A DeZemBer's Blog

Rafael Nadal's Unexpected Announcement: A Devastating Blow to Tennis Fans

2023-05-19T09:03:00.002+01:00

picture source: BBC

The tennis world was shaken to its core when the news broke that Rafael Nadal, the legendary Spanish player and one of the most beloved figures in the sport, would not be participating in the 2023 Roland Garros French Open. To make matters worse, Nadal also revealed his intention to retire from professional tennis in 2024. This unexpected double announcement has sent shockwaves through the tennis community and left fans in a state of disappointment and sadness.

Nadal's Dominance at the French Open:

To understand the magnitude of Nadal's absence from the French Open, one must first recognize his extraordinary record at this prestigious tournament. Known as the "King of Clay," Nadal has reigned supreme at Roland Garros, winning a remarkable 13 titles over the course of his illustrious career. His unparalleled success on the clay courts of Paris has made him synonymous with the tournament itself. Fans from around the world eagerly anticipated witnessing Nadal's masterful displays of power, finesse, and sheer determination at this year's event.

Reasons for Withdrawal:

Nadal's decision to pull out of the 2023 French Open was met with shock and disbelief. Although his announcement cited personal reasons for his withdrawal, speculations have arisen regarding his physical condition. Nadal has been plagued by various injuries throughout his career, and it is possible that he may be dealing with an ailment that requires him to prioritize his long-term health over immediate competition. Regardless of the underlying reasons, the absence of such a tennis icon is undoubtedly a major blow to the tournament and its fans.

Impact on Tennis Fans:

Tennis fans worldwide are undoubtedly feeling the weight of Nadal's decision. His unmatched passion for the game, unwavering sportsmanship, and never-say-die attitude have endeared him to millions of supporters over the years. Nadal's absence not only diminishes the competitiveness of the French Open but also robs fans of the opportunity to witness his signature style of play and experience the electric atmosphere that accompanies his matches. Many fans had likely planned trips to Paris specifically to witness Nadal's dominance on the clay, making this announcement an even more bitter pill to swallow.

Contemplating the End of an Era:

In addition to his withdrawal from the 2023 French Open, Nadal's announcement regarding his planned retirement in 2024 has sent shockwaves through the tennis world. At 37 years old, Nadal has dedicated the better part of his life to the sport, amassing an enviable collection of trophies and cementing his status as one of the greatest players of all time. While retirement is an inevitable part of every athlete's journey, the prospect of bidding farewell to a true icon of the game is undoubtedly a sobering thought for fans.

Looking Ahead:

As we come to terms with the reality of Nadal's withdrawal from the French Open and the impending end of his career, it is essential to acknowledge the incredible impact he has had on tennis. His fierce rivalry with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, collectively known as the "Big Three," has captivated audiences and elevated the sport to new heights. Nadal's indomitable spirit and relentless pursuit of excellence have inspired countless aspiring tennis players and left an indelible mark on the sport's history.

(Another) End of an Era?

The recent announcement of Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the 2023 French Open and his intention to retire in 2024 has undoubtedly cast a shadow of disappointment over the tennis community. Nadal's absence from the clay courts of Roland Garros will be felt deeply by fans worldwide, who had eagerly anticipated witnessing his unmatched prowess once again. However, compare to Roger Federer who have left us almost without any prior warning, we are in luck to see the King of Clay for one more year. Vamos Rafa! See you in 2024!

Covid-19 Vaccination - I've been Pfizered!

2021-02-22T10:19:00.003+00:00

A bit of a long post on a Sunday and the 10th day of the Ox Lunar Year. But the TLDR version of it is very simple. If you have been offered the vaccination, JUST DO IT.

Got a text some time last week and thought it was a hoax or a scam initially. But turns out that I’m one of the luckier group of people to have been offered the Covid vaccination. An early group of people after they have vaccinated all the over age 65 and front liners.

I think the reason why I am sharing this is not to gloat or to tell everyone that I’m safe to be approached in case you want to :) But more so to spread the message that the Covid-19 vaccination IS SAFE.

I’ve heard friends and families doubting the reliability and the risk of this vaccine. From the comprehensivity of the testing since it’s being developed and rolled out at a record speed, to the possibility of it having the purpose to “control and track” human mankind. #Nanomites!!

So let’s break this down my chain of thoughts right before I went for it. But before I forget, I have to say the whole vaccination process organised by the NHS here in the UK is really systematic and smooth. From the booking process to the actual vaccination location. You must stand here. You must sit there. And all for a mere 2 seconds jab on my left arm. :)

So, back to my chain of thoughts;

The vaccine is developed within a year compare to 10 years - I may not be able to understand the technicality of it but from the commercial point of view, I don’t see why pharmaceutical companies not pouring ALL their existing and future resources into developing it. It’s almost certain that it will be a sell out once developed and it will be so for many many years to come. To a certain extend for these pharmaceutical companies, these are actually OPPORTUNITIES and one that will decide not just the popularity of the company but also the prosperity for many years ahead. And the prospect of them NOT FAILING is even greater than ever since this is almost a global awareness if anything went wrong with the vaccine that they have developed.
Did they have a proper trial? Not reading the medical journal or the time to read in more depth their trial process, I would say no. But because of what I’ve said above, I have no doubt that they would again make sure everything that could be anticipated would have been anticipated. And logically, they may not have enough trial time but hopefully would have been sufficiently compensated with their sample data while developing it. In the UK alone there were more than 4 million cases and Worldwide more than 100 million cases. And on a selfish note, there were more than 15 million vaccination jabs given before me. So, if anything would have gone wrong it would have been reported.
Cost and opportunity. Let’s be frank. Life has to go on. Locking ourselves up, homeschooling, working from home, snap lockdown, no social gathering, social distancing even with your family members, zoom Chinese New year reunion dinner. These got to stop. Slowly. And while we can’t cure Covid-19, yet. Vaccination is the only way out of this. Even if there is a risk. But if the risk of me contracting Covid is higher than the risk of getting the side effect of the vaccination, no one should hesitate to choose the latter.

So there you have it. More good news while I was typing this out. The UK PM has announced that he is pushing for all adults in the UK to be vaccinated by July 2021! And if has been successfully rolled out, I hope to see you all in summer! :)

#Covid19 #Vaccination #Pfizer

Why Serena Williams Owes Us An Apology

2018-09-11T15:40:00.003+01:00

I can't believe myself stop blogging for more than 2 years came back writing about Women tennis. But hear me out.

Serena Williams - Queen of Tennis

First of all, I'm a massive fans of Serena Williams. At the top where Federer, Sampras and Nadal were. She has changed the landscape of women tennis like how Nadal brought power and Federer introduced style and "class" to men tennis. Along the way all of them brought in new and reinvigorate existing tennis players like me to keep on playing and loving the game. And 23 Grand Slams are not a mean feat at all. If you look at the closest rivals of whom have won a grand slam that are still playing today, the closest are Venus (7) and Sharapova (5)!! She is the greatest current and almost certainly ever women tennis player in history.

Maybe, and I say maybe that might have drove her to do what she did last Saturday during the Finals of US Open 2018. So let's break it down.

The US Open Finals - the crucial moment

Source: BBC/ EPA

She's in her first Grand Slam finals after she gave birth to her daughter. And her opponent whom have beaten her before is also in her first Grand Slam finals. Serena might have thought her determination to win and her experience triumphs her opponent's inexperience and age.

No. She was not only chasing her own tail outwit by Osaka Naomi's power and strategy but also chasing a set down. And in the crucial moment in the second set, her coach did something stupid.

He tried to "hand signal" Serena on how to turn the game around. Indirectly trying to coach her from the bench. Whether Serena saw it or otherwise, it doesn't matter. The umpire saw it! And Carlos Ramos gave Serena a code violation. She then got another one for breaking her racquet. And finally got her 3rd code violation for calling the umpire a thief! And after the 3rd violation that means a game penalty and Serena lost it all and call every officials she could to further vent her frustrations.

The Tantrum

So here's the thing that lost my respect for her. Serena said she's fighting (shouting) for women's right, sexism and unfairness for getting those code violations. Instead of moving on from a "setback" in her game, she keeps on harping on the same thing over and over again until it affected her match. What I think was she's lost her game trying to fight back with some drama hoping her rather inexperience opponent will be distracted and eventually lose her concentration and concede the match eventually.

Come on Serena! You told the umpire that you have a daughter and will never cheat and rather lose. Would you then bring up your daughter by teaching her to close an eye on someone who have clearly done something wrong by the book? What Carlos (the umpire) did was all in accordance to the rules you have been "abiding" for throughout your 20+ years on the tour. To put it simply, you are driving on a highway with a speed limit of 70mph but you are doing 90mph and get caught. Instead of reflecting why you did it, you turn around and shout why the police stop you and not the others?

No Apologies?

Really? You asked the umpire to apologize for doing something he has done according to the rules?

Then when are you going to apologize to your fans for paying to watch you and a good tennis match for spoiling their evening and probably traumatizing your opponent? After all, you are walking away with USD$1.3 million.

You could have fight for injustice, sexism, etc... outside the court! You are Serena Williams. Call a press conference and highlight what you think is wrong. Don't do it on court and certainly not on a Grand Slam finals!

Naomi Osaka

Source: BBC/ Getty Image

Then there's Miss Naomi Osaka. Frankly I have not heard about her before the finals and even if she have won the match without the drama, I would have thought she will be one of those "1 or 2 Slammers" - those who have won 1 or 2 grand slam and goes on missing from winning more grand slams. There are more no 1 women tennis player in the World than those who have won a grand slam that are still playing.

But from what I saw lin that finals, maybe Naomi Osaka will be different. I think she would be different if she continues to stay positive for the game and continue with a attitude Afterall, women tennis needs a new generation of great players after the eventual demise of the drug cheats and drama queen.

Final Words

To close off my lengthy post, I would like to share you my tweet about this incident;

Some loves winning. Many hates losing. She's probably the latter even after 23 majors. And the crowd.. dam... Now I know why Donald Trump became POTUS.. Hope Naomi continue her winning attitude and make Women TENNIS great again :) #USOpen
— Choon Wong (@ah_heng) September 9, 2018

Affiliate Contents:

Why manufacturer like HUAWEI can only DREAM to be like Apple BUT NEVER EVER be one

2016-10-21T09:43:00.002+01:00

First thing first. I do not work with Apple Inc or in any of it's subsidiaries or affiliated with them in any way or form. I do work in a major consumer electronic manufacturer company in the UK and my opinion piece below in no way or form represent what I do professionally for a living but merely just my frank and personal opinion. All encounter below is being described at it's truest form that I can remember and describe.

Alright... with the legal bit out of the way, let me start with brief experience sharing working in a typical marketing team in a multinational consumer electronic company. Often enough we will be stuck in a team meeting discussing plans and strategy on how to market our upcoming products to the market. And I can bet you with all my working experience that the word "Apple" will come up in one way or form during these meetings. Hence we are either bench-marking what Apple does, or simply try to replicate what they have done.

But based on my recent encounter with the 3rd biggest smartphone vendor in the World* of Q2 2016, HUAWEI can only DREAM to be like Apple BUT WILL NEVER EVER be one. At least for now.

Just over 8 months ago, I travel to Malaysia and stumble upon a major IT store selling the Google's flagship NEXUS 6p. It's a standard GSM variant of the phone and nothing but praises that I have on this phone since day 1. The phone lives up to it's flagship tagline and the camera shoots picture that put many other smartphones (even digital camera) into shame.

And something happen last week while I was driving while navigating using Waze on that phone. It restart by itself for no apparent reason while the screen showing me I have another 136 miles to reach home.

And to my surprise, the phone boots up as it always does for the past 8 months and it was stuck in an infinite loop of rebooting and all I can see was the Google logo.

So I contacted Google directly with high hope that it's just a software problem and hoping it could be solved by doing some sort of hard reset. It doesn't work. And they suspected that it's more than just the software so they have asked me to contact HUAWEI directly.

Which I did. And being a tech savvy guy I opt to contact them via their online chat system and told them the same issue. And after some helpful advice and instruction they also conclude that I need to send them the phone for physical inspection.

And here starts the problem & horror that I've been through with HUAWEI and hence the reasons why THEY WILL NEVER be like Apple.

REASON 1: I've called their service hotline in the UK at 0800 088 6700. To my surprise, there was an actual person answering the call and asked me to leave my name and number so that they can call me back. But what's more shocking was, I called on Friday (14th Oct) and hoping someone will call me back. NOPE. No one. So I called on Monday (17th Oct) and I was asked to leave my name & number for a call back. NOPE. No one called. I called again in the afternoon and was asked to do the same thing. Really. This actually happen!

REASON 2: On Tuesday I finally received the call. Very pleasant discussion on how I could send my phone in when they deliver a pre-stamped package to me. They took down my serial number & IMEI number.

The next afternoon, someone from Huawei called again (indicated on my phone as PRIVATE NUMBER). He first introduced to himself as someone from Huawei and immediately asked me NOT TO SEND MY PHONE IN because after checking, they said the phone is not bought in the EU (or in the UK).

After a few short exchanges on why this and that, I've asked, "If I have a Huawei Phone and it's having a problem I can't solve, where can I send it to?"... To my utter shock, MICHAEL (after I insisted to know his name) told me to send it to a NON AUTHORISED SERVICE CENTRE! I was silenced for a few sec... I really do not know how to proceed. Then I've asked to speak to his manager and he told me that he won't pass it on.

Let me take a step back and evaluate this. I've bought a Google flagship phone. It lasted just over 8 months before it started giving problem. Google can't help me with the hardware. Huawei in the UK won't even want to touch my device as if as the phone is not a Huawei phone. I didn't asked for it to be fix under warranty. We have not even come to the cost which I have never said I'm not going to pay. Being in the consumer electronic industry, I'm expecting to pay some surcharge because the phone wasn't bought "locally". BUT I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT HUAWEI WILL NOT EVEN WANT TO TOUCH THEIR OWN PHONE!

1) How would such an expensive flagship phone lasted only 8 months???

2) Is there any difference in quality that the phone you bought somewhere else is not the same as if it's bought locally?

3) With the advent of "aeroplane" and the shrinking size of consumer electronics, why are we still stuck with the "terms & considtions" of buying your stuff locally?

4) And why an international company like HUAWEI have such a culture where if you don't buy the product locally, they would not even want to touch the device! Why don't you rename your COMPANY NAME differently in every region you are in??? Isn't that having a recognize brand name around the World translate to being able to have support of your devices as and when as the customer need to??

In many sense of business, Apple might not be a perfect company to quote. But in terms of service & support especially for their portable devices is almost second to none. They might want to charge you a premium or charge you when you need to service your product outside the region where you bought it. But Apple and any multinational with a hint of common sense would know that they WOULD NOT TURN AWAY FROM THEIR CUSTOMERS WHEN THEY NEEDED THEM THE MOST.

Maybe, (and I say with a big hunch) this was the reason why Google moved away from the NEXUS brand concept and started Pixel hoping to have more control on the after sales element of the phone, like Apple.

*Source: http://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-market-share.jsp

Almost A Malaysian: Lee Kuan Yew

2015-03-25T09:48:00.003+00:00

If you are like me the many fortunate ones who grew up in an era where the Malaysian politics hasn't "still" amended history books or re-written what's black and white into grey, then you must have read a lot about Mr Lee Kuan Yew in your history lesson at school.

Yes.. Indeed in Malaysia you might not heard who is Tan Siew Sin or Lee San Choon or the matter of fact Onn Jaafar. But you must have heard about a guy who live just across the river and almost become a Malaysian. He is of course the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew who has recently pass away at the age of 91.

Who is he?

Well, in my increasingly vague memory of my history lessons almost 30 years ago, he is Singapore. Yup... Anything we read about him, good or bad, right or wrong, true or otherwise it's always about Singapore.

Remember the great "MRT"?
Remember the ban on chewing gum?
Even the crooked bridge has his "name" on it as well!

But way before all these, obviously what we read about him is about how he and Tunku Abdul Rahman had a great fall out and got Singapore expelled from the Malaysia Federation. It's only of recent readings that I found out that the expulsion was due to a race riot and Mr Lee didn't even want Singapore to be separated.

Oh boy... I couldn't imagine how Singapore would be if she's still in the Malaysia Federation. Perhaps Penang 2? Governed by DAP? :)

Looking back as a nation, I am sure Singaporeans have so much to thank this incredible "giant" despite what we read or heard about him on suppressing his political opponents.

While others might think why are they a Singaporean, all I have to say is being a Malaysian you would and should be glad that Mr Lee Kuan Yew was "Almost a Malaysian".

May you rest in peace Mr Lee.

Source: straitstimes.com

p/s: There is a special 24-page Straits Times tribute to Mr Lee which you can download at this link;

http://www.straitstimes.com/sites/straitstimes.com/files/20150323/ST-Special-Edition-150323.pdf

Some other good reads from the Amazon (Sponsored):

Resolution 2015: Irrelevancy

2015-01-05T14:55:00.004+00:00

Welcome to 2015!

I think I must have said this before. Every year, I told myself to write more, but it seems that every year I have failed that simple resolution. Let’s hope this won’t happen in 2015.

It’s probably good to start with a resolution for 2015 and instead of writing and describing in a post, let’s describe it with a picture…

I just can’t see how 2015 won’t better 2014, especially in the work front. But let’s hope a better 2015 for me, and for all.

Apple vs The Rest

2014-11-03T14:51:00.000+00:00

With the recent conclusion of consumer tech product launches from new smartphones to smartwatches, from phone as big as tablets to tablets as large as laptops, the usual argument since probably 2010 still split the views of many.

Apple vs the Rest.

Source: wikipedia.org

#Personal Computer

Believe it or not. Apple has been fighting this "litigation" almost ever since their inception. They started off with the "Big Blue" (IBM) and they have tackled the space where some thought as impossible as landing a man on the moon then, “Personal Computer” which today we just simply call it as PC.

Then with Microsoft. Based on my limited understanding of what really happen then, I have to say "innovation" probably dominates the era when PC started penetrating our household.

Some define innovation as a new word of creative piracy or photocopying. Others may argue that without innovation, technological advancement might takes much longer than what we would expect.

One quote from Steve Jobs then imprints in my mind during the tussle between Apple and Microsoft is this... "In order for Apple to win, Microsoft doesn't has to lose. Apple has to do it's best and if Microsoft wants to do badly, it's a big help to Apple..." Of course that was spoken when Steve Jobs went back to Apple (and became the iCEO and started the famous "i" prefix) and has to literally "beg" Microsoft to invest in Apple to sustain the company. Probably a very brave decision but truth be told, it's probably (the only option) and the move that saves Apple Computer, then.

We thought that might be the end of the rivalry between them and how glad are we that it isn't over. Because of that rivalry, it might have given us Windows XP. Apple OS 9. Longhorn (Windows Vista). Apple OS X (10). Tiger. Leopard. Lion Many cats. Windows 7. PowerPc. Macbook. Laptops. Netbook. iMac. Ultrabook, etc... If innovation was blocked or heavily regulated, we might still see command prompt in our PC today! And probably still running Windows Me in our office.

Source: Apple.com

#Portable Music Player

Then Apple went on to do something else. iPod. What's that? (if we were in 2001). Portable music player if you want to know. Apple claimed that you can fit your entire music collection (then) in an iPod. So it was against the giant from the east who created the word Walkman which has a household penetration of almost 100% in my mind? :)

Yes... In the word of Steve Jobs, "connecting the dots looking backwards..." they didn't just change how people listen to music. They have changed the whole music industry. And it's just started to heat up! Apple didn't just added "iPod" in the Webster Dictionary, they have also influenced the creation of words like Podcast, Vidcast, Livestream, etc...

Walkman didn't put on much fight in my opinion. They might be too complacent with what they have (as a company - TV, Playstation, etc...). They might not even see it coming!

Source: Medium.com

#Smartphone

Then come the phone. Steve Jobs said they want to "reinvent the Phone!". That's when they launch their most guarded secret and mother of all consumer products that kick off another round of rivalry. If you remember, that "phone" first of all doesn't even comes with 3G which most of the "smarter" phones have and they even haven't finalise the patent of the word "iPhone". Oh, did I mention that "copy & paste" is not possible? That's pretty daring move to launch a phone that they said is smarter and more user friendly than any other phone!

Again, Apple didn't came up with the idea of a "smartphone". Long before then we have phones that are smarter than the normal "candy" phone. Remember Palm phone? Maybe you heard of Nokia Communicator? If those you have not heard of, I'm sure you have heard of another "fruit" brand. Research in Motion's (RIM) - Blackberry.

Yeah... Those were the smarter phones then. But to Apple's recollection during their iPhone launch event in 2007, they aren't smart enough. And not user friendly. And all those has one commonality - they all have a fixed keyboard.

To be fair, watching that live product introduction was quite an experience. It's like watching Canon launching their first "consumer" Digital SLR (DSLR) camera - EOS300D when everyone else are still shooting with film. Or like watching Andre Agassi walking into tennis courts with his rugged looking shirts matched by his long hair back in those days when tennis players were like nerds on courts. (no offense - Pete Sampras is still my idol back in that era)

Before I've got sidetracked, let's get back to Apple. The launch of iPhone in 2007 in my opinion has started another wave of "fan-atism" between Apple and the rest. To my recollection, it was then the first consumer tech product that created a whole range of new industries.

For once, the "accessories ecosystem" has grew bigger. I've not seen phone cases created in such colour vibrancy and quantity and cost as much as another phone. And what type of phone can influence a case maker to make it as a taser!

Then came the Apps store. A new generation of developers have just been created. It was probably the first time that even a young kid (10-ish) can call themself apps developer and make money beyond their means!

And not forgetting, the queue lines. People actually queue for Apple products, days or even weeks before the sales start date. And it even created a new industry out of it. Professional Queue-r; you pay money for people to queue for you. Some even took it to another step. Because the queue get so much media attention, obviously selling Ads (with the branding on their T-Shirts) has become a norm.

Source: Cnn.com

# The Apple Prophecy

With all the above, when there are love naturally there will be hate. And Apple has been the target of all these haters for whatever reason you can think of. They even put a "gate" on each of the issue that came out of Apple!

Remember Antennae-gate?

The "hate" has gone from being personal to being "commercial". Some companies even made TV ads out of it! (ahh Hemmm...)

From these, I have to conclude. After analysing many, many hours of videos and reading countless threads on forums and news. I came into this conclusion.

Apple fans LOVE products made by Apple and sometimes over proud of owning one. The rest just HATE Apple regardless of what they do.

Maybe the non Apple fans wasn't prominent enough back in the 80/90's. With the backing of Google and the financial might (and commercial courage) of companies like Samsung and Microsoft, I can safely say the fight between Apple vs the Rest will continue for years to come. Maybe until Apple stop making great products. Maybe until another "Apple" in born.

Until then, living in the digital era we are loving the rivalry! Apple vs the Rest.

The One With Malaysia Day & Scottish Independence Voting Day

2014-09-16T21:55:00.002+01:00

It has been a while that I have not wrote anything here. More often than before when I have something in mind to write, I don't have a chance to do it. And when I am near the laptop, I have nothing in my mind at all!

Then came today. For those who doesn't know, 16th Sept 1963 was the day when the current state of "Malaysia" was formed combining Malaya and 2 Borneo states (Sabah & Sarawak) as well and Singapore.

Yup... Singapore was part of Malaysia back then before they were "expelled" (apparently) and become an independent country in 1965.

So, Happy Malaysia Day to all Malaysian!! :)

This has lead me thinking. If Singapore didn't become an independent country (or forced to do then), will they became what they are now?

And if the answer is "NO", will Scotland be a better country if more than 50% of Scots vote "YES" this Thursday?

Let me caveat myself from the beginning. I am not a Scot nor a citizen of the UK. Whatever happen this Thursday has got nothing to do with me, my family and my future. I am just writing out my thought :)

So, back to the Scotland independent vote.

Being an avid reader on political news and happenings, what had happened for the past 2 weeks (in particular) really open up my mind.

A government can grant more power to another government.

There are two parliaments in the UK.

The Queen might lose her sovereignty on a country that HM "used to rule" but yet can't defend the lost (if it Scotland ever get independence).

And to my surprise, there are a lot of Scots that would not like Scotland to become independent.

Yes. My view is a YES vote if I were given a chance to vote.

The reason is very simple. Patriotism. How can one call a Scot if he/she doesn't want her country to be independent? In the era where tablets are selling more than PC, this really baffles me.

Chances are, the next 10 years or so after independence Scotland might not be "economically stable" compare to now. But with Scotland being an oil producing country, maybe they may not need 10 years to become an economically stable nation. Maybe they already are the day when their parliament can decide entirely what Scots can do in Scotland.

And the thought of having another referendum probably not in our generation but eventually will be is very counter productive. This means that Scotland will become and independent country, EVENTUALLY.

Like the Queen said in her timely Church session in Scotland last weekend, "...Vote carefully for the future...". And if the future it is to be voted, I would say, YES. Scotland should celebrate their independence day every year on the 18th Sept starting from 2014!

The Cheapest Place to Buy Apple's Product is... (as of 13th JUNE 2014)

2014-06-13T15:21:00.002+01:00

Malaysia & Hong Kong!!!

Perhaps the most surprising one would be iPad prices.

Hope this helps :)

*Disclaimer: Please don't sue me for any error :)

Model	US ($)	SG ($)	MY (RM)	UK (£)	HK ($)	DE (€)
MBA 11' 128GB 1.4GHz	100%	106%	100%	141%	96%	135%
MBA 11' 256GB 1.4GHz	100%	108%	99%	139%	96%	135%
MBA 13' 128GB 1.4GHz	100%	106%	99%	144%	97%	135%
MBA 13' 256GB 1.4GHz	100%	108%	98%	141%	97%	135%
MBP 13' 2.5GHz	100%	106%	96%	141%	99%	135%
MBP 13' 128GB 2.4GHz (Retina)	100%	110%	100%	143%	99%	135%
MBP 13' 256GB 2.4GHz (Retina)	100%	111%	101%	141%	99%	135%
MBP 13' 512GB 2.6GHz (Retina)	100%	111%	102%	141%	100%	135%
MBP 15' 256GB 2.0GHz (Retina)	100%	112%	101%	144%	99%	135%
MBP 15' 512GB 2.3GHz (Retina)	100%	110%	102%	143%	99%	135%
iPad mini 16GB	100%	109%	99%	141%	99%	131%
iPad mini 16GB (3G)	100%	110%	100%	138%	99%	129%
iPad mini Retina 16GB	100%	110%	100%	136%	100%	132%
iPad mini Retina 32GB	100%	110%	100%	136%	101%	130%
iPad mini Retina 64GB	100%	111%	100%	136%	101%	128%
iPad mini Retina 128GB	100%	111%	100%	136%	101%	127%
iPad mini Retina 16GB (LTE)	100%	110%	100%	134%	100%	130%
iPad mini Retina 32GB (LTE)	100%	111%	100%	134%	100%	129%
iPad mini Retina 64GB (LTE)	100%	111%	100%	135%	101%	128%
iPad mini Retina 128GB (LTE)	100%	111%	100%	135%	101%	127%
iPad (Ret) 16GB	100%	106%	93%	140%	100%	128%
iPad (Ret) 16GB (3G)	100%	106%	94%	137%	100%	127%
iPad Air 16GB	100%	110%	100%	136%	101%	130%
iPad Air 32GB	100%	111%	100%	136%	101%	128%
iPad Air 64GB	100%	111%	100%	136%	101%	127%
iPad Air 128GB	100%	111%	100%	136%	102%	127%
iPad Air 16GB (LTE)	100%	111%	100%	134%	100%	129%
iPad Air 32GB (LTE)	100%	111%	100%	135%	101%	128%
iPad Air 64GB (LTE)	100%	111%	100%	135%	101%	127%
iPad Air 128GB (LTE)	100%	111%	100%	135%	101%	126%
Apple TV	100%	120%	109%	169%	103%	149%
4 Core Dual CPU 3.7 GHz	100%	114%	100%	141%	101%	135%
6 Core Dual CPU 3.5 GHz	100%	114%	101%	140%	101%	135%
12 Core Dual CPU 2.7 GHz, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD6GB GPU	100%	113%	104%	137%	101%	135%
Average	100%	110%	100%	139%	100%	132%
Price In USD (FOREX :13th JUNE 2014)	1.00	1.25	3.22	0.59	7.75	0.74

The One With The Teluk Intan By Election MAY 2014

2014-05-23T13:18:00.002+01:00

First of all, congrats and good luck to both nominees for the upcoming by-election, Mr Mah Siew Keong and Ms Dyana Sofya.

Being a local boy in this wonderful town of Teluk Intan, I thought it's probably right for me to say a few words :)

I have a hunch... Didn't come through a dream or wasn't told by any guru or what so ever.

I think BN might win the Teluk Intan by-election. Maybe not by a big margin, but sufficient for BN to show face to the rest that they are still "relevant".

This is why...

1) In the last election, we all hate BN. That's not changed. But at that time we also love Mr Seah (RIP). He is a local boy, in and out. He attended the school next to mine. And most importantly, the whole Teluk Intan has a hope. The hope of tumbling the government and or at least winning back the State.

2) Then we have Mr Mah Siew Keong. The son of a well known local millionaire, charity organisation and also frankly quite a nice guy, as I was told. And his organisation has the ability to move the Police Station, built the one and only Library FOC for the council and probably most important of all, he is also a LOCAL. In and out!

3) In order to save face, BN is and will going to put all their "promise" into this by-election. One that is probably most "lucrative" to most people in this small town is, we might have a very own first Minister (full) in the Government. And that normally translate to prosperity and support from Central Government and this town really like this.

4) Last but not least is, WHAT THE HELL IS DAP/PR is doing? They knew pretty well how's the situation of the late Mr Seah even back in February. Why on earth they are not prepping for a "local" replacement???!!!

You know what. For all I have said and written before, I hope I am wrong this time (only:). Please don't get me wrong. I don't know who is Dyana Sofya at all and that's why I didn't try to pretend that I do by writing it.

Truth, will be told on the 31st May.

Again, good luck to Ms Dyana Sofya and Mr Mah Siew Keong. Whoever wins this, please take care of this wonderful town of Teluk Intan. Is has and will always be my and many others hometown.

EDIT: By the way, at least for one day on the 25th May, can we all UNITE under one Flag called MALAYSIA to support our THOMAS CUP contingent in India? #MalaysiaBoleh !

The One With Karpal Singh

2014-04-18T00:57:00.002+01:00

In this "small" World of just over 6,000,000,000 people, there are occasional coincidences that amaze me. Like what happened today.

There's a long old friend of mine from Bangsar has a husband that for whatever reason has parents who are from my small hometown and for whatever "wind" ended up in a shop that I grew up in selling shoes ;) (Chan Wei Chee... I am talking about you!!! :)

Then I started flashing back some memories I had back then selling shoes. Since young. It was really long time ago. But feels like not many "days" ago...

In a small town, gossips are imminent. "... these fellar son or daughter or wife or mistress have this or that and that happen because of this and that..." Then we gossips diminished and slowly transformed into a more serious conversation, I vividly remember some words that keeps on flashing in my head...

Loh ket... Kat Cheong... Yuet Kong... Ching Tau... Kapar sing...

Obviously I have no idea what are those words then...

Then I went to college. Away from a well orchestrated education system "telling" us the really good things about what the government had done to us, and bla bla bla... But in college we have access to a wider range of "story books" and however slow it was then, there were this thing call "internet".

So besides reading books that I need to pass my exams in college, I have started reading stories about Malaysia, from "the other perspective". And months became years. And from interest became passion. I have translated those words that makes no sense to me to words that brought some lights into what I like to read in my free time...

In cantonese;
Loh ket = Rocket a.k.a DAP
Kat Cheong = Lim Kit Siang
Yuet Kong = Moon a.k.a PAS
Ching tau = Scale a.k.a BN
and of course, Kapar sing = Karpal Singh

And obviously, yesterday right before I went to sleep twitter and Facebook feeds keep on flashing the news about the passing of Karpal Singh and as usual with my limited vocabulary my first reply to the first feed I saw was, FUCK! Is there no more good news from Malaysia???

I thought it's fitting to leave a "footprint" in my blog to reminds me of a sad moment not just for me in my passion of politics, but also for all Malaysian.

I thought without him, Malaysia might not belongs to "Malaysian" anymore.

And I thought his dedication to fixing what some may see is right but he has the vision, courage and strength to oppose in my opinion the most corrupted, most injustice and utmost racists government since he took his oath to become a MP for Jelutong...

RIP Mr Karpal Singh. May god bless you. And bless all Malaysian...

Source: Freemalaysiatoday.com

Pray For MH370

2014-03-08T09:03:00.001+00:00

All the prayers and thoughts for the families.

So far, no news yet. It may be good news. Fingers crossed.

https://www.facebook.com/uk.malaysiaairlines/posts/278844715607001

The One With the Word ALLAH in Malaysia...

2014-01-07T16:15:00.002+00:00

Let me be naive and ask some childish questions. Are Muslims in Malaysia really threading in such a fine thread that a single word can change and alter one’s beliefs?

2) And if Catholics can proof that single word has been used 100s years ago in Malaysia and Muslims are claiming it now (note 1), how different are they compare to their claims that Israelis occupy “their” lands in Palestine? Hmmm....

3) I think the way this can be solved in Malaysia (fairly) is to either allow every religion and human beings to use that word. I am sure one's beliefs are not on a single word but on the teachings and inspiration one gets from that religion. Or to ban it all together for everyone all of us call our Almighty, Tuhan/God or whatever it is except that word.

4) Politics aside, I hope both sides of the Political party should make a bi-partisan decision for the sake of future generation in Malaysia. We do not want our children to use my favourite word when I was growing up, "...yah allllaaahhh...." and get caught because the word is EXCLUSIVE!!! :)

Good luck Malaysia.

Note:
1) Source: http://themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/priest-reveals-proof-christians-used-allah-before-merdeka

The One With the Last One in 2013...

2013-12-31T11:18:00.001+00:00

By the time this is published, Aukland has just celebrated the end of 2013!! ;)

Writing this entry this year maybe is slightly easier than other years as I look back the entire 2013 probably one (maybe 2) thing happened that dominated my 2013, the year of the Snake. The year this dude came into the World...

Something is fishy...

Wooot?

Enter the Parenthood.

You can imagine all you want, read all you can, listen everything possible. Nothing is going to be able to describe "that feeling" when you heard his first cry, in my case shout!. His first movement. His first feed. My first feed. His everything... In fact he is going to be our everything for the time being...

Not forgetting... :)

She has been wonderful, marvelous, tremendous, extraordinary and perfect mum from the beginning, even before he was born ;)

Browsing through my picture collection, found some previously unpublished pictures to loosely reminds me next time when I read this blog many years down the road what's 2013 is all about...

Finally...

Where's my eyes??? As If I'm the father :)

Not often friends came from far east and far west meeting at GMT...

The Formation of CCC

The Flower on the Grass :)

Need some diet advise :)

Last but not least, wishing all my families and friends a wonderful New Year and and as always, stay healthy, stay safe. And whatever happens in 2014, look at him (at least for me ;) and everything will be alright... :)

Choon Heng.

The One With Senyap Sunyi d' London, NO MORE...

2013-12-26T11:40:00.001+00:00

Alrite... It has been many years that I have that privilege call "time" to drive out on a "senyap Sunyi" (quiet and lonely) street of London to take some nice peaceful shots of the London Eye...

2012
2011
2010

NOT ANYMORE!!! And definitely never Senyap anymore and definitely not Sunyi ;)

(find the baby;)

Anyway, had a great Christmas party yesterday thanks to Wynn and Ken and hope we can organize the next Christmas gathering next year with our kid running around :)

P/S: Did we forget to take a group picture?

The One With FRIENDS Reunion

2013-12-19T14:49:00.002+00:00

(Source:http://gallifreyan.tumblr.com/image/36143314933 (this is a fake img fyi...and has nothing to do with Warners))

Believe it or not, I only started watching FRIENDS (the sitcom) when I first came to London, 2 years after the last episode has been broadcasted and 12 years from it's first!

But since then, I have to admit that I have watched it so many times, over and over again until I can recall what that episode is all about just by watching the first minute of that episode :) This is of course thanks to E4 in the UK had it played from 8pm everynight before they stop renewing their license :)

And it all makes sense to me why some of my friends in college behave certain ways and how they said certain words then, like the popular word "eeeewwwwwww...." or relation status = "complicated"...

I am a big fan of this show now and obviously when I first heard of a Friends Reunion (movie or season doesn't matter), I am as excited as Ross when he first met Rachel in the first episode...

Watching back all these episodes and occasionally saw some news on its star, I have to say some of them doesn't age as gracefully as others (aheeeemmm....Le Blanc). They might still have the charm and character to bring back the memories, I think they might have to do it really differently in order not to spoil the franchise.

Will the "Reunion" ever possible? Everything is possible!!!

Will it be a movie or an entire season? I guess the logical choice would be a movie. But judging from the response of the like of SITC, they might want to consider doing a whole season instead, or maybe both!

When will it be? My hunch... IF it ever happen, 2014 might be a "logical" year from the Marketing point of view. Imagine the tagline... "10 years from it's last episode..." ;) And if it doesn't happen in 2014, I strongly believe it will never going to happen.

Will there be like a new generation of FRIENDS? You mean like 90210? Why not! Everything is possible. But if I have any say in this, don't make the same mistake like 90210 did... It lost it's heritage!!! If they want to make a new generation of FRIENDS, why not make it base on the "actual next generation" of the original FRIENDS. Ross has Ben. Rachel has Emma. Phoebe has the triplets. And the Bings have the twins! They can easily be the next gen of the FRIENDS!

Alright... enough said. If Warners are reading this (as if they would), let's bring back FRIENDS in 2014!!!

(fingers' crossed).

(Picture source: wwws.br.warnerbros.com)

And the CHEAPEST place to Buy a MAC PRO is...

2013-12-19T13:38:00.000+00:00

Updated with the latest price...
http://15dezember.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/the-cheapest-place-to-buy-apples.html

Obviously... USA! :)

Normally I wouldn't track the price of a Mac PRO but because of it's price tag and the fact that it looks good/ weird/ innovative/ pretentious/ like rubbish bin, let's have a look at where to buy this at the lowest price.

However, price compared are without any sales tax. So depending on where you are, maybe MALAYSIA is still the place to buy all your Apple products :) And chances are, you won't see this in store.

Of course, the weight starts from 5kg (11 pounds) and not sure if it's cover under Mobile internation warranty :)

I have to say, max it out at 10 grand is not even close to how much I've spent on ALL computing hardwares since my first ever VGA monitor computer...

Model	US ($)	SG	MY	UK	HK	DE (€)
4 Core Dual CPU 3.7 GHz	100%	113%	100%	137%	101%	137%
6 Core Dual CPU 3.5 GHz	100%	113%	100%	135%	101%	137%
12 Core Dual CPU 2.7 GHz, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD6GB GPU	100%	112%	103%	133%	101%	137%
Exchange (19th Dec 2013)	1.00	1.26	3.24	0.61	7.75	0.73

The Cheapest Place to Buy Apple's Product is...

2013-12-16T13:34:00.000+00:00

Update: With the latest exchange rate...
http://15dezember.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/the-cheapest-place-to-buy-apples.html

Malaysia!! Apparently...

Of course, exchange rate dependent and types of Apple product that you are looking for....

Model	US ($)	SG ($)	MY (RM)	UK (£)	HK ($)	DE (€)
MBA 11' 128GB 1.3GHz	100%	109%	95%	137%	99%	137%
MBA 11' 256GB 1.3GHz	100%	107%	95%	138%	99%	137%
MBA 13' 128GB 1.3GHz	100%	109%	95%	125%	100%	137%
MBA 13' 256GB 1.3GHz	100%	111%	95%	140%	99%	137%
MBP 13' 2.5GHz	100%	107%	98%	134%	99%	137%
MBP 13' 128GB 2.4GHz (Retina)	100%	111%	102%	136%	99%	137%
MBP 13' 256GB 2.6GHz (Retina)	100%	112%	103%	134%	99%	137%
MBP 13' 512GB 2.6GHz (Retina)	100%	112%	104%	134%	100%	137%
MBP 15' 256GB 2.0GHz (Retina)	100%	112%	103%	137%	99%	137%
MBP 15' 512GB 2.3GHz (Retina)	100%	111%	103%	136%	99%	137%
iPad mini 2 16GB	100%	110%	98%	134%	99%	132%
iPad mini 2 16GB (3G)	100%	111%	99%	131%	99%	131%
iPad mini Retina 16GB	100%	111%	99%	129%	100%	134%
iPad mini Retina 32GB	100%	111%	99%	129%	101%	131%
iPad mini Retina 64GB	100%	111%	99%	129%	101%	130%
iPad mini Retina 128GB	100%	112%	99%	129%	101%	129%
iPad mini Retina 16GB (LTE)	100%	111%	99%	128%	100%	132%
iPad mini Retina 32GB (LTE)	100%	112%	100%	128%	100%	130%
iPad mini Retina 64GB (LTE)	100%	112%	99%	128%	101%	129%
iPad mini Retina 128GB (LTE)	100%	112%	100%	128%	101%	129%
iPad 2 16GB	100%	107%	93%	133%	100%	130%
iPad 2 16GB (3G)	100%	106%	93%	131%	100%	129%
iPad Air 16GB	100%	111%	99%	129%	101%	131%
iPad Air 32GB	100%	111%	99%	129%	101%	130%
iPad Air 64GB	100%	112%	99%	129%	101%	129%
iPad Air 128GB	100%	112%	100%	129%	102%	128%
iPad Air 16GB (LTE)	100%	112%	100%	128%	100%	130%
iPad Air 32GB (LTE)	100%	112%	99%	128%	101%	129%
iPad Air 64GB (LTE)	100%	112%	100%	128%	101%	129%
iPad Air 128GB (LTE)	100%	112%	100%	128%	101%	128%
Apple TV	100%	121%	112%	161%	103%	151%
Average	100%	111%	99%	132%	100%	133%
Forex (16th Dec 2013)	1.00	1.26	3.24	0.61	7.75	0.73

Apple iPad Air, iPad mini with Retina and Macbook Pro Price Comparison

2013-10-23T13:34:00.000+01:00

New iPad Air, iPad mini with retina display and Macbook Pro pricing comparison.

Forex as of 23rd Oct 2013 and the source from Google.

And obviously, I would like to discharge myself from any liabilities by telling everybody up front that I shall accept NO LIABILITY or whatsoever from the chart below or any mistakes made both in description or in the pricing.. It's merely drafted out out of personal interest.

Previous pricing comparison:
- 14 Oct 2013
- 25 Oct 2012
- 15 June 2012

Model	US ($)	SG ($)	MY (RM)	UK (£)	HK ($)	DE (€)
MBA 11' 128GB 1.3GHz	100%	109%	95%	137%	99%	137%
MBA 11' 256GB 1.3GHz	100%	107%	95%	138%	99%	137%
MBA 13' 128GB 1.3GHz	100%	109%	95%	125%	100%	137%
MBA 13' 256GB 1.3GHz	100%	111%	95%	140%	99%	137%
MBP 13' 2.5GHz	100%	107%	98%	134%	99%	137%
MBP 13' 128GB 2.4GHz (Retina)	100%	111%	102%	136%	99%	137%
MBP 13' 256GB 2.6GHz (Retina)	100%	112%	103%	134%	99%	137%
MBP 13' 512GB 2.6GHz (Retina)	100%	112%	104%	134%	100%	137%
MBP 15' 256GB 2.0GHz (Retina)	100%	112%	103%	137%	99%	137%
MBP 15' 512GB 2.3GHz (Retina)	100%	111%	103%	136%	99%	137%
iPad mini 2 16GB	100%	110%	tbc	134%	99%	132%
iPad mini 2 16GB (3G)	100%	111%	tbc	131%	99%	131%
iPad mini Retina 16GB	100%	111%	tbc	129%	100%	134%
iPad mini Retina 32GB	100%	111%	tbc	129%	101%	131%
iPad mini Retina 64GB	100%	111%	tbc	129%	101%	130%
iPad mini Retina 128GB	100%	112%	tbc	129%	101%	129%
iPad mini Retina 16GB (LTE)	100%	111%	tbc	128%	100%	132%
iPad mini Retina 32GB (LTE)	100%	112%	tbc	128%	100%	130%
iPad mini Retina 64GB (LTE)	100%	112%	tbc	128%	101%	129%
iPad mini Retina 128GB (LTE)	100%	112%	tbc	128%	101%	129%
iPad 2 16GB	100%	107%	tbc	133%	100%	130%
iPad 2 16GB (3G)	100%	106%	tbc	131%	100%	129%
iPad Air 16GB	100%	111%	tbc	129%	101%	131%
iPad Air 32GB	100%	111%	tbc	129%	101%	130%
iPad Air 64GB	100%	112%	tbc	129%	101%	129%
iPad Air 128GB	100%	112%	tbc	129%	102%	128%
iPad Air 16GB (LTE)	100%	112%	tbc	128%	100%	130%
iPad Air 32GB (LTE)	100%	112%	tbc	128%	101%	129%
iPad Air 64GB (LTE)	100%	112%	tbc	128%	101%	129%
iPad Air 128GB (LTE)	100%	112%	tbc	128%	101%	128%
Apple TV	100%	121%	112%	161%	103%	151%
Average	100%	111%	tbc	132%	100%	133%
Forex (23rd OCT 2013)	1.00	1.24	3.16	0.62	7.75	0.73

Apple iPAD, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air & Apple TV Price Comparison

2013-10-14T14:19:00.000+01:00

Updated pricing on this link...

http://15dezember.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/apple-ipad-air-ipad-mini-with-retina.html

A community service as an Apple fan :)

If we use USD as the base price, you will be surprise that you might be paying as high as 49% more (Apple TV in Germany) compare to the price in the US.

So if you are by any chance travelling to let's say Malaysia, find yourself a bargain :)

Prices are correct as of 14th OCT 2013 with the exchange rate obtained via Google.

And obviously, I would like to discharge myself from any liabilities by telling everybody up front that I shall accept NO LIABILITY or whatsoever from the chart below or any mistakes made both in description or in the pricing.. It's merely drafted out out of personal interest.

Model	US ($)	SG ($)	MY (RM)	UK (£)	HK ($)	DE (€)
MBA 11' 128GB 1.3GHz	100%	108%	94%	135%	99%	135%
MBA 11' 256GB 1.3GHz	100%	106%	94%	136%	99%	135%
MBA 13' 128GB 1.3GHz	100%	108%	94%	123%	100%	135%
MBA 13' 256GB 1.3GHz	100%	110%	94%	138%	99%	135%
MBP 13' 2.5GHz	100%	106%	97%	132%	99%	135%
MBP 13' 2.9GHz	100%	106%	96%	132%	99%	135%
MBP 15' 2.3GHz	100%	106%	96%	132%	100%	135%
MBP 13' 128GB 2.5GHz (Retina)	100%	106%	96%	132%	99%	135%
MBP 13' 256GB 2.6GHz (Retina)	100%	108%	98%	135%	99%	135%
MBP 15' 256GB 2.4GHz (Retina)	100%	109%	97%	130%	99%	135%
MBP 15' 512GB 2.7GHz (Retina)	100%	108%	98%	130%	99%	135%
iPAD mini 16GB	100%	109%	95%	130%	102%	135%
iPAD mini 32GB	100%	108%	95%	129%	102%	135%
iPAD mini 64GB	100%	107%	95%	129%	102%	135%
iPAD mini 16GB (3G)	100%	108%	96%	128%	101%	135%
iPAD mini 32GB (3G)	100%	107%	96%	127%	101%	135%
iPAD mini 64GB (3G)	100%	107%	95%	127%	102%	135%
iPAD 2 16GB	100%	106%	94%	131%	100%	135%
iPAD 2 16GB (3G)	100%	106%	95%	129%	100%	133%
iPAD Retina 16GB	100%	106%	94%	127%	101%	135%
iPAD Retina 32GB	100%	105%	94%	127%	101%	135%
iPAD Retina 64GB	100%	105%	94%	127%	101%	135%
iPAD Retina 128GB	100%	105%	94%	127%	102%	135%
iPAD Retina 16GB (3G)	100%	105%	95%	126%	100%	135%
iPAD Retina 32GB (3G)	100%	105%	95%	126%	101%	135%
iPAD Retina 64GB (3G)	100%	105%	95%	126%	101%	135%
iPAD Retina 128GB (3G)	100%	105%	95%	126%	101%	135%
Apple TV	100%	120%	111%	159%	103%	149%
Average	100%	107%	96%	131%	100%	136%
Exchange Rate (14th OCT 2013)	1.00	1.25	3.18	0.63	7.75	0.74

Note: If you need the working file, please drop me a comment below and I will send to you ASAP...

And if you find the chart above useful and are looking to buy one, kindly support us by clicking the link below and buy from Amazon (if the price is right ;). Thanks....

The One With The Three Turn 3...

2013-09-10T14:17:00.000+01:00

Have been really abandoning this blog for sometime, which is no good. And if I don't start writing something, there will be ONE additional excuse for me not to write in the future.

So, let's kickstart with a couple of short blog to kickstart the habit again. Old habit dies hard! :)

Ok... These little fellas...

I've grown up with quite a number of kids around me when I was young. But never had so much recollection of them compare to these 3. And with the help of digital photography, I've probably have so many pictures of the kids which I don't actually own :) And probably at certain stage in their growing life, they might look back and ask their mommy and daddy, "... why is uncle Wong take so many of my pictures???..."

This year, all Three of them turn 3! And if I have the time to look back at all my life in London, probably half of it (at this stage) is all about them, before and after they are born.

And sincerely from Uncle Wong, Happy Birthday 2013 to Shuen, Yi Yi & Ethan. And if you guys ever found this post in the future, I am not "Uncle GOldfish" ya!!! :)

The One With Canon Latest Product Teaser...

2013-07-17T17:34:00.001+01:00

I wonder what this is... :)

The Inevitable: Malaysia The Next Gaza Strip?

2013-01-22T17:30:00.000+00:00

Please... Please... Please...

Tolong... Tolong... Tolong...

Toh Looooog la....

Have we not learned anything since the day we call ourselves Malaysian?

Are we in such total denial that we have to stood this low to fight among ourselves?

If the Israelis & Palestinians fought for a piece of holy land, are we really want to fight for a WORD???

Does anyone who "owns" the word ALLAH means he is more Muslim than the rest?

And does Muslim's teaching is just about ONE WORD?

Come on lah! Come on lah! Come on lah!

I can only pose questions as I do not have any "academic" answers to the above. But if I may predict the next 10 years if this "fight" continues, Malaysia will become the next "Gaza Strip" and no one is going to benefit at all out of this, INCLUDING ALLAH.

Yah Allah... Oh My God...

Links to some disturbing news...

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/perkasa-threatens-to-pull-support-for-mca-mic-over-allah-bible-burning-row/

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/priest-lodges-police-report-over-bible-burning-pesta-notice/

The Inevitable: Windows Blue Screen of (almost) Death

2013-01-02T16:48:00.001+00:00

Not the best way to start work on the first day of 2013 isn't?

I have to say though, it's not as scary as it was just 2 years ago because of the constant backup that I have been doing and more things are moving to the "Cloud".

But still!!!! Grrrrrrrr.......... Happy 2013!

人生匆匆几十年

2012-12-31T23:45:00.000+00:00

Time flies... To start that in my final post of 2012 sounds a bit "too normal". Then I remember a phrase while listening to 988 on the way back from work last week and thought it was quite meaningful at this juncture of the year...

人生匆匆几十年

Yup... As if year after year is not fast enough, reflecting back what happened in 2012 does make the above statement seems logical. To some, 2012 is just another year in life. To many others, it's a year of jubilation (The Queen), Inspiring A Generation (London 2012) and last but not least, a year full of challenges and disappointments (me :).

Wasn't a year to remember, but shouldn't be a year to forget as well. The past 365 days will go down to "my" history book as "The" 2012. And like a lyric from (who else) Jacky Cheung's song, "... Remember the darkest hour, is just before the dawn..." should move things more positively towards 2013... The year of the Snake :)

Looking forward in 2013 if I need to sum up in a word, it will be a year of "Inevitable". NO, No... I didn't copy it from Chanel or that Brad Pitt dude :) Of course I can't say anything more than that for now, but for sure it will be.

Inevitably, (see...) 2013 will past by as fast as any other years (technically). And if we have and we should live it with fun, I would like to add "enrichment" in 2013.

Have an enriched fun 2013 to all my friends, families, special ones, friendly competitors and last but not least, YOU. :)

A few pictures I quickly gathered on my pc and hope I will write more often in the coming year...