Amsterdam, Venice of the North

"What's a good time to visit Europe?", my colleagues asked. They are looking into a Europe vacation covering just a number of countries and one of them being Holland, Amsterdam being their main interest. Spring is just around the corner, so they'd be able to see the fields of tulips in full bloom. I bet that would be a wonderful sight. In fact, every season of the year presents something different in Amsterdam also known as the "Venice of the North" with its beautiful canals.

Amsterdam is much visited by people from all over the world and this cultural capital of Holland has lots to offer and is evolving into an interesting melting pot of cultures and sub-cultures.

Attractions in Amsterdam include the house of Rembrandt, the famous painter who lived and worked in the old Jewish neighbourhood of the city; the house where Anne Frank wrote her famous diary. Taking a canal trip is a must and one will be wowed by the old pictureque buildings. For that bit of excitement, visit the marijuana museum or the sex museum or look around the infamous red-light district.

My colleagues will find that booking a hotel is so easy. There is a wide range of hotels available to suit every budget. Booking online is easiest with easytobook.com.

Earthquake in Sumatra

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The Best Insurance Package

I do marvel at people who sell insurance. I have friends who are selling insurance for a living and mind you they are extremely good at their job. Actually too good that they are at it all the time, almost. But then again, they are a great source of information on anything insurance.

Needless to say, having insurance is important so that any loss or damage can be compensated or our family can be taken care of should anything unforeseen happen. Life insurance is of utmost importance, of course. Other priorities include home insurance and auto insurance. I hear David Beckham, the famous English footballer, has taken out an insurance package on his pair of legs that's worth millions of pounds. But that's for another post.

We normally sign up for policies with our usual insurance agencies but are we getting a good quote from them? Perhaps we should shop around for the best quotes?

Disorder in the Court

Robin, I hope you are not reading this. I simply couldn't resist it.

Shhhhhhhh.... don't let him hear you laughing.

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS : Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS : I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of
something you forgot?
_____________________________________
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you
that morning?
WITNESS : He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS : My name is Susan.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies
in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS : Did you actually pass the bar exam?
________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS : Would you repeat the question?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August
8th?
WITNESS : Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS : Uh....
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS : Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS : None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS : He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you
performed on dead people?
WITNESS : All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS : The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS : No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was
doing an autopsy on him!
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS : Huh?
____________________________________________
And, the best for last

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you
check for a pulse?
WITNESS : No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS : No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS : No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive
when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS : No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS : Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive,
nevertheless?
WITNESS : Well, I guess it's possible he could be out
practicing law somewhere.

Chap Goh Meh

The first fifteen days of the Chinese or Lunar New Year is celebrated with much pomp and splendour and yesterday marked the last day of the fifteenth. There is even a name given to it here in Malaysia. It is Chap Goh Meh which simply translates to the "fifteenth night" in the Chinese Hokkien and Teochew dialects. It is also referred to as the "Lantern Festival" or the "Chinese Valentine's Day". Readers of this blog are well-versed with what entails pertaining to the latter, i.e., the Chinese Valentine's Day.

However, for those uninitiated, this is the evening where in olden times in China, unmarried ladies toss oranges into the river or the sea in the hope of finding a husband. I always thought this was an ancient practice but was surprised to read in the papers the other day that people in Malaysia do practise this. These days, even unmarried men are also taking part. What they do is they write their contact number and name on the orange before tossing the fruit.

This is all quite fun but I wonder what are the chances of ending up in a marriage this way? Of course, there is another more reliable way of getting a date as well as getting married a step further. These days, one can go online. There is this high quality online dating site, JustSayHi.com, that is sure to have a suitable match for any single looking for a meaningful relationship or just want some dating fun.

Even though this site is free, the features are really as good as any paid site. Join the site and view thousands of online personals. The emphasis here is high quality but don't take my word for it. Check out the site for yourself. This could be a great start to a wonderful online dating experience leading to a meaningful relationship.

Smile, Friday is here again

Have I ever mentioned that I love Fridays? Not because I'm a Friday child but the feeling of a weekend so close at hand creates such a sweet feeling.

Some jokes to wind down the week but you might have come across them but it's okay, have another laugh.

Have a great weekend and Gong Xi Fa Cai again, y'all!


Two men met while both where looking for their lost wives.
1st: How yours look like?
2nd: She is 5"7, 36-24-36, Fair, Black eyes. What about yours?
1st: Forget mine. Lets find yours!!

Man comes home, finds his wife with his friend in bed.
He shoots his friend to death.
Wife says, "If you behave like this, you will lose ALL your friends".

Small Boy wrote to Santa Claus," send me a brother"
Santa wrote back," SEND ME YOUR MOTHER"

What is the definition of Mistress?
Someone between the Mister and Mattress

Husband asks , "Do u know the meaning of WIFE??
"Without Information Fighting Everytime"
Wife replies," No, It means, "With Idiot For Ever !!!"

Three Feelings:
What's the difference between stress, tension and panic?
Stress is when wife is pregnant,
Tension is when girlfriend is pregnant, and
Panic is when both are pregnant.

Teacher: u know the importance of period?
Kid: Ya, once my sister said she has missed one,
my mom fainted, dad got heart attack & our driver ran away.

Women asked man who is traveling with six children, all these kids are urs??? No, I work in a condom factory & these are customer complaints.

Son asks difference between confidence and confidential Dad says,
you are my son, i'm confident. Your friend is also my son, that's
confidential!

Mother to her teenage daughter: I think this is the right time we should talk about sex. Daughter (Excitingly): Sure mom, tell me what do you want to know. Mother Faints...

Safeguard the Web for Our Children

I first read about this in Bernard's site and I am all for it. As more and more children use the Internet, the probability of them being exposed to material not suitable for them, i.e., adult stuff, is high as the Internet is a place where this sort of material is easily accesible. It is therefore timely that something be done to safeguard the Web for Our Children.

BloggerPower has initiated a project to safeguard the Web for children. How we as bloggers can help is to post a request to all the “adult site” webmasters. You can either write your own article about it, or simply use BloggerPower's letter as follows:

" Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the “warning adult content” on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more “free tours” before a visitor supplies basic information."

Let's all band together for the sake of all children.

A death-defying act

We go through life, some mundane, others exciting, unusual, difficult, challenging but in most cases, change is not an option. Human nature is difficult to fathom. That's why the world is such a melting pot of differences. Some of us put ourselves in a spot, some in the work environment others in our leisure activities the latter, mostly by choice, I should think. Have you ever, ever done anything death-defying either at work or in your pursuit of leisure? The following article may be a case in point.


This is a case of photographer photographs photographer. The following photographs were taken by photographer Hans van de Vorst at the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The descriptions are his own. The identity of the photographer IN the photos is unknown.


I was simply stunned seeing this guy standing on this solitary rock IN the Grand Canyon.
The canyon's depth is 900 meters here. The rock on the right is next to the canyon and safe.

Watching this guy in his thong sandals, with a camera and a tripod I asked myself 3 questions:

1. How did he climb that rock?
2. Why not take the sunset picture on that rock to the right, which is perfectly safe?
3. How will he get back?


This is the point of no return.


After the sun set behind the canyon's horizon he packed his things (having only one hand available) and prepared himself for the jump. This took about 2 minutes.
At that point he had the full attention of the crowd.

After that, he jumped on his thong sandals....

Now you can see that the adjacent rock is higher so he tried to land lower, which is quite steep and tried to use his one hand to grab the rock.


We've come to the end of this little story. Look carefully at the photographer.
He has a camera, a tripod and also a plastic bag, all on his shoulder or in his left hand.
Only his right hand is available to grab the rock and the weight of his stuff is a problem.
He lands low in his flip flops both his right hand and right foot slips away...
At that moment I take this shot.

He pushes his body against the rock.
He waits for a few seconds, throws his stuff on the rock, climbs and walks away.....


Now, did that little episode get your adrenalin pumping? Actually, the title of the article is "Leap of faith.....or stupidity?". What do you think?