You sure it's Ethanol and not Methanol in there?

Saw these unknown brands of vodka on sale in one of the Giant supermarkets a while back.

I really don't know what a decent (i.e. Smirnoff / Absolut) bottle of vodka costs here, but I do know that the sin taxes have been upped quite often over the past few years.

I would assume one would expect to pay close to RM100?

Guess how much 750 mL bottles are going for?

RM20 - 30 (USD 5 - 8)!

Wow... either my estimate of the cost of "decent" booze is waaaay off (in that case, excuse me while I make a trip to the, err, store...), or, well, let's just say I wonder how "safe" these unknown brands are...

One of these days this PC is gonna get a tattoo!

I'll delay it as long as I can, but there's only so much I can do when I'm not the only user...

What am I talking about?

This:


Which leads to this:


Which, if selected, would result in this:


I feel so ... special!!

Is Malaysia is on par with the United States, Britain, New Zealand, Australia when it comes to having counterfeit Windows OS or something? Gotta be, since these 5 countries have the dubious honor of being the first batch worldwide to receive this update that would "tattoo" the fact that "this copy of windows is not genuine" on the bottom right corner of your PC screen, and have a random pop-up "nagulator" that will what else but nag you to "get the genuine product".

More about it here and here.

Long live Microsoft.

Not.

(NOTE: 3rd picture snitched from here)

Why I usually keep my phone on silent mode

Alt title: A rude awakening, part deux.


The phone rings.

F**k, I forgot to turn it back to silent last night.

I stumble out of bed, heading toward the sound.

I look at the number - not familiar.

But hey, it's SIX FIFTY IN THE MORNING maybe it's important?

Me (in heavily sleepy voice): Hullo?

Caller: Who's this?

Okay, THAT's already a no-no... YOU are calling ME (at 650am pulak tu!) and YOU are asking ME who EYE am? I don't care how nicely you ask, you need to identify YOURSELF first, you b*tch!

Me (already more awake, definitely more annoyed, STILL croaky-sleep voiced): Who are YOU?

Caller: Oh, this isn't *asdf*?

You know, so what if that actually *is* my "first name"? For one thing, I don't go by that name - if you know me, you know that. And for the record, I still don't know who the f*ck YOU are! No way I am I saying "Yes, I'm *asdf*" to a f***ing inconsiderate stranger who may just be dialing a wrong number anyway: If you really want to talk to ME, what's my middle name, the one I go by, you b*tch? (Amazing how fast these thoughts can go through your head, even at 650am!)

Me: *asdf* who?

Caller: Never mind. *click* hangs up.

WTF????
You know, I have a few friends - who are slaves to the phone but won't acknowledge it - who just can't understand why my phone is on silent all the time, and actually take it personally when they can't get a hold of me when they call. Yes, they get mad at me. Sheeeeesh!

It's *my* phone, *my* time, *my* life...
aku punya hal lah how I choose to use my phone!

If it's important, and you couldn't get hold of me the first time, you'd call me again right? If by the time I do check my phone you've called like 5 times or something I know something's up lah right? Trust me to do the logical/rational thing of calling you back lah. And excuse the f**k out of me if I choose not to be at your beck and call. You know, just because I'm a jobless bum doesn't mean I'm desperately wanting to talk to you to alleviate my boredom, nor does it make me obligated to layan every incoming call.

And if you think I'm avoiding you, well, maybe you're right. Or maybe you're just paranoid. Either way, CHILL OUT!!!!!

*sigh*

And on a related note:
Once I leave Malaysia for the U.S. again, I will be cutting off my mobile #.

Maxis is getting ridiculouser and ridiculouser.

I found out only recently that for some weird reason, I didn't have voice mail anymore. And when I called, the Customer Service Representative (CSR) had the gall to say "I don't see any record of you ever having had that service" padahal I've had it since Day One of being a Maxis subscriber.

• And she promises it will be fixed within 2 hours.


• Of course, Maxis being Maxis, and Malaysia being Malaysia, I needed to call back 24 hours later and complain *again* before it actually got fixed.


• ... and I promptly recorded a message telling people my phone's probably on silent, text me instead, LOL!

This just adds to the pile of grouses I have about this mobile phone provider.

A pile that includes my annoyance at finding out that I'm no longer getting RM10 off my bill for having my bills automatically charged to my credit card. Thanx for informing me about that, you bloodsuckers. I had to see it (or rather, NOT see it) on my bill to figure it out.

And talking about bloodsuckers, I lost RM138 to them, I have every right to hold a grudge! How did I lose RM138 to them, you ask?

Okay, if you are a CSR and a customer says she wants to switch from the 138 to the 75 plan, and expresses concern about not losing the RM138 "rollover"...

... it's not enough to say "Don't worry, the RM138 will still be there"...
You MUST ALSO state "But it will only be there for 3 months, so please make sure you use it up by then."

Because THIS customer wasn't in any position to use up that value of calls till 4 months later. And got a nasty surprise when that month's phone bill came, since the additional calls were NOT absorbed by the rollover. Because the rollover was missing.

And this customer couldn't do one damn thing about it.

And Maxis got RM138 FOR FREE.

Okay, enough ranting.

Key "take-aways" for this post:

• A silent phone awakens no-one
  
• "asdf" is NOT my first name
  
• Maxis sucks

The end.

Surfing @ Steven's?

Great Surfing Steven's, Batman!!

It's a sign of the times when a mamak shop provides wifi services.

This pic was taken at Steven's Corner at Pandan Indah.

Sure, you'd need to put up with the noise, and the heat, if you choose to surf here.

But parking (once you find it lah) is pretty cheap - free even, after 5pm or so. And with drinks costing RM1.2 (or RM5.5 if you want an ice blended thing) instead of RM10 at a Coffee Bean or Starbucks, the savings will add up!

I just have no idea if it's free or not, who's the service provider, etc etc etc... and I don't think the "waiters" would know if I were to ask them... gotta remember to ask the people in white shirts (higher up in the Steven's food chain) next time I'm there. Which may be this Sunday. With Rail. The poor stressed out gal. Hang in there gurrrrl!

a blast from the past!

As "rebellious" as I was during my teenage years, I was still in many aspects a goody-two-shoes. Yet even a goody-two-shoes like *me* is strangely exhilarated by the news that Picadilly is seeking feedback as to whether there is enough demand for it to reopen.

Yes, Picadilly.
Or "picad" for short.

It was an icon of my time... but can you believe I've only been there ONCE?

Gawd, I was so "closeted" (read: controlled? protected? whatevah) that I missed out on a lot of stupid stuff Malaysian teenagers get into.

I don't hold it against my parents at all, I know they had my safety in mind, but sometimes I *wish* I'd been allowed just. a. bit. more. slack. and. freedom.

Occasionally I'd manage to bargain my way out to spend time with friends and do teenage stuff. Like my ONE trip to Picad. For a tea dance.

Yes, a tea dance.
... does THAT term bring back a flood of memories for ya?

For those who are not familiar with the term: some discos would open on Saturday afternoons (tea time!), and target teenagers who wouldn't legally be able to get in at night. No acheyhol served. Just music and soda. Why not: get them hooked to the scene while still young!! :p

My vague recollection of the place is "big" "spacious" "pink & purple disco lights". Can't recall the music, I suppose it was the (then current) 80's dance music lah :p I'm not one for much dancing, what with being extremely self conscious and all, but I will get down on the dance floor and move around if I've got the gang and the mood: usually I'm more of a watcher :D I'll assume I hit the dance floor. I really have no idea.

The only thing i *do* remember clearly is one of my friends (a regular Picad-goer) saying "come on, let's check out the couples "berprojek" (making out)!" and she dragged me upstairs, and sure enough behind the screen there was a passageway to the other side: it was dark, and populated by numerous couples entangled with each other! I musta accidentally stepped on a few feet and elbowed a few ribs in the dark, hope I didn't distract them too much from their, errr, activities, giggled "sorry!" and desperately headed for the light at the end of the tunnel, LOL!

Ah yes, those silly teenage years :-)

So.. Would I check it out if it reopens? Probably :-)

Wonder if they'd be a "retro" type place playing tunes from their heydays of the 80's/90's, or if they'd be "just" another club?

p/s funny how such establishments are now "clubs", no more "discos" :)

it's raining!

... as usual... tho this time even tho it's been going on for hours, it's not a nasty storm with thunder and lightning. Just rain. wheeeeee!

Here's a refugee from the rain, perched on my "window sill". Taken from another storm, on another day, but no matter, still valid :p

And no thanx to it, I now have you don't. have. to live like a refugee going thru my head. Thanx, Tom Petty, you heartbreaker you! :p

Thanks too, cos for the past day or so, I've had these lyrics keep running thru me noggin:

It's in the way you want me
It's in the way you hold me
The way you show me
Just what love's made of
It's in the way we make love

yep, that's Shania Twain's You've Got A Way. You think I've been in a sappy mood? Maybe... take a look at what song THAT dethroned?

Moonlight lady
Come along with me
To the bright city lights,
It's all right, 'cause tonight's on me.

Uh-huh.. Julio Iglesias' Moonlight Lady. It's that accent that makes this song so... memorable :p But what put it in my head in the first place? I suppose I heard it on the radio recently, and it just stuck? Who knows...

what I *do* know is wow does my train of thought go through uncharted territory sometimes :p

the mind really *is* a terrible thing to use!

(p/s: by the time I hunted down the lyrics links and am ready to post, the rain stopped. just so you know.)

two inches!

What's this, you ask?

The grey is one of my fave tshirts. The yellow is a tshirt my parents got for me from Bali.

If only the yellow shirt was
- two inches wider, and
- two inches shorter,
it would be perfect.

Oh well. Into the "limited to being worn when no one's around" pile you go!

The running man, and other thoughts

• Well, maybe not the running man per se. How about the heavy relaxed but happy male? Or a light nervous sad female? See how they run, see how they run. Or walk. Or something. It's about 5 minutes of fun. Try it out: the Bio Motion Lab walker.
  
  
• Wanna know what sort of life expectancy you have? Mine's a projected 90 (without "activating" advances in things like gene therapy / stem cell research). And that's with an income of ZERO muuaahahahaaaa! What's amusing is to see the "worth" of things like mineral supplements (5 years), & active sex life (3 years). Another 5 minutes of amusement HERE.
  
  
• Possible explanation for my "looseness" alluded to in a previous post: combination of the fat-dispering massage with my detox neem supplements which I started taking again last week. "If you consume blood purifiers, you must remember that they will cause your body to push out toxins. You might notice stronger or darker urine. It may also be more pungent. Your stools may be unusual." Ya think? :p But yeah, I realised that while I stopped a major input of toxins into my body since August 22nd 2004, i haven't actually "detoxed" myself since then. I'm sure I'm in need for it. Hence the neem. And "unusual" "output" even before the massage, LOL!

Oh, gotta share what happened last Sunday night: The parents & I got into the car at 740pm to get to dinner. The plan was to go to the Japanese restaurant at a golf club in Subang where my dad's a member. It's a bit further out than where we usually go, but it was a sunday, and i guess my dad was in the mood to drive.

We got there, parked the car, and were walking towards the building, when POOF! the lights went out! No no no no no i didn't faint, nor did a prankster creep up behind me and cover my eyes and shout "Guess who??" ... it went POOF because the power went out!

After hanging out a bit hoping it was just a matter of someone having to slip a switch back on somewhere, decided to move on elsewhere.

Since we were a bit beyond their "normal" feeding area, the parents weren't really sure what was available & nice & palatable & "up to standard". They decided to try out the pizza place next to the Subang Jaya Medial Center. I thought it was a Pizza Hut. My dad thought it was a Shakey's. Turns out it's now a Domino's, LOL! So it was a blessing in disguise that we couldn't find any parking there: it was opposite a hotel that was obviously having a function with VIPs judging from the police "assisting traffic" around there.

Fine.

Drove back from the Subang area via the new highway, exiting at Jalan Gasing, and actually found a parking place right in front of Gem restaurant. Only to see a busload of brightly-clad Indian tourists walking in the door: they cater to these groups quite often, but never on a regularly scheduled basis, so we never know if they are open to walk-ins or not until we get there. This was one of the times they could NOT accomodate walk-ins.

What to do... back into the car we went, this time heading to Pizza Hut in PJ NewTown. The restaurant was bustling, but we were seated in no time.

It was 845pm.

All in all, it had taken us over an hour to get to a place that was perhaps 8 minutes away.

Yep, it was one of those days... :p

What's wrong with this picture?

Okay, first off, I actually wanted to rant about the poor condition of the gym in this apartment complex last week already, because last Monday, the pedal of the stationary bicycle was missing, and the wire/pulley for one of the machines had come off. But I figured, nvm, no need to rant lah.

Then today (my first trip to the gym since last Tuesday, so I wonder when this had happened), I saw:

See anything wrong? Here, how about THIS angle? See it now?

Yeah, THAT's how you have the pedals aligned on a bike. Uh huh. What am I, a kangaroo?

And while we're on the subject of crappy gym equipment..
This morning, the wire/pulley thing was out of its groove again. Wonder WHO is the culprit who doesn't know how to treat these machines with respect....

BUT... on a positive note.. and I *do* try to think positive despite feeling like I'm being surrounded by ID-10-T's all the time... I can actually work my quads on the leg extension station now!

See the hole (circled in red)?

That's where another of those padded bar thingys was... dunno if it really was supposed to be there or not... but with it there, there was no way I could get my legs OVER it and hooked on the lower padded bar with my feet, and neither could I squeeze my legs/thighs between that and the middle padded thingy.

And today, that padded thingy was gone.

And I can do my leg extensions. Whoohooo!

... Of course, one wonders where that little bit of equipment has gone to, cos it certainly ain't in the gym no more?!!

Last Saturday...

... was the first time in a long long time, in the two months I've been back, that IT DIDN'T RAIN AT ALL ANYTIME DURING THE DAY!!

In the evening, the sky was clear...

The setting sun draped its yellow rays across the land...

and the Telekom Tower and PETRONAS Twin Towers were glinting in the yellow light.

Of course my phone camera doesn't do it any justice.

But I'm posting it anyway.

A similar view, taken in the pink morning, HERE

Oh, and btw - BLOGGER SUCKS! Am trying to post this via flickr. BLOGGER SUCKS. Did i mention that BLOGGER SUCKS? :(

(UPDATE: I get THIS posted, then the previous two tries vis blogger appear in addition to this one. sigh. will delete those two. cheers!)

Sunday’s deep thoughts

What’s the normal cycle time for digestion?

How long does it take, from the time u eat something to the time it leaves your body?

I’ve been pondering these question since last night, when I noticed some white seeds a-floatin’. Those are the seeds of the ladies fingers (okra). That I had for lunch on Friday afternoon. That’s obviously only coming out Saturday night/Sunday morning. That’s a 30hr cycle time.

tmi?

Haha u aint read nothing yet!

Not only am I reporting a 30hr digestion cycle time, the digestive results are coming out, errrrr, loosely. :p

Wonder if that’s the effect of the second round of torture massage I had on Saturday early afternoon? My back got scraped again, but this time it felt really good (warm). She also walked all over me, and tortured my feet with an iron spoon. Pain!!! Of course, she said she was doing it quite softly/gently: I wonder if I’d able to enjoy the pain (yes, I actually like the pain!) if/when she ups the strength later… Lots of focus on my legs, where she says she’s helping get rid of the fat that’s accumulated there. We’ll see just how successful she is lah. But I’ll take any help I can get, seeing as my gym workouts seem to helping in maintaining my weight, but doing nothing on the loss/slimming aspect.

And I was talking about white things earlier: Guess what I found that was white, and about 1 foot long?

A white/grey hair (uban) on my head!!!

A few weeks ago I’d found one, yanked it out, only to realize that it was in the process of getting white: about an inch at the root was white, the rest was still light brown.

The one I discovered on Friday was ALL WHITE.

11.8 inches of grey hair.

I’m getting old. :p

But it’s not like I’ve not discovered some uban before, not really too too big a deal.

.. But finding a grey pube?

Now THAT’s a bit disconcerting!

The Yellow and Blue, Part 2

Remember my moaning about the room that is now "mine" in this new place?

The room with the IKEA-themed color scheme?

You don't? Then look HERE first lah, ok?

And compare that to this:

I will no longer unconsciously scowl and cringe upon entering the room!

Believe it or not, just painting the BLUE on the cupboards with [ivory] has toned down the LOUDNESS of the room dramatically!

There's still that one BLUE wall that's to be repainted, also to [ivory].

But man oh man, this is already oh so much better...

especially for Karl E!

Karl E left me such a funny comment the other day HERE.

Here you are, my dear; hope you feel better now.


And that goes to you too, Dawn.
And Omni.
And all other readers who shared my "pain", LOL!

(p/s: phone/PC communication problem still not solved. but it's definitely the PC's fault: I installed that P800 PC Suite onto the laptop and I can transfer files from the phone to the laptop with no problem! *sigh* can I just kill the PC? please? pretty please???)

Puke Week

btw, my contribution to JJ's Puke Week just got featured. Check it out :)

Bumper crop!

... of links from Linky & Dinky this week!

Among them:

• I am amazed. I am shocked. I am no longer heating water/coffee in the microwave. Why? Because it seems that a kid's science fair project has shown that microwaved water is bad. Here's the link. But, sceptic that I am, I am also sending the link to snopes to see if this ain't a scam.
  
  
• I could spend hours looking at this and finding the "images" of 75 bands. And precisely because it would take hours, I haven't done more than a few minutes. Matchbox 20. Led Zepplin. Pet Shop Boys. Guns n Roses. Green Day. Smashing Pumkins. I probably would never identify all 75. Can you?
  
  
• No idea who Longmire is, but he/she certainly did an amusing take on the one genre I totally have no patience with: romance novels. Check out the hilarious book covers!
  
  
• And I really really really like this warning label for the Bible. Of course, if someone did an equivalent for the Koran, some people will be up in arms or something, right? The same ID-10-T's who lost all rational thought when those cartoons got publicised, perhaps? Hah.

Anyways... Have fun, & hope u like the links :)

cheers.

Phone and PC troubles

Ugh... now I can't seem to copy/paste my phone pix from the phone to the PC. Worked fine a week ago!!?? Wonder what's going on, and how on earth to fix it... how else am I gonna be able get pix up here on the blog??? grrrrrrrrrr!!!

Oh - and I *knew* this PC wasn't doing too well... tried to run SpyBot a while ago but "couldn't"... finally remembered to d/l it the other day... and today, after having problems with the phone/pix thing, I figured I might was well reinstall SpyBot and let it have a go at this PC.

Wanna guess how many problems were identified?

TWO HUNDRED AND THREE

Aiyah, mother, have I taught you nothing?

Okay, so she doesn't surf much, perhaps these insiduous things were picked up within the 2 months (omg has it been that long???? gaarrrhhhh!!) that I've been back? Err... I don't think so. After all, she said another anti-virus/firewall thing suddenly stopped working one day, and she had a friend email her a new program which she installed, which runs now. To her, problem solved. To me, I wonder whether Spybot also stopped being able to work at that same time. Hmmm...

Anyways: so after two scans & "fix problems" later (the first said it took care of 201 of the 203 and recommended having SpyBot commence at the next start-up of the PC; this second scan then found and fixed 45 items. The math doesn't add up?), this PC is clean. supposedly.

I had also d/l another malware destroyer program.

Thinking of installing that to run and double-check SpyBot's effectiveness.

So... then, hoping that perhaps that had fixed the phone/pix/PC problem, I, ever the optimist, re-tried my phone/PC connection: still the same. I can see the phone files on the Windows Explorer. But. can't. copy/paste. the friggin pix. into the PC.

*sigh*

My only other option now is to IR the pix to the laptop.

Bluetooth would be slightly easier... but to my surprise the laptop doesn't seem to be equipped with that. My brother and I are puzzled: we both thought it had it. Another mystery to unravel...

Bleah. Sometimes, I wish we didn't have all this technology.

Thoughts for Food

I don’t like kerang*. They taste like mud. And are an excellent way of getting yourself a bout of hepatitis. So I don’t eat them. And the ones I picked out of tonight’s char kuey teow** were particularly scary looking. Somehow, that brought back memories of two food-related frustrating incidents with my parents while growing up:

This first one is more my brother’s tale than mine:

Brother: “This custard looks funny!”
Mother: “Don’t be stupid! Eat it! Don’t waste your food!”
Brother: “But it smells funny!!!!!!!!”
Mother: “Don’t be stupid! Eat it! Don’t waste your food!”

Yeah, that went on for a while until my brother actually thrust the Tupperware into her face and made her see what was wrong.

My poor brother… For treats when we were younger, we’d get to make some custard. And not the very liquid stuff: we’d use loads of the Bird’s Custard Powder, and make it really thick, and pour them into these little tupperwares (labeling them with our initials so we wouldn’t eat each other’s portion), put them in the fridge, and have them when they were nice and cold.

The thing is, these teeny containers were the same ones that were used for other stuff, including storage of sambal belacan***. So it seems that my father, wanting to keep a smidge of some particularly delicious sambal belacan that had been part of a meal, looked in the fridge, saw a container that to him was usually for sambal storage, popped open the lid, and without looking in, scraped the little bit of sambal belacan into it.

“It” being the custard container “belonging” to my brother.

Imagine that: sambal belacan flavoured custard.
(Hey, I like ‘em both. I just don’t think they go together very well… )

So maybe a day later, there I was, tucking in to my yummy custard, while my brother was having to convince my mother that something with wrong with his.

I remember the frustration.

Perhaps if he’d articulated more than “smells/looks funny”?

Hang on, wait for Tale Number Two before jumping to any conclusions...

Tale Number Two:

Another treat when younger was briyani with honey chicken. My father would buy two or three portions from this one restaurant, and when he got home we’d put the rice & chicken in the rice cooker with a drop of water, switch it on, and let it heat up so that it would be as hot as if we were getting it fresh at the shop.

So one day he came back with some. So I put the rice & chicken in the rice cooker.

… Something smelled funny …

I think I told my father that something smelled funny. I was told to not be silly, don’t delay, switch on the cooker, I’m hungry let’s eat.

Fine. Switch it on. Maybe 10mins later when it’s done, I lift the lid, and again, I am struck by something smelling quite off. Again I raise my concern of something smelling funny, and again I am dismissed without any effort to actually check what I was talking about.

Then we spoon out the rice and chicken onto our plates.

I dunno if anyone started eating yet. I know I would have hung back and delayed eating, because I knew something wasn't right, no matter if my concerns were being dismissed just like that.

Then my father noticed something. Maybe he saw something moving? Or maybe only then did his nose work?

We take a closer look at the chicken.

And there are little wormy maggoty things crawling out of it!!!!!!

No kidding!

My father gets all mad, packs everything back up, drives back to the restaurant, throws it at them (well, not literally lah – I think!), demands his money back, and never sets foot in that place ever again.

But meanwhile, at home, I’m left wondering why it had to play out that way.

Perhaps if I’d articulated more than “smells funny”?

Yeah, so my brother and I were perhaps in our early teens during the above incidents, so yeah maybe we were typical teens, who just weren’t that communicative, so perhaps proper articulation just wasn’t what we would do?

Then again, for those who know how we grew up: it’s kinda hard to talk to a parent that’s not listening and has already made up his/her mind no matter what you say, or don’t say.

Great. Now I’m gonna have to think some extreme happy thoughts to get this taste outta my mouth :p

~ ~ ~
* kerang: mussels? Some sort of shellfish, anyways.
** char kuey teow: fried fettucini-type noodles
*** sambal belacan: a spicy shrimp paste thingy

Close encounters of the ID10T kind

To the motorcyclist who looked at me like I was a crazy nut last week:

As usual, I put on my turn signal to indicate I was going to turn in to that clump of petrol stations there at Jalan Universiti, and also, as usual, I checked my side view mirror to make sure all was clear.

That’s when I saw you, Mr Motorcyclist.
And it certainly didn’t seem like you saw me, or knew I was going to be turning in a few seconds, from the way you were accelerating towards me from behind, hugging the side of the road, typical Malaysian motorcyclist style.

Practicing prevention, I tapped my brake pedal so that the brake lights would flash, perhaps making you see that “Hellllllooooooo I’m turning and you’re going to ram right into me if you don’t realize I’m turning!”

No change in your speed!

I honked my horn to again try to “inform” you, still merrily speeding along, that I was indeed turning! By that time I had slowed to a crawl, and was at the turning already.

And you were still coming!!

So what did I do?

I friggin STOPPED at the turning to make sure I wasn’t gonna hit you as you went straight while I turned into the clump of petrol stations.

And. you. turned. into. the clump. of petrol stations.
No friggin turn signal. No friggin indication at all.

And best of all: you had the audacity to look at me, while you took the turn, like I was some crazy nut.

• I, who actually wanted to make sure that you were safe.
  
• I, who actually wanted to prevent you, on your dinky kapchai motorcycle, from an encounter with a nice solid Kia Sportage.

So: A crazy nut? Me?

In other aspects unrelated to this case, perhaps.

But in this case, Mr Motorcyclist, this crazy nut was looking out for YOUR safety.

How’s that for a concept?

Maybe you should try it sometime.

Pix that make you go "hmmmmmm?"

Anybody wanna guess why this would annoy me?

I know it's not a big deal.. it's a small thing, really... but I really don't understand why it should happen at all...

Is it too difficult to figure out which way the hangers "point" and make sure you just stick to the same orientation??????

*sigh!*

And this guy should get a prize of some sort:

Notice the extremely narrow road he's on?

Couldn't believe my eyes. I'd honked my horn at him at the AmCorp ramp, trying to indicate to him before he actually got onto that narrow lane, that he was on the wrong track. He went on anyway. So I just *had* to take his pic, LOL!

Yeah - from AmCorp to PJ Hilton on the Federal Highway, he was on the motorcycle lane.

That's one big bike, mister!

Sunday sunday :-)

11am was at Ikea/Ikano meeting up with 4 other St Marians.

2pm back at the apartment.

6pm will meet Rail (also St Marian, btw).

Update on that magazine article: working on it slowly. in theory. when my mood is "shot" by having to deal with friggin idiots, motivation and momentum both come to a crashing halt. Nvm, deadline is in a month's time. And I owe it to my ex-boss to get it done. And I will. Now to kick myself in the butt and get movin... :p

• To the person in the Yukon Territory who came across this blog when searching for what to do with a bum for a brother ... sorry hun, my brother's not the bum, *i* am, LOL! and a jobless one to boot, LMAO! *grin!* I was #4 on that search, imagine that...
  
  
• To the person in Kg Batin, Kedah, searching for Alor Star Girls: sorry, I don't run that kind of business, move along, move along :p
  
  
• And the person who was looking for Malaysian passport photo size: it's 40mm x 55mm. You're welcome. :-)
  
  
• Do I really wanna know why someone from the University of Southern California was looking for "tapeworm in brain"? And yeah, that was my "spoiler" on early House M.D. episodes, hope I didn't ruin things for ya.
  
  
• Looking for a chili pepper grill holder? No idea why you'd be pointed in my direction, but welcome, welcome. Next time stay a bit longer lah, okay?
  
  
• And for person in Damansara who was looking for the income tax office address in kelana jaya: hope u found it! Deadline is at the end of this month!!

Update on the Lost Blogs GBBMC: its effect on my traffic? well, a spike in the first two days. Then I think people. just. stopped. visiting. sob sob! Oh well, *i* got educated in my own country's history. That counts. And I found tons of people to add to my blogroll. Yahoo!!!!!

But yeah... I'll just admire that 2-day spike.

Bleah - heavy rain plus lightning. Posting this then signing off.

Cheers!

I'm front!

.. wait, I mean, I'm back!

Speaking about "back" : mine's looking like I got totally abused :p went for a tradidional Chinese massage. The lady used "suction cups" on my left shoulder area - leaving large red circular welts. She also scraped most of my upper back. More ugly red welts. But they don't actually hurt. Okay, a little bit. But compared to how it looks, what I feel is nothing, LOL!

Hmmm, it's been a week without the "usual" blogging, have missed it!

Some catching up:

1. That's some scary sh*t: body integrity identity disorder
   
   
2. Check out the Nigerian E-Mail Conference! (H/T 45 Caliber Justice)
   
   
3. Is there more to Mars than meets the eye? someone seems to think so.
   
   
4. Killed-in-battle bodies of Templar Knights found. They *have* bodies of Knights at the Temple Church in London. I think the fuss is the "killed in action" concept. (H/T: Patrick Kelly) A related reference page from Wikipedia: Knights Templar and popular culture
   
   
5. The kid's weight went up. By 1 kg. And he blames the cops who delivered a hamper of goodies?? *sigh*
   
   
6. Friday was not just Good Friday. It was also the Tamil New Year (Varusha Pirappu), the Malayalees New Year (Vishu), the Sinhalese New Year (Aluth Avuruddha) and the Sikh New Year (Vaisakhi). Read more about these here.

Cheers!

So, did you guess who I was?

Here are some of the clues I threw in: #1: Esperanto Schmesperanto "my brother the Regent" : royal blood went to England to study Law got into Cambridge #2a: Swampy Boonies playboy reputation while at Cambridge #2b: Heartsick in the Heartland "tragic misadventure" resulting in death of wife NOTE: I resisted putting in the wife's name, thought that would be too Googleable too soon. But I soon realised I was being *way* too obtuse, so I started adding in proper names. #2c: I'm feeling ... lived in Kuala Nerang (his son, born a month before his wife's death, was named Ahmad Nerang.) wife buried in the royal graveyard in Langgar, near Alor Star. So, he's royalty from the state of Kedah. #3a: Okay so it's gotta be like 3 in the morning... "my father, the Sultan" #3b: I think I know what it was all about... Reconfirming that my character is situated on the other (west) side of the Malay Peninsular, relatively close to Penang. If you didn't know about Alor Star being the capital of Kedah, then you'd wonder if his father is the Sultan of Perlis or Kedah. #3c: Daring to (act on a) Dream! the kidnapping of his father the Sultan moving of residents into longhouses #3d: I was right, you were wrong "seventh son and twentieth child" #4: To Do List: February 1957 Preparing for Malaya's independance from the British. There's only one name that comes to mind. For those with any exposure to Malaysian history lah :p So, who was I? Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra the first Prime Minister of Malay(si)a. Participating in this “marketing campaign” was definitely fun, but more importantly, it helped me learn a lot about the man we call Bapak Malaysia (the father of Malaysia). I knew “in theory” that he had contributed a lot to the nation, but, with history taught the way it was when I was in school, if there had been details about Tunku the man, well, unfortunately they went in one ear and out the other. But – no matter what – the archive footage of him at what would be later named Stadium Merdeka, raising his right hand, and in a voice filled with emotion, proclaiming “Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!” never fails to give me the shivers. Why did I choose to feature him? Actually I wanted to try out the Legend of Mahsuri angle, but I was advised that it was probably not the best of choices, seeing as we were supposed to have real people in mind, and legends were, well, kinda suspect. But while doing initial research for Mahsuri, I found out that it was Tunku, during his time as District Officer for Langkawi, who had sought and compiled the tales surrounding the legend, and that it was he who looked for her grave (I think having a grave means the stories are real!), and once discovered, upgraded it to the marble tomb one sees today. It got me wondering about what Tunku was doing before he helped push for independence from the British. And for the record, I really didn't mean to stump anyone! But at the same time I had my doubts if anyone out there would identify him, just because it's not like Malaysian history is studied by non-Malaysians, ya know? So I set out more to educate & share with readers on what had jumped out at ME while I had researched* the subject: the "tragic misadventure" with quinine; the sentence of "death by being shot in your office this afternoon" issued by his own brother: they all painted a picture that would NEVER be found in any history textbook! * researched, heheeheee: apart from a glance at the wikipedia entry, my source material was Tan Sri Dato’ Mubin Sheppard’s TUNKU A Pictorial Biography. Glad my mother had it in her collection! :-D To find out who everyone else was: check out this link (will update with "newer/proper" link once it's ready) Many thanx to everyone who dropped by, read, commented, etc over the past week. Y'all come on back now, ya hear? :-D Oh, and after all is said and done: please do check out The Lost Blogs *official* website; you can also place an order for the book there, or try amazon.com.

Guess Who #4

This is my final post for the Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign. Thanks for reading & leaving your comments/guesses! And please don't forget to visit the other Lost Bloggers out there (see sidebar)!

To Do List - February 1957 So much to do, so little time! We've secured our independence date: August 31st, 1957. So, in addition to all the "regular" political and constitutional stuff, I need to make sure these other things don't slip through the cracks: Desperately need to create the pomp & ceremony to be used when "installing" our "Paramount Ruler" on that day: sure, the choice of person will be made by the group of Rulers/Sultans, but once the choice has been made, what then? They will be expecting some sort of ceremony, something even more ceremonious than what they are accustomed to in their own home state. Related: will need to commission some Regalia to be used in the ceremony. The betel box is a must. Ditto for a keris or two. Maybe some ceremonial spears? War clubs? Will need to find an excellent silver/goldsmith for this job. And music. The nobat is the traditional music in Malay palaces. Will have to see if any survived abuse by the Portugiese, Dutch, Japanese, British... Tomorrow I must remember to call for a contest or something - we need our own National Anthem. We will proudly sing something of our own: no more God Save the Queen for Malaya! There's got to be a lot more that I'm forgetting right now. Nvm, that'll do for now. Planning a nation’s independence is hard work!

Wanna know what this is all about? Visit: The Lost Blogs *official* website; or where it all began.. Visit the other Lost Bloggers too!

Guess Who #3d

This is part of the Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign. Thanks for reading & leaving your comments/guesses! And please don't forget to visit the other Lost Bloggers out there (see sidebar)!

I was right, you were wrong 9th December 1942, 3:45pm: So I was at my desk, awaiting my executioner, or whatever it is that Allah had decreed to happen. Then guess who called, all scared and frightened? “The Japanese are raiding Penang! As soon as the air raid is over I will leave and join you. I shall telephone now to the Police Officers to cancel my previous order. I and my family will require accommodation tonight.” Sure, Mr Regent, brother dearest, your wish is my command. I'm not gloating. Being proven right does nothing except taste like ashes. My heart goes out to the innocents in Penang. How many lives are going to be lost in this attack? Even if I am just his seventh son and twentieth child, even if I haven't seen much of him since I came back from England oh so many years ago, he is still my father, and the Ruler of his people. I am thankful he has been spared both the stress of the unnecessary travelling *and* the exposure to the bombing of Penang. I’m glad I trusted the dream.

Wanna know what this is all about? Visit: The Lost Blogs *official* website; or where it all began.. Visit the other Lost Bloggers too!

Guess Who #3c

This is part of the Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign. Thanks for reading & leaving your comments/guesses! And please don't forget to visit the other Lost Bloggers out there (see sidebar)!

Daring to (act on a) Dream! 9th December 1942, 12 noon: “You have committed the worst of all crimes. You are a traitor to our Ruler. As Regent I have no choice: I sentence you to death, and I shall order that you be shot at four o’clock this afternoon. Wait in your office. Our order will be carried out then and there.” *sigh* I placed the phone receiver back in its cradle. I believe I have done the right thing. Am I wrong to put my trust in a dream? Am I wrong to have "kidnapped" our father? Frankly, even tho all he did was nod, I think he was happy with the change in plans. It was only when the entire convoy arrived at Butterworth that his absence was realized. They headed off to Penang anyway, from which the Regent called to see if anyone knew what was going on, only to be told that the Sultan was in fact with me. Hence that phone call, ordering me to bring the Sultan to Penang immediately. And since my reply was essentially “over my dead body!”, well, you know his response. *sigh* So be it. Let me spend the last few hours of my life making sure the Sultan will be taken care of properly. I am no traitor. God's will be done.

Wanna know what this is all about? Visit: The Lost Blogs *official* website; or where it all began.. Visit the other Lost Bloggers too!

Guess Who #3b

This is part of the Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign. Thanks for reading & leaving your comments/guesses! And please don't forget to visit the other Lost Bloggers out there (see sidebar)!

I think I know what it was all about... Communication may be cut off. Have to be brief. The Japanese have landed. Signora and Patani in Siam, and Kota Bahru in Kelantan have been overrun. They are on the march, and will reach us in a day or two. I've done what I can, within my authority, perhaps a bit beyond. Will move the folks into the longhouses. Then, just sit and wait. We'll have to see what the immediate future is going to bring. ... BUT ... My mind is reeling from the phone call I just got: my other brother, who is now the Regent, is planning to flee with our invalid father, the Sultan, to Penang, then on to Singapore. Penang, the British stronghold. Singapore, another British stronghold. Does he not see that these locations are highly likely to be the target of the Japanese's attention? ... THEN : *click* I know what the dream was all about. The Sultan should face this threat here with his people. He will be in grave danger if he were to flee. I need to make sure he stays here. They leave early tomorrow morning. I will have to act fast. Out. (*lynne*'s note: This was written on 8th December, 1941)

Wanna know what this is all about? Visit: The Lost Blogs *official* website; or where it all began.. Visit the other Lost Bloggers too!

Guess Who #3a

This is part of the Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign. Thanks for reading & leaving your comments/guesses! And please don't forget to visit the other Lost Bloggers out there (see sidebar)!

Okay so it's gotta be like 3 in the morning... ... and I can't sleep. Or rather, I *was* sleeping, then i had this vivid dream.... it was the Sultan, my father : he was calling out to me, asking me to help him. Then he disappeared. It was freaky. Was it "just" a dream? Or a premonition? Something to do with the fear of the Japanese invading anytime? Or was it that funny-smelling chicken curry I had for dinner? (*lynne*'s note: This was written in early December 1941)

Wanna know what this is all about? Visit: The Lost Blogs *official* website; or where it all began.. Visit the other Lost Bloggers too!

Guess Who #2c

This is part of the Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign. Thanks for reading & leaving your comments/guesses! And please don't forget to visit the other Lost Bloggers out there (see sidebar)!

I'm feeling ... I'm definitely feeling better than the last time I blogged. It helps that the swamps surrounding Kuala Nerang are currently being drained. Yes, I wrote again requesting the funds, and somehow this time it got approved. I'll not speculate on the change of heart, I'm just thankful I got what I asked for. I’m also feeling: exhausted. satisfied. and puzzled. Exhausted because supervising the draining works, in the eternally hot and humid conditions, is, err, quite draining, pardon the pun! Satisfied because while I may have failed to prevent my own wife's death, I am now helping prevent the death of hundreds of others' loved ones. And puzzled because this picture of my wife's gravestone in the royal graveyard in Langgar, near Alor Star, comes out looking slightly weathered, as if captured by a lens a few decades in the future. I wonder if it's something wrong with the camera? Anyways - time to hit the hay. Another draining day tomorrow. *grin!* (*lynne*'s note: This was written in the early 1930's)

Wanna know what this is all about? Visit: The Lost Blogs *official* website; or where it all began.. Visit the other Lost Bloggers too!

Guess Who #2b

This is part of the Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign. Thanks for reading & leaving your comments/guesses! And please don't forget to visit the other Lost Bloggers out there (see sidebar)!

Heartsick in the Heartland Devastated doesn’t even come CLOSE to describing me right now. Oh my sweet wife. Right in front of my eyes. You were gone. Sure, I could file charges against that doctor… but what would that accomplish? It would not bring my wife back, and it would further punish someone who already is obviously devastated at what she unintentionally did. I have been taught that everything that happens is Allah’s will, so I must accept that this all has occurred according to His mysterious plan. And what a convoluted plan it must have been: That doctor, she came all the way from Alor Star out of concern for me and my family, equipped with a hypodermic syringe and a phial of quinine, with the noble intention of helping my sweet wife overcome the malaria that was ravaging her. The doctor believed the quinine had already been diluted to safe levels and was ready for use. She surely didn’t inject pure quinine into you on purpose. Was it painful for you, my love? Did you feel *anything* at all? You were gone almost instantly; I could barely believe my eyes. We never got to say goodbye. ‘Twas not the doctor that killed you, my love, but the malaria. Ah, malaria, scourge of the tropics, killer of my wife! But, for every finger that points away, at least three point back at me... how can I be sure it wasn’t ME who killed my own wife? After all, it wasn't that long ago that I was all gung-ho about draining the swamps around here. But happened? I let the rejection of my request for funds mark the end of my effort. Why did I not press on? After all, I KNEW the importance of draining the swamps, did I not? Instead, I just let it go… and let the mosquitoes breed… and one of them brought malaria to my wife. I am going to have to live with the anguish of knowing that had I done what needed to be done, my sweet wife may just be alive with me today. Ya Allah, I am your humble servant, and I bow to your will. Is this the lesson I was supposed to learn? To endeavour, to strive, to do what I know to be the right thing, despite the obstacles thrown my way? The emotion is just too great - I have to stop and deal with the flood emotions. I am overcome. out. (*lynne*'s note: This was written in the early 1930's)

Wanna know what this is all about? Visit: The Lost Blogs *official* website; or where it all began.. Visit the other Lost Bloggers too!

What's in a name?

Guess Who #2b will be up later my tonight, or if I’m lazy, my tomorrow morning. Check out #1 and #2a if you're a special kind of clueless and don’t know what I’m talking about. *grin!*

Snitched off of a Lost Blogger who's a Chronic Listaholic: wanna see how this turns out for me:

The Ultimate Name Game

1. Rock Star Name: (first pet and current street name) Puffy Universiti (yikes!)
   
   
2. Movie Star Name: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad's side, your favorite candy) Ahmad Flake (LOL!)
   
   
3. Fly Guy/Girl Name: (first initial of first name, first two or three letters of your last name) "Shas" (errr... okayyyyyyy!)
   
   
4. Detective Name: (favorite animal, favorite color) Leo Black (okay so I cheated: Lion Black wasn't gonna work :p )
   
   
5. Soap Opera Name: (middle name, city where you were born) Lynne Kuala Lumpur (ugh - no wonder I'm not soap opera material!)
   
   
6. Philosopher Name: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name) Has Ros Cam (is that like having a web cam?)
   
   
7. Jedi Name: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom's maiden name spelled backwards) Ennyl Lessor (not bad... not bad....)
   
   
8. Porn Star Name: (middle name, street you grew up on) Lynne Wickham (kinda tame...)
   
   
9. Superhero Name: ("The", your favorite color, the model of car you drive) The Black Sportage (well, i don't have my own car no more. If i did I'd be The Black Sentra. wow, how exciting. :p )
   
   
10. Fashion Designer Name: (first name, favorite scent) Lynne Eternity (that's the short form, my FULL name would be Lynne Eternity for Men! LOL!!)

Amusing. I tink my best is the Jedi Name. Wonder if Oh Big One Ben Kenobi would agree? *grin!*

What, me? Normal?

Guess Who #2b will be up later my tonight, or if I’m lazy, my tomorrow morning. Check out #1 and #2a if you're a special kind of clueless and don’t know what I’m talking about. *grin!*

Yes, this is another “normal” (haahahaaa me? normal?) post.

Now listening to: Gene Pitney (he’s recently dead, btw)

Some stuff to share:

Language Skills

An ex-colleague shared with me that the place where she works, the HR dept seemed to be desperately trying to be seen to be doing *something*, *anything* - a case of working hard but not smart? Anyways, so they (HR) are sending just about everyone to some sort of English Assessment test.

I suppose that in order to “save face” for those whose English is atrocious, they (HR) get *everyone* to go through this test. Conducted by the British Council. I bet it’s not cheap!

And people like my ex-colleague who leaked this story to me, they took 15 mins max to complete the written part. Time allocated = 1 hr. Sample question: “Where can you view this signboard : “MH123 to London is delayed”? a) at a school; b) at a hospital; c) at an airport. OMG that is just *so* tough, not!

And it seems that a long time ago people had signed-up indicating interest in taking up classes in mandarin – VERY useful for the sales people, no? Well, no word about anything. Then they come up and do this instead. I think the $$ would have been better spent providing for mandarin classes for those who need AND expressed interest it learning it.

But hey, I’m not in HR. Nor in management. Hey, I’m not in the company anymore anyway! Am I glad? HELL YEAH!

On-air ID-10-T

It seems that one of the radio morning shows had an unforeseen drama unfold when this guy was the successful caller through who then proceeded to dedicate a bouquet of flowers to this girl. His wife was listening, and recognized him. And his dedication was NOT to her. Immediate conclusions were jumped to, and it seems the radio DJs were aghast that they may have inadvertently caused the breakup of a couple, so were trying to talk the wife into NOT kicking the hubby out.

So many things blow my mind about this:

• The hubby: if he really was having an affair with this other woman, I’m sorry, but a public dedication to her, on a radio channel that your wife listens to? Really thinking with your dick and not your other head, eh?
  
• The wife: she jumps to the “affair” conclusion, calls up the radio, and screams bloody murder, saying she’s been humiliated on national radio. Maybe there’s more history than we know lah. But just *maybe* there’s a reasonable explanation for this? And really, calling up the radio and hanging out the laundry for all to hear … yikes, I don’t think I would have done that…
  
• The DJs: it’s not your fault that the caller was an idiot. I don’t think it’s up to you to try and “reconcile” the hubby/wife, especially not on-air!

No idea how this all turned out. Do I care? Not really :p

On-air eggs

Speaking about on-air humiliation: dunno if this is an urban legend or for real… again on the morning show, they were having this “guess what it is” segment. The answer was salt or pepper, I don’t remember.

So this lady calls up and tries to guess, gets it wrong, the DJs provide a helpful hint: maybe your husband sprinkles it on his eggs every morning?

So she goes “Oh, I know!! Talcum powder!!”

Heeheheheeehehe!

Was there a point to all this? Well, the first 2 tales existed in my phone, in the form of lots of sms’es. Now that I’ve committed them to the blogged word, those messages can now be deleted off of my phone, yahoooo! :D

Have a good weekend, y’all!

Links4u :-)

BUSTED! The most popular myths in science. Click next under the pic (u may need to scrol down a bit to see it). I've only seen a few and already know this is share-worthy! Knock yourselves out! :-)

On a related note, check out these "Amazing-But-True facts" that "have all been verified as possibly true in a parallel universe", including "To human taste buds, Zima is virtually indistinguishable from zebra urine". Haaahahahaaaa!

Right now I have a list of 30+ books I wanna read, somewhen, somehow, someday. For those who may be just a weeeeee bit *less* freaky than me, you might want to try this site out when you're wondering what book you should pick up from the local bookstore/library: funnily enough, it's called "What Should I Read Next?"

(plenty more where these came from, if u visit Linky & Dinky, or subscribe to their newsletter)

Guess Who #2a

This is part of the Grassroots Blogger Book Marketing Campaign. Thanks for reading & leaving your comments/guesses! And please don't forget to visit the other Lost Bloggers out there (see sidebar)!

Swampy Boonies It's been a few years since my last post - glad this blogger thing doesn't expire after months of not logging on. Did you know, I totally lost so many emails in my hotmail account because I'd neglected to login regularly? Oh well... I *did* have other things on my mind - studies, of course. Dancing. Trips to Brighton. Just plain having fun. I seem to have earned a reputation of being quite the playboy - I don't understand, I'm just doing what everyone else does over here! Glad I had fun when I did.... especially now that I'm stuck in the boonies! My brother the Regent wasn't too happy that I didn't get the Law degree he'd told me to get. Neither did he appreciate my reasons why I elected to do a more general degree involving two years of Law and the final year of History. So in his books, I'm a disgrace. That's probably why I've been assigned to this post out in the boonies. Don't get me wrong, I like it here. So does the wife (oh yes, I'm married! Quite soon after I got back to Malaya, actually). I just have this concern about the swamps surrounding this town. That's a huge mosquito breeding ground! I've applied for funds from the State Government to drain them - it's going to cost quite a bundle, but I trust the State Secretariat can see beyond the immediate cost to the long-term benefits of eradicating mosquitoes, and therefore the carriers of diseases such as malaria and dengue! Hopefully, in a few months' time I'll have an entry moaning about getting all sunburnt while supervising the drainage works :-) (*lynne*'s note: This was written in the early 1930's)

Wanna know what this is all about? Visit: The Lost Blogs *official* website; or where it all began.. Visit the other Lost Bloggers too!

Random thoughts between LOST BLOGging activities

So, the Lost Blogging has started ... this is going to be a lot of fun! I've already dropped by a few of the participants' entries, and am pretty much stumped as to who they are writing as, but hey, I don't think focussing on guessing is the "point" of the whole thing ... i'm really amazed at the different styles and approaches I've already seen : and that's only after seeing fewer than 10 of the (40+?) participants!

Other stuff:

You know of M. C. Escher and his mind-bending illusions, right? Well, it seems some folks tried (quite well!) to make his creations into 3-D reality. More HERE. It's a feast for your eyes!

Having been brought up in an ex-British colony, but having studied in the U.S., plus being bombarded with lots of U.S. movies & tv shows, lots of us tend to sometimes get mixed up between U.S. vs "British" English. That's not really a big deal, I guess... but how about when some words/phrases in one "language" mean something totally opposite, or worse, be totally offensive, in the other? Like fanny, for example. Or curious about the bollocks that peppered the conversations in V for Vendetta? Go to the English-to-American Dictionary to find out what words kinda change in meaning, depending which side of the Atlantic Pond you stand.

Wikipedia's been a great & convenient reference. Stumbled across a spoof of it recently: the Uncyclopedia! I'm amused :-) Here's the entry on Malaysia, which contains gems like "Another common state that Malaysians have is denial (aka. no lah, where got?), which incidentally, is a river in Egypt". H/T: Hill Billy Talk Big.

Okay - my 1150pm now .. tomorrow's the Prophet Muhammad's Birthday, so it's a holiday... not that that impacts me much, what with me being the jobless bum and all, haaahahahaaaa :-) may be meeting up with Rail, but nothing solid/confirmed, kinda going with the flow. May wanna just hunker down at a Beanie and read all the Lost Blogs that are going to be posted while I sleep :D

cheers!