Win 7

Its 5.51 am. I have installed Win 7. Or basically, Win 7 has installed it by itself. Looks a bit different from Vista. But seems to still have the same feel as Vista. Oh well, maybe its because I chose to do an upgrade instead of a clean install.

Hope the time spent is worth it....

Slim

What a powerful day!

Its not easy having all your wishes come true in less than a day. Its a wonderful feeling but it sure takes some out of you.

Today, my family and I, including Risa, decided to go to Johor. It was meant to be a quick in and out, doing my usual stuff.

Well, my usual stuff would mean, having lunch in Johor, fill up my tank with petrol and then make my way back again. That would mean I would be back home, sleeping, by 3 pm.

What I wanted to do, and this is since the longest time, is to buy Windows 7, bring my family out for whole day out in Johor, just us and me buying a local line so that I could surf the net on my many trips north.

Well, what do you know! I did it.

I pick Su at the National Library where she was having a meeting. After which, I picked Adam and Risa from my in-laws in Woodlands. It was a synch going through Singapore customs but traffic was snarling on the causeway. We spent about 30 minutes before we went into Malaysia.

Risa wanted to meet her fiance at Angsana. So I dropped her off to tell her to call me once she bought a Malaysian line. Or else, there would be no means of communications.

After dropping her off, Su suggested that we go to Jalan Padi Emas which she remembered had the most wonderful sweet potato filled epok-epok. We drove there and it took us less than 5 minutes! How wonderful!

I had briyani with curry chicken while Su had briyani with fried chicken. Adam ordered rojak keling but it took its own sweet time to end up on our table. He nibbled on some wonderfully prepared goreng pisang while waiting. My briyani was good, but nothing compared to the briyani I had in Penang. Su said her chicken was "power!". I liked Adam's rojak keling but he does not seem to like it though. Maybe, drinking a big glass of iced Milo somehow would dampened your appetite si?

I had iced Nescafe and Su had iced lime drink. Both were "power!". Rich and refreshing at the same time, but not overpowering. Just what my mother would have ordered.

We finished up by ordering another two cups of iced water.

Mydin, a departmental store was only twenty meters away. We went in not knowing what to expect. Adam, though were looking for a baseball bat that he could take to on our trip to Penang. We ended up buying a carrom board, the smaller version and Adam bought a snorkeling set. He looked so cute with it on.

After which, we went to Bukit Indah and there, I bought two copies of Win 7 Basic. They costs me some $RM279 each. I think it is $S150 each here in Singapore.

And then I bought myself a maxxis hotlink prepaid account. It was a snap, only to realise that they weren't the cheapest!

Adam could not find his baseball set in Daiso and that got him upset. Not in a "throwing a tantrum" kind of way but a sad kind od way.

Risa called and said that she is done with the measuring. She wanted to tailor a suit for her wedding. Feeling great that all is coming together nicely, we headed back to Angsana.

Met up with Risa and finally at 6.00pm we made our way home!

We reached Woodlands at around 7.30pm and ate the lemang that we bought in Angsana. "Power!"

Its now 11.07 pm. Adam fell asleep on Su's lap, who is asleep herself. I've a pot of camomile tea waiting for me outside 'Thanks Risa!". I've just completed making the recovery discs of Adam's Toshiba laptop and would be installing the Win 7. Like I said. This day is full of "power!".

Missing you.

Again, another just in case I forget note...
Su is coming back on a late flight. She said she will land in Changi at 10.45pm. I would give her an hour after that to be home free. Anyways, I think Adam called her just now and she returned his call. What Adam said, understates how he feels about her not home.
He said, "maybe mom wants to tell me that she is at the airport already I think."

Kuih Raya

I know that Hari Raya 2009 has long past but I'm inspired by weekh blog. The picture in this post is shot using the Tamron 90mm macro with my Konican Minolta 7d. I like the colours that come off the image.
A bit about the picture. It is taken using available light in my kitchen. Those hands belong to my mother in-law. The green thing? It tastes delicious once it's done in the oven. It's called makmur.

An article regarding water in Singapore.

http://greensingapore.com/Singlenews.aspx?DirID=87&rec_code=410187

Forget bottled water, tap water as good as it gets

WATER is a common but very precious asset. Without water, human beings cannot survive. Without water, the planet's ecosystem, which sustains life, will be destroyed. Without water, there will be no agriculture and no industry. Without water, life on planet Earth will perish.

We regard the right of a person to safe and affordable water as a basic human right. It is a great shame that, at the beginning of the 21st century, about one billion out of six billion people do not enjoy this right. In Asia, about 700 million people do not have access to safe and affordable water.

In Singapore, all citizens have access to clean water at an affordable price. The water from our taps is safe to drink. In spite of this fact, many Singaporeans still boil their water. In recent years, partly because of our growing affluence and partly because of the influence of the West, Singaporeans are drinking more and more bottled water. In 2007, Singaporeans spent $98.3 million on bottled water, an increase of 80 per cent over 10 years. We observe that some of our ministries and universities serve bottled water instead of tap water. In many restaurants, the waiters pressure their customers to order bottled water.

We want to start a campaign to persuade Singaporeans to drink tap water instead of bottled water, whenever possible. The following are our reasons.

First, it is a waste of your money. Bottled water is more expensive than petrol. For one bottle of water you buy off the shelf (at 50 cents), you can get 850 bottles off the tap (at $1.17 per cubic metre).

Second, the tap water is as safe as bottled water. In Singapore, the water in our taps is safe to drink and subjected to daily checks. Health-wise, there is no difference between drinking tap water and bottled water. On the contrary, tests in the United States have shown that sometimes harmful chemicals, such as bisphenol-A (BPA), can leach from bottled water. Other tests in the US have shown that expensive bottled water is no better than tap water.

Third, bottled water uses energy unnecessarily. To make water bottles, you need polyethylene terephthalate or PET, a derivative of crude oil. In the US, 1.5 million barrels of oil are used each year just to make bottles for the water industry. This is enough oil to power 100,000 cars for a year.

Fourth, bottled water is bad for the environment. In Singapore, most of the bottles are not recycled but incinerated. This uses energy and produces carbon dioxide, adding to our carbon emission. Some bottled water travels great distances to Singapore. We are importing bottled water from as far away as France, Italy, Fiji and Serbia. Transport consumes energy and produces carbon dioxide. This is another reason bottled water is not a friend of the environment.

Fifth, you should drink tap water because it is the right thing to do. We can understand the need to drink bottled water in places where the tap water is unsafe to drink.

In Singapore, there is no good reason to drink bottled water. It costs you more, but it does not make you healthier. It is unfriendly to the environment.

By all means boil your water if that makes you feel better, but please do not buy or serve bottled water if you can help it. If a waiter asks you, 'still water or bubbly water', you should politely say you prefer PUB water.

We think the Government should lead by example.

We therefore urge the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources to write to all ministries, statutory boards, agencies, Temasek-linked companies and educational institutions to consider stopping the practice of serving bottled water.

Professor Tommy Koh is the chairman of the Governing Council of the Asia Pacific Water Forum and chairman of the 2008 and 2009 Water Leaders Summits in Singapore.

Leong Ching is a PhD student at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

This is a revised version of an article appearing in the PUB publication Pure this month.

---

The right of a person to safe and affordable water is a basic human right. It is a great shame that, at the beginning of the 21st century, about one billion out of six billion people do not enjoy this right. In Asia, about 700 million people do not have access to safe and affordable water.

Water

A friend of mine was trying to sell me the idea that the filtration
system he is selling give cleaner water than the tap water. If this
was in another country, I would so be the very interested, but I live
in Singapore.
Anyway, by using a magnifying like in the shape of a periscope, devise, he showed me a canister of
tap water, which I saw some floating particles. Then he showed me
another canister of water which has been filtered
Sure enough, no floating particles. And then the sales pitch.
"As you can see, Singapore water is not clean. This devise is our top
selling product."
Then my response.
"Are you saying we are drinking dirty water?"
"Not dirty, just less clean."
"What would happen to me if I continue to drink the tap water."
"You'll be sick. In the long run."
"How long is long?"
"Maybe 10 to 20 years."
"So are you saying that I won't be sick if I drink water from your
filtration system?"
"Er, that depends. For example, what you eat or drink when you are out
of the house."
"So there are other factors that contribute being sick lah.."
"Yes"
"So you are saying that there is no guarantee that I won't be sick if
I drink water from your filtration system."
".."
I wanted to dwell more on the other claims but I sense that he sensed that I can see
through his claims.
But the fact that still bothers me is his claim that bottled water is
better than Singapore's tap water

I beg
To differ.

Slim.

Resourcefullness

Just in case I forget, I better write what happened less than an hour
ago.
Today is wawa's sports day. As it is, we had planned to go to the
stadium to lend her our support. When I woke up this morning, I knew
that i am going to be unwell. So, after lunch I called my darling
sister to pick Adam and Risa up and I am feeling very drowsy. The
resolution of that conversation resulted in us agreeing that she will
pick Adam and Risa up at 2.15 pm of which I highlighted to Adam and
risa. So there I was, lying in bed trying to shake off the effect of
the cold and the drowsiness of the cold medicine.
Only to be told at 2.45pm that sis can't pick Adam and Risa up because
my lovable parents need to use the car. I then told her that I will
send adam and Risa.
I then dozed off again.
It was 3.15pm when Adam literally had his face in mine as he woke me
up. He seemed pretty upset that I seemed to have overslept in sending
him to the stadium.
After a very quick washing up, I told him about the effect of the
medication that I have taken and we rushed to the car heading towards
the stadium.
It was during the ride that Adam told me what had happened.
He was worried that my sister has not pick him up. He called his
grandfather and asked for her number. He then proceed to call my
sister who explained what has transpired between her and me.
Honestly, I would not think a 7 year old boy would have the
resourcefullness to call his grandfather for his aunt's number so that
he could find out what happened to his aunt without anybody telling
him to.
Anyway, I've sent him to the stadium while I am here at my mom's car
park typing out this note.
I am so grateful that he is here, being always part of my life.

Slim.

Name cards

Oh boy, forgot to insert into the last post. I have receive my name cards. The picture on it made me look angry. Oh well, first time for everything...

Weekh

I was at www.clubsnap.com the other day and I read a post in the 4/3rds folder. I remembered reading a post from a guy who used a LX2. Now, that same guy is using the oly ep-1. But, no what camera he is using, he has the eye for it. I know this because I stumble onto his blog and I went there 3 times this week. Its weekh.blogspot.com
If only I could update my blog like he does. With pictures.
Anyways, my wife encourages me to enter the various photo competitions that is available. Maybe I should give it a try. Anybody know of any photo competitions?
I'm at Unisim right now, revising for my paper this evening. As you can see, I'm spending my time NOT revising. Honestly, its freaking me out. Such overconfidence can only mean one thing in my life, stupidity.
Oh well, let me just continue reading the stupid book.

Another advert
I'm a property agent!!! Yoohooo!

It's a Monday

Just came back from tuition. A very slow session as my tutee had
already completed her exams. Anyway we went through comprehension
cloze. At least she learnt new words.
My noisemaker has now learnt to appreciate the different smell and
aroma shampoo and soaps has. At least, he used them.
It has been a wet afternoon. It started to rained approximately at 1
pm. Just as I had finished waxing the car. It rained too the other
day, just as I had finished waxing the car. Anyway, wifey just called
and she is cabbing her way home. Just as well.
Exams is around the corner and I can't seem to get it out of my mind.
How I wish I could start studying for it.
Watched the Liverpool against fulham. What a load of crap. If I had
known, I would not have stayed up late. Liverpool lost 3-1 with 9 men
at the end of full time. Sigh. Lousy game. Not because Liverpool lost,
just that both teams played badly.

Slim.

NYTimes: DVR, Once Mortal Foe, Is a Friend After All

From The New York Times:

DVR, Once Mortal Foe, Is a Friend After All

Once feared as commercial killers, the recorders now add significantly
to program ratings and thus to ad revenue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/business/media/02ratings.html

Get The New York Times on your iPhone for free by visiting http://itunes.com/apps/nytimes

Slim.
Send instant messages to your online friends http://asia.messenger.yahoo.com

Name cards

I am resorting to emailing my blogs. Not a big deal especially with a
smartphone like the iPhone.
Anyway, I am still waiting for my name cards to be ready. Can't wait
to start distributing MY name cards to my friends.
Anyway, if any of you readers need an agent for help in your property
matters, leave me a message.
Slim.
Send instant messages to your online friends http://asia.messenger.yahoo.com

Propnex

I have registered myself as a Propnex agent. Thus, begins a new phase in my life. Anyway, because I'm a beginner, I have my manager to help me. Thus, if anybody need advise on property whether selling or buying, or even rental and advise from a manager at that, msg me! No obligation. Your time allows me to learn. Its a win-win thing.

Tutor

Qualified primary school teacher available for private tuition.
Female.
NE Area.
Well verse with P1-P4 syllabus.
AM or PM, weekdays.
4
$45 per hour.

Msg me.

NYTimes: From Birth, Engage Your Child With Talk

From The New York Times:

PERSONAL HEALTH: From Birth, Engage Your Child With Talk

All too often, mothers and nannies are tuned in to their cellphones,
BlackBerrys and iPods, not their young children.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health/29brod.html

Get The New York Times on your iPhone for free by visiting http://itunes.com/apps/nytimes

Slim.
Send instant messages to your online friends http://asia.messenger.yahoo.com

Gas mask in bra wins IgNobel

Your friend thought you might be interested in the following story
from The Straits Times:

You can read it up by clicking on http://is.gd/3SjPD

Slim.
Send instant messages to your online friends http://asia.messenger.yahoo.com

laptop

I just bought a laptop, a toshiba 15.4 inch P intel duo running at
2.1g. It comes with 2 gb ram. I got it for $899. I bought it to
replace the 12.1 acer that Adam is using. A bit slow in its starting
up, but otherwise hang free. Got a McAfee anti virus free.
Love the screen.
Nor Salman Mohd Sumantry (Mr)
'Beyond the right answer'

Send instant messages to your online friends http://asia.messenger.yahoo.com

Ain't I a woman, speech

Sojourner Truth (1797-1883): Ain't I A Woman?
Delivered 1851
Women's Convention, Akron, Ohio

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about?

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?

Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?

Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner ain't got nothing more to say.

Ain't I a woman, poem

Ain't I a Woman

That man over there say
a woman needs to be helped into carriages
and lifted over ditches
and to have the best place everywhere.
Nobody ever helped me into carriages
or over mud puddles
or gives me a best place...

And ain't I a woman?
Look at me
Look at my arm!
I have plowed and planted
and gathered into barns
and no man could head me...
And ain't I a woman?
I could work as much
and eat as much as a man---
when I could get to it---
and bear the lash as well
and ain't I a woman?
I have born 13 children
and seen most all sold into slavery
and when I cried out a mother's grief
none but Jesus heard me...
and ain't I a woman?
that little man in black there say
a woman can't have as much rights as a man
cause Christ wasn't a woman
Where did your Christ come from?
From God and a woman!
Man had nothing to do with him!
If the first woman God ever made
was strong enough to turn the world
upside down, all alone
together women ought to be able to turn it
rightside up again.

- Sojourner Truth, 1797-1883

Ain't I a woman.

I've just reached home, after a 3 hour session of a literature class. I never did like literature. "Too much talk" and "Too much English" were the main reasons I cited. Today, however was like a turning point to me. I was made to discuss a poem, entitled Ain't I a woman. In my first reading, my reaction surprises me. I felt that the speaker of the poem (unnecessarily the poet) was very rude in venting out her frustration. The class then proceed to discuss the poems, in terms of forms (free verse), tone (anger), who the speaker was (a female black slave) and in respect to feminism, what were the main points that were brought out. Understanding the poem a little bit more made me appreciate how powerful it was.
On the way home, however, I couldn't thinking as to why I felt that the speaker in that poem was rude. Could it be of the values that I was brought up in? Could it be that I was taught that one should not be angry in public, one should control one's anger? Or could it be, I resent this woman? I felt that it was the latter. Why would I resent the woman? Its has been one and a half hour since the lesson end and I still don't know whereupon the resentment are from. I resent her, for she dares to state her mind. I resent her for not being a slave, but for being wasting her time. A speech is only just as powerful as the actions that comes after it. Otherwise, it was just blowing hot air. Thankfully, it was not. But still, I resent her, perhaps for doing what I could not, for being brave to speak in front of other men and women, of other men and women. How much must one feel and how much must be affected before one can be blessed enough to speak out against injustice. Still I resent her, for doing what I could not, and in that respect, I am thankful for without her doing what she did, or me coming across that poem, I know one less that is possible.