Football Game? What Football Game?

Hahaha.. Lately, the inspiration to write has been at its lowest as I am swamped with year-end work, and issues around me have been pretty much the same.. Until recently, that is!

Take a bow, Harimau Malaya - the Malaysian football team, as tonight was the biggest game since 1991 where we won the SEA Games gold medal with our full strength national team. With due respect, the SEA Games in Laos was an U-23 competition, but heck, we don't mind winning that as well!!

I am such a happy man!

But, I only got to see the last 15-20 minutes of the game, as my boss for whatever reason unbeknown to me, decided to setup a conference meeting right smack at 8 pm local time. It was scheduled for 1/2 an hour, but went on well after 9 pm..

Anyway...

Here are some pics of the mamak stall I decided to stop at along the way home, just to grab a piece of the action:

Making Meatloaf..

Here's my Favorite meatloaf recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix all the ingredients except the barbecue sauce together, then spread the meatloaf mixture into an ungreased loaf pan.

3. Spoon barbecue sauce on the top of the meatloaf and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.

I Really need to learn this stuff..

Yep, making money from Adsense. It seems that there are really some successful money makers out there!

I am going to spend the best part of the next 6 months to learn how.

So here are some tips that I can share:

"Some webmasters invest significant effort into maximizing their own AdSense income. They do this in three ways:

1. They use a wide range of traffic-generating techniques, including but not limited to online advertising.
2. They build valuable content on their websites that attracts AdSense advertisements, which pay out the most when they are clicked.
3. They use text content on their websites that encourages visitors to click on advertisements. Note that Google prohibits webmasters from using phrases like "Click on my AdSense ads" to increase click rates. The phrases accepted are "Sponsored Links" and "Advertisements"." - Wikipedia

Saving Money..

Here's my contribution to the Malaysian Public..

This is a sample letter to reduce your home mortgage interest rate as well as to increase your principal repayment so that you play less interest:

Manager,

Housing Loan & Mortgage Department,

CIMB Bandar Puteri,

Bandar Puteri Puchong
12 Jalan Puteri 1/1
Bandar Puteri
47100 Puchong
Selangor

Tel : 603 - 8060 3634 / 8060 3731
Fax : 603 - 8068 1544

Dear Sir/Madam

Re: Reduction of Interest Rate & Increase Of Monthly Principal Amount Payment for A/C: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

I would like to request that the interest rate on my loan be reduced. My current rate of BLR - 1.9 is currently not competitive and I believe my solid payment history over the last years demonstrates my value to you as a customer.

2. From the information I have received from your institution, the current package you are offering your new customers are much better. I am expecting that such rates can be extended to me due to my loyalty to your bank, and further extended for the next 5 years.

3. I would also like to increase the ratio of my monthly installment towards the reduction of the principal amount of my mortgage, instead of heavily skewed towards the accrued interest.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and please do not hesitate to contact me if you require further information.

Kind Regards,

Phone Number:

Email Address:

Account Number:

*BLR = at the time of writing

End of Ramadhan, Again!

Hey folks!

Like previous years, Ramadhan went by like a hurricane, and just as I started to adjust to everything that comes with it, it is already time to say goodbye (cue Bocelli's hit tune)..

Anyway, you see the greatest issue with the early morning 'sahur' for me, is the figuring out what to cook. Not the waking up, nor the woozy aftermath, but trying to fix something easy to eat with less than an hour of prep time.

Yes, once in a while, there's the occasional leftover food fest, but my family (the four of us, anyway) normally gobble up everything for 'iftar' and dinner, so much so that we have no leftovers! Talk about efficiency!

So, while preparing supper tonight, I thought I hit a damn fantastic idea for a website. Picture this:

1. You have 50 minutes to cook
2. You don't have everything in your fridge
3. You do have something (say, minced chicked)
4. You are sweating profusely, unable to Morimoto your way out in this Battle of the Mince Chicken ala Iron Chef!

What, oh what do you do??

You go to my brilliant website: whatsinyourfridge.com and just enter the ingredients that you have, click on 'Find' and presto, your on your way with the best-tasting recipe your available ingredient can be part of!

Only that someone beat me to the idea by well, about SIX YEARS!!

Hahaha..

Anyway the said website, CookingByNumbers is currently down, or at least that's what it looks like to me, so I'm having Toasted Broccoli & Cheese Sandwich tonight..

Citibank My A**..

When I went to the States a couple of years back, I got my brother to apply for me a supplementary card from Citibank.

Never got it, not a single letter on it ever received.

Checked my acounts recently, and BAM! The record's there, I am listed as a card holder.. WTH!

So just now, I called them up at 03-2383 0000 (I have a Savings A/C and Phone banking service) and told them to stuff the card up their a**.. Well, actually I told them to cancel it, heheh..

Spoke to Ms. Nida, and she just said "OK, sir. I'll do that for you.."

No Resistance at all. Wow!

Personality Plus..

Have you guys ever did one of those personality tests?

I got shortlisted for a job I interviewed last month, and they asked me to do a personality test on their site, so I wen Googling to see what it's all about..

Did this one on similarminds.com:

Big Five Test Results

Extroversion (56%) moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity. Accommodation (76%) high which suggests you are overly kind natured, trusting, and helpful at the expense too often of your own individual development (martyr complex). Orderliness (78%) high which suggests you are overly organized, neat, structured and restrained at the expense too often of flexibility, variety, spontaneity, and fun. Emotional Stability (88%) very high which suggests you are extremely relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic. Inquisitiveness (68%) moderately high which suggests you are intellectual, curious, imaginative but possibly not very practical.

Take Free Big Five Personality Test

Doing the Unthinkable..

Sometimes, it takes something special to break your mental barriers..

It's all in the mind!

I got some great tips from the Miniclip forum today and it seems that one can score much more in all three jumps for Stunt Dive..

But here's my best so far:

Census 2010

Did the Census online just now, which took me about half an hour.

This was after being surprised by a visit of the census officer at 9pm last night! Such dedication, but I think they get paid really well.

Anyway, while at the doorway, the guy by the name of Fared asked me whether I would like to complete the census online. Huh? I didn't know we Malaysians are THAT advanced! But in the interest of convenience (and not having my wife dashing away to slip into something more appropriate), I just said "Yeah, why not?"

Anyway, all he did was ask me what my phone number was, and scribbled something on a small booklet which read "Panduan Mengisi e-Census Banci Penduduk dan Perumahan Malaysia 2010", and gave me the copy.

Took it, left it on the table, and brought it to work today.

The first part was getting the online registration done. Had my first glitch, when I found out that the identification code on the front page of the booklet wasn't complete! Tried to call the census guy (he left his phone no. on the cover as well), but nobody picked up.. Thanks a lot, Fared! :P

To cut a short story even shorter, I gave a call to their call center at 1-800-88-7828, and was attended to promptly. Spoke to an En. Azwan who advised me of the right code (Note: The last two digits labeled IR really stands for Isi Rumah - defines whether you have extended family living together), and sent me plodding along..

After entering my email address and the code, the web app sent a newly generated passcode for me to my email, and that was used for logging on to the portal.

Everything then on went smoothly until the part where I completed the last details of the house occupants. After I clicked 'Save', the whole screen went blank!

Thankfully, after a few reloads and re-logging in, I managed to complete the questionnaire and printed a PDF copy.

I am such a good citizen!

Measures

Took a measurement of my kids today with a tape meter and found out my son, Din has breached the 1 Meter mark!

Din is 1.15m while Mah, my daughter is 89cm.

The Secret to Success..

To the newbies, here are some guidelines on how to do well playing this game. Please post some of your really good dives on YouTube for my enjoyment!

1. Jump right before the blue dots on the spring board
- For maximum height thus time to do your tricks. A good leap will add on a couple of points to your overall score

2. Do the good stuff
- As with real life competition, you should focus on improving your Types B, D & E dives. Type C tends to swing wildly during landings

3. Timing
- Each trick has its own timing. Try to gauge it by trying different combinations of spins, side flips, etc.

4. Land Well
- A good manoeuvre can lose plenty of points if you land horrendously. To nail a perfect landing is sometimes difficult, but try to keep your routine pinned on the 'Very Good' to the 'Good' range - Always.

5. The 2 P's
- Patience and Practice. I just can't stress enough.

Nothing Better to Do..

Lazy Saturday? Well I am actually working today, as we have a firewall migration project in HK. But that starts at 6 pm.. So, in the meantime? Stunt Dive, of course!!

After huffing and puffing for a couple of hours, I have managed to better my score:





Ao proud to have the Malaysian flag beside it.. Keranamu Malaysia! (Hahahah..)

Getting Good at It..

After being more cerebral about the game, I can now boast of a >1000 score!






And after a couple of hours more, I managed to crack the so called "Magic 356" mark, this being the highest score I've managed so far - it can be improved, though..

Woohoo!

It's nearly 7 am and the first thing I did after waking up was peeing and STUNT DIVING!!

With good (ahem!) results, thank goodness!

It's an obsession..

Yep, to break the 1000+ point barrier is proving a tad difficult, it seems.. But here's my best score so far:

Stunt Dive Miniclip..

Sorry guys, I just had to post this..

Saw this on YouTube after getting the Gold award! So I thought, what the heck?

My current best score is currently at 972 minus this perfect jump.

Viva Espana!

After all the hoopla about Germany, Argentina and Brazil, who would have guessed that the FIFA World Cup would end up like this:

Champions: Spain
Runner-up: The Netherlands
3rd Place: Germany
4th Place: Uruguay

Golden Ball Award: Diego Forlan
Golden Shoe Award: Thomas Mueller (why don't they call it Golden Boot, I don't know!)
Young Player Award: Thomas Mueller
Golden Gloves Award: Iker Casillas

I got my predictions wrong due to the awesome display of grit and termination by the Uruguayans, and the blitzkrieg attacking approach of the Germans. But the surprises made it a better tournament as it became so unpredictable, only an octopus would have had half a chance in predicting it right!

Well Paul, you really earned your spot in the limelight. Let's hope you'll be around come the Euros : )

Teleconferencing How-To's

I normally have my weekly meetings with my team members outside of APAC on Mondays. This is where I have to report the current developments with the local project as well as any outstanding issues that might need help from people in the US.

The meeting shifts due to Daylight Savings; it is either at 8.30 pm or 9.30 pm, depending on the season. I usually like the 8.30 ones because that allows me to go home early. Nowadays, I really don't mind since I can take it from home.

The problem with having a conference call routed to your home is that you need to make sure that the environment is suitable enough for it. You must have a proper 'office' (i.e. workstation), where your kids can't jump around and make noise while you are addressing the FY12Q4 IT expenditure projections to your boss.. It also has to be well ventilated. Trust me, a warm room is not good for both you and your PC.

Thirdly, it has to be quiet enough for you to hear your meeting participants, and them to hear you. So, you can't have noise from traffic, noisy neighbours as well as renovation works impede the smooth running of your teleconference.

The last part involves technology. I don't use Skype or any PC-based software to call in. Normally, my team will call me up to my US ext. number which is routed to my desk phone in KL, and then to my speakerphone on Blackberry (Company's as well).

Thankfully, the quality is passable with little distortion and echo. I did a course on Voice Telephony during my diploma days and you have to know that transmitting voice data is not as difficult because due to the frequency of the human voice, it doesn't take much bandwidth and after the lossy quantization process, voice data sounds not much different to the human ear.

In short, it takes an idiot to mess up a phone call : )

Anyway, the problem with my Blackberry is that eventhough it's loud enough, the sound does get a bit shrill at times. I hate headphones, especially the in-your-ear type that comes bundled with the Curve 8250. And let's not get into the frequency response of the tiny built-in speakers because it's not meant for that. What you would need to avoid this issue are in the options below:

1. An adapter jack to plug in your favourite speakers into your Blackberry Audio-Out port
- Cons: Expensive for a 1 1/2 inch plastic & metal contraption. It sells for about RM60 - RM120 depending on who you buy it from. It has a hole at one end and a male jack at the other.

2. A Bluetooth Speaker
- Cons: A little tricky as the speaker needs to have the necessary Bluetooth Service Class to carry out phone conversations. Most speakers (I have a Samsung HT-X715 Home Theater) can only stream out audio [Audio Sink] while disabling the microphone function). I have found such a device at Mudah, and it retails for about RM200 for a Made in China version.

3. A proper Speakerphone
- Yup, I can get the call routed to my homephone instead, and replace the lousy TM-outsourced-to-crony default orange phone with a proper, good quality speaker phone from GE or Panasonic. They are about RM150, but the phone line is in the living room, and cordless phones with speakerphones are still expensive.

I am more inclined towards the bluetooth speaker option with the Headset Service features. However, these Made in China products are well known for their poor quality, especially with the 'no-name' brand. I'll just keep my options open and hope technology throws me another option soon!

The Heat is On!

Well, here we are..

The Group stages of the FIFA 2010 World Cup has just been completed, and we have now our complete fixtures for the 2nd Round:

Uruguay vs.South Korea
10:00 AM ET
N. Mandela Bay

United States vs.Ghana
2:30 PM ET
Royal Bafokeng

SECOND ROUND SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2010
Germany vs.England
10:00 AM ET
Free State

Argentina vs.Mexico
2:30 PM ET
Soccer City

SECOND ROUND MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2010
Netherlands vs.Slovakia
10:00 AM ET
Durban Stadium

Brazil vs.Chile
2:30 PM ET
Ellis Park

SECOND ROUND TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2010
Paraguay vs.Japan
10:00 AM ET
Loftus Versfeld

Spain vs.Portugal
2:30 PM ET
Green Point Stadium

My pick? Well, while most would be banking on the Anglo-German rivalry, or the Iberian derby, my pick would be the Paraguay vs. Japan for the best game of this round.

Why?

Well in both teams, you have the fittest, most hardworking and dynamic teams in the tournament. It's going to be a cracker of a match, I assure you.

There's also a potential banana skin for Brazil, as they are playing Chile. I believe that it always takes a South American team to beat another (outside of Europe) in the World Cup.. But If I remember correctly, last time they met in the World Cup (..in 1998?), Chile got on the end of a 4-1 hammering..

In that tournament, we had 4 South American, 10 European and 1 African and 1 CONCACAF team in the last 16.

This time around, we have 5 South American, 6 European, 2 Asian, 2 CONCACAF and 1 African team - which makes it helluva much more interesting.

It's also good to note that all six European teams are facing each other, compared to only one all South American team. So in the last 8, there'll only be 3 European teams. Isn't that some sort of record or something?

My point is, the other record of having Europeans never winning the cup when its held outside of Europe might still be standing after the dust settles at this edition of the FIFA World Cup.

My previous prediction of the Dutch playing Slovakia has become true, so if you are a betting man, here's my pick for the semi-finalist, given all that has transpired:

1. Netherlands/Brazil (Brazil if England goes through, the Dutch if Argentina)
2. Spain
3. Argentina/England
4. USA

The winners will be the South American team that makes it to the Semi Finals.

Top Scorer will be David Villa.

USA for 4th.

Hahahaha...

FB Beta Tester

Hey..

I've submitted an application to become a Facebook Beta-Tester just for the sake of it.. This is what they said on their website:

"As a beta tester, your job will be to ask great questions and provide great answers about your favorite topics. Economics? Skydiving? Relationships? Mexican Restaurants? It's up to you. You'll be the first person outside of Facebook to use this product. Your expert writing will be seen by tens of millions of people — including job recruiters. And we'll bring our best beta testers out to California to tour Facebook headquarters and meet the team."

Sounds like fun, eh?

But the application process is simply to write a couple of answers for a couple of questions. So, here's mine:

How do you cook a perfect steak?

Firstly, one's perfect steak might be someone else's door stopper. You have to know what you/your diners like first, in order to cook it perfectly.

Your best bet would be to know your cut of meats firsthand. Muscles that work the least have less connective tissues, thus resulting in a more tender cut.

Pick the popular steak cuts - which are normally labeled on the packaging, for grilling. These include Tenderloin and Ribeye.

A good guide can be found here:

http://www.naturalhub.com/buy_food_meat_tenderness.htm

The other part of the equation revolves around the actual cooking process. The meat should be oiled, seasoned with black pepper and salt, and seared on one side for a couple of minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat and how well you want it cooked. For an inch- thick cut, I would recommend about four minutes each side on a high flame (>400 degrees) for medium.

A rare steak is soft when pressed with the index finger. A medium will yield, but slightly firmer, and a well done would be firm.

Here's a link for the cooking times:

http://www.commissaries.com/kays_kitchen/healthy_cooking/tips/steak_guide.cfm

Once done, the cooked meat should always be rested for a couple of minutes. This is to ensure that the juices redistribute evenly, and make for an enjoyable experience.

What can I eat with USD2 in Kuala Lumpur?

A lot of things! USD2 translates to about RM7 (Malaysian Ringgits) and you could get a complete meal with that at this part of the world.

For the faint-hearted, there's always McDonalds which offer meals for RM5.95 (RM6.25 after tax) between 12 - 3 pm every day. You would be getting a Fillet-o-Fish or a McChicken or 6 pieces of McNuggets plus small fries and a Coke, but on a normal day, the queue would be really long.

You could also try out the more traditional fare that Malaysia has to offer, which includes noodles or rice dishes, as well as bread and pastry sold in shops, roadside stalls and even the food courts in the shopping malls.

In short, food is abundant in Malaysia, more so in Kuala Lumpur - the heart of the city. Just keep an open mind, and USD2 will get you good tickets on your way to gastronomic heaven.

Check out the links below for some examples:

http://www.mcdonalds.com.my/highlights/10newchoices.asp

http://www.mobile88.com.my/gen/mags/thestar/previewPDF/The_Star_Guide_to_Malaysian_Street_Food.pdf

http://www.followmefoodie.com/2010/06/kl-malaysia-malaysian-street-food-in-kuala-lumpur-malaysia/

Long Lost Teacher - Found!

Here's the email I wrote to my long lost teacher when I fortunately came across her in FB:

Cikgu,

I find wall posts a bit too public - which explains this message.

You have to firstly understand a few points before I go on rambling..

1. You are my favourite teacher of all time (in case you didn't know yet)
2. I have spent years looking for you after I left in 1992.
3. I left for (Class of 93.. What a coincidence!)
4. I sent a Hari Raya card to every year to you until I came back in 1999 from Swansea - The BB's admin office was no help whatsoever in helping to locate you

So, now that's all cleared up.. So how are you? Hahaha..

Your mind is still sharp as a whistle I can see, because I thought you wouldn't/couldn't remember me. You always stoked my ego in class by calling me 'the Professor' and I guess that really helped me out a lot in life because then, I had such a low self-esteem and all that.

But somehow I knew you understood me. And I tried my best to be your best student and not to let you down. You were really the one who made me think about my future and really made me work and study hard.

That being said, there are some issues that need settling and one of which relates to an incident of you asking the whole class to put down their top 3 job ambitions.

And you scolded me for putting down 'Petani Moden'! Ha!

I tried to explain that I was talking about large-scale food/crop manufacturing with Value Adding along each and every segment of their Supply Chain like they were doing with wheat in Canada. But I just couldn't say it out because I didn't want to disappoint you.

Maybe you've forgotten about it, but I still do remember, because like I said - You are my favourite teacher.

I can claim no merit for that argument though, because I suck at gardening. Can't even plant anything, and those creeps just die on me! So, I stick with what I know best, and that's computers.

To bring matters back to the present, I am currently married with two lovely kids - you can look them up in my photos. I've put you in my 'Special' group, without any restrictions so that you can scrutinize me all you want like you usually do all those years back :) .

My current employer is the world's biggest furniture manufacturer - Not Ikea (got you there!), and they deal primarily with office furniture. Like I implied, I work in IT as a Security Analyst, which means I deal with the bad guys to make the office network secure.

We bought a house in Bukit Puchong - a nice small condo (because I'm paranoid with security) and we raise our kids ourselves (again, no maids allowed due to the paranoia). My wife is 5 years my junior, and I met her when she was an undergraduate at Uniten.

She's an accountant by qualification, and hopefully will finish her ACCA in the near future.

So... Tell me, what else do you remember about me, and I'll try to fill in the gaps.

Wassalam,

Your forever thankful student,


p.s: the reward of being My Favourite Teacher of All Time is unlimited requests of anything, anytime. And the ubiquitous 'thank you'. God, I miss you so much!