My space to grouch in cyberspace

2007-03-06T21:51:00.000-08:00

Guys, if you are looking for the next book to pick up, get this book. I am half way through it right now and I must say, it is bloody brilliant!

In pure honesty, I never subscribed to books such as this before this. Always thought going to a training is always the way to go. This book completely threw that belief far away. Wish all authors write like this, gives me the opportunity to really get his stand.

No sugar coats, this is as real as it gets (and some of you do know how I like things to be). Straight Up!

Tuck, I know you got it for your christmas present. Start reading it now!

Picture above is the cover of the book and another picture of me with the author himself heheh...

Great tips from the prosperity guru... Live in KL!

2007-03-01T00:53:00.000-08:00

Yup, you heard it right. The millionaire messiah is coming to KL.

If you want to find out more who Randy Gage is, check out his write up in the Star today by clicking here

What I like about Randy is he doesn't filter his points of view to comply to a certain group of people. So if you like things straight up and raw, than listen to what he has to say.

If you want passes for his talk on the 6th of March, come look for me, I might be able to hook you up with a few passes ;) Just for your info, people all over the world pay a huge sum of money for this guy to give talks. So don't miss this opportunity people!

Randy, you're the MAN!

Back from Hibernation

2007-03-01T00:50:00.000-08:00

Greetings People!

It's been too long since I last posted something here.

The giant has awaken from his hibernation. Get ready for some brilliant points of view from the master himself.

So ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!

What's your pick?

2006-06-04T21:19:00.001-07:00

If you could choose to be an X-Men, which would you wanna be? Cannot choose Jean Grey because she is a psycho.

Post your choice...

The Last Stand

2006-06-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Aishah and I went to watch X-Men III on Saturday night at Amcorp Mall (the best cinema!). Oh boy, what a movie!

The movie's awesome!! My eyes and my mind was locked on the movie and suddenly blinking my eyes was a problem coz I might just miss something good because of it.

I wish the movie was longer, that's my only complain, and I hate Cyclops (what a wuss!)

What was good? The stroyline was great, the effects were amazing and the main actors really played their part well.

For those of you who haven't watched it, GO!!!

What do you think of the movie? Post a comment.

I need some answers

2006-05-31T01:24:00.000-07:00

I was stuck in a massive traffic jam driving along Federal Highway today from Shah Alam heading back to office this afternoon.

Here's what I've noticed about traffic jams. I get stuck to a crawling traffic, and after awhile the road just becomes empty and welcomes me to step on the gas pedal and sprint to my destination.

How is that possible??! What caused the jam in the first place??? Can someone please help me out here?

My theory is that there are quite a number of id%&ts in KL who likes to hog the right lane. Having a nice weekend drive at 50km/h on the right lane and thinking how blessed they are to be alive. YOU CAN DO THAT ON THE LEFT LANE!!! The right lane are for people who would feel blessed if they arrive at their destination as fast as possible.

If you have a theory on what causes jams in KL, please add a comment.

*if only my car was the Aston Martin used in the James Bond movie (the one with the guided missiles and machine guns). You right lane hoggers better hope you're running on run flat tyres.

My Honeymoon

2006-05-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

My wife and I went for our official honeymoon earlier this month. Here are some pictures that I'd like to share with all of you. This is truly paradise in Malaysia...

Infinity Pool overlooking sea Villas

Sea Villas at night

Multi racial siamese twin

Dinner for two every night. I came back fat!

As you can see clearly, we had a damn good time there. Beautiful place, quiet and private, and the staff there really treated us like a king and a queen.

Great, fantastic experience. Highly recommended!

Small cars I'd like to see in Malaysia

2006-05-30T00:52:00.000-07:00

Peugeot 107

Citroen C1

Toyota Aygo

Three small cars I'd love to see on our streets in Malaysia. The pricing in UK seems to be affordable and can create healthy competition to Proton and Perodua.

However, like the previous example of the Yaris, I think the Aygo, 107 and C1 will be stupidly priced that once again I'd think only people who don't know what to do with money would buy.

Well, I can't stop myself from hoping and wishing.

I don't understand...

2006-05-30T00:03:00.000-07:00

The new Toyota Yaris finally arrived. 1.5 sports version is at a whopping RM98,200. The price tag in UK is 9,800 pounds (RM55-60k). Great car in my opinion but why would someone pay so much money for a small car like this?

In my opinion, whoever spends RM98k on a Yaris really have no clue what to do with money.

The Naza Sutera

2006-05-29T23:48:00.000-07:00

People, what do you think? Nice??

I think it is hideous.

I never thought I would say this, but anyone thinking of getting the Sutera, I think you're better off with a Savvy. Remember guys, it is something that you are going to look at everyday for the next couple of years.

Do the right thing... get a Savvy instead.

A Beast from Sweden

2006-05-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

This car is soo fast and so raw it got me shivering on my chair when I was watching Jeremy Clarkson driving it on Top Gear the other day.

Such power... 450,000 pounds is the price tag on this baby, ladies and gentlemen.

I am really considering robbing a bank. Which branch has at least 10 million cash? Hmmm... even if I get that kind of money, I would be the only one driving it... Obviously I'll get caught... Not a viable option. Forget it, I'll just watch Top Gear over and over again and drool.

Enemy Within

2006-05-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

I was reading Yasmin's column in the newspaper the other day about a forum on TV the other day about her movies.

I strongly believe that the there are so many people who holds powerful positions in our Movie and TV industry are the reason why our movie industry is going no where.

I think Yasmin Ahmad has what it takes to turn the industry around.

Now, this is what the journalist said about Yasmin's latest movie Sepet, “How can a good Muslim girl who prays and reads the Koran fall in love with a Chinese infidel?”

Mr. Journalist, how dare you make such statements?

My dad is a very strong believer and follower of Islam. My mom is a Chinese Convert who lives a life of examplary values and teachings and a strong believer of Islam.

My father in law was a Christian and he married a Malay Muslim woman. Both of them are examplary Muslims who I respect and appreciate. Both of them raised 3 beautiful kids who upholds great value and integrity in their lives. Are you saying my mom in law (Ummi is what I call her) is foolish for marrying an English Man?

How dare you make such statement on national TV!

Now, back to our movie scene.

I once had a friend working for a local TV company, his first task at his workplace was to research on how to revamp the TV channel in terms of the kind of shows they feature and their own production pieces. For 6 months my friend studied BBC, NBC, CBS etc to figure out their success. 6 months later my friend presented the report and steps that can be taken to improve. His proposal went straight to the dust bin.

Don't blame us for not wanting to watch local movies. Don't blame us for not wanting to watch local dramas and talk shows on local TV.

As long as TV stations want to be affiliated with such journalist, i will not support them. Not in a million years. No thank you.

I was gonna say "My mom in law deserves an apology from the journalist"... But naah, I ain't gonna go down to that level.

Malaysia, here's your evidence!

2006-05-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Malaysian football authority received feedback from the people of Malaysia...

MyTeam, headed by Shebby and friends have proved to the country we actually have what it takes to succeed in football, and the one reason we are not is because of our leaders in FAM.

A team was formed in less then a month managed to lose only 2-1 to our national squad. "No, Malaysia only used their U-20 players. Cannot compare!", a friend of mine said. Well, that's besides the point. Nobody told them to send their junior team.

Our football authority keeps coming out with excuses over and over again. If there was a World Cup in coming out with the best excuses, Malaysia would have won 3 years in a row.

Our leaders are spoiling our players and have no clue what they are doing.

Here are some evidence that I have to prove my point:

1) Once upon a time, we had a coach by the name of Claude Le Roy. We sacked him and Jamaica took him as a coach. That year, Jamaica qualified to the World Cup.

2) We have all the correct relationship with English Clubs (I am talking about Division One and Two) but we have never tried pushing our players to get exposure abroad. Why? The states need the players to play for their teams, and also once our players go there, they get home sick and miss Nasi Lemak.

Now, I have a great idea. I think it may work...

How about forming a group of young footballers (I am thinking 7 years old kids) to be incubated for 13 years of their life in a football training academy. No interference with the existing players and states. Appoint a very strict coach like Gus Hiddink or someone like the Russian Women's Volleyball Coach (when he speaks to the players, my balls shrink to the size of a peanut) to train the youngsters. The coach gets to appoint his people to support him and these players are not to play in the local league.

Now, some of you may wonder which parent would allow their son to be trained like that? Well, if the country can promise the parents that the country guarantees your son will play in a professional league in Europe with a handsome salary, will you still say no?

The key here is a strict coach and isolation from the current squad. Less interference and contamination from existing players is the best way to go.

Once I saw a World Cup hockey game where the South Korean coach called a player on the pitch to the sideline and gave him a nice tight slap and told him to continue playing. Well, maybe that is a little harsh, but a much higher degree of strictness compared to now is much much needed in our training regime.

I am a true believer that Malaysia has what it takes to book a spot in the world cup. Right now, it just seems to be a 'nice to have' rather then a real hard core goal.

Well, I sincerely hope I get to see a World Cup game wearing my National Team's jersey at least once in my lifetime.

Finally, good job Shebby and friends. I think you guys are really making a difference! I appreciate you for that.

People never fail to amaze me

2006-05-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

Hi all...

I am back. I have been extremely lazy to write in my blog. I am lazy no more!

Few weeks ago, my wife and I went for our official honeymoon in Pangkor Laut Resort. Boy, they do know how to pamper people!

It was a spectacular honeymoon. We were treated like kings and queens. Aishah (my wife) really had the time of her life there. I am glad I was there with her. I am glad I married her :)

What I want to share with you guys this time is about this matchbox that was given to us in the room. This matchbox is sponsored by WWF (World Wildlife Fund). I couldn't stop thinking of all the things in this world, why is WWF sponsoring matchboxes????

What were they thinking!

So WWF, if you are reading this... I can name you a million other things in this world that you can put your name on. On your side, all that is needed is a little bit of common sense.

'only takes one tree to make a thousand matches, only takes one match to burn a thousand trees.'
Stereophonics

De-stressing myself.

2006-04-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted... I have no excuses and reasons for it, except that I am 'malas'.

The whole month of March was quite stretchy for me. A lot of things happening all at once.

I still don't intend to write anything major today, but just wanna share my tiny little secret of de-stressing myself after a long week or month.

Every Sunday evening, my wife and I will go over to my parents place to have dinner. Every Sunday I'll wake up in the morning and smile to myself.

"Yay, it's Sunday!", I hear me shout quietly.

Sunday evening is for my whole family to come together and makan. It's also for us to catch up on everyones' week. The other reasons why I look forward to it is I miss mama's cooking, I miss my cat Billy and also miss watching TV on a 34" screen.

Now here's the main reason why I am excited when Sunday evening comes...

The best de-stress remedy for me.

My beautiful niece Marsya and handsome nephew Rieyad. They never get tired of teaching me the meaning of peace, happiness and authenticity.

Can't wait for next Sunday :)

Hoping for pigs to grow wings and fly...

2006-02-25T22:41:00.000-08:00

I believe that men have very limited patience level. If they see something that is not right, they’ll let it go the first time. Then let it go the second time, thinking that everything deserves another chance. When the third time comes… you don’t wanna be in the way.

My patience level for a particular public service announcement has officially vanished. So ladies and gentlemen… Beware of my venting!

The announcement that I was referring to earlier is the anti piracy campaign that is bombarding the radio stations every single hour. The ones that have famous artists enroling us to support them by not buying pirated albums. Somehow it makes me have this feeling that recording labels think that I am an idiot. I wonder which planet they come from….

Here’s my issue about this campaign.

Based on the few travelling that I did when I was younger, I found that how Malaysians spend RM10 here is exactly how Britons spend 10 pounds, the Americans spend USD10 and Australians spend AUSD10. A can of coke is RM1, 90p in UK, 80 cents in US and 80 cents in Australia. A MacValue meal is around RM8 here, 5 pounds in UK, and around 5 bucks in US. Follow me so far?

Now, can someone out there please enlighten me… How come CDs here cost around RM40 and around 12 pounds in UK and 15 bucks in US?

I don’t blame people downloading songs and buying pirated albums every now and then. My justification is recording companies have compromised a lot on recording quality because consumers now don’t care about it that much anymore, and also because out of an album, I’ll probably only like one or two songs. So, for most, limewire and RM10 CDs is a gift from heaven.

I really want to support the artists with their income. I really do. I just am sick and tired of making the recording labels fat and rich when our artists are still struggling after all the hard work. Here’s my stand.

Now, is it easier to change a few people’s mindset or try and change the whole nation? I think it is easier to change a few. In this case, isn’t it easier for the artists or the recording labels to change their way of doing business? I think it is faster and more efficient that way.

Here are some options:

1) Artists – Based on the prices of CDs right now, I don’t think your royalty is justified. So, promoting anti piracy does not solve your problem. It only makes the fat cat… errr… fatter!

So, ask for more! I will support you in buying originals if I know you’re getting more!

2) Recording labels – Come on… Stop being greedy and arrogant about doing your business! It is time to change your ways. Why not produce options for your consumers. Reduce the CD price to let’s say RM15, but give it to me in a soft plastic cover, no printing on the CD and a one page sleeve only. People like me only want the CD, not how beautiful it looks like. If I want the full option, then sell it to me for RM30 (I know you got printing cost to cover). Have the cheapest option to be RM1 for a song downloaded in MP3 format on a website.

Maybe this is not the best option, I am sure there are more ways. Important thing is coming from killing the piracy market by making consumers feel stupid and illogical to buy pirated.

So, this way, everybody wins. The consumers win by getting it cheaper with guaranteed quality (definitely better than pirated). The artists win by getting more money out of that little royalty they get by more sales. And the recording labels win by maintaining your profit margins, feeding your hundreds of staff and getting more CD sales.

So come on… let’s not be greedy and share. As Gandhi once said, “the world is enough to feed the need… not enough to feed one man’s greed”

And recording labels… stop hoping for pigs to grow wings and fly…

I can't beat them... so I joined...

2006-02-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

After much criticism by me to all my friends who have been blogging, statements made like "you're wasting your time!", or "only nerds blog", or "I'd rather watch a soap opera then blog", I finally caved in.

So here I am... blogging (it was so hard to type that out).

Well, the reason why I caved in was simply I have lots of things I wanna share. Lots of points of views that might be completely crap to some, and useful to others. Some points of views I created myself, and some from others who have shared with me.

So, for those of you who are reading, enough laughing about me because I finally succumbed to blogging. Read and share your thoughts after!