What I desire for Christmas & New Year...

I can't stop salivating at this. The Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Spacemaster. At a price tag of USD2699...it remains a wishful thinking hehehe

Pleasant memories

Went out for dinner at this "kopi tiam" restaurant where the theme is retro. Each table has a "Happy Family" deck of cards and 5 bottle caps.

Which brings me back to the memories of my primary school days. The hottest games then were the "5 bottle caps game", the "turn the eraser over" game or the "turn the cards over" game. Simple games like these took hours of our attention. Of course the games also revealed who had more "cheating tendencies" hahaha...

The 5 bottle caps game goes like this. You put 5 of them up (the side with the "teeth" upwards) and then rotate them. They will then disperse. Your opponent will then choose which cap you need to target using another cap. You need to "shoot" one cap with another. You can use whatever method you like but assistance is restricted to your bodily parts only, usually using both hands. Many methods were used especially if the caps are not in direct line of vision with a third cap blocking the way. The most common way is using the other hand as a guide to swerve the cap over to the target cap. Another would be to shoot up the air hoping it will land on the other cap using the other hand as a "landing guide". You cannot however move your guiding hand. Most cheaters will move the guiding hand a little to "nudge" the cap to it's target. There are also several variations to the rule.

The other game I remember would be the "turn the eraser over" game. Each player would purchase some brand new erasers. Each will contribute one or 2 or even more erasers. They are then stacked up nicely. Then the starting player is chosen using the "bird, water, stone" method. The player would then warm up his inner palm by rubbing it repeatedly on the table. He then presses the stacked up erasers with his inner palm and lifts it up. Some or all of the erasers will stick to his inner palms and drops down later. Any erasers which turns over belongs to him. The next player will then try on the remaining erasers and so forth. There is a distinct method of turning over the erasers after lifting them up. The cheaters will usually discreetly "push" the erasers forward while trying to lift them up. This will cause the erasers to roll over instead. Believe me, those cheaters have refined the skill until it becomes an art. However arguments have occurred and the verdict was usually to repeat it. The game will go on until a player loses all his erasers or if he stops playing.

Proudly I think I was one of the top players in both games. I had won lots of the "bottle caps" game and also won lots of erasers. I was an honest player. Honest. The "cheaters" also won a lot, usually from unsuspecting newbies or new players. In retrospect, the "cheaters" were usually not very interested in their studies but are among the more creative and sociable people around. I'm not surprised if they are very successful in their careers today but probably not in the academic line.

I'm not sure what's the point of this post actually...but I suppose we can tell if our kids are destined to take up a traditional academic career or a more unconventional career pathway like entrepreneurship or business related line by just observing their tendencies while playing games. And I believe the "cheaters" will probably be more successful in the future as they are probably "risk takers", willing to take the risk of being found out for the glory of a huge victory hehe.

What's wrong with Malaysia?

As 2009 is coming to an end, it's time for reflections again. With all the mega scandals in 2009 from the C4, to the PKFZ to the missing jet fighter engines that Hollywood might be interested, one cannot but wonder what lies in store for Malaysia

As for the common people on the street like me, more mundane stuffs dominate their daily lives. I've personally experienced some of them. I've some questions for which the answers might be pretty obvious. Answers which explain the path Malaysia has gone down to.

1) We have great government offices without signage sprawling in Putrajaya but no obvious public carparks. Cars are parked by the roadsides. I saw some police officers writing summons.

Question : Why do you have government offices when there are no carparks for them? And why summons them when you do not provide carparks in the first place? Is it not a place where public will go for government services?

2) We sell many Proton cars and even give RM5K discount as an incentive for old car owners to upgrade.

Question : Why do we encourage more cars on the road when the roads are perpetually jammed, full of potholes and confusing? Drivers get impatient and irritated - thus they make illegal U-turns, use emergency lanes or worse, get into accidents. And police summons them for that. Why there isn't any proper planning and proper roads? Why encourage sales of cars then?

3) To solve the traffic jams, we have public transport.

Question : How come there are long queues at the LRTs? We trade queuing at the jammed roads with the long queues at the public transport. How fantastic! I've been to places with higher density of population like HK and S'pore, their public transport is nothing short of efficient.

4) We have many police officers who can be deployed for disbanding public rallies, but why crimes are getting rampant?

Murders and aggressive crimes are highlighted almost daily in the newspapers. I've got colleagues whose bags where snatched in broad daylight, handphones pick-pocketed, cars whose windows were smashed. And my stolen shoes. What are the police doing about it?

5) Why inflation and cost of living has been spiralling upwards? Cost of property is beyond the reach of most people. Cost of food has been rising. And we introduce GST.

I mean these are the daily grind the public is facing and it looks like it's not getting any better anytime soon. Hopefully there will be some light in 2010. Sigh...

New Orleans

I had the opportunity to visit New Orleans recently. The journey was horrible, with a total time of about 32 hours to reach there. However I was pleasantly surprised that my luggage had arrived there with no hiccups at all.

My first time to the US. The security and immigration was horrendous, to the point of being paranoid. The immigration officer (who looked like a Latino) asked me if the lady who was passing by the counter looked hot or not ! Anyway after the multiple security checks, there I was in New Orleans. Roads are wide, building are sparse (comparatively to KL or Hong Kong).





The city is by the edge of the Mississippi river and the weather was bearable. Not freezing cold. Apart from job related obligations, I went visiting the city, the wonderful Audobon aquarium of the Americas, the French market and tasted many local delicacies including the croc. Apparently New Orleans is famous for it's voodoo tours, Mardi Gras, swamp tours, crocodiles and the local food - gumbo, jambalaya, shrimps etc. The city itself had a very European feel. Many people speak Spanish and the French quarter is probably the highlight of the city.

We went for a spin at the swamps using the airboat and was given a history lesson. Apparently the US government wanted to prevent erosion of the swamps and introduced water lilies, when that got out of control, they introduced some big rats to eat it up, and when the rats got out of control they introduced hyenas, and when they started eating local wildlife, they started shooting them. Anyway didn't see any wild crocs as they were hibernating.


That's the fried croc meat. Anyway after about a week, I was more than ready to get home to the warm weather and spicy local food. New Orleans does not allure me very much. Malaysia is still my home.

Stupid Malaysians

Some Malaysians are either too spoilt or too stupid to appreciate the things which are provided for them free of charge.

Some Malaysians refuse proven treatment for free, which will cost RM100K in private and rather go for dubious"alternative therapies".

On the other hands, foreigners, illegal or otherwise will grab any opportunity to obtain treatment in a medical facility. Perhaps by learning through some of their community's painful lessons of delaying proper medical treatment, these foreigners truly appreciate what is being provided for them in a medical facility even though they are poked many times left, right and center by inexperienced house officers. They thank the medical provider regardless of the outcome. I had one foreigner who can hardly speak a word of English or Malay, who is even willing to fork out RM60K for a particular treatment. And the patient had probably begged, borrowed or steal to obtain the funds for treatment.

In contrast, some Malaysians will outright reject proven treatments which costs a bomb to the government. Even if it is provided to them for free! How stupid can one get. They default frequently and behave as if they are primadonnas. The feeling I get is "we want to treat them more than they want to be treated". And their favorite past time is complaining, why they have to pay RM5 for consultation, why they have to wait so long, why this and why that. In contrast, we have poor foreigners who are willing to fork out RM50 for consultation and comes for follow up religiously. The Malaysians who are appreciative are the ones who have finished their money in private and realized that proper treatment is not cheap. We have seen a Malaysian screaming four letter words at the top of his voice just because he had to wait a little longer for consultation.

Sometimes treating poor foreigners is so much more satisfying and rewarding. Serve Malaysians right if they have to pay through their nose for healthcare in the future.

A piece of paper

The UPSR results are just out. 9.51% of students got all As.

Now, As are a dime a dozen. Even the Ministry of Education has decided there has to be a new category, A+. This is to satisfy the unending lust of parents and administrators to see more As. What's the value of an A anyway?

What's the value of a piece of paper? In the past, a scroll guaranteed certain things in life. Better opportunities for further education, a better job, a better status and a better chance of getting better remuneration. But what can it do now?

The last I read, there are over 50,000 unemployed graduates. Now everyone can be a graduate. It satisfies the students who can be called graduates now, it satisfies parents who want their kids to be called graduates, it satisfies their school and universities (better statistics = promotion for administrators, more students enrolling = more income) , it satisfies the Ministry of Education ( better statistics = promotion = higher salary + chance to be PM?? ) and our country can then boast to have a very high literacy rate. How deluded can we be ???!!!

We dished out As and scrolls to satisfy our own delusion. But what's the value of the scroll now? Can the scroll put food on your table? Can the scroll clothe you? Can the scroll protect you from the elements? Can the scroll repair a leaking pipe? Can the scroll repair your broken down car? It is just a piece of paper, nothing more than a piece of paper. Maybe useful as toilet paper.

I mean parents and students are spending tons of money for that piece of paper. This must be the biggest scam of all times. But never mind, we can boast we have that piece of paper with As, others don't. Hahahaha...

The hardly literate farmer in the furthest corner of the country can laugh the loudest now, at least he can put rice on the table. And you have to buy rice from him. And doesn't need to sell it to you either. What can your magical piece of paper do?

My new toy

My latest indulgence. More pics to come ;)

TCM again

I predicted a MBBS (TCM) would be offered in the future. This is spotted in a major daily newspaper today. Not enough with the overwhelming number of medical schools in the country, now we have a private university college offering TCM degree as well. Wow, I did not expect my prediction to come true so soon...

With so many students wanting to help other people to be healthy, we must be the healthiest nation on planet earth. Why not offer Masters and pHDs as well?

I just wonder how the ministry plans to regulate TCM degrees. Even now there is unending hoo-haa over recognition of medical degrees. Now there are TCM degrees thrown in. Who sits on the regulating board of the TCM? What criteria do you use for recognition of a TCM degree? Who qualifies to study TCM? How to you pass/fail a TCM candidate? Do you have theoretical exams or practical exams? Who qualifies to be the examiners? Gosh...there are so many unanswered questions.

Money, money, money...lets open the floodgates and let market forces decide. Healthcare? What's that? Is it a branch of business marketing?

Good things are meant to be shared

What is life if it cannot be shared and enjoyed?

Went to this duty free island and returned with much lighter pockets ;) But what the heck...life is to be experienced, enjoyed and shared.

I was having difficulty choosing between a Moet & Chandon champagne, Remy Martin XO excellence or Martell VSOP. I thought Remy Martin sounded good...hahahaha

In my crash course on the finer things in life, I found out that XO means extra old and VSOP means very special old pale.

There were too many cognacs, champagne cognacs, champagne, wine, whisky etc for me to comphrehend in such short time. I was dumbfounded on which is what and what is good, so I just played by ear and ended up with these...The other option is to play by price.

Anyway, in an island where a can of beer is RM1.70 and mineral water is Rm2.10, who can resist?

Climbing hills and Yong Tau Foo

Somehow after having tea at Cameron, I've decided to shed some kilos and perhaps regain my fitness by going to the now 'super famous' Broga Hills for a climb. Using my new toy, the E-trex Legend GPS, finding the place was easy. The GPS works like a charm.

Nestled between oil palm estates near Semenyih, this must be the most photographed place in blogosphere. Lines and lines of people literally queued up and down the tracks. Managed to scale up all the 4 peaks, took some wonderful photos and then slowly tracked down. Luckily the weather was kind.


Opposite the hill, at the mouth of the trail, there was a rabbit farm where you could enter (with a fee of course) and play with ponies, monkeys or rabbits. I guess some rabbit products were for sale also.


Then we literally breezed past Broga town and stopped by at a temple at the end of the town. Where there is a temple, there will be lots of Chinese people visiting. Hmm...

Later we tracked down to the old Ampang town in search of the famous Yong Tau Foo. Thank god for the GPS. There were 3 shops side by side and they were packed to the brim. Perhaps 30-40 table in each shop were completely full. Managed to secure a table in the less popular one among the three. The food was delicious to me. The business appears to be family run with many teenagers who looked like school kids taking orders and clearing the table. The cashier appears to be not more than 15 years old. It just makes me wonder, if they were already raking in tons of money, what's the motivation for them to get a paper degree? Paper degrees are more or less a dime a dozen nowadays. Even with a degree nowadays, one can hardly make ends meet what more compared to the Yong Tau Foo business which they could make tens of thousands per day!

Cakes and tea

Having hot tea and strawberry cake up in the highlands looking down at the tea plantations with a great weather is fantastic. Blissful...

Not forgetting the ice-cream...


With such beautiful scenery, I tried taking multiple pictures in a panning motion with the intention of stitching them together later. Found out that there are 3 crucial things to consider to successfully create a wide panorama.

1) Use same exposures in each shot
2) Use very narrow depth of field
3) Never use wide angle as the lens aberration is too great to correct.

Now all I need is more practise...

Patient support groups

Just have to put in my 2 cents regarding patient support groups. What do I think of patient support groups?

Well, the idea of patients supporting each other seemed a good one. The meet each other, share their experience and learn from each other. They have a shoulder to cry on and someone to turn to in times of need. That's simplistic.

They also share much more than that. They share with each other about their doctors, their treatments and their medications. We all know all patients do not get the same treatment. Whether in terms of the 'expertise' of their doctors (ie good or bad), the type of medications they receive or any other treatments. They compare. Is that good? Will the patients who receive 'lesser' care feel shortchanged? Definitely so. One will argue that this is good for the patients as then they can demand better care, equal to other peers in that group or in other nations. And this will improve healthcare standards as a whole. Ah...

We know not everybody gets equal treatment be it in terms of access, expertise, medications and so forth. Rationed healthcare is practised everywhere. Budget is limited. Somebody has to ration healthcare based on whatever criteria. Like it or not doctors also have the unenvious role of putting this to practise. Healthcare resources are not unlimited. Demand will always outstrip supply.

Then comes the pharmaceutical industry supporting these patient support groups. They subtly reinforce patients on what is the 'standard of care' often importing standards from more advanced countries knowing well that developing countries may not have the means, expertise nor budget to practise what developed countries are doing. And not necessarily what the pharmaceutical industry is promoting is always best for a nation as a whole. They are running a business after all with their headquarters in rich developed nations.

Patients start to feel shortchanged. Patient support group becomes a lobby group. Lobbying to get access to more expensive medications and treatments (thanks to the "support" of the pharmaceutical industry) regardless of the economic reality of the country. Lobby groups wield strong pressure on politicians, reminding them of the next elections and reminding the public that they may be in dire straits one day should they get sick. The public is also worried and pressure is mounting.

The pharmaceutical industry will now be smiling from ear to ear to the bank counting their revenue. They can now cut back on their promotion activities. Lobby groups/ patient support groups are doing the job for them and far more effectively. It doesn't matter to the pharmaceutical company with headquarters in a different continent if millions of people in the country are deprived of other basic necessities just to cater to the exorbitant costs of supporting a few hundred or even a few thousand patients in the lobby group.

And it all starts with "patient support groups". I strongly believe doctors should steer clear from heading these support groups as they will eventually turn into a lobby group through which the doctor would be pressured into promoting the pharmaceutical industry.

USAF Thunderbirds

Nothing inspires awe like birds in the sky. I had the opportunity to snap some pictures of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds F-16Cs when they dropped by in KL for a show . Maybe it was an opportunity for them to send us a subtle message as well : Don't mess around with the USAF

Anyway it's a thoroughly enjoyable display.

Reflection blues

Sometimes I just wonder what the heck am I doing everyday? Hours passes, days passes, years passes...Doing something repeatedly daily is not what I had envisioned. Especially if it's the same old thing. I can't seem to find the motivation these days. If I had just made a different decision many years ago...

I think "fate" plays a understated role in our lives. Hey, we cannot choose how we were born, we cannot choose what we learned during our upbringing. We cannot choose which kindergarten or school we went to. It was all "pre-destined". Yes, we can be arrogant to say we control our fate but to a large extent, I think this is pure "motivational talk" bullshit. We cannot change many things in our lives.

For example, if you were brought up in a mafia's family, you'd be a mafia boss one day. If you were brought up in a farmer's family, you'd be a farmer one day. If you were brought up in a political family eg the Kennedy, chances are you'd be a politician. Look at the generations of miners or fishermen for example. The upbringing, exposure, the environment, the opportunities, are pre-destined for you.

Yes, it's possible to "turn" your fate. But it's easier said then done. We were all fed by Hollywood dramas and "one in a million chance" success stories to cheer up the reality in our lives.

I gotta get out more often.

A great break..

Tranquility in Koh Samui...you'll never know how stressed up you are until you see this.

Where do you draw the line?

Me : I want one plate. How much?
Char Kuey Teow seller : RM3.50. But you need to pay an additional RM1 for the use of the plate and chopsticks.

I'm joking la...this is just a fiction of my imagination. Or is it?

I've decided to purchase a house. Went to the company lawyer's office to sign the S&P. First time ma...a bit blur blur.

The lawyer outlined her fees. Certification of photocopied documents RM50, stationary/stamp postage/photocopy/telephone bill RM50, travelling expenses RM20...bla bla bla, all must pay upfront. Although I was the one who drove to the lawyer's office and paid parking as well. Maybe she needed to drive up and down to settle my stuffs, I don't know.

Anyway I'm not here to bash up the lawyers. It appears common nowadays to "split" the fee as a means to jack up the cost. You book a hotel room, they provide internet connection and TV, but to use the internet or view certain channels, you need to pay. Patients get admitted to private hospitals, uses the toilet - gets billed for the toilet roll.

The excuse the various people use is "It actually saves money for the people who do not use these services". I say this is utter bullshit. For example in a hotel, even if nobody is using the internet line, I'm sure it is used (shared) by the management themselves. They would not lose a single cent even if every guest uses the internet but they stand to make lots of $$ if they charge. It is not that they are helping people to save but rather an opportunity to make more $$.

I won't be surprised if lawyers will start charging for internet line usage, computer rental usage, air-con bill, usage of table and chairs, food and drinks bill and even for toilet rolls.

Doctors also are beginning to learn this trick. I guess in the future for an operation eg total colectomy + jejunostomy, one can charge for laparatomy, ascending colectomy, transverse colectomy, descending colectomy, peritoneal washout, stump closure, jejunostomy and skin suturing. So it's actually 8 procedures. Can charge 8 times. But lawyers, rest assured, in the medical field "fee splitting" is unethical and not permitted...for now.

Anyway it's a dog eat dog world. Whatever goes around comes around.

How come?

It's been 7 months I've been driving up and down, left and right in the city. Never met any JPJ roadblocks till yesterday. Wait, yes - there was one police roadblock during the famous protest not too long ago.

Yesterday and today (yes, on merdeka day) I came across 2 roadblocks by the JPJ/traffic police looking at the car's roadtax. Not during the day, not on highways. Both of the "operasi" were at night at the small neighbourhood roads near residential areas and eating stalls where there isn't any commercial vehicles at all. They waved my car through after flashing their torchlight at my road tax, on both days.

Why are the JPJ people interested to do checks near residential areas and at night? And on public holidays when traffic is minimal? Surely the chances of spotting expired road taxes is extremely low given the dismal amount of traffic.

Ah...but it's 3 weeks before a major national holiday...."Ang pau" and "green pau" comes to mind. Everyone can do with a little extra income. Am I being cynical?

Deeper and deeper...

Hobbies are enjoyable but when it comes to the cost, some are higher than others. And when you delve deeper, more and more stuffs are necessary. Some of which never crossed my mind earlier.

I remember the simple cheapo point and shoot film camera I had. No need special care. Use until rosak or berkarat. And berkarat indeed they do on the metal parts. Then came the more expensive digital camera, need to keep inside cupboard. Then came the digital SLR, and I used a polystyrene fishbox with "thirsty hippo" inside to keep fungus at bay.

Now I've got a drybox with a dehumidifier and hygrometer/ temperature monitor. Googled around and found out that the "ideal" relative humidity for lenses and cameras is between 35-45%. I think in our tropical climate, humidity is above 90% most of the time which is ideal for mould and fungal growth. So a drybox is a must if I wanna protect my investment. Hopefully this will keep the dreaded fungus away for a long long time.

And what my significant other wanted to put in my drybox? Handbags!...Ummm camera lenses and handbags don't like each other.