Life - More Than Meets The Eye

距离北京奥运会已越来越近了。这几个星期电台和电视台频频播放一些奥运讯息及歌曲，的确振奋人心！你是否也开始感受到周遭那股强烈地奥运热潮呢？抑或你会反问吾，中国主办奥运，干吾屁事！

为何不干吾事？难道身为炎黄子孙的我们，不该为有百年历史的奥运首次即将在中国主办而感到骄傲、自豪吗？

无可否认，中国政府对西藏课题的处理方式为国际社会所垢病，但那群喇嘛也不是什么好东西！自开放以来，中国已在人权课题上取得进展。就好比最近的四川震灾，中国政府毅然接受国际社会的援助，这已跟自前的封闭作风有着天壤之别。

就给中国一个机会吧！不要再抨击她了。八月八号中华民族三千年的历史将无私地呈现在世人眼前，奥运会的成功主办也将是全世界华族同胞复兴的一个里程碑！

算算日子，八月八号吾应该还在金马仑山上，哪里找电视看现场直播，狼叫。。。(金马仑的狼)

北京奥运会100天倒计时主题歌-北京欢迎你

I had moved in my current home for over 5 years now. I guess it is time to do some home improvements. I am thinking of laying a carpet in the living room. Should look nice, isn’t it? The problem is which home improvement company I should engage to do this. Some of the criteria I am looking into are trustworthy and hassle free. Hence, I choose Empire Today.

Empire Today is America premier in home improvements. This Illinois based company has had over 45 years experience as provider of home improvements and home furnishings, with over 1 million satisfied customers. The company was founded in 1959 by Seymour Cohen under its original name, Empire Carpet. In 2007, Empire Today was named Number One Specialty Flooring Retailer in United States, with the company operating in over 50 major metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada. Empire Today is known for offering quality products at great prices. Some of these products are carpet, hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, ceramic flooring, window treatments as well as bath and shower liners, just to name a few. The company has also been awarded for its excellent customer service and business ethics. I am really amazed with their next day installation service. Under this service, one does not need to wait too long to enjoy the stylish look of your new carpet, flooring and window treatments.

I had found quite a few of Empire Carpet / Empire Today commercials.

This Empire Carpet old commercial is as fast as how it delivers the carpet to their customers!

This one is funny! Believe it or not, this dog actually sings along the Empire Carpet Jingle!

In this Empire flooring commercial, we can see that with Empire Today, we can actually skip the store and shop at home! How impressive!

Let’s talk about carpet now. Empire Carpet has several style options to choose from. They are textures, plushes, friezes, berbers, loops, wool and indoor outdoor. I have to say I prefer frieze carpet. Empire frieze carpet is available in a wide range of colors. There are also a variety of densities to choose from, i.e. from loose style to tight neat look. You also get to choose the materials of your carpet, may it be wool or man made fibers. Shopping with Empire Today guarantees you the lowest price. If you ever find a lower price elsewhere, Empire Today will match that price! Guess what, this price match guarantee applies to hardwood flooring as well!

What are you waiting for? Schedule a free in home estimate today itself!

At some places in South America, local folks believe that sacred force is all over the place and leaps over time. People thus started to build all shapes of monuments with the hope to get closer to the sacred force. Machu Picchu is one of such monuments.

Where about? Machu Picchu is located in the south of Peru, hiding within the secluded forest of Andes mountain range. Its elevation is 2,458 meters above the sea level. Machu Picchu is an abandoned city of the ancient Inca Empire. It was believed that the city was built around the year 1450. After been abandoned for hundred years, it was discovered by American historian, Hiram Bingham in 1911. The name was taken from a nearby mountain named “Machu Picchu” which means “Old Mountain” in Quechua language. It was declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

What is so beautiful? Most of the buildings in Machu Picchu were built from granite stones without any mortar to bind them together. This classical Incan building method is called dry stone. Blocks of stone with different shapes were fit together so tight that it is difficult to notice any gap in between them. This piece of architecture is so amazing that modern civilization has to admit defeat to the intelligence of Incan people. Or is it another visit of creature from outer space?

Pictures in the above slideshow are taken from aguntherphotography.com

There are currently some 40,000 tourists visiting Machu Picchu each year. Cable car station, hotels and restaurants were built near the site. Scientists have raised concerns about the impact of tourism on the site. In 2007, UNESCO had considered of putting Machu Picchu on its list of endangered World Heritage Site. This is yet another calamity caused by human activities. Shame…

By the way, if you were at the Kelana Jaya Stadium yesterday, do share your story with us!

Technorati Tags: South America, Peru, Andes, Inca Empire, dry stone, Beautiful Monday

These are some of the interesting posts last week:

Beautiful Monday: Ancient City of Pingyao - Relatively unknown to tourists, this 2700-year old city is the best preserved city wall in China. Oh ya, bicycles are the main mode of transportation there as the use of cars is prohibited!

Anwar Facing Fresh Sodomy Allegations - I see this one as another attempt of Malaysian government to kill Anwar’s political career once and for all!

Wise Use of Your Fridge and Freezer Saves Money Too! - Amid the newly announced electricity tariffs by government earlier last month, here are some tips on energy saving when using your fridge and freezer at home.

Cruising In Ocean - Imagine the first view you see when you open your eyes in the morning is ocean and sky in single horizon.

Believing Snakes Than Believing Indians! - Yesterday, he declared there was a sexual relationship between Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and the murdered Mongolian lady, Altantuya Shaariibuu. Just a moment ago, he claimed he was threatened into making this old declaration and had retracted all declares which are deemed destructive to Najib.

Photohunt: Pointed - I found this wooden sculpture at Melanau Longhouse during my recent visit to Sarawak Cultural Village, Kuching. I let you guess what this thing is used for…

saturday photo scavenger hunt

It is not very hard to find something pointed. But the thing that I am going to show you is quite weird and peculiar. After all, this is the main purpose I join PhotoHunt. I found this wooden sculpture at Melanau Longhouse during my recent visit to Sarawak Cultural Village, Kuching. I let you guess what this thing is used for…

Technorati Tags: PhotoHunt, Melanau, Sarawak Cultural Village, Kuching

Not trying to be racism here. But now I would rather believing snakes than believing Indians (not all).

This morning in a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, private detective of Abdul Razak Baginda, P Balasubramaniam had retracted his stunning statutory declaration made just 24 hours ago. Yesterday, he declared there was a sexual relationship between Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and the murdered Mongolian lady, Altantuya Shaariibuu. Just a moment ago, he claimed he was threatened into making this old declaration and had retracted all declares which are deemed destructive to Najib.

Just last week, I felt ashamed and angry when YB Hamidah Osman of UMNO Perak made a rash expression on whether a snake or an Indian man should be killed first. But now, I believe the lady might just have the wisdom to question this!

If Bala can change his stance inside 24 hours, so does Jam. Anwar has been set up once again!

Shame shame Bala (taken from Malaysia Kini)

P/S: Read Malaysia Kini for more in dept details. I have to say the Mandarin version is juicier!

A payday loan is a small, short term loan without credit check that is intended to bridge your cash flow gap between pay days. Introducing you Payday One, a United States based and licensed payday lending company. Unlike other companies which operate outside of United States to avoid federal and state lending laws, Payday One is a state licensed cash advances company and is thus authorized to do lending business in almost all of the states within the US.

Payday One offers no fax payday loans that can get you the much needed cash to pay bills and cover unexpected expenses. You can lend any amount from as low as $100 to $1000 and have the money banked into your account as soon as tomorrow! Below are just some of the benefits if applying your payday loans at Payday One:

1. The loan process is fast and secure at Payday One. You can apply online or by phone and get to know how many cash you can lend in just a few minutes. Do not worry; all your personal information will be protected.

2. Payday One provides the most customer friendly service if compared to other payday lending companies. Each customer is treated with respect and honesty.

3. Payday One is the only payday lender that offers a Great Rate Guarantee. What is a Great Rate Guarantee? Under this feature, if you ever find another payday lender that offers a lower rate than Payday One, they will match the rate.

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5. Low credit scores is not a problem when applying payday loans with Payday One. If you have been turned down by banks and other payday lenders, you will most probably be accepted at Payday One.

What are you waiting for? Apply today with Payday One!

Imagine the first view you see when you open your eyes in the morning is ocean and sky in single horizon.

Imagine you can hear the sound of ocean waves hitting the boat.

Imagine the cool sea breeze blowing directly onto your face.

…..

….

…

..

.

禁不住要问，“头发有没有乱？”

Wait a second! You should be able to visualize yourself on board a ship in the middle of ocean.

Recently, I took an express boat to Kuching. This was the first time I took an express boat and the experience of cruising in the ocean was truly unforgettable!

At the wharf

Our express boat

Cruising along Rejang River

I like ocean. Blue sky coupled with extensive white sandy beach, and coconut trees, and bikinis… I am going there real soon!

Technorati Tags: Kuching

The more you use, the more you have to pay. Unlike other item, you do not get buy one free one for the use of this item, not to say getting a discount from it! Needless to ask, that is your monthly electricity bill!

Comparisons between old and new tariffs

Ok, I do not have a solid data to support my claims and I am also too lazy to find one. But we all know that the greatest percentage of the Malaysian fuel mix consists of non-renewable energy such as petroleum, natural gas and coal. The problem is all these are finite resources, but worse, the burning of oil and other fossil fuels have dumped billion tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere. And this causes global warming, the most concerned issue for environmentalists and scientists all over the world.

Amid the newly announced electricity tariffs by government earlier last month, below are some tips on energy saving when using your fridge and freezer at home. Yes, wise use of your fridge and freezer saves money too!

1. If you are not using a frost-free refrigerator, defrost regularly. A defrost refrigerator uses less electricity than one with layers and layers of built-up ice inside. Unfortunately, all the modern day refrigerators are of frost-free refrigerators, which usually consume more energy.

2. Do not leave your refrigerator door open unnecessarily. Check gaskets to make sure that the seal is always tight.

3. Do not set the temperature lower than needed. Overcooling wastes energy. Keep temperatures just low enough to chill your milk and keep your ice cream hard! The ideal temperature, according to what I read, is 5 degree Celsius for the fresh food compartment and -18 degree Celsius for the freezer compartment.

4. Try to keep your refrigerator at least 75% full all the time. If you do not fully utilize the space inside your refrigerator, you might as well no need to buy one!

5. Never put in hot food. Let it cool first before putting into the refrigerator. Remember the old cake recipes telling us to leave a finished cake completely cool down overnight before putting into the refrigerator? So, just do it!

6. Keep your refrigerator in dry and cool area. Avoid direct sunlight as if the temperature is fluctuate, it could damage the compressor.

7. This one I also never done it before. Vacuum the condenser coil at the back of your refrigerator every 6 months. Dust and dirt on the coils make the appliance work harder and thus use more electricity.

Above tips will cost you nothing. In fact they will save you money without sacrificing the comforts you are used to. Not only these tips can help saving your pocket money, you can also actually do our environment a good deed by practicing it daily.

Technorati Tags: fuel, global warming, refrigerator, freezer, electricity cost

Sweeping floor is always not my cup of tea. To be honest with you, I only sweep floor once a week, and that is only when I do the weekly clean up of my own bedroom. However, that does not mean my mum will leave other corners in the house unattended! She likes cleanliness and certainly do not want to see dust piling up anywhere inside the house.

I decided to buy a vacuum cleaner. My first and foremost requirement is it must be cordless. I do not wish to see my mum dragging along the vacuum cleaner with long cable while cleaning. This is also more convenient as she do not have to unplug and look for another socket outlet in case the cable isn’t long enough.

Since I am promoting energy saving in this blog, I might as well buy an energy saving vacuum cleaner too. Dirt Devil AccuCharge meets both of the above 2 requirements. The AccuCharge technology enables 70% less energy consumption in all the Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner if compared to other cordless vacuum cleaners in the market. Besides, Dirt Devil AccuCharge is also the first cordless vacuum cleaner to be awarded Energy Star approval!

My dilemma now is whether I should get a stick or handheld vacuum cleaner. What do you think?