Basically what this census do is conduct an interview with the house occupants… asking about their name, age, job, education, salary, car and so on. Their objective is to get a comprehensive statistic information about the country’s population and housing.

Usually they come during the night… coz if they come during the day, there will be no one at home… most of the people will be at the job place. I wonder how many houses each of their officer can cover a night base on the address signs given to them. Previously, after they conduct the interview, they usually stick a piece of card on the outside all next to the main door of the house… something like an address plaque which contain the house number and address. But this time… none I wish they could have given each house an address plaques and numbers!…

Anyways, not sure how successful is the census this time coz there were many incidents like some of the census officers were attacked by dog (some on purpose), chased away coz they were thought as salesman or political enemy and so on… we just have to wait for the result after they tabulate their census… not sure how long it going to take them to do that and how useful it going to be…

But this year, for a month, the atmosphere is just not there… it’s hardly to see anyone flying the flag… you can count the number of cars displaying the flag with your fingers… I’m not alone, others in other parts of the country are also saying the same thing… what is going on? Izzit more worth to buy a 25th anniversary gifts for parents compared to buying a flag?…

Can’t really blame the people… two incidents during the Merdeka’s month have greatly affected the patriotism atmospheres… how could the leadership said it’s just a minor thingy when two principles of two national schools… one at north and one at south of semenanjung express their racist remarks to the students and teachers openly seem to be off the hook?!!!… Teachers just can’t do to that… Teachers can’t preach racism!!!… But here we have two school principles doing and preaching racism to the nation’s new generation… to the nation’s future leaders!!! Should we blame the people for losing their senses?… I don’t think so… the authority should have swing into action and punish the two immediately!!!… if they have done that, I’m sure the sense of patriotism will be very high…

Last week, a father was shocked after reading the brochure… or pamphlet… or leaflet… or whatever you call it… brought by his son from school. The brochure was given to the students by the school’s discipline teacher. But what is wrong with the teacher giving the students brochure?… it could be about anti drugs, anti smoking… or anything about improving discipline in  the school.

But  hell… this is no ordinary brochure… it’s very kinky… more kinky than sexy costumes brochure… this is brochure about is about sex stimulant drugs and pills… to make you last longer when making love!!! The teacher was promoting the products coz he is selling them and was encouraging the kids to try them!!! A check on the website printed on the brochure, the teacher face was clearly displayed on the website… his website promoting and selling the goods online This is getting insane… the Education Department must look into this seriously… including the racist stunt by some of the teachers and principals in the public schools!!!

Another one is batik neck tie. Wearing neck tie is already a nuisance to some… you can’t wear neck tie when your job functions don’t permit you to wear it… like technicians… I pity watching computer technicians with long sleeves and neck tie going under the table, climbing the wall into the ceiling to do troubleshooting Of course I’m not suggesting them to wear batik bow ties but dressing must be suitable according to job function… just like sometimes ago, doctors was suggesting that medical staff should not wear neck tie coz it is unhygienic… which I somehow agree with.

Last month I just spent almost RM900 for the car service and air-con service… where to get money now?… The RM500 bonus for this month by the federal government seems to be no where… coz the state government have not announced if they going to do the same or not… If they give the bonus, then I can use it to pay my car insurance premium… just nice… just enough to pay for the insurance premium and road tax… but still not enough to pay my 7 more speeding tickets… the bloody ‘saman ekor’ or speed trap or speed camera… amounting to RM1800…

But tomorrow I also want to visit the acupuncture sifu again… I want to ask what else the acupuncture can do… and maybe I will ask the sifu to acupuncture my leg… so that I can walk faster and further… I hope too much acupuncture will not void my NC health insurance But the insurance company should be happy to those who go for acupuncture coz it is much effective than the modern medicine and cheaper… in fact they should allow their client to claim for the acupuncture bills… just like the physiotherapy bills.

Of course this is good news to all the almost 2 million civil servants and the more than half million of government pensioners… getting extra RM500 after they receive their coming August salary or pension will sure make them smile.

But the question is, would that be enough??? RM500 is too small for today’s economic spending power… even a laptop briefcase can cost more than RM500…

So what can you get with extra RM500 money???… well, for me that will be almost enough to pay my two months internet broadband and mobile phone bills… but not enough to pay my one month car loan

Anyways, I’m sure everyone appreciate the extra monies… but hopefully this is not part of our annual bonus… who knows we end-up being short-change (again) for our end of year bonus…

After scanning my membership card and exchanging it with a towel at the counter, I went to the locker room… I have to go through the weightlifring area… and the place is like sauna!!! It was a bit crowded… people doing their weightlifting, pull up bars, pumping iron and so on… the air is so bad… so hard to breath… the air-con just can’t beat the heat generated by all the people… it was so unhealthy… imagine if one of them is sick, all the others can get infected easily!!! no ventilation… windows closed tightly… no air-con… damm…

In locker room, it was a bit better… cooler… after locking my bag, I went to the thread-mill area… it is at different floor. Although there is not many people there, it still very warm… I did my exercise slowly and only went to the weightlifting area after some of the people went home… but it was still like sauna… I hope the management can fix the ventilation as soon as possible, else I will write an official complain!!!

I really like their costume during their first night performance… it’s very epic… there is some kind of scary elements but at the same time their performance is very enjoyable. With all the little kids in their costume… I believe it represents wolf… and more like infant halloween costumes… they dance with great lighting on the stage.

Epic coz it’s like I’m watching one of the scene in The 13th Warrior (1999) movie… where a nomadic civilization known as Wendol… a mix of man and bear… man wearing bear hides or costumes to confuse and instill fear into their enemies… who are roaming during the night and sleeping inside the cave during the day… anyway, here are the photos of the Kazakhstan dance troupe…

Well, they are decorating it for the coming 31st August celebration… national day… but people is Sabah and Sarawak is not fond to celebrate it I think… they only enjoy it for the public holiday. They prefer to celebrate the 16th September for Malaysia Day… coz this is the day Malaysia was born… 31st August is for the Malaya only… but a lot of people are confused with the Malaysia’s age… some will count it from 31st August 1957. But Malaysia is born on 16th September 1963!!! There is no Malaysia in 1957 or before 16th September 1963. So Malaysia is only 47 years old and not 53 years old this year!!!

Anyways, let’s just hope the peace amongst all the people of Malaysia will continue forever… so let’s celebrate with colorful fireworks and colorful lights…

We had planned to visit this place since last week and at last the plan was confirmed the day before. But this morning, it was raining… and it has been raining since last night… We almost cancel our plan coz we are not sure what to expect at KKWC during raining day, but we decided to go anyway… and who knows, the rain actually stopped before 8am. The center registration counter is open from 8am.

Before proceeding to KKWC, we took our breakfast at Taman Cantek. We arrived at the KKWC before 9am. We registered and paid RM5 each for entrance fee. When we entered the mangrove jungle through the boardwalk, it started drizzling but we still went ahead. The water level is quite high… looks like not much chance to see mud creatures… and probably will be great if we can use a small boat or an All Terrain Vehicle… but of course ATV riding is not possible here… too muddy… but I still think if they provide small boat or some kind of light hovercraft during high water, it will be great… better view and angle away from the boardwalk… The boardwalk is like 2km long … it was quite tiring at the end… but great experience… and this is my second time here… the first was like 3 or 4 years ago.

In the middle of the jungle, we were greeted by a group of ‘senior citizens’… they are having picnic or outing for fresh air… they thought we are tourist… Japanese or Korean tourist… not surprise coz in our previous outings, some also think that we are Japanese tourist…

They invited us to have some food… we tried to resist coz we just had our breakfast… but I end up eating a packet of their ‘original fried noodles’, some ‘original chun-ken’  and banana…

After that we proceeded with our birds watching… but I guess we are on the wrong season and day… not much birds… more like no birds… lol… only one unique bird… and we said ‘we only have one model’… coz that’s the only bird we can photograph… the bird is Pucung Keladi or Little Heron or it’s scientific name is Butorides Straitus… and basically this bird like to be alone and very shy…

Wish there are more ‘migrating birds’ today… we were there till 1pm… if you have a chance, do visit this place… not just to see birds or ‘weird creatures’, but to enjoy the fresh air… you can actually have picnic like the ‘senior citizens’… but make sure you bring back your garbage… don’t litter please… we want to keep this place as natural as possible… although there are some garbage floating here and there…

Here are some of the photos I manage to snap… Hope to go back there at the right season…

Anyway, it was not a normal servicing… do you know that you have to service your air-cond system in every 30k km?… well, that’s the recommendation by Toyota. But I think it is true coz my car seem to be hotter since the past one month or so… the air coming out from the air-cond is not ‘cozy’ sometimes… but still consider cool but it feels a bit warmer… it makes you stress… it feels like the hot air from outside is entering the cabin… as if there is an outdoor fireplace lighted-up outside and the hot air from it are entering car… something like heater…

So, I included air-cond servicing to solve the problem… I also included washing and polishing… but forgot to ask them to check my brake system… but luckily they actually checked my brake system and replace the thinning front brake pad…. and the result is great… the air-cond is cozy now… but that did not come free… the air-cons servicing alone was RM480… but it worth it…

The workshop ended a little bit early… coz no one ask question… So, me and colleague decided to watch movie next door… at GSC Suria. We watched SALT… but as you all noticed lately, the in-thing nowadays is 3D…   3D movie, 3D LCD TV, 3D video camera… everything also 3D… even 3D porno…

But what we encountered in the cinema is something you never seen in any tv reviews… yes, I don’t think it was ever mentioned in any of the Hollywood tv’s channels… ok let’s cut the craps… what we encountered was 2D movie!!! We were like… what the heck!!!… so all this while are we watching 1D movies??? how about the one in the televisions??? izzit 1D too???

The thing is, the cinema is showing two types of SALT movie… one is with 2D and one is without… so we have to choose SALT or SALT 2D…

We asked the ticket counter what is the difference?… he said the 2D is slightly expensive… well it was RM2 more expensive the one without 2D… and the 2D is much more clearer!!!… boommmm… that’s what you called 2D???… shoot man… why can’t you just call it HD or something other than 2D??? since it is only RM2 difference, we venture into trying it out…

So, was it worth to pay extra RM2??? Our personal answer is YES!!! The movie is much sharper and rich in color… no blurring.. no fading color… it was just like watching DVD on LCD TV or plasma TV at home!!! So, it was worth-it… but I just can’t accept the term they use… HD will be more suitable…

Today, Karnival Hari Belia’s paintball match is also held at Likas Sports Complex… got a called from fren asking me to take their photos… unfortunately I’m committed with this bowling thingy… maybe I go there tomorrow for their final…

I was there at CP Bowling untill noon taking photos… then went to McDonald to have my lunch… had the Big N Tasty it is 100% beef but it was not enough for me… McDonal supposed to have a new menu called GCB… I’m not sure what it is… my coleague tried to order it… but it is out of stocks not sure how it taste coz never tried it before…

Anyways, here are the actions I captured during the tournament…

Anyway, here are the photos of the Tanjore Dance Music & Art Research Centre from India…

Yesterday, the Finance Ministry sports carnival for table tennis or ping pong event was held at the Foo Chow Hall at Luyang. I went there to support my department and to capture some moments… our department manage to get the 2nd placing

The hall is quite pack in the morning and it was getting warmer and hotter towards noon… can’t use the fan around the hall coz it will blow the table tennis balls. I was sweating so much… and luckily there is a canteen at the back of the hall… I bought drinks and ate fried noodles there

Anyways, here are some of the shots…

I was not confident with acupuncture treatment… but I was wrong… so, thanks to the girls who introduce me to the place The place is called Rakyat Acupuncture & Medical Hall located at Beverly Hills, Jalan Bundusan. To go there, just take the first junction after the round-about at Beverly Hills… Beverly Hills, great name … it is at the first block.

Anyway, the place is simple, one nurse or clerk to take registration and two treatment rooms… one for female and one for male. On the female side, it was the old man, the father… and on the male side it was the young man, the son… either the father don’t trust the son or the father wants all… lol

The treatment is simple too… I lie on my stomach and he started checking my spine… I wanted to tell him where is the pain, but he said no need coz his hand has an x-ray… So he check my spine… pressing on each of the spine bones… and more pressing… then he put some accupuncture needles… not sure how many coz I can’t see it… before that he put some oil on my back which burn my skin like hell… i told him it was too hot, and he wipe off my skin…

Then after like 10 minutes, he pulled the needles… and that’s it… when I stand up and try to bend forward… holly cow… the pain is gone… the pain was there since April… in fact the pain was there a few years ago… and now, they are gone… he told me that my spine is quite bad… he said I could have fall or injured when I was small… but he said it can be fixed with 2 or 3 treatments… but boy… 1 treatment and it’s gone already… not really gone, but I have the confident to bend forward coz the ‘spiking pain’ is no longer there…

Then he gave me some pills… he said I must take 3 in the morning after breakfast and 3 in the afternoon after lunch… for one week supply… he said the pills are special herbs but of course not herbal diet supplements He said I must not miss taking the pills… and he looks really serious about it… and the bill is only RM60 Man!!!… just compare that with what I paid at Damai Specialist last April… about RM400 with some modern pain killers and X-ray… with an option for RM20K spine operations!!!

If you like to try acupuncture treatment, you can visit the place any time… the details are on the photo… and don’t forget to mention you found out about the place from here…

The opening of the Sabah International Folklore Festival last night encountered some technical glitch… the stage went black-out for about 10 minutes… The participating countries were introduced where the dancers of each countries will dance into the stage and line up there… but after the fourth country entrance, suddenly the stage went black-out and also the sound systems went dead…

Luckily the traditional musical are not using any of the sound system… so, it was the only thing that save the night… if not the whole stage will be in the dark and dead silent…

The people in charge were running around trying to fix the problem… it was the IT having some little network problem in the afternoon during rehearsal… but this time, it was live with the VIPs… those who are in charge of the sound systems, lighting system, the stage, the power supply… etc… are going to face someone after the event… hope they don’t get screwed so much and end up looking for acne pills… But everything went smoothly after the power restored until the event was over around 11pm…

Anyway, here are some of the photos of the night… will post more later… need rest for tonight final… those who are interested to attend, tickets are RM30 and for those below 17 years, tickets are RM10…

Tonight will be the start of the Sabah International Folklore Festival 2010 Competition at Pusat Kebudayaan Sabah, Penampang (Kasigui) or Sabah Cultural Center, Penampang (Kasigui)… it’s going to be held for two days, Saturday and Sunday… 24th to 25th July 2010. Fourteen countries will be competing.

I will be there as IT Technical officer… more than fourteen of us will be assisting the juries and judges with the judging system. I will be specifically assisting the jury from India. Luckily the jury from India is speaking in English not like some of the countries where they required a translator

Today we started at 9am for the rehearsal… it was quite tense when the network was having problem… the system was running damm bloody slow… but manage to solve it… it was caused by the faulty network adapter in the server… lucky the server has 3 network adapters else someone gonna need pronexin to kill all the acne stress popping up

It was fun wathching all the countries doing their rehearsals… we break around 1.30 and will be back at 5.30pm for the competition tonight… hope everything will run smoothly tonight… and tomorrow…

Here are some of the rehearsals photos…

When Steve Jobs launched his newest… or should we call it the smartest PDAs or smart phones on the planet, the iPhone 4… it immediately shows a sign… too bad it was a bad sign… he can’t surf the internet during the launching to showcase how fast is the phone when on the net!!!… so he has to plead the audience to switch off the WiFi connection on their notebooks, phones, PDAs…Come on Steve… that really doesn’t make sense at all!!!… why can’t you have your own AP… your own WiFi Access Point to connect to the internet… by connecting it to your telco???… I really did not buy that…

Then, after a few days the iPhone was out in the market, supposedly new happy iPhone 4 owners turn reds… the cellular connection gets drops badly… the iPhone 3gs is much more reliable than this new iPhone 4!!! Then Apple came out with an excuse… it was caused by software glitch… but they still can’t solve it coz the problem is caused by the antenna surrounding the phone… when someone hold the phone and the left thumb touched on the left side of the phone… double bad for lefties… the cellular signal will dramatically drops… dropped dead … but Apple never admitted to this antenna technology glitch… although it was proven by many techies and technology testers…

Now what?… well, I suggest Apple must recall all the phone and replace it with new one… hey, automaker sometimes do that… but actually I don’t care coz I hate Apple anyway… you don’t see me laughing, did you see me laughing?…