Leaking Toilet

I received a call from the management office of my apartment today, saying that my neighbour downstair complains that the water from my master bedroom toilet is leaking into hers.

The toilet looks pretty bad, the ceiling already turned brown. After open up the ceiling, you can see water drops all over the top and some already crystalised and formed stalactite. I was hoping that it was just leaking pipe but it looks more serious than that.

Everyone told me that when this thing happens, it's always the owner upstair's responsibility to fix it. If really have to hack all the tiles and fix this, it might cost some money (2k?) and how am I going to monitor the work for few days?!!

Since this doesn't actually affect my toilet, I really wanted to ignore. But after looking at the situation and being a nice guy, I also pity the lady (pity myself too). The apartment is just over 3 years and it's already leaking water. I have always been told that IOI is a good developer but I am really disappointed with them now. I am going to COMPLAIN and COMPLAIN and COMPLAIN, if they don't want to pay for the cost, I am going to spread this and tell people not to buy their property.

So angry now.... >:(

Oops, my brother just bought one!!!

Left Right Hands

We live in a world which is dominated by right handers. Do you realise that many products are designed for right handers? e.g. can opener, scissors, guitar, sharpener, bowling ball and bowling shoes etc. It is difficult to cut paper following a line with your left hand using a normal scissors. I find this lefties FAQ site quite interesting.

People who know me know that I am a left hander. My hand always 'fight' with the guy sitting on my left when eating. But actually I am not a pure left hander. Except for writing, drawing, painting and eating, I use right hand to do most of the stuff as others do. I use scissors, mouse, open door, hold racket, play bowling using my right hand.

Normally lefties only use left hand to do most of the things, I am not really sure why I am different. I thought about this and figured out that I feel more comfortable using my left hand for things that require a bit of skill with fingers. For the rest that doesn't require much skill, I can adapt to the right-handed world easily.

Many cultures including Chinese consider using left hand something bad and a lot of parents would force their children to use their right hands. Actually left handers simply have a more dominant right brain, which means that they might be more creative. I always think it is not right to force kids to use their right hands. If they prefer to write or draw with their left hands, that means they are more comfortable using the left hands and the results could be better. Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova might not win a Grand Slam if they were forced to use right hand to play tennis when small; the same for Yang Yang and Zhao Jian Hua in badminton.

Do you know Leonardo Da Vinci is also a left hander? For those of you who only know him from 'Da Vinci Code' or the painter of 'Monalisa', he is also an architect, anatomist, sculptor, engineer, inventor, mathematician, musician and scientist.

Apple iPhone

Apple iPhone is really cool. It is an iPod, a Phone and an Internet Communicator.
It's a bit hard to imagine how cool it is without watching the Macworld 2007 Keynote Address yourself.


























Even a non gadget guy like me can't wait to have one in my pocket!

Too bad it will only be available in Asia in 2008...

Ah Yat Abalone

Last Friday I went for another makan makan session. Yes, another heavy one.

My ex-colleagues decided to spend the remaining money from Gonbei makan makan session at Ah Yat Restaurant. Each of us had the RM138++ set which came with:

1. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall or Shark fin - The shark fin came in pieces, but lacked the texture, didn't taste like what we normally have at wedding dinner. May be this was a small shark.
2. Abalone + sea cucumber + mushroom - Yummy abalone.
3. Cod fish - I didn't like the cod fish that much, may be it wasn't warm.
4. Stir Fried Kai Lan
5. Fried Rice
6. Almond Soup

We also ordered a Peking Roasted Duck and a 2.6kg Alaska King Crab. After eating the duck skin, the meat was then fried with ginger onion, looked like beef or deer meat and tasted quite nice. The King Crab was cooked with cheese, it was the best crab meat I have ever tasted (this is far better than the Snow Crab at Team Dinner. Btw, it was RM280 per kg, which is almost double the price of Snow Crab).

Oh no, I really need to watch out my cholesterol already!!!

Team Dinner

My team had another team dinner last Saturday at Unique Seafood. It was a fun night.

Happy New Year 2007

A year-round
wish
for
you

12
months

HAPPINESS

52
weeks

FUN

365
days

SUCCESS

8,760
hours

GOOD HEALTH

525,600
minutes

GOOD LUCK

31,536,000
seconds

JOY!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!!!

Now You See, Now You Don't

During the company X'mas Party, Jason had to work on a marathon project and was not able to join the party. He complained that he was not in the photo we took. So, have to photoshop him in...

Now you see...

















now you don't

Theory Of Constraints

I first heard about the Theory of Constraints (TOC) when I studied Operation Management a few years ago. At that time I didn't focus much on it as it was just one of the many theories introduced to us.

Until recently a friend of mine who is so passionate about this theory mentioned it to me again. TOC was first proposed in 1986 by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt in his widely read book The Goal (Not the movie!!!). It was written as a novel instead of textbook so that the readers will be able to understand the theory better. The story is about a production manager facing severe problems in his manufacturing plant and met a consultant who helped him to break out of conventional ways of thinking.





















TOC focuses on 'how to think' and a lot of examples in the book are just common sense. Yet, people often don't see it or ignore it because common sense is normally masked by common practice.

In the recent TOC conference held in Taiwan, Goldratt told the participants that for years he refused the book to be translated into Japanese. The reason behind it was that the Japanese was already far more ahead of the American and the gap will be wider if the Japanese apply TOC into their industries. Now the book is available in many languages and it is a must read for all Toyota plant managers. If you think this guy talks big about his theory, his Viable Vision Program even claims that the program will help a company turns its current revenue to net profit in 4 years time, of course with some requirements the company has to meet.

The Goal is an interesting book and really worth reading even if you are not working in manufacturing environment. It may help you in improving the processes at work. : )

X'mas Party

We had our company X'mas Party at the lifestyle center on Thursday. There were elves to be auctioned for charity, including the GM himself. It was quite a fun evening.

I would like to thank my secret Santa for the gift.


Merry X'mas to everyone!!!

Happy 冬至

Happy Winter Solstice Festival (冬至) !!!





















Anyone wants some 湯圓 (Tāng Yuán)?

Tạm Biệt Hà Nội

After 2 nights on trains, 1 full day on a junk, 9 hours of trekking, some kayaking, countless hours of walking/sightseeing/shopping/bargaining...























I don't really feel like going back to work... :(

TV Life

I watch quite a lot of movies until some of my friends think I am a movie freak (I don't think I am actually). But when they know that I don't subscribe to Astro Movie Package, they are quite surprised.

Usually I don't check TV guide when I watch TV. I like to keep changing the channel until I found a programme I want to watch. So it is quite difficult for me to stick to the movie channel when I watch movie. Not only that I don't subscribe to movie package, I also don't have Wah Lai Toi. Otherwise my life will to be controlled by Astro programmes, I don't want that. I prefer to watch DVD when I am free and in the mood to watch it.

How about you? Are you controlled or in control?

Uncle Ho

A lot of people especially the young ones don't know who Uncle Ho is, I am so surprised! You watch so many DVDs yet you don't know Uncle Ho?

Please check out
http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/080503_uncleho.html

This is a classic posting and was widely forwarded in 2003. I still find it funny when I read it again.

Btw, are you related to Uncle Ho, Jason?

Top 10 Annoying Drivers

Driving in KL (or Malaysia??) can be quite torturing and frustrating. Sometimes we blame stupid road planning for causing traffic jam, such as the flyover at Pandan Indah. Vehicles coming from Tasik Selatan turning to Pandan Jaya and vehicles coming out from Pandan Indah going to Ampang are fighting to change lanes. For this, I don't think we can do much but to hope that there won't be too many idiots becoming road or city planner in the future.

On the other hand, driving can be frustrating due to many annoying drivers. Here are my top 10:

1. Illegal Parking double parking and blocking others. I hope they don't cry if their car is scratched or knocked by others.

2. Didn't signal Some people do not give signal before changing lane, especially aunties. One side of their wheels will be on the line, trying to get into your lane but hesitate if it is safe to do so. There are also some who do not give signal before turning at junction, causing others who want to cross the road waiting.

3. Signal and turn While some don't give signal, some scary aunties thought they can just turn right away after giving signal, assuming that others will just give way.

4. Cut queue Cutting queue actually causes more jam as vehicles are fighting for lanes. But I guess those selfish drivers won't care about others who have been queuing.

5. No Headlights especially when it is raining. It's time to switch on the headlights when you can't see the car behind, or other cars have turned on their headlights.

6. Emergency lane It is for emergency use but a lot of idiots use it to skip the traffic jam, which could be dangerous to vehicles which parked there during emergency.

7. Slow down to watch accident It's very common that a mishap causing long traffic jam because people slowing down to see what happened. The worse part is it also causes jam to the opposite direction. I really cannot understand!!!

8. Throw rubbish from vehicles A lot of people do this in front of their children, and the children will do the same when they grow up...sigh...

9. Ignoring solid line and turn while it is not permitted.

10. Hazard light Some people switch on hazard light during heavy rain. Hello, non-commercial vehicles should use hazard lights only for safety purposes to indicate a temporary hazard to traffic, for example, when your vehicle has broken-down and you are awaiting assistance, or on a vehicle that’s being towed.

I think I will be under some pressure not to do any of the above when I drive some of you around next time. Actually I am not a Saint and I can't guarantee that I won't make any mistake, e.g. I might have to cut queue if I am not familiar with the road and went into the wrong lane. I believe some of you might also do the same mistake. But at least it is important to try our best and be considerate of others when we drive next time.

Movie Time

I watched 2 movies back 2 back last night, DVDs from Uncle Ho of course. That's the good thing about working night shift from home, you get more time to do your own stuff and watch some movies.


















The Devil Wears Prada is about a naive young woman comes to New York and scores a job as the assistant to one of the city's biggest magazine editors, the ruthless and cynical Miranda Priestly. I find it quite funny and entertaining. I didn't know Jimmy Choo is so famous that they keep mentioning his shoes in the movie, might as well change the name to 'The Devil Wears Jimmy Choo' (sounds a bit weird). I should have taken a photo with him when I saw him in the toilet at KL Convention Centre last month. :p

Babel is a completely different movie. I watched it because of Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and the 7.8 rating in IMDB. It is about a married couple on vacation being stuck by tragedy in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving six different families. The story happens in 3 locations and seems independent of each other yet they are loosely connected. It is quite similar to Crash or Syriana. It's quite 'real' but a bit boring. But as usual, non commercial movie normally stands a bigger chance in winning awards.

I am sure not many people will appreciate it. But if you like Crash or Syriana, you may like this too.

Teh Tarik From Space, Anyone?

Read this article with mixed feelings...

Sad that I have to agree with him...

Why Blog?

I would like to share an interesting story I read quite some time ago...

Somewhere on this planet, there was a village where its people practice a religion that prohibits them from going out during holiday. There was a guy called Ah Beng who felt bored on a holiday and decided to play some golf. He thought no one would see him after all. So, he went out and played 9 holes.

Although he felt a bit guilty, it was so fun that he couldn't help himself to play for another 9 holes. Unfortunately what he did was observed by the guardian and the guardian told God about it. God said, 'It is ok, I will punish him'. Without knowing he had been observed, Ah Beng continued to play another 9 holes. This time he shot 9 hole in one!!! He was so so excited.

The guardian was puzzled and couldn't believe why Ah Beng was not punished but even got 9 hole in one. So he went and asked God again. God replied, 'I have already punished him. What punishment is better than not able to share his happiness with others?'

The moral of the story is to share your happiness with others, otherwise you are punishing yourself.
I guess this is why most people blog, to share.

But I think besides that bloggers also hope to get some feedback too, it's fun to read other people's comments. Blogs with no comment is like telling someone you hit a hole in one but getting a feedback like 'ok...'

So, feel free to comment ya?

Clogged Brain

I went to my company treasure hunt in Langkawi last weekend. We travelled by bus on Friday night and the hunt started the next morning. My team members and I were sitting close to the back of the bus, may be because we felt safer as travelling in bus at night is always dangerous. Knowing that the next day would be tiring most people try to get some sleep on the bus. Unfortunately there were a few guys who were a bit drunk and started to have concert at the back and spoke loudly thinking that they own the bus. They even played music that the rest of the passengers don't listen. It was really torturing.

I am not sure what's wrong with these people. They are educated, good at their work certainly not stupid but yet something wrong with their brains. May be a vein is clogged or something that makes them become inconsiderate of others. What do you call this kind of people?

Assume that you and me dropped into an endless hole?

Conquest of Time

I like good watches. I always think that watches can show a man's taste. The design that I like is always simple and elegant. For a modern watch, I always fancy a Bell & Ross or an IWC Schaffhausen chrono. For a classical one, I would go for a Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre or Girard-Perregaux. Of course the latter three are the jewel in the crown of watches. I can only see and dream...

Actually I am not really a watch aficionado, my knowledge about watch is only limited to some famous brands and mechanical complication of chronograph and perpetual calendar. Yesterday I had a chance to improve my knowledge about horology.

















The Conquest of Time exhibition was held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from 22 -26 Nov 2006. The exhibition featured 23 of the world's most renowned watchmaking houses.





































Not only a large collection of fine timepieces was on display, the exhibition also incorporated guided tours, watch making class, watch talks and watch appraisal. For the rich, this was a good place to add a few more watches to their collections or to have their Patek appraised by professional valuators and watch experts from Christie's auction house.

A watch making class was provided by Jaeger-LeCoultre for watch collectors and enthusiasts to explore and learn about watchmaking. In the class, attendees was guided by a watchmaker from Swiss and got to learn the various technique in watch assembly, first on a computer simulation software, then hands-on. I wanted to attend but the next class was already fully booked with a long waiting list.

















For the public, the Girard Perregaux's atelier was the best place to learn something about watches.






















It offered a guided tour which explained the four distinguished dimensions of complications in watchmaking - Chronograph, Perpetual Calendar, Minute Repeater and Tourbillon. I learned from here that a perpetual calendar watch knows when to add a day in a leap year by having a 48-tooth wheel (each tooth represents a month), with a tooth slightly different from the rest.

Girard Perregaux is famous for its Tourbillon, designed to counter the effects of gravity and other perturbing forces that can affect the accuracy of a chronometer. At the atelier, I also got a chance to polish one side of the Tourbillon bridge. I tell you, it requires a lot of patience and passion.

















This lady's day-to-day work is to polish watch components. It takes her 3 days for to finish polishing a Tourbillon bridge.

Similar to cars, watches are expensive toys for men. Some watches are more expensive than cars. A watch comprises 600 over pieces of component, each of them needs to be made to perfection. It is not hard to imagine why some of these watches are so expensive.

This Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of the most expensive watches I saw at the exhibition. Enlarge to see how much it costs...

Silent Mode

Damn! Bad mood because not enough sleep this week due to some external system issues. I am going to put my handphone on silent mode when I sleep... >:(