tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90763629680640501262024-09-09T02:03:41.068+08:00... my thoughts on jungle-survival...justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-48091887178572600252023-12-28T13:54:00.021+08:002024-02-22T08:37:59.924+08:00

After 3.5 years of crippling covid lockdowns, 2023 was set to be the year of travel, driven by the fumes of post-cabin fever vengeance.  The highlights had to be Africa, Sarawak and Royal Belum...The quick list in chrono order:1.  Fraser's Hill (February)2. Cameron Highlands (February)3. Sarawak (April)4. Batu-batu (June)5. Kenya, Tanzania + Uganda  (August)6. Royal Belum

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-65272807481251533992023-12-22T12:53:00.011+08:002024-01-03T09:20:15.965+08:00

The stash of listens that I had accumulated through the year (all books can be found on Audible, I use the UK service):1. FURIOUSLY HAPPYAUTH: Jenny Lawson, NARR: Jenny LawsonRT: 8h 28m | ST: Dec-22 | END: 18-Mar-23 2. SAPIENS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMANKINDAUTH: Yuval Noah Harari, NARR: Derek PerkinsRT: 15h 18m | ST: 18-Mar-23 | END: 22-Apr-23 3. THE BOMBER MAFIA AUTH: Malcolm Gladwell, NARR:

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-50836097709151569922013-05-16T17:31:00.000+08:002023-12-24T13:30:07.560+08:00

this story is absolutely true, it happened to me and less than an hour ago: Telemarketer: Good evening mam, my name is xxxxx from zzzzz College and I would like to invite you to attend a Tour Guide Course. Me: a Tour Guide Course??? T/M: Yes mam.  You have been recommended by someone who had earlier attended this course. Me: And what will I do with this course? T/M: After you do this

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-6174907178929123402013-05-07T13:53:00.003+08:002023-12-24T13:30:14.239+08:00

A little over five years ago, I wrote a blog entry the morning (well, two mornings) after GE12.  I said a couple of things that now, in retrospect, were eerily insightful. Five years on and we’re now past GE13.  The general feeling is one of another massive hang-over.  In fact, this comment overheard on social media summed up the dramatics; “feels like the morning after I’ve

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-27556203372580110102012-01-01T14:06:00.003+08:002023-12-24T13:30:21.358+08:00

Standing on Pantai Tengah beach in Langkawi waiting for the synchronous bursts of noise from all around (and down the beach) of party poppers and shouts of "happy new year". Sadly, auld lang syne is not heard much these days. And then followed soon after by fireworks. Advantage of watching from Pantai Tengah is that one could see all the way down the beach of Pantai Cenang, where the crowds and

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-77785503258311045412011-09-19T10:15:00.000+08:002023-12-24T13:30:28.048+08:00

Seriously. Two weeks on and the trail of failed electronic equipment include 3 desktops, 2 laptops and a phone that does nothing but sits pretty on my desk... Nothing; as in it doesn't ring and I can't ring out. It just sits there electronically displaying an unhelpful reminder that it doesn't work. Even the laptop which had a crashed hard disk and was sent for repairs has now gone down again,

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-1841281622887480442011-07-19T12:15:00.002+08:002023-12-24T13:30:35.459+08:00

It started out as a discussion over dinner about religion being a necessary tool of evil in politicking.  And then it suddenly occurred to me; isn't religion the devil itself? If there wasn't a continuous polarisation of "good" and "evil" and the subsequent reinforcement of it, would there even be a division between the two? Rhetoric lightbulb-moment; without good, would there be evil

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-10103292436448289452011-06-05T14:48:00.001+08:002023-12-24T13:30:42.861+08:00

An Obdient Wives' Club?  Polygamy Club??  Really???! Do Malaysians really have such low self-esteem?  I mean, don't get me wrong; those who can look at the issue and scoff probably wouldn't dream that they'd ever have a need to be part of such a club (although men may think a Polygamy Club might be amusing, but for all the "wrong" reasons!).  However, the problem is

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-63058267985305730492010-11-26T12:25:00.004+08:002023-12-24T13:31:30.697+08:00

... and finally, the last installment of a whirlwind trip to the great Australian southwest.Checking out of the YHA at Margaret River early on a Monday morning, we headed straight for the beach! Nearest to Margaret River is Pervelly, a beach bum surf village (because to call it a town would be grossly over-embellishing it) which was a tranquil bay with waves that were just nice to learn with...

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-86005888598189330292010-11-18T18:03:00.009+08:002023-12-24T13:31:39.807+08:00

... our Western Australia road trip begins!First day of our trip starts off early when we head off down south towards Margaret River. Stopping off at Mandurah for a lazy breakfast, we drove around in circles for a while before settling on a random place that jumped out at us; 1957's Cafe - barracuda wrapped in bacon... heavenly.After a lazy breakfast, it was time for the longest part of the drive

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-29624657041817331422010-11-18T16:55:00.011+08:002023-12-24T13:31:46.777+08:00

... the two monkeys are at it again...This time, the escapade to was to Western Australia. Perth is tiny. I can already imagine Sonya crinkling her nose and rolling her eyes in disagreement... "it's NOT a city" is what she would say.Perth-lings (what DO you call people who live in Perth??) are a friendly bunch and curiously easier to understand than some other Australians that I have encountered

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-51090396717691961762010-11-18T16:05:00.008+08:002023-12-24T13:32:00.257+08:00

My first taste of amsterdam, unsurprisingly, was at Schipol International Airport. After arriving from KL on a very pleasant KLM flight, (my colleague) Connie and I landed in 9˚C at 5:30am. But that was the extent of our first encounter with Amsterdam. We were on transit and Amsterdam had to wait. So close, but yet so far beyond the immigration gates.But after four days in Monte Carlo and work

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-18056478389934419662010-08-18T19:28:00.005+08:002023-12-24T13:32:17.095+08:00

In George Orwell's Animal Farm, there is a line that lives indelibly in my memory: "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". I offer that line on the verge of another reflection on Malaysia and its current social state. And Orwell's line was ironcially dictated by the main protagonists of the book; the pigs who ran the farm.Gob-smacked.My current state of disbelief at

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-4426908009804868112010-07-06T11:28:00.002+08:002023-12-24T13:32:24.567+08:00

I had read this one a while ago and enjoyed it. I recently came across it again recently when it was posted through a mailing list that I am on. Still a great read:We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,Yet the plural of moose should never be meeseYou may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-57590512050685195162010-04-26T12:08:00.009+08:002023-12-24T13:32:31.885+08:00

... of some new words encountered, researched, understood and learnt:Luddite: [n. LUH-dite] The noun Luddite specifically refers to one of a group of early 19th century English workmen who were campaigning against the automation of the power loom. In the modern context, it refers to an opponent of technological progress.Etymology: The original Luddites claimed to be led by one "King Ludd" (also

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-1545321306421621492010-03-18T13:28:00.006+08:002023-12-24T13:32:39.855+08:00

You are currently using 245 MB (3%) of your 7434 MB.That's what it says on the bottom of my gmail screen. So gone are the days when Hotmail offered 1MB of space for mail storage. And then, they upped it to 2MB but only because Yahoo! did too. And the race was on. But none of them ever came close to gmail.7GB is a hellava lot of space to be storing email. And the number continues to grow.WOW...

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-20650820140298483552010-02-11T13:12:00.007+08:002023-12-24T13:32:47.691+08:00

This curiousity started out sometime last week while at dinner with some friends, where amongst them, was an Indian national. Since the rest were Malaysian, we had a good time giving the Indian a hard time...English-speaking Indians, if you have never come across one before, are as articulate as they are verbose... a very lethal combination. And I believe that this is one of the reasons why I

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-80361482232559955312010-02-05T14:04:00.005+08:002023-12-24T13:32:53.510+08:00

a very simple recipe to try:1 tbs of butter4 boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces1/2 onion, diced12 shitake mushrooms1 cup of heavy (whipping) creampastasaltGround black pepper1. Cook pasta.2. Melt butter in pan and cook chicken breasts until no longer pink. Remove and slice thinly. Note: very important not to overcook.3. Saute onions until clear. Add mushrooms. When cooked, stir in cream and

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-35578187710286127452010-02-02T13:14:00.004+08:002023-12-24T13:33:07.140+08:00

When I started off Bootcamp enrolment last month, I really had no idea how tough it was going to be for me. I had heard a range of people saying how tough it was right down to how great the programme was. But I thought to myself that there was only one way to find out...So off I went. First session of the month is always a benchmark assessment; a series of set exercises and a time limit to do it

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-81544019926227121482010-01-25T17:11:00.004+08:002023-12-24T13:33:44.144+08:00

I mentioned last week that I had unceremoniously lost my wallet, the careless idiot that I naturally am. Hey, it's been over 5 years that I hadn't lost it, that is some kind of record which I am quite proud of. :-)So, I went through the tedious process of getting the contents of my wallet replaced. While there was a minor adventure with replacing my driver's license, I was also pleasantly

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-18551636038314265452010-01-19T15:54:00.010+08:002023-12-24T13:36:54.754+08:00

I thought nothing would shock me anymore when it came to ingenuity of the Malaysian race and their ability to adapt just about anything into almost any situation. But pleasantly shocked I was at a polished display of resourcefulness yesterday, made necessary by the opportunity to make a few ringgit of course.I had suffered the major inconvenience of losing my wallet out of my own carelessness.

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-29827261813700401002010-01-14T13:56:00.005+08:002023-12-24T13:37:19.257+08:00

I've never watched a Hindi movie in totality before. On any medium. So watching a Hindi movie in a cinema, on a planned outing, was really a first for me. And I think there was no better movie to lose that virginity to than 3 Idiots.I didn't know at the time of agreeing to watch the movie right up to the time I got home and googled it, that Aamir Khan's 3i was already the highest grossing

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-6909337839425973972010-01-12T11:53:00.004+08:002023-12-24T13:37:47.845+08:00

I started off 2009 with something that was less of "a resolution" but more of a promise to myself to adhere to a list of 8 things I saw as centrally important to my life. I wasn't going to change or discard anything, per se. I was just going to consciously do more of the things that mattered. Thus began what I titled my Eff-All Campaign 2009.And what a year it was for me. I'd done so much

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-12469536751329401562010-01-11T12:32:00.006+08:002023-12-24T13:38:49.635+08:00

Another year. Is it just me or does time fly faster with every year one adds on to one's age?It's been a grand old 2009 for me. I'm retrospectively browsing through my 2009 to see how much of my eff-all objective I had achieved and I shall write my observations and achievements in due time. Meanwhile, I'd just like to wish the handful of people who do read this humble and intermittent blog a

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9076362968064050126.post-30798543417874696702009-08-11T11:20:00.010+08:002023-12-24T13:39:22.303+08:00

On a whim, a friend and I decided that we’d want to do something a little more adventurous last Sunday. We had heard of Kuala Gandah and the elephant sanctuary there, but were apprehensive about going ourselves because of the mixed reviews and opinions fed to us by various sources. What if it was like so many of these pseudo-conservation parks who exploit animals but don't keep them well?? But we

justju!http://www.blogger.com/profile/08832056214878596067noreply@blogger.com1