Still blogging today

A girlfriend once marveled at how I could still keep up with blogging after all these years. I told her 'nothing to it, you just keep on finding something to write, anything'.. tongue in cheek.

But I must admit that I've not been updating this space regularly enough - those of you who have been regular readers would have noticed that. Ooops!

And I've told myself (not once) I shall do better, and I will. I will post more regularly from now on, maybe not daily like the Blog Challenge I did last April, but certainly more frequently from now on.

For starters, here's something wow-worthy, 'The most awesome Omurice in Kichi2, Kyoto, Japan'. Enjoy!

Looper Effects Pedals

Loopers are basically miniature recorders that can play back a sample again and again on demand - hence the name. Loopers are a staple for musicians who include looping parts in their songs and a looper effects pedal is a powerful tool in the hands of a creative musician. So it's never too early to start planning on how you can use one to your advantage.

If you are in the market for a music looper, you would be spoilt for choice but you can easily find a model that provides exactly the set of features you're looking for.

Happy Malaysia Day!

Just to have it on record here, today, September 16th is Malaysia Day.

Malaysia was formed on September 16, 1963, 53 years ago, when the former British colonies of Singapore and the North Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak joined the Federation of Malaya.

Two years later, Singapore left to become an independent nation by herself.

Below are some facts about Malaysia courtesy of World Facts..

Geography of Malaysia

Location:
Southeastern Asia, peninsula and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam

Coordinates:
2 30 N, 112 30 E

Area:
total: 329,750 sq km
water: 1,200 sq km
land: 328,550 sq km

Area comparative:
slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries:
total: 2,669 km
border countries: Brunei 381 km, Indonesia 1,782 km, Thailand 506 km

Coastline:
4,675 km (Peninsular Malaysia 2,068 km, East Malaysia 2,607 km)

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; specified boundary in the South China Sea
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate:
tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons

Terrain:
coastal plains rising to hills and mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Gunung Kinabalu 4,100 m

Natural resources:
tin, petroleum, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, bauxite

Natural hazards:
flooding, landslides, forest fires

Environment current issues:
air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation; smoke/haze from Indonesian forest fires

Geography - note:
strategic location along Strait of Malacca and southern South China Sea


Population of Malaysia

Population:
25,274,132 (July 2008 est.)  - Today, population is close to 30 million.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 32.6% (male 4,093,859/female 3,862,730)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male 7,660,680/female 7,613,537)
65 years and over: 4.7% (male 509,260/female 645,792)

Median age:
24.1 years

Growth rate:
1.78%

Infant mortality:
17.16 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.5 years
male: 69.8 years
female: 75.38 years

Fertility rate:
3.04 children born/woman

Nationality:
noun: Malaysian(s)
adjective: Malaysian

Ethnic groups:
Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, Indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8%

Religions:
Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia

Languages:
Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest are Iban and Kadazan

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9%
male: 92.4%
female: 85.4%

Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated today, 15 September, 2016

Today, September 15th, the Chinese community around the world celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival. This festival is also celebrated by the Vietnamese.

Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival or in this part of the world (Malaysia and Singapore) also referred to as the Lantern Festival (though not to be confused with the other Lantern Festival celebrated on the 15th day of Chinese New Year).

Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th Month of the Lunar year.

The Mooncake Festival is one of a number of traditional Chinese festivals. Malaysians of Chinese descent make up about 25% of the population of Malaysia so Chinese festivals are observed here in keeping up with traditions.

Traditionally, the Mid-Autumn Festival is in celebration of the end of the harvest season. Ancient Chinese emperors worshiped the harvest moon on this day of the year (the Chinese lunar calendar), as they believed the practice would bring them a bountiful harvest the following year.

The custom of offering sacrifices to the moon originated from worshiping the moon goddess, and it was recorded that kings offered sacrifices to the moon in fall during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1045–770 BC).

The practice of moon worship is still practised today, in this day and age. Only the Chinese Buddhist/Taoist community here in Malaysia follow the custom. A table would be set up outdoors with offerings of fruits and snacks and mooncakes, of course, together with lighting of incense/joss-sticks and candles.

Offerings are actually made to a lunar deity, Chang'e, known as the Moon Goddess of Immortality. The myths associated with Chang'e explain the origin of moon worship during this day. One version of the story can be found on Wikipedia, as described in Lihui Yang's Handbook of Chinese Mythology.

After dinner, family members would continue the festivity with more eating, mooncakes being a must-have food item, naturally. Other foodstuff associated with this festival include the pomelo, small yams or taro and water caltrops or ling kok (in Cantonese).

Children will play with lanterns. The lantern, like the mooncake, is synonymous with the Mid-Autumn Festival which explains why this festival is also called Lantern Festival.

Lanterns are traditionally handmade with paper and bamboo strips and lit by a candle. However, lanterns have evolved over the years and contemporary versions are sometimes made of plastic, lit by a battery-operated bulb and feature cartoon characters though traditional animal shapes or the star-fruit are still available.

The tradition of eating mooncakes during the festival began in the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), a dynasty ruled by the Mongols.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people's resistance wanted to overthrow the rule of the Mongols, so they planned an uprising together. But they had no way to inform other Han people who wanted to join them of the time of the uprising without being discovered by the Mongols.

The military counselor of the Han people's resistance army, Liu Bowen, thought out a stratagem related to mooncakes. Liu Bowen asked his soldiers to write "uprising on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival" on slips of paper, put them in mooncakes, and then sell them to the other Han people.

When the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival came, a huge uprising broke out and the Han people succeeded.
Source: China Highlights

Here's wishing you a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Selamat Hari Raya Haji

Malaysia being a Muslim-majority nation celebrates this festive occasion with a gazetted public holiday today - making this a three-day weekend for some of us.

The city of Kuala Lumpur is somewhat quiet and deserted as Muslims in the city have left for their hometown to celebrate this festive occasion with their family and loved ones, most travelling interstate for the celebration.

I was at Berjaya Times Square for a lunch gathering yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the easy traffic along Jalan Imbi, and on a Sunday too. Here, take a look..

See what I mean? Berjaya Times Square is the red building in the centre. Berjaya Times Square or sometimes referred to as BTS is one mall to check out when you are in Kuala Lumpur.

There are lots to see and do for the entire family just in this one mall. But let's talk about Berjaya Times Square in another post, shall we?. In the meantime..

Selamat Hari Raya Haji and Happy Holiday!

Well done! Sporting history made three times in 24 hours

Well done, Malaysian Paralympians!

From The Star..

Mohd Ridzuan Mohd Puzi and Ziyad Zolkefli made Malaysian sporting history by striking gold in record-breaking fashion at the Rio Paralympics.

Until their feats on Sunday morning, Malaysia has only won a total of five silvers and two bronzes since the country began competing in the Paralympics in 1972 in Munich. Then, in the space of one hour, Malaysia's national anthem, the NegaraKu, was played twice.

Ridzuan, 29, who has cerebral palsy, sprinted home to win the nation’s first gold medal in the T36 100m final before the 26-year-old Ziyad, who has an intellectual disability, struck gold in the F20 shot putt event – with a new world record to boot.

Tears of joy: Ridzuan hugging bronze medal winner Rodrigo Parreira da Silva of Brazil after the event. — Reuters

Not to be outdone, London Olympics bronze medallist Ziyad then took to the field to break the shot putt world record mark twice on his way to clinching the second gold medal for Malaysia.

Ziyad (far right on the top picture) hurled the putt to a distance of 16.40m with his first effort, surpassing the previous world mark of 16.29m set by Australian Todd Hodgetts in 2007. But he wasn’t done yet as he hurled it to a massive 16.84m on his fifth throw.

Abdul Latif Romly (center in the top picture) delivered the third gold for Malaysia by breaking the world record three times in the men’s T20 long jump final yesterday.

The Malaysian flag bearer, the youngest in the contingent at 19, faulted his first attempt but cleared 7.47m after that to break the previous world mark of 7.37m set by Jose Exposito of Spain in 2003.

Not satisfied, Abdul Latif broke his own short-lived world mark with a 7.54m leap in his third attempt.

The lanky teenager then broke the world record a third time when he soared to 7.60m in his fifth jump – and that proved enough for him to bag the gold.


Related article:
- Rewards await gold heroes
- AirAsia to give free flights to Paralympic gold medallist

Pink Martini Concert Ukulele

Well, will you just look at this pretty baby!

This is what's called a Luna Guitar Pink Martini Concert Ukulele or lovingly named pink in concert.

With retro being 'in' these days, this ukulele features a 50s-inspired graphics on pink, but of course. It has Aquila strings, a gig bag included, a body of 23" and the top is made of select mahogany. The neck is of Nato/mahogany and fingerboard of Rosewood and with a satin finish.

Owners are giving it the thumbs up about it having a good tone, well made and of high quality among others. Bottomline, Looks cool, sounds good!

This pretty baby is going for half the price today. Check it out!

Creative Garage Remodeling Ideas

By Kaitlin Krull

For most of us, the garage is a convenient place to park our cars, stash our tools, and store Christmas decorations. While these uses are all valid, we at Home Improvement Leads think that your garage is capable of more. Here are some of the most creative, innovative, and clever garage remodeling ideas to help you turn your garage into a beautiful asset to your home.

Ultimate Guest Room
Parents often threaten to banish their teenage children to the garage after one too many sessions on the drum kit, but we think there’s something to be said for creating a bedroom out of your garage space. If you don’t use your garage as a carport and are short on spare rooms in your home, this is the perfect solution. Since most garages are already equipped with electricity and water tight cladding, your remodeling job will be mostly cosmetic. New carpeting, a fresh coat of paint, and a few pieces of bedroom furniture will turn your garage into the ultimate guest room in a flash.

Workout Room

If you’re interested in fitness and working out, finding a place to store your gym equipment in the home can be difficult. Since we all know that space is a precious commodity, spare your bedrooms and living areas from gym-related clutter by converting your garage into a workout room.

Equipment of all sizes will easily fit into this large, open space, so feel free to invest in as much gear as you need to kit out your workout room. Add personality and style to this space with a fresh coat of paint, mirrored walls, a wall-mounted television, and comfortable seating for post-session cool downs.






Craft Room
The same space issues that fitness lovers find are also common with crafters—there’s just not enough room for all of your stuff! If this sounds like you, then turning your garage into a bespoke craft room is the perfect solution to your problems. Storage and organization are key here, since every crafter knows that a well-organized crafting space fosters productivity. Personalize your craft room with plenty of counter and worktop space, labeled supply storage, and motivational decorative accessories to get your creative juices flowing.

Entertainment Room
Traditional garages usually function as hangouts for car and DIY enthusiasts, but seating and decorative accessories tend to be put aside in favor of convenient folding chairs and tools. Embrace the lounge aspect of your garage by creating an entertainment room that suits your personal tastes. While a big screen television, leather armchairs, and a bar will work perfectly for sports loving homeowners, others might prefer gaming consoles, foosball, and pool tables.

Home Office
Working from home has its obvious benefits, but office space is generally not one of them. Rather than turning a spare room or playroom into your home office, make use of your garage space. We love this remodeling option because it gives you a purpose built, private, and quiet room away from the busyness of home life with relatively little DIY requirements. One top tip: make sure your Internet connection and other electronics will be able to work in your garage space.

Mud Room
If you have children, or pets, or a significant other whose first priority when arriving home is not always removing shoes, you’ll know that outside mess has a way of spreading throughout the house at an alarming rate. Houses that lack large entryways or mudrooms are particularly susceptible to this kind of mess—but don’t worry, the solution is simple! By turning part of your garage into a mudroom with storage for coats, shoes, and bags, you can leave most of the dirt and grime from the outside world in a room that’s meant to be untidy. We love this idea because you don’t have to completely sacrifice the functionality of your garage in order to create a mudroom area.