Seriously.
Two weeks on and the trail of failed electronic equipment include 3 desktops, 2 laptops and a phone that does nothing but sits pretty on my desk... Nothing; as in it doesn't ring and I can't ring out. It just sits there electronically displaying an unhelpful reminder that it doesn't work.
Even the laptop which had a crashed hard disk and was sent for repairs has now gone down again, from my cursory assessment, with the same problem. My back up desktop is displaying a message by someone named McAfee that I have a "Fatal Error: [0xEE00000B] EPEi_system_policy". I think Mr McAfee is neither English nor human.
Not to mention a BlackBerry device which also went through a fatal crash which was un-revivable after my many amateur attempts and The attempts of Sammy, the professional phone surgeon, it remained stubbornly dead. Never mind, I've now bought a spanking new device which I love.
Yes, seriously.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
good vs evil...
It started out as a discussion over dinner about religion being a necessary tool of evil in politicking. And then it suddenly occurred to me; isn't religion the devil itself?
If there wasn't a continuous polarisation of "good" and "evil" and the subsequent reinforcement of it, would there even be a division between the two?
Rhetoric lightbulb-moment; without good, would there be evil? Vice-versa - without evil, what is good? Where is the thin, grey line that tips one over to one side or the other?
The use of religion as a control-tool is inherently dependent on the continuous propogation of the struggle between good and evil. But doesn't the precept of good and evil exist only in our own heads?
If there wasn't a continuous polarisation of "good" and "evil" and the subsequent reinforcement of it, would there even be a division between the two?
Rhetoric lightbulb-moment; without good, would there be evil? Vice-versa - without evil, what is good? Where is the thin, grey line that tips one over to one side or the other?
The use of religion as a control-tool is inherently dependent on the continuous propogation of the struggle between good and evil. But doesn't the precept of good and evil exist only in our own heads?
Sunday, June 05, 2011
onwards, to new depths of social retardation...
An Obdient Wives' Club? Polygamy Club?? Really???!
Do Malaysians really have such low self-esteem? I mean, don't get me wrong; those who can look at the issue and scoff probably wouldn't dream that they'd ever have a need to be part of such a club (although men may think a Polygamy Club might be amusing, but for all the "wrong" reasons!). However, the problem is not with those who don't need a club membership, but with those who do. And I am not about to scoff at how many members this club might enrol, no matter how small.
Why Obedient Wives' Club? Are Malaysian Wives so blinkered to think that high divorce rates, crime, rape, drug addiction and the Big Bang Theory were all because they weren't good in bed? Maybe they are so blinkered that they can't see the problem is in the blinkers itself. Or maybe so close that they can't even see that they're blinkered.
Imagine: remove blinkers. Change club name.
Change the notion of obedience to awareness or mindfulness. To be a more thoughtful person instead of going to obedience school. Think of what should go into their marriage instead of comparing notes with someone else's. Communicate with a partner instead of doing what is told or expected. Constructive input as opposed to subservience.
Change the context of being a wife into being a responsible and constructive human being. Which is what we all are. Not dogs on a leash. And we all live with each other, amongst each other. We form relationships which in turn, enable us to be a part of a functioning society.
Change. Thoughtful People's Club. But how many people would clamour to be a member?
Do Malaysians really have such low self-esteem? I mean, don't get me wrong; those who can look at the issue and scoff probably wouldn't dream that they'd ever have a need to be part of such a club (although men may think a Polygamy Club might be amusing, but for all the "wrong" reasons!). However, the problem is not with those who don't need a club membership, but with those who do. And I am not about to scoff at how many members this club might enrol, no matter how small.
Why Obedient Wives' Club? Are Malaysian Wives so blinkered to think that high divorce rates, crime, rape, drug addiction and the Big Bang Theory were all because they weren't good in bed? Maybe they are so blinkered that they can't see the problem is in the blinkers itself. Or maybe so close that they can't even see that they're blinkered.
Imagine: remove blinkers. Change club name.
Change the notion of obedience to awareness or mindfulness. To be a more thoughtful person instead of going to obedience school. Think of what should go into their marriage instead of comparing notes with someone else's. Communicate with a partner instead of doing what is told or expected. Constructive input as opposed to subservience.
Change the context of being a wife into being a responsible and constructive human being. Which is what we all are. Not dogs on a leash. And we all live with each other, amongst each other. We form relationships which in turn, enable us to be a part of a functioning society.
Change. Thoughtful People's Club. But how many people would clamour to be a member?
Friday, November 26, 2010
pervelly, dunsborough, busselton, bunbury...
... and finally, the last installment of a whirlwind trip to the great Australian southwest.
Checking out of the YHA at Margaret River early on a Monday morning, we headed straight for the beach! Nearest to Margaret River is Pervelly, a beach bum surf village (because to call it a town would be grossly over-embellishing it) which was a tranquil bay with waves that were just nice to learn with... I think... I've never surfed, so what would I know? It was great to just take in the view and believe me, it was a very lovely view indeed.
But we had no time to waste, we had a boat to catch. So off we went to Dunsborough, where we arrived at early enough for a leisurely breakfast. It's a nice town with a kind of rich-folk-vacation-cum-retirement-home town to it. For a small town, it wasn't exactly cheap, as I mistakenly expected. Breakfast was lovely nonetheless, if you like a combination of beans and chorizos to start your day with a bang.
Ok, now for the one thing that we had come all the way to see - WHALES. Dunsborough has licensed only one operator for whale-watching tours, which I think is commendable because the Aussies really do respect nature and is fervent about keeping it natural. Hence, the controlled number of excursions will ensure minimal encroachment on wildlife habitat. Very commendable.
All safely on board a 17 metre catamaran, the Cetacean Explorer, we set off into the wide expanse of Geographe Bay and within five minutes of casting off, we are greeted by a pod of dolphins in the midst of hunting breakfast right beneath the boat! There must have easily been about 10 of them, unfazed by our presence and systematically crisscrossing the shallow water to herd smaller schools of fish for their feed. It was a truly amazing sight to see so many of them streaking full-speed right below where we stood. Oh, and here's a tip: wear polarized sunglasses, they will help you see things in things in the water a great deal better, especially on bright days.
After our first marine mammal encounter, it was then time to sight our second mammal - the southern humpback whale. I think these magnificent creatures creatures came to Geographe Bay for a summer holiday (like Germans to Cherating in the month of August) because they were everywhere! A mother with her calf, a "bunch of young boys" doing what boys do best; showing off by frolicking in the water, giving flipper high-fives and doing the backstroke. Unfortunately, the boat's hydrophone was on the blink, else we would definitely have heard some whale song.
After an amazing two hours of encountering two of the largest mammals in the sea on a clear, blue, sunny day (no less!), we were now off to Bunbury, stopping over at Busselton for a look-see. Busselton is home to one of the longest jetties in the world. At 2km in length, that is a very long walk. The length is due to the shallow depth of Geographe Bay and it had to built a long way out back in the day, so that larger boats could disembark cargo and passengers. There is also an underwater observatory at the end of the jetty, which was unfortunately closed for refurbishment at the time.
Bunbury. Another town that I would describe in exactly the same words I did with Dunsborough. But it is a much larger town though and it was here that we found a little time to do some shopping. Oh and of course, I should say that we checked into Ocean Drive Motel to find ourselves in the best room on the property! It had a huge, low window which perfectly framed a view of the sun setting on the horizon of the great Indian Ocean.
Short of anything exciting to do in a small town, we decided on a movie; Social Network. It was a nice little movie to watch but at A$18 per ticket (on a Monday night!! really??!), let's just say you could comfortably watch this on your own tv, in your own living room back in good old KL after a visit to your local "DVD shop". To be fair, the movie is a must-watch, tho I won't give any of the storyline away. It is riveting. and Justin Timberlake is so hate-able.
We woke up to grey and drizzle the next morning. Looks like the sunshine wouldn't hold out another day for us. But that didn't stop us from heading out to the Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre. It is another Australian wonder of the idealistic marriage between wildlife tourism and preservation; the dolphins are wild and everything is done to preserve it that way. And I mean not in idle chatter. They actually do make sure that the dolphins are kept wild and do not spoil them by baiting them with free food. They are given little rewards of no more than 300 grams of fish a day per dolphin and never a species that is alien to Koombana Bay, where they live.
The dolphins come and go as they please, so visitors to the centre have to wait for the dolphins to come in. On that grey morning, we were graced by the presence of Levy, a 16-year old (est.) mother. The staff (mostly volunteer, some of them elderly and retired) identify the dolphins from their dorsal fins and it is amazing that they can rattle on about each individual dolphin like they were telling you about a close relative. Lingering on the beach brought a reward - Levy came back again to visit after a while. It was rainy and the water was murky, which isn't the norm in Koombana Bay, so the dolphin was understandably wary of coming too close but she was close enough. But then, how often do you get to come so close to a dolphin in the wild anyway?
And that was all the mammal encounters that we had. It was time to go. But we had one more winery to visit on the way back to Perth; Vineyard 28 (so named after the noisy parrot found mostly in Western Australia), one of the last ones you will come across from the south before you reach Perth. It's a bit of a trek of 2km on dirt road to get to the cellar door but it is a lovely property and you'll be greeted by the handsomest, friendliest brown mutt south of Perth.
By now the drizzle is easing, making the Highway #2 drive at 100/60/90/50/70/80/10 km/h ever more painful. But I was oblivious. It was Sone's turn to drive while I took a nap. And she hated it.
Checking out of the YHA at Margaret River early on a Monday morning, we headed straight for the beach! Nearest to Margaret River is Pervelly, a beach bum surf village (because to call it a town would be grossly over-embellishing it) which was a tranquil bay with waves that were just nice to learn with... I think... I've never surfed, so what would I know? It was great to just take in the view and believe me, it was a very lovely view indeed.
But we had no time to waste, we had a boat to catch. So off we went to Dunsborough, where we arrived at early enough for a leisurely breakfast. It's a nice town with a kind of rich-folk-vacation-cum-retirement-home town to it. For a small town, it wasn't exactly cheap, as I mistakenly expected. Breakfast was lovely nonetheless, if you like a combination of beans and chorizos to start your day with a bang.
Ok, now for the one thing that we had come all the way to see - WHALES. Dunsborough has licensed only one operator for whale-watching tours, which I think is commendable because the Aussies really do respect nature and is fervent about keeping it natural. Hence, the controlled number of excursions will ensure minimal encroachment on wildlife habitat. Very commendable.
All safely on board a 17 metre catamaran, the Cetacean Explorer, we set off into the wide expanse of Geographe Bay and within five minutes of casting off, we are greeted by a pod of dolphins in the midst of hunting breakfast right beneath the boat! There must have easily been about 10 of them, unfazed by our presence and systematically crisscrossing the shallow water to herd smaller schools of fish for their feed. It was a truly amazing sight to see so many of them streaking full-speed right below where we stood. Oh, and here's a tip: wear polarized sunglasses, they will help you see things in things in the water a great deal better, especially on bright days.
After our first marine mammal encounter, it was then time to sight our second mammal - the southern humpback whale. I think these magnificent creatures creatures came to Geographe Bay for a summer holiday (like Germans to Cherating in the month of August) because they were everywhere! A mother with her calf, a "bunch of young boys" doing what boys do best; showing off by frolicking in the water, giving flipper high-fives and doing the backstroke. Unfortunately, the boat's hydrophone was on the blink, else we would definitely have heard some whale song.After an amazing two hours of encountering two of the largest mammals in the sea on a clear, blue, sunny day (no less!), we were now off to Bunbury, stopping over at Busselton for a look-see. Busselton is home to one of the longest jetties in the world. At 2km in length, that is a very long walk. The length is due to the shallow depth of Geographe Bay and it had to built a long way out back in the day, so that larger boats could disembark cargo and passengers. There is also an underwater observatory at the end of the jetty, which was unfortunately closed for refurbishment at the time.
Bunbury. Another town that I would describe in exactly the same words I did with Dunsborough. But it is a much larger town though and it was here that we found a little time to do some shopping. Oh and of course, I should say that we checked into Ocean Drive Motel to find ourselves in the best room on the property! It had a huge, low window which perfectly framed a view of the sun setting on the horizon of the great Indian Ocean.
Short of anything exciting to do in a small town, we decided on a movie; Social Network. It was a nice little movie to watch but at A$18 per ticket (on a Monday night!! really??!), let's just say you could comfortably watch this on your own tv, in your own living room back in good old KL after a visit to your local "DVD shop". To be fair, the movie is a must-watch, tho I won't give any of the storyline away. It is riveting. and Justin Timberlake is so hate-able.
We woke up to grey and drizzle the next morning. Looks like the sunshine wouldn't hold out another day for us. But that didn't stop us from heading out to the Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre. It is another Australian wonder of the idealistic marriage between wildlife tourism and preservation; the dolphins are wild and everything is done to preserve it that way. And I mean not in idle chatter. They actually do make sure that the dolphins are kept wild and do not spoil them by baiting them with free food. They are given little rewards of no more than 300 grams of fish a day per dolphin and never a species that is alien to Koombana Bay, where they live.The dolphins come and go as they please, so visitors to the centre have to wait for the dolphins to come in. On that grey morning, we were graced by the presence of Levy, a 16-year old (est.) mother. The staff (mostly volunteer, some of them elderly and retired) identify the dolphins from their dorsal fins and it is amazing that they can rattle on about each individual dolphin like they were telling you about a close relative. Lingering on the beach brought a reward - Levy came back again to visit after a while. It was rainy and the water was murky, which isn't the norm in Koombana Bay, so the dolphin was understandably wary of coming too close but she was close enough. But then, how often do you get to come so close to a dolphin in the wild anyway?
And that was all the mammal encounters that we had. It was time to go. But we had one more winery to visit on the way back to Perth; Vineyard 28 (so named after the noisy parrot found mostly in Western Australia), one of the last ones you will come across from the south before you reach Perth. It's a bit of a trek of 2km on dirt road to get to the cellar door but it is a lovely property and you'll be greeted by the handsomest, friendliest brown mutt south of Perth.
By now the drizzle is easing, making the Highway #2 drive at 100/60/90/50/70/80/10 km/h ever more painful. But I was oblivious. It was Sone's turn to drive while I took a nap. And she hated it.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
mandurah, margaret river, cape leeuwin, augusta...
... our Western Australia road trip begins!
First day of our trip starts off early when we head off down south towards Margaret River. Stopping off at Mandurah for a lazy breakfast, we drove around in circles for a while before settling on a random place that jumped out at us; 1957's Cafe - barracuda wrapped in bacon... heavenly.
After a lazy breakfast, it was time for the longest part of the drive - two and a half hours to Margaret River. Now, you might think that 2.5 hours is KL to Taiping... let me just correct any misconceived notion that driving long-distance driving on Australian highways are fun... unlike Malaysia, where speed limits were specially made to be lovingly broken, that is not the case in Australia... It kinda kills the joy of driving out on open highways where traffic is sparse, at best. But be warned; break the limit at your peril; Australia is where cops are watching and the coffee-money don't matter. And that is the end of my complaints about Australia, I promise.
We reach Margaret River and head straight for the YHA, our accommodation for the night. It is "at the edge of town"... which means it was one street down Main Road (which was also the Bussel HIGHWAY, fyi). The YHA was basic but the grounds were lovely with two types of parakeets frolicking in the soccer field. It was serene and the only sounds you could hear were all made by some organic organism!
Anyway, no time to lose. We had so many vineyards to visit! Eeny-meeny-miney-mo... we picked Leeuwin Estate as our first stop. Best decision of the day. Leeuwin Estate grounds were lovely and we saw our first kookaburra there. However, the cellar door experience was something else. The staff were rude and the wine was... not nice... and we weren't compelled to stay any longer, so we legged it to the next stop. It was the best decision made because every vineyard experience after Leeuwin just got better and better.
Redgate Estate - now, here's a vineyard visit that I loved. The grounds were humbler than Leeuwin but not at all in a bad way. The cellar door was cosy and the one guy manning the shop was friendly, helpful and very knowledgable. It was here that I picked up two of the most memorable items of the trip; a beautiful bottle of Cabernet Franc 2008 and a block of Jamaican Coffee Fudge... It was the best fudge IN THE WORLD!!! My regret is that I didn't realise that the best fudge on the face of god's green earth was right there in Margaret River and therefore couldn't go looking for more because we were bound by a ridiculously tight schedule.
Anyway, we had a fudge party in the car on the way to Hamelin Bay, where we encountered Eagle Rays, some of which can grow up to 2m span. The rays come close to shore and it is easy to spot from the waterline. The bay is calm and is part of the Leeuwin National Park. It seems there is some good diving/snorkelling to be had as well. If only I could get a hold of a canoe or kayak to explore the shallow waters. Take a look for yourself: http://vimeo.com/8482915
After Hamelin Bay, it was off to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin in an attempt to catch the sunset where the Southern and Indian Oceans met. It was too cold to stay for too long, and the lighthouse was closed for the day. I don't get why they promote beautiful sunsets at the cape when the lighthouse closes at 5:30 every day...
After a shot of fuel, it was then back to Margaret River for dinner at Settler's Tavern TAB. I had a big slab of moo-moo and it was gorgeous. Sone had lamb but no one would believe me if I said that she raved about the salad more than she did about the lamb!
And since kitchens close at 8:30pm and everyone's asleep by 10:30 everyday in Margaret River, I guess there was nothing else for us to do but to call it a night too...
Whales and dolphins next...
First day of our trip starts off early when we head off down south towards Margaret River. Stopping off at Mandurah for a lazy breakfast, we drove around in circles for a while before settling on a random place that jumped out at us; 1957's Cafe - barracuda wrapped in bacon... heavenly.
After a lazy breakfast, it was time for the longest part of the drive - two and a half hours to Margaret River. Now, you might think that 2.5 hours is KL to Taiping... let me just correct any misconceived notion that driving long-distance driving on Australian highways are fun... unlike Malaysia, where speed limits were specially made to be lovingly broken, that is not the case in Australia... It kinda kills the joy of driving out on open highways where traffic is sparse, at best. But be warned; break the limit at your peril; Australia is where cops are watching and the coffee-money don't matter. And that is the end of my complaints about Australia, I promise.
We reach Margaret River and head straight for the YHA, our accommodation for the night. It is "at the edge of town"... which means it was one street down Main Road (which was also the Bussel HIGHWAY, fyi). The YHA was basic but the grounds were lovely with two types of parakeets frolicking in the soccer field. It was serene and the only sounds you could hear were all made by some organic organism!
Anyway, no time to lose. We had so many vineyards to visit! Eeny-meeny-miney-mo... we picked Leeuwin Estate as our first stop. Best decision of the day. Leeuwin Estate grounds were lovely and we saw our first kookaburra there. However, the cellar door experience was something else. The staff were rude and the wine was... not nice... and we weren't compelled to stay any longer, so we legged it to the next stop. It was the best decision made because every vineyard experience after Leeuwin just got better and better.
Redgate Estate - now, here's a vineyard visit that I loved. The grounds were humbler than Leeuwin but not at all in a bad way. The cellar door was cosy and the one guy manning the shop was friendly, helpful and very knowledgable. It was here that I picked up two of the most memorable items of the trip; a beautiful bottle of Cabernet Franc 2008 and a block of Jamaican Coffee Fudge... It was the best fudge IN THE WORLD!!! My regret is that I didn't realise that the best fudge on the face of god's green earth was right there in Margaret River and therefore couldn't go looking for more because we were bound by a ridiculously tight schedule.
Anyway, we had a fudge party in the car on the way to Hamelin Bay, where we encountered Eagle Rays, some of which can grow up to 2m span. The rays come close to shore and it is easy to spot from the waterline. The bay is calm and is part of the Leeuwin National Park. It seems there is some good diving/snorkelling to be had as well. If only I could get a hold of a canoe or kayak to explore the shallow waters. Take a look for yourself: http://vimeo.com/8482915
After Hamelin Bay, it was off to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin in an attempt to catch the sunset where the Southern and Indian Oceans met. It was too cold to stay for too long, and the lighthouse was closed for the day. I don't get why they promote beautiful sunsets at the cape when the lighthouse closes at 5:30 every day...
After a shot of fuel, it was then back to Margaret River for dinner at Settler's Tavern TAB. I had a big slab of moo-moo and it was gorgeous. Sone had lamb but no one would believe me if I said that she raved about the salad more than she did about the lamb!
And since kitchens close at 8:30pm and everyone's asleep by 10:30 everyday in Margaret River, I guess there was nothing else for us to do but to call it a night too...
Whales and dolphins next...
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