Still hazy here in Kuala Lumpur and this part of the world

Woke up this morning to the smell of summer barbeques. Mmm.. Buffalo wings, burgers, sausages, potatoes, sweeet potatoes, grilled vegetables, racks of lamb, you name it. I wish!

No, the haze situation is much worse today vis-a-vis the days before. To give you an idea, check out the map below..

Source: http://apims.doe.gov.my/public_v2/home.html

How bad is the haze? According to MSN/FMT..

A total of 168 schools in the peninsula will be closed on Wednesday due to the haze shrouding the country.

Fifty-three schools in Nilai and Mantin have been ordered to close by the Negeri Sembilan education department after the air pollutant index (API) levels had passed 200 as of 9pm, although teachers and staff are still required to be present.

One hundred and fifteen schools in Sepang, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat, Klang and Sabak Bernam in Selangor under the Johan Setia, Nilai and Seri Manjung API stations will also be closed, while schools in Sepang, Hulu Langat and Petaling Perdana under the Putrajaya API station will be opened.

All schools in Putrajaya and Port Dickson will be reopened on Wednesday as readings remained below 200 and is expected to decrease.

As of 11pm on Tuesday, Sri Aman in Sarawak remained the only area with a hazardous API reading of 377, while very unhealthy readings were recorded in Seri Manjung, Perak (219), Nilai, Negeri Sembilan (208), Kuching, Sarawak (210) and Johan Setia, Selangor (232) at 10pm.

An API reading of 0-50 shows good air quality, 51-100 moderate, 101-200 unhealthy; 201-300, very unhealthy, and over 300 hazardous.

Putrajaya, PJ at very unhealthy levels as haze continues

More areas recorded very unhealthy air pollutant index (API) levels of above 200 this morning, including Balik Pulau in Penang, Putrajaya, Petaling Jaya, Klang and Shah Alam as the haze that has shrouded many parts of the country for weeks continues.


Kuching declared ‘world’s most air-polluted city’, KL is 3rd
KL is the THIRD most air polluted city in the world! - according to US-based website World’s Air Pollution: Real-time Air Quality Index that monitors air pollution across the globe.

Each city’s air quality is rated based on the Air Quality Index (AQI) readings where:

0 – 50 is “good”
51 – 100 is “moderate”
101 – 200 is “unhealthy”
201 – 300 is “very unhealthy”
Above 300 is “hazardous”

On the World AQI Ranking today (17th September), Kuching holds the world’s most air-polluted crown with a detrimental API of 220, while “lucky” number 3 is KL with an unhealthy API of 157.

On the bright side, Indonesia, Malaysia in close contact over haze
Plus, the impending monsoon in a month or so would see some good rain to clear the air.

End of Life and a Good Death - PhD project Survey

From one (Steve Job's) death to another, though this post is more academics in nature and about a PhD project survey relating to the end of life and a good death, the latter is probably a good example of an oxymoron. How can a death be good, you ask. I understand the context here is in relation to taking necessary measures so that everything will be taken care of when the time comes.

Besides 'change', 'death' is the other certainty in life. Like what Steve Jobs said in his 2005 Commencement address at Stanford, no one has yet escaped it.

In Oriental cultures, death is a taboo topic, especially not to be mentioned during auspicious events such as the Chinese New Year, birthdays and certainly not in front of elders. Because of that, death is hardly mentioned at home not even in the context of preparing for it in advance unless during an actual funerary preparation.

We don't see it this way but the crux of it is that life is in fact terminal. It has an expiry date. The day we were born, we have been going towards the expiry date. Sounds morbid, I know, but true.

Robin, a fellow-blogger located in Singapore, is conducting a research survey on End of Life and a Good Death for his PhD project. Robin needs 500 responses. We can help him achieve that by taking the anonymous survey as well as requesting participation from our friends and family. Feel free to forward this post. I'll let Robin tell you what it is.

I am conducting a research survey on End of Life and a Good Death for my PhD project. It's my PhD project which I have completed the pilot study and now going into full research.

The idea started as a feedback of my previous public lectures and the intention is to create awareness of this important topic since it's a taboo in so many societies. Understanding the meaning of death alone can plant the seed for accepting and thus preparing death.

The results of the research will provide generalizable knowledge of the attitudes and experiences of our community on a good death and we could fill the gaps of the knowledge through public education, talks and other supports.

We would be grateful if you took a few minutes to fill in this anonymous research on End of Life Care and a Good Death. With your voluntary participation to provide honest feedback to us, the research content can only get better and benefit more people in the future. Please feel free to ignore survey questions that you are not comfortable answering.

Click here to take the survey. Not to worry, it's an anonymous survey.

Best Jobs in America

If your current job is one of those listed above, then you are having one of the best jobs in the United States. CNN has a list of 50 Best Jobs drawn up based on certain criteria.

I'm sure you'd want to know how the Best Jobs are picked, so here's the selection process.

Here's the list of Best Jobs in America.