iPod nanos

By now you've heard the news that Apple has released their new iPod nanos for 2008 and they've added some fairly impressive and fun features.

The new nanos now have a "shake" feature (first seen in the Sandisk Sansa Shaker) which randomly chooses a new song each time you shake your nano. The displays are improved sporting a 2 inch widescreen with 320x240 resolution at 204 pixels, and there are two models to choose from: 8GB or 16GB. Spoken menus allow you to hear the name of the menu, song title, and artists without viewing the screen which means you can operate your nano without ever having to look at the screen. In ear headphones with microphone (sold seperately) will enable voice recording, and the new nano has a rounded case which (we assume) will make it easier to hold in the hand.

Bends and Turns

My life is an endless series of bends and turns, some positive by far and a few not to my liking. Here I am this time this year looking around for a nice location to move, discussing with my significant other on our future vacation plans, massaging my smart-alecky lackadaisical peers and part-time employer to move along and get out of the rut--all which requires me to spend a lot of time. Luckily, its the weekend...Yahoo!

Zune 80GB

With Wal-mart dropping the Zune 80GB from their inventory and rumors of a 120GB Zune being just around the corner, some opportunistic sellers on Amazon have decided to jack up their prices for their remaining 80GB Zune players.

Take it easy

Take it easy -- slow down a bit and make sure that you're not just rushing into new activities without checking them out first. Make hay while the sun shines but always be -- cautious.

Save Money

This is probably the biggest worry for the average person living here on Earth. Recession is more likely, and bringing with it a heightened job insecurity. So, start saving. If you can't cover at least three months of expenses should you become ill or lose your job, go on an austerity plan. A hoard of cash is the best assurance in this financial storm.

Credit cards at this time of a global finacial turmoil?

Note: Banks will be looking to increase profits by issuing more credit to people with good records, but it won't be cheap and penalties and fees may increase. Be extra careful now NOT to run up costly credit card debt. It is harder to pay down in a weaker economy.

Housing Value

As long as you can still afford to pay your loans and don't plan to move in the next two years, you don't have to worry about a thing. Yup that's the most time we should give the current global financial crisis to ride out.

The current crisis may mean pricey neighborhoods populated by finance types slip in value. And the weakening economy will keep pressure on housing prices across the country. But rates will fall and that should stabilize housing values.

Richest People in America

This year (2008) the 20 richest tycoons on The Forbes 400 could buy the bottom 239. That's the last 239 rich people featured on The Forbes 400.

Between their software, stores, casinos and fuel, chances are you are spending your hard earned money and lining their pockets every day.

The rich haven't gotten richer--or poorer--this year. The price of admission to this, the 27th edition of The Forbes 400, is $1.3 billion for the second year in a row. The assembled net worth of America's wealthiest rose by $30 billion--only 2%--to $1.57 trillion.

Christina Applegate

Birth Place: Hollywood, California, USA
Birth Date: November 25, 1971

Christina Applegate was born on November 25, 1971 in Hollywood, California. Christina quit school at age 17 to pursue her acting career.

60th Emmy Awards

Celebrating 60 years of outstanding Television production, this year's Emmy Awards is set to air September 21st.

Housekeeping your life

Experiment a little bit with the new stuff and people in your life. There's got to be at least one or more things out of place and that doesn't feel right. Once that's settled, you should find life to be much more pleasant.

Land of potholes Malaysia

Malaysia may be among the Top 3 in Asia with the best laid roads but even then it still has an extreme case of potty problems. It can be said that you can travel anywhere here and still come across roads with uneven surfaces, speed bumps of varying heights, and of course the topic of this blog - the Pothole. A pothole is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole.

Once a pothole forms, it grows through continued removal of broken chunks of pavement. If a pothole fills with water the growth may be accelerated, as the water 'washes away' loose particles of road surface as vehicles pass. In Malaysia, potholes tend to form any time of the year when the subgrade (base layer of the tarred road) is poor due to the soil condition and worksmanship.

Potholes can grow to feet in width, though they usually only become a few inches deep, at most. If they become large enough, damage to tires and vehicle suspensions can occur. That is also why repair & service workshops here can expect a healthy flow of income.

Take for example Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur city in Malaysia, you can expect an uneventful ride that is hammered with potholes, service access manholes, and uneven levels, giving you an endless however you drive bumpy ride. Imagine this...and right in the heart of the nation's pride and joy and with the Kuala Lumpur City Centre district as a landmark as well.

It seems that nowadays, we don't just have to avoid road-fiends on motorcycles but have to swerve to avoid such "potty"-ness.

Destination Hong Kong

A decade after England ceded Hong Kong to China the former British colony remains a center of world commerce even with its new identity as a SAR (Special Administrative Region).

Day and night the city is a beehive of activity. The action here is energetic and ceaseless. Cranes haul their loads above sprouting skyscrapers encased in rickety webs of bamboo scaffolding. Dense but orderly crowds shuffle on and off the sleek metro trains. The Star Ferry service shuttles back and forth across Victoria Harbour, the pungent stretch of water that separates Hong Kong Island from Kowloon. Narrow alleys lined with shops and food stalls are a round-the clock melee of exotic noise, color and smells.

I love Hong Kong Kowloon Wanchai Temple Street

Malaysians on the road IDIOT

The ugly side of Malaysians shows itself daily. When? On the road of course. Nowadays, there are so much (not the word "many" because I have lost count) inconsiderate people on the road. As we commute to & from place to place, we will at many times come across the Inconsiderate Desperado Imbecile Of Traffic (IDIOT).

These are the ones who weave in and out of traffic, jump queue, jump queue and cause a jam on the other lane before they cut in, brake abruptly, hog the lane, double-park just to avoid parking and walking, beat the traffic lights, cog up the junctions, scrape across your car, speed and flash their lights, show hand-signs and use expletives, park in 2 parking bays instead of 1, park at road bends, and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Sometimes, I do thank them for their efforts - it does take all kinds of people. Why? Well just today I noticed that if the IDIOTS did not jump queue by driving to the right on the opposite direction lane to speed to the T-junction in front, I may have had to wait a while longer in queue for the cars in front of me to move into the junction in front. How? Well, their actions actually caused the traffic coming from the right to slow down and stop thus allowing us that were in the correct lane to move in. Kudos, but still wrong no matter how we see it.

Malaysian culture

What's up with it anyway? Its fair enough that we are moving with times and assimilating a lot of foreign elements to our culture but to the extent of being a Malaysian-ized version, o' puh...leeeze.

My latest encounter was a Malaysian youth decked out in baggy pants, baseball cap and Tee. He was also wearing some costume jewelry around his neck which looked something like a cross and arrow and in the middle of the kampung area near Tmn Sinar.

I think that as we putt along our lives towards to the future we should pick up good values and maintain and safeguard our culture at the same time. It would be a real shame to see us totally 'foreign' in the future with no inkling of who we are and where we are from. Please dont' let this be a case of monkey see monkey do.

Full Moon

Full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.

Only during a full moon is the opposite hemisphere of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth far side, completely un-illuminated. As a lunar month is about 29.531 days long, the full moon falls on either the 14th or 15th of the lunar month in those calendars that start the month on the new moon. In any event, the period between full moons can be either 29 or 30 days.

I'm a Pieces

Pisces, Born February 20 - March 20

My sign's element is Water. Heck, that means I should be swimming in "water" (the aka for wealth for the Chinese). Pisces is ruled by the planet Neptune.

According to my sign, I'm emotional, ultra-sensitive, easy going, self sacrificing, sympathetic, understanding, and sociable (available). A Piscean can also be an excellent host or hostess. We find it hard to make decisions because we see all sides to the question. Worry plagues us and defeats us. We are also merciful, obliging, charitable, artistic, with a good sense of color. We will see only the good in others.

I can be so lazy, self centered, pulled in two directions, a procrastinator, and a day dreamer. A Piscean has "weird" experiences, and is often confused. What more can I say?

Be Determined

Determination pushes us to complete what we start. Although we may at times be tempted to procrastinate and dream, we must drill ourselves to keep our feet on the ground. Nothing is permanent except Change.