An Eclipsed Chinese New Year (Literally!)

No, I didn't mean to write about CNY during these financial difficulty... Daily Express (Jan 13, 2009) reported "Over 75pc solar eclipse in Sabah on Jan 26." I tried to find the news from the archive but there was nowhere to be found. A quick check on Angkasa website confirms the news though. According to Angkasa, the eclipse is "annular" type (ring of fire?). Here is link to a pdf file for slightly more detail (route and time) about the eclipse.

You (especially Sabahan) might want to check on this site.

Please take caution when viewing solar eclipse! DON'T look directly at the eclipse (can cause retinal burn or blindness). Check on the pdf file for safe viewing.

BTW, Happy Chinese New Year to all. Will be out of touch in a while. ;)

How to bribe (the right way)... ;)

Many people are not aware how to bribe 'correctly' and not get caught. Here are some 'proven' methods:

1. Over the table/counter (give money directly into the person's hand/s):- can be done only in closed room with trusted crony or done in the public (you won't believe how ignorant the people besides you of what you're doing)...
2. Under the table:- given indirectly for example hidden in files; application forms; actual fees plus 'service charge'; 'lost' your money due to 'misplacement'; concealed in match/cigarette box; etc.
3. Wired (into bank account):- can claim "I have no idea how it gets there!" until the time they're forced to declare their assets/account. ;)
4. Wireless: for example you could always save your money from prepaid reload or bill payment by asking someone to pay first then 'forget' to repay later...
5. Proxy (not to self): lend the money to the family, buy shares/properties in high price then sell in low price...
6. Connection: if you somehow have some influence with corrupted authority, they may close one eye on your activity, or at least look the other side when you're doing it...
7. Brute force: if somehow you've connection with powerful ally or you yourself are powerful you might choose to bully you way around with threat or 'generous' offer...
8. Infection: if you could somehow drag someone else into bribery, you could lower your 'whistle-blower' count because if they reveal you they implicate themselves.
9. Mass/Smoke screen: give gifts to all will conceal the slightly more gifts to the intended person e.g. send boxes of oranges to certain office/department and one special box to the head of office...
   
10. Other types/forms of bribery: for example "sedekah seks" (sexual bribery/'gift'), even if get caught can always claim promiscuity or consensual (only one moron actually say the word "sedekah" (gift/donation)); other example can let the person to 'sample' (not given) rare delicacies e.g. food/drinks/tobacco etc. during visit to the briber's house/office...
    

Warning: Bribery may cause you:-

1. Losing the ability to exercise unbiased Judgment.
2. Failure in executing Duty.
3. Violation of your Oath and Trust.
4. Involvement of other Crimes.
5. Losing your self-respect bit by bit (if you still have some conscience).
   
6. Punishable by the Law.
7. Punishable by God!

--Cheers (Hey, don't look so gloomy!) :)

(Sleepless night of the) Living Dead (edited)

Bernama reported a politician cited a case of a person:
(1) declared dead in 2001 (but actually still alive)
(2) was allowed to vote in 2004 (speaking of ghost voter, he was dead for God sake!) ;) [Edited: Ah, the actual term is "phantom voter."]
(3) was notified about his “death” in 2007
(4) was not allowed to vote in 2008
(5) and as of 2009, still a living dead…

The alleged "crooks":
NRD (for, er, what was that, 'irregularities in the registration exercise'?)
EC (for allowing a 'ghost voter' to vote in 2004)

That person must have sleepless night...

--Cheers :)

Edited on Jan 22, 2009.

Taken out of context!

Web-define "context" (define context in google):

1. discourse that surrounds a language unit and helps to determine its interpretation.
2. the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event; "the historical context.

Web-define "text" (define text in google):

1. the words of something written (simple).
2. any expressive work (artistic or otherwise) that can be "read", whether it uses words, images, or sounds.
   

Web-define "taken out of context":

1. A use phrased by countless politicians, celebrities, and television/radio hosts to justify any stupid thing they ever say. While occasionally something is taken out of context, it is mostly ridiculous. [Source: Urban Dictionary] (Italic is mine ;))

My definition:

1. Text is the word written/spoken.
2. Context is the meaning, or rather, the interpretation of the phrases of texts.
3. "Taken out of context" means the text/s has/have been (allegedly?) misinterpreted!

I remember watching TV3 news about a politician just released from, er, some difficulty (I agree it's an understatement) ;). I was shocked with some of her comments/announcement. To simplify:

1. Text is “the food is worse, er, maybe similar to dog food”. What was it about? "There was one day they gave me two boiled eggs for lunch; two boiled eggs for dinner, and some kuah, ... and some cucumber..."
2. Context is “I can tell the food is worse, er, maybe similar to dog food”. Wait! Did I just repeat that?
3. "Taken out of context":

• Perhaps all the people in there were served food similar with dog food!
• Perhaps the people in there were treated like dogs!
• Perhaps only she was served food similar to dog food.
• Perhaps she was treated like dog.
  

Justification (trying to read between the lines):

1. She sincerely meant it.
2. She just want people to know the food in there is "amat teruk sekali" (very bad)!
3. It was all for publicity.
   
4. Few former "inmates" did back/support her claim.
5. And, she wants the authority to acknowledge their oversight and act towards improvement, or better yet, fire them all and appoint the less corrupted authority for that facility!
   

My attempt to take her text out of context:

1. She equated "two boiled eggs for lunch... (and) dinner" to "worse... (or) similar to dog food"
2. She must be filthy rich or ignorant to be able to make such claim!
3. She must have never seen who, day and night, has to eat such half-a-"dog food" (because they couldn't afford more "dog food").
4. Of course, who are those people outside anyway? The people inside was more important because they might be able to change the world!

But if she only did it for others and not for herself (which I doubt), I salute her for sacrificing her reputation just to help others. And I love her like a family. Hey, only family can scold a family.

--Cheers ;)

P/S: BTW, since there's no name, why don't you all just close your eyes and pretend I don't exist. ;)
P/S2: I am emotional? Nooo! I refuse to acknowledge that accusation... ;)

Hit two birds with one stone (Edited)

Tun call for boycotting all US product, Pak Lah call for buying Malaysian product. Me?

1. Go to Petronas instead of Shell.
2. Buy burgers (Ramli) at the Giant instead of McD (much cheaper.)
   
3. Drink "I forgot what name but carbonated drink Malaysian made" instead of Coca-Cola (also cheaper.) [Edited: Ah, now I remember, the name is Kickapoo; there is another one, Glokal. Recently, I tried Tambunan Food Industries' (or simply TFI) Cola, nice!]
   
4. Use OpenOffice.org instead of MS Office. ;) (It's free!) [Edited: That is definitely not Malaysian made! Ah well, suppose I relate you a story I heard from a friend, who heard from someone else:- It was during a campaign election that an ugly rumor about "money gift/politic" by the certain politician was spread; the political rival then made a comment, "Orang memberi kita menerima, tapi waktu mengundi pangkah kami." (People give we accept, but still vote for us.) The point is, even if it is US' made, if it's free take it all! ;) ]
5. Eat authentic nasi ayam instead of Nasi Ayam KFC!
   
6. Will update list later. ;) [Edited: OK, I'm really dumb, can't think of anything else to add.] ;)
   

--Cheers

P/S: No offense intended to all. Just a sarcastic comment from irritation. ;)
P/S2: BTW, what's the point of boycotting "US" product when it's actually "Asean" product. Why not suggest all the local "US" franchises to state their "stand on terrorism" and donate a certain percentage from their profit for the good of humankind (e.g. helping war victims.)?

Edited on Feb 02, 2009.

My freeware list (edited)

I'm listing the freewares I'm using:

1. Mozilla Firefox (internet browser)
2. Feedreader (RSS reader)
3. Bitcomet (Bitorrent client; I'm using it to download from YouTube)
4. AVG Free (Antivirus)
5. Spybot Search & Destroy (Anti-spyware)
   
6. Download Accelerator Plus (For smooth downloading)
7. MagicISO & MagicDisc (For image mounting; CD burning)
8. OpenOffice.org (Alternative to MS Office; have to relearn several tricks)
9. WinAmp (Audio/Video player)
10. DivX (Video/Audio player)
    
11. Audacity (Audio editing)
12. Process Explorer (A bit complicated to explain; function to trace program run by other program)
13. Google Earth (cool mapping tool)
14. Adobe Acrobat Reader (reading pdf file)
    

Just in case, if you happened to peek in here, there's more from nedwolf. I only provide link for Download Accelerator Plus & MagicISO & MagicDisc & DivX because others can be found from nedwolf, or you can just google them. What (else aside from above) do you use?

Edited on Jan 20, 2009.

AJL 23 - A Disasterous (and Biased) Review :p (edited)

ETNIK KREATIF

1. Doa Dalam Lagu (Mawi & Heliza) - Wow! Nice!

2. Dusta Berkalang (Aiman) - Song is OK, voice is plain, and the intro music too long.

3. Persoalan Cinta (Farawahida) - Interesting music. Song is OK. Hate the intro (singing part).

POP ROCK

1. Yang Pernah (Estranged) - Nice song, very lively.

2. Laguku Untukmu (Meet Uncle Hussein) - Like the intro very much, hate the middle part...

3. Kalis Rindu (Elyana) - Wow, nice song! A bit repetetive though.

4. Bukan Di Sini (Sofaz) - Like it although I would say just OK.

5. Aku Stacy (Stacy) - My favourite! Super nice, lively & catchy!

BALADA

1. Sampai Syurga (Faizal Tahir) - Very nice!

2. Cuba or "Coba" (Faizal Tahir) - Better than Sampai Syurga I think.

3. Bila Nak Saksi (Spider) - Slow & steady. Quite nice actually but not really my into my ear.

4. Lagu Kita (Aizat) - Another slow & steady. I would say just OK.

5. Hanya Di Mercu (Ayu) - I'm falling for her voice! Song is OK.

6. Dingin (Ziana Zain) - Slow & steady & sad. Just OK I think. Like the chorus though.

My Prediction:

Mawi & Heliza win Creative Ethnic (I'm almost sure)

Stacy wins Pop Rock (I hope) ;)

Faizal Tahir wins Balade (I maybe wrong)

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

AJL23 showed @ TV3 @ 9:00PM @ Jan, 18 2009

Post-show comment: Pop Rock won by Meet Uncle Hussein (also Best Song); Creative Ethnic won by Farawahida; and Balade won by Faizal Tahir (also Best Vocal & Best Show).

Hated Stacy's makeup! ;)

Edited on Jan 19, 2009.