Archive | October, 2005

We’re all going on a summer holiday!

No more working for a week or two.

Well I treated my car to a service yesterday, after it’s incident[/url], it’s feeling a little depressed.

Cost me a fair amount, but it always does when it comes down to changing my tyres at 300 bucks a pop…RM1200 just for the tyres, then I had oil change, new oil filter, gear oil changed, power steering fluid changed, tyres changed, 3 rims repaired, camber adjusted, alignment, balancing and a few other little bits and bobs, ouch!

My weapon of choice for the wheels is the Pirelli Dragon, bad ass tyre indeed.

The tyres react very quickly to input as the asymmetric tread pattern takes care of performance handling: in cold or hot, wet or dry conditions, off the line or in corners. The large drainage channels are particularly commendable in doing the wet job on hand, offering aquaplaning resistance for a high level of safety. Its V and W speed ratings hit the 270 km/h mark allowing the car to sweep smooth all the way through curves or when barrelling down the straights.

It handles very well in both the wet and dry with it’s deep asymmetric tread pattern.

The reason? A long drive up to Penang, I want my car to be safe and smooth, yay!

Anyway I was supposed to leave in the middle of the night, but I kind of fell asleep…so well I’m leaving now, I’ll be back on Thursday, so sorry to you addicts, but no updates until then 😉

Have fun!

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Continue Reading · 10 Comments · General Nonsense, Trips & Travel

My Car Was Vandalised Today.

Yes indeed it was. I was confronted with this, this afternoon when I went to my car to fetch something I’d left inside…Not a nice sight for a Sunday afternoon right?

At first I thought this was a case of bad parking, my neighbour perhaps going back to home town early in the morning, made a slip on the steering wheel and rendered a dent on my beautiful car, but he would have left a note right?

But then I looked closer at the dent, the direction of the scratches and the black substance there..

It doesn’t seem to be black paint, it seems to be plastic or rubber, like that found on the bumper of a car, or on steering locks..or SHOES.

Then when I was considering the damage…what did I notice? A whole bunch of footprints on my bonnet..

Yes, those are all footprints, like this one

That’s when I got a little worried, and wondered what the hell I’d done wrong.

This was done inside my appt complex, whilst my car was parking in MY lot, overnight.

IF (and that’s a HUGE IF), this is action taken over what I’ve written on my blog, then this has massive implications for everyone.

This has entered real life.

This has cost me money.

This has really made me question.

Are people really that ignorant to take physical action against someone voicing their opinion and standing up for their rights?

The problem is, I can’t assume anything, I can’t assume to know why this happened.

Maybe it’s only because I’m white

Maybe someone saw me eating during fasting hours

Maybe I cut up some mat rempit on the road and they took revenge with their helmet on my car

Maybe I offended the burger guy when I said his chilli sauce was a little sweet

Maybe I offended my neighbour by playing Gwen Stefani too loud

Maybe I offended someone else by parking out front for 10 minutes in someone elses lot

Maybe I offended someone by writing about racism in Malaysia

Maybe I offended someone by defending KL

Maybe I offended someone by sticking up for Peter and Kimberly

So many Maybes.

At least they should have left a note, give me a clue what I did wrong. Now I have NO IDEA at all.

I wish they could just confront me directly, and we could handle this like men, not act like some fucking pussy and kick my car then run away like some sewer rat.

This action hasn’t made a difference to anything, it’s just left me feeling confused.

It won’t change my views or opinions on anything, but at least if I knew what it was about I could consider my perspective..

I am going to make a police report now, this does worry me, and I hope whatever ‘it’ is, it stops right here right now.

Hopefully it will end here, no one else will get hurt, nothing else will get damaged and we can all move on with our lives.

If you did kick my car, and you do read my blog, just let me know why, I don’t think that’s very likely, but well, there’s always a chance.

Continue Reading · 74 Comments · Deep Thoughts, Serious Issues

So I bought an original VCD – Sepet

One Chinese boy, one Malay girl, one unforgettable love story

I wanted to see Sepet at the cinema, but I was away so I didn’t have a chance, I wanted to buy the Uncle Ho DVD but there isnt one, and I’m not into buying pirated VCD’s so I bought the original from Jusco on sale for RM15.90, pretty cheap if you ask me.

I’ve been wanting to see it for quite some time though, as to be honest the majority of Malay movies from recent years I’ve seen have been crap, bring back P. Ramlee, and I heard this was pretty good, whacked some boundaries. Even within Sepet they criticised Malay movies.

Now I don’t know if the VCD is the censored version or the international version, I’d suspect the former, as it is being sold on Malaysian soil, I was surprised what got past the censors tho, like the MILF part and the dancing in sarongs to Siamese music..

It breaks some stereotypes and enforces some others, like a chinese Ah beng[/url] VCD seller, writing and reading classical poetry? That’s a new one…and his best friend who plays the piano?

The story is good, very sweet and and bit sickly in places, the direction is good, the acting is ok on the whole, the main characters are good anyway. It’s pretty realistic and potrays Malaysian life with an almost gritty reality.

The cinematography suffers a little tho, it’s quite marked they are only using one camera, and it makes some of the shots a bit weak.

I think it would be excellent for people outside Malaysia to see this movie as a taste of the culture here, they might not realise what it’s like.

I don’t quite like the ending, but other than that’s it’s a nice story, on the whole well told, with some interesting characters typifying Malaysia.

Ida Nerina and Harith Iskandar were great as a Husband and Wife truly in love, passion in their eyes dancing around in sarongs, great stuff.

All in all it’s a cute indy movie, it’ll never be a blockbuster or a chart topper, but I don’t think that was the focus, it’s not a big budget movie, it’s a movie about people, relationships and opening those ‘sepet’ (small eyes).

I’d give it a 7/10 and say that well, it’s definately worth watching, one of the best local movies I’ve seen for some time. I still need to watch Puteri Gunung Ledang though.

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Continue Reading · 35 Comments · Movies

Being Civic Minded and Caring for your Environment and Society

Actually I wanted to post about this topic for quite some time, since I was involved in Project Aware[/url], but I never quite got prompted to do it.

Since all this bullshit about handicapped toilets has come about, I think it’s time to address it.

I do wish people would care more, people would stand up for their rights, stand up for what they believe in, look after their planet and have some civic conciousness.

Most people just stumble through life, wasting resources, totally ignorant to the fact they are destroying the planet, and in some cases society too.

One example is littering, during Project Aware[/url] we were picking up litter on the beach, why because dumbfuckers threw it there, instead of in the bin. Why oh why? There are bins everywhere, if not carry it till you see one, or put it in your pocket or something, don’t throw it on the floor.

I see some people throwing tissues out the car window or onto the floor, and they say..

“Oh but it’s bio-degradable”

Yeah no shit, I know that, you know that, but does the 6 year old kid that just saw you drop something on the floor instead of the bin know that?

I don’t think so.

Educate by example, lead by example, care about your environment and don’t just talk about it, if you see someone litter, say politely…

“Excuse me, but there’s a bin just over there”

Honestly some elderly lady said that to me once when I was a youngster in UK dropping litter, and it made a big impact on me, I never did it again.

That’s just a small example, other things are using more organic products, using environmentally friendly washing powder, using environmentally friendly fridges, rated for lower power consumption, and lacking of harmful CFC‘s.

I guess a lot of it comes from my mother, who truly leads by example, she saves all organic waste from our house and makes her own compost to fertilise the garden.

She recycles wherever possible, I’m glad to see in Malaysia more recycling facilities are appearing, the first place I saw segregated bins were in Ikano Power Center, which shows civic conciousness.

In UK now the rubbish collection service provides different coloured bags for plastics, paper and others, to make the sorting easier for them, and to make recycling more possible for everyone.

Another example is caring for society, not just the environment, if the state isn’t fixing something write to your MP.

If there is something wrong with the road, write to who is responsible for it.

If you got bad service in a resturant and were mis-treated, write to the management.

People might say we Brits are known for moaning, but I’d say we are standing up for our rights, that’s why in UK we get top-notch customer service and product quality, because if we don’t we kick up a shitstorm, unlike here, where people are rather lackadaisical and don’t really seem to care.

“Whatever la, it’s normal here”

Yeah but why should it be normal, can you not fight for better standards?

If something is wrong, I’ll write a letter about it, if I get bad service, I’ll fill in the comment card. The sad thing in Malaysia is that nothing happens. Like in UK if I’d filled in the terrible comments I did in the comment card in a Sushi place in the curve, I would have gotten a call next day and an invite back to the resturant for a free meal as maybe I just came at a bad time.

Word of mouth is powerful, that’s a fact.

If you think something is wrong, fight for change, don’t sit and accept it.

An example would be Kimberly[/url], she is a civic minded citizen, I have seen her letters published in The Star regarding various matters from the state of roads in Cheras to the intermittent water supply in the area. She was a responsible citizen before this boycotting campaign and she will be after, I don’t believe it’s a personal vendetta against XiaXue, to be honest she didn’t even mention XX. Those who say so in my mind are rather pathetic.

I personally support her, she is standing up for what she believes is right, more than I can say for most people who just go with the flow and nod their heads, then chastise when the tide changes.

Anyway the point I’m trying to make is people should start caring, they should stop gossiping about small things like XX, and how rude Peter Tan[/url] was and look at the bigger picture of WHY these people said what they said, what is WRONG about it, and HOW we can change it.

In all honestly these are small issues, there are many things that need to be corrected and we should focus our energies on those rather than endlessly pointing fingers at each other.

Make a difference, do something for someone ELSE for a change, for your future children, or the future generation.

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Continue Reading · 40 Comments · Deep Thoughts, Ranting, Serious Issues

Don’t you just hate…

..people that talk endlessly and don’t say anything?

Because I do, they really get up my fucking nose, seriously, I could gouge their eyes out and subject them to some intimate skull penetration.

Here’s my brief guide to staying healthy in my presence:

1) DO NOT patronise me – I am not stupid, I am not close to stupid, don’t even think you are smarter than me

2) If I ask you a question, ANSWER IT, don’t skirt around the issue, talk for 15 minutes and leave me with the same question after 15 minutes of wasted time

3) If you have something to say, say it, don’t ask me leading questions about justifying my statements, because I will justify them and you’ll end up feeling even more stupid

4) Don’t assume you know more than me about something just because I keep quiet as the case is I probably do know more about it than you, I just don’t flash it around because that’s just childish and insecure

Seriously I really can’t stand it when I ask someone a question and they blah blah blah blah yeah I’m so smart omg look at me blah blah blah blah, and end up saying abso-fucking-lutely nothing vaguely useful at all.

After they stop I just say “Yeah well, that’s not what I asked, I just want to know…”

Repeat the process 5 times…..Shaolin still hasn’t gotten an answer, RAGE 506% GROWTH STOMP ATTACK MUST KILL PUNY HUMANS KAKAKAK

Yeah something like that, I just resign myself to the fact I’m not going to get an answer, and as usual I’ll have to work it out myself.

I also hate having to do things at the last minute, I mean sometimes I choose to do things at the last minute, but well that’s my choice isn’t it?

But forcing me to pick up stuff on the fly, produce presentations at the last minute..it’s bullshit quite frankly.

I’m pissed today, I’ll be pissed tommorow, I’ll probably be permanently pissed til December 31st when this bullshit is over.

Maybe I’m just a control freak, I like to be in control, I like to know everyone knows what they are doing, everyone knows what they are talking about, everyone is prepared and ready to go.

Or maybe it’s my Boy Scout instincts from back in the day..

Be Prepared.

Or perhaps I’m a perfectionist, so I hate not knowing the answers to questions..

Or perhaps perhaps perhaps.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be so harsh on people, perhaps I should just tow the line, perhaps I should control my temper and superiority complex..

I’m scared people might discover my plot to take over the world…damnit that’s a secret.

And yeah, I’d love some Cheese with this Whine.

Bah, it sucks, that’s the moral of the story.

Continue Reading · 19 Comments · Ranting

Seafood in Klang – Coconut Toddy?!

Well I don’t often go to Klang to be honest, but when I do, it’s generally for one reason, to eat LOADS of seafood (or Bah Kut Teh).

This time we went was for KY’s birthday, so we had some Guiness stout and Toddy too (which is basically fermented coconut juice, so I gather).

There was a big gang of us there enjoying the Toddy and the seafood!

We had steamed clams which were fresh and tasty, the soup was nice and full of ginger. And the butter milk praws were really good too.

Bamboo clams..yum!

And of course a huge plate of crabs!

KY the pro peeler of crab claws and birthday boy.

Of course I made a mess and had a massive pile of shells and crap after..

All finished off with a pro class of Toddy and Stout.

It was a great meal and a good day all in all 😉

As a side note, I found Kanna in Menjalara, pretty near my place and just as nice (seemed cheaper than SS2 aswell).

And I followed the tip about asking the guy to cut up the chicken before frying it, and hmmm it was real good!

Headed to 1U yesterday but skipped oktoberscam, and just wondered around instead and caught a movie, might talk about that later.

BTW. Reubens is like teh pro OMG LOLLERSKATES!
Continue Reading · 14 Comments · Food/Eating

Land of the Dead – Gory!

In the 4th installment to George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” series, the zombies have taken over the earth. The surviving humans live on a small secluded strip of land, with two sides cut off by rivers. The humans strive to survive, while outside the zombies are steadily evolving…

This is a cool movie! Some might say it’s dumb, but I love crap like this, I’ve watched all of the Romero movies and I love them all, he’s the forerunner in the zombie genre, and has been making these films since Night of the Living Dead[/url] back in 1968.

I think out the series Dawn of the Dead (1978)[/url] is probably my favourite and most memorable set in an American shopping Mall. I haven’t managed to see the 2004 remake[/url] yet however.

This was a good zombie movie in typical Romero style, good social commentary about class, stereo-types and poverty and good commentary about the ignorance and stupidity of Americans.

I chose to see the DVD as I know it’s going to be a gory movie and the Malaysian censorship board would have a field day removing all the best parts.

It is fairly violent, nasty and can make you squirm at times.

The zombies are back to lurching, creepy ugly looking zombies from the olden days, no more spriting super zombies.

The vein of the film is that the zombies evolve, they start to think again, they start to communicate and move en masse..this was a subtext in some of Romero’s early works (Day of the Dead) and the movie also plays homage in parts to the early parts of the series.

There were also cameos from some of the actors from the earlier films.

There is plenty of gore, eye ripping, limb spewing, intenstine chomping action, the time passed fast and I’d say I thoroughly enjoyed it, it may get slated by ‘film critics’ but I thought it was great.

Grab the DVD and see it ASAP!

A solid watch it in the dark alone 7/10.

Continue Reading · 18 Comments · Movies

Happy Birthday to ShaolinTiger.com

Yeah, I’ve been torturing you all for a year now, amazing isn’t it.

A few of the people reading since the start are still reading, I guess many aren’t..

Lot’s of new people are reading, I’m not sure why? But they are…perhaps you can find out here.[/url]

I started off with this post[/url], which basically said I’d finally started a blog, something I’d been meaning to do for a while.

From then I’ve made many different posts, differnet styles, different subject, loads of pictures, loads of food, lots of travelling and trips. This is the 269th post I’ve made, not bad for 12 months. An average of around 1 every 2 days.

If you still don’t know anything about me, you can read here[/url].

If you want to find some of my better posts, you can find a list here[/url].

I’ve ranted about many things, like the education system[/url], Internet Exploder[/url], Script Kiddies[/url], Stupid Telekom[/url], Bad Drivers[/url], What is Art?[/url], Malaysian Summons[/url], Free tech support[/url]? and many many other things[/url].

Hopefully I’ve acheived something in the past 12 months with my insignificant little space on the net, perhaps made you think, or made you feel like writing, or inspired you to argue with me, or perhaps inspired some people to blog, or cook some of my dishes, or take some nice pictures themself.

And of course I would be the record holder for most comments in one post…with the pink poodle fiasco[/url] (8 short of 600 comments).

Anyway, most of all thanks all for reading, some hypocrites say they don’t blog for approval, or for other people, they just do it for themselves, but well to be honest, that’s complete bullshit, everyone does it for approval, because they want people to read what they write, because they want people to LIKE what they write, if they didn’t they would write it in notepad and keep it private somewhere, not publish it in the public zone known as teh intrawebnet.

I do blog for myself, and YOU, so I hope you appreciate it and enjoy it as much as I do 😉

To another successful 12 months!

Cheers.

Continue Reading · 44 Comments · Site News

Kim Gary has a Breakfast Set – WTF?

Honestly I didn’t know this..

I didn’t take any pictures, cos I didn’t have my camera, and I don’t have a l33t phone that can take decent pictures yet..

Anyway yesterday I had the femes french toast, and today the ramen with pork, it was pretty good and reasonable.

You get 1 dish like sandwich, french toast, ramen or vermicelli, and a drink for RM5-7, fresh orange juice is an additional RM2.

So today total was RM9.09 for ramen with pork and vege and fresh orange juice.

Pretty good and pretty reasonable, and it’s just opposite the place I’m teaching, so it’s convenient.

I was suprised to see Kim Gary open so early.

Anyway if you are stuck for a place to chow down for breakfast, I suggest checking it out!

Continue Reading · 9 Comments · Food/Eating

Teaching teaching..sleeping..zzz

Well I have to say I am quite adverse to teaching, although I will admit I have gotten 1000 times better than I used to be.

When I joined this company I was almost immediately thrown into a teaching position in Singapore, I had never taught anyone before, and honestly had never attended any professional classes so had JACKSHIT idea what I was supposed to be doing and how I was supposed to conduct myself.

As of now I’ve taught in Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and
That’s what I call baptism by fire. Straight in at the deep end. As it turns out I managed, ok, I wasn’t great, but I didn’t totally fail, and my technical knowledge allowed me to keep the class interesting and varied, rather than the courseware, which was rather poor at the time.

Public speaking is a daunting thing for many I know..teaching is a form of that, although often in a smaller more personal setting.

I know many people who claimed they would curl up and die if they had to speak in front of a crowd, and there’s me, I volunteer to do it 😉

Not the teaching part, that’s forced upon me, but I’ve spoken at conferences and stuff.

I don’t mind teaching smart, like minded people about hacking, because that’s what I love, and to be honest I’m into sharing knowledge, I’m not some elitist asshole who won’t tell you how to do because it makes me feel superior, but if you are a dumbfuck, I will get irritated if I have to tell you more than twice..

I am teaching from now until the end of the year, and sadly I’m destined to go back to my least favourite place in SE Asia, if not the World, yes BRUNEI, OMG I hate that place, but at least I have a couple of friends there now (that I almost managed to kill jajajaj!)…But Ramadan is not the time to be there.

Anyway I may have managed to get out of it for a couple of weeks by doing a web application security project instead, but it looks like I’ll be there from early December until the end of the year.

I’ll be in Mid Valley every day now anyway till early November, so if you want to meet me at Chili’s or something for happy hour, drop me a line!

I’ve had a pretty shit week otherwise at it goes, I’ve been feeling crappy, I might be hyperthyroidic, my hard drive on my PC at home just died and well bleh. I can’t boot my PC with the HDD in as it just hangs at the BIOS ‘Detecting IDE drives’ I think the controller has probably gone, I’m wondering is there anywhere round here that can recover it..

Also I didn’t sleep Sunday night because I was scared I couldn’t wake up on time Monday, bad idea what that…I expect it’ll take me till Wednesday to recover!

Continue Reading · 21 Comments · General Nonsense