Wednesday 27 February 2008

INSANE: Oil Topped at US$102.80

Update 29 February 2008: Oil sets another record, topping at US$103.05! From CNNMoney.com.
-----
Oil sets another top record - this time at US$102.80!
This record is purely a play on the weakness of the dollar, as investors use both crude and gold as a hedge against inflation.
Source: Bloomberg.com "Oil Rises Above $102 as Weak Dollar Boosts Commodities Prices"

Other post about high oil prices this year:
  1. INSANE: Oil Continues the Post US$100 Trend
  2. INSANE: Crude Oil Prices Touched US$100 A Barrel

Tuesday 26 February 2008

Monday 25 February 2008

INSANE: SONY Says The Megapixel Race IS NOT OVER!

With the announcement of the new SONY digital compact camera W300, it became official that the company is still in the megapixel race! So far, all the other camera announcement capped at 12 megapixels but SONY has to up the ante... perhaps the company has some breakthrough... perhaps not... we will have to see.

Source: DPReview "Sony launches 13.6MP W300"

Sunday 24 February 2008

UNIFEM: Say No To Violence

Join United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman in fighting violence against women. Click here or the image above to add your name to the list. Each name on the list will add US$1 to the cause. At the time of this post, there are already 50,820 names.

Saturday 23 February 2008

2008 Oscar Nominees

About.com has a list of all the nominees for the upcoming Academy Awards.

Some Kind of Donuts

HAUTE*NATURE has a post on how to make raw donut holes. Below the YouTube video:


What are donut holes???

Thursday 21 February 2008

INSANE: Oil Continues the Post US$100 Trend

Continuing from last month's trend of breaching the US$100 mark, oil prices soared to US$101.32 a barrel on Wednesday. *SWEAT!*

Wednesday 20 February 2008

Wide Wide World of Lumix

I'm in the market (I am always in the market... if you remember, I was in the market for a handphone but up till now, I am still using the best Nokia phone of all time, the 6210!) for a compact carry every where digital camera and Panasonic will release the DMC-FX35 (or DMC-FX36 depending where you are) in March. What interests me most is its 25mm (35mm equivalent) wide angle lens. Can't wait for it to be released. What scares me most is the noise I see in shadow areas even in low ISO (from sample photos taken with pre-production models) but this could be due to its new Light Detection-Intelligent Exposure mode that increases ISO in darker areas (which can be disabled... phew!). The camera is equipped with lots and lots and lots of functions and features. But I will wait for real life photo samples first. That is what matters most...

Lydia 沈殿霞 Passes Away

Earlier yesterday, I heard of the news of Lydia Sum's passing away. At that time, I was in a meeting and was too busy for the news to sink in. After I came back, I began to feel sadness. I have not felt sadness when I heard about other celebrities' deaths, but this time, there is. May she rest in peace!

Tuesday 19 February 2008

Selangor Menteri Besar to Compete With Singapore

Check this headline out: Selangor aiming to compete with Singapore

But there is a list that the Menteri Besar listed out:

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said Selangor was not much different from Singapore except that it lagged in public transportation and IT facilities, and urban services quality.
But he did say Selangor will be competing with Singapore APPLE TO APPLE IN FIVE YEARS. Already our Prime Minister asked not to compare Malaysia with Singapore. DEFIANCE!

Our Kind Government

Do you know that our Malaysian Government is very kind? At least for my area. As of now, they are tarring the road in front of my house. Without fail, every 4 or 5 years just before the elections, they will do it. Very kind indeed.

A Bit More About Smurf Movie

/Film has some little screenshots of The Smurf Movie that I have previously blogged about here. Click here to go to /Film's post.

Monday 18 February 2008

Rampant Rumours of HD-DVD's End

UPDATE 19 February 2008: Toshiba held a press conference to confirm that they are pulling out the HD-DVD format.

Every news site where I surf to, there are news that Toshiba will end its HD-DVD format (the current favoured format is Sony's Blu-Ray). However, all these news do not have 100% confirmation, at least not from Toshiba. Do you think the end is near? Will Sony, for the first time in many years triumph over some proprietary format created? :O

Sunday 17 February 2008

From flickr: '90s doraemon vinyl squeeze toy


'90s doraemon vinyl squeeze toy
Originally uploaded by j_pidgeon.

Doraemon and gang are legends! I used to read my cousin's Bahasa Malaysia language comics of them during exams and neglected my studies.

Child Survival at Sierra Leone with David Beckham

David Beckham went to Sierra Leone to bring world attention to the living status of the children there. I hope to be able to do the same to the little visitors to my blog. Click here for UNICEF's photo essay on the matter.

Saturday 16 February 2008

Rich and Successful Crocs

I've never worn one, but I have seen a lot of these "Crocs" around. I have seen mostly kids, though there are some adults, wearing "them". However, over here, I am not able to distinguish which are real Crocs and which are imitations. All I know is, the real ones are soooooooooo expensive. That is probably why the company is doing so well (figures in thousands):
Year 2003 2004 2005 2006

2007*

Revenue $1,165 $13,520 $108,581 $354,728 $622,554
Net Profit (Loss) ($1,200) ($1,494) $16,972 $64,417 $129,945
*First nine months, through Sept. 30.

But the company also provides a lot of job opportunities:
Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
U.S. Jobs 10 37 383 1107 2035
International Jobs 0 154 743 1772 3278

Go to the source to read more about this company from by one of its directors.

Friday 15 February 2008

Animated What The Duck Comics!

Wow, only today I found out that there are weekly animated What The Duck comics! Click here for more or check out the most recent one below:

Thursday 14 February 2008

Google's Valentine

On Google's search page. :P

Election Day Announced

Because our misleading prime minister did not want to let us know the official polling date yesterday, we had to wait for the official announcement. Below the news from NSTOnline:
Polling on March 8

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said the election would involve 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats in 12 states except for Sarawak which held its state election in 2006.

He said 10,922,139 were eligible to cast their votes based on the electoral roll gazetted on Feb 5.

Abdul Rashid made the announcement at the EC headquarters here at 11.40am.

The announcement was carried live by RTM dan TV3.

Wednesday 13 February 2008

Parliament Dissolved Today

I really didn't feel like blogging about this. Am really lazy, but such an important news, so no choice. Parliament is dissolved today even though only yesterday our prime minister said it won't. I think he is very good in misleading us. Such commendable skills. Very good example.

Yawn... so sleepy...

INSANE: Mega Expensive Watches

Went to Pavillion yesterday and went to look at watches on display. Some shops display the watches with prices, some don't. There was one that did and I was shocked:
RM203,850 (US$62k approx.) for the one in the front and RM213,650 (US$65k approx.) for the one in the background. And I am sure there are some really more expensive ones. Other than those into diving or mountain climbing, why would other normal people want to wear such expensive watches? Please educate me!

Links to More Red Panda Information

In response to Pandagirl 505's request in my post "Cute Little Red Pandas", I have done a little bit of searching on the web. I am sorry, Pandagirl, I can't find their names, but an article here revealed that their parents are called Koko and Lala. Hope someone can help with the names of the little ones. Age wise... they were born mid last year, so they are less than a year old.

As for more information, National Geographic has a profile about red pandas here. The ever resourceful Wikipedia has a lot more information and links about the species. Click here to access the page.

Below is a photo I found on the zoo's website:Hope these help. Keep me updated with your project, yeah! All the best!

Tuesday 12 February 2008

Heroes The Next Season

Since I have multiple views on my Heroes posts in my blog, I went and google about the next season of Heroes and came to this: Heroes News: On to Season Three! from HeroesFanatic.com. In the article, a television critic and TV Guide expert said it is unlikely (slim to none) that the current season two will continue despite the writers' strike reaching a resolution. This is due to the way the series always go "to be continued..." at the end of each episode (or, the way it was called, the series' highly serialised nature). :P

Monday 11 February 2008

Berjaya Times Square in World's Top 10 Largest Shopping Mall List

Cool! Malaysia's very own Berjaya Times Square made it to Forbe's World's 10 Largest Shopping Malls list. However, the list was based on the amount of "Gross Leasable Area"--the number of square feet the property has for revenue-generating activities like retail, dining and amusements.

Therefore, making the list doesn't mean that it is successful.

Saturday 9 February 2008

Modern Lion Dance

Gong Xi Fa Cai 2008 II

Two lion heads placed on the ground after a lion dance performance while a member of the troupe chat away on the handphone - tradition intertwine with modernisation.

Can also be seen on my flickr site here.

Friday 8 February 2008

James Bond - Quantum of Solace Poster

James Bond! Ah! Check out his shadow in the new poster below:

Update: NOOOOOOOO! I have failed once more. You would have to click here to see it.

Beware of E-mails from FRIENDS

That's right. Scammers get more hi-tech these days. They will impersonate a friend by sending an e-mail pleading for help. They will gather information from various sources such as stolen laptops, blogs, or profiles from social network sites (DANGER! DANGER!). The article from Star Online TechCentral advise that everyone should verify with their friends before further action.

Top 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces

Check out the list of the 10 most expensive celebrity divorces of all time... from US$15 million all the way up to more than US$150 million (Michael and Juanita Jordan)! Click here for Forbes' compilation.

Chinese New Year Woes In China

While most of us elsewhere happily usher in the year of the rat, the Chinese are going through much suffering trying to get back to their hometown to celebrate with their families due to one of the worst snow storms ever. Reuters has a series of photos showing this. Click here.

Thursday 7 February 2008

Gong Xi Fa Cai 2008!

Gong Xi Fa Cai 2008!

Gong Hei Fatt Choy to everyone! Have a happy and prosperous, but most importantly, healthy year of the Rat!

Wednesday 6 February 2008

Election Threats?

What does this paragraph from Star Online Nation's "Don't lose voice in cabinet, Chinese advised" sound like to you?
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that if the MCA and Gerakan were to lose seats, Barisan Nasional would end up as a one-race party ruling a multiracial country.
Sounds very much like a threat to me. What is your opinion?

Tuesday 5 February 2008

Touching Chinese New Year Ad

Check out a touching CNY advertisement from Petronas shared by andrewk by clicking on the screen capture below:

Monday 4 February 2008

Peach Open Movie's Got A Name

Project Peach, a 3D open movie project done with the open source 3D modelling Blender now has an official name shown in the graphic below:It's called BIG BUCK BUNNY and it is coming to us all in March 2008!

Source: Peach Blog "Project Peach is Pretty Proud to Present…"

Sunday 3 February 2008

Every Day, 26,000 Children Under Five Die...

... mostly from preventable causes. Despite progress, the world is not on track to meet Millennium Development Goal 4, which targets a two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality by 2015. The crisis is worst in Sub-Saharan Africa. The State of the World’s Children 2008 proposes key strategies to meet this immense challenge.

Click here to go to the UNICEF photo essay titled "Meeting the child survival challenge"

From flickr: Just rubb'n around..


Just rubb'n around..
Originally uploaded by digicolleen.

Ducks! Lots and lots of rubber ducks! Police rubber duck, mermaid rubber duck and even rubber duck doing facial... what a wonderful collection!

Titbits Issues...

It's bad to read this before Chinese New Year, but since I did, I should share it with all of you (WARNING! Read ahead only if you WANT to spoil your Chinese New Year mood!):
  1. 4 mandarin oranges = 1 plate of rice :O
  2. Blood glucose level will go up if taken too much "yee sang"
  3. Individuals can gain an average of 2kg to 3kg by over-indulging in the two weeks of festivities
  4. The fat and weight gained "can stay there until the next festival comes around"
  5. "100ml of beer typically contains four grams of alcohol, which translates into 14gm of sugar"
  6. "Nian gau" or "kuih bakul" has high carbohydrate content and is very sweet
  7. Peanuts have high fat content
Source: Star Online Nation "Titbits can leave you a tad fat, says nutritionist"

Saturday 2 February 2008

Potential Aid for Alzheimer's Disease

Through an experiment trying to control a man's crave for food, scientists accidentally discovered a way to improve the man's memory instead. The scientists are now running trials on six Alzheimer's patients by implanting electrodes into their brains for stimulation. "So far, those patients are doing well and there have been no significant side effects of the surgery," said neurosurgeon Professor Andres Lozano.

Click on the source below to find out more.

Source: Daily Mail "Scientists discover a way to reverse memory loss in 'accidental breakthrough' " via Slashdot

Crime Free in PJ Utara During CNY?

Is that possible? The emergency Rakan Cop Hotline to call is 03-2052 9999 or SMS "POLISSEL" to 32728. Not sure the purpose for the SMS, though. People are also advised to inform their neighbours, the police, cancel newspaper deliveries and switch on their house lights and radio if they are leaving their houses for a duration of time, even though:
“I don’t deny that there are a few black sheep within the police force. However, that does not mean we should not trust the police,” Chew Mei Fun said.
Tsk, tsk, tsk...

Source: Star Online Nation "Crime-free drive for CNY"

Friday 1 February 2008

Malaysia to Use Indelible Ink In Coming Elections

Malaysia will buy approximately 48,000 bottles of indelible ink worth RM2.4mil from India for the coming general elections. The procedure will take less than RM1mil to implement. Based on the photo, a line of the ink will be drawn on the fingernail of the left index finger of each voter. The ink will take 2 weeks to fade off.

Looks like one of the 'requests' from a picket last year came true...

Source: Star Online Nation "Indelible ink to make its mark"

Do You Miss The Monochrome DOS Prompt?

TechRepublic Blog has the tutorial below to help bring back the good old days of DOS displayed in green or amber monochrome monitors:
  1. Open a Command Prompt window.
  2. Right the title bar and select the Properties command.
  3. Select the Colors tab.
  4. Select the Screen Background button and select the black box in the color palette.
  5. Select the Screen Text button.
  6. To emulate an old green monochrome monitor, select the green box in the color palette, and then in the Selected Color Values panel use the spin button for the Green setting to move the number up to 255. Make sure that the settings for the Red and Blue remain at 0.
  7. To emulate an old amber monochrome monitor, select the green box in the color palette, and then in the Selected Color Values panel use the spin button for the Red setting to move the number up to 185. Make sure that the settings for the Green remains at 128 and Blue remains at 0.