Wrapping Up for the Week

Nothing much to update really .. so much bogged down with the usual things day in day out again duh … Kind of similar and familiar cycles from one week to another. But I am already looking forward to another weekend although it is the same thing I will be expecting anyway ..lol. Got footie friendly match this afternoon to wrap up the week as well. I swear to my work mate that I will not be the emergency goalie today due to some persistent pain on my shoulder that does not seems to be subsiding for quite a while. It is bothering me a lot becoz’ playing badminton is no longer enjoyable with that pain still lingering but I still love my weekly badminton routine despite it. Only that I have to be extra careful not to compund the injury further. Oh well regardless of this painful experience, nothing will stop me from getting the most out of this coming weekend

H1N1 Info Pack Booklet

This may come real handy.

H1N1 Flu Booklet_2009-05-01_Final.pdf

2 Photos after Collision and Before Death .. AIR France Flight

One feels sad for all the passengers including the extraordinary photographer, who kept his cool even in his last moments of life and took this photo. Hats off to him!!! Yesterday the world saw the disappearance of an A330 Air Frane during a trans Atlantic flight between Rio to Paris Two shots taken inside the plane before it crashed. Unbelievable! Photos taken inside the GOL B 737 aircraft that was involved in a mid air collision and crashed….. A B737 had a mid air collision with the Embraer Legacy while cruising at 35,000 feet over South America. The Embraer Legacy, though seriously damaged with the winglet ripped off, managed to make a landing at a nearby airstrip in the midst of the Amazon jungle. The crew and passengers of the Embraer Legacy had no idea what they had hit. The B737 however crashed, killing all crew and passengers on board. The two photos attached were apparently taken by one of the passengers in the B737, just after the collision and before the aircraft crashed. The photos were retrieved from the camera’s memory stick. You will never get to see photos like this. In the first photo, there is a gaping hole in the fuselage through which you can see the tailplane and vertical fin of the aircraft. In the second photo, one of the passengers is being sucked out of the gaping hole. These photos were found in a digital Casio Z750, amidst the remains in Serra do Cachimbo. Although the camera was destroyed, the Memory Stick was recovered. Investigating the serial number of the camera, the owner was identified as Paulo G. Muller, an actor of a theatre for children known in the outskirts of Porto Alegre. It can be imagined that he was standing during the impact with the Embraer Legacy and during the turbulence, he managed to take these photos, just seconds after the tail loss the aircraft plunged. So the camera was found near the cockpit.. The structural stress probably ripped the engines away, diminishing the falling speed, protecting the electronic equipment but not unfortunately the victims. Paulo Muller leaves behind two daughters, Bruna and Beatriz.

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Transformers 2 : Revenge of the Fallen

We are long planning for this one and missing the chance to catch up on this one  will be devastating to say the least hehe.  By sheer luck my sis’ went down earlier on Monday’s evening to book tickets in advance and what a big relief knowing that she managed to secure good seats for this coming Saturday’s evening show.  That is $9 a piece but I still think that is a good price to pay for a real good movie and it better be a good one.

Tyre Size Calculator

Ever get into the trouble finding the right size and height profile when your original tyre has the odd height profile eg. 65% ?  Then this is a very useful tyre calculator which guides us to correct substitute particularly when we start changing the wheel diameter as well which then complicates further making the right call.   This is important to ensure ride height and gearing is maintained.  I guess this explains why I keep scrapping some speed hump despite going slow over it sometime.

 http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresiz2.html

The Difference between FOCUSING on PROBLEMS and FOCUSING on SOLUTIONS

I have read this forwarded email before but on 2nd thought this is still worthwhile to share again to others … maybe there is useful learning out of this .. rite

Case # 1: When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out
that the pens would not work at zero gravity (ink will not flow down to the
writing surface).

Solution # 1:To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million.
They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, in
practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below
freezing to over 300 degrees C.

Solution # 2 : And what did the Russians do…?? They used a pencil.

Case # 2 :One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the
case of the empty soapbox, which happened in one of Japan ’s biggest cosmetics
companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soapbox
that was empty.
Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly Line, which
transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some
reason, one soapbox went through the assembly line empty.
Management asked its engineers to solve the problem.

Solution # 1: Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine
with high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soapboxes
that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt, they
worked hard and they worked fast but they spent a whoopee amount to do so.

Solution # 2 : But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed
with the same problem, he did not get into complications of X-rays, etc., but
instead came out with another solution.
He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line.
He switched the fan on, and as each soapbox passed the fan, it simply blew the
empty boxes out of the line.

Moral
· Always look for simple solutions.
· Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problems.
· Always focus on solutions & not on problems.

It’s School Holiday Again

Little that I realised today is the last day of school for the kids. So there goes the usual honey mooning session every Saturday’s morning with the spouse. When all the kids are at school you tend to forget their existence at least momentarily .. hehe. The time gap between the subsequent holidays are just getting less apparent these days and before you even get the time to think about it, it is another holiday again. That would also means that I have to re strategise the plan for weekend as well but on a positive note it will be more time with them which is kind of overdue already. I guess we will resume honey mooning after 3 weeks then ..

So Little Time To Spare

Honestly, I was bogged down with so many stuff and probably too engrossed with facebook to start with .. hehe.  I have seen so many blogs sprouting around but after few months/years they are just left dying out like any drying fungi that will vanish pretty soon.  I will not be part of that statistics as yet, at least not for now.  I know maintaining the discipline is the hardest thing so I rather keep my blogging target dirt simple but achievable.  One post a week is not too much to ask but in reality if you start losing focus then it will get harder than you would thought so.

Last weekend was pretty quiet and our impromptu effort to catch on the movies was a futile one as well.  Lesson learnt and there is no such thing as a last minute urge for a movie especially during weekend.  Where else do you expect the Bruneian to likely spend their time if not at the eateries and the cineplex.  I still feel the “Transformer 2″ will be the one that we must not miss which is closer to the end of the month by the time school break is on the verge of wrapping up.  It would be also another opportunity to spend time with lil’ brother who was just back from his semester break.  BTW, if by chance that you have not seen the “Slumdog Millionaire”, then I suggest to better give it a go.  It really touches on our personal values and self reflection of the hardship that people like us fortunately are not able to experience in this part of the world.

Bush Fire Again

Early signs that haze will soon be the talking point.  Few nights ago while transiting thru’ Lumut, we can already smell the burnings.  The one which is near to Kg Lumut’s U turn is still hardly being contained since last week.

Child Labour

If you think that we deserve better job than what we are getting right now .. then think again …

It is all hard work but only lil’ money and yet we have the audacity to demand easy job but big pay …

Image 2 : Jainal works in silver cooking pot factory. He is 11 years old. He has been working in this factory for three years. His work starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. For his work he gets 700 taka (10 USD) for a month. His parents are so poor that they can not afford to send him to school. According to the factory owner, the parents do not care for their children; they send their kids to work for money and allegedly don’t feel sorry for these small kids. Dhaka 2008

Image 3 : A young laborer making metal components at a factory. Dhaka. Bangladesh

Image 4 : 13-year-old Liyakot Ali works in a silver cooking pot factory in Old Dhaka. The children work 10 hour days in hazardous conditions, for a weekly wage of 200 taka (3 USD). Dhaka. Bangladesh. June 2008

Image 5 : A child on the side of the road attempts to sell roses to passing commuters in cars and buses. Dhaka.

Image 6 : 7-year-old Jasmine collects rubbish from a steaming rubbish heap on a cold winter morning. She earns money to support her family by scavenging for items on the Kajla rubbish dump. It is one of three landfill sites in a city of 12 million people. Around 5,000 tons of garbage are dumped here each day and more than 1,000 people work among the rubbish, sorting through the waste and collecting items to sell to retailers for recycling.

Image 7 : Children at a brick factory in Fatullah. For each 1,000 bricks they carry, they earn the equivalent of 0.9 USD.

Image 8 : A young girl working in a brick crushing factory in Dhaka.

Image 9 : Children at a brick factory in Fatullah. For each 1,000 bricks they carry, they earn the equivalent of 0.9 USD.

Image 10 : Ten-year-old Shaifur working in a door lock factory in Old Dhaka. Unlike his colleague, Shaifur works without a mask.

Image 11 : Eight-year-old Munna works in a rickshaw factory. He earns about 500 taka (7 USD) amonth, working 10 hours a day. When the production often stops due to lack of electricity, he has time to play. Dhaka 2007

Image 12 : Children are compelled to work for long working hours with inadequate or no rest period.  Moreover, they are paid with minimum wages and enjoy no job security. Many people prefer to employ young boys to maximize services for those minimum wages. Dhaka 2006.

Image 13 : Thirteen-year-old Islam works in a silver cooking pot factory. He has been working at the factory for the last two years, in hazardous conditions, where it is common practice for the factory owners to take on children as unpaid apprentices, only providing them with two meals a day.

Image 14 : 17.5percent of children in the aged 5?5 are engaged in economic activities. Many of these children are engaged in various hazardous occupations in manufacturing factories. Dhaka 2006.

Image 15 : Eight-year-old Razu works in a rickshaw factory. He earns about 500 taka (7 USD) a month, working 10 hours a day. When the production often stops due to lack of electricity, he has time to play.

 

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MD Fun Run 2009

As usual it is a record turn out again this year with more than 3,000 Brunei Shell staff plus contractors have registered and thronging the BSRC’s field as early as 6.30 am in the morning. Weather is at least less merciless with spots of light drizzles every now and then but it is the most ideal condition which we could not ask for more. Honestly my running is terrible and there is certainly no substitute for consistency apart from from regular trainings which I could not afford to make time for it at the moment. But bottom line is sweating out for good and it is a good reminder to reflect own fitness and besides it is a good opportunity to mingle with old friends as well that we hardly seen in person due to work commitments. When it wraps up then it is back to the usual dreaded monday blues but I will just go slow and steady today regardless but I think I will throw in a short nap during lunch time ….

Post By Email : Testing

WordPressing by email .. kool

Real Easy Life This Week

I am glad that this week is less stressful.  I have less meetings to attend and some cancelled ones do help to ease me a lil’ bit.  The only exciting thing that happened was probably yesterday when our team won the monthly healthy lifestyle program mixed netball tourney.  As a matter of fact we did not even practised,  some has not played for quite sometime but we were credited with good and seasoned players.  Class is permanent and form is temporary  .. some kind of borrowed phrase .. hehe.  One day to go and I am all set for another weekend cycle so I want to sustain the good mood as it is at the moment.

I learnt that the Jalan Tengah, Seria is opened today and that will be a big relief knowing that we have been deprived of a fluid traffics for more than 9 months and the new bridge is not at the very least a dramatic construction scale by any imagination.  But it cost us dearly for months and I feel this is down to poor planning and poor community sensing.  But what the heck .. it is a done thing now .. probably moving on is the right thing to do .

Another Accident … Oh Not Again

Initially I thought the slow down @ Sg Paku was due to another bush fire but no.. no  .. I was wrong.  It turned out to be an overturned car going turtle.  Not sure how it ended up that way but one thing for sure when such thing happens then it is a sure thing that daily commuters like us will be home late again.  We hate it outright and it would be better if we have the dual carriageway by now.  I just hope the authority will speed up the construction of the highway connecting Telisai to Lumut pretty soon.

Slow Day but Good Enuff’ Though

The day kind of going in slow motion mode today and believe me it is freaking cold inside and scorching hot outside.  But it is a good sign though becoz’ at this time around normally I would be running around attending meeting after another meeting.  Great for a change I guess and I hate hunting for non-existent parking slots at the head office at this kind of weather ..duh..

And now the swine influenza scare at Mexico is getting the limelight of its own.  I sensed that nature is slowly turning her back to teach us human the useful lesson of life .. what goes around will comes around .. pretty scary huh.  Unfortunately my fren who has just came back from Europe is now under quarantine so the precaution taken really speaks volume.  I hope there is nothing serious about it and travelling is now less enjoyable with this kind of stuff cropping up every now and then.

The good new is I finally got my own office and it makes me more comfortable although this space is pretty cold most of the time.  But that is OK which I think is still the best trade off for a better privacy for now.  What more is that I can listen to my own choices of mp3 in private.  The only reason for buying the speakers in the first place .. worthwhile investment hehe.

“UnReal”ly Lock Knife

You would be easily misled that this is a real thing … well it is not.  This is half the size of the real lock knife but details wise it is as detailed and usable as the real one including it’s lock mechanism, hence the given name .. lock knife.  It is a gift by a close work mate who went on a 3 weeks globe trotting spree in Europe .. he was a lucky man and even his leave was hardly approved initially minus the blackmailing part … hehe.  But it is a sensible thing to give to people like me who takes camping passionately.  In fact I have similar and real size lock knife so when you make the comparison, it is very contrasting.   Sounds weird but it is true meh …

Rude Awakening

This was least expected. One of my staff contract extension is in limbo despite him signing off the letter of offer 3 weeks ago. The moment of truth is finally out despite harrying our HR endlessly with the “must know” status for weeks.  If only we knew it earlier then we would have exercised another option and my boss was not happy either.  But today things have gone way too late and dealing with a depleting resource is the last thing that would cross my mind.  Not a good day to start with and I am already juggling the options whether to take leave for my daughter report card signing next week.  Darn ..

Those Little Things

If this does not change our perception of imperfection .. then I just dunno …

Boring Meeting !!

Currently bored for good. I am in a meeting and it is a big one with more than 30 in the room. Sitting here as backbencher gives me the benefit to be a lil’ invisible so nobody seems to notice me making a quick post.. lol.

Ray Of Light

My daughter is into photography which started off from her school activities.  I find this piece of work very creative so I feel it is worth posting.  The credit surely goes to her not me hehe.