Happy New Year

Camera for Bloggers

Imagine this:

I was backpacking in Bali. I visited the magnificent volcano, Gunung Batur, and took lots of photos. In the evening, I went into an Internet café and wanted to share my story online…

But wait a minute. My story would not be incomplete without photos. What could I do? I could, of course, upload my photos from the camera. However, at 2 or 3 megabytes each, it would take a while to upload them to the Web. You know, the Internet café charged us by the minute.

I would prefer to resize the images in the camera before uploading them to the Web. I would also like to adjust the exposure.

Now, there are some cameras in the market which have image editing features, but I am not sure if they can also resize the images. My camera certainly can do neither of them. Canon probably thinks that most of us would edit and resize images in PC, and doesn’t bother to include such functions in the camera.

But for a photographer cum blogger on the go, such features can useful.

服装种族隔离政策

某天早上，我到公园晨运，看见一位马来少女。她的样貌清秀，没戴头巾，穿短袖衬衫和短裤。。。

Ha，短裤！马来妹能穿短裤吗?

由于全球暖化，大马华人女性越来越喜欢『清凉装』。当气温升上摄氏33度时，穿上露肩装和短裙，是何等的舒适。然而，笃信伊斯兰教的马来女性，衣着却日趋保守。

记得二十年前，大马街头还没有太多戴头巾的女人。九十年代，伊斯兰势力高涨，马来人纷纷模仿阿拉伯人的装束。到了今天，马来女性有八、九成都不露头发。前大马女田径选手再顿奥斯曼过去在体育场上展英姿时也穿短运动裤，现在却做阿拉伯式装扮。

当然，也有一些青少年，敢于向教条说不。每个周末，在吉隆坡KLCC的水池旁，集聚了许多的『叛逆型』马来青年，女的大部分都不『包头』。

香港作家陶杰，指出说这个前英国属地有『教育种族隔离政策』- Educational Apartheid。在一边是传统的，重视考试的本地中学，在另一边是国际学校。在马来西亚，我所看到的却是服装种族隔离政策。

Early Bird

I have learned this much – Buddhists wake up early.

At the Bhavana Society, a large metal gong reverberates through the woods at five A.M., and should you somehow manage to snooze through that, the neighborhood dogs immediately explode into a barking frenzy.

I stumble down the hill in the morning darkness to the meditation hall, where we sit on our cushions from five-thirty to six-thirty.

- Dinty W. Moore, The Accidental Buddhist

~~~~~~~~

I think I live an unusual lifestyle.

In the city I live, it is typical for the folks to sleep at 2am on weekend, and wake up at 12 noon the following day. I typically go to bed before 12 midnight, and wake up at 7am.

Weather is one reason which explains my lifestyle. Malaysia is a very warm country. I jog in the park or wash my car in the early morning before the mercury rises to an unbearable level. I sometimes take an afternoon nap.

Perhaps, being a Buddhist is another reason I wake up early.

Furthermore, I am a photographer. Experienced photographers know that there are ‘magic hours’ for taking photos. These usually refer to early morning and late afternoon, when the sunlight is not that harsh. Apparently, if I want to shoot pictures at 7.30am, I have to wake up by 7am.

I may be different, but I don’t regret that…

Public Phone

I thought public phone was something of the past. I was wrong…

Malaysia has a mobile phone penetration rate of 94%. The figure is over 100% in some countries, such as Hong Kong, UK and Singapore. Teachers and parents are debating whether students are allowed to bring mobile phones to school. But in the not so distant past, few people used mobile phones. I certainly didn’t own one. When I wanted to make call, I had to look for a public phone.

Chances are, the nearest public phone was out of order, so I had to go to the next one. But the next one was also not working, and I had to search harder. Finally, I found a good one, but there were already 5 or 6 people lining up. The inconsiderate young guy was chatting with his lover over the phone. He talked for more than 10 minutes. Everyone behind him was impatient and agitated. I started to curse him, “This bloody hell f*****… I wanna kill him!”

When mobile phone eventually became a household product, public phone booths went into oblivion. Why bother to use a public phone, when we can call from home, Starbucks, even inside a cinema?

To my surprise, I saw some new public phone booths popping up recently. Who are using them, when even low-waged migrant workers from Indonesia and Bangladesh can afford a mobile phone?

Foreign tourists may still need public phone, as roaming charges for mobile phone remain high. However, the public phone booths I saw weren’t located in tourist areas.

I am still not convinced that public phone is a viable business…

The Values of MBA

Epilogue:

Recently, I stumbled upon a blog whose owner, Lisa, is an MBA student. I am doing MBA too. After reading the blog, I feel like sharing my own experience and views too...

Quite a few of my classmates are fresh graduates with little or no working experience. They are often very concerned with examination and grade. As a part-time student who has worked for a number of years, I know very well that CGPA is only important for one’s first job.

You may ask, “Why, then, do you study MBA?” Well, there are a couple of reasons…

First and foremost, in an MBA class, one can sharpen his or her writing, presentation skills, analytical skills and creativity. These qualities are more important than CGPA itself. Surprisingly, even at this level, you still need to memorize a lot of stuff before entering the exam hall. Part-timers usually have less time to study, so they probably won’t score A’s, but there are definitely other things worth learning.

Secondly, we don’t just learn from the lecturers, or from books. We also learn from our classmates. A few of my classmates are my role models:

One of them is Mr Yap. He was the oldest student in the class, and a successful businessman.

Another one is Dr Tay, the best public speaker among us. You can hardly imagine his background is in Medicine.

The third one, Hellen, is one of the most high-powered women I personally know. I see myself as a thinker, i.e. think but no action. Hellen is a “doer”.

Last but not least, MBA provides a platform for networking. Your classmates may provide you with unofficial consultation. They may even be your future business partners. On the lighter side, they may be your companion in the golf club or karaoke lounge.

Kuala Lumpur Bird Park – II

[Part I]

Courtship…

It took so much patience to capture this shot. This was kind of like once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Unfortunately, I made one mistake: the DOF (depth of field) is too narrow

Hornbill…

When taking this picture, I turned of auto-focus, and instead focused manually. Ouch! That’s tough.

Parrot greeting the visitors…

Birds of paradise, male and female…

In the world of birds, males are often more beautiful than females. Examples are peacock, bird of paradise and mandarin duck. Similarly, male lion looks greater than lioness.

But, of course, among Homo sapiens, women are more attractive…

Happiness is Contagious

Scientists from Harvard University and University of California, San Diego, conducted a study on 5,000 people and concluded that the happiness spreads through social networks.

The study found that:

Knowing someone who is happy makes you 15.3% more likely to be happy yourself. A happy friend of a friend increases your odds of happiness by 9.8%, and even your neighbor's sister's friend can give you a 5.6% boost.

(Read the story here.)

Wondering if we really need such a study? Don’t we already know that happiness is contagious? Well, maybe some are still not convinced yet.

Confucianism tells us that we should:

Be worried before the whole world is worried.

Be happy (only) after the whole world is happy.

先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐

No wonder Chinese and Koreans are so somber and serious…

Bill Clinton

Former US president Bill Clinton was in Malaysia on Dec 5, 2008.

He is said to have visited KL Bird Park. I went there to take photos the following day. Missed it! Sigh…

Clinton revealed to Malaysian journalists some of the political leaders he admired. They included South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Palestine’s Yasser Arafat and China’s Jiang Zemin. He also praised Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir for pegging the nation’s currency to US dollar during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. However, Clinton did not make it clear that he admired Dr Mahathir. That’s was face-saving trick for the host country, I think.

When I read that Clinton admired China’s Jiang Zemin, I recalled a joke about his visit to the Middle Kingdom. I am not sure if that is a true story, though.

The joke says that Clinton complimented Jiang’s wife, saying that she was beautiful. Out of traditional Chinese humbleness, Jiang replied, “哪里，哪里?” The translator relayed the message to Clinton, “Where, where?”

Clinton was first confused. Then he answered, “Everywhere…”

台湾旅游书籍

这是自助旅游者的圣经 Lonely Planet…

这是台湾出版的旅游书籍…

台湾版旅游指南的一大好处就是图片多，通过图片，我可以大致上确定那些景点不容错过。缺点是交通方面的资料比较少，除非是《乘地铁游XX》之类的书。

台湾版旅游书籍介绍的酒店，多半属四、五星级。但我是贫穷的背包族，只能住没有冷气设施的客栈。（这应该比较环保吧。）另外，台湾旅游书籍很多都 会大谈 Spa。像我手上这本《峇里岛玩全指南》，就用了十页介绍岛上的 Spa 服务。台湾妇女似乎无 Spa 不欢。

可以推断，台湾人出国旅行，讲究的是豪华、舒适。其实，大部分的中国人/华人都有这种心态，所以在曼谷大名鼎鼎的背包客麦加考山路，旅客绝大多数都是洋人。

台湾的旅游书籍，我买来『看爽』。真正出国旅游时，还是得依赖 Lonely Planet 或其他类似的书。。。

Left Brain, Right Brain and the New Computers

Do you still remember those days when your computers were dull black boxes?

In 1998, Apple changed our perception of computer when it rolled out the transparent iMac G3…

Recently, Asus launched the F6 series notebook computers with 4 different designs…

Now, to make a functional computer requires analytical skills, which is a function our left brain. To design a visually-appealing computer, on the other hand, requires creativity, which is a function of our right brain.

When I was a secondary student, I studied Science. In the university, I studied Engineering. I had been trained to think in a logical manner. In future, I foresee that the job market will need more people who can think creatively. If you have children in schooling age, do make sure to train them in both aspects.

Self-service Vegetarian Restaurants

You know, a self-service restaurant can cut down on its workforce, and the saving can be transferred to the customers.

In Malaysia, self-service dining was spearheaded by international fast food chains such as KFC and McDonald’s. Recently, I notice that many vegetarian restaurants have adopted the idea. In fact, they go a step further by asking the patrons to return the used crockery to designated place…

Actually, in the United States, it is common for a customer in McDonald’s to return the tray after the meal. Malaysians, somehow, do not generally have the DIY spirit. Most just leave the trash and trays to the restaurant staff. However, majority of Malaysians eat vegetarian food for religious reasons. The self-service vegetarian restaurants are probably banking on the ‘Buddha factor’, as understood from the Chinese saying:

Even if we don’t give face to the monks, we should give face to the Buddha.

不看僧面看佛面

When we help the restaurants, we are "pretending" that we are kind, caring and religious, right?

The price? In the restaurant located near my workplace, a simple meal costs just RM2, and Chinese tea is provided for free. That is really cheap…

中文系

香港作家陶杰，不鼓励大学生报读中文系。这是他提出的理由：

读中国语文及文学系的人，中文创作不见得出色，当代中文大作家没有一个是大学中文系毕业。金庸在民国时代念法学，梁羽生读的是化学。另外还有一堆名师：张爱玲、钱钟书、余光中、白先勇，中文好的不得了，却是读英国文学出身。。。散文家林燕妮在美国柏克来读遗传学，倪匡连大学也没读过。。。蔡澜在日本留学，更不在话下。学好中文，不必进大学花四年专攻老气横秋的学系。。。

一进中文系，整天跟韩愈、司马光和孔子孟子这些老头为伍，三年不到，肌肤的光润全无，声音低沉，笑容消失。。。

~~~~~~~~

大学生报读中文系，会不会变得老气横秋呢？我有一个朋友，就是中文系出身。记得有一回，公司派我去瑞典受训，乘搭北欧 SAS 航空的班机。SAS 的空姐，不，空婆，都是四、五十岁的安娣，身材都已经有点走样。回国后，我对中文系朋友提起这件事，他很欣慰地说：『幸好如此。你不会为美女分心…』

几年后这朋友回大学修硕士，有一个女同学叫朵琳什么的。某天晚上，他约我和朵琳一同去大排挡吃 dinner。大排档旁有小贩兜售盗版光碟，包括AV片。朵琳兴致勃勃的选购光碟，我的中文系朋友，却误会她对黄色电影有兴趣，于是就开始训话了：『不准看色情片！』 唉哟，像极了严父教训女儿

那时他已婚，我还是单身汉，他又盘问我：『为什么你还不结婚?』只是，我一直都有一个疑问：到底他结婚是为男欢女爱，还是为了要传宗接代

Chinese American Food

I am a Chinese Malaysian growing up with Chinese food. When I was in the United States, naturally I frequented Chinese American restaurants. In fact, I had my first dinner on American soil in a Chinese American restaurant.

Note that they are called “Chinese American restaurants”, not “Chinese restaurants”. This is because they serve Chinese American food, which is slightly different from what we have here in Asia.

Some of the most common Chinese American dishes are:

beef and broccoli

kong poh chicken

General Zuo’s chicken (左宗棠鸡)

egg foo yong

chap suey

Beef and broccoli is served in nearly every Chinese American restaurant, and it clearly shows the American influence – Americans are heavy beef eaters, and broccoli is the most popular vegetable in the States.

Of course, no meal in Chinese American restaurant is complete without the ubiquitous fortune cookies.

Did I miss anything? Yes, I couldn’t find any Chinese American restaurant which served fried fish or steamed fish.

Now, I know many people will complain that Chinese American food is not authentic. But who cares? After all, Chinese Malaysians have also invented Malayan Scenery (马来风光), Hainanese chicken rice and bak kut teh (肉骨茶).

Recalling Bali’s Second Bombing 2005

Terrorists’ attack on Mumbai reminds me of the second bombing of Bali in 2005…

On October 1, 2005, three suicide bombers blew themselves up in Bali, killing 20 people. Just a few days before the attack, I had already booked my Air Asia flight to the island, scheduled in late October. You know, Tony Fernandes was not going to refund me if I cancel my trip. Not wanting to waste the money already spent, I decided to take a little bit of risk…

Security was tight in Kuta. The guards in McDonalds’ checked my backpack before letting me go in. I avoided restaurants and bars with lots of Westerners, since they were potential targets of terrorists.

I was happy that I didn’t cancel my trip. The terrorists’ objective to kill the innocent people was to stoke fear among the public. When we continued to travel to Bali, we were sending a message to them:

You have failed!

R.aja's Bar & Restaurant was blown up by the suicide bomber in 2005

身分认同

汉学家史书美教授在韩国长大，但是持台湾护照。16岁时她回台湾，参加联考并考取学士学位。接着她到美国加州修硕士，再到北京完成博士学位。史书美的丈夫是欧洲裔美国人，两个儿子都是美国人。

史教授最近到访马来西亚。她在接受星洲日报访问时这么表示：

“从小父母就说我们是中国人，我也一直当自己是中国人。可是到了北京，我才发现我不是中国人，而是美国人。”

美国国家地理摄影师 Michael Yamashita 是日裔美国人。他在美国长大，但是却会说日语。大学毕业后他“回到日本”。无独有偶，他也发现自己“不能够是日本人”。

二十世纪初，日本人口爆炸，许多人移民巴西。八十年代，日出之国劳工短缺，但是恐外 (xenophobic) 的日本人不愿意放松移民政策。最后，东京政府想出了个两全其美的办法：引入日裔巴西人。殊不知，第三代日裔巴西人已经融入巴西主流社会，他们讲葡萄牙语，听的是桑巴 (Samba) 音乐。由于文化上的差异，日裔巴西人和本土日本人有许多冲突。

我曾经在中国工作过几个月，同事中还有许多大马华人。我们之间交谈，主要是讲英语，偶尔也用方言，但就是不说普通话。我想，当时我是在潜意识里告诉别人：“我不是中国人！”

后来我到了美国。在那儿，我有两名同事是中国人。这时，我又以华语（普通话）和他们沟通。

身分认同这东西，还真是有点奇怪。。。

Mike Yamashita

Syariah-approved Shares

Malaysia is an Islamic state. The Islamic institutions exert enormous influence over the Muslims in this country. Even in the stock exchange of Malaysia, there is a list of so-called “Syariah-approved shares”, which are considered halal, or legal, from the perspective of religion.

Of course, this is by no means that Muslims are not allowed to own non-Syariah-approved shares. They are just discouraged to do so. As a non-Muslim, I do not refer to the list when I invest in the stock market.

(By the way, “share” is the British English term. The American equivalent is “stock”.)

I am not clear of how the Islamic institutions select the Syariah-approved shares. I do know that conventional banking in which lenders earn interest is considered haram (illegal). It is, therefore, not surprising that virtually all banking shares are not Syariah-approved.

Two airlines companies are listed in the stock exchange – Malaysian Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia. The latter is Syariah-approved while the former is not. MAS serves alcoholic drinks to the passengers, and alcohol is prohibited among Muslims. Perhaps this is the factor which contributes to its failure to earn approval. AirAsia is no-frills airlines.

But seriously, I believe that AirAsia does not deserve the status. The reason : its female cabin crews wear short skirts!

AirAsia's uniform is definitely 'haram'

Kuala Lumpur Bird Park

I went to KL Bird Park recently and took some pictures. Here you go...

The proud peacock…

Toco Toucan…

Parrot…

In KL Bird Park, “black nets” are hung over walking paths to shield the visitors from tropical searing sun. That’s a good idea, right?

Detroit’s Big Three Asking for Handouts

CEO of the Detroit Big Three (General Motors, Ford, Chrysler), together with the president of the United Auto Workers, flew to Washington D.C. recently. There appeared in the Congress where they demanded bailout amounted to at least $25 billion.

In my MBA study, one of the subjects is Business and Professional Ethics. Now, I wonder if Detroit knows what business ethics are.

Consider these:

• The CEO of the three auto companies and the Union chief were flown to Washington in separate, corporate planes.
• Ford alone maintains 8 corporate jets.
• Workers of GM, Ford and Chrysler make more than $70 per hour in combined wages and benefits, vs. around $40 for their counterparts in rival Toyota’s plants in America.
• When Congress members asked the CEO of the companies to limit their own salaries to $1 million a year, only one (Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli) agreed. GM’s Wagoner and Ford’s Mulally sidestepped the question.

[Source]

Elsewhere, I learn that GM CEO received $15.7 million in compensation last year. [Source] As a comparison, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs and Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt are paid $1 a year respectively (excluding dividends and other benefits), and you know both companies are doing well.

President-elect Obama has agreed in principle to assist Detroit, but I expect his popularity to dip if the rescue plan is passed in the Congress.

大马华人重新评估美国

奥巴马当选为美国第一位少数民族总统，顿时成为马来西亚华人的新偶像。（请看我的旧贴。）与此同时，大马华人对美国的印象，也有所改观。

许多大马华人，都是“亲中派”。中国近年来迅速崛起，挑战美国的霸主地位，双方有许多利益上的冲突。另外，中美在台独、藏独、人权、苏丹种族清洗等课题上，也意见分歧。可以想象，大马华人普遍上对美国印象不佳。

但是，大马华人和非洲裔美国人一样，都是少数民族，都受到不公平的对待。奥巴马当选总统后，大马华裔领袖乘机批评政府歧视少数民族，并呼吁全国人民向美国学习。美国总统选举，点燃了我们的希望之火。

中国人发明了一个新词，叫“软实力”。美国人跨越种族藩篱，选了个黑人当总统，这就是山姆大叔的软实力。

Chinese Malaysians re-evaluate America

Barack Obama was elected the 44^th President of the United States and immediately became the new idol of Chinese Malaysians. At the same time, they are to re-evaluating America.

Many Chinese Malaysians are fiercely pro-China. The Middle Kingdom rose rapidly since the days of Deng Xiaoping, and is now challenging the United States. Both nations have had a lot of conflicts. In addition to this, Beijing and Washington differ in their positions in such topics as Taiwan, Tibet, Sudan and human rights. Not surprisingly, Chinese Malaysians generally have not got positive feeling towards America.

However, Chinese Malaysians, like African Americans, are minorities in their own country. They have also been treated unfairly in the society. After Obama was elected the President, leaders of Chinese Malaysians criticize the government for discrimination, and urge all citizens to learn from the Americans. American presidential election has given us hope.

China has coined a new phrase, called soft power. Americans overcome racial bias to vote an ethnic minority to the office in a widely acclaimed outcome. This is the soft power of Uncle Sam.

Canon EF 50mm f1.8 mark II

Canon lens EF 50mm f1.8 mark II is made in Malaysia. It is a pride of Malaysia…

At just RM300, or less than US$90, Canon EF 50mm f1.8 produces surprisingly good image quality. I shot the pictures of Evon and Sara exclusively with this lens. Some Hong Kong photographers have dubbed it “Canon’s conscience” (良心之作)

It is, of course, not without flaws. First, focus is hit-or-miss. Second, bokeh can be better. But at this price, what can I complain???

Here is a picture taken with this lens…

Bungalow

As I browsed through the “Houses for sales” section in the newspaper, I saw this mini ad:

MINES RESORT 3sty b’glow l/a 24k b/u 10ksf modern design, golf view…

But wait a minute. What, actually, is a bungalow?

Oxford Dictionary defines ‘bungalow’ as:

Small house only one storey; (in India) such a house surrounded by a large verandah.

www.dictionary.com gives several definitions:

• A cottage of one story.
• (In India) a one-storied thatched or tiled house, usually surrounded by a veranda.

In Malaysia, the word ‘bungalow’ has taken on a new meaning. It is used to denote a house which is neither terraced nor semi-detached. It can be single storey or multi-storey. More often than not, the word conjures up an image of a large and expensive house.

Much has been said about Malaysian English, or Manglish. We often ignore tenses and add particles of local languages such as lah, mah, lor. We may, for example, say:

I go to Malacca yesterday mah…

Such a sentence, while grammatically incorrect, is still able to convey the message. But the inappropriate use of ‘bungalow’ in this country is outright confusing. Even big property developers make this mistake in their advertisements. (Well, maybe they purposely do so.)

Can our Education Ministry please educate the people?

This is a bungalow. Or is it

华人的新偶像

华人是非常骄傲的民族。我们以身为龙的传人感到自豪，并认为中华五千年文化是最优秀的。

自大的结果是种族歧视。我们瞧不起马来鬼、印度鬼、黑鬼、印尼女佣、菲律宾女佣。。。

2008年11月4日，美国举行总统选举。在这之前，活泼女郎 Kikey Loo 在她的部落格搞了个模拟总统选举，成绩令我大跌眼镜。

奥巴马最终胜出，当选为美国第44任总统。许多马来西亚华人，都雀跃万分，大家都在想：“美国有了个黑人总统，什么时候马来西亚也会有华人首相呢？”奥巴马令我们有了新的希望。

曾几何时，华人也有了一位黑人偶像

Barack Obama

The new idol of Chinese Malaysians

Problem with Going Green

It is not easy to go green…

Several months ago, I bought a reusable shopping bag from a grocery store as a replacement for plastic shopping bag. I wanted to do my part for saving the earth.

Recently, I had been stopped by the security guards twice when I went to the same grocery store. They told me to leave the bag at the entrance. WTF

Apparently, they were concerned that I would be stealing from the store…

Some Economic News

Mighty Toyota hits Speed Bump

I was shocked when I read that Toyota reported a loss in North America.

Toyota is the most-studied car maker in any MBA program. The Japanese firm is known for its lean production. Toyota is the second largest car maker in the world, behind Detroit’s General Motors. However, Toyota enjoys a far better profit margin.

Even so, the Japanese car maker could not escape the economic downturn. It reported an operating loss of 34.6 billion yen in North America. Globally, Toyota’s second-quarter net income fell 69%.

When the mighty Toyota is reporting loss, you know how bad the economy is.

~~~~~~~~

Singapore’s Casino Faces Uncertainty

Las Vegas Sands, which is building a casino in Singapore, is facing a cash shortage problem.

Singapore has an “interventionist economy”. The economy of the island republic is largely driven by the government. The two casinos under development, one by Las Vegas Sands and the other one by Malaysia’s Genting, were brainchild of Singapore’s government.

In the last few years, the government wanted to woo wealthy foreigners to migrate to the Lion City. To this end, it has built many luxury homes, such as those in Sentosa Cove. Lee Hsieng Loong’s administration is naïve to think that if they build the houses, foreigners will come. It has failed to realize that, in the 21^st century, Shanghai has replaced Singapore to become the magnet for expatriates.

Now, with the world economy heading towards recession, the casino by Las Vegas Sands is in jeopardy. I am not optimistic with the market for luxury homes too.

Nando’s Chicken

I couldn’t remember when I last visited Nando’s Chicken. I was unhappy with its diluted soda. Recently, I decided to give it another try.

Ages ago, I ordered the food at the counter. This time, however, I was told to be seated, and a waitress took my order. After a while I was served a glass of coke. The food was only delivered after 15 minutes. Since I ordered Mediterranean Rice, I wished that they would supply me with a spoon (but they didn’t).

The chicken was quite tasty. Unfortunately, the soda was as diluted as ever, and it cost RM5.90 (~ US$1.60) On top of that, service charge set me back another 10% of the price.

I think it will be another two of three years before I will dine in Nando’s again…

(Picture taken with Sony Ericsson K850i)

Recommendation:

Nando’s should consider transforming its operation into the self-service type, and do away with the service charge. The outlet I visited was located in a commercial cum industrial area, and opposite my university. On weekdays, workers and students just want to have a quick lunch there. Service is not in their mind. Furthermore, I suspect many Malaysians see it as a competitor to KFC, rather than Delifrance.

Or, if that is not possible, then perhaps diners order and pay at the counter, and take away their drinks. Waiters/waitresses deliver the food later. In this case, lower the service charge to 5%.

And, of course, don't serve diluted soda.

Calling Home from the Sky

On September 9, 2009, I was flying home from Narita Airport, Japan to Kuala Lumpur. I was flying with Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

Since I woke up very early that morning, I was rather tired. After peeking at the beautiful stewardesses for 30 minutes, I decided to take a nap. “Malaysia Airlines’ seats have larger legroom,” I thought. “Air Asia just can’t match MAS in this regard…”

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard the guy who sat next to me yelling at his mobile phone, “DARLING! I AM COMING HOME! I WILL REACH KL AIRPORT AT 5PM. I HAVE BOUGHT SOME NICE DRESSES FOR YOU. EVERYTHING IS F****** EXPENSIVE IN JAPAN…”

~~~~~~~~

Welcome onboard Malaysia Airlines. The airlines long noted for its superior service just gets better everyday. It has teamed up with AeroMobile to offer in-flight mobile phone service. You can now call home with you mobile phone from 30,000 feet above sea level!

But I am not sure if I would like the service. I find it disturbing that someone shouts into his or her mobile phone inside the cabin. I think I will try JAL or ANA in my next trip…

母语

日前在星洲日报看到一篇文章，作者认为华人的母语是方言。。。

在马来西亚，保守的董教总坚持“以母语教数理”。但是，华人的母语，到底是华语，还是粤语、闽南话、客家话、潮语。。。

我姑姑的丈夫是英国人。她孩子的母语，到底是华语，方言还是英语？按字面解释，他们的母语应该就是我姑姑的母语，但别忘了这是一个父系社会。很明显的，发明“母语”这词的人，并不知道有异族通婚这回事。

在美国，mother tongue 是一个不太常用的字，取而代之的是 first language。First language 可以解释为一个人最精通的语言。大多数美国人的第一语言是英语，主要的例外是讲西班牙话的拉丁美洲裔人。

土生土长的华裔美国人，也就是所谓的 ABC，也在英文学校上课。我没听说过花旗国有中文学校，不过，南加州的西来寺有周末中文班。许多台湾移民都把他们的子女送去西来寺学中文。我在美国期间，接触的华人都是移民，不清楚 ABC 最精通那一种语言。

母语是一个过时的概念。与其争论我们的母语是什么，还是多学几个 second language 吧。

Product Photography

I am a shutterbug. My areas of interest are travel photography and portraiture. Recently, however, I decided to give product photography a try.

Product photographs are, of course, not as exciting as the pictures of Balinese volcanoes or portraits of beautiful women. (The only exemption is food photography.) Nonetheless, they are a breakthrough for me. Product photography also tests my creativity. Not having professional tools, how can I set up my makeshift ‘studio’?

Here is the picture of Raya cookies which I took during the Muslim festival of Aidilfitri (Eid)…

And this is how I took the picture: I used the white board to reflect sunlight and lighten shadow. The board itself was held in place with four bottles of ‘essence of chicken’.

User-Generated Contents

Oon Yeoh is a columnist for Malaysian newspaper The Star. In his article dated October 16, 2008, he quoted the words of Nicholas Carr, a critic of user-generated contents (UGC):

“Forced to choose between reading blogs and subscribing to, say the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Atlantic, and The Economist, I will choose the latter. I will take the professionals over the amateurs,” [Carr] said.

I couldn’t help but laughed when I read the quotes. To say that bloggers are amateurs is like saying that secondary students are amateurs. Do we tell them (the students) not to write???

A very small numbers of bloggers, amateur photographers and amateur videographers who post their works to the Web eventually ‘graduate’ to become professionals. The Web serves as their training ground, much like what the school does.

For the rest of us, the Web gives us a space to express ourselves, or share our photos and video clips. Despite the hype, vast majority of the bloggers have no intention of challenging the mainstream media.

In a sense, UGC helps to instill the spirit of freedom of speech. I have been criticized by a few other bloggers, but I don’t censor their comments. My guiding principle is “we agree to disagree”.

By the way, if you think mainstream media is free from user-generated contents, you are wrong. Are you not aware that many newspapers and magazines have “Letters to Editor” columns?

Halloween - Malaysian Style

Halloween is not widely celebrated in Malaysia. However, One Utama, a shopping mall, has some Halloween decoration. Here you go...






Nothing so special here. Now we wait for Kikey Loo to report from the United States.

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