a nice movie for the weekend...

while having my lunch...instant noodle with Vietnamese ham and chicken meatball...and a cup of iced white coffee...
watched a DVD...a good one...

found this DVD in the shop one day...
to begin with...it won the Oscar for the Foreign Movie of the Year...
having seen...and impressed with Oscar's Foreign Movie of the Year for 06 and 07 (German and Austrian respectively)...i'm very curious with this one...
moreover...i'm a big fan of Japanese movies...

there's something charming about the way the Japanese's style of story-telling...
perhaps its the similarity of our culture...i mean as a Chinese...not Malaysian...
i like their stories...i've seen a few movies whereby their stories are simple...yet they have many little but significant characters...interesting little sub-plots...little twists...each little stories delivering messages of their own...

not to mention their brilliant soundtrack...and how they make the mature ones look so charming...the young ones look so beautiful...and the little ones look so so cute...

back to this movie...it's an interesting movie as it brings us to look into the traditional Japanese encoffining...putting a deceased into the coffin...something i never knew of...
and along the way...there are interesting people and interesting stories...each looking at death at a different perspective...

do check this movie out if you need something alternative to the over-commercialized transforming metals...

an old assignment...my favourite course

finally my laptop is up and running again...after 1 whole year of resting in the cabinet...its a Toshiba...
i broke the adaptor a year ago...and lazy to get new one...another reason being its expensive...but at the end i got one...but not from Toshiba...cause its ridiculously expensive....

while going through some old files...found this...
my assignment for my favourite course in USM...
the course i enjoyed the most...although German tailed closely...but this is still the best...
LHP 453...Creative Writing...

my English isn't really good...and my story isn't really creative...but i'm tak malu lar...just want to share something i wrote...felt it wasteful...wrote it only for my teacher to read...

here's the intro...hope you enjoy it...
..............

“Come on Papa, you must take these medications accordingly,” Ei Leen reminded her father, as she always did whenever she comes home from her college in KL.

“I did,” Papa told Ei Leen, although he never did.

“No, you didn’t! I counted your tablets. They do not tally with the doses you should have taken since the last time I counted them. Papa, you always forgot your medicines.”

“Not always. Sometimes I forgot.”

“You also didn’t take them as instructed. I saw you took your medicines after dinner just now. You should have taken them half an hour before meal. That’s why you always feel dizzy and having stomach upset.”

“That has nothing to do with my ‘kencing manis’ medications.”

“Of course they do. They are supposed to lower your blood glucose level after meal. If you take them without eating, your blood glucose will be so low that you could faint. And don’t ever forget your medicine for your heart.”

“I am only tired and having my gastric pain. I had been having gastric pain for the last 40 years.”

“Papa, please don’t make me worry. Only 6 months left to my graduation. After that I will come home and take care of you. Meanwhile, Papa, please take care of yourself.”

“Ok,” he got up from his rusty metal recliner, headed to his room and closed the door.

“Papa, I’m serious. I really…ring ring…ring ring…ring,” the conversation was interrupted by her ringing mobile phone. As she was reaching for the phone, the ringing stopped. She reviewed the missed call.

“Papa, I’m going to pasar malam with some friends. Don’t wait for me. They will fetch me home,” she told Papa through the door.

“Be careful. Don’t come home too late,” he replied.

“I will. Good night Papa.”

She grabbed a pair of sneakers from the shoe cabinet, wore them and walked out, closing the door behind her. Closing the main gate, she walked down the peaceful road until she reached a junction, two doors away. She turned left and walked towards a waiting navy blue Perodua Kelisa. Yew Vern was waiting inside the car. As he sees her approaching, he reeled up the window and started the engine.

to be continued

back from an interesting workshop...

just completed a two-day workshop...officially pontenged work...yay...

it was my first workshop since started working...and it was a good one...an interesting one...lucky me
Research Workshop: Developing a Research Proposal & Tools...

it may sound boring...but for someone who did, and very much interested to work on a research project...this is a great opportunity to learn...

first of all...it was organised by Clinical Research Centre (CRC) Perak ...very experienced in conducting medical research...

and the speaker was the head of CRC Perak...a very good speaker...very experienced researcher and a very kind man...generous to share his knowledge...

the best thing about this workshop is the efficiency and the dynamic...
we started with very brief ideas...old ideas got killed off...and new ideas generated...
the brainstorming and the discussion were very productive...
first time participated in brainstorming session with professionals and experts in their respective fields...except me...

at the end...we have a handsome looking proposal...and a very workable research plan...
in just two working days...i think it's amazing...

best of all...it totally opened my eyes to the real world of medical research...every single details were look into carefully...must not compromise ethical issues and safety...
i hope from now on...whenever i read a medical journal...i will look deeper than the printed words and figures...

by the way...there are now reported human-to-human transmission of Influenza A H1N1...now i'm a bit worried...things may certainly get worse...i hope there will not be more human-to-human transmission cases in our country...

B.Braun moving to Indonesia?...oh man

this entry is a little long...cause its dealing with a serious issue...so i must quote my sources right...just glance through if you must...pay attention to the bolded...

first of all...a little introduction from their official website...

"As a worldwide company with an established history of supplying medical solutions, B. Braun in Malaysia stands second-to-none in corporate excellence.

Our broad range of surgical, pharmaceutical and healthcare management products consistently satisfy customers like hospitals, healthcare professionals and strategic business partners.

At B. Braun, we share knowledge and know-how. We share ideas and insights. We share improvements and advancements. At B. Braun, we share expertise."

in summary...its a damn big multinational company with its plant as big as USM in Penang...ok?

now a piece of news a year ago (NST Business Times and Star Biz, 5 March 2008)

"Germany’s B. Braun is set to spend in an additional RM450 million to expand its operations in Penang over the next two years. This will make its plant, under B. Braun Medical Industries Sdn Bhd, one of the largest intravenous (IV) standard solution facilities in Asia.

Some RM350 million would be invested under Phase 1 of the expansion, which would see an additional 6,000 sq m of production area, as well as the setting up of a new research and development centre for IV access products, B.Braun Industries President, H.D. Kim, said at a media conference in Penang.

Work on Phase 1 is expected to begin in mid-2008 and is targeted for completion in 2010. The new advanced facility, equipped for high–end production, would adopt the latest automation technology that would provide a quality working environment for its skilled workforce, as more engineers and technicians are expected to be recruited for the expansion.

A subsequent expansion scheduled in 2011 would involve an investment of another RM100 million and this would increase production capacity by 1.5 times, he added.

Kim said B. Braun Penang was designated as the group’s Global Manufacturing Headquarters for IV access products in 2006. In addition, the Penang facility also operates as B. Braun’s Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) for Asia.

B. Braun, which has a strong three-decade investment record in Malaysia, has to-date invested some RM900 million and employs 4,800 workers in the country."

in summary...its a damn big multinational company which is investing A LOT of money and hiring A LOT of employees in Malaysia...ok?

now a piece of news today (The Star 2 June 2009)

"The Health Ministry has always practised the open tender process when buying pharmaceutical and medical products, says Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said those registered with the Ministry of Finance could go through Pharmaniaga Bhd that had the exclusive rights to distribute pharmaceutical and medical products to the ministry. However, he said that companies which had issues with the matter could write in to the ministry.

Liow said he had always championed for pharmaceutical companies to be more competitive.

The minister was commenting on a statement by B. Braun corporate controlling, finance and information technology vice-president Dieter Gemmer that the company was considering to move part of its operations, specifically pharmaceuticals, from Penang to Indonesia because it did not wish to go through “medical middlemen” to sell its products.

Gemmer had said that all the company wanted was to be allowed to participate in open tenders instead of having to sell their products through a third party.

“If there are specific allegations, the company can raise the matter to me. The ministry will investigate the matter,” Liow told reporters yesterday."

and if you don't see the problem in the above article...let me explain...

B.Braun...a damn big multinational company is considering to move partly to our neighbour, Indonesia...

they had been in the country for 30 year...expanding and commited...but suddenly they wanna move out...what could be the reason?

all they asked for is to participate in tenders directly, not through middlemen...

and how my dear boss responded?

"oh...we practise open and fair tender...all companies can participate through Pharmaniaga...can write to us...we will investigate...bla bla bla..."

anything about "middlemen" or "third party"?...definitely not in the above article...

ok...i was attached briefly to the hospital integrated store...my boss then was in charged of purchasing medications...specifically the big-shot expensive meds...

for certain meds...we must open-tender...invite all the companies to quote their best price...

at the end of everything...we have to decide from which agent to purchase...and most of the time the lowest price wins...this i can assure you...no cronyism or favoritism by my boss...as far as i'd seen lar...of course we don't compromise safety and efficacy

but this is not what B.Braun is asking for...

they are asking to participate directly, bypassing the "medical middlemen"...

i guess i'm not supposed to comment more on this matter...but i doubt my dear boss can fulfill B.Braun's request...and being Germans...i guess they will be walking their talk...walking towards Indonesia...

thanks for chasing out a damn big multinational company...my dream potential future employer...

since they are moving out their pharmaceuticals...now i must go to Indonesia for my interview...

BTN teaches disunity?

came across this letter in the star
reminded me of my Biro Tatanegara (BTN) course in USM...

before i proceed...in the aforementioned letter...it says
"...participants are repeatedly told not to question Malay rights and so on. The course coordinators keep talking about social contracts and telling non-Malays not to question Malay rights and so on..."

when i attended in USM...i didn't recall anything about Malay rights and social contracts and so on...i wish they could tell me more about the social contract...i dun really understand the principle...

maybe because it was held about a month before the General Election...ya rite..."THE" 8th March GE...

in the BTN course i attended...they were too busy telling us not to believe foolishly what was told to us...to analyse information before we choose to believe them...

being a well trained university students with "kemahiran berfikir secara kritis dan kreatif"...my immediate reaction was this...

hey man...if u meant what the oppositions said wasn't the real truth and ask us not to believe and follow blindly...i can say the same to the government...can't i?

especially in this new era...with more and more educated urbanites...you can't really cover up...and definitely can't lie...

try give a ceramah at Bintang Walk or Bangsar or Pandan Jaya...bragging about how "developed" our country is...see how much cheer you can draw...come on get real...
with the cheap air ticket...more and more ppl had been to singapore or hong kong or shanghai or beijing or tokyo or seoul or sydney or paris or frankfurt or london or new york...ppl can compare their "developed" country with ours...

when issues raised...you can choose to cover up or ignore...but the moment an issue come to light...it spreads so rapid that by the time you respond...it's too late...and when you ignore it...the ppl don't...they punish you in GE...and you wonder why u lose...funny huh?

since i am a public servant...i MUST attend another BTN course...
i eagerly await...hopefully it can give me more input on social contracts...so i can share my view with you all...

two parties...back to back

last friday had a BBQ at colleagues house...to celebrate Babies of May's birthday...
the next day...saturday...went up Maxwell Hill (Bukit Larut) at Taiping for a small LifeGuard (LG) reunion...there were...quite a bit of differences between the two...

Friday...
it was supposed to start at 7pm
i reach around 6.30pm...turned out to be the earliest...
i brought over the chic wings and porks, charcoals, foldable table, platic chairs with my loyal Iswara...started the fire...burn some chics...

i also brought over a box of Lindemans red wine (its a 2 liter boxed wine, not a box of 12 bottles)...in case any of my colleagues is actually an alcoholic in disguise...it turned out none of them were...

my colleague brought mahjongs and cards too...in case any of my colleagues is actually a gambler in disguise...it turned out none were interested...maybe due to the volume constraint

we had good laugh...but have to keep our volume down cause the neighbours are senior citizens who sleep before 9pm...

at the end of the party...there were lots of leftovers...i was there dumping all the proteins into my ever growing tummy...

we talked and chatted and laughed and gossiped...till around 12am...we finally have to leave and go home...

Saturday...
suppose to meet at 11.30am at the foot of the hill...i arrived at 11.20am...turned out to be the last...the gang were already there...as usual...LG punctuality...the 8 of us then took the jeep up the hill...another 2 guys joined us later...

besides my personal stuffs, i brought the same box of wine, in addition...7 cans of Carlsberg...leftover from chinese new year party (also with my colleagues)...
then my buddy also brought 8 cans of beer...and another bottle of red wine...

as soon as we settled down in our well isolated bungalow...while preparing for lunch...they already started to pour out the mahjongs and red wines...
at the dinner table...during dinner...everyone was either drinking green (carlsberg) or red (isn't obvious)...
at the end of the dinner...you cannot see a single plate filled with food...i don't recall any leftover in any LG gatherings...

after dinner...we were playing cards and mahjongs...intoxicating ourselves...yelling and screaming and laughing out loud like nobody's business...till 3am...who cares...there were no other human beings within at least 500 meters from our bungalow...i guess...

only a few of us who were really drinking...but by bedtime...we managed to gulp all the beers and red wines...killing our livers...damn fools...


they were friends from two different stages of my life...and the way we enjoy a party were so much different...
i enjoyed both the party...but if i have to choose...i have to admit...the crazier party was a little bit more fun...



by the way...if you carry a DSLR to Maxwell Hill and want to try some panning shots...there is a good spot...
there is an observation tower...wait there for the jeeps to pass by...i think you can have some good panning shots from there...
but not much trial and error...cause its not that common for a jeep to pass by...so grab your chances well...
here's one i took with my compact PnS (point and shoot)...i'm sure you can have much better and sharper picture with your dear DSLR...

your camera don't have anti-shake meh?

last week...as bragged earlier...haha...went to a concert at genting...
in the arena...wanna snap a photo of me and my dear...so ask for help from a heavy-make-up ghost-like girl sitting behind us...we prefer not to use flash to capture the ambience...cheh...

after snap...the photo is blurry...she asked us
"your camera don't have anti-shake meh?"...a cocky "meh"

we didn't argue...we gave up...we just took the camera and thank her very much...we knew taking another picture will not help...cause her hand don't have "anti-shake"...

yep...my camera don't have anti-shake...and i don't know any Point n Shoot (PnS) camera that has...

1st of all...about my cam...Canon IXUS 80 IS...IS = Image Stabiliser

(ours is a brown - far right)

we bought it about a year ago...RM999...
now still selling...RM799...
i guess not many below 1k PnS cam can achieve this...more than a year in the market and only depreciated Rm200...
what does this shows?...it is a damn good and popular cam...
still remember your PnS?
when you bought it and how fast it depreciated?

now about the anti-shake...
most of the PnS now do have a system to stablise the image...

Canon named it IS - Image Stabiliser
Nikon named it VR - Vibration Reduction (i think is the coolest name of all)
Panasonic named it OIS - Optical Image Stabiliser
Sony named it SSS - Super Steady Shot (i think is the lamest name of all)
Fuji named it DIS - Dual Image Stabiliser (not our stupid DIS)
Olympus (also) named it DIS - same as above

all comes in different names...but their function's the same...
it's a brilliant mechanism to cancel the minor movement of our hand while taking photographs...especially under low light...

but why no anti shake?
i guess if your hand "shakes"...no brilliant mechanism in the world can anti it...

all these systems are designed to stabilise the "lens and the sensor"...cancel out minor movement of the hand...not your shaking hand...

so...even your camera got "anti-shake"...still you must try to keep your hand as steady as possible while taking photographs for better quality picture...to avoid blur

by the way...the battery of my family's faithful 6-year-old IXUS 400 went kaput...fully charged can only take 8 pictures...hebatnya...

since the battery alone cost more than rm100 (not canon sumore)...daddy decided to get a new cam...
my top recommendation...IXUS 95 IS...(yes....i am an IXUS fan)...the updated version of my dear's 80...
daddy say too expensive...ok lor

we settled for a Panasonic...Lumix DMC-FS15...

in fact i recommended Lumix for a few of my "girl" friends....
reasons?
1. cheap...can get good cam for below 1k
2. slim and light...fit nicely in handbags
3. OIS...very important for girls
4. wide angle...important because girls like to take group photos at parties and gathering...
5. and most important of all...the iA mode...intelligent Auto...the cam will select the best mode...we don't have to select any mode AT ALL...
(still for girls...if can afford...i recommend IXUS...stylish colours...can take very nice indoor pictures...since girls rarely go outdoor...apatah lagi take outdoor photographs...ehem)

so this is our new family cam...cause most of the time...mummy is the one using it...

for myself?
i don't really like this cam...
maybe later after i know the cam better...can do a mini review to share my opinion...


a little something extra...
notice there is a nice little logo with the letter "L" at the corner?

i used to think it was "L" for "Lumix"...
but now i think its "L" for "Leica"...the lens fitted on this camera (in fact all Lumix)...

if you have no idea wtf is a Leica...check this out...

one range-finder digicam that looks like ah pek cost 16k...welcome to the unknown world of photography...
if you think Canon and Nikon are KINGs of cameras...wait till you know the GODs...Hasselblad, Rollei, Mamiya and gang...

back from my first concert...

correction...
i'm back from "a" concert...not "my" concert...
it was Hins' (张敬轩)...last Saturday at Genting Arena of Stars...

yep...it was the first time i attended a proper concert in 24 years of life...
what to do...waited 24 years to get my first proper pay check...

when people knew i was going to this concert...they asked a few questions...

1) u know chinese meh?
i dunno...but i enjoy music...regardless of language...

2) u are his fan meh?
nope...but i recognise his talent and enjoy his music...

3) u teman ur girlfen go leh? she is his fan leh?
yep...i teman my gf...
nope...she is not his fan...
but we enjoy his music...

did i enjoyed the show?
of course!!!...the price was one of the factors...

it could be disappointing for some...but not me...cause i didn't expect much...
no need for flashy costumes...impressive stage...pretty dancers...graceful dance routines...

all i expected was some good music...and Hins delivered them perfectly...
the sound system was good...and i can swear it was much much exciting to listen live than on CD, MP3, etc...regardless of whatever pod you're using...

thanks my dear for bringing me to this nice show...

looking forward to the next...dunno who and when and where...
hopefully at Genting again...why?

1) no traffic jam
2) no headache looking for parking
3) no rush
4) less crowd
5) arena is small...thus closer to the artist...and better sound system...

also had a great time with my dear's (crazy) gang...her o' time buddies...
looking forward to our exciting trip coming June...

what? zebra crossing? can eat ar?

if I remembered correctly...when I was still a little kid...the 2 things I 1st learned about road safety...
1st is traffic light...red stop...green go...
2nd is zebra crossing...we MUST use the zebra crossing when crossing the road...great

today I sent my grandpa to the bus station...
on the way back came across a few old men and young girls trying to cross the road at a zebra crossing...

me having my 1st world mentality...I slowed down my car and stop to let them cross...I made sure I did not stopped abruptly...

the young girls smiled at me and gestured to thank me...ehem...

right at that moment I received a few honks...3 if i'm not mistaken...

em...what had I done wrong?
cause I stopped my car when there were old men crossing the road?
am I supposed to run them down?
I supposed its their fault that they don't "see car" when crossing the road...
I really don't know lar...maybe 1st world mentality can never understand 3rd world mentality...and otherwise...

in my opinion, this is a very classic example of 1st world facility...
we have loads of cars...new and fancy...running around the roads...and zebra crossings SUPPOSED to ease pedestrians...
but with 3rd world mentality...em...lost of words...hope you all can understand what I'm trying to convey...

we always see in TV news...when they interview foreigners, they will comment malaysia very nice, friendly, bla bla bla...all the good things lar...
but in reality...when they go back...they may tell their friends we don't stop our cars at zebra crossings...
and I have heard with my own ears...my foreigner friend jokingly asked if there is no traffic laws in Malaysia...

recently in the by-elections...our dear Tun M was giving speeches...I came across one comment...
he was saying if we look at KL, she definitely looks and feels like a developed city, not a developing one...

from the balcony of my aunt's condominium...KL definitely "looks" like a developed city...nice and modern sky scrappers...
but inside the city? I would say it is as chaotic as Bangkok...

in my opinion, one very very basic attribute of a developed city...both facility and mentality...the moment you stand by the curb of a zebra crossing...the cars will stop...even without zebra crossing...when you look like you want to cross the roads...they will stop...
I don't know lar...i not living in KL mar...maybe they got leh...nowadays their people so educated wan...

oh...did I forgot to mention the floods?
how often do we hear flash floods in Singapore or Tokyo or New York or London or Paris?
(pls don't tell me Venice...she is supposed to be flooded)
I guess definitely not as often as our KL...that's why its called KUALA Lumpur...
when flooded, does she still looks like a developed city?
I think she looks more like a sawah padi...

photo from The Sun

don't worry...still got time...
Vision 2020 mar...forgot already meh?
still got 11 years...
Malaysia CAN!!!

during my lunch break...

at the moment attached to Integrated Store...have an old PC of my own...to do all the paperwork i'm supposed to do...

today technicians from IT came to fix the computer...can online already...but restricted access lar...

so i purposely came back early from lunch...plan to read some news online...save some money mar..somemore office got aircon...

came across this strip

hahaha..funny isn't it?
but then...am i not laughing at myself?
chit...