Twitter for Schools

source

Twitter is one of the hottest website of late, but I have yet to join it. I had been thinking what good is joining the micro-blogging site if one is not a celebrity or a fan. Now, I can think of one usage of Twitter for ordinary folks.

Malaysia, like many other countries, has been hit by Influenza A (H1N1). A number of schools have been closed down to prevent the spread of the dreaded flu. Somehow, the schools were not able to inform each and every student or his/her parents about the closure. Some students still turned up at schools, only to find out that the gates were locked.

Perhaps the schools should be on Twitter. The parents should ‘follow’ schools attended by their children. This way, announcements made by the schools can be quickly disseminated. Of course, the parents have to be more tech-savvy…

Smile to the Customers

Japanese firms are famous for their excellent customer service. BBC reported that a rail firm in Japan has introduced a system to check that its staffs are smiling enough at all times.

Computerized scanners around 15 Tokyo stations will measure the smile curvature to ensure that it is wide enough. Those who fail the measure will be advised to look less serious and more cheerful. (Read the story here.)

I am afraid this kind of monitoring system will create a ‘Big Brother’ atmosphere, whereby the employees feel stressed.

Perhaps a better way to ensure that the staffs smile is to make them happy. How about listening to jokes before attending to customers? Relaxation exercise may help too…

A smiling stewardess

Chin Swee Temple

Genting Highlands is a famous hill resort in Malaysia. It also has the only casino in this country. I made a day trip to Genting recently, not to gamble but to take pictures. One of my stops was Chin Swee Temple （清水寺）.

This is the main shrine hall of the temple, which houses the deity of Chin Swee. The deity is said to be able to grant you wishes…

There is a pond next to the shrine, where one finds lots of tortoises. Tortoise is the symbol of longevity among Chinese…

Lanterns…

Chin Swee Temple has been expanded. Here is a newer shrine hall and a pagoda…

There is a statue of Buddha too…

And finally, this is the statue of Lim Goh Tong （林梧桐）, the late founder of Genting and a visionary entrepreneur. Is he being deified too?

The Life with Mask

source

The cases of Influenza A (H1N1) are on the rise in Malaysia. Recently, when I went to the city by train (LRT), I decided to put on a surgical mask.

I did so for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to protect myself. Secondly, I wanted to tell others, “No, it is not weird to wear a mask.”

Not surprisingly, I was the only passenger with a mask in the train. Malaysians are always complacent. We tend to think that bad things don’t fall on us.

I have to admit that it is no fun wearing a surgical mask. I could barely breathe! Soon after I reached destination, I took it off. Somehow, eventually we may be forced to live with masks. Until the vaccination is out, I doubt we can contain the spread of this highly contagious flu.

Are you ready?

Random Shots

(1) Interesting Logo


I came across this interesting logo of a restaurant. Note that the “face” is actually a bowl. A good logo is good for marketing purposes.

I haven’t tried the food served here, though…

(2) Inconsiderate Malaysian Driver

This fellow is taking up 3 parking bays...

(3) Door for Suicide???

马来西亚中文地名

记得许多年前，在报上阅读过一篇文章，说霹雳州的中文地名，是全国最好的。

以我的家乡为例：她的马来文名是Kuala Kangsar，中文译作江沙。江里之沙，多么有诗意。。。

离江沙不远是太平。太平，取得是天下太平的意思。它的马来文名Taiping其实是源自中文，这在大马算是异数。

霹雳州另外一个城市是安顺。英殖民时代它是Teluk Anson，现已改为Teluk Intan，但中文名保持不变。毕竟大家都祈求平安顺利。

Kampar，中文译为金宝。有点俗气，但无可否认，华人喜欢金银财宝。

以上所提到的都是霹雳州城镇，但其实在雪兰莪州，也有一个小镇的中文名是我很喜欢的，那就是我最近去过的Sekinchan。其中文名是适耕庄，而她也恰好以稻田著称，确实是个适合耕种的地方。

江沙 Kuala Kangsar

Down the Memory Lane (2)

Part 1 is here. All photos were shot with film camera.

This is me at the Grand Canyon…

The picture was taken by Wilson, my co-worker who originated from Dalian, China.

Another picture of the Grand Canyon…

Most visitors to the Grand Canyon go to the south rim. Wilson and I decided to go to north rim instead. North rim was cooler in summer. The downside was, we couldn’t see the river.

We actually traveled to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. Here is a picture taken at the Sin City…

I took this picture when we were driving from California to Las Vegas. As you can see, the land is semi arid, with very thin vegetation. In fact, Las Vegas is in the middle of a desert…

When we were driving along the freeway, we saw a mini tornado measuring just a few feet tall. Vehicles stopped to wait for it crossing. No photo for the mini tornado, though…

CD in the Age of Digital Music

Following the sudden death of superstar Michael Jackson, his albums were sold out in many music stores across Malaysia. Considering the omnipresence of MP3 music, this is pretty interesting.

MP3 music is convenient and customizable. We can download MP3 songs from the Web, whether legally of illegally. We can download individual titles instead of the whole album. Why, then, do we still buy CD/DVD?

One possible explanation is that MJ’s fans are Gen-X or pre-Gen-X, who are not as tech-savvy as the Gen-Y. They still prefer CD to MP3.

Another explanation is: we can’t display MP3 music on our shelves. It is not physical. In other words, it can’t be a collector’s item. Here is where CD/DVD still excels.

I plan to buy one or two Michael Jackson’s albums too – for collection purpose. The other albums I am eying are those of Celion Dion and Kitaro…