Ronaldinho is European Footballer of the Year

I'm not a fan of Ronaldinho (Brazilian player and now playing for
Barcelona FC) but he does deserve the awards bestowed upon him,
the latest being the European Footballer of the Year.

Have you seen him in action? He is quite a player alright.
However, I love to watch Zinedine Zidane play though but
that's another story. Let's let Ronaldinho have his glory here.
Congratulations! Ronaldinho.



PARIS: Ronaldinho completed a hat-trick of awards when he was named European Footballer of the Year on Monday.

The 25-year-old Brazilian forward won the vote by European soccer journalists organised by French soccer magazine France Football after guiding Barcelona to last season’s Primera Liga title.

Read article...The Star: Ronaldinho is European Footballer of the Year

Have Toyota will travel

This one doesn't run on petrol nor diesel. The new technological
breakthrough in engine design uses only biodegradable materials
and with very low maintenance costs.

RM1 Coin

To think that having a wallet full of RM1 coins is bad but having
the same amount of 50sen coins is worse. A friend paid a RM1.50
parking ticket with a RM10.00 note and out came a RM1 coin and the
rest in 50sen coins.

Parking meters no longer accept the RM1 coin. Will need to get rid of them through other avenues.

Remember these coins will no longer be legal tender on December 7.

Early monsoon

No wonder it's been raining the past two weeks. The monsoon
is here early. I can't complain really, it's not like flooded
in KL unlike some parts of Malaysia as in pictures below from
The Star.


PRECIOUS CARGO: A motorcycle being transported through knee-high floodwaters along Jalan Penglima Bayu-Rantau Panjang in Kampung Kajang near Tanah Merah yesterday.

While areas in Kelantan remained flooded, water levels in Sungai Kelantan and Sungai Golok as well as major river arteries have dropped, allowing some 120 people in Kuala Krai and Tanah Merah districts to move back to their homes.

The situation has also improved in Terengganu and Pahang. – Bernamapic


KUALA TERENGGANU: The northeast monsoons gained momentum sharply in the peninsula yesterday, with heavy rains seen in the east coast states, leading to widespread floods, three deaths and the evacuation of close to 1,000 people.

Most badly hit is Terengganu, where 735 people have been moved from their homes in four districts – 418 in Kemaman, 136 in Dungun, 172 in Setiu and nine in Hulu Terengganu.

In Kelantan, the floods claimed two victims while traffic was barred from 15 roads.
In Pahang, more than 160 people were evacuated in Kuantan district as the floods worsened.


PLAYFUL MOOD: Children playing in the floodwaters at the Rantau Panjang police station yesterday.— Bernamapic

Drive-through Teller Machines

Like they say "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus".
A colleague forwarded me this to drive home the point.

A sign in the Bank Lobby reads: "Please note that this Bank is installing new Drive-through teller machines enabling customers to withdraw cash without leaving their vehicles. Customers using this new facility are requested to use the procedures outlined below when accessing their accounts. After months of careful research,
MALE & FEMALE procedures have been developed.

Please follow the appropriate steps for your gender.

MALE PROCEDURE:
1. Drive up to the cash machine.
2. Put down your car window.
3. Insert card into machine and enter PIN.
4. Enter amount of cash required and withdraw.
5. Retrieve card, cash and receipt.
6. Put window up.
7. Drive off.

***********************************************************
FEMALE PROCEDURE:
1. Drive up to cash machine.
2. Reverse and back up the required amount to align car window with the machine.
3. Set parking brake, put the window down.
4. Find handbag, remove all contents on to passenger seat to locate card.
5. Tell person on cell phone you will call them back and hang up.
6. Attempt to insert card into machine.
7. Open car door to allow easier access to machine due to its excessive distance from the car.
8. Insert card.
9. Re-insert card the right way.
10. Dig through handbag to find diary with your PIN written on the inside back page.
11. Enter PIN.
12. Press cancel and re-enter correct PIN.
13. Enter amount of cash required.
14. Check makeup in rear view mirror.
15. Retrieve cash and receipt.
16. Empty handbag again to locate wallet and place cash inside.
17. Write debit amount in check register and place receipt in back of checkbook.
18. Re-check makeup.
19. Drive forward 2 feet.
20. Reverse back to cash machine.
21. Retrieve card.
22. Re-empty hand bag, locate card holder, and place card into the slot provided.
23. Give dirty look to irate male driver waiting behind you.
24. Restart stalled engine and pull off.
25. Redial person on cell phone.
26. Drive for 2 to 3 miles.
27. Release Parking Brake.

SEND THIS TO A MAN WHO NEEDS A LAUGH AND TO THE LADIES YOU THINK CAN HANDLE IT!

Discard free samples

Could this be true? An email that is going around indicated
that seven women in KL had died after inhaling a free perfume
sample that was mailed to them. The product was poisonous.

The advice: If you receive free samples in the mail such as
lotions, perfumes, diapers, etc., throw them away. It is
feared that this might be another terrorist act. There is
no publicity on this so as not to create panic or give the
terrorists new ideas.

Top 10 tips for great pictures

Don't you wish your pictures in Langkawi or Bora-Bora came out better?
Kodak offers these Top 10 tips for great pictures:

1. Look your subject in the eye
2. Use a plain background
3. Use flash outdoors
4. Move in close
5. Move it from the middle
6. Lock the focus
7. Know your flash's range
8. Watch the light
9. Take some vertical pictures
10. Be a picture director

Cool toilet

We need a similar one for the ladies...
Source: Simplicity, Blogger's Blog of Note.

Poll: Hong Kong is the best place to surf

If you are in Hong Kong, you are in the best place where surfing the Net is concerned as Hong Kong has been voted the 'Best place to surf' in a poll conducted by Intel Corp.

The Star reported that "A recent poll conducted by Intel Corp rated Hong Kong as the best place in Asia to surf the Net."

The Pacific Coffee Company’s shop at Hong Kong Peak won top honours as Asia’s favourite wireless hotspot in an online poll conducted by the chip giant last month.

The poll noted that a “magnificent harbor view together with a cup of coffee and wireless Internet access proved to be the winning combination.”

The poll drew 1,996 participants from more than 20 countries. Participants, comprising business and leisure travelers, were asked to choose from a shortlisted roll of 36 hotspots from 10 countries in the region.

The Starbucks Coffee Company shop at Circular Quay in Sydney, which is next to the world famous Opera House and the Harbor Bridge, ranked second in the poll, while the Suntec City Convention Centre in Singapore, the country’s most popular venue for exhibitions and international conferences, came third, Intel said.

The other top 10 winners included: Beijing International Capital Airport, Shanghai Xintiandi, Taipei's National Museum of History, and Korea's Jeju Island.

Read article: Poll: Hong Kong is the best place to surf...The Star

Shish-kebab / Satay

Ahh... this is Fear Factor stuff. Would you try these delicacies?
There is star-fish, grasshoppers, centipedes, even spiders, beetles
that look like dates and 'Twistie'-like worms. "One man's meat is
another's poison" rings true here. By the way, these are found in
Hong Kong.

Low's Peak on Mount Kinabalu

Going through the World Heritage Tour, spotted Low's Peak
indicated on the map (top left) of Mount Kinabalu. Was wondering if
this peak is creditted to you, Low? Who knows?

It is a good thing that Mount Kinabalu has been designated a world heritage site. This is one of two in Malaysia. The other being the Mulu National Park.

Million ringgit fairy-tale wedding the talk of the town

Fairy tales do exist afterall...


JOYOUS UNION: Chung and Beh posing for the cameras at their wedding in Kuching on Saturday night. The high-profile wedding is believed to be the first of its kind in the country

BY JACK WONG
The Star

KUCHING: His love melted her heart. Jessie Chung agreed to marry her Ipoh beau Joshua Beh after his sixth proposal.

Chung is no celebrity but her wedding to Beh, an accountant, is the talk of the town and has attracted hordes of pressmen here and from Singapore.

The high-profile wedding is believed to be the first of its kind in the country – the stunning bride was born a male here more than 30 years ago.

Chung, whose original name was Jeffrey, underwent three major operations to become a woman three years ago.

Read more: Million ringgit fairy-tale wedding the talk of the town

Blessings

Talk about blessings, being alive is blessing itself. Is it not?
And yet we hear of road accidents, fights, abuse of self and of
others and a whole lot of other risks that people put themselves
through as though tomorrow will always be there for them.

Hello people, listen up! Life IS fragile - and so temporary.
It can end just like that! Morbid as it sounds, it is the truth.
So whatever you do, do take care.

Take for instance the accidents that happened over the Hari Raya
holidays with headlines like "Driver killed after car ploughs into
cow"; "Tragedy robs family of Raya joy" or this one "He never got
to buy that carpet" of a 19-year-old young man who just had to buy
a carpet for his room to complete his preparations for the Hari Raya.

What about this one "Couple's saddest Raya" of a couple whose car
plunged into the river and not being able to save their two children,
aged three and four. So sad but so real.

And of course, there are those who were involved with fireworks
and firecrackers and had their fingers blown off or lost an eye
in the process. What a waste, don't you think.

The government has put in so much effort implementing ways and
means so that the Rakyat can enjoy festivals safely and joyously.
The Rakyat in turn has to do their part. Take heed of these
messages: Drive home safely. Your safety is in your hands.

Cheaper cancer treatment

Counting our blessings. One of which is the Prime Minister’s
mission to make cancer treatment affordable to sufferers.
An appreciative Malaysian sent The Star a letter published on Oct 31.

Cheapter cancer treatment is good news
I refer to the letter, "Cancer treatment is too expensive",
(The Star, OCt 26). What concerns me is the comment made by
J. Toh's family doctor who said: "If you have no money in
Malaysia, you have no right to get sick, let alone get cancer."

People do not want to get sick whether they have money or not.
I feel sorry for the poor.

Malaysia is the best place to get sick because healthcare in
the government hospitals is subsidised, if not free of charge.

Over the last eight years, four of my friends were diagnosed
with breast cancer. All of them sought treatment in government
hospitals.

One of them was found to have stage-two breast cancer but she
is still alive and healthy today after undergoing surgery and
chemotherapy.

Another only paid RM500 for the surgery. Even though cancer
treatment is very expensive, the Government makes sure nobody
is denied treatment.

Pak Lah's resolution to make cancer treatment cheaper is good
news indeed.

NIGHT OWL
Kuala Lumpur

Cancer Awareness - Are X-rays bad for health?

Many of us believe that exposure to x-rays is bad for health.
Letters below published in The Sunday Star and The Star will shed
some light.

This is reproduced letter published in The Sunday Star, October 30, 2005:

Annual checkups should not include x-rays
Staying in an apartment block, I get to know more of my
neighbours' maids than my own neighbours.

Day in and day out, we get to exchange neighbourly greetings
with them and if we have some time to spare, we get to chat
with them.

Quite a number of them must be good to be trusted by their
employers that they have been working here more than the
basic two years.

One such maid is now in her sixth year of employment.
Her employer's wife just died and she was asked to stay on
to help the family with four schoolgoing children who are
now without a mother.

It is almost time to renew her work permit again. Every year,
she has to undergo a full medical check-up as past of the
procedure.

I am aghast to think that this will be the seventh time in
seven years that she has to have an x-ray done. Isn't too
much radiation bad for our health?

I believe the authorities concerned should limit the x-ray
part to once every three or five years.

I dread to think that when these good maids return to their
country, instead of living a happy life after years of working,
they have to suffer from cancer caused by too much x-ray
radiation.

Can the authorities concerned look into this matter as soon as
possible?

CONCERNED LADY
Kuala Lumpur

The response:
Radiation from an x-ray is minimal
I refer to your letter, "Annual check-ups should not include
x-ray", (Sunday Star, Oct 30).

While I am unsure of the indications of requiring a maid to
obtain an annual chest x-ray, I would like to reassure
Concerned Lady the radiation exposure from a regular x-ray
is minimal.

In some practices, an annual chest x-ray may be indicated.
For example, cancer surveillance, follow-up of lung nodules
in areas with no available CT.

The amount of radiation from one x-ray is minimal, close to
what one might get from a six-hour flight or from natural
environmental sources such as radon from soil.

I just thought this might be helpful information to consider.

DR. T.K. KHOO
Rochester, USA
The Star, Monday, Oct 31, 2005

There you have it. X-rays are not to be feared afterall.