Badminton rackets!!! G*#@$$@@ weight markings!

I wanted a light badminton racket, but some guy came up with a douchie system of 1U,2U,3U, and so forth for weight; making it hard for me to figure out what is the proper weight. Intuitively, assuming U is a variable for a number, I thought the higher U, the heavier the badminton rackets. More simply, 5Us are definitely heavier than 1Us right? Unless U is negative, which is just retarded since weight is almost never a negative number.

I saw a 2U and a 3U racket. Assuming 2U was a lighter racket, I picked that. It even felt lighter than the 3U. That just goes to show you how bad I am as a human balance scale.

Anyhow I ended up googling after the purchase on how to determine weight with badminton rackets. Guess what I learnt? Higher number U is lighter than lower number U. W.T.F. Even the guy at the store mentioned to me that the higher U rackets were heavier. Thanks...whoever made this system. you owe me 150 bucks.

Yonex Muscle Power 3... a 2U racket

I just spent 150 bucks thinking 2U was lighter than 3U. Why can't the manufacturers just put the weight on the racket? in numbers! I'm talking to you Yonex, Carbonex, you douchebag companies!

Xbox 360, live service, trampling on consumer rights

I've been checking out this issue on Xbox live banning modded Xbox systems. They seem to have overstepped their boundaries as a business for the following reasons:

Case 1: Their reasoning does not match up with their actions. They claim to ban modded xbox systems so they "do not have and unfair advantage" over un-modded systems. This is a fair enough reason to ban cheats, but they specifically ban the hardware mac id of the systems. If they were to un-mod their system, i.e. restore the system to its original state, they would still not have access to the xbox live service.

This is an open and shut example of where they claim reasoning yet blatantly overstep their boundaries by not letting restored/unmodded systems back on xbox live.

Case 2: Their methods of detecting modded systems on xbox live is flawed. A modded xbox can still get on xbox live with another system's mac id and thus the system is modded. So if the service can't reliably detect whether a system is flawed, they may wrongfully ban people. I argue that as long as the system is detected as unmodded it should be allowed on xbox live. This is the only solution. Banning of specific systems doesn't make sense and oversteps on the rights as a consumer unless they know for sure the system is modified. I just proved they cannot tell for sure.

In a more general sense, TOS really is a copout for most companies. They blatantly put whatever they want without regards for consumer rights. TOS should be about protecting the company from consumers who make frivolous court cases, i.e. suing for delivering a pizza with the wrong toppings. Nowadays, most companies abuse TOS so they can forcefully take care of problems with no regards to the customer. Ludicrous!

Twitter wins out, six packs

This is one ghetto blog. I haven't updated in 5 months...lol. Anyhow. I am back on twitter. It just turns out that everyone is using that and there are some things about twitter that are good. It is simple and really easy to use. The only problem is that twitter is a bit spammy.

So, what else is new? Well, I have been getting educated on fitness. For a while i had the goal of trying to get a six pack. I had the diet all planned out and everything. I even was on it for a month... but alas, six packs will not happen. Why? Because, losing enough fat for the six pack abs to show will require a low body percentage of under 10%. Getting that kind of body percentage fat will make a person of my weight of 130 lbs look incredibly skinny at 120 lbs. I would get my six pack abs, but the rest of me would be almost twig like. Maybe i'll try again in 2-3 years after gaining some muscle.

Little known truth. the human body is only capable of gaining 5-10 lbs of muscle a year. There is no such thing as someone putting on 30 lbs of muscle. If someone says that, they actually put on 20 lbs of fat and 10 lbs of muscle if they are lucky. In order for someone to put on 50 lbs of muscle, they will need to have worked out consistently for a period of 5 years at minimum.

Just got plurk...beats twitter anytime

I don't know what all the big hooohah about twitter is. It's really bad.

First of all, I can't change my display name. Yes whatever your username is, that's what you are stuck with. I don't mind the url being my username, but the display name should be changeable.

Second of all, its really bland on options. Any idiot can make a twitter site. It has no options. You can post messages and embed it on your website. Why is it so hot on the net? I got no idea.

So, I joined plurk.

Now this is really good. First of all, you can change your display name! Thats awesome.

In addition, if you really don't have any idea what to plurk about, it has verbs to help you get the gears in the head turning, thus producing more content, than twitter which has really no imagination.

Lastly, it also looks professional and has tons of options. Anyways if you like twitter, try plurk out, you won't regret it!

Adidas Predator Absolados review and football shoe buying advice and guide

First and foremost, I mentioned that there were three versions of shoes in a previous post. There is the full blown top of the line expensive shoes that are used by Premier League Players. These shoes use the finest materials and technology by the manufacturers. Next is the middle tier shoes which use good quality materials and some of the up to date technology. Finally we have the economy versions which use cheaper materials and very limited amounts of shoe technology.

I've recently had the opportunity to examine each of the shoes in general and can now give a quick guide so i can pass on the information to interested buyers. This advice can apply to any type of shoe as most manufacturers follow the lower, middle, and upper tier version of shoes.

Here is a picture of the top of the line Predator power swerve series:

Predator Power Swerve

These are the shoes that David Beckham and Steven Gerrard wear when they play their games. It's easy to tell the difference. The shoe material kangaroo leather is extremely soft and top of the line. Almost like tissue paper. The plate underneath the shoe is very extravagant. The studs are also extravagant. Some will have metal tips like this one or will be transparent. The cheaper shoes are usually solid plastic and look generic.

Also the price will be insane, somewhere in the range of RM500-700 or 150 USD. Honestly, I think these are way too much for the average person. I for one know that soccer shoes will fall apart quite quickly compared to other sports. I played basketball and the shoe never fell apart, compared to my football ones.

My last pair of shoes had the sole come out from the shoe. A big piece of mud was stuck inbetween the bottom plate and my shoe. Soccer shoes can't be built to last and have fantastic feel, unlike other sports. So dispel any notion that more expensive shoes wil last longer in football. All people in this line care about feel and control, hardly anything about durability. Anyways, it's not that they don't care, but it's impossible to have it both ways.

Moving on, here is the Predator Absolutes, Absolion, or ABS, the middle tier versions:

Predator ABS/Absolutes

These shoes may be worth it. They cost generally about RM 100-150 more than the cheapest versions. I would have gotten these but they didn't have my size. Size is very important with football shoes. You can tell the middle tiers because they are more complexly built compared the lower tier versions. The material used is mid-tier calf skin leather or microfiber. Microfiber is a synthetic leather that was developed for better feel of the ball. It has pretty good feel, but not as good as the top tier shoes.

The base of this particular shoe has two plastic plates at the heel and forefoot and a carbon-fibre plate running underneath the arch of the foot connecting the two parts. The cheapest version has one full plate covering the entire foot. These shoes probably will last slightly longer than the lowest tier shoes due to the higher quality design of the shoe. The leather also feels quite strong, not like the tissue type leather of the high end shoes. You also get a decent feel for the ball compared to the lowest tier shoes.

Here are the Predator Absolados, the lowest tier shoe of the family:

Predator Absolados

These shoes are the cheapest versions of the predator series. They are simply constructed and look quite generic compared to the more extravagant designs of the ABS and powerswerves. They use synthetic or full grain leather. Actually the synthetic leathers these days provide quite decent feel. Also for weather in Malaysia, they are ideal as they absorb less water than real leathers.

I'm not too convinced that the shoes will last though. This particular synthetic leather they use seems quite a bit thinner than the nike's synthetic leather. The ball does slide off the shoe a bit when kicking, meaning you will have to kick the ball with little spin or the ball will fly off in a different direction. The top has very little grip. I took a look at the ABS versions of the shoe and concluded the grip on the top of the shoes were suffice to put spin on the ball. The top of the Absolados have almost no grip at all.

There you have it, I think the middle tier shoes may be absolutely worth it compared to the cheaper end of the shoes. Personally I love the predators, they fit my feet well and I can play decently with even the cheaper aboslados. I just have to adjust and try to kick straight on instead of putting any spin on the ball at all. My game doesn't really depend on technologies as I developed my skills from playing in cheap shoes. I'd recommend the second tier for the fact that quality looks much better than the absolados and is only a hundred more ringgit or so. The cheap ones cost around RM200 while the second tiers will be around RM300.

Earth hour - an april fools joke for some people

During Earth Hour, everyone turns off their lights. Well, If I was one of those people who got robbed during earth hour as the crime rate quadrupled during this time, I'd be ticked off as hell. A little early for April fool's eh?



Even in my apartment, there was a robbery. It might not have happened during Earth Hour, but the other residents didn't find out til the following day, so the exact time is unknown. But the robbery could have happened during earth hour.

Imagine, how stupid people would feel if they knew that they helped made it easier for theives to rob their neighbor's house by switching off their lights.

Cat Burglar

Mercurial veloci FG follow up

I've now had a chance to try them out on the field. In a lot of ways they are very good. The feel was much better compared to my last pair. The synthetic leather was quite decent especially compared to what I read about it. The only major problem was, the more I played in them, the more I felt uncomfortable. I had blisters! ouch! The shoe design doesn't leave much in mismatching foot sizes.

The blisters were on the right foot, which unfortunately is a little smaller than my left. The major problem is that the heel kept slipping up, causing my heel to blister. I truly think the shoe design isn't as forgiving as most boots if the feet aren't perfectly sized.

Well, I found out I wasn't the only one with blisters from the mercurial line of boots. I've read numerous postings on people having the exact same problem as me. Basically I had to wait till my heel callused over, then I wouldn't have any problems. Nah, no thanks.

I went back to adidas and bought the predators. I guess my feet are only meant for adidas! I wore them out for a couple of hours and didn't have much of a problem. The feel was almost similar to my old beat up pair. Possibly my old pair were based on the predators as well. so a lesson learnt. For football shoes, buy what you are familiar with. don't fix what ain't broke. If you are going to change boots, be careful that the feeling is not too different.

Nike Veloci Mercurial FG review

Well, I just bought new football boots. The previous ones finally bit the dust. I had one big chunk of dirt stuck between the plate and the bottom of the boot. More disgustingly, the mud soaked through the sole.

So I went to Komtar today, and bought the works: New shin guards, proper football socks, and more importantly new boots. They have a really good selection. But the prices are most likely average when I look online. But in Penang, they are probably as good a deal as you will get anywhere.

If anyone would like to know, the ones I bought are sort of a dumbed down version of the super expensive nike mercurials IV vapor. They cost about double to triple. They don't have the carbon fibre plating at the bottom, its plastic. They also don't have the single line stitching. The leather upper isn't as good as the more expensive type. Mercurials are worn by Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba. Apparently, the last 6 top scorers in the Premier League wore Mercurials.

Nike Veloci Mercurial FG

If the shoe costs around 200, they are the dumbed down versions of the expensive ones. All the lines have them, mercurials, t90s, predator. That is all they sell here because Penang people can't usually afford to blow RM600 plus on the super expensive versions.

But, having said that, the shoe feels great. The synthetic leather they use, I believe is better for wet and humid type weather. The way the shoe is built really looks like a track shoe; which is great because I do a lot of running, dribbling, and shooting. I hope it will last a lot longer than my previous shoes. The leather on top was getting chaffed from all the kicking.

Check out my leg, full football gear! lol. Pro.

Look wise, yeah it looks pretty more flashy than anything. But these were the least flashy I could find, believe it or not. I'm more used to buying the typical shoes, but I liked the way these were built. Great for dribbling and sprinting. The front spikes are smaller, which is a major plus because it helps you get off the line quicker. Hopefully my passing and shooting will be ok when I try them out this weekend.

Clubbing isn't so bad....

This is from Clubbing isn't so bad ;)

I've noticed less-social people have a general tendency to dislike bars and clubs. The attitude sometimes comes across as fairly intense and bitter as well, almost like they hold a grudge against the idea of clubbing. I don't hit the bars every weekend, but it's something I find fun when the chance comes up. I don't think going to them is as bad as some people make it out to be. I'll go into this idea below. I'll try to take a balanced approach of acknowledging clubbing isn't perfect, but also sticking up for it and pointing out where I think the appeal is. Like with some of my other articles, my general goal isn't really to convince you you must take part in a particular activity to do better socially, but rather to hopefully soften your view on it if it's overly negative.

True, True...lol all u clubbing haters are less sociable people :P

Clubbing definitely has its flaws

I'd be crazy to say there was nothing annoying about going to clubs. There are at least a dozen reasons to get put off by them. It's not hard to see how some people could decide it's not their thing.

• They can be overcrowded.
• They can be way too loud, often to the point where you can barely talk to anyone.
• They can be cheesy.
• They can be pretentious.
• They can be overpriced (cover charge/drinks/coat check/VIP section, etc.).
• The staff can be rude and arrogant.
• They can be stiflingly hot.
• They can be smelly and dirty.
• They may have annoying dress codes.
• They can sketchy and dangerous.
• The music can be awful.
• The atmosphere can be very superficial.
• You may have to wait forever to get a drink.
• The lights can be overly intense, annoying, and blinding.
• They can be full of drunk idiots.
• People may be stuck up, rude, obnoxious, or catty towards you.
• If you're a guy, some jerk may try to pick a fight with you.
• You may not directly get into a confrontation, but be near one when it happens and have your night ruined by the bad vibes it causes.
• If you're a girl you'll probably get groped, harassed, and hit on by idiots.
• If you go out a lot, and see the same people week after week, they can sometimes be a very vapid, unhealthy group of friends.
• You may have to wait in line for a long time (even worse if it was all a trick, and the place is dead once you get inside).

Even among people who like clubbing, these things sometimes get on their nerves. Sometimes their night will be ruined because of something that goes wrong.

Yep, name me a perfect event for socializing? Probably doesn't exist.

People who don't mind clubbing don't have as bad a reaction to the annoying parts

I've noticed people who like clubbing acknowledge its flaws, but don't get as bent out of shape about them as some of us do.

• They plain don't care about some things that other people find annoying (e.g., crowded conditions, how everyone is acting, cover charge, etc.)
• They see some of the annoyances more as minor nuisances than deal breakers. Like I remember going to clubs and getting very irritated at things like people jostling me, or the music being too loud. The friends I was with didn't seem as affected by it.
• They go in knowing what they can and can't do at clubs. They don't get ticked off because they can't have an in-depth conversation, because they never went in with the expectation that they could do that. I think one of the reasons I got annoyed at clubs in the past was that I almost believed there was the potential for me to, say, easily chat to someone, but I was being unfairly prevented from doing so. I lightened up and started to enjoy myself more when I realized that it just wasn't something you could do in that situation.
• They see the annoyances as coming with the territory. They realize some of the flaws of clubbing are a natural side-effect of the things that can make them fun.

Yeah, tell me about it. I think the disadvantages are really blown out of proportion unless a person has a serious health problem, or these things really cause them mental instability. Maybe clubbing haters are manic depressive...lol.

Reasons people go out to bars and clubs

So I covered the down sides. In my experience bars and clubs offer people plenty of reasons to go to them as well. I find people who dislike them tend to be dismissive of these reasons though. I'll get more into that afterwards. Here are the usual reasons people go clubbing.

• To dance.
• To hear music they like, through a good, loud sound system.
• To see a certain band or DJ play.
• To drink.
• To get out of the house and go somewhere.
• To go out and hang out with a few friends.
• To go out in a big group.
• To go out and see the other regulars and staff you know will be there.
• To go out and meet new people.
• For a chance to hook up with someone.
• To shoot some pool.
• To watch a game.
• Just to be in an interesting, stimulating environment (i.e., music, lights, decor, etc.)
• To blow off steam after a rough week of working or classes.
• To be out in a big group of people.
• To do drugs.
• To check a new place out and see what it's like.
• To be out in your 'scene' with like-minded people.
• To dress up and do something more glitzy than day-to-day life.
• To be somewhere that's cool and happening.

Yeah, lots of reasons that I like :)

"The things people do in clubs are shallow"

When you read the list above, did you catch yourself turning up your nose at any of the points? "Ugh, dancing is so mindless. Why do people like it?" That's the first way people who dislike clubbing tend to dismiss it. They see everything that draws people to clubs as shallow and below them. My main response to that is you don't have to like everything, but things like dancing and listening to good music are fun for their own sake. What's wrong with that? You probably do fun, pointless things other people don't see the big deal about too.

The other thing to watch out for is saying you don't like something for reasons that don't really have to do with the activity itself. I've covered this ego-cushioning thinking before, but here it is again:

• Thinking you don't like something because it makes you feel incompetent. e.g., "I suck at dancing, which makes me feel embarrassed. Whatever, dancing sucks."
• Thinking you don't like something because it makes you feel uncomfortable. e.g., "This place is too crowded, and everyone's so well dressed it intimidates me. I feel kind of uneasy. Screw it, this place is crap."
• Thinking you don't like something because you have a chip on your shoulder about the types of people who are typically seen to do it. e.g., "I hate those frat boys who think guys like me are losers. They like going to bars. Bars suck."
• Thinking you don't like something because you resent the pressure to do it. e.g., "Everyone always wants to go clubbing, but I'm not that into it... Well now I really don't like."
• Thinking you don't like something because it offers rewards, but you're bitter and frustrated because you haven't been able to get those rewards for yourself. e.g., "People supposedly go to clubs to meet people, but no one's ever been interested in meeting me. Who cares, anyone who goes to clubs probably sucks anyways."

Of course compared to reading philosophy, things like dancing and doing shots actually are shallow. But there's no law that says you have to be doing deep, thoughtful things 100% of the time. Everyone has things they do just for the fun of it.

Lol...yeah. Granted you will meet all types of people in clubs. Most people who think these things probably met others in clubs just like them. I've met fun people as well. Thank goodness.

"The only reason people really go to clubs is to..."

This is the second way people write off clubbing. Their reasoning is that while people supposedly go clubbing to dance or whatever, they really have a less flattering ulterior motive. The implication is that no one could really like what clubbing has to offer for its own sake, the only reason they're in it is for something else. The one's I've heard are:

• People only really go clubbing to try and get laid.
• Girls really only go clubbing for the attention they get from men.
• Guys only really go to bars because they want to act macho and get into fights.
• Girls really only go clubbing to get free drinks and to feed their egos.
• People only really go clubbing to get wasted.
• People only really go clubbing to feel superior and to judge other people.

Don't get me wrong, tons of people go clubbing with the sole purpose of trying to hook up. Many more people don't go out completely for one of the reasons above, but it does factor into their thinking. Also, certain bars are known for being places where you only go if you're looking for a one-night stand, or to do ecstasy, or whatever.

Not every last person who goes clubbing has these motivations though. It's negative and cynical to paint everyone with the same brush. A lot of times if someone wants to go to a club to dance with their friends they really do just want to dance. I have a girlfriend and going to bars still appeals to me. I didn't lose all interest in them as soon as I got into a relationship.

Clubs are mostly full of good, regular people

A common sentiment about bars and clubs is that they're full of annoying, superficial people. I can't deny some club goers fit this description, but I think most of them are just like anyone else. My logic is that most people are alright, and a good proportion of them go to bars and clubs, so if you go to a place full of people, they can't all be empty-headed and irritating. There's also the argument that you've probably been to clubs before, and you're not a moron, so it's reasonable to assume other people are in the same boat.

The environment tends to make everyone sure seem shallow though:

• People usually dress up when they go out. That makes everyone look like the stereotypical shallow clubber, even if they're law students by day. Otherwise down-to-earth guys put on their shiny shoes and stripey shirts. Normal, level-headed girls put on their sparkly make-up and revealing tops.
• People who are clubbing are admittedly there to have some mindless fun. So of course they won't be showing the more thoughtful sides of their personality. Even if they wanted to, the noise level and general craziness going on doesn't make it easy. They're joking around, being silly, letting off steam, etc.
• Not everyone drinks, but most of the people are either drunk or at least a little buzzed. That tends to obviously make you act stupider.
• If you're out, and you run into someone who's acting rude or obnoxious, that one person obviously stands out in your mind. But you don't notice that the other two hundred people there that are behaving, and who are probably just as annoyed with the douchebags as you are.
• Girls who go out can get pretty hassled. As a result they can adopt a more stuck-up persona as a kind of armor against all the losers who bother them.
• Plenty of people who go clubbing feel shy or out of their element, but they look around and everyone else seems to have it together, so they put on a brave face and look confident as well. Sometimes it's the least likely people who are feeling insecure.

Definitely cynical. I've met good people in clubs that are absolutely friendly and great. It's such a stereotype that even I believed until I started meeting more and more people in the club.

So take that all you clubbing haters. Clubbing is as good an event as any to meet people, not to mention some hotties :P

Things I love and hate about japan

Hey everyone! I just got back from Japan. It's a love/hate thing with me and foreign countries.

Things I love about japan:

1. Girls wear skirts in sub-zero temperature.


I think girls in skirts look extremely hot for some reason. And guess what, in Japan, they love skirts too! So much, they'll wear it in any weather. I saw more skirts than pants walking around the city...lol.

2. Go anywhere, and they will have good sushi and japanese food.



The sushi in Japan is top notch and you could go anywhere to get excellent sushi and Japanese food. Almost everywhere I went had excellent Japanese food.

3. Best mountains for skiing in this side of the world.



Japan ski resorts are on par with the best in the world. I've been to some fantastic ski resorts and some un-fantastic ones and the really good ones first have to have the mountain (800m+ of vertical skiable terrain from the top chairlift to the base), the snow (3m+), and then the facilities. Japan ski resorts have all three plus it's relatively close to fly to compared to US or Europe. In the asia and australia, I've only seen Japan live up to the mark of world class ski resorts.

4. Best subway system ever.



In Malaysia, KL, the LRT is only two train cars long and there is only like two or three lines. The monorail is also there, but it has even fewer cars and also only two train cars long. The wait time is ten to fifteen minutes long!

One train car in Tokyo equals two of the lrt cars here, and each train has like ten train cars, about 20x the length of the lrt here! They also stop by very frequently every 5 minutes. Then, they have 9 subway lines which go all around tokyo and cover almost every area around the city center and further out.

5. Super friendly people.

Everywhere shop I went to, people greeted me. And I must say the way they greet me is very non threatening, different from other places. I think the Japanese language sounds quite pleasing to the ear.





Things I don't like about Japan:

1. Not a lot of english speakers.

Yes. I would love it if I could communicate with them but in English =)

2. Food outside of sushi isn't that great.

Call me a bit critical, but food outside of sushi lacks some zest. The Japanese curry isn't as flavorful as other ones (malaysian, indian, thai). The cooked dishes lack some of the flavorful creativity of the southeast asian styles. Mostly everything is soy sauce or miso based. And, they are stingy with servings. People with bigger appetites have to stuff themselves with rice.

3. As polite as they are, most Japanese keep to themselves even if it overrides common sense.

In most countries, people don't mind getting on the chairlift with another person, even though he or she is a complete stranger. Chairlifts are built for more than one person after all and people behind get to wait less for their turn to come. In Japan it's different, people would rather not sit with another even if it means making everyone in behind wait longer for the lift. And even worse, they give you funny looks if you get on with them. -.-

Financial crisis hitting Penang

The financial crisis seems to be getting worse. People are losing their jobs. Companies are laying off workers.

The economy

Around the world, we have lots of indicators to tell us how the economy is doing. Not only that, we have sub-indicators for the indicators, much like this pie chart represents sub-sectors for the power industry.

Sub sectors

In Penang, we have the clubbing indicator. They have been empty for much of the last few weeks, especially on Fridays. So it's not looking good.

Empty club

The clubbing sub-indicators help determine the overall direction of the clubbing indicator. Like how much booze have people been consuming. For this measure, I take a look at how flirty girls are. The amount of booze girls consume is directly proportionate to how flirty they are. The more booze they drink, the more flirty they are. These last few weeks, girls have not been as flirty so this contributes to the overall negative direction of the clubbing indicator.

Flirty indicator

Another sub-indicator is the girls to guys in the club ratio. In times of good economic progress, more guys come out as they have additional money to spend on girls. In times of bad economic progress, they stay home and all the money girls saved from guys buying them booze starts being spent. I have been seeing a higher ratio of girls to guy, so this has a negative influence on the clubbing indicator.

Girl guy ratio

Wow! it does seem like Penang is starting to suffer from the financial crisis. Lets hope the economy recovers.

1.7 million views in 3 days.

One more!

BBQ ....xD

More funny bud light commercials

Even though I think the beer isn't that great, I love the commercials!!! ahahah

Real men of genius

Heres to real men of genius! This buds for you!

Tribal Kings does it again

A while ago, I found the French really knew how to make a booty video. Even better than most of the hip hop artists out there. And they basically invented it.

In this video, they demonstrate how to do an "Elevator" music video. Flo-Rida take note. one girl on each floor doesn't cut it these days.


Tribal King's version on how to make an Elevator video.




Flo-Rida's version on making an Elevator video.

I think it's a good time for me too......

This is really funny......

Sales Sales Sales of the Mega type!

I just got back from kl and I am quite satisfied with my shopping expedition. What treasures did I find from the jungles of the KL shopping malls?

KLCC Shopping Center: Concrete Jungle

With sales, one can expect to sift through a lot of trash to find their treasure. Sales are meant for shops to clear items. Quite often they don't have the correct sizes, color, etc on discount. In that regards, yes it's an expedition. I hoped to find bountiful booty, that can help me get booty of the other type.

Traditional Booty


The other type of Booty

Anyways, I needed to get myself more informal formal wear. Apparently my formal wear was too formal and the shirt tails looked a little long untucked. I was able to find buttoned up nice shirts that were meant to be untucked (shirt tails not too long). Though it was a major chore to find them. But luckily this year, Zara carried size "s" which is perfect for me. I like clothes which fit well, and "m" size shirts on me look like someone else dressed me.

So in the end, I found two of these informal formal shirts. One nice tuck-in formal shirt ( I couldn't resisit), and two normal casual shirts.

Major mega sales shopping tip: Go shopping at stores that are more outside the city. Midvalley and One Utama are more likely to have more sales item selection and sizes because 1) they have more floor space and items than the city 2) less people go there than the city shopping outlets.

Signing up for Malaysiakini

Well, I've finally decided to subscribe to Malaysiakini.

Malaysiakini

I signed up for the standard subscription of RM80 for 6 months. That works out to RM13 a month or 44 sen per day. I would say the price is just ok after all it is all online. A normal newspaper would cost RM1.25 a day, but it certainly costs a lot more to publish.

I decided to check if my money was well spent by comparing similar stories to the star online.

On one hand the Malaysiakini article I looked at seemed more detailed for instance they mentioned that certain people were not at parliament when parliament voted for the fuel price increase. The star online didn't mention anything.

I haven't seen the newspaper, perhaps the detail is in there. Malaysiakini made a big deal that the few people (11 in total) weren't there. They sensationalize that fact when 11 reps hardly will make any difference at all, after all 129 votes to 78 against is such a smackdown, those 11 reps if voting the other way would have been insignificant to the outcome, altering the majority a few percent down from 63% to 59%.

Smackdown!

It's a decent publication. But like with every news source it needs to be read with a grain of salt. It is true the mainstream media sugarcoats a lot of information; their methods of reporting lack fire and passion. Malaysiakini on the other hand is all about fire. They are also very thorough in their news reporting, which is a function of their passion. I commend them on thorough news reporting, but the fire, emotion, pandering to the public can be left out. I bet a lot of the claims turn out to have nothing behind them. Conspiracy theorists? Maybe, but chances are most of it is just theory.

Petrol at RM2.70 per litre!

As of now, gasoline prices in Malaysia is no longer subsidized. Energy prices have gone up. Sure there will be pain now, but this is just an opportunity for Malaysia to get with the program. Winners don't complain, they overcome adversity! Subsidies are a thing of the past, Take your lumps now, and begin planning for the future. We all knew this was bound to happen at some time.

Seeing as how Malaysians spend a lot of money on petrol:

Typical KL traffic jam

solutions:

Introduce the new hybrid cars which can get double the mileage!

Toyota Prius

Do a little car pooling!

car pooling?

As in share a car ride to work with a co worker.


Electricity prices gone up? No problem!

Solutions:

Try the inverter air conditioner which saves around 30% of the a/c bill.

Inverter Air Conditioner

Design homes and do renovations which have better insulation to keep out heat and insulate the room cooler.

Eco friendly house

Humans are one of the most adaptable species on the planet. Guess what.... those species that couldn't adapt to changing circumstances are in the extinct category now.