For someone whose first name is "Dawn", she certainly sees very little of it. Throughout our trip, our travel partner was rushing for her Uni assignment deadlines half the time. Some days I'd wake up at 6 for my morning run and that poor girl would still be awake staring at her laptop. Then when I'm ready to go out and do some sightseeing, she'd be in bed fast asleep. I told her about the irony and she joked that she's called "dawn" because that's time she goes to bed. Normally I'm perfectly okay with going sightseeing alone, but I have reasons to be worried in this instance. Les Marais (the place we were staying), apart from being the Jewish enclave in Paris, is also the gay centre of France. If Notre Dame is the heart of Paris, then Les Marais must be the penis. Every morning as I walked out to the train station past the cafes, pairs and pairs of gay couples would be sitting together holding hands, looking at the people. Apparently, Paris is such a romantic city that even men and men fall in love with each other. When I do meet up with the two girls, it'd be for dinner, after I'm doing with my sightseeing and they're done with their shopping. Dawn and I are both big fans of chillout music label Hotel Costes. They produced a lot of music I listen to regularly, including my favourite holiday song "Sympathique" by Pink Martini, which I've used in the Saddam Hussein visiting McDonald's prank video I did earlier this year. Hotel Costes is also the name of an actual hotel near the Champs Elysees. We thought it'd be a sin if we travelled all the way to Paris and not visit this legendary hotel. Even if you're not a fan of the music label, Hotel Costes is still worth a visit for its opulent French decor and awesome courtyard. Not to mention their lovely barmaids. We decided to stay for a drink and enjoy the DJ spinning our favourite lounge music while we're there, feeling slightly under-dressed among the suits and gowns here. The atmosphere is so warm and cozy and posh and opulent in here that I almost felt obligated to pay them for the air we breathed. I knew drinks were gonna be expensive alright. Sport stars and celebrities come to this place. But I truly had no idea how expensive some of the drinks are until Dawn jokingly asked me to order a "King Louis XIII Black Pearl" cognac for fun. The cost of it? €14,000. No shit. That's RM70,000! What a ridiculous price to pay, considering it still comes out as piss in the end.

Never in a million years would I imagine myself actually NOT WORKING after my wedding. But it's true, because the starting date won't be till next month, I've found myself in the shoes of a stay-at-home wife, the type who goes to the gym at 9 am in the morning and hangs out at shopping centres watching the people walk past, and then spends the afternoon at my mom's place before retiring home by 5 pm to prepare dinner for the Good Husband who will be home from work by 7.30 pm.

Aduh, cannot lah this. I think I'm going to ask Eric if he'd mind me pretending to work while actually surfing the net at his office. Or, I don't mind playing his mini PA (althought I suspect while we make a good married couple, we won't work very well together).

Checking the computer’s running process is the first thing that I’ll do whenever the computer has slowdown problems or infected by spyware/virus. From the task manager, I am able to see which process is hogging the CPU and memory usage that is causing the lag and slowdown. As for malwares, only a well coded spyware that uses rootkit techniques or injection methods will hide its process in task manager. Luckily not many malwares is using rootkit method to hide itself, so identifying malwares from task manager works most of the time.

I do not count on the built-in Windows Task Manager because it is very basic and lacks of many good and advanced features. Having a good task manager such as Process Explorer or AnVir Task Manager on a local computer is a must to analyze the running processes. However, what if you have a few computers to manage? Instead of jumping from one computer to another to check if they are running any illegal software or whether their computer is infected by virus, here is a task manager software that allows you to “remotely” access other computer’s running processes without installing any software on the remote computer.

With Remote Process Explorer, you will be able to not only get the list of processes but also manage them. You can kill a process, run a new one or change the priority of a process on a local or remote computer. To do it, you do not have to install additional software on a remote computer because the program uses the built-in functions of the operating system. Remote Process Explorer will show you complete information about each running process, when and by whom this process was run, the path to its executable file, how much memory and CPU it uses. You can get all information available in Task Manager not only for your computer, but also for a remote one.

Remote Process Explorer has tools for managing a remote computer built into it. You can switch off a remote computer, restart it or send a message to it. You can also use the standard tools for administering a computer: Remote desktop, Computer management, Event viewer, etc

Before writing about this tool and sharing it with you, of course I’ve done my homework by testing it on my computer first. Both my desktop and laptop are running Windows XP Professional and I couldn’t get it to work. I can view local running processes by not on remote computer. The error message I got was “Could not connect to the remote PC. Error: The RPC server is unavailable“. Sent an email to the developer pf Remote Process Explorer but did not receive any reply. So I had to figure out how to get it to work. I remembered IntelliAdmin had some similar tools that can remotely enable/disable USD drives so I sent him an email for a solution.

After 3 days, Steve from IntelliAdmin kindly replied my emailing informing me that there are 3 requirements that must be met in order for tools like these to work in a local area network workgroup. Do take note that if you have Windows XP Home edition, then none of the below matters since Microsoft has crippled it; so it is not possible for tools like these to work.

1. Make sure the administrator account has a password. Blank password will NOT work.
Go to Control Panel > User Accounts > Create a password for the admin user.
2. Make sure simple file sharing is disabled.
- Go to Control Panel > Folder Options > View tab > Scroll right to the bottom at Advanced Settings > Uncheck Use simple file sharing.
3. Make sure file and printer sharing exception is allowed in the firewall or simply turn off the Windows Firewall.
- Go to Start > Run > type netsh firewall set service type = FILEANDPRINT mode = ENABLE and click OK.

Remote Process Explorer cost $75 for standard license but is free for non-commercial use. To get your free registration code, visit this page, enter your full name, e-mail address, address, city, zip, country and click the Submit button. I believe the Remote Process Explorer registration code is manually generated and sent to you by their staff because I did not the code immediately. Had to wait nearly 2 days for the code to arrive my mailbox. Once you get the code, you can enter it in Help > Enter Registration Code.

Remote Process Explorer runs on Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista.

[ Download Remote Process Explorer ]

Technorati Tags: remote, process, explorer, security, network

The Public Accounts Commtitee (PAC) should investigate into the RM50 million Pempena scandals and the role of two Ministers and three Pempena Chairmen during the period, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman, Datuk Kee Phaik Chin, Datuk Chor Chee Heung and Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun in the sorry tale of [...]

Researchers studying genes believe they can now detect exact “physical age” by looking at a number of clues - or biomarkers - in DNA.

They believe that the tests will be the first time doctors can accurately predict someone’s physiological age objectively without resorting to asking them how they feel or looking at their appearance.

The breakthrough could solve the mystery of why some 70-year-olds function at the level of those in their 50s, while others become frail sooner than would be expected.

The researchers made the breakthrough by isolating the “biomarkers” of ageing in tiny worms which behave similarly to humans,

“This is the first evidence that physiological age can be predicted non-subjectively,” said Simon Melov, the lead author at Buck Institute for Age Research in California.

“This is a first step; our results were not perfect, but we were able to predict the ages of the animals 70 per cent of the time, which is far better than anything that has been done before.”

The speed at which people age depends on a number of factors including genetic inheritance, lifestyle and mental health.

Determining chronological age in both worms and humans is easy – count forward from birth. But determining physiological age has remains subjective – based on how someone looks or functions.

The team has identified for the first time biomarkers of ageing which are highly predictive of both chronological and physiological age.

The research, published in the journal Aging Cell, involved 104 worms, which had an average lifespan of three weeks.

Like humans, some of the worms remain sprightly much longer than their similarly-aged brethren, while others show signs of premature ageing - lack of symmetrical appearance, uncoordinated motion, and the need to be prodded into movement.

By genetically profiling 104 different worms - at various ages - the researchers isolated a suite of genes and biomarkers that are actively involved in the ageing process.

Now they want to extend their studies to mice and eventually humans.

“I am optimistic that we will be able to pursue this line of research further,” said Mr Melov. “Research into the biology of ageing in humans has been hampered by the lack of irrefutable biomarkers that correlate with the aging process”. He added: “I am confident that at some point there will be a non-subjective method of determining how old someone is with a high level of confidence.”

The findings have major implications for age research in humans. Examining biomarkers over time would provide a scientific basis for clinical trials of anti-ageing medicines, which is currently impossible to determine given the lengthy lifetime of human beings.

The technology would also provide a means of determining whether an individual is ageing faster or slower than would normally be expected.

source: Telegraph

Post from: The New Politickler

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Overview A Retardo and the Iron Golem walkthrough complete with locations of all mushrooms properly highlighted for your mushroom finding pleasure. With this guide, you should be able to complete the game quickly in order to rank high in the high scores.

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene List
Scene 1 - Spears and Rocks - Total Mushrooms ~ 3
Scene 2 - The Bridge - Total Mushrooms ~ 5
Scene 3 - Bell Tower - Total Mushrooms ~ 7
Scene 4 - The Meat Grinder - Total Mushrooms ~ 7
Scene 5 - The Mine Cart - Total Mushrooms ~ 6
Scene 6 - The Mine Tracks - Total Mushrooms ~ 4
Scene 7 - The Jump - Total Mushrooms ~ 4
Scene 8 - The Elevator - Total Mushrooms ~ 5
Scene 9 - The Sleeping Guard - Total Mushrooms ~ 4
Scene 10 - The Catapult - Total Mushrooms ~ 4
Scene 11 - The Iron Golem - Total Mushrooms ~ 6

In each scene, click on the numbers in the sequence as shown accordingly.

With a total of 55 Mushrooms and 100 score per Mushroom collected, an additional 5500 score can be added to your final score if you acquired them all.

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 1 - Spears and Rocks (List)

1. Scatter the spears on the spears rack.
2. Attract the guards.
3. Crush the guard on the left with the pile of rocks.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~ 3

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 2 - The Bridge (List)

1. Remove all 12 screws marked “x” on the bridge.
2. Attract the guard.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  5

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 3 - Bell Tower (List)

1. Ring the bell.
2. Shove the spike balls onto the floor.
3. Ring the bell again when the guard is at the top of the bell tower.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  7

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 4 - The Meat Grinder (List)

1. Put out the lantern, the guard will go and light it back.
2. Open the door of the meat grinder before the guard gets back into position.
3. Close the door of the meat grinder when the guard is back in position.
4. Start the meat grinder.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  7

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 5 - The Mine Cart (List)

1. Raise the spikes.
2. Lower the rails.
3. Flip the level to send Retardo down the tracks.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  6

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 6 - The Mine Tracks (List)

You must act quickly or else Retardo might be separated into 2 halves.

1. Raise the spikes.
2. Lower the rails.
3. Raise the spikes

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  4

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 7 - The Jump (List)

You must act quickly in this scene as well.

1. Raise the rails.
2. Raise the spikes.
3. Raise the rails.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  4

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 8 - The Elevator (List)

1. Pick up the level.
2. Attach the level to its base.
3. Pick up the gear cog.
4. Connect the gear back into the machine.
5. Activate the level to start the machine.
6. Bring down the elevator to crush the guard.
7. Shove the pile of rocks away.
8. Raise the ladder into position.
9. Climb up the ladder.
10. Bring up the elevator when Retardo is standing on the elevator platform.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  5

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 9 - The Sleeping Guard (List)

1. Pick up the bucket.
2. Fill the bucket with water from the tap.
3. Put out the torch with the bucket of water.
4. Knock the cup off the table.
5. Activate the level to lower the door.
6. Pick up the bucket again.
7. Again, fill the bucket with water from the tap.
8. Splash the bucket of water onto the guard to wake him up.
9. Activate the wheel to raise the door once the guard is impaled onto the door spikes.
10. Enter the next room.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  4

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 10 - The Catapult (List)

1. Pick up a cannon ball.
2. Dip the cannon ball into the barrel of tar.
3. Activate the wheel to lower the firing arm of the catapult.
4. Place the sticky cannon ball onto the firing pad of the catapult.
5. Attract the guard.
6. Activate the wheel when the guard is on top of the firing pad, inspecting the cannon ball.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  4

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Walkthrough - Scene 11 - The Iron Golem (List)

1. Pull up the rope and set it into position.
2. Remove the stopper of the cart.
3. Pick up the loose spike.
4. Connect the rope, loose spike and cart together.

Total number of mushrooms in this scene (marked “m” as shown above) ~  6

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Game Over!

If you are lazy to play through the game and want to watch the ending straight away, go visit the author’s home page and use the password moronia to access the various goodies for players who have completed this cute point and click adventure flash game.

Deimos’s Daily Reads
No additional reads for today until further notice.

Deimos’s Thoughts
The author already made a walkthrough, but the locations of the mushrooms were not highlighted. This walkthrough is based upon the author’s walkthrough, except the locations of all the mushrooms were properly highlighted for the ease of mushroom finding.

Deimos Asks
How come the Iron Golem has red blood? Or is that some sort of mechanical fluid?

It's like building a complete kitchen with Michelin Star Rating but forgetting the plumbing.

I understand this is entirely out of control of my good host, Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Alongside with other international bloggers, I have been accommodated in 5-Star hotels but Internet connection has been difficult in three cities in the past six days.

Telkomsel was kind enough to loan us a HSDPA wireless broadband USB-kit the very first day I dropped into Bali, and I was delighted to note that their USB kit is an updated version compared to the one Maxis and Celcom adopted -- both are supplied by Huaiwei. (But my friends in Indonesia say the one Indosat used is supplied by ZTE, and works fine!)

But it was not plug-and-play. The account activation requires human interaction with a human voice at the Help Desk. The moment I got it activated, it was time to leave for Jogjakarta the next morning.

In Jogja, I realised that though I had the prepaid access has a time credit of some five hours, the but Telkomsel SIM card was not carrying any usage credit in rupiah value, or pulsa in Bahasa Indonesia.

It didn't make things better. Though the kind Ministry staff gave me a 4-hour prepaid Internet card to access Wi-Fi at the Melia Purosani hotel, wireless signal was limited to certain blocks and mine was not service-covered.

Today, I was moved into another posh hotel and was told that Internet is limited to the lobby bar. So, I posted this blog at the lobby, but was very delighted to discover that Wi-Fi is indeed accessible on the 11th floor. Deja vu!

Now, I have so much backlog to clear -- reply emails, send new emails, and post pictures.

The right 'Penang Formula'

I am so eager to log in because someone alerted me to read an article by Soo Ewe Jin, a Penangite who insists that 'you can take a Penangite out of Penang but never the Penang out of a Penangite'.

In the commentary titled: Penang should think small to grow big, Ewe Jin dishes some free advice for Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, whom he thinks to be "in a bit of a dilemma over how to develop the state".

In the footnote, Ewe Jin was described as someone whose family house in Jelutong -- my parliamentary constituency -- was demolished to make way for development earlier this year. He hopes a nice 5-storey media and advertising hub rather than a 22-storey high-rise will come up in its place.

I only came to know that Ewe Jin's demolished house was precisely the one that cut all fears (of the incumbent) to supply electricity to the little construction cabin that was used as the operation room for my GE2008 campaign. And now it's gone.

I will treasure what Ewe Jin writes today. It's a wake-up call for the present state government of Penang. Cut the crap about the misadventures of the previous Koh Tsu Koon state government. They are completed history.

To Penangites, it's the present and the future that matters. Just get to know Penangites better and run Penang well.

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Download - Overview In this Retardo and the Iron Golem point and click adventure flash game, you must help Retardo, the retarded hero from the kingdom of Moronia to defeat the Iron Golem. Complete the game as fast as possible in order to rank high in the high scores.

Download Retardo and the Iron Golem (File Size ~ 2.7 MB | Version 2.4)
Download the ZIP archive here:
http://ahkong.net/index.php?dl_id=131

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Title Menu

Cute Retardo is chasing after butterflies. Check out the high scores or click play to proceed.

Retardo and the Iron Golem - High Scores

An active internet connection is required if you want to view the high scores.

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Introduction

In this screen, you will be briefed about the plot, and then off you go on your mission!

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Instructions

Quite simple and easy to understand instructions right? Click continue to start the action.

Retardo and the Iron Golem - Action

Erm … as shown above, Retardo is quite retarded and can get himself killed quite easily if you are not assisting him in the correct way.

Deimos’s Daily Reads
No more reads for today.

Deimos’s Thoughts
Cute graphics, simple but effective game play. A good adventure flash game overall.

Deimos Asks
Personally, do you know anyone who is retarded? How did you get acquainted with them?

Few countries are poised to have more impact on the world over the next 15-20 years than China, it said, it said.

“If current trends persist, by 2025 China will have the world’s second largest economy and will be a leading military power. It could also be the largest importer of natural resources and an even greater polluter than it is now.”

Owing to the large populations and expansive landmasses of the new powers like India and China, another constellation of powerhouses is unlikely to erupt on the world scene over the next decade or two, the report said.

However, up-and coming developing states could account for an increasing proportion of the world’s economic growth by 2025.

“The international system, will be almost unrecognizable by 2025, owing to the rise of emerging powers, a globalising economy, an historic transfer of wealth from West to East, and the growing influence of non-state actors,” the report said.

“Although the United States is likely to remain the single most powerful actor, the United States’ relative strength-even in the military realm, will decline and US leverage will become more strained,” it said.

“Strategic rivalries are most likely to revolve around trade, investments and technological innovation and acquisition, but we cannot rule out a 19th century-like scenario of arms races, territorial expansion and military rivalries,” the report said.

source: timesofindia

Post from: The New Politickler

Same & Vince have won the 3rd installment of The Amazing race Asia! I watched it over AXN last night and even though i was routing for the Malaysian team(Malaysian mah!) but i must say that Sam & Vince were worthy winners! They have done well and a heavy mistake by Ida & Tania cost them the tittle but it was a good race and to make it the top 3, they have done well!

As far as the race’s most hated team is concerned… Geoff and Tisha i must say that every race needs a Geoff and Tisha!! They were good tv value with their race style and they have done well. I’m not sure if they will remain a item for way too long but i hope they work it out!

This race for sure has been the best so far and the toughest that we have seen to date! I hope more normal people are chosen to represent the countries in the next seasons and it gets more and more exciting!

Congrats to the top 3 and the producers!!

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Sam & Vince Win Amazing Race Asia 3

HONOLULU – A 24-year-old woman, on her first trip to Las Vegas, is worrying less about the nation’s economy. That’s because Jessica Agbunag won $2.4 million on Wednesday at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine at the California Hotel and Casino.

Agbunag, a baby sitter who graduated high school in 2002, was in Las Vegas with her boyfriend and family in remembrance of her grandmother’s birthday. Her grandmother was a frequent visitor to Las Vegas who loved slot machines.

The Wheel of Fortune machines were good to Agbunag.

She twice won much smaller amounts earlier this week at the same casino.

But on Wednesday, she inserted $16 into a Mega-Jackpot machine and it hit big. She said she plans to pay off a car and give some money to relatives.

Post from: The New Politickler

JOHN STUART MILL once dismissed the British Conservative Party as the stupid party. Today the Conservative Party is run by Oxford-educated high-fliers who have been busy reinventing conservatism for a new era. As Lexington sees it, the title of the “stupid party” now belongs to the Tories’ transatlantic cousins, the Republicans.

There are any number of reasons for the Republican Party’s defeat on November 4th. But high on the list is the fact that the party lost the battle for brains. Barack Obama won college graduates by two points, a group that George Bush won by six points four years ago. He won voters with postgraduate degrees by 18 points. And he won voters with a household income of more than $200,000—many of whom will get thumped by his tax increases—by six points. John McCain did best among uneducated voters in Appalachia and the South.

The Republicans lost the battle of ideas even more comprehensively than they lost the battle for educated votes, marching into the election armed with nothing more than slogans. Energy? Just drill, baby, drill. Global warming? Crack a joke about Ozone Al. Immigration? Send the bums home. Torture and Guantánamo? Wear a T-shirt saying you would rather be water-boarding. Ha ha. During the primary debates, three out of ten Republican candidates admitted that they did not believe in evolution.

The Republican Party’s divorce from the intelligentsia has been a while in the making. The born-again Mr Bush preferred listening to his “heart” rather than his “head”. He also filled the government with incompetent toadies like Michael “heck-of-a-job” Brown, who bungled the response to Hurricane Katrina. Mr McCain, once the chattering classes’ favourite Republican, refused to grapple with the intricacies of the financial meltdown, preferring instead to look for cartoonish villains. And in a desperate attempt to serve boob bait to Bubba, he appointed Sarah Palin to his ticket, a woman who took five years to get a degree in journalism, and who was apparently unaware of some of the most rudimentary facts about international politics.

Republicanism’s anti-intellectual turn is devastating for its future. The party’s electoral success from 1980 onwards was driven by its ability to link brains with brawn. The conservative intelligentsia not only helped to craft a message that resonated with working-class Democrats, a message that emphasised entrepreneurialism, law and order, and American pride. It also provided the party with a sweeping policy agenda. The party’s loss of brains leaves it rudderless, without a compelling agenda.

This is happening at a time when the American population is becoming more educated. More than a quarter of Americans now have university degrees. Twenty per cent of households earn more than $100,000 a year, up from 16% in 1996. Mark Penn, a Democratic pollster, notes that 69% call themselves “professionals”. McKinsey, a management consultancy, argues that the number of jobs requiring “tacit” intellectual skills has increased three times as fast as employment in general. The Republican Party’s current “redneck strategy” will leave it appealing to a shrinking and backward-looking portion of the electorate.

Why is this happening? One reason is that conservative brawn has lost patience with brains of all kinds, conservative or liberal. Many conservatives—particularly lower-income ones—are consumed with elemental fury about everything from immigration to liberal do-gooders. They take their opinions from talk-radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and the deeply unsubtle Sean Hannity. And they regard Mrs Palin’s apparent ignorance not as a problem but as a badge of honour.

Another reason is the degeneracy of the conservative intelligentsia itself, a modern-day version of the 1970s liberals it arose to do battle with: trapped in an ideological cocoon, defined by its outer fringes, ruled by dynasties and incapable of adjusting to a changed world. The movement has little to say about today’s pressing problems, such as global warming and the debacle in Iraq, and expends too much of its energy on xenophobia, homophobia and opposing stem-cell research.

Conservative intellectuals are also engaged in their own version of what Julian Benda dubbed la trahison des clercs, the treason of the learned. They have fallen into constructing cartoon images of “real Americans”, with their “volkish” wisdom and charming habit of dropping their “g”s. Mrs Palin was invented as a national political force by Beltway journalists from the Weekly Standard and the National Review who met her when they were on luxury cruises around Alaska, and then noisily championed her cause.

Time for reflection

How likely is it that the Republican Party will come to its senses? There are glimmers of hope. Business conservatives worry that the party has lost the business vote. Moderates complain that the Republicans are becoming the party of “white-trash pride”. Anonymous McCain aides complain that Mrs Palin was a campaign-destroying “whack job”. One of the most encouraging signs is the support for giving the chairmanship of the Republican Party to John Sununu, a sensible and clever man who has the added advantage of coming from the north-east (he lost his New Hampshire Senate seat on November 4th).

But the odds in favour of an imminent renaissance look long. Many conservatives continue to think they lost because they were not conservative or populist enough—Mr McCain, after all, was an amnesty-loving green who refused to make an issue out of Mr Obama’s associations with Jeremiah Wright. Richard Weaver, one of the founders of modern conservatism, once wrote a book entitled “Ideas have Consequences”; unfortunately, too many Republicans are still refusing to acknowledge that idiocy has consequences, too.

from : Economist.com

Post from: The New Politickler

After a long two-year wait that had left many commuters inconvenienced, the much-hyped refurbishment to the Masjid Jamek LRT station plaza — which City Hall officially reopened yesterday — left many very disappointed.

City Hall spent a staggering RM5 million to “beautify” the station, but the very basic amenity commuters have been wanting — a covered walkway to link the Kelana Jaya line and Ampang line stations — was nowhere to be seen.

Work on the plaza started on Nov 1, 2006 and two years later, commuters who have to frequently switch stations at Masjid Jamek are back at square one — getting soaked when it rains! And there were many disgruntled people there during the heavy downpour.

continue reading at Mmail.com.my

Post from: The New Politickler

Mostly Useless There Is No Leader Within Barisan Nasional Who Has The Heart To Figure Out How Best To Handle The Price Of Petrol And Diesel In Malaysia Amidst The Global Market Force The Game Anwar Ibrahim And Pakatan Rakyat Leaders Are Able Even Before The Malaysian 12th General Election * Today The New Pakatan Rakyat Government Formed Tomorrow The Price Of Oil Go Down * Zubli Zainordin is a Blogger specializing in [...]

GAZA, Nov 20 (NNN-KUNA) — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Ehud Barak are reported to have made a secret visit to Jordan on Tuesday, where they met King Abdullah II.

Israeli radio quoted on Thursday a “top” official as saying that during the meeting, the Jordanian monarch urged Olmert and Barak not to launch large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip.

According to the source, the Israeli leaders informed King Abdullah that they could not exercise self-restraint if Palestinian missiles continued to target Israeli towns.

The radio said the visit was made in response to a request by the Jordanian monarch.

Post from: The New Politickler

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil fell to the lowest since May 2005, trading almost $100 a barrel below its July record as demand drops amid a global recession.

Oil is poised to drop 15 percent this week, the worst performance since Oct. 10 as the world economic crisis reduces demand growth to its weakest in 23 years. Equity markets plunged and copper has declined 63 percent from its May record to trade at its lowest since July 2005.

“It’s all driven by fear while the logic suggests a serious slowdown in demand caused by a worsening global economic outlook,” said Toby Hassall, analyst at Commodity Warrants Australia in Sydney. “The equity market is a barometer of the economy, and the market is pricing in a serious slowdown.”

Crude oil for January delivery fell as much as $1.17, or 2.4 percent, to $48.25 a barrel, and traded at $48.45 at 10:09 a.m. Singapore time on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have dropped 67 percent since reaching a record $147.27 July 11.

Oil for December delivery dropped $4.68, or 8.7 percent, yesterday to expire at $49.42 a barrel.

Japan’s economy, the world’s second-largest, will probably shrink this year and next in the first back-to-back contractions since the banking crisis a decade ago, economists say.

Singapore lowered its growth forecast for a fourth time this year and said the economy of Asia’s biggest oil-trading center may contract in 2009, adding pressure on policy makers to implement more measures to avoid a prolonged slowdown.

OPEC Meeting

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, due to meet on Nov. 29 in Cairo and again on Dec. 17 in Algeria, may lower output by a further 1 million barrels a day this year, extending production cuts agreed to last month, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts last week.

The International Energy Agency, an adviser to 28 nations, said last week that world oil demand will rise at its slowest pace for 23 years in 2008. It cut its 2009 estimate by 670,000 barrels a day to 86.5 million barrels a day, the biggest reduction in 12 years.

New York oil futures first traded above $50 on Sept. 28, 2004, in the middle of oil’s six-year rally toward this year’s records. Prices climbed on the strength of oil demand from emerging economies, led by China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer after the U.S.

Brent crude oil for January settlement fell 68 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $47.40 a barrel at 10:02 a.m. Singapore time on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. Yesterday the contract fell $3.64, or 7 percent, to $48.08, the lowest settlement since May 20, 2005.

Equities Decline

Asian energy stocks fell as oil and metals prices dropped. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil company, lost as much as 13 percent. Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore explorer, slipped 5.6 percent to HK$4.90, and PetroChina Co., Asia’s biggest company by market value, fell 5.9 percent to HK$5.09.

The drop in oil prices may cut investment. As many as 44 projects being undertaken by companies including Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Petroleo Brasileiro SA have been delayed or faced spending reduction, according to a Nov. 18 report by Morgan Stanley & Co.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its forecast for the average price of New York-traded crude oil in 2009 to $80 a barrel from $86, adding that it was closing all its trading recommendations for oil.

A price average of $50 a barrel for most of next year is possible if economic and industrial activity in Asia fails to stabilize, the weekly report dated Nov. 19. The bank has cut its 2009 outlook 46 percent since September.

Post from: The New Politickler

今早读到杨霓为悦沁找适合左手用的工具，让我想起我爸和双喜爸。

我爸右手写字，左手用工具。

双喜爸反过来，是左手写字，右手用工具。

爸说他原本是左手将，但是以前在读书的时候被‘纠正’，从此以后写字用右手，但是使上工具的时候都是用左手。

而双喜爸，和我爸一样天生左手将，事实上双喜爸的一个姐姐两个哥哥都是左手将，除了我小叔小的时候硬是被我家婆掰右，要不五个兄弟姐都是左手将了。

至于双喜爸写字用左手，却用右手使用工具或打球，原因就是三十多年前并没有所谓特制给左手将的工具，在外国有，但在本地没有，就算有价钱也会特贵吧，而当时也不会有人要想到用给左手特制的工具。

就这样，除了使用筷子还是用左手，双喜爸自然而然的习惯了用右手使用其他工具，自然的适应了生活的条件。

父母亲都疼爱孩子，希望孩子可以有好的物资帮助陪伴他们成长，但是有时我们会不会太过保护，或者太过迁就孩子。

比如我在宝宝商店看见教小孩子怎样用筷子的特制筷子，让儿童容易自己进食的L型汤匙，拿着不容易滑掉的碟子杯子，让宝宝自己好好坐的凳子，让宝宝学走路的车子……

好像没有了这些，我们这个年代的孩子都不会‘正常’的长大了。当然钱多烧的另当别论。

对小孩子‘特制’的用具我一向非常抗拒，我不是舍不得那个钱，很多时候我也会被那写奇趣可爱的用具吸引，想像小朋友们用得时候那新奇的表情是那么的快乐，但庆幸我们做商业广告的背景，撇开一些利用父母亲爱孩子的心理，为商业利益所‘研究’出来的用具不说，我不想孩子在一个被迁就的环境中成长。

对自己的小朋友们，我们可以给她们许多许多的拥抱，可以在她们过了婴儿期继续同床共枕，给她们买许多许多的玩具和书本，但是生活上的用具，她们将使用最普通的生活用品。

在学习生活的路上没有捷径。我害怕被迁就惯了的小朋友们长大后没有了变通的能力。

I suggest you read the following posts (or skim through the photos I painstakingly took) before you read this:

Rome Day 1 (Pt. 1) - Grand hotels, real Italian pizza and Via Veneto!

Rome Day 1 (Pt. 2) - the EASY VIRTUE premiere with Jessica Biel, the bittersweet fun at the International Rome Film Fest

Rome Day 2 (Pt. 1) - Unforgettable sights during the half-day city tour

Rome Day 2 (Pt. 2) - PRIDE AND GLORY premiere, Colin Farrell hides from me as I walk down the red carpet


Zahir Omar, me, Maha and Ida Nerina outside Grand Hotel Parco dei Principi before departure


It is now the 21st of November, Friday as I'm typing this. 2 weeks had passed since I came back to Tokyo. 3 weeks had passed since I returned to Malaysia from Rome, 4 weeks had passed since I returned to Malaysia from Tokyo to fly to Rome. 6 months had passed since CHICKEN RICE MYSTERY won the two awards at BMW Shorties, and gave me the trip to Rome.

As time stretches even longer between those events and the present, it feels increasingly vain to bask on long-ago glory and reiterate the experience of a long-ago trip. Yet closure is always necessary, even though I often favour ambiguity and open-endedness in the endings of my own films.

The Rome trip is fleeting, but fun. I left with the joy of seeing so many iconic sights, yet mingled with a slight twinge of regret that I wasn't there longer, and also bemusement at the long-held expectation that I was supposed to present my film at the Rome Film Fest and only to realize belatedly that I didn't have to do that, and that all I had to do was just to sit back, relax and enjoy the festival for what it is. Also, traveling with Ida, Zahir and Maha had been a pleasure (and having Mui for half of the trip added a lot of fun too), and this isn't some artificial butt-kissing statement just to garner some goodwill. I'm a loner by nature, so to actually enjoy traveling companionship is almost a rarity.

Now I turn my thoughts upon the BMW SHORTIES. Only in its second year, and despite its imperfection, I can see a lot of good about this competition and other similar short film competitions. They'll be constantly discovering new filmmakers, motivating the creation of new works, and maybe, most invaluable of all, the Malaysian public gets to learn and enjoy more of the underappreciated short film medium. Long being regarded as a 'lesser medium', I find the common prejudice against short films rather baffling. To me, a film is a novel, and a short film is obviously a short story. The latter isn't a lesser art, just a different medium asking for different sort of stories or experimentation.

One of my fondest experiences during my stay in Perth was attending the TROPFEST, a major nationwide short film festival where each year, 16 of its finalists are screened at Sydney, which is then broadcast live via satellite to venues in Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart, Melbourne and Adelaide. In each venue, thousands of people gather around to watch the films, admission's free. Whole thing's like a rock concert.

When asked for suggestions about what BMW SHORTIES should try next year, I suggested public screenings of the finalist films, mostly because of my nostalgia for Tropfest. One can say that having these films being streamed online is easier because anyone can watch it anytime and anywhere, but is it really? Most of the people I know had complained about the connection being too slow for them to load my film for viewing (of course, it was unfortunate that my film was nearly 20 minutes long). And I also belong to one of those old-fashioned types who think that the big screen experience can never be replicated, and that some cinematic experience is better enjoyed via the big screen, where the films are presented in a way where they are meant to be watched, and not through a tiny window where its video quality is compromised greatly by compression (and once again, it's also a matter of whether the video can finish loading when we have an internet provider as... reliable as Streamyx)

But will this be possible? Or is this just wishful thinking?

Ultimately, what BMW SHORTIES really is, in my opinion, is some sort of financial grant for new filmmakers, an opportunity to make an expensive short film with a budget of 75k (50k last year). People place themselves in consideration for this 'grant' by submitting their own short films. Last year, it was Zahir. This year, it's Nazim. Consequentially, they (BMW SHORTIES) have charged themselves with the task of choosing the most appropriate candidates to conjure a worthwhile project destined to travel extensively at major film festival circuits, and aiding the careers of these filmmakers. Let's make more of this happen then.

I had also said half-jokingly that maybe some cash prizes should be considered to accompany the nice trophies that they give out. Not because I prefer cash over a trip over a Rome trip, but mostly because I still think that some attractive incentives should be given to increase the amount of participants in future competitions. By adding more luster to this competition, the more participants they'll get, the higher the chances of seeing even better short films being made.

Perhaps the tone of this post is sickeningly idealistic, perhaps it's damnably daydreamy, which should be expected from its writer whose horoscope is Pisces. Even so, the Malaysian film scene is developing, not stagnating, so it's unsurprising if people start upping their ante considerably in the near future for BMW SHORTIES. The ball is in BMW SHORTIES' hands, it's just a matter of what sort of role they intend to play on the field. The possibilities are endless.

It was a busy week for me last week. Where i work we are planning a huge event for next year which is very important for the country and Malaysians at large in my view. With the planning of this event i had to go to many high profile places and meet some top top people to get them to support the event which i will highlight as we go by.

Just to give you a idea of who is required to endorse or rather support this event.

Yea its a bad picture but when your walking around a high security area its a little hard to take any pictures using a ancient camera on my museum material phone. A clearer image of another place which is in the headlines a lot

Yeap, the infamous 4th floor!! It was a pretty cool experience and the building is as nice on the inside as the outside! The view from inside the building is breath taking and it was day..Imagine the nights!

Nice eh!

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PM’s Office

My ’supplier’ cannot find Razer Goliathus Speed Edition for me. Therefore, I have to buy Everglide Titan GamingMat mouse pad to replace Razer Goliathus Speed Edition. Why do we need a gaming mouse pad? I am not sure. So I bought Everglide Titan GamingMat to test.

Everglide Titan GamingMat box

(more…)

Letter by Choo Sing Chye former P Patto’s Political Secretary The renaming of Jalan Silibin to Jalan P.Patto had caused an unusually large uproar from the businesses and residents in this particular area. Although it is natural to have opposition to this plan to change the road name but it [...]

By Farish A. Noor Now that the level of euphoria over the victory of Barack Obama has settled somewhat, it would pay to consider some of the ramifications of his recent victory as the latest occupant of the White House and by extension the most powerful man in the world. In the lead-up to Obama’s victory, [...]

The recent epf rates has been making waves via emails. Im no tax expert but someone who knows more than me of the mechanics of how individual tax is concerned dropped me a comment on my previous posting saying that the emails being floating are half true.

So here is Mr Arrivu’s explanation :

1. According to the email, taxable income is after your EPF contribution is deducted. But the truth is your taxable income is before the EPF deduction.

2. Our Inland Revenue Board give us a tax relief of RM6,000 for EPF contribution and life insurance premium. Here is an example,

Mr. Atlee’s monthly income is RM4,000 with 1 month contractual bonus of RM4,000 and some variable pays of RM2,000. He is paying life insurance premium monthly of RM150. If your EPF contribution is
a) 11% ->
(RM4,000 X 13 + RM2,000) X 11% = RM5,940.
Insurance: RM150 X 12=RM1,800.
Total EPF and Insurance=RM7,740
Since, your tax relief is only given up to RM6,000.
So, your total taxable income will RM48,000 after the RM6,000 relief.

b)8% ->
(RM4,000 X 13 + RM2,000) X 8% = RM4,320.
Insurance: RM150 X 12=RM1,800.
Total EPF and Insurance=RM6,120.
Since, your tax relief is only given up to RM6,000.
Your total taxable income is still RM48,000 after the RM6,000 relief.

So for some reason i was not convinced that this could be the whole story and did my rounds on the internet and found this article which was by a economic and investment expert :

If your pay is about RM4,500/month, and you have no life insurance, you will actually pay more taxes if you decide to reduce your EPF contribution to 8%.

That’s because up to RM6,000 of EPF contributions and life insurance premiums are tax-deductible. Here is the calculation:

1. You earn RM54,000 per year. 11% EPF = RM5,940, which is tax-deductible. There is also RM8,000 of personal relief. So your net taxable income is RM40,060. The tax on that will be RM2,183 (tax rate is RM1,525 on the first RM35k and 13% on the next RM15k).
2. The EPF contribution is reduced to 8% = RM4,320. That is equal to RM1,620 extra in your pocket every year. Very nice? Did you realise that’s not all yours? That extra is now taxable income! So your net taxable income is RM41,680 and you will be paying RM2,393 of federal income tax.
   
3. The BN federal government will be taking an RM210 (RM2,393 vs RM2,183) of taxes from you ie 13% of that extra which you thought was all yours.

Of course, the better-paid employees with hefty life insurance premiums are already well over the RM6,000 ceiling for tax-deductibility, so they won’t be affected. But aren’t these measures supposed to help the poorer?

So there you have it! I’m still not sure how it will apply to me yet as everyone might have different variables which ultimately determine how much you will be paying or saving. I would suggest for you to head over to the IRB’s website, speak to your friends who know a thing or two about tax and find out how it would apply to you.

Thanks Mr Arrivu for the explanation but i don’t think i blindly believed what a i read on a forwarded email but posted it so i got responces like yours but maybe there was some truth in those emails?

I dont know…you tell me

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Epf Myth Busted?

How much do you wish you could even sit on a hovercraft when you are young. I don’t even own a remote control hovercraft before, I guess that would already been fun.

Now I wish that I own one of this nifty small hovercraft that I did not even know they exists.

Finally, I decided to buy the 1st car in my life! Yesterday I booked the new Honda City 2009, which will be available in Malaysia at the end of 2008.

Honda City 2009 (blue) (image: PaulTan.org)

The Honda City 2009 priced at around RM90,000. The car’s refundable booking fee is RM2,000. There are 5 colors available, if I remember correctly: gold, silver, black, blue, and “polished metal metalic” (like gray).

I picked blue because it is special and unique. Honda City 2009 is the first Honda car with the color. For your information, there is NO red color Honda City 2009 in Malaysia.

I have a driving license 10 years ago, but I never drive a car since then. I will need some practices of driving before receiving my Honda City 2009.

For the past years, my friends and family have been fetching me here and there. I owe them too much. It is my turn to be their driver to pay them back. Also, many friends are looking forward to sit in my car.

You may read more about Honda City 2009 at PaulTan.org.

Like UMNO There Are Not Many True Leaders In MCA The Rakyat Are Confused To See UMNO-Like Leaders Running MCA Zubli Zainordin is a Blogger specializing in Political Leaders at Blogs he Authors - A Total Blog, and Satu Blog Total. He is also an active article writer at TranungKite OnLine, and a Dr. Sid invited writer at Combined Forces Of Malaysian [...]

Nice move he has there. This also tells us that there is no many person that we can call a Clean Politician or maybe there is really no clean politician. This how the world that we live right now is...

Phage Wars - Download - Overview In this Phage Wars action strategy flash game, you play the role of a unique strain of parasite, out to infect and dominate other parasites in the battle field, or infection field? Do you have what it takes to be the most dominating parasite in Phage Wars?

Download Phage Wars (File Size ~ 609.4 KB)
Download the ZIP archive here:
http://ahkong.net/index.php?dl_id=130

Phage Wars - Title Menu

Nothing else available in this menu, just click to proceed.

Phage Wars - Choose your Parasite

There are a total of 8 types of parasite with varying levels in strength, speed and agility.

Phage Wars - Action!

Shown above are 3 different strain of parasites (red, teal and orange) infecting one another, fighting for total domination. The higher the number in a cell, the harder it is to be infected. The colored patches are parasites infections moving about attempting to infect a cell.

Phage Wars - Plot an Attack

Up to 8 cells can gang up to attack a single cell. Obviously, there is strength in numbers.

Phage Wars - Attacking

And off they go! Watch as the swarm of parasites charge into the target cell.

Phage Wars - Pause

Yes, you can conveniently press the Space Bar to pause the action.

Phage Wars - Dominant Species