Slow-moving traffic - The Exodus out of Kuala Lumpur has begun

At a toll plaza in KL (Source: The Star)

With the long weekend coming up, Chinese New Year holiday being on Monday and Tuesday, the exodus out of Kuala Lumpur has started. Like I was, you could also have been caught in a traffic crawl last night in roads leading out of the city. I was caught along the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) going towards Batu Caves.

A check on realtime CCTV traffic images on parts of KL shows the city is distinctly deserted this morning. Images were captured around 7:10am this morning. Take a look. You can click on image to enlarge it.

A little about each area..

Top left: Middle Ring Road 2, the highway I was caught in traffic last night. This is a long stretch of highway that links to the North-South Expressway. Places of interest this MRR2 passes through are the National Zoo and Batu Caves and which you can have a distant view of the Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower.

Top right: Jalan Tun Razak - This is the stretch where the National Library, the National Theatre and the National Heart Centre are located. This is also the stretch that was recently flooded.

Bottom left: Jalan Raja Laut, a part in KL that is normally busy.

Bottom right: Jalan Sultan Ismail, the commercial centre of KL of highrise offices and 5-star hotels including Shangri-la, The Equatorial, Concorde Kuala Lumpur (where Hard Rock Cafe is located), The Renaissance, Sheraton Imperial to name a few.

During major festivals such as Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Puasa, the city is probably the best place to be if you want some peace and quiet.

View realtime traffic..

Need help with Credit Card processing?

Setting up a business involves looking into many aspects. If your business falls in the category of what is generally termed high-risk there is an additional obstacle to tackle pertaining to the credit card processing facility.

High risk businesses including casinos, gaming, tobacco and adult-related industry, just to name a few, may have some difficulty securing credit card processing facilities.

In this day and age, a business that does not accept credit cards stands to lose a lot of business as credit cards are a popular mode of payment. Also, some people prefer to carry credit cards instead of cash. If your business is considered high risk and you are looking for an internet merchant account processing service, you may want to check out Highriskaccount.com. Being in the business for 10 years, their experts will be able to help you with your Credit Card Merchant Account needs.

Friday Frolics - The Card Test

I like the personal touch which includes making cards and designing note-papers. This week's personality quiz is a Card test. It does not take much effort, you just need to choose the card of your choice and voila(!), your personality is revealed.

You Are Intuitive

Although you see yourself as a loner, people are drawn to you. You have a natural magnetism. You may seem quiet and withdrawn, but you're paying attention to every single thing around you. Deep and sensitive, you tend to impress others with your insights. You come up with the most amazing stuff. You also tend to be psychic - so listen to that inner voice. It will rarely lead you astray.

The Card Test

Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

How to lose weight the natural way

If you have a problem with your weight going like a yo yo, a toy that goes up and down, you may want to work on your fiber intake according to the experts.

Fiber has been found to help you feel fuller longer which acts as a natural appetite suppressant. Fiber also helps to regulate blood sugar levels so you avoid the spike and crash. It also helps lower cholesterol as well as reduce the risk of cancer.

How much fiber do you really need?

25-35g per day is the recommended daily amount of fiber anyone needs. If you eat plenty of fruits, veggies and whole grains daily, you can easily meet this minimum quota.

Spring cleaning for the Spring Festival

Festivals such as the Spring Festival or better known here as the Chinese New Year do have a positive impact. In anticipation of this festival that heralds in a new year, homes undergo a fresh clean look, sometimes even a new look.

The yearly spring-cleaning that takes place before the festival is a wonderful way to sweep out the old vibes making way for new vibes or chi, that ever-present life-force around us.

Even if one does not believe in the laws of metaphysics or better known as Feng Shui, getting rid of old and broken stuff in the home promotes new hope and renewal in the new year. Because of this, household departments, hardware and furniture stores are busy stops catering to homeowners who are sprucing up their home with the hope of a better year ahead.

What if new medical computer carts are needed for your medical facility? Why not! The home-front is not the only place that needs a facelift, the workplace equally needs renewed energy for a better new year.

Looking for Outdoor Furniture?

Over here in Malaysia, shopping for furniture is not a problem as there are many furniture stores available. However, sometimes getting the piece that meets with your specific requirement may not be so easy.

That is where online shopping comes in. Shopping online offers more choices be it for outdoor furniture, patio furniture or garden furniture. Even garden structures such as gazebos or even greenhouses are available online.

Auspicious days to start work 2012 - Year of the Dragon

For those who believe in reaping the good fengshui to start the new year and to ensure good vibes throughout the year, below is a chart of the Auspicious or best days to start work during or after the Chinese New Year. (Click on image to enlarge.)

As for the Auspicious color to wear 2012 or rather in the new year, it is RED.

The Year of the Water Dragon will not have the Fire element in the fengshui Bazi Chart so red is needed to provide that fire to balance out the forces of the elements in which there are five: Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire.

For a year to be a good year, the Bazi Chart must have all the five elements present. Fire is missing next year. To take a pitch from Fengshui Master, Lilian Too, through Foong's post..

Since fire is missing from the chart, Lillian Too suggested that we counter it by wearing more red colour (red indicates fire) clothes this year and switching on the lights and keeping our houses bright. Do not wear black, unless you match it with something bright and for the ladies, do not carry black wallets.

So yes, the best colour for 2012 is red. Red curtains and red cushions are good. Taking it one step further - why not paint your house and car red too? LOL!

Foong who attended Lilian Too's Fengshui talk in January 1, has some great tips on the do's and dont's for next year and an easy-to-understand explanation of the Bazi Chart. Also shared are what events that Lilian Too sees from the Bazi Chart. Interesting stuff! Visit Foong's blog to find out and for Fengshui tips for the Year of the Dragon.


Image source

Search of cruise ship resumes, hopes fade of finding more survivors

I imagine the view looking out to sea from homes and hotels on this island of Giglio must be a sight to behold before this carcass of the 114,500-tonne Costa Concordia cruise ship came along.

This holiday resort island just 11 miles off mainland Italy is normally busy from May to Sep but right now is hosting some 4200 passengers of the troubled cruise ship.

Night-time searches would be suspended from now on according to a Firefighters' spokesman. Another senior firefighter told Reuters that all the areas of the part-submerged liner that are above water had now been searched, indicating faint hopes of finding more survivors. Six bodies have been found so far, 16 missing people out of the 4,200 who were aboard.

The vessel's captain, Francesco Schettino, was arrested on Saturday. He is accused of manslaughter and abandoning his ship before all those on board were evacuated.

The vast hulk of the 290-metre vessel, lying on its side, loomed over the little port of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast.

A large gash could be seen in its hull but salvage experts said its fuel tanks did not appear to have been damaged, lessening the danger of an oil spill in the pristine waters.

Schettino, the captain, said the ship hit rocks that were not marked on maps and were not detected by navigation systems. He said the accident occurred some 300 metres from shore.

There was deep anger in Italy about the accident.


Source: The Star.. Search of Italian cruise ship resumes, hopes fade