Waye xPress

Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat

2010-12-23T13:39:00.001+08:00

I've not formatted my laptop since a year ago thanks to my holidays being filled up. A few weeks ago, I've finally formatted my laptop with the latest Kubuntu release. And, dual booting with Windows 7. Also, I'm running virtual box with Windows XP SP 3 as a guest.

So here's the err... Windows 7... blah:

Windows 7 Ultimate

So, I have to say this release of Kubuntu is the best I've used so far! Installation works fine, sound, video, wireless, etc. drivers detected without any problems. Softwares are stable, and do not crash as often as they used to.

My slightly modified Kubuntu desktop:

Kubuntu Maverick Meerkat Desktop with Pudong, Shanghai :D

About the screenshot, I have no idea why the temperature is 70+ºC when it is really not. Previously the monitor only shows 50 to 60 ºC at most.

I just gotta love the the new system tray! Especially the new network manager which is a huge improvement from the previous one. The icons are also much cleaner and even auto hides the inactive ones. And, the notification is great too!

The desktop activities seems to be usable now. However, I've not figured out how to use it yet since I remembered reading somewhere that its development is still in progress.

With Virtual box, I got a guest OS too:

Windows XP SP 3 Dark Edition in full screen mode

In seamless mode

Guess what. I did all of these without the need of using a the Konsole! Good news for command line phobic people ;)

And what's linux without some eye candy?

Kwin Desktop Cube

A review is not complete without complaints too huh?? So here goes:

Grub seems to act a little weird after I boot into windows, restart and boot Kubuntu. It will freeze and not able to boot into Kubuntu. This happens only occasionally though.
Kwin's present window effect is buggy. It will freeze the whole desktop at times. Even Ctrl + Alt + Esc does't help. So far the only solution I can think of is hit the restart button (ouch). I turned the effects off to avoid such problems. The previous version of Kubuntu works magically well :(
Ibus or whatever language input software should be included by default. I have Ibus now, although it works properly, it acts a little weird: 2 icons on the tray, changing input methods won't behave properly (using mouse) sometimes.
Flash seems to be slow. Youtube seems to be fine but if playing facebook games, you'll notice its significantly slower compared to when using windows.

*Note: I'm no professional software reviewer. All comments are based on my usage experience only

Links on Waye xPress Facebook Page

2010-11-23T00:33:00.001+08:00

Dear readers, if you guys have been visiting the Waye xPress Facebook Page lately, you might have noticed that I've started sharing some content since 10th November.

I might be commenting on certain topics on the blog. Depending on popularity of the issue, and whether I'm free or not. ha ha..

So, I'm posting this short (but old) update since I've not written for quite some time and of course to invite you guys to visit the Facebook Page.

That's all for now. Ciao!

Ancient Aliens Series by History Channel

2010-09-28T01:05:00.001+08:00

WARNING: Content may be offensive to some people's religions or beliefs. View with an open mind.

Have you ever wondered how the pyramids in Egypt were built back in over 4000 years ago with supposedly, only simple tools? The blocks weigh around 2 tons each and millions of these blocks were used to construct the pyramids. And, the period of its construction - 20 years. Even more remarkable are their precision in the geometry of the pyramids and even the individual blocks itself. It is difficult to replicate even with the modern technology we posses today.

Then there are the pyramids in Mexico, equally remarkable. But what's even more puzzling is that the alignment of the pyramids at Teotihuacán, Mexico is aligned in the same way as the pyramids at Giza in Egypt, which are in the same manner as the Orion's belt. The Pyramid of The Sun in Teotihuacán is also similar to that of Great Pyramid of Giza in dimensions - their base is almost identical, and the one in Mexico about half of the one in Egypt in height. Are these coincidences? Archeologists believe that these civilizations developed independently and did not communicate with each other!

Other than the pyramids, there are other ancient monuments which leaves us puzzled about how they were built, why were they built, their functions and even who or what built them. The Stonehenge in England, the statues in Easter Island, the Nazca Lines in Peru, the ruins in Pumapunku, Tiwanaku in Bolivia and many more.

Strange artifacts are found which resembles modern objects like figurines and drawings of astronauts and flying machines, crystal skulls, complicated astronomical calendars and even computers. One will ask how these ancient people posses these advanced knowledge. The ancient texts also describe technologically advanced flying machines, events which are strikingly similar to that of a spaceship landing, and about how their gods descended from the sky.

More recently, events such as the appearance of crop circles, disappearances of ships in the Bermuda Triangle and UFO sightings. How can all of these be explained?

To explain all these, there's a theory put forward, called "The Ancient Astronauts Theory". This theory suggests that extraterrestrials have visited earth since ancient times and have influenced the development of human culture and technology. This theory has been recently been highlighted in a series of documentaries by the History Channel called Ancient Aliens.

There are many instances where it is believed that aliens might have intervened with human development, leaving monuments, cave drawings and ancient texts behind for us to somehow understand or communicate with them. Some of it is too convincing that it is hard not to believe.

This series is available online for viewing, through parts of videos uploaded to youtube:

Chariots, Gods and Beyond

Episode 1: The Evidence

Episode 2: The Visitors

Episode 3: The Mission

Episode 4: Closer Encounters

Episode 5: The Return

While many of the theories seem credible and believable, in my opinion, I believe they still require more evidence to support this theory. As before, people may use religion or god to explain anything they can't explain, the ancient astronaut theory seems to replace god and religion with aliens instead. Some other claims made however, is unacceptable to me as a search in the internet shows conflicting information.

Whether true or not, this is a very interesting view point for us to ponder about. If it is proven not to be true, I'll definitely accept it, and I believe most of the Ancient Astronaut Theorists will as well. But if it is true, then we'll definitely be rewriting human history and also the future.

Waye xPress is now integrated with Facebook!

2010-09-03T17:38:00.001+08:00

Waye xPress has once again experienced a little revamp. The blog has now a search box, share buttons and the biggest addition - a Facebook Page.

The Waye xPress Facebook Page

A "like box" is added to the sidebar of the blog to enable easy access and "liking" on Facebook. I'll try to get "liking" of individual posts enabled from this post onwards. Hope it works. I'll be browsing around the Facebook Developers site to see if there are any nice features to include.

So, that's just a short update on the blog. Do drop by to say a few words, comments or suggestions in the new Waye xPress Facebook Page!

Penang: Upcoming Shopping Malls by End of 2010

2010-09-02T16:16:00.000+08:00

Two new shopping malls will be added into Penang's list of shopping destinations by the end of this year. The much awaited 1st Avenue Mall in KOMTAR and Straits Quay in Seri Tanjung Pinang.

1st Avenue

Part of KOMTAR's phase 3 development, built with a cost of RM 300 million and boasts a retail area of 430,000 sq ft,1st Avenue (previously Mutiara Parade) will finally be completed and opened around September. It will be among the larger shopping malls in Penang.

The mall will be managed by American based Pramerica Real Estate Investors. The target market are the upper middle class Penangites, offering besides restaurants and shops, entertainment outlets, a cineplex and karaoke. Parkson will be the anchor tenant, taking up 95,000 sq ft and 4 levels.

Website: http://www.belleview.com.my/node/69

Straits Quay

Located in the new waterfront township of Seri Tanjung Pinang, Straits Quay is expected to open its doors in November or December.

The mall will house 100 tenants, including restaurants, cafés, bistros, bars, boutiques, entertainment outlets, a Royal Selangor Visitor Centre and an education centre. A total of 270,000 sq ft to stroll.

Within the vicinity is a marina, a events square called Straits Court, service apartments called The Suite @ Straits Quay, water front promenade, a fish market, a performing arts centre and the Straits Quay Lighthouse. The lighthouse will house a 5 storey seafood restaurant with an aquarium theme. A water limousine service is expected to ferry people from the marina to E&O Hotel in Upper Penang Road.

Website: http://www.straitsquay.com/

Happy 53rd Merdeka Day!

2010-08-30T23:19:00.007+08:00

We've come 53 years since the independence of our beloved Malaysia on August 31st, 1957. We've achieved much development, physically and socially. So, this day is the day we celebrate our country's success to being a successful and peaceful country. Right?

Now, let's analyse what is the meaning of "Merdeka" or "Independence".

A definition from Wikipedia:

Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory.[1]

A definition from TheFreeDictionary:

Not governed by a foreign power; self-governing.[2]

So, the important keyword here is "self-government". What is self government? Obviously, from the word itself, it can be clearly understood that it means to rule by itself.

How is Malaysia being ruled? The Website of The Parliament of Malaysia states that:

Malaysia practises Parliamentary Democracy with Constitutional Monarchy and His Royal Highness is the Paramount Ruler.[3]

Keywords: democracy, constitution

Democracy as defined by Democracy Building and by Wikipedia respectively:

Form of government, where a constitution guarantees basic personal and political rights, fair and free elections, and independent courts of law.[4]

Democracy is a political form of government where governing power is derived from the people, either by direct referendum (direct democracy) or by means of elected representatives of the people (representative democracy).[5]

Constitution as defined by The 'Lectric Law Library and Wikipedia respectively:

The fundamental law of the state, containing the principles upon which the government is founded and regulating the divisions of the sovereign powers, directing to what persons each of these powers is to be confided and the manner it is to be exercised.[6]

A constitution is a set of laws that a set of people have made and agreed upon for government—often codified as a written document—that enumerates and limits the powers and functions of a political entity.[7]

From the definitions presented above, a question we should be asking ourselves are:

Is our government selected by the people through fair and free elections? Or are the results being tampered, manipulated or sabotaged with?
Are our courts of law independent? Or being controlled to achieve certain motives?
Are the people's rights protected? Or ignored and purposely misinterpreted?
Is the constitution being up held? Or is it being ignored and misinterpreted (as mentioned)?
Does the government that "we elect" work by the limits of their powers? Or have they gone overboard and are corrupted?

There are still many questions to be asked if we study more in detail about those definitions of words and our constitution.

In a nutshell, if you find that your answers to the above questions are similar as mine, then perhaps our Merdeka is not so worth celebrating after all, since this "independence" that we celebrate actually does not exist.

So guys, think about it, read up the news articles about our political situation (from both sides of the fence) and learn more about Malaysia in this Merdeka.

Selamat Hari Merdeka fellow Malaysians!!!

References:

[1] Wikipedia Contributors, Independance, Retrieved 30th August 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independance

[2] TheFreeDictionary, Independent, Retrieved 30th August 2010, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/independent

[3] Website of The Parliament of Malaysia, Introduction, Retrieved 30th August 2010, http://www.parlimen.gov.my/eng-pengenalan-lblakng.htm

[4] Democracy Building, Definition of Democracy, Retrieved 30th August 2010, http://www.democracy-building.info/definition-democracy.html

[5] Wikipedia Contributors, Democracy, Retrieved 30th August 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy

[6] The 'Lectric Law Library, Constitution, Retrieved 30th August 2010, http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c290.htm

[7] Wikipedia Contributors, Constitution, Retrieved 30th August 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution

The Majestic Mount Kinabalu - A Geological Story

2010-08-22T18:22:00.000+08:00

Mount Kinabalu from Kundasang Town

Introduction

Mount Kinabalu, the tallest mountain in the country needs no further introduction to fellow Malaysians, though it is not very well understood geologically. Aki Nabalu as the local Kadazandusuns call it, meaning "the revered place of the dead"[1] as it is believed that the spirits of the dead will reside on the mountain when one passes away. It is however, popularly translated to 神山 (pinyin: shén shān) in Chinese meaning Mountain of the Gods.

View of the peaks of Mount Kinabalu from near the Kinabalu Park's Timpohon entrance

Geography and Location

The tallest point, Low's Peak is at 4095 m above sea level[2], and is 1453 m higher than Malaysia's 2nd tallest mountain, Mount Trus Madi at 2642 m above sea level[3]. It is often touted as the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia, this is in fact disputable. Some might have heard of Puncak Jaya in the Indonesian Province of Papua (Irian Jaya) as the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia at 4884 m,[4] but the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia is actually Mount Hkakabo Razi in Myanmar, which is part of the Himalayan Mountain System, at 5881 m.[5] There are also many other mountains in Myanmar above 5000 m tall and in Papua, above 4500 m tall! See the List of Southeast Asian Mountains.

Peak of Puncak Jaya
Source: Alfindra Primaldhi, Wikipedia

While there are 9 mountains listed on the list that are taller than Mount Kinabalu, those in Papua are geographically considered to be in the continent of Oceania and those in Myanmar are bordering southern China (but some still consider that as part of Southeast Asia). So, the claim of Mount Kinabalu as the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia might be accurate, depending on the geographical definition. Within political borders, however, that claim is far from true.

Myanmar's Hkakabo Razi
Source: burma-all.com

Geology

Climbing Mount Kinabalu has a good explanation of Mount Kinabalu's geology:

Mount Kinabalu is the youngest large mountain on earth today. The whole structure of the granite dome has been pushed through the sandstone in about a million years, which is exceptional young in geological terms. Mount Kinabalu thus is a huge granite dome, pluton or batholit that was pushed up from the earth’s 1-1.5 million years ago by the hardening of a mass of molten rock that rose beneath the sedimentary rocks of the older Crocker Range. The sandstone and soil that once covered the granite have been eroded to reveal the underlying bare granite rock. During the Pleistocene Period at about 100,000 years ago, the mountain was covered by ice and glaciers which flowed down its slopes, scouring its surface in the process and creating the 1800 m deep Low's Gully on its north side. The ice fields covered some 5,4 square kilometres, and projected into two glaciers with moraines. Only the sharp summit peaks projected through the ice. The ice sheets disappeared 3,000 years ago, but the glacier-smoothed slopes of the summit plateau and the jagged ice-plucked peaks still bear witness to the icy past. No snow falls on the mountain today and there are rare reports of ice forming in the little rock pool at the summit, this is the ‘Sacrifice Pool’, it was a traditional site of offerings to the mountain spirits.[6]

Low's Gully
Source: Universitas Bergensis

Mount Kinabalu is essentially a massive pluton formed from granodiorite which is intrusive. It is still pushing up at the rate of 5 mm per annum.[2] The glacier at 100,000 years ago, cuts the mountain and formed Low's Gully, a huge U shaped gorge 1.5 km large, splitting it into the "two sides of Kinabalu East and Kinabalu West".[7] This gorge led many to assume that Mount Kinabalu is an extinct volcano, which is untrue. Volcanoes, extinct and active do exist in Malaysia though in the Semporna Peninsula. See my previous post here.

Low's Gully
Source: Stoncel

Conclusion
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is definitely worth a visit as it's the only place in Malaysia where one can find an alpine forest, only mountain over 3000 m high, and the geological features will just blow you away! A climb up the mountain, however is becoming very unaffordable due to efforts to limit visitors in order to protect the mountains.

References

[1] Mount Kinabalu Borneo.com, The Legends of Mount Kinabalu, http://www.mount-kinabalu-borneo.com/mount-kinabalu-legends.html

[2] Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, Mount Kinabalu, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kinabalu

[3] Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, Mount Trus Madi, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Trus_Madi

[4] Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, Puncak Jaya, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puncak_Jaya

[5] Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, Hkakabo Razi, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hkakabo_Razi

[6] Climbing Mount Kinabalu, Geology and Geomorphology, http://www.climbing-mount-kinabalu.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=59

[7] Mount Kinabalu Borneo.com, The Geology of Mount Kinabalu, http://www.mount-kinabalu-borneo.com/mount-kinabalu-geology.html

Aug 21st: Revamped xPress

2010-08-21T13:26:00.000+08:00

It has been a long time since my last post due to being busy, not having constant internet connection for some period of time and stuff, which got me off momentum in blogging. The good news is that, I suddenly got the urge to update my blog. So, yay!! I gave the blog some minor revamp in layout, hoping to achieve a better organisation and better categorised content.

If anyone noticed over the past week, the blog have been slowly evolving to include a new page and some internal and external links. Firstly, I've got my some of my posts of a certain category organised by tags in artificial "pages". Currently there's "Geography xPress" for posts about places and geography and "Español xPress" for posts in Spanish. Secondly there's a new page, "Metro Penang xPress" which I'll update on some info and urban developments in Penang. Finally, I've included a link to my last.fm music profile in "Music xPress" which I do not decide to include it in my blog itself as last.fm serves that purpose very well in managing my music statistics and it even has its own blog in "Journal".

More pages and "artificial pages" will be created when the need arises. I'll try to keep the momentum going in blog writing, so stay tuned!

El Examen DELE, Nivel B1

2010-05-25T20:07:00.006+08:00

Sí, sí, sé que ya hace mucho tiempo que no he escribido. Es que estaba y todavía estoy muy ocupado y muchas cosas ha pasado entre estos meses. En este semestre, ya que tenía muchas tareas para hacer, también han pasado muchas cosas en mi casa y hay muchas cosas para planear. Terminé mi segundo semestre de mi tercer año alrededor de dos semanas pasado, pero ahora estoy haciendo mi práctica todavía. Fui a muchos lugares este semestre, empezando de Penang a Kota Kinabalu, a Sandakan, a Kundasang, y ahora estoy entre Selangor y Kuala Lumpur, haciendo mi práctica. Solo voy a regresar a Penang después de mi práctica, para dos o tres días solamente, y debo ir a Kota Kinabalu después. ¡Ah, qué triste!

Pues, hay demasiadas cosas para decir, quizás en el otra vez. Pero, que quiero contar ahora es sobre el "Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera" (DELE). Tomé el nivel inicial (B1) del examen el viernes pasado en HELP University College en Kuala Lumpur. ¡Por fin! Quería tomar el examen desde terminé mis cuatro niveles de clases de español, pero hay problemas como no se ofrece el nivel en Kota Kinabalu y no hay suficiente candidatos.

¿Cómo fue el examen? Pues, ¡fue muy dificil! Creo que fue más dificil que todos de los examenes años pasados que he probado. La verdad es que no tenía mucho tiempo para preparar para el examen porque cuando terminé el trabajo, ya estuve muy cansado. Para no tengo el conexión del internet tampoco me ayuda nada. Pero, no sé porque, creo que puedo aprobado el examen. Ojalá que sea cierto.

La convocatoria y la hoja de inscripción del examen

Durante el día del examen, encontré unas estudiantes de Universidad Malaya que tomaron el nivel intermedio (B2) de DELE. Escuché ellas hablaron en español y soy muy impresionado por sus dominio de la lengua. Ellas me dicieron que son estudiantes major en español y estudiaban español para 16 horas al semana. Solo mi amigo y yo que tomaremos el nivel B1 ese día.

La sala del examen... es como esperando a morir!

Aquí, necesito que decir muchísimas gracias a mi profesora, Señora Consuelo Cárdenas para su enseñanza de español para cuatro niveles y un nivel adicional. También gracias a Zi Sun para acompañarme a tomar el examen, y Eng Hua para compartir sus notas de español del Universidad de Ciencia de Malasia.

Por supuesto mi aprendizaje de español no va a terminar aquí. Voy a escuchar canciónes, ver películas, leer artículos y escribir en español para toda mi vida. ¿Y quizás algún día viviré en España?

Rumors: Facebook donates $1 for Haiti relief

2010-01-17T02:01:00.002+08:00

There's been many facebook hoaxes around nowadays. Many of which includes "inviting all your friends" in order to gain a certain feature on facebook. But i would now like to talk about the latest one. It sounds like this:

This status is being tracked, the owners of facebook have confirmed they will send $1 to the rescue fund for the Haiti earthquake disaster for everytime this is cut and paste as a status. You only have to leave it for a minimum of 1 hour. Lets all do our bit to help - 請把上面的文字 copy/paste 到你的現況分享並至少保留一個小時, FB 會統計這些發布的現況, 每一則現況 FB 會相對捐出美金一元給海地地震救災基金

Well, if this is true, then where is the official news from Facebook?? I've did a search on both Facebook and Google but can't find any news about this. It is true however, that facebook is helping in the relief of the Haitian earthquake, but not through status updates. Besides, I don't think Facebook is allowed to track our status messages due to privacy reasons.

Another thing to note is the large user base of Facebook. Facebook has an estimated number of 350 million users and an estimated revenue of 300 million USD per annum. Now, let's say 10% of the users or 35 million users updated their statuses and thus, it means that 35 million USD is donated. Do you think Facebook will donate 11.67% of their yearly revenue?

There are lots of info available through Google, and here's a link about the Facebook status update:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2010/01/16/hoax-facebook-donates-1-per-status-update-to-haiti-relief.htm

and a Facebook group for all the hoaxes on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6953148711&ref=mf

Some might think that by posting this will not cause any damage, but in actual fact, it does! Well, this is spam and spam is irritating and a waste internet bandwidth. So, guys, before believing rumors out there, think for a second or do some reading first.

Conclusion: Fake! and obviously a spam

¡Ya extraño a las clases de español!

2010-01-02T01:52:00.002+08:00

El sexto semestre de la universidad ya empieza. Este semestre es el primer semestre que no voy a ir a la clase de español. De verdad, las clases oficiales para las lenguas extranjeros solo dura 4 semestres o 4 niveles, pero tomé el nivel 5 el semestre pasado que eran clases adicionales. Si tengo la oportunidad y el tiempo este semestre, por supuesto voy a ir a la clase otra vez.

Ésto me recurdo a mi profesora, Señora Consuelo. Ella es una persona muy agradable. Por eso, escribé un correo electronico a Señora Consuelo y también enseñarle un poco sobre Facebook para podemos comunicarnos facilmente. La verdad es que ella ya tiene Facebook pero me ha dicho que no está seguro como usarlo. Pues, todos del club de español, esperad por su apariencia.

Aunque terminé mis clases de español, el aprendizaje no va a terminar. Voy a usar la lengua frecuentemente en Facebook, en mi Blog, escuchando canciones, veando películas, etc. También espero que tengo la oportunidad para tomar el examen Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera (DELE) en mayo.

Este es el primer publicación de mi blog en el año 2010, y también el primer publicación en español. Entonces, ¡os deseo un felíz año 2010!

The end of the holidays and the beginning of my 2nd semester of the 3rd year

2009-12-29T19:22:00.003+08:00

Just got back to Kota Kinabalu today, although class is supposed to officially start on Monday. Gosh, the past semester break feels like the shortest semester break for me. Been back home for about 2 and a half weeks only due to my trip with my friends in Sabah. And within the 2 and a half weeks, i was busy getting food poisoning in the beginning, then busy recovering, busy resting, busy going online, busy formatting my laptop and towards the end, busy going out with friends, busy packing and busy worrying about this semester. After all those "busy-ing" i still haven't had enough rest, not enough time to go meeting friends and time online to get me satisfied to the point i normally do during my past semester breaks. It has only been about 6 hours since i arrived and i'm missing my bed, and the basic amenities (internet, electricity, water supply) back in Penang. And, i'm so looking forward to the Chinese New Year break.

A check of my time table for this semester almost got me crazy! It is classes from 0800 hrs to 1700 hrs almost everyday from Monday to Saturday. Yes, Saturday! and i already have an assignment pending... Thinking about how tough it was last semester and the results that i had obtained already made me unready for this semester. Also, i have my internship to worry about as this semester ends.

Well, there's only one way to go - forward. Hopefully I can cope with what's coming ahead.

Rumors: Fake eggs from China

2009-12-21T15:21:00.002+08:00

I'm sure many of you have came across this "Fake eggs from China" e-mail. I can't believe it the first minute i saw it. Well, i thought it was possible to make such an egg but not possible to sell it in the market at a cheaper price.

Let these articles explain everything:

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/fake-eggs-china.shtml

and

http://www.tian.cc/2007/05/hoax-chinese-counterfeit-eggs.html

Read that, and there's nothing much left to be said about this hoax.

Conclusion:

Busted!! No such fake eggs in the market.

Rumors: Plastic seaweed from China

2009-12-21T13:33:00.003+08:00

Today, mom decided to cook seaweed soup. Upon opening a packet of seaweed, she recalled an e-mail claiming that seaweeds from China are fake and are made from plastic. So, she called me over to check whether that packet was from China. Indeed it was. So, she freaked out, thinking whether or not to throw the seaweeds away and cook another type of soup.

Here are some of the pictures from the e-mail:

The packet of seaweed she opened wasn't of this brand though

Ok, although they look like plastic in the pictures, but aren't they supposed to look like that?

I did a search in google and found this:

http://seaweedmalaysia.com/2009/09/16/fake-seaweed-from-china-in-malaysian-market/

(more pictures and news items in the link)

Apparently the rumor started from Nakhon Ratchasima in Thailand. A women claimed that the packet of seaweed she bought was actually plastic or rubber as it was very chewy. And in the picture, it looked stretchable, like plastic!!

After that, the Bangkok Post reported that tests ran by the Thai Food and Drug Administration show that the seaweeds were real.

So, this is what i think. It could be that the rumor is fake altogether or it could have been that a batch of seaweeds actually got contaminated by plastic? Well, this are just the impressions i got. But, what's for sure is that not all (or none) of the seaweeds from China are made from plastic. However, since there are all sorts of food contamination in China, this may not be impossible as well.

For me, i'm not a believer of e-mail rumors, and thus, believe that seaweed from China is safe for consumption. To be safe, it is better not to buy it, but if i already have a packet, i will not waste it by throwing it away just based on rumors, besides, it is not that i'm going to consume it on a daily basis.

A check in the kitchen just now shows that the soup is now - vegetable soup!! What a waste!! thanks to e-mail rumors...

10Sabah: The outcome

2009-12-14T23:34:00.012+08:00

Finally I find the time to write this post. This is the my 4th day in Penang since I'm back from Sabah and have just finished editing and uploading selected photos to Facebook - which totaled to some 200+ !! First of all, i have to mention that the "welcome" to Penang wasn't too pleasant. I had food poisoning on Thursday. After a gathering with some freinds at McDonald's Jian Fa, Eng Hua and I decided to have our late dinner since neither of us wanted to take dinner in McD. We ended up somewhere in Jelutong where i took Koay Teow soup and Soy Milk. That very night, i was arranging my photos to the wee hours of the night because we were supposed to compile our photos the next day at Jian Fa's place. Well, at his place because he will be going back to Johore on Saturday and we wanted to show him our pics. So, while doing that, suddenly i feel some discomfort in my stomach. Well, i went to bed. The next morning, vomiting, purging, blah blah... i would not like to talk about it anymore. Eng Hua was feeling a little discomfort himself but Jian Fa was fine. Good for him. Too bad I can't make it to his house that day, we only get to meet for just a few hours this semester break. Start missing him already :(

Alright, now, the main topic - the Sabah trip!

It started off with last minute decisions - a bunch of them! Wei Leong deciding not to follow, Michelle forgetting her MyKAD, Michelle coming later, Michelle and Chun Khai leaving early, me having to get rid of Isly, flight delayed, etc... WOW!!! just as i thought things were in place, more things happened. (Guys, if you guys are reading this, i do not blame you guys for this, i truely understand, things do happen when we do not want them to) Thanks to Grace for her quick thinking, and Willie providing transport, transportation problems were solved easily. Much of these happened "behind the scenes" when the trip has started for the 7 of them. And, the trip started for me when:

these guys arrive...

Kopivosian!!

So, let the trip reviewing begin!

Day 1

Monsopiad Cultural Village, Penampang

My first time here!! But, bad weather - raining. Took rice wine, which taste kind of good, watched some cultural performances, played some of the games and looked around the area. Nice place to get to know more about the Kadazandusuns. I think some of the activities were not available that day maybe due to the time or power failure or weather. My friend got to "eat" the sago tree worm and try out their traditional costumes the last time they were there.

1Borneo Hypermall

Raining... what can we do?? go to the mall!! Dinner at NewYorkNewYork. Everyone was complaining about the price of the food, so we shared 1 giant burger, 1 small plate of spaghetti and 2 slices of sandwich. What?!?!

Day 2

Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

Got a deal for RM 40 for a 4 islands island hopping trip. (I wonder why Pulau Gaya is not included) My first time to these islands, eventhough i've been in KK for 2 and a half years already... ha ha... First off was Manukan - blah... then Mamutik, which was slightly better, then a ride through Sulug, which was said to be haunted and thus, abandoned, and finally Sapi, which i think is the nicest so far, but - raining... :( Overall, i think the islands are a nice getaway from KK but not worthy to be a marine park judging from its current state - dead corals and pollution. However they can be considered clean for being so near a huge city. I think conservation efforts should be stepped up to protect these islands before things get worse!

Tanjung Aru

Believe it or not, i've never been there before as well, eventhough KKIA T2 is so near and i've used it like over 10 times! Opinion? one word - polluted. Oh yea, and where's the starfish? hermit crabs are abundunt though...

Sutera Harbour

Same old place... ha ha... I was enjoying taking night pics but the others looked like zombies already... too tired??

Day 3

Going to the east coast!! yay!! Never been there before. It will be the eastern most part of the world i've ever been to and also the furthest away from home.

Tawau

Flight from BKI to TWU was like: "We'll be landing shortly..." and i was like: What? that was really very "shortly". Then the bus ride to the town centre was so hell long. From the info i've collected, it is 31km! This gives me the feeling that Tawau Airport has the potential to be expanded into a mega airport in the future.

The rest of the day was spent walking around town as there's nothing much to do or see there. (Thanks to Angela for bringing us around). My impression of Tawau is like Sinsuran and Segama on steroids. The town centre feels like a huge Sinsuran + Segama. And i was surprised to see the murky seawater there. The first place in Sabah where i find murky seawater.

Day 4

Semporna

The day started damn early in order to get to Semporna by 0730 hrs to catch the boat to Mabul. The ride was around 2 hrs from Tawau - and a costly one RM 30 per person per trip. Well, i wasn't sure about the transport around there, so... sorry guys...

Didn't have much time to walk around Semporna. We got on to the jetty right away. The seawater is super clear but full of rubbish!

Mabul

Again, super clear water but RUBBISH!!! All sorts of starfish can be spotted when we approached the island. I've not seen so many of them in my life! We were picking them up and playing with them near the stilt village.

Snorkeling trip around the island was cool!! nice corals and marine life.

Kapalai

The sunken island. We only did snorkeling there, would have loved to take a look at the water bungalows... the water was so shallow and the corals were within reach... all those tentacles... yucks!! he he...

Day 5

Lahad Datu

Only stopped over for lunch in the outskirts. Passing through the town, it seemed bigger than Beaufort!

Sandakan

Our destination. We arrived just before evening after a 6 hour bus ride from Tawau. Ouch!! Sandakan is a very weird town. everything is so spread out. town centre to the east, another part of the town to the south, suburbs far west, Sepilok further west, airport to the north... where's the town planning?? We had been given suggestions to stay in one of the suburbs where good food is readily available but then it is so far from the tourist attractions in the town centre. well, maybe next time, since we've already tried the town centre...

Dinner was unforgettable! Seafood steamboat!! i think i've never eaten so many prawns before... how unhealthy! ha ha... Thanks a million to Pei Hong for bringing us around that night ;)

Day 6

Sepilok

The star attraction of Sandakan must definitely be the Orang Utan! But, let's rewind a little, tickets are sold at 10 am, next is at 2pm. So, we detoured to Rainforest Discovery Centre, just next door. New place, and it's nice and very informative. And guess what? RAIN... We moved on, nevertheless, under umbrellas. The canopy walk is very interesting. It is built on the ground and suspended on towers, rather than the conventional tree to tree canopy. It is not as challenging as the tree to tree canopy walk but i find it kinda cool.

And now back to the Orang Utan Sanctuary. Guess what again?? well, guess yourselves!! Hint: it got us wet. It was too bad that we only saw 4 Orang Utans. I hope they are not the only ones left. There were lots of monkeys though... It was kinda funny to watch the monkeys stealing the food meant for the Orang Utans.

Sandakan

We met Pei Hong again, and we dined at Mile 5 (if i remembered correctly). and after that, we spontaneausly decided to watch a concert organized by Sports Toto. There were 3 artists performing, i only remember 余畑龙, a Hakka singer, as i've heard one of his songs before: 海边看飞机. He's pretty talented, but in my opinion, his mandarin sounds a little odd.

Day 7

Sandakan

Sunday morning. What's a sunday morning if it is not for a walk in the market. And that's pretty much all we did that morning in Sandakan. A walk to the central markent and next, to the sunday morning market.

when checking in for our flight back to Kota Kinabalu, we met 余畑龙 again. and we had the opportunity to take a picture together. Yikes!! i didn't know what to say to him. I barely even remember his name... ha ha...

when up in the clouds,

Mount Kinabalu!! cool ey?

and before i've finished flicking through the magazine, "we will be landing shortly" WHAT!! that's the shortest flight i've ever been on.

Kota Kinabalu

Filipino Market, night market, supermarket... all the markets... ha ha... Earlier we had dinner in Damai and we shared food amongst ourselves... gosh we looked ugly!! ha ha...

Day 8

Kota Belud

Stop over, stretch legs, buy stuff, get annoyed over paying for a toilet that has no running water!! f*** you payed toilets!!!

at the outskirts of Kota Belud is the ostrich farm. all of us felt the presence of Vil Cherd in there. we even get to say things we don't get to and do stuff like petting its head and sitting on its back that we can't do on Vil Cherd.

Matunggong

around matunggong area, we went to the Gong Factory in Kampung Sumangkap and Honey Bee Farm in Kampung Gombizau. The eye opener in the Gong Factory is the Giant Gong, probably around 7 m tall. And, in the honey bee farm, we got to taste honey straight from the honey comb... yummy!!

further up, is the Bavanggazo Rungus Longhouse. I've stayed there overnight once, but this time, just a visit, so save on budget. I was told it now costs RM 50 to spend a night there. it was only around RM 30 last time...

Tanjung Simpang Mengayau

Sunset!! finally!! after having the rain spoiling the view of the sunset for the past few days, we finally get to see the senset at the tip of borneo.

and then, begins the long and tiring trip back to Kota Kinabalu...

Day 9

Kinabalu Park

First stop - Kinabalu Park, near Timpohon gate. Gosh! loved the weather there!! it was cool and foggy and surrounded by alpine forest. Feels like New Zealand!!

Kundasang

Vegetables, fruits and flowers anyone?? i only got chicken ass!! ha ha... i can't believe it was that hot in Kundasang. It was also hot as hell the last time i was there. i think i'll bring sunscreen the next time i go to kundasang!

Next up, War memorial. That was the first time i pay to enter a memorial, i think. But it was worth it. The landscaping and garden was well kept and beautiful. at places, it looks like Australia, thanks to the architecture of the structures and the Australian and British flags hung around there.

Mesilau

Back up to the clouds. Too bad the road condition to the Dairy Farm was so deteriorated, we can't go in there... should have stopped there, walked in and took a few pics from outside... but anyway... i met Mr. Noob in Mesilau who will be climbing Mount Kinabalu the next day. looking at the entrance to the trail made me wanna climb it too... hopefully i have the chance, or else, i think i just take a plane to Sandakan to have a view of it again... ha ha...

we were unlucky that it was so foggy that day. there was not a single minute that we can catch a glimpse of Kinabalu.

Day 10

Karambunai

Been there once, but only to the lagoon. the resort was nice and grand looking. the seafront reminds me of batu Ferringhi but with much wider beach. (which reminds me that i wanna go to hard Rock Hotel... ha ha...)

Kota Kinabalu

Had pork organs noodles at Lintas, then an egg tart, then a croissant, then a glass of ice blended coffee at YoYo. I wonder what happened that time, just felt like eating... ha ha...

then we're off to Signal hill, turning into every possible roads there... discovered nice views and nice houses... even stole a few shots of it!! he he....

... and the airport... goodbye, Sabah... Damn!! have to go back again in a few weeks time...

All in all, i would say that it was a trip successfully carried out, although there are a few hiccups and weather problems, and also still within budget (at least for me and Grace, i don't know where the money for the others went to). The most important thing is that all of us had a great time, seen a lot of places and gained lots of experience, even though we were very worn off. I didn't expect to survive these 10 days in the beginning, but i did it!! ha ha...

The Making of "10Sabah"

2009-11-27T21:24:00.003+08:00

My friends and I have been planning for this semester break trip for quite some time. Probably for a year already, since we went for the Pangkor trip if i remembered correctly. We switched between Sabah and Sarawak along the way but in the end, the flight ticket made the choice for us - Sabah!

We decided to make it a 10 day trip. Which is why i call it 10Sabah.. ha ha... Then, I decided to make it a round Sabah trip, since 10 days around the west coast is too much, but then too expensive if we cover places like Labuan and Pulau Tiga or do activities like rafting or hiking Mount Kinabalu.

The planning of the trip came into quite a lot of troubles. The first one, obviously is the air ticket, then the budget, the timing, the cramming-as-much-places-to-visit-as-possible into a day, the last minute decisions, the contacting with hotels, and dive lodge, the fine tuning, etc...

This is the first time i'm responsible for fully planning a trip, and unfortunately it is a long trip and not an easy one to plan. Therefore i really appreciate the help from Grace for giving suggestions, Willie for being the tour guide, Carmen for the room, and maybe wei leong for being noob? ha ha.. joking...

I would also like to apologize to all of you guys if there are hiccups along the trip or i kept you guys waiting for my confirmation on the trip or if there was bad information flow etc.

As of now, pretty much everything is already in place and i'm finally looking forward to the trip, instead of worrying about it. I'm sure it will be a very interesting trip as it will be the longest of any trip i've made, journeying furthest away from home that i've ever been in my life, spend the most money i've ever did, go on to the most plane rides in a trip, and many more to come i guess...

The part that i'll be looking forward to the most must be the Mabul-Kapalai trip. and also the one that causes me the biggest headache. That area is famous for being one of the best dive sites in the world, especially Sipadan (which we are not going).

Ok, glancing at the clock, it says 0527. I should get my sleep or i'll be dead during the trip, when we'll have to wake up extremely early to save time. have to try to shift my biological clock back to normal in the coming days. ciao!

Malaysia's Volcano?

2009-11-22T11:43:00.004+08:00

I was surfing the net, browsing pictures of the islands off Semporna and i came across something interesting - There is a volcano in Malaysia!!

There are actually a few extinct volcanoes like the Boheydulang and Bodgaya atoll, and Mt. Tannabalu on Pulau Timbun Mata. All of them are located around Semporna area.

Source: http://www.sempornaislandsproject.com/pages/map.htm

Well, probably not so surprising to find extinct volcanoes in Malaysia, since we are so close the the Pacific Ring of Fire. But...

There is one active volcano called Bombalai Hill. It is said to be the only active volcano in Malaysia.

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombalai_Hill

And this is a picture of the hill taken by stimix on myaseanfreemaps forum:

Source: http://www.malfreemaps.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=4497

This is definitely something interesting to know. I wonder if i'll have the chance to see it during my coming trip to Tawau and Semporna.

And so, ends the 1st semester of my 3rd year!!

2009-11-19T01:49:00.001+08:00

I'm finally got free enough to get my blog started. I've just finished my finals yesterday morning and so, my semester break starts. yay!!

It has been a tough semester, tough subjects, horribly tough assignments and of course, killer exams. If i can maintain a 3.0 GPA, I'll be more than glad.

To add on to that, a lot happened around my house. Some new people, new problems, lots of misunderstanding... Ahh... miss the good old days... even miss the hostel years... you guys were great people!!

Well, let the past be the past, now i'm planning to fully utilize my holidays doing whatever i feel like doing. I might not have a long holiday ever again. The next semester break will be filled with my internship, and in my 4th year, i might be busy with my thesis. So, i just gotta make full use of this holidays and relish every moment of fun, sleep, sitting in front of computer and being bored (being bored is a luxury for me).

So, my friends from Penang are coming over to Sabah for the holidays, and i have like 12 days between now and then. I plan to do some planning these few days and get things sorted out. And, after that, will be looking for people to hang out and enjoy wasting my time.. ha ha!!

I'm looking forward to the trip, especially to the east coast of Sabah, and of course Mabul!! bad news is I'm already broke even before the trip... yikes!!

Well, first thing's first, i need my sleep!! only slept for less than 1 hour yesterday afternoon as i accompanied my friend to do some cooking and turned my room into a cinema at night...

The hibernation i've been waiting for will soon start...