Don't Try This At Home!

Multi-tasking in computers are acceptable. For us, mere mortals, it could be dangerous!

PENANG

Was planning on reaching Penang yesterday, but so happens there was no connecting flight to Penang by the time I reach LCCT. Travel cheap my friend. It is much cheaper to travel by air nowadays if you were to really put your mathematics to test. With the cost of fuel jetting up to 2.70/litre + the toll + the energy + the swearing that you do + the possibility of getting yourself trapped by the speed limit + engine oil + tyres + wear and tear...well, lets fly guys...get high. At least the view of buns wiggling up and down the aisle is worth seeing and imagine...hahahaha.

Will be reaching Penang 2:30pm, 27/6/08 and hope to savour the delights before I leave and fly back to Timbuktu... My other half is not in Penang right now, enjoying with her family in London and Aberdeen for their sisters wedding, well, I'm left without transport in Pg. Lucky twotoner is available to pick me up..Been a long time since I last saw him. Had a lot of catching up to do too.

At the LCCT food court now writing this. Had about 2hrs to kill before my flight. Damn..What to do ha? Look at the MILF's? Hahahaha. None in that category so far.

Misai Nasi Kandar, Tajuddin Hussein...Here I come.

JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT

I am no fan of Tun Mamak, but I have no choice but to concur with him when he says that those sacked judges were bribed to speak ill of him.

I used to sympathize with them and felt that justice in Malaysia died when Tun Salleh was removed and some of the senior judges sacked. Twenty years later came this circus and it completely changed my views on the tragedy. At first, I was quite happy to hear of Zaid’s proposal, thinking it was good that attempts are being made to right the wrongs of the past administration. However, the way it was done has left me a very disappointed man. Disappointed the way the exercise was carried out, disappointed with the parties concerned, and now very convinced it’s a giant attempt by the government, the Bar Council and the aggrieved parties to insult our intelligence.

No amount of ex gratia payments can be considered adequate unless accompanied with apologies. If I have been wronged, I would expect nothing less than an official apology. The aggrieved parties acceptance of the ex-gratia payments without apologies actually surprised me.

It may be true that the mamak had misbehaved and threatened/bullied the Bench. However, it is true that these judges started to bad mouth him AFTER receiving the payments. The bottom line is, NO APOLOGIES WERE OFFERRED BY THIS GOVERNMENT!

So, it is obvious that this administration is no better than the last one.

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE !

Last Sunday, 22^nd June, 2008, saw some 6000 people, 5814 to be exact, congregated at Stewart Park, Ithaca, N.Y. With two fingers thrust into the air, these people gathered and formed a giant peace sign, capping a three-day festival.

Trevor Dougherty, a student at Ithaca High School, organized the event. The crowd stood for about twenty minutes and word is, that this could actually make the “Guinness Book of Records” as the largest human peace sign.

Could this be a rebirth of Hippiedom?

X-GRATIA

Good to see the blog is up and running again after a lapse of quite a while. Twotoner must have been very busy, I guess.

Heard about those judges that was given 1.5mil each for being fired after the tribunal found them guilty of misconduct 20 years ago? Even the judge who was suspended and later reinstate was also given ex-gratia on the grounds that he was put in cold storage after that?

Have to admit that I feel it's not right to take such a move by the present govt. If they were found guilty by a tribunal, set up another one to clear them from the earlier judgement. Make it transparent as the Lingam's case rather than simply pay them with the taxpayers money. Its our money, mind you. Who is Zaid for that matter to make the judgement freeing these guys of all accusation without it going thru a tribunal or whatever shit that its suppose to go thru before coming out with a decision that cost the govt millions of ringgit.

This guy Zaid was not even elected by the people. He was not even a candidate in the last GE. He was suspended from UMNO because of money politics. Yet, he was hand picked by Pak Lah to be a minister in the PM's dept. Now he's going round showing off, like a peacock on all that he has done to reinstate the integrity of the judges in Malaysia. He is basically an instrument to condemn the earlier govt under Tun, as Tun was being very vocal towards the present govt under the indecisive Pak Lah. This to me is bull.

The judges that was given ex-gratia were given pension and some of them were also made directors of this and that. Not that they were penniless or anything...About that guy who claims he was cold storaged, there are so many Malaysians who are cold storaged too, just because they work accordingly and not to the fancy of their bosses and don't get into the good books. Why? Straight employees and crooked bosses don't get along...Why not pay these fellow Malysians who also goes thru the same problem.

Ex-gratia like these seems to make them overwhelmingly happy and starts to blab blab blab and comparing how good the present govt is, very transparent and all that shit. Only a few of them are happy and praising Pak Lah at a cost of a few million ringgit while millions of Malaysians are going thru a hard time trying to make ends meet with all these price increase.

Well....Negaraku....Tanah tumpahnya darahku....Rakyat hidup selalu kena tipu...Rakyat derita....Pak Lah kaya raya.... Raja kita...Selamat berharta....

Botanical Lessons at The Championships, Wimbledon

It's the time of the year when they congregate at Wimbledon. Will it be a 6th consecutive title for Roger Federer or is it going to be the upstart, Nadal, or could it be Djokovic? No one can tell really.
Both Federer and Nadal have won their opening matches convincingly. There is no sure bet where the ladies are concerned too! We have a new number one in Ivanovic, and of course the Williams sisters, Sharapova and lots of big names in the running.

I was watching the Men's opening game between Federer and Hrbaty and that was when I learned that the oldest potted plant in the world, planted in 1775, can be found at the Kew Gardens, London.

The plant is commonly known as the cykad. It is known as a jurassic plant, meaning it existed during the days of the dinosaur. Botanically speaking, it is described as extinct. In other words, this plant cannot be found in the wild anymore! Currently, they can only be found in private homes or public parks and places like Kew Gardens. Well, I am no botanist, so I have decided to do a copy and paste job and the following is what I found for your reading pleasure.

The World’s Oldest Potted Plant

‘Laughing Stock or Hero?’ James Wandersee and Renee Clary ask, as they consider potted plants and profile one mighty example, from Kew Garden. Thank you, Jim and Renee, for another five-star (if flowerless) project. Your work on the sociology of plants continually inspires us.

By James H. Wandersee and Renee M. Clary
EarthScholars™ Research Group

Vice President Dan Quayle remarked of his role in White House conferences, “I am not, as they say, a potted plant at these meetings.” Brendan V. Sullivan, the famous criminal defense attorney, once exclaimed, “What am I, a potted plant? I’m here as a lawyer, that’s my job.”

Potted plants get little respect. Indeed, most people think of them as passive, trivial, dispensable, a nuisance to tend, and purely decorative. One cannot even assume that indoor potted plants are alive, given how easily today’s artificial (“silk”) potted plants can deceive the untrained eye!

However, there is a particular live potted plant you can visit that reclaims the dignity of potted plants everywhere....

Moving the giant cycad
Royal Botanic Gardens—Kew
c. 1980
Photo: NCCPG

This species (Encephalartos altensteinii) reproduces via seed cones, not flowers. It is a member of the Cycad family. Such plants have changed little since the days of the dinosaurs. This family’s fossils date back to the early Permian Period ~ 280 million years ago. The Ginkgo tree also appears in the fossil record about this time. Both taxa are considered “living fossil” plants.

So where can this amazing palm-like potted plant be seen? In a far corner of the Palm House at the venerable Royal Botanic Gardens-Kew (near London). Its iconic glasshouse home, 363 feet long, 100 feet wide and 66 feet high, was designed during Victorian times to house the exotic palms then being collected and introduced to Europe. Just two horticulturalists and two assistants maintain the entire Palm House plant collection today.

Francis Masson (1741-1805), RBG-Kew’s First Plant Hunter
Photo: Plant Explorers

This particular cycad was sent to Kew in 1773 by the famous plant hunter Francis Masson, at the encouragement of Sir Joseph Banks. (Banks became famous as the chief naturalist aboard the Endeavour, serving on the first round-the-world voyage commanded by Captain James Cook.) In other words, this plant is at least 234 years old, or about as old as the US Declaration of Independence!

Near a side entrance to the glasshouse, atop an old, perforated, cast-iron grating, the world’s oldest potted plant resides in a large teakwood box. (Actually, this is probably not the oldest potted plant specimen alive today, but, after our after being led down many botanical-historical pathways only to find flaws in documentation or unanswered questions, it is the best known and documented candidate we have been able to find.) It has been over 180 years since this particular cycad plant grew a cone (both male and female plants are necessary for reproduction to occur). Emma Fox, Kew’s Keeper of the Palm House, watches and waits with great anticipation. When the Palm House was renovated in the 1980s, this grand old plant—weighing in with its soil and container at over 2 tons—had to be moved very gingerly to temporary quarters.

Kew’s “ambassador from Africa”
Photo: EarthScholars™ Research Group

This unique potted plant has the potential to be a marquee plant, but for some reason, Kew doesn’t publicize its presence much. It is a potential ambassador of endangered plant species in Africa as well as a repository of rare genetic material. In Africa, this cycad is known informally as a “bread palm,” since a bread-like, starchy food can be prepared from the center of the stem.

Alas, many visitors leave the Gardens without ever seeing it! The recent, full-color, BBC book, A Year at Kew (2004) —a wonderful insider’s view of plant life year-round at the Gardens—allocates only one sentence to the huge cycad (p. 108). We have observed it many times during our studies at Kew and never cease to marvel at how long and well it has been tended, and how it continues to grow. Laughing stock or hero? We say hero! Who of us can live and grow that long?

As for the other potted-plant prejudices, these creatures are far from passive. They simply move and grow on a scale that differs from human time, something Charles Darwin pointed out long ago in The Power of Movement in Plants (1880). Potted plants are far from trivial. B.C. Wolverton, a retired NASA research scientist, has written How to Grow Fresh Air (1997), describing the scientific research on house plants as air purifiers; Wolverton explains how air contaminants enter our homes and notes the adverse effects these chemicals can have on human health. The book provides concise, quantitative data about which substances some 50 different houseplants remove from the air. In addition, potted plants release (and use some) vital oxygen.

So potted plants have aesthetic value, health value, cultural value, and teaching value. We can testify to the latter. Our nation-wide research studies on public understanding of plants have found that the sustained, observation-driven, recursive interactions involved in tending a plant throughout its life cycle (whether a potted plant or a garden plant) heighten a person’s visual awareness of all plants—indoors and outdoors—and lead to an increased appreciation of the importance of plants in human affairs and in the biosphere. Plant-caretakers also can recognize the missing details, subtle color differences, and false perfection of artificial plants.

Kew’s old cycad is a hidden treasure for plant connoisseurs, and we think it should be on the life list of every plant lover. Yes, we have appropriated the term life list from bird watchers because we assert that plant watching is equally challenging and interesting. Why not start your own life list of plants this year? There’s a large and fascinating kingdom of plants beckoning you!

Posted by Julie on 03/09 at 03:34 PM
Culture & Society • Gardening & Landscape • Permalink

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Barisan gets motion passed with big majority

That was how the headlines in "The Star" read today. So he lives to fight another day. In the meantime, this is where he is leading the nation to. Picture is self explanatory.

Neighbourly Advice from TalkingCock Singapore!

by Pak Cham Kai

Despite the International Court of Justice ruling that Pedra Branca now belongs to Singapore, the Sultan of Johor has told the Johor State Assembly, “It doesn't matter how long it takes, but I will find ways until the island is returned to Johor.”

But how? We speculate:

1. Challenge Singapore to a winner-take-all match of Lom Chiam Pas.

2. Late at night, when no one is watching, secretly swim out and kapo it.

3. Threaten to blockade all overland deliveries of durians from Segamat until they give Pedra Branca back.

4. Quickly point at Indonesia, shout, “Look! What’s that?” and then quickly swipe the island away.

5. Wait until the next Great Singapore Sale and buy it when it’s on discount.

6. Hire a squad of super-bomohs to magically whisk the island back.

7. Make a photocopy of Singapore’s face, and paste it at his void deck with the words “Owe Island, Pay Island”. If that doesn’t work, hang a pig’s head outside his flat.

8. Hire a bunch of Nigerians to email Singapore with some scam, and bluff them into giving us their island.

9. Hire a group of China girls to “act cute” with them, and bluff them into giving us their island.

10. Quickly take the island, and then escape with it through a toilet window – those sotong Singaporeans sure cannot catch me one!



Note:

The above unsolicited advice is used without permission!

Monday Blues at Parliament

Can the PM survive this?

HAVE WE BEEN HAD?

Prior to the 12^th GE, the various political parties in the country have made numerous pledges and promises to the Rakyat. Election manifestos of the ruling elite and the pretenders to the throne were filled with all the niceties on good governance and the like.

There shall be no increase at the pump (petrol) they said, oh, such sweet music to the electorate. It was most unfortunate that oil prices just kept rising and it did not take much for the rakyat to anticipate that there was no way the government could go on subsidizing. Rumours went round about a hike in petrol prices and the government responded swiftly by announcing that if there were to be any price increase in petrol, it would only come sometime in August 2008. At midnight that very night, the petrol price in the country was raised by a whopping 41%! The Barisan Nasional government lied! Man, you lie in court, it’s called perjury, when the government of the day lies, it’s called good governance! So this government is not so “bersih” after all, I do not know how “cekap” and “amanah” they are.

In the name of national reconciliation, they made ex-gratia payments to some sacked judges and the former Lord President, but they claim that it should not be construed as an apology! What this whole episode was about is still a mystery to many. However, most would view it as an attempt to make the mamak look bad. Anyway, the whole exercise was a complete farce. When this decision to reimburse the judges was made, it was decided that the official announcement would be made over dinner and at the same function, a major overhaul on judicial appointments would also be announced. Here comes the funny bit of the story. This dinner was paid for by the government, hosted by the Bar Council, Malaysia, official announcement of major reforms on judicial appointments, but save for those entitled for the ex-gratia payment, the entire Bench was benched! Now, was the Bar Council coerced into ostracizing the Bench or were they so ignorant of protocol and decorum!

Well, we all know what happened on that fateful day in March, 2008. There was and still is a lot of confusion in the BN camp. There were like little lost lambs looking for direction, unsure of their positions and also quite confident that they are unable to rule the entire 5 year term. Try they did by resorting to rhetoric and veiled threats to the non Malay community. Suddenly we have unheard of before Malay organizations claiming erosion of Malay supremacy, which the PDRM felt was perfectly all right and no sedition at all. So much for the impartiality of the Malaysia police!

The biggest joke of all was their findings at the post mortem as to how they fared so badly. They blamed it on the internet, when it was all about corruption, arrogance, racism and much more.

On the other side of the fence we have the Pakatan Rakyat, a loose coalition of strange bedfellows. Though they have their own ideologies and differences, somehow, in their quest to make the coalition work, all three were signatories to “The People’s Declaration”. Signing the document was a major show of solidarity and of course this sent the general public into a frenzy. Putting ink to paper effectively changed the political scenario in the country into a two party system, which is a welcomed change. Unfortunately, after the euphoria of the elections, this alliance started showing cracks! I may be extremely wrong, but in my opinion, we Malaysians are most unfortunate to have politicians of such character and caliber!

There were some things they did which deserve praises but basically deep down, these parties are still trying to promote their own agenda. The latest is the call to protest the appearance of some artistes at a football game by PAS youth. Certain characters in the DAP who refuses to wear the “songkok”. These politicians are nothing more than hypocrites of the highest order. I just cannot fathom why it is all right for Malaysians to wear the baseball cap and not the “songkok”. These are headgears, period! I am cocksure these DAP fellas had sometime in their life worn the baseball cap, which has nothing Chinese in it! More shocking is the announcement by the party that no disciplinary action will be taken against this Gwee (devil, satan in Hokkien) fella! Come on, we gave you our vote so that we may get some representation in Parliament/State Assembly, so where is my representation when you chose to be a spectator at the proceedings!

Looking at the antics of these Opposition Parties, I do not believe this Bangsa Malaysia thing has any future. The opposition politicians have shown that they are no better than the slime balls and scumbags of the Barisan Nasional!

Perhaps what we need is some kind of foreign invasion before the Bangsa Malaysia in us can surface. For now, I think we’ve all been had!

FUEL....

Man...it has been a long time since I set foot in this blog..Been busy actually running up and down burning fuel in the east coast. Since the recent increase in price I have no choice but to install a new meter for the car...









Then I had another image that I guess all of us should have a look at since the government is saying that we still are having the cheapest domestic fuel comparing to other countries.

TOUCHED

Hiya guys,

Had an email today which really touched me. Though I do not understand a single word that is written in Chinese but it was told that the boy came up to the booth and wanted to donate.

What a heart...

UMNO

A friend just SMS me asking whether I have left UMNO too. Did not think of that earlier. Well from now on I would like to tell the world that right at this moment, I'm leaving UMNO to follow my mentor....Hahahahaha.

AH BENG CHEERS U UP

Ah Beng bought a new mobile.
He sent a message to everyone from his Phone Book & said,
'My Mobile No. Has changed. Earlier it was Nokia 3310. Now it is 6610'


Ah Beng: I am a Proud, coz my son is in Medical College .
Friend: Really, what is he studying.
Ah Beng: No, he is not studying, they are studying him.

Ah Beng: Doctor, in my dreams, I play football every night.
DR: Take this tablet, you will be ok.
Ah Beng: Can I take tomorrow, tonight is final game.


Ah Beng: If I die, will u remarry?
Wife: No! I'll stay with my sister. But if I die will u remarry?
Ah Beng: No, I'll also stay with your sister.


Ah Beng: People consider me as a 'GOD'
Wife: How do you know??
Ah Beng: When I went to the Park today, everybody said,
Oh GOD! U have come again.


Ah Beng complained to the police: 'Sir, all items are missing,
except the TV in my house.'
Police: 'How the thief did not take TV?'
Ah Beng: 'I was watching TV news...'


Ah Beng comes back 2 his car & find a note saying 'Parking Fine'
He Writes a note and sticks it to a pole 'Thanks for compliment.'


How do you recognize Ah Beng in School?
He is the one who erases the notes from the book when the teacher erases
the board.


Once A Beng was walking he had a glove on one hand and not on other.
So the man asked him why he did so. He replied that the weather forecast
announced that on one hand it would be cold and on the other hand it would
be hot.


Ah Beng in a bar and his cellular phone rings. He picks it up and
Says 'Hello, how did you know I was here?'


Ah Beng: Why are all these people running?
Man - This is a race, the winner will get the cup
Ah Beng - If only the winner will get the cup, why others running?


Teacher: 'I killed a person' convert this sentence into future tense
Ah Beng: The future tense is 'u will go to jail'


Ah Beng told his servant: 'Go and water the plants!'
Servant: 'It's already raining.'
Ah Beng: 'So what? Take an umbrella and go.'


A man asked Ah Beng why Ahmad Badawi goes walking in the Evening and not
in the morning. Ah Beng replied Ahmad Badawi is PM not AM

NATIONAL EXCUSE

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR HAIR LOSS:
Maggi Mee.

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR BEING LATE:
Traffic Jam.

NATIONAL CONDOM:
None. Most Malaysians still feel embarrassed buying condoms.

So they rush into a 7-11, hurriedly grab the nearest pack,

any pack, pay and leave before the cashier can even blink an eye.

NATIONAL FRUIT FOR INDUCING MENSTRUATION:
Pineapple

NATIONAL APHRODISIAC DRINK:
Stout. Many swear by it.

But after a few pints they start

swearing at everything...

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (MEN):
Food Poisoning.

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (WOMEN):
Menstrual Pain

NATIONAL EXCUSES GIVEN BY WOMEN WHEN REFUSING SEX:
Headache, kids not asleep, maid not asleep, mother-in-law around, early
appointment, period, haven't removed make-up, haven't had a shower, no water
supply, going to watch 'Desperate Housewives', depressed, no mood, etc...

NATIONAL EXCUSES GIVEN BY MEN WHEN REFUSING SEX:
None. Malaysian men never refuse sex. (oh ya??)

NATIONAL CURE FOR HEADACHES:
Panadol. The 'cure for all'. If it fails we have another secret weapon;
Tiger Balm.

NATIONAL CURE FOR DIZZINESS:

Minyak Angin Cap Kapak.

NATIONAL CAUSE OF DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES):
Happy Hours.

NATIONAL INSTANT CURE FOR DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES):
The sight of a police roadblock.

NATIONAL RUBBISH DUMP:
Anywhere. As long as it is not your house.

NATIONAL MOST MIS-PRONOUNCED NAME:
Carrefour. Sometimes even pronounced as Carry 4!

On second thought, why bother pronouncing stupid French brands like Peugeot, Renault or Citroen correctly. I think it sounds better,when the local mechanics say 'Pew Jeot'. When I was in school, Milo was always 'MeeLo', now that I'm sophisticated, I say 'My Lo'. So don't be embarassed saying 'Carry 4' when the ! Mat Sallehs shamelessly pronounce orang utan as 'rangootan'.

NATIONAL ROADSIDE DISTRACTION:
The Bra-less Tourist. See how heads turn and traffic slows down when a bra-less Mat Salleh backpacker goes 'bouncing' about on the streets.
haha...

The Day The Music Died

I received an email a couple of days ago about the on goings in the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. It was disturbing and I was undecided whether I should write about it because I was not sure if it was true. Well, I was just told last night that the news has already been reported in the press. Here is an excerpt from my email:-

Much as we like to encourage appreciation of Western Music in Malaysia
why is it that Petronas sees it fit to finance the 'Malaysian

Philharmonic Orchestra' which is a misnomer because 95% of its 105
musicians are foreign and mainly European. Each musician is paid
between Rm 16,000- RM28,000 per month. They are given 2 months paid
holiday and working conditions which are second to none in the world.
They have not one but 3 European conductors ! The Chief Conductor is
paid RM130,000 per month and the Associate Conductor gets paid RM
50,000 per month. The total Monthly budget for this orchestra is RM
3.5 million.

The Malaysian Conductor Ooi Chean See resigned because it was widely
known she was being undermined and not allowed to develop in her
career. During her time with the orchestra, her concert scehdule
decreased gradually to the point she was doing only a couple'Children's Concerts' per year.

The orchestra has been in existence for 10 years now and the total
amount spent on this orchestra has been a staggering RM 500 million.

Yes, Petronas does not have money for bridges for Malaysians but it
has money to splash on foreign musicians. Petronas does not appear to
have real desire to train or give opportunity to locals musicians.

They promised to set up an Academy of Music to train local musicians
with the tutors drawn from the orchestra but this sadly has not
materialised.

Since its inception, the Malaysian Philharmonic orchestra has not
increased its Malaysian participation which still stands at a shameful
4%. They have cosmetic programs like 'outreach' to supposedly
encourage the love of western classical music to local Malaysians but
these are essentially self serving publicity stunts. Even the newly
formed 'Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra' is a publicity stunt
with no serious commitment to develop Malaysian talent. It is poorly
organised and its musicians meet about twice a year only! The previous
founding CEO of the orchestra Mr Hamid Abu Bakar was clueless about
music and left the artistic decisions to IMG, an international music
agency who have successfully milked Petronas for tens of millions of
dollars.

The current CEO Juniwati Hussin is a chemist by training and is a
slight improvement because she does actually attend the concerts and
is not averse to learning to appreciate western classical music. But
the overall artisitc planning and direction in controlled by the
Europeans who have a vested interest telling Petronas that there is no
talent in Malaysia and the ignorant management of Petronas are happy
to maintain the status quo. It would appear that they prefer foreign
participation in this 'Malaysian Orchestra' then to have Malaysians.
What a pathetic mindset.

I hope issues like this will be brought up in parliament. Why can't
Petronas train local musicians, provide scholarships for locals to
study abroad if need be, and then employ them in the orchestra. In a
matter of a few years we can have an orchestra consisting of
Malaysians true to the name Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and good
enough to rival the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.There is an abundance
of talent in Malaysia. The sad fact is, Malaysian talent is usually
recognised overseas.

As if the above was not bad enough, there was a reader's letter in yesterday's "Star" in which, the writer complained about the quality of music studies available locally. I concur with what he/she wrote and I believe the relevant authorities should look into.

The Penang 4 x 4 Adventure Club's "Koh Samui Explorer 2008"

Convoy heading towards pier at Don Sak

I was invited to join an event organized by the Penang 4 x 4 Adventure Club. It was a four-day event from 1^st – 4^th May, 2008. Before I begin writing on the trip, perhaps a short history of the Club is appropriate.

A small group of hardcore 4 x 4 enthusiasts mooted the idea of the Club’s formation about 13 years ago. In the early days, these gentlemen were really doing the serious off-road stuff. Going into the wild for days, camping, opening up trails deep in the jungle, river crossings and most things you could imagine on outings like these. But those were the days!

Today, the Club boasts a membership of a little more than 400, and is touted to be the largest 4 x 4 outfit in the country. They are active, and they organize an average of about 3 – 5 expeditions annually. I have always enjoyed their trips (I have been invited couple of times). They are very well organized and well equipped. Most of their vehicles come with CB radio and there is communication all the way.

We left Penang early morning, arriving at the border checkpoint 9.00 a.m. It was a long weekend and the queue at the checkpoint did not disappoint. The holiday crowd coupled with our 44-vehicle convoy certainly taxed the Immigration authorities of both countries. It took us about an hour to clear the checkpoint and we proceeded to Nakhon Si Thammarat, arriving at about 2 p.m., completing the 1^st leg of the trip.

The food here is superb! We had dinner at a quaint little restaurant by the river where they serve excellent seafood. Dinner was a private affair and some of those who joined us had the presence of mind to bring along a couple bottles of wine!

We left Nakhon Si Thammarat the following morning and proceeded to Don Sak to board the ferry to Koh Samui. You really got to hand it to these guys. Equipped with GPS and all, the journey proceeded without a hitch. Arrived at Don Sak to find the chartered ferry ready and waiting to ferry us across.

An hour later we were on the island, making our way to the hotel. Because it was local in-season, we were unable to land a hotel with a beachfront. Anyway, the place we got was decent; there was a nice stretch of beach just across the street.

Koh Samui has changed tremendously. It is now very commercialized. I would describe it as something like Penang in the 70’s. If you expect to see those sleazy joints with pole dancing and the like, forget it! Somehow, the Thais have learnt to be discreet about stuff like that. Some of the old establishments like Reggae Pub, Aloha, Weekender are still there. Chaweng has become a very up-market place and Lamai too, has changed. In the old days, Lamai was virtually a dead place during the day. It is different now. I still remember those days when there was only one (1) policeman on the island. His home doubles as the Police Station. Today, they have as many Police Stations as there are Buddhist Temples on the island.

The Club organized the grand dinner at a resort by the beach on our last night in Samui. The setting was great, by the sea. Beer was free flowing and the food was simply marvelous. There was a cultural show by a transvestite group, followed by a karaoke session.

We left Samui on 4^th May and reached home the same day. It was a good trip except that I thought it was a bit too short!

Apologies

Just got back from Samui. Originally wanted to do a post on the trip with pictures. Unfortunately, my computer is not co-operating. Hard disk is down. So, pending the warranty claim, I should be out for about a week.

Am doing this from the Club's computer. Hope to be able to resume blogging in about a week's time.

Cheers!

ALLAH

Allah (Arabic: الله, Allāh, IPA: [ʔalˤːɑːh]) is the standard Arabic word for "God".^[1] While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "God".^[2][1][3] The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.^[4]

From Wikipedia. Put this up due to the hoo hahs of the issue of the word being used to describe god in The Herald.

Let them go to court and fight it out. At least from here you get to see that all Abrahamic faiths believe Allah is the supreme one.

JAZZY THINGY

Well well well.. The Jazzy thingy at New World Park...

Gone were the days when Jazz was reserved only for the elders..These kids groove mannn..

Sunny Side Up.

WILSONnnnnn....You colour your hair or what?

The earlier crowd....

The later crowd...

Look at the crowd man. Such a rare occasion and free somemore, also no crowd meh? What happen to Penangites? Are these the only jazz lovers on the Island. Looking at it, its more of a family outing that come to see their siblings jam.

Maybe Jazz do not have a following yet in Penang. Could it be that the promo was weak? Well its free anyway, how much promo can you do..

Me and twotoner would have been an additional two if we were around. Pix courtesy of koay teow th'ng. KTT was unable to wait till Jeep's band plays. Thank you very much. Love U.