boon's log 1004.01 supplementary A
Hospital
Visited my supervisor in the hospital last night. At first, we went to the wrong hospital, but that is a different story...

Anyway, when we finally got to the hospital, because we were so late (about 11:00PM, we were late due to a pre-arranged dinner appointment), I thought we were supposed to sign in before we can proceed into the hospital premises. As we were walking towards the entrance of the hospital, there were two policemen leaving their post (just about to get up and walk away from the table where the "guest book" is). And I was about to willingly sign in. Here was the conversation (in Malay) that took place...

Policeman#1: Eh, dia ni kena sign in. (Hey, this guy's gotta sign in.)
Policeman#2: Tak-pa-lah. Buku tu pun dah habis mukasurat. (Nah, it's okay. Furthermore, there are no more pages in the guest book)
Policeman#1: ??? (???)
Boon: ??? (???)
Policeman#1: Jom, kita gi minum! (Come on, dude. Let's go have a drink!)
Boon: ??? (???)

So, they just "fled the scene" - just like the National Service dudes (refer to boon's log 0804.03). And I just happily walked in.

Thus is the mentality of our nations law enforcers. I am deeply saddened and concerned by this sort of attitude. I guess this is one of the main reasons why the crime rate is climbing at quite an alarming rate. Just last week, I was told about the journalist in Ipoh who was driving back home at night and got his car's windshield smashed but a motorcyclist with his helmet just so that he can steal her handbag - both vehicles were in motion... Just for the handbag...

Anyway, the authorities needs to do something about this real quick. Otherwise, this "cowboy town" scenario is going to be so dramatic, it will make Bad Boys II look like Sesame Street....

boon out...

boon's log 1004.01
Monday Comic


That's gotta hurt...

boon out...

boon's log 0904.06
Monday Comic (late edition)
Forgot to upload this week's Monday Comic. Too much work... Anyway, here we go...


No icons

boon out...

boon's log 0904.02
Light effects
Picked up a Click! Magazine while hanging out at Dome last weekend and read about how we can make use of the light source (like a torch light) with long exposure to create interesting images. Tried it last night and here's the result.


boonspot

You will need to have a dark room (preferably do it during night time). You can also use coloured transparent paper to vary the colour of the light source... Will probably try something else later.

boon out...

boon's log 0804.04
Hi-Tech Retards
This is the age of Hi-Tech Information Technology. Phewwit!

"Canggih*!" this, and "Canggih!" that. (*sophisticated in Malay)

Then again, is it a good thing? I find that it has caused some level of retardation to the users.

E-mails! Man, let's talk about emails...

People rely so much on e-mails as their main communication vehicle these days - so much so that there is this guy who sits just 3 cubicles down the aisle from me who likes to send me e-mails for menial stuffs like, to remind me that there is a meeting going on, etc.. For crying out loud, just 3 cubicles away!?

Lazy to walk? Nevermind, but what about the telephone? Sometimes I just do not understand. I mean, by sending e-mails (instead of meeting up with people or calling them on the phone) may sometimes cause more confusion and cause misunderstanding and uncalled for chain mails and a total waste of time. And it is a rapport-killer. Here are a few examples...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The "high-tech passing the buck/not-me" game.

e-mail#24 "... I think it was Dumbo who did it!"
.
.
.
email#106 "... No-lah, I think it was Ninnyhammer-lah..."
.
.
.
email#1452 "... I think Jacko de Wacko...."
.
.
.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Not forgetting the "I-sent-you-an-e-mail-5-years-ago.-Did-you-not-see-it?" trick. These people send you an email and expect you to go through that mail amongst the tonnes of emails that you receive a day and expects you to understand them and to respond to all of them. If you miss one, that's it, it's the electric chair for you.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Then there is the Boggle* Email. (*table-top game where you try to make words out of jumbled letters)

"Hat is escatly kain ansp oit?"

It is actually,

"What is exactly Kian Ann's point?"
[The persons and events in this log are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons or events is unintentional]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Worse are those blokes who have no sense of e-mail coutesy and use CAPITAL LETTERS to convey messages - who do not know that it also means "DANG IT! I AM SHOUTING AT YOU, YOU DINGBAT!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

See what I mean? Can you identify with any of these? I have been having too many unnecessary discussions trying to resolved e-mail misunderstandings as far as I can remember. Friends become enemies. Colleagues become adversaries. It is always good to meet face-to-face with the people you are working with. Furthermore, you need that walk to the other cubicle to burn off that nasi lemak you had in the morning. Not saying e-mail is all bad, but I think in many cases, if it can be avoided... avoid it.

Alright, brag-ed enough...

boon out...

boon's log 0804.03 supplementary A
Up Yours!
A colleague of mine from China, posted in Malaysia for several months, visited Bangkok recently with his wife. Newly weds, on their honeymoon. He took a whole lot of photographs and really made the most out of bringing his camera with him. Awesome pictures. However, one of them that really stood out from the rest was the following one. It is a picture of a guy carving an elephant out of block of wood, and he is doing a pretty good job, I must say. However, I guess it is being at the right place and at the right time that enabled my friend to capture this shot....


Up yours!

boon out...

boon's log 0804.03
National Service Bloopers
I was reading the newspapers yesterday and there was a full 4 pages of write-up on the Registration Day for the National Service. I almost felt dizzy for continuously shaking my head as I read through them.

Read about the group in Klang (which i think is the worst!), where parents and NS trainees started waiting from (as early as) 5AM to 5PM for the bus to shuttle them to the campsite. The organizers or the people in-charge tried to calm the angered parents (who wouldn't) - so much so that they fled the scene!!! Goodness! Are these the people that we are entrusting our children to in the NS Camp? People who run away from responsibilities. I felt embarassed as I read through. The list goes on - poor coordination, wrong registration lists, communication breakdown (stranded in the airport), unclear instructions... it goes on and on.

I mean, something this BIG, you would expect more time and planning would have been poured into it. But it seem like there is none. What a shame. What a total shame...

Not to mention the quality of people that are ferrying the trainees around - 10 suffered injuries from the bus collision that happened in Lahat Datu because one NS bus crashed into another NS bus.

I would expect the NS to be a program that will instill discipline, good conduct and orderliness in the trainees. But following what happened on Registration Day yesterday, I guess there is nothing much to say about the program except that "expect the worst...".

Well, of course, the Department of National Service apologized but also pointed to trainees congregating at wrong pick-up points and bus operators that had caused "teething problems" (yeah, yeah, yeah). Well, if things were well planned, well informed and communicated, with a little more effort put into the entire project, I believe things would have run more smoothly...

boon out...

boon's log 0804.01
Monday Comic - Know your ABC...


Know your ABC...

boon out...

boon's log 0704.05
Thai food in the clouds
Met up with my college friends for dinner 2 nights ago. One of the guys proposed to have Thai food, but declined to tell us where is this secretive dinner venue. So we followed him along the Balik Pulau road from the Bayan Lepas Airport. As some may know, along the Balik Pulau stretch, there are a lot of fruit farms, especially Durians. A lot of the locals visit these durian farms during the durian season.

Anyway, as we were travelling along the winding road, and as the anticipation builds up, someone in the car behind thought she'd ask a funny question, "You don't think he is going to bring us up to those Maxis antennas on the hills, is he???? Haa haa haa..."

Then, we turned off at one of the side roads that you will most probably never turn into, and then that was the end of civilisation!



No tar roads. Durian trees left and right. No lights. Darkness all around. These roads, I mean, the roads were the main reason why they invented the 4WD. We passed a monitor lizard along the way (nearly hit it) and then we literraly run over a snake (snakes are very common in durian plantations). This was getting to be either like a Night Safari Ride or a Jurassic Park ride.

"Hey! Where is the helpless little goat?"

Anyway, then, unexpectedly, there were chicken sheds on boths sides of the road. But they were emptied. This was when everyone's internal siren started to ring! Bee Boo Bee Boo...

Get it? Bird Flu, Chicken Farm? Get it?

Then we came to the Maxis antenna tower! Yeah, the one that we were joking about 20-30 minutes ago! Goodness! Dang! We were that high...?

Minutes later, we were faced with (what we think is) the biggest Cock in the world. Well, it was a fake one, of course, made out of cement or something. Then, the restaurant came into view.



Apparently, the tycoon who owned this hill, has a durian plantation and also a chicken farm. One day, he had this vision of converting that hill, he thought "If they can build something so beautiful in Genting, I, too, can do it."

There is an open-air platform where it is like a normal restaurant layout. Apart from that, there are private chalet-type layout which can fit around 10-15 people. We sat ourselves in P4 (one of the smaller chalets). The food was not bad. Nothing really spectacular, but the view was worth the climb. On one side, you can see Teluk Kumbar and on the other, I think is the Air Itam area...



By the way, the green curry is nice...

If you are planning to go up there, try to go before 7PM. The sunset is an additional bonus during your time up there. PLUS, the Maxis cellphone reception up there is really good! (duh!) It's like the person you are talking to on the phone is just sitting right next to you!

Price? Reasonable. A well fed group of 4 dudes and 2 dudettes cost only RM130. Not bad at all.

The trip down was almost as eventful as the way up, except that we were no longer wondering where or when the road is going to end... But it was truly and adventurous ride... :) We were so happy to be on "sea-level" again and back to civilization... :)

Thanks, Chu!

boon out...

boon's log 0704.04
Slow Playground
I saw this sign as I was walking to a BBQ organized by my group last evening. Good thing I had my A40 with me. I slowed down and kept a look out for a slow playground...


Slow Playground...

More Funny Signs available at the following URL (also found on the sidebar of this page) updated by my colleagues. We try to consolidate funny signs and also advertisements from around the world.

Funny Signs

boon out...

boon's log 0704.01 supplementary A
Pure Frappu-Manglish
Saw this book during the weekend and could not resist to take a shot and blog about it. Check out the English, I mean Malay language used on the cover of the book. I guess if a foreigner were to pick up this book, he will not have much of a problem reading it... :) Looks like 90% of the contents of the main page is made up of "English words".


Impresif!

boon out...

boon's log 0704.01
Monday Comic
I saw a few good comics from my church bulletin recently. So, I've decided to dedicate Mondays as Comic Mondays (as long as the good comics keeps coming in... :) ). Let me know what you think of the comics... Have fun...


Downloading...

Will this generation's kids end up like this due to the overdose of the internet and computers. Hi-tech-ness has its tolls, I guess. ;)

boon out...

boon's log 0604.05 supplementary A
Indian Wedding
Attended my second Indian Wedding, of a colleague of mine at work. My first one was when I was around 12 or 13, when my dad brought me to one his Indian friend's wedding. All I can remember from that experience was the awesome banana leaf rice. Superb. It is almost like the taste of the curry is still fresh in my mouth (yeah, right! just a figure of speech, okay?).

Anyway, after a few decades, here I am in my second one and I told my friend, "I need to attend more Indian Weddings." :)

I kinda summarized the the wedding in the following few pictures...


Images of an Indian Wedding.

I must say that the whole ceremony is deeply enriched with tradition and culture. It was indeed colourful both in the literal sense and the traditional sense. We just sat there for like 2 hours just watching the entire event. My friend also made use of his time to catch up with old friends and acquaintances from college and school...

I just pity the poor groom who had to endure the heat and stuffy-ness while carrying out the rituals. My colleague told me that the night before he reminded his mom to make sure that they set up a fan next to where the rituals took place. But yet, perspiration did not fail to flow.

Through the whole ceremony, it was accompanied with a two-man band - who were playing the tabla drums and nadasvaram trumpets (hope I got the names correct).

Contrary to my first Indian Wedding experience, I did not manage to taste the food this time as I was rushing for time for another appointment. We ended lining up, when all the require rituals were completed, to congratulate the Bride and Groom and also, as in all Malaysian tradition during weddings - a small gift from our hearts (monetary).

Again I say - I need to attend more Indian Weddings... Looking forward to my next one. :)

boon's log 0604.05
Le Tour de Langkawi
We decided to take a drive round the island yesterday from Batu Ferringhi to avoid the traffic accumulated around the Jalan Utama area due to the Thaipusam celebrations. It's been a while since I took the Balik Pulau road round the island - the last time was like 5 years ago, and it was at night.

So, yesterday morning, Balik Pulau road.

It was quite a nice and pleasing drive. First thing we saw was the Teluk Bahang Dam. The environment/atmosphere was so peaceful and tranquil...


Teluk Bahang Dam


Temple overlooking Teluk Bahang Dam

Then to our surprise, we bumped into some of the cyclists who were practicing for Le Tour de Langkawi. What a coincidence. We managed to bump into teams from South Africa, Panama and Malaysia (I think).



I think they chose the Balik Pulau way because of the winding roads and also because the roads go up and down, which is provides good exercise and training for the cyclists.

Anyway, the ride was so interesting that the trip ended up taking one hour to reach Air Itam... ;) But it was a cool ride. A bit winding, but I enjoyed the ride - don't mind doing it again. Kinda reminds me of the drive we had on the way to Multnomah Falls in Oregon with the super narrow and winding roads. And the scenery gives you a sort "National Park" kind of feeling. Do try it sometime, wind down those windows and enjoy the ride.

boon out...

boon's log 0604.03 supplementary A
WHAM! 'n Go Go
Nope, not the 80's pop group, but this is about the recent accident I encountered just before the CNY holidays. I would like to think that it must have been the most absurd event ever. Anyway, I was travelling back to my hometown and stopped at the toll gate. I was queueing up at the Touch 'n Go Tambah nilai lane with two cars and a van in front of me. As I was fishing out my wallet with Handel's Hallelujah chorus (yeah, the one Mr. Bean sang in one of his sitcom series) playing on my car stereo.... ahh... the serenity...

WHAM!!!

Next thing I saw was a red Wira behind my car. I quickly checked - the grey Premio (or something like that) was still in front, unharmed. So got down and had the normal conversation. Interesting enough the driver's wife also came down and started to scold the husband, "Saya sudah panggil dia brek! Saya sudah panggil dia brek!" ("I've warned him to step on the brakes!" x2)

By this time, the toll gate officers came out and decided to pose beside the cars for a while. Anyway, my rear bumper was crushed and the boot cover was dented. We decided to bring it back to my mechanic's "bengkel" (workshop) and repair it and then I will call him once it is done and he will fork out the money for it later (very important part of the story). After all the discussion, got back into my car and drove to the counter. Note that this happened in front of the toll gate counter and obviously the lady at the counter witnessed the entire drama... I top-ed up my card and as the lady handed me back my card, she gave me a big smile and went

"Have a Happy Chinese New Year, okay?"

I was stunned. :P but I smiled back and thanked her and drove off... Well, that was the Saturday before CNY.

So, I went to pay my mechanic friend a visit. Mechanic said that it is too late for any repair, so had to return to him after CNY. Imagine, a smashed car for CNY... sigh...

The guy (who bang-ed my car) called me up the Monday before CNY and asked whether I have a quotation for him. So, I told him the mechanic said it will cost around 300 bucks.

"So much, ah? Did you bargain with him?"

I told him I will bargain with him when I see him after CNY.

"Yeah, please bargain... Anyway, don't think so much about your car-lah and have a Happy Chinese New Year, okay?"

He had the nerve...

*****Chinese New Year*****

Took my car to repair and paid the discounted cost of 280, inclusive of knocking, painting and moulding the bumper.

The guy (who banged my car) called up today and asked me how was the car and, obviously how much. Told him 280.

He went, "So, I will pay you 200 and you shoulder the remaining 80? That's fair, right?"

WHAT THE?!

Wait... let's pause and analyze this. Which part of 280 (read as two hundred and eighty) that he did not understand? He pay 200 and I shoulder the rest??? And it is supposed to be FAIR???

I stayed cool. I believe that he was trying to negotiate or something. But he mentioned that it is fair??? That really topped everything. But then I still gave it to him...

"Excuse me, which part of it is fair? If someone bangs you from the back, do you expect yourself to pay for the damages? You told me on that day, that you will pay for the repair work and I trusted you. Otherwise, I would have made a police report! Now you are not going to pay me in full?"

I think that got his attention (the police part) and then he finally relented to pay me in full. But he made it sound like I was being unreasonable, he went like "okaylah... okaylah... since you say so... what can I do?"

Gosh, can you believe that? Anyway, I still have not received the payment yet. Let's hope for the best... else I will have to lodge a police report. Darn!

Next time you are at the toll gate, keep a look out through your rear view mirror... it may not help much if they decide to bang you anyways, but at least you can blast your horn or something like that.

boon out...

boon's log 0604.03
Happy Chinese New Year! Day9 Part Deux
Pai Tee Kong. Or in plain English (Manglish) Praying to the God of the Skies (or Heavens). There is a short write up I found through Google when you enter "Tee Kong" and Search. You can follow the following URL... which tells of a writer's point of view of how Tee Kong is one of the many names of God Himself...

http://eaglevision.com.my/na1abraham.htm

Anyway, here are some of the pictures taken during the Pai Tee Kong recently.


burnt offerings.


joss stick and candles. if you look closely, you can see some numbers appearing in the middle candle...


before...


after.... blast from the past.


much later...

The Pai Tee Kong ritual is normally carried out by the Chinese Hokkien community. It is the night before what the Hokkiens claim as the "actual new year".

History has it that once upon a time, there was a cruel emperor during ancient China who passed a decree that all Hokkiens will be eliminated (may have due to tribal warfare...). So, the emperor ordered his imperial soldiers on a search and destroy mission.

So, out desperation for survival, the Hokkien folks prayed to Tee Kong (God of the Heavens) for protection and blessing and then they ran for their lives (like Forrest G.) and hid in sugarcane plantations somewhere in the province of FuJien, China. They hid for 9 days (from the first day of the lunar new year till the 9th) and when the decree ended, the Hokkiens came out of the plantations were no longer "WANTED:DEAD". "Hallelujah!". So, since they hid in terror in the plantations for the nine days and did not get to celebrate the Lunar New Year, they celebrated on the 9th day as the actual New Year for them and they offered burnt offerings to the God of Heavens (Tee Kong) for protecting them from Death. That is why there is always sugarcane and burnt offerings during this ritual, to remember how Tee Kong has blessed the Hokkien-ese.

boon out...