Fuel prices reduced by another 10 sen

News: Petrol and diesel prices will be reduced by another 10 sen from Tuesday.
The price of RON97 petrol is now RM1.80, while RON92 is selling at RM1.70 a litre. The pump price of diesel now stands at RM1.70 a litre.

In a statement, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the reduction in the fuel prices was in accordance with the drop in the global crude oil price.

The retail price of petrol and diesel had been gradually lowered from its high of RM2.70 and RM2.58 respectively in June.

P2P connection slow using STREAMYX

Last few weeks ago, I am start to experiance a very slow download speed of my P2P (peer-to-peer) connection through the BitComet using Streamyx (I think it should be everyone problem).

Normally, the first things we will blamed is the ISP (Internet Service Provider) who block the P2P application, but after reading the articles from this blog, http://www.malaysianwireless.com/2008/11/p2p-yes-or-no.html, I am quite agreed with the statement which he is mentioned. What about you?

Here are his opinion regarding the issue:

Not blocking P2P will only benefit certain users while most users will be effected by not getting speed they have paid for normal Internet usage.

I am not against P2P as I do use P2P sometimes but I have came across users that turns on their P2P application 24 hours a day using up as much bandwidth as they can but paying for a service that is on a shared basis.

I am also not saying that it is wrong to use P2P but it is wrong to download illegal files that includes music or movies that are freely available on the net.

It is wrong for ISPs like TM to block P2P on their network but nothing can be done because their subscriber has agreed on their terms and condition when they sign the Streamyx application form.

ISPs such as Maxis should not have such a limited data limit per month just because few percent of their users are hogging their data network after all the throttling methods they have use.

Few months back, P1 was said to be considering a P2P package for heavy users but I have heard nothing since then. I believe such move will allow better management of the network whereas normal users on the shared network gets to enjoy the speed they have paid for while those heavy users pays for the dedicated speed.

Another method that can be used is to charge users who exceeds the available bandwidth of the month. For an example, users can opt for a secondary package(example: RM20 for 5GB) if they exceed the allowed 20GB data limit of the month.

ISPs are having problem to manage heavy traffic from heavy users while normal users are affected by these heavy users who excessively use up the bandwidth.It is believed that a normal Maxis Broadband user uses an average 15GB a month, however there has been no official report on this.

No subscribers wants a slow internet connection and no ISPs wants a heavy user on their shared internet network.

Soon, the Government will ensure that all broadband users will enjoy at least 70% of the speed they are paying for, 90% of the time.

Internet Providers should ensure that ALL user gets to the enjoy the speed they have paid for and manage their network more efficiently. Consumers should understand that they are using a shared Internet network which must be use fairly without impacting other users on the same network.It is wrong to block P2P application in an Internet network but it won't be wrong to manage excessive usage from an heavy user on a shared network.

History of Petrol & Diesel Price in Malaysia

After fuel price hike at 5/6/2008, there are total 6 times of price reduction for petrol & diesel as stated below:

Petrol:

23/8/2008- RM2.55 (reduced RM0.15)
25/9/2008- RM2.45 (reduced RM0.10)
15/10/2008- RM2.30 (reduced RM0.15)
1/11/2008- RM2.15 (reduced RM0.15)
18/11/2008- RM2.00 (reduced RM0.15)
3/12/2008- RM1.90 (reduced RM0.10)

Diesel:

23/8/2008- RM2.50 (reduced RM0.08)
25/9/2008- RM2.40 (reduced RM0.10)
15/10/2008- RM2.20 (reduced RM0.20)
1/11/2008- RM2.05 (reduced RM0.15)
18/11/2008- RM1.90 educed (reduced RM0.15)
3/12/2008- RM1.80 (reduced RM0.10)

Fuel prices down another 10sen

The retail price of petrol and diesel will go down another 10sen effective Wednesday (3/12/2008). The price of RON97 petrol would be down to RM1.90 per litre from RM2.00, while RON92 petrol and diesel would be down to RM1.80 from RM1.90 per litre.

Venus, Jupiter and the Moon: watch a smiley face in the sky

Damn.... I missed this smiley face yesterday night. Anyway, I wish all of you - SMILE ALWAYS!!!

News: On Monday (1 December 2008) night, there will be a spectacular conjunction between the two planets Venus and Jupiter and the crescent Moon. Although the three brightest objects in night sky will appear to be bunched up close together in the sky that does not mean that they are actually close to each other. They are, in fact, just in the same line of sight. The Moon is the closest at about 400,000 km away from Earth. Venus is almost 400 times further away while Jupiter is almost six times further away. They are not close to each other at all.

Effective today, Maybank Cuts BLR to 6.5%

I checked on my Maybank Home Loan Account this morning, my current BLR rate has been cut down 0.25%. Whoaaaa.....

News: Maybank Group announced a revision to the Bank’s base lending rate (BLR) by 25 basis points from 6.75% to 6.5% effective 1 December 2008 following the downward revision of the Overnight Policy Rate by Bank Negara Malaysia.

The base financing rate (BFR) of Maybank Islamic Berhad is also revised downward by 25 basis points from 6.75% to 6.5% effective 1 December 2008.

ASIMO at Penang Queensbay Mall

I'm thinking to bring my kids to see ASIMO today, what about you...

Here are the details.

ASIMO Roadshow at Queensbay Mall
(The World’s Most Advanced Humanoid Robot)
Starting November 27 – 30, 2008
Time: 10.30 AM – 10.30 PM
Venue: Central Atrium Ground Floor

27 November 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm

28 November 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm

29 November 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, 3:30 pm, 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm

30 November 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm and 7:45 pm

Let's go to LONDON with cheaper fares

Congratulations to AirAsia X for the effort to bring us to UK with cheaper fares. Cheers!!!

LONDON: It’s £99 or RM499 one-way – that’s the much-awaited opening fare of AirAsia X’s latest London Stansted – Kuala Lumpur route.

And AirAsia Group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes has pledged to knock down the price to as low as £49 (RM271) once they increase the flight frequencies.

Saying it would be “cool” to take a £50 note and buy a seat to Kuala Lumpur, he said there was no reason why they could not do it.

“Volume is the key. If we can find the plane and get two or three flights a day, I guarantee you £49 will be a reality,” he told Malaysian journalists after the sales launch of the latest route at London’s County Hall yesterday.

Even with the £99 fare, it’s still cheaper to fly from London to Kuala Lumpur than to take a Black Cab from the city to Stansted Airport, which costs about £110 (RM610) one way!

Malaysians flying to London will also pay RM499 for the return flight while travellers from London going to KLIA will pay £99 (RM541) for the return ticket.

Online bookings opened at 8pm Tuesday (Malaysian time) for the five-times-a-week direct flights which will be for the travel period between March 11 and Oct 24.

Fares start from as low as £99 (RM499) for economy seats and £549 (RM1,999) for XL seats – inclusive of airport taxes and charges.

The latest flights will use Airbus A340 planes which will have 286 economy and 30 premium seats.

Fernandes said his next step would be to increase the five times weekly flights to daily and even two or three times a day.

“The London-Kuala Lumpur route is the realisation of a long-held ambition to open up affordable access between Malaysia and Europe for both the Asean and European communities,” he said.

AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman Rani described the London route as a significant achievement, allowing those who had always wanted to travel between Europe and Asean to achieve their dream at an affordable price.

Stansted Airport’s commercial and development director Nick Barton, who finalised discussions with AirAsia X, hailed the launch as a major milestone for low-cost, long-haul air travel around the world.

The latest route is the first step for AirAsia to realise its European aspirations and boost Kuala Lumpur as the regional aviation hub and gateway into Asean, China and Australia.

Stansted is Britain’s third busiest airport, with 22.8 million passengers passing through and many leading low-cost airlines making it their base.

How Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) lowered to 3.25% Affect Us

PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara has cut its benchmark Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to 3.25% from 3.50%, and signalled it was ready to cut the rate further.

This was the first rate cut in over five years. The move, which can be considered well-timed as the economy slows, will result in a lower cost of funds for banks. This, in turn, brings down the cost of borrowing for consumers.

With the OPR set at 3.25%, the upper limit will be 3.50% and lower limit will be 3.00%. Interestingly, you might have noticed that the BLR of banks is set 3% more than this upper limit, and short term fixed deposit rate is set close to the lower limit, while long term fixed deposit rate (1 year or above) is set close to the upper limit.

In fact, under the new framework, each banking institution can announce its own BLR based on its cost structure and business strategies. Banking institutions are also no longer be subject to the maximum spread of 2.5 percentage points above BLR. As a result, you might have noticed that the BLR of certain bank is a little bit different from the majority counterparties.

When the OPR is low, more money is released to flow into the market, and expected to stimulate the economic activities. On the other hand, when the OPR is high, more money will flow back to Bank Negara, and expected to slow down the economic activities. This is seen as a way to control the inflation rate.

Con't... My story when in UK (Part 4)

20-21 October 2007 (Saturday & Sunday)

The next day (Sunday), we go to Lincoln (http://www.visitlincolnshire.com/). Not much places been visited, but at least we have the opportunity to see internal building structure of the Lincoln Cathedral (church). Normal day they will charge 4 pounds for admission except Sunday. Most of the shops also closed at 4.30pm on Sunday, that’s why we go back after this hour and reached hotel at 6.00pm.

When we go back to the company to tell the story in Lincoln Cathedral, our UK colleague who lived in Lincolnshire quite a number of years, do ask us wheather we have seen the little demon in the Cathedral. At first, we didn't know the articles he mentioned to us. After searching in the internet, I believed this is what he means:

"We can't leave the Cathedral behind without a word about the Masonic marker of its infamous Lincoln Imp, high up between two arches on the North side of the Angel Choir. This 13th century demon is said to have been blown into the Cathedral by the wind. Generally speaking, an imp is a small demon that has such a restricted power that it relishes in creating havoc by spreading untrue tales and lies amongst the gullible. The word originates from Old English 'impa' meaning 'shoot', 'offspring', 'graft'. In Masonic architecture a graft is 'the place of junction of stock and scion'...'scion' a word from Old French 'sion, scion', meaning a young member of a family, a descendant, an offshoot. Is this a reference to what Dan Brown in his novel refers to as the alleged fathered child of Jesus and Mary, and the Priory of Sion who keep the secret ?"

Inside the Lincoln Cathedral

My story when in UK (Part 4)

20-21 October 2007 (Saturday & Sunday)

As planned, we go to York (http://www.visityork.org/) on Saturday. York is a walled city, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city is noted for its rich heritage and it has played an important role throughout much of its almost 2,000 year existence. York's centre is enclosed by the city's medieval walls, which are a popular walk. The entire circuit is about 3 miles (5 km), including a part where walls never existed, because the Norman moat of York Castle, formed by damming the River Foss, also created a lake which acted as a city defence.

York Minster, the second largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe, stands at the city's centre.

Statue of Constantine the Great outside the Minster, which largely covers the Roman Army HQ building.

Which way to go?

St. Mary's Abbey

Clifford's Tower, a stone quatrefoil keep built on top of a Norman motte, was the site of a massacre in 1190 when the small Jewish community of York sought protection in the tower on the feast of Shabbat ha-Gadol. Many Jews took their own lives rather than face a violent mob in an event regarded as one of the most notorious examples of antisemitism in medieval England.

We visited the national railway museum as well. It is very educated if visit by small kids. The admission to this museum is free. The National Railway Museum is situated just beyond the station, and is home to a vast range of transport material and the largest collection of railway locomotives in the world. Included in this collection are the world's fastest steam locomotive LNER 4468 Mallard and the world famous 4472 Flying Scotsman, which is being overhauled in the Museum.

The Yorkshire Wheel from inside the National Railway Museum.

My story when in UK (Part 3)

13-14 October 2007 (Saturday & Sunday)

We do not plan to go far away from Mexborough, so we decided to go to city Leeds. On the way, we passed through Wakefield & there was a point of interest called Sandal Castle. Before reaching the place, we thought there was really a "castle" standing up there and awaiting us to explode. But actually, there was only some remaining wall left on the site.

Sandal Castle is a ruin on the edge of the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire and overlooks the River Calder and Pugneys Country Park. We stopped and took our time to have a thorough walk over there.

Leeds is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England. Picture below is the Leeds Town Hall.

Corn Exchange - Leeds' most treasured historic gem. This stunning Grade 1 listed building is of major architectural heritage to the City of Leeds and also considered to be one of Britain's finest Victorian structures.

Building's wall painted with colourful picture.

The Victoria Quarter, several existing arcades connected together by roofing the entirety of Queen Victoria Street with stained glass, is located off Briggate, Leeds' main shopping street.

Sunday, only go shopping at Meadowhall (you can visit http://www.meadowhall.co.uk/ for detail) located at Sheffield. Our colleagues said to us, Meadowhall Shopping Centre is the biggest shooping place in UK. When visited the place, it was nothing if compare to our Queensbay Mall & Mid-Valley Megamall. We didn't buy anything there.

海角七号 Cape No.7

I like this movie and the content of the letters read out in Japanese. I am sharing out the content of these letters translated in chinese...


一九四五年十二月二十五日
友子，太陽已經完全沒入了海面
我真的已經完全看不見台灣島了
你還站在那裡等我嗎？



友子
請原諒我這個懦弱的男人
從來不敢承認我們兩人的相愛
我甚至已經忘記
我是如何迷上那個不照規定理髮
而惹得我大發雷霆的女孩了
友子
你固執不講理、愛玩愛流行
我卻如此受不住的迷戀你
只是好不容易你畢業了
我們卻戰敗了
我是戰敗國的子民
貴族的驕傲瞬間墮落為犯人的枷
我只是個窮教師
為何要揹負一個民族的罪
時代的宿命是時代的罪過
我只是個窮教師
我愛你，卻必須放棄你





第三天
該怎麼克制自己不去想你
你是南方艷陽下成長的學生
我是從飄雪的北方渡洋過海的老師
我們是這麼的不同
為何卻會如此的相愛
我懷念艷陽…我懷念熱風...
我猶有記憶你被紅蟻惹毛的樣子
我知道我不 該嘲笑你
但你踩著紅蟻的樣子真美
像踩著一種奇幻的舞步
憤怒、強烈又帶著輕挑的嬉笑…
友子，我就是那時愛上你的…
多希望這時有暴風
把我淹沒在這台灣與日本間的海域
這樣我就不必為了我的懦弱負責





友子
才幾天的航行
海風所帶來的哭聲已讓我蒼老許多
我不願離開甲板，也不願睡覺
我心裡已經做好盤算
一旦讓我著陸
我將一輩子不願再看見大海
海風啊，為何總是帶來哭聲呢？
愛人哭、嫁人哭、生孩子哭
想著你未來可能的幸福我總是會哭
只是我的淚水
總是在湧出前就被海風吹乾
湧不出淚水的哭泣，讓我更蒼老了
可惡的風
可惡的月光
可惡的海





十二月的海總是帶著憤怒
我承受著恥辱和悔恨的臭味
陪同不安靜地晃盪
不明白我到底是歸鄉
還是離鄉！





傍晚，已經進入了日本海
白天我頭痛欲裂
可恨的濃霧
阻擋了我一整個白天的視線
而現在的星光真美
記得你才是中學一年級小女生時
就膽敢以天狗食月的農村傳說
來挑戰我月蝕的天文理論嗎？
再說一件不怕你挑戰的理論
你知道我們現在所看到的星光
是自幾億光年遠的星球上
所發射過來的嗎？
哇，幾億光年發射出來的光
我們現在才看到
幾億光年的台灣島和日本島
又是什麼樣子呢？
山還是山，海還是海
卻不見了人
我想再多看幾眼星空
在這什麼都善變的人世間裡
我想看一下永恆
遇見了要往台灣避冬的烏魚群
我把對你的相思寄放在其中的一隻
希望你的漁人父親可以捕獲
友子，儘管他的氣味辛酸
你也一定要嚐一口
你會明白...
我不是拋棄你，我是捨不得你
我在眾人熟睡的甲板上反覆低喃
我不是拋棄你，我是捨不得你





天亮了，但又有何關係
反正日光總是帶來濃霧
黎明前的一段恍惚
我見到了日後的你韶華已逝
日後的我髮禿眼垂
晨霧如飄雪，覆蓋了我額上的皺紋
驕陽如烈焰，焚枯了你秀髮的烏黑
你我心中最後一點餘熱完全凋零
友子…
請原諒我這身無用的軀體





海上氣溫16度
風速12節、水深97米
已經看見了幾隻海鳥
預計明天入夜前我們即將登陸
友子…
我把我在台灣的相簿都留給你
就寄放在你母親那兒
但我偷了其中一張
是你在海邊玩水的那張
照片裡的海沒風也沒雨
照片裡的你，笑得就像在天堂
不管你的未來將屬於誰
誰都配不上你
原本以為我能將美好回憶妥善打包
到頭來卻發現我能攜走的只有虛無
我真的很想妳！
啊，彩虹！
但願這彩虹的兩端
足以跨過海洋，連結我和妳







友子，我已經平安著陸
七天的航行
我終於踩上我戰後殘破的土地
可是我卻開始思念海洋
這海洋為何總是站在
希望和滅絕的兩個極端
這是我的最後一封信
待會我就會把信寄出去
這容不下愛情的海洋
至少還容得下相思吧！
友子，我的相思你一定要收到
這樣你才會原諒我一點點
我想我會把你放在我心裡一輩子
就算娶妻、生子
在人生重要的轉折點上
一定會浮現…

你提著笨重的行李逃家
在遣返的人潮中，你孤單地站著
你戴著那頂...
存了好久的錢才買來的白色針織帽
是為了讓我能在人群中發現你吧！
我看見了…我看見了…
你安靜不動地站著
你像七月的烈日
讓我不敢再多看你一眼
你站得如此安靜
我刻意冰涼的心，卻又頓時燃起
我傷心，又不敢讓遺憾流露
我心裡嘀咕，嘴巴卻一聲不吭
我知道，思念這庸俗的字眼
將如陽光下的黑影
我逃他追…我追他逃…
一輩子

我會假裝你忘了我
假裝你將你我的過往
像候鳥一般從記憶中遷徙
假裝你已走過寒冬迎接春天
我會假裝…
一直到自以為一切都是真的！
然後…
祝你一生永遠幸福！

My second son, JS Growing-Up Chart

To my dearest son,

Hope you will growing up happily and be healthy always...

From: Yours Papa & Mama

Con't again... My story when in UK (Part 2)

6-7 October 2007 (Saturday & Sunday)

Early in the morning at Liverpool, I call my wife and get to know that my son, JS was sick. She is bringing him to see doctor (I did mention to my wife to take good care of my little boy, anyhow, he was fine after taken the medicine). Khor is graduated from Liverpool John Moores University. He do showing me the place where he stayed when in study time.

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880. Background of the picture are the three graces of Liverpool's waterfront: the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building.

Some of the photos taken in Liverpool:

After visiting Liverpool, go to Blackpool. Close to the beach & there is a lot of fun fair over there. JL & JS should be very excited to visit here.

Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. Lying along the coast of the Irish Sea, it has a population of 142,900, making it the fourth-largest settlement in North West England. It lies 40 miles (64 km) north-west of the city of Manchester. Blackpool rose to prominence as a major centre of tourism during the 19th century, particularly for the inhabitants of northern mill towns. Beside is the Blackpool tower, a Blackpool landmark.