Move....

Sweet Lord! This is the most tiring of all moves I have ever done. Since Appa has been moving around, due to the transfers within West Malaysia, I have had my fair share of moves. But this is rather tiring. I am moving from PJ to Equine Park. Firstly, the arrangement of the transportation (lorry), then it is the arrangement of the Astro, air-cond and water heater fixing in the new house and then it is the packing itself. We've been put through a lot over the past week. I've been really busy at work, yet, I've had to come home, rest for a bit and start packing.

Our official last day at the famous No. 18, Jalan 14/27, Section 14 is on the 29th of November 2007. We will have to move into our new house which is in Equine Park on the 30th. Having a lot of guys from the office living nearby will definitely be interesting. I have the likes of Veke (my new neighbour, who has promised me to walk Caesar and Vasco every evening), Vicky (who only lives 10 minutes away - who will be joining me for a lot of 'tanni sessions'), Vikhram (who also lives 10 minutes away) and the main organiser of all drinking sessions - Paul Michael. Now, Paul lives in Kajang, but Seri Kembangan is almost his second home. He spends most of his nights there. I can't wait for us to be settled in as soon as possible as we've promised the boys to have a House Warming Party sometime during the second or third week of December. I will keep all of you informed of the date once the details are confirmed.

I hope and pray we will manage the move without any problems. Please pray for us.

Thank you all very much.

The Evolution Of The Language....

A computer was something on TV
From a science fiction show of note
A window was something you hated to clean
And ram was the cousin of a goat.

Meg was the name of my girlfriend
And gig was a job for the nights
Now they all mean different things
And that really mega bites.

An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A curser used profanity
A keyboard was a piano.

Memory was something that you lost with age
A CD was a bank account
And if you had a 3 inch floppy, you hoped nobody found out.

Compress was something you did to the garbage
Not something you did to a file.
And if you unzipped anything in public
You'd be in jail for awhile.

Log on was adding wood to the fire
Hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And a back up happened to your commode.

Cut you did with a pocket knife
Paste you did with glue
A web was a spider's home
And a virus was the flu.

I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper
And the memory in my head
I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash
But when it happens, they'll wish they were dead.

Does Hell Give Off Heat or Absorb Heat?

The following is SUPPOSEDLY an actual question given to a University of Washington chemistry mid term class. The answer by one student was so “profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet. Regardless, the truth of it, I think the rationale and how the argument is presented is logic at its best. Have a read.

Question:

Is Hell Exothermic (Gives off Heat) or Endothermic (Absorbs Heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law i.e. gas cools when it expands and heats when it is (compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:-

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.

Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

Firstly, if Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

And secondly, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over.

The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."

Insults That Have Class....

A dear friend of mine sent me an email sometime yesterday. She always sends me good stuff to read about. This happens to be one of them. Brilliant wits, check them out:-

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you willeither die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir", said Disraeli, "on whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."

- Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."

- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"

- Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."

- Moses Hadas

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."

- Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."

- Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one."

-George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one."

- Winston Churchill, in response

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."

- Stephen Bishop

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."

- Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others."

- Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."

- Paul Keating

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure."

- Jack E. Leonard

Coffee....

I was pleased to see that I received a lot of feedback from coffeeholics. I liked this particular reply. Since the feedback or comment feature only allows 300 characters, I thought I'd post this reply. And by the way, Ms. James, I only have 1 cup of tea a day - that is a fair amount :) I will still reiterate, please slow down on the coffee all you coffee lovers.

Check the reply out....

Dear Mr Batumalai,

I read with keen interest your account on the pitfalls of drinking coffee and I could not help but wonder, seeing that you have a strong preference for tea, is this then not a biased account against java lovers who have an deep seated passion for this elixir?

“Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.” That’s the recipe for coffee, according to the utterly French diplomat Talleyrand(1754-1838). In the meantime, may I induct you to the pure, adult, sexy, joy that comes from a steaming mocha macchiato or even better we’ll give you a decaf grande skimlatte (so that the non-coffee drinker can sleepfitfully and it's kind on the waistline as well).

P/s: Sir, may I add that most of the answers to the questionnaire you posed can be attributed to stress and not coffee. Excuse me now, I’m off to my favourite Ipoh Old Town Coffee Shop, I could do with a white coffee made the old fashioned way with condensed milk. Care to go for a walk on the wild non-tea side of life?

Brenda James

Congratulations Dr. Brian May....

As most of you'll know I am a huge, huge QUEEN fan. The 4 rock superstars who have actually given a whole new meaning to the genre of rock music. I am talking about Freddie Mercury (Faroukh Bulsara), Brian May (now Dr.), Roger Taylor and John Deacon.

Well, that was music accomplishment. But, Dr. Brian May as he is known as today, is different from any rock stars you will ever know. He put his thesis on astrophysics on hold, while he was touring with the band for 20 odd years. Finally when he found the time to do it, he earned his PhD - sometime in August 2007.

Today, he has been has been appointed Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University. Dr. May will be installed as the university's figurehead leader early next year, it was announced Monday.

He is an honorary fellow of Liverpool John Moores University, which has a well-known astrophysics research institute.

Congratulations Dr. May!

Coffee....

Working the hours I work (4pm-1am), I see a lot of my colleagues downing cups and cups of coffee. The common excuse is that they need to stay awake throughout the day. But what it does to your body, not many people know. Well, at least they rather not know. I was going through some of my mails and one of them took me to a link. In that site, I was presented with the article below ‘Are You A Coffee Addict’? I’ve decided to take some pointers and write this article to warn all ‘coffeeholics’ as they call them, the dangers of that irresistible cuppa.

With long hours at the workplace being the in thing, coffee machines in the offices are no longer an exception. The cuppa apart from being a break-time favourite has, over the past few years, become a necessary accompaniment to official meetings and chat sessions. Many a times a quick sip not only helps you to crack the knottiest of audit jumbles but also gain confidence before facing the boss after an awful goof-up. True, but it is good only as long as it lasts. What happens later is cause enough for worry. While a cup of coffee apparently stimulates your senses, a regular intake of caffeine can leave you a complete wreck.

This is because coffee simply stimulates the central nervous system, increases the stress hormones in the blood streams, thus making a person feel unnaturally alert. Consequently induced alert state tends to subdue your body's natural instincts and prevent it from relaxing. This causes undue stress and leads to various kinds of disorders.

Daily caffeine intake induces a 24 hour cyclic disturbance in your body. While the morning cup of coffee or tea perks up your mood most people can't stop at that. Almost every office goer develops a craving for the next cup and subsequently, a heavy fatigue sets in by late afternoon. Even if endless cups revives you, at this time of the day, a total collapse is inevitable by evening. Irritability, fatigue and gloom along with an uncomfortable sensation are the usual symptom. What is worse is that finally when you try to sleep away your blues at night, you just can't. That's no the end. The next morning you get up tired, thirsting for a steaming cuppa to settle your mood.

Thus begins a coffeeholic's journey. At the end of which, apart from developing dark circles under the eyes, you also acquire acidity problems, irregular palpitations and more. So next time you take a sip remember you are sipping a host of health problems too.

A good read. To all my dear coffee addicts…… slow down you’all.

Are You A Coffee Addict?
Addiction to caffeine can begin as early as in school, or as the syllabus pressure gets the better of you in college or perhaps, when you land a job and have to course up the anxiety ridden path to office. The first sip happens when you battling stress and depression. If you're caffeine dependent answer the following questions and evaluate the addiction status:

· Do you consume more than two cups of coffee, tea or cola or chocolate in a day?
· Do you feel fatigued on and off during the day?
· Do you go through massive emotional mood swings during the day?
· Do you suffer from frequent headaches?
· Do you suffer from acidity or heartburn?
· Do you feel a generalized pain in the neck, shoulders and back region
· Do you suffer from a burning sensation, fatigue and heaviness in the eyes?
· If you are a woman do you suffer from premenstrual syndromes?
· Do you have difficulty in going to sleep?
· Do you wake up in the morning feeling dead tired?
· Are you easily irritable?
· Do you suffer from irregular or rapid heartbeats?
· Do you often feel dizzy?
· Do you have high blood pressure problems apart from anxiety problems?
· Do you have ulcers?
· Do you have problems concentrating without your regular cup of coffee?
· Do your hands tremor?
· Do you feel dehydrated?

If you have answered 5 to 6 of the questions with a 'yes' caffeine is part of your daily system, reduction or removal of products laced with caffeine from your diet will improve your health considerably.

If you have answered 7 to 8 of the questions in the affirmative, you are a caffeine addict, and need to reduce or eliminate caffeine from your diet. Before caffeine causes any nutritional imbalance or disorder try and be conscious about what you eat and drink.

If 10 to 12 of the questions have a positive answer, its time to sit up and listen to your body signals. Caffeine can cause serious damage to your health. Wean yourself of the habit slowly and steadily, preferably with the help of the dietician.

Melaka....

What a journey it was? The thing is the night before my trip back to Melaka, we had a small house party among my new office mates. It was a night (or rather morning) of eating, drinking and gambling (I have no clue whatsoever on how to gamble, but I did receive some pointers from Paul, Sherril & Vikhram). Anyway, the session started with slow drinking and bites. It eventually got heavy. Paul, started his regular 'down from the bottle' episodes. Since I was a 'newbie', I had to down 3 shots of whisky at one go (from the bottle). But everyone had to get a shot of it. Veke was really funny. I was the designated bartender for the night. So, I poured the same amount for everyone (well, Sherril only had 4 drops! No, seriously, ONLY 4 drops which were divided into 2 rounds). Veke kept saying, that I was over-pouring the whisky amount for him. Well, I must admit, initially, it was a lil' more, but later on it was the same amount. But all in all it was a very good morning. I would say, it was a good introduction to the 'oh so friendly' lot. Oh yes, I had to leave at 8.45am as I had a 10am bus to catch. Tasha came and picked me up - so she joined us for a while as well. Was she spared from the whisky shot? Obviously NOT. LOL! But she downed it like a champion and we left.

Reached PJ at approx 9.15am. Called a cab on my way back and left home at about 9.30am. We reached Pudu at 9.45 and boarded the bus immediately. It was an interesting trip back. Why? Well, I would normally dread the trip back, because I would be so tired by the time I get to Melaka and my back would be so screwed (to some of you'll who didn't know, I ruptured 2 of my discs on my backbone, and the road to recovery has been freakin' long). But this time, it was a joyous trip back. I was enjoying the sceneries and feeling so relaxed. It is a 2 hour ride, but it didn't feel like 2 hours.

Upon arriving in Melaka, Auntie Rani (Tasha's aunt) picked us up and sent us home. Upon arriving at the house, Amma was waiting with some lovely, lovely lunch. By the way, the menu was given to her 2 days ago. There was fish sambal, french beans with prawns, pappadams and lime pickles. Lovely! I had 3 helpings. After lunch, rested for a while and left for church. I was doing the P&W in the morning (this was a last minute thing - the girl who was supposed to do it fell ill, so I had to step in), so practised on my own. I was playing the piano and singing. My drummer (Martin) was only going to come back from KL at night, so I practised on my own.

After practice, got ready and left for Andy & Karen's wedding reception. Karen is Tasha's best friend. In fact that was the main reason we went back. It was held at Everly Resort Hotel (formerly known as Riviera Bay Resort). After dinner, we headed to Pure Bar our normal hang out in Melaka, well, this is our next preference compared to Ringos. After a few beers, I was so tired so we got home - if you realise, I have still not slept yet. So, got home at about 1am and and knocked off.

Woke up early Sun morning at 7.30am, walked to church. Had one final run of practice with Martin this time and service started. P&W was lovely. After church, got home, packed and got a lift to Melaka Sentral. Took the 2pm bus, got back to KL by 4.30pm. Mark was waiting to fetch us. Got home and rested. All I wanted to do was just watch tele, laze around the house and play with Caesar and Vasco. And that was exactly what I did.

A good trip, I must say.

:) and :(

Upon much deliberation, I have decided to part with Selma. Santana called me yesterday and informed me of an offer way too good to refuse. As you all know, the damage for the VW is approx RM2,500 - whether it is to change the engine or to overhaul. He has suggested to trade-in the VW for a Malaysian car. Which means, I would not have to repair the VW. I will basically be trading in the car without an engine. I guess the guys buying the VW must be a real lover of VWs :( Damn! I never knew it would come down to this.

In fact, I never knew I would ever buy a Malaysian car, ever. But at this point of time, I can't be too choosy. I have to be practical. The proceeds from the trade-in of the VW will be going into the downpayment of my new car. It is most likely going to be a Proton Waja. I am still contemplating on whether it is going to be the Persona or the Waja. But I somehow prefer the space Waja offers. I will not have to pay anything throughout the entire sale and purchase. I will be also transferring my number plate from the VW into the new car.

I am in the midst of compiling all the documents needed to arrange for the loan. If everything goes well, I will be getting the new car by next week. I just hope and pray everything goes well.

Selma....

Selma got hurt again :( Damn! This time it is rather serious. I was on my way to work last Fri and upon exiting the 2nd toll going into Cyberjaya, I saw the oil indicator coming on. Within 15 seconds of that happening, I heard a metal grinding sound from my engine. Drove her slowly to the Cyberjaya exit and right in front of the LimKokWing University she broke down. Opened the bonnet and it was smoking lightly. I somehow knew the damage was bad. Checked the oil level - it was at an all time low. How can that be? I am very careful about the engine oil. I always top it up. Called Paul (one of my TLs) who told me to take my time in sorting it out. It was very nice of him to allow me to get the car sorted. He sent Lionel, another colleague of mine who came almost immediately. We went and bought the engine oil from Petronas and came back to fill it. I filled it and left it for almost half an hour, but this time the level showed way above the maximum level. As far as I know the 1200 Beetle only take about 2 1/2 litres. How can that be? Then another fright striked me - the oil pump must have gone bust. The oil was not being pumped into the entire engine. Damn! AGAIN! Anyway, I slowly drive her to the front of my office and parked her in front of the guard house. Told the guard to take care of her until I managed to get my tow truck to come by. Only managed to sort my AAM on Sat as my registration had expired. Tow truck came on Sun, went to the office to meet the mechanic who towed her to Santana's (a close friend of mine who has ever so willingly helped me with all my repairs) house. Parked it there and went back home.

Santana called me a while ago and said the damage was approximately RM2,500/- (the entire engine has been damaged due to no lube - the excessive oil lost was due to the fact that there was a leak in the oil bucket) Yup! I know, that is exactly how I reacted. He gave me 2 options. First option was to change the engine to a 1600 F-Injection engine and the 2nd option was to do a complete overhaul on the existing engine. According to him it would be better to opt for the 2nd option as we do not know the condition of another engine. So, I am still in a dilemma. I am not sure what I should do. Believe it or not, one of the options I have considered is to sell her away. Do the overhaul and then sell her. It is getting a bit too much for me to bear. The cost is too exhorbitant for me. Especially knowing that I have been spending non stop on her ever since I brought her to KL. She was doing so fine in Melaka. Anyway, guys, please give me some suggestions. I am in dire need of advise.

:(

Vasco....

I'm so sorry about the delay in the uploading of his pics. I have been rather busy with work. Anyway, as I have mentioned Vasco is such a rascal. He eats more grass than a grazing cow (although dogs do eat a little grass from time to to for digestion - he practically makes it a meal), he has successfully torn down our shoe rack, he has chewed on his eating bowl (plastic) - it seems disfigured now, my futsal shoes is basically chewed off and .... sigh, non-stop of nonsense every now and then. I guess he is teething and that he is familiarising himself with the new surroundings. It is a pity because, I somehow feel he was neglected by his previous owner. Amidst all the nonsense he does, we are still showering him with love - of course making sure that Caesar does not mind. We play with Caesar more. We have to be more loving towards Caesar as he can be rather possessive. And further, Caesar is already an adult (3 years old), where as Vasco is only a pup (10 1/2 months old). Caesar will naturally feel it if less attention is given to him. So Tasha and I have begun showing Vasco that Caesar is still the dominant one.

It is nice to see the both of them playing, drinking water together after their walks and running around the house compound barking at all the cats in the neighbourhood. I hope Vasco will calm down a lil'. He is so hyper active. Beagles are generally active, but Vasco seems to be .... phew - a whole new level you'l!

Here he is - can you see the mischief in his eyes:-

Just look at him la, aiyoh, such an innocent face. But behind that.....

Vasco, trying to concentrate on some food that he was eyeing

Check out the way he sits down

Fooling around with Caesar

Caesar is just too tired from running around. Look at him, still in the mood to play

Win...Win...

What a game it was this morning. Man Utd 4 - Dynamo Kiev 0. A reasonable result. I expected United to get in at least 5 goals. But, 4 goals are good at this level of the competition. With this result, United have cemented their place in the last 16. Good goals from Pique (his first ever goal in the UEFA competition), Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo. If we continue to play at this pace and with this spirit, I have no doubt that Sir Alex will be presented with a very memorable 21st Anniversary present - by the end of the season. Isn't the man simply amazing. 21 years at the club - 21 trophies won. Congratulations Sir Alex and I hope you will stay at least for another 4 more years and win the treble on your 25th Anniversary.

Sir Alex took over the club and within the first 3 months as the Manager, he was almost sacked. The win that made him the most successful Manager in English football was the 1-0 win against Blackburn. It was do or die match. Assuming Man Utd lost that game, Sir Alex would have been sacked. That win against Blackburn, spurred United to go on in the League Cup tournament and win the Cup in the end. As they say, the rest is history.

It was a good win for Celtic as well. The Hoops were hosting Benfica at the Parkhead. Although it was close 1-0 win, it is good enough. But Group D is a tricky group. The Hoops are sharing the same points as Shakhtar Donetsk. There are 2 games remaining, so they need to win both to ensure a place in the last 16. With the likes of Scott McDonald, Aiden McGeady (who scored the winner against Benfica), Shunsuke Nakamura (who will be back from his injury soon) and the unpredictable Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, the Hoops have a great chance of going far in the competition. I do hope we can at least qualify to the last 16s.

Gordon Strachan has been an amazing force in the club. He has shown the world of football that Scottish football are a force to be reckoned with.

Come on Hoops, I know we can do it.

Man Utd....

We've got a tasty treat early in the morning. Man Utd vs Dynamo Kiev @ Old Trafford. It should be a good game. Although we are on the top of the group after 3 games, it is still hoped that we will play some interesting attacking football. After seeing Liverpool tear Besiktas apart yesterday, I do believe we have some strong competition in the knock-out phase of the Champions' League. It is still a 'waiting to see whether' Liverpool qualify to the knock-out stages of the competition. But in my books, all the teams in the top two positions in the group stages all have a chance to win the coveted UEFA Champions' Club Cup - considered the most prestigious club trophy in the sport.

So all the best to the my 2 favourite teams - Celtic FC (The Hoops) and Man Utd FC (Devils).

Man Utd....

What a game it was! Headed to Waikiki with some of the boys to have a few drinks and to watch the game. I must say the atmosphere was awesome. There were 2 large groups of fans from both sides of the camp. Upon kick-off, I had a strange feeling that we will take the lead in the game but somehow Arsenal may level it. Damn it! I hate those feelings. I was reminded of the game sometime early this year when we were leading 1-0 and Arsenal came back drew level and scored a last minute goal to beat us. But this time, it was very different. Man Utd played really well. In fact they played better in the 2nd half. We were leading 0-1 thanks to a deflected goal by Rooney and then of course there was this equaliser by Fabregas. But when Ronaldo scored in the 2nd half thanks to superb team play, I was convinced that we are no longer just any team. We are Manchester United - one of the best teams in the world. But looking at it from an open perspective, I believe we drew with not only the Premiership leaders, but with a team which is playing some of the most exciting football this season.

We played well, I do hope we will do justice against Blackburn on the 11th. I'm pretty sure we will do well against Kiev on the 7th at Old Trafford.

Keep up the spirit my dear Red Devils!

New Addition To The Family....

I have always wanted another fur-kid. It is just one of those things you know. Some people wished they had a PS2, some wished they had the latest & most sophisticated sound system fitted in their cars - but I have always wanted another doggie. I have always wanted to have a Beagle. Yeah, I have always wanted my own Snoopy. Well, by God's grace, one of Tasha's managers' told her that someone game him a Beagle pup. Now, since he already has a Beagle he wanted to give him away. So he asked Tasha if she wanted to have him - and by the way, Tasha has always wanted one as well. So, we spoke and decided that yes, of course man, come on. We picked him up from Sec. 14 (Tasha's manager's mum's place). Anyway, he is such a bundle of joy. Caesar came along with us as he was about to meet his new younger bro. The initial introduction wasn't as good as we thought it would be. But the boys are getting along pretty well now. They look very cute together.

Oh yes, before I forget, how can I forget. His name.... Vasco. Vasco is 10 1/2 months old. Yup! I have 'Julius Caesar' and now 'Vasco da Gama'. But I must say, Vasco is a riot. On his first day, he ate a tube of toothpaste, chewed on a couple of shoes, drank some cooking oil which was on the kitchen cabinet and he has successfully taken all the rags from inside the house into the garden - I don't know, I guess he must be making his own bed there. Oh yes, he is such a riot! But, we are getting to know him and so is he. Tasha has started training him. The boy is toilet trained as well, so he only does his business in the garden and when I take him for his walks. Tasha walks Caesar and I walk Vasco.

I hope he brings much joy to everyone who comes to our house as much as he gives us. I have taken a few pics of him. I will be uploading them by this weekend. So, look out everyone, we have the 2 most influential army generals at our home. In fact, they are not so much army trained, they are more welcoming committee ushers, but its all good!

Welcome to the Batumalais, Vasco!