I am saying I told you so, of course.

Till later, live long & prosper.

There shall be no English WAGs at Euro 2008

2007-11-22T07:53:00.000+08:00

Well, we may see the English footballers' wives & girlfriends as spectators of Euro 2008 matches, but certainly not in any other roles (hmm, they could be football pundits, haha) since their BAHs (that's boyfriends & husbands, coined by Mark unless some press lay claim to it) just crashed out of the tournament via a home loss (yes, it was a match at Wembley) to Croatia earlier this morning local time.

I remember while in London reading on the WAGs' exploits during World Cup 2006 in the Evening Standard newspaper. In fact, their stories sometimes overshadow that of the players whom they were supposed to be providing moral & emotional support to. The tabloids had a many interesting news to increase their publications' short term circulation. Yes, even from the viewpoint of 1 sector, we can already see the financial effect of England's elimination from the Euro 2008 finals on the British economy.

To me, the England national football team is more hype than substance. The fact that they even got to this recent match with a glimmer of hope of reaching the final stages of the tournament was due to an olive branch from the Jews, who beat Russia last Saturday (Sunday morning local time). I got up at 0540 this morning & grinning after switching on Astro as my prediction that England would fall on home soil was nearly true. Seeing the last 3 mins plus a further 3 mins of extra time, England players were directing long balls hoping to still get a last grasp equaliser that may send them to Austria and Switzerland next summer. The equaliser never came & Steve McLaren swiftly left the bench. The English players & some fans stood around the pitch (while the Croatian side celebrated) hoping that minnows Andorra would actually score a last minute equaliser (something England couldn't) & allow England to seal 2nd place in the table ahead of the Russian. Such desperate low has English football fallen into & I think it'll be a gross injustice if they actually scrapped through.

I expect lots of mud slinging & witch hunting as those involved conduct a post mortem & try to restore the English's lost pride. Heck, I won't be surprised if they even see Arsene Wenger's recruitment policy as plausible excuse. Bleh!

Till later, live long & prosper.

Brief sights

2007-11-21T07:35:00.000+08:00

I couldn't help but admire at God's creation this morning. Not aptly captured in its glory in the photo above, taken this morning on my drive to work, my admiration was on the clouds. Seeing it from my car, I could roughly distinct 3 layers of thickness, from the very dark & daunting shade above my Iswara, to the lighter albeit still dark shade after that & the brighter skies at the horizon. Sorts off giving the 'light at the end of the road' kind off feeling. Besides that, it was a morning where I awoke to hear the start of a somewhat heavy downpour that was reduced to a drizzle by the time I left home. Traffic was like what I am accustomed to whenever I drive to work, no heavier traffic or untoward incident.

Arriving at the office, I picked up my copy of the Sun & also saw a front page article in the Star that says our 1st national car maker Proton had end talks with VW & GM on the basis that it doesn't need a strategic partner anymore due to increasing fortunes from sales (it launched the Wira replacement model Persona recently) & exports. I believe this is a real case of short sightedness on the part of its owners & the Board. One doesn't end long term strategies just because of short term gains. Hmm, perhaps there another story to it, i.e. the talks with VW & GM has truly broken down & Proton is just trying to 'save face.' Oh well, it goes to show how the current 'Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang (Temberang?)' administration looks at local auto industry. After all, we should all go back to eating ubi kayu with the constantly inflating food prices & ride bicycles/take the supposedly improving never-on-time public transport due to rising toll & petrol prices.

Maxis, 1 of the 3 local telcos, have abolished their RM3 monthly caller ringtone charge from Dec 2007 onwards. Benevolent? Think again. The monthly subscription fee is replace by an RM2 monthly rental fee for every caller ringtone you have downloaded into your playlist (you can have up to 15 caller ringtones currently). According to Maxis (as per what I read in the Star's In.Tech pull out yesterday), this move is get subscribers who currently don't have caller ringtones to take up the service by making it more affordable. Affordable, my *ss. Yes, it is affordable & cheaper if you have only one caller ringtone, which I believe is not the case. In fact, I believe Maxis' studies must have shown an average number of caller ringtones in playlist of more than one song for each of the service's subscriber. Heck, even I who use only 1 caller ringtone have more than 1 song in my playlist, all of which are from free downloads. This is just another move to milk more money from subscribers. The In.Tech article also mentioned something to the effect the recording industry was unhappy at the amount of royalties that they received from Maxis from the use of music as caller ringtones & that this new deal is a win-win situation for all. To me, since I believe the average subscriber actually has more than 1 ringtone in his/her playlist, the winners are actually Maxis & the recording industry. Oh well, I shall just delete all the other free songs in my caller ringtone playlist, stick to the lone tune I've been using (apologies for those who are bored with it but hey, at least you'll know that you've dialed the right Mark) & enjoy the lower fee.

Till later, live long & prosper.

"Argh, I don't wanna get up & go to work!"

2007-11-20T07:35:00.000+08:00

Yes, I wish I could just continue sleeping till about 10am.

It hasn't been an encouraging start to the day thus far since the time I got up, nearly 2 hours ago. No, I didn't sleep later than my normal average sleep time nor did I get up on the wrong side of the bed (my bed, 1 side is against the wall). However, I did almost get up late had dad not knocked on my room window. I initially got up at 5am, more than half an hour away from my 'waking up' time. In my semi-dazed state, I managed to be awake when the alarm rang, switched it off & then the next thing I knew was hearing the knock on my room window & seeing it's already 6am. Not wanting to be late to work like once last week, I rushed to wash up, solat, get dressed & leave for work. Guess what, I left home 5 mins earlier than my usual time of 0630. :)

Feeling good, I decided to stop at a Petronas along the Federal Highway & fill up the Iswara's petrol tank. Somehow, with the drizzling rain, me keeping track of time (like an F1 pit stop) & cleaning the tool provided at the petrol station while the pump fills my car's tank with petrol, I forgot to collect the receipt after filling up on petrol. It's probably not a big deal to many, but I make it a point to collect the receipts to ensure than the transaction has been completed (don't wanna leave the pump open with my credit line). Hopefully, nothing goes wrong & I don't incur petrol charges more than what I filled up my car's tank for).

My double whammy came at the office when I opened the backpack I carry to work & realised that when picking today's tie to wear, I had earlier forgotten to remove the tie pin from yesterday's tie & put it on today's tie. Darn. Oh well, as NIA said, I don't look less handsome without the tie pin. Hehe. :P

Here's to a better day ahead, which includes me settling this work issue relating to CARVM (what is it, find out using Google or Wikipedia?). I've also had my shot of coffee & roti bulat (my morning addiction) from the Chinese stall under the bridge. That should help.

Lastly, Blogger has a new Slideshow gadget for users to add to their blogs. The gadget allows us to display pics from Picasa Wed Album & Flickr, among others. I've added the gadget to mOAm but have yet to properly configure it. Intend to do so later today.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Lunch, gym & Al-Rajhi

2007-11-06T14:03:00.000+08:00

Lunch, 1 of the most looked forward to session during the work day (the other being end of the work day, I believe). Some have their meals then some rest, some settle errands while others engage in therapy that is shopping.

For me, I've been having packed mixed rice in the office these days. My current default choice of dishes are a catfish called ikan keli, a piece of tempe goreng, & any type of vegetables. Previously, the fish will still be there but the choice would have been a stingray or some other fried fish. After many years, I finally tasted ikan keli a few months back when NIA & I stopped for lunch at Bentong. She ordered a fried keli with chili paste for me to try, promising to finish it if I didn't like it. I enjoyed the fish I tasted, although that particular fish was cooked too spicy for my liking. Since then, I've been eating ikan keli. Hehe, a bit of Mark's dietary history. :)

My bro-in-surname, Yeech, emailed to invite me to join him enrol with Fitness First, since he wants to get fit & thought I could use some getting fit too. Well, he got it right. I do need to get fit & but I don't think I need a gym membership now. As it is, the Organisation has a better than average facility at the HQ & a basic facility @ DKDT. I used to frequent the gym at least once a week while I was stationed at HQ, but it has been some time now since I frequent the gym facility provided by the Organisation for employees stationed at DKDT. So, it can be said that I currently under utilise the Organisation's gym facility. Thus, as I told Yeech, unless he can show me/provide me with some good incentives to join a gym, I shall politely decline for now.

Lastly, I just got my latest Al-Rajhi charge card bill & am unhappy in reading that from I Dec 2007, the bank will charge RM5 for each of the 3 late payment reminder letters & a further RM5 per month for Monthly Collection Effort. I haven't checked the practice for other Islamic Banks & conventional banks for their charge cards & credit cards, offhand, I think it's quite a sum. I guess this is how the Islamic Bank recoups its loss of income due to its inability to charge interest for amounts owed by cardholders. Having said that, should past trend prevails, I will avoid this charges as I settle my charge card bill promptly.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Arsene Knows

2007-11-03T21:41:00.000+08:00

Before I returned from London last year, I decided to renew my Arsenal Red membership as I wanted stand a chance (which I didn't get) to attend Dennis Bergkamp' testimonial. I managed however to attend a match at the Emirates Stadium courtesy of Arsenal finishing 4th the last season & hence, had to play a 2-leg qualification match against Dinamo Zagreb. Besides that, I'd also be getting a membership pack filled with goodies. I remembered to update my address for Arsenal to mail the membership pack to me in October 2006.

By January 2007, I had yet to receive the membership pack. I emailed the Membership Support to get clarification but only received reply in April telling me that their system was faulty & I had to resend the email if my issue has not been resolved. I did resend the email, including in it a brief statement on how I am disappointed with Arsenal & am reconsidering renewing my membership come May. This is where my belief that Malaysian companies' customer support are decades behind those in Europe was reinforced. Arsenal sent membership pack to me within a month, no questions asked. Wow, if it was a Malaysian company, they probably told me to f**k off or come up with several excuses (opps, reasons) to not send me a membership pack.

Nevertheless, I didn't renew my membership straightaway when the renewal notice arrived, due to some devil voices (the red kind & even some true blue kind) & some financial consideration. But, I am proud to say that I have successfully renew & am a Red member for another season.

And...

Two days ago, Pos Malaysia delivered my membership pack & I thanked God that the membership pack was not subjected to a disappearing act. :D *grins*

As it is now, the Gunners trail ManUre b y a goal at half time at the Emirates. Please, please, please, let there be a leveler & a winning goal from Arsenal.

Till later, live long & prosper.

L'Arc-en-Ciel: Daybreak's Bell PV

2007-11-02T22:11:00.000+08:00

I found the promotional video aka music video to L'Arc-en-Ciel's Daybreak's Bell on Youtube. Incidently, according to their wikipedia entry, L'Arc-en-Ciel (from French) translates into 'The arc in the sky' or 'The rainbow'. Pic on the left is the cover to the song's single release. Besides Daybreak's Bell, the B-side of this release is Natsu no Yuutsu. There are also 'main vocal-less' version of both songs in the single,

Lyrics were copied from this webpage.

Romanji lyrics:

Nee konna katachi no deai shika nakatta no? Kanashii ne

Anata ni shindemo ayamete hoshiku mo nai onegai

Unmei sae nomikomade shizumisouna umi e to

Negai yo kaze ni notte yoake no kane wo narase yo

Tori no you ni

My wishes over their airspace

Musuu no nami wo koe

Asu en tachimukau anata wo mamoritamae

My life I trade in for your pain

Arasoi yo tomare!

Nee hito wa doushite kurikaeshi ayamachi wo kasaneteku?

Shinka shinai dare ni mo nagareru kono chi ga daikirai

Honnou de sabakiau dare no demo nai daichi de

Sumiwataru mirai ga kita nara kusabana mo heiki ni yadoru darou

My wishes over their airspace

Dare ga yuriokoshite warui yume kara samashite yo

Kanau no nara

My life I trade in for your pain

Dore dake inoreba ten ni todoku?

Ima asayake ga unabarato watashi wo utsusu

Negai yo kaze ni notte yoake no kane wo narase yo

Tori no you ni

My wishes over their airspace

Musuu no nami wo koe

Asu e tachimukau anata wo mamoritamae

My life I trade in for your pain

Furimukazu habatake kono omoi wo hakonde ano sora wo tondeku

Mirai wa dare ni mo uchiotosenai

English Translation:

Hey, haven’t you seen another shape besides this one?

That’s so sad

To you, there’s no desire to die or to kill, oh, please

Drink it up, even the fate, to the sinking sea

My wishes, ride on the wind, ring the bell of the daybreak

Just like a bird

My wishes over their airspace

Cross through the countless number of waves, stand against tomorrow, protecting you

My life I trade in for your pain

Stop the dispute!

Hey, why people pile up the repeating mistakes?

No one is evolving, this flowing blood,

I loathe it most

To judge each other by instinct, in this no-one-around earth

If the clear future has come, the flower plants will also dwell in the weapons

My wishes over their airspace

Anyone, shake me up, wake me up from the nightmare

If it comes true

My life I trade in for your pain

How long until my prayers reach the sky?

Now the morning glow pictures the ocean and me

My wishes, ride on the wind, ring the bell of the daybreak

Just like a bird

My wishes over their airspace

Cross through the countless number of waves, stand against tomorrow, protecting you

My life I trade in for your pain

Flap your wings without turning around, bring along these thoughts, fly to that sky

The future can’t be defeated by anyone

Till later, live long & prosper.

Daybreak's Bell to Rule the World

2007-11-02T22:01:00.000+08:00

My current weekly download is Gundam 00, which as of this posting is into its 4th episode. In view of other work to attend to, I've not had the opportunity to indulge in all the current 4 episodes. However, from the 1st 2 episodes that I've seen, lemme add my voice to the group who says that this ain't Gundam Wing recycled & the series deserves following. I may perhaps comment more in a later posting once I've seen more of Gundam 00.

What had left its impression on me thus far is the opening theme to Gundam 00. The opening montage uses popular Japanese band L'Arc-en-Ciel's 33rd single Daybreak Bell. The song is one of those that grows on you, in my opinion. It starts somewhat slow then builds up to provide that burst of energy in the chorus. It works well listening to it side by side with my current other song-to-listen, Rule the World by Take That. In fact, if one were to read the lyrics of both songs (give & take a bit for Daybreak Bell's translation), both tell a hope-like story, sensitive, with a happy climax.

I managed to upload the 1st opening montage of Gundam 00 for mOAm readers interested in checking out a brief version of Daybreak's Bell as well as the animation of Gundam 00. For Rule the World, it's a Youtube video where you can checkout the song plus some scenes from the movie Stardust, which in my opinion is worth going to the cinema to watch since I didn't say it in my review of the movie (in fact, I don't mind watching it a 2nd time). Enjoy.

Till later, live long & prosper.

Stardust

2007-10-30T23:56:00.000+08:00

Thanks to my buddy Shiowch, who works at the leading English local newspaper that shares a similar name with a tabloid in England, I got to attend TGV's intergalactic Halloween screening of Stardust earlier this evening, commemorating the relaunch of the renovated TGV Sunway Pyramid. This movie will be released locally on 1 Nov 2007.

Meeting up at about quarter past 7pm, we proceeded to the registration counter that was manned by a Princess Leia lookalike with another person that reminds me of the Morticia of the Addams Family standing close by. We got a goody bag each (the version for people of the media) that consist of a press release (of course), a battery operated mini fan that looks like a mouse (the computer peripheral), a 'robotic' reading light & a 'piece of the moon' (some rock; for paperweight, I guess).

There were to be some light snacks, performance & lucky draw before the screening of Stardust @ 2045, but we decided to go have dinner at Delifrance instead. When we returned to TGV around 2030, there was a TGV staff singing an R&B song with back-up dancers consisting of two aliens & a clone trooper/storm trooper (from Star Wars). Though there were many people in the long corridor area, the cinema that we were assigned to was barely a third filled by the time the movie began.

Stardust is about a young man named Tristan Thorne from the English town of Wall. Wall is so named as it is situated by the border of England & the magical kingdom named Faerie, which includes the realm of Stormhold. The border is represented by a wall with a broken section that is closely guarded. Wanting to prove his love to a village beauty Victoria, Tristan ventures into Faerie to retrieve a fallen star that both he & Victoria witnessed. And so, begins his adventure that sees Tristan cross paths with princes, witches & pirates, among others. He also finds his true love & true heritage along the way.

Prior to watching this movie, I was aware of the wealth of known actors & actresses in this movie, including Sienna Miller, Robert De Niro, Claire Danes (I initially thought she was in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but actually she acted in Terminator 3), Michelle Pfeiffer, Charlie Cox (he acted in Casanova as Sienna Miller's character's brother) and Ricky Gervais. The English spoken in the movie is British English, since the Stardust was filmed in the UK & many of its cast are English anyhow. CGI effects were nicely done & the Scottish Highlands & Isle of Skye locations make me wish I had the chance to visit them previously (God willing, I hope to visit them some time in the future). Oh, not forgetting, seeing Michelle Pfeiffer ugly may also be enough reason for some to go see Stardust. To me, one should add Robert De Niro performance to that line too. :D

The lesson to be learned from this movie is that true love is unconditional, it does not need one to go to great lengths to prove it or wanting another to go to such lengths before accepting it. Nevertheless, Tristan's journey showed him his true love. Can't help thinking whether what happened to me from end-2003 to mid-2006 bears resemblance, where I met my own version of Victoria then & came to the same conclusion Tristan did, though under more painful circumstances. Now, I have found my star.

Good nite & sweet dreams. Remember, the stars are looking down upon you.

Till later, live long & prosper.

P.S.: The theme to Stardust, Rule the World, was written & recorded by Take That. :)

Hi...

2007-10-20T18:45:00.000+08:00

"So captivating, my heart is captivated,
Hence I quickly ran in front of you to say..."

Argh!!! This is tough & corny. Back to Bahasa Malaysia:

Hai

Siapa nama?

Boleh kenal, ataupun tidak?

Duduk kat mana?
Dengan siapa?

Ada handphone?
Apa nombornya?

Bolehkah kita bersama?

Don't worry, I am not hooked on this horny song (it's kinda catchy though :P ) by Adam AF2 - 'Hai'. It's just a little naughty fun for NIA's sis Una, whom if I got it right, feels geli when hearing this song. Something similar is coming to your Friendster page, sis. Hehe.

Till later, live long & prosper.

P.S.: If any mOAm reader wants this song, I got it from this link, which I accessed via this blog. There, link & credit given.

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