WJN 81 Mercedes - Hit & Run

Today when driving at Jalan Templer towards Assunta Hospital, a dark coloured Mercedes with the registration number WJN 81 suddenly tried to move towards the middle lane I was in when some lorry parked illegally blocking its way. I honked the car and it stopped. Somehow, when all the traffic stopped due to the traffic congestion, the damn stupid Mercedes banged me from the left side behind me. From the mirror, I noticed that the driver was an old Indian man in his 50s or 60s. Beside him was a younger Indian man.

I gave my signal and stopped my car at the left side after the accident but the bloody Mercedes just drove straight ignoring me.

If you ever see a Mercedes with registration number WJN 81 and you feel like banging someone with hit and run tactic. Feel free to do it for my revenge!

Buzzcocks' Gig On 8th of Nov 2009

The day before Buzzcocks' gig in Kuala Lumpur, I realised One Cafe had shifted to the new venue. Thank goodness, I didn't head for the old venue!!

I took Putra LRT and Star LRT to reach Sogo/Pertama Complex area. Then walked for a few minutes to look for Tune Hotel knowing that One Cafe was not far from the hotel. Unfortunately, I didn't even know the location of Tune Hotel. So, it was a new adventure for me. With the help of google map, I managed to figure out the place eventually.

As I walked towards One Cafe, I saw a big group of kids and I knew for sure that I had arrived at the right place. Then I saw someone with a familiar hairstyle (I called the Alleycats' hairstyle) - the lead singer of The Fridays, Ashraf. I was so glad to see an old friend there thinking I would be alone before the arrival of another friend, Maya (former DJ of Traxx FM). It's ridiculous for me to worry about being alone actually because I eventually found many of my friends there. One of the organisers, Joe Kidd, is an old friend. Aiman from Civil Disorder was the crew. Farez of Maharajah Commission was the "bouncer" :). Jay of Free Love was another friend I had not seen for ages. Ben from Ben's Bitches/Panda Head Curry was there. Rafil from 360 Degree Head Rotation/Panda Head Curry came late. Unfortunately, old man like me could not recognise a few familiar faces. I had to admit I could not recognise Aidil from Couple and Farez the "bouncer" initially after years of not seeing them. I spent most of the time chatting away with Ashraf, Aidil, Azwad (another familiar face), Ben, etc while waiting for the tickets to be sold. As usual, the event was delayed.



The bands performed in the following order:
Dichi Michi
Gasoline Grenade
Free Love
Subculture
Carburetor Dung
then the headliner, Buzzcocks.

The first 2 bands were not my cup of tea honestly but the heat started when Free Love started playing. I think Jay of Free Love was playing really well because of his energetic performance. I think a lot of people enjoyed his performance that day. A friend even mentioned that he performed like a rock star.



The crowd went crazy the moment Subculture went on the stage. The band was an old veteran influenced greatly by The Ramones. Slam dancing, stage diving, body surfing, etc started. Everyone seemed so happy and enjoyed themselves. Obviously Subculture performed well - as usual I preferred their live performance than their recording.



The crowd remained crazy when Carburetor Dung started playing. I lost a bit of concentration here as I moved away from the crowd. My headache started due to the cigarette smoke and heat. I just stood at the back taking photos. I felt regret for moving away from the front stage as I could not get any proper photos of the bands there.



There was a short break after Carburetor Dung finished playing. People were rushing for drinks & toilets. I just wanted to get away from the smoke.

The moment Buzzcocks stepped on the stage, I realised I ran out of camera battery. My built-in flash was not functioning as I expected. I was digging for my spare battery but I realised that it was not with me. I should have checked to make sure I had the battery before leaving the house. So, I failed badly in capturing any good photos. Furthermore, I was at the far end away from the stage. Nevertheless, Buzzcocks played really well. The band was very tight and professional. They even played extra sets as the crowd demanded for more songs. Outside their performance, the band members seemed very friendly too.



I didn't stay back much longer after the gig as my headache got really bad that I just wanted to rush home. I felt like puking!!! I met 2 fellows who attended the gig at the LRT and we had a brief chat in the train.

It was what I called a fun day on a Sunday!!!

Stars

The sound of this band called Stars with their song "Elevator Love Letter" reminds me a lot of My Bloody Valentine with less noise and listenable vocal.

Stars with "Elevator Love Letter":


They sound different in the song "Bitches In Tokyo":


Again, they remind me of My Bloody Valentine in "Ageless Beauty":

My Discovery of Lissy Trullie

I came across an American singer-songwriter named Lissy Trullie with her band that named is after her at NME Radio with the song "Boy Boy" that caught my attention. It eventually led me to explore the rest of her songs from the EP, "Self-Taught Learner". I fell in love instantly with the simplicity of the lyric and the song also titled "Self-Taught Learner".

I see Lissy as a very high potential singer-songwriter in the alternative music scene. In "Boy Boy" I could distinguish that it's a female singer singing it but for "Self-Taught Learner", I thought another male singer was singing it. Unfortunately, I was wrong - Lissy was the singer.

Check out this singer-songwriter!

Lissy Trullie with "Self-Taught Learner":


Lyric of "Self-Taught Learner":
You were my first kiss
You were my first miss
What we made was our own
I went home and I told no one

Are you watching me
Am I different
Or am I the same

You don't have to say "I love you too"
That's not what I want to hear from you

Thought I saw you the other day
You changed your hair but you looked the same
Well I make wishes late in the day
You're six feet under and you're safe

Are you watching me
Am I different
Or am I the same

You don't have to say "I love you too"
That's not what I want to hear from you

Oh I want to die with you
Oh Oh Oh Oh I
Oh I want to die with you
Oh Oh Oh Oh
And are you lonely
Oh Oh Oh Oh

Oh I want to die with you
Oh Oh Oh Oh I
Oh I want to die with you
Oh Oh Oh Oh
And can I join you
Oh Oh Oh Oh

Oh I want to die with you
Oh Oh Oh Oh I
Oh I want to die with you
Oh Oh Oh Oh
And shall we meet
Once again

Are you watching me
Am I different
Or am I the same


Lissy Trullie with "Boy Boy":

Mail Thief

Although I am not a celebrity, spy, high ranking military man or even Chua Soi Lek, I found my mailbox being broken into 2 days ago. The asshole just pulled open my mailbox with bull strength force. Now, I can't even lock my mailbox properly and have to arrange for repair. I wonder what he got from my mailbox. Usually I only receive bills, bills and bills. Perhaps, he stole the Astro magazine??? What a jerk!!! Yeah, I am cursing the asshole, hoping that his "sarong jatuh, nampak burung, burung terbang" and got his "burung" chopped off.

Note:
"burung" = bird = dick

By the way, I also found a "sarong" at my balcony. I wonder whose "sarong jatuh"!!!

The Orgasm Addict, Buzzcocks, Is Heading For Kuala Lumpur

This is an unbelievable amazing news for 2009 - BUZZCOCKS IS COMING TO KUALA LUMPUR!!! This is more excited than Santa's coming to town.

With most of the 70s punk bands dead/half dead/inactive/disbanded, I will be absolutely overjoyed to be able to see a legendary 70s punk band all the way from England performing in my own country.

I am also amazed that they are selling the tickets with a very punk attitude - RM50 per ticket for a legendary international band. This is absolutely a good deal that you may never come across again. The last one was the gig by Fugazi in the 90s.

This is a rare opportunity that any true rock music lovers should not miss!!! You may regret for the rest of your life if you miss it. Please remember that this band is old, in a few more years you may not be able to see them performing anymore.

What Do I Get:


I Don't Mind:


Ever Fallen In Love:

Current Status of My Aquarium Tanks

My NPT (natural planted tank with garden soil & Holland sand). It has been badly messed up by the breeding Kribs after they dig a big hole leading to fungus growth, murky water & floating plants:


15 gallon tank with Lemon Tetras breeding occasionally:


Newly rescaped 15 gallon tank - added driftwood and mini Java Ferns:


3 feet jungle tank:

When We Were Young, Wild, Restless And Dangerous

Thinking back when we were young, we had great ambition and really pushed ourselves to the limit in achieving our dreams. Most of us small town boys and girls tend to dream about living in big cities. We wanted great jobs, city girlfriends/boyfriends, excitement, entertainment, challenges, risks and willing to face all kind of dangers in the cities to achieve our goals. Regardless whether we achieved the goal or not, as we grow older, we tend to get sick of the hectic stressful expensive lifestyle in the cities and longed to return to our small towns. We learn to appreciate simplicity of life, friendliness of small town folks and easy-going nature of life in small towns.

I remember a friend told me to returned to my hometown, Kangar, to work after graduation. He told my parents, "Wouldn't it be good to have your son living with you?". I dismissed his opinion as instantly as junks picking up from the dustbin. Telling myself that it was so easy for him to suggest a ridiculous idea just because he had a family business to run and he could remained in my hometown so easily. I would probably be jobless for the industry I was in as IT industry was almost non-existence in my hometown. Today I think if I took his advice and started my own business in IT industry, I could be doing better and happier as a pioneer in my hometown. Furthermore, my parents would not have to shift to Penang against their wish.

There are a lot of things mentioned by someone less educated but they make sense to me now.

1. One night, as I returned from work almost midnight. I probably looked tired, frustrated, angry and stressful. A security guard I met at the car park told me in Malay, "Come and join me working as a security guard. Life is much simpler. Look at yourself! Working so hard and make your life so difficult. Look at me, I am just sitting around". I know that his suggestion may seem ridiculous because the salary of a security won't allow me to feed my family, but don't you think his opinion makes sense too? Why do we work our asses off till we fall sick and grumpy just to make a living? Is it worth it?

2. I also remember having a conversation with an elderly Malay lady. We started a conversation our of boredom while I was waiting for someone. Somehow our conversation led to her asking whether I was married. I answered, "No" (I was still single at that point of time). She asked, "Why not?". I answered, "No money". I expected the topic to end but she gave me a lecture that career could come later and marriage should come first. She told me something I remember till today, "You will push yourself harder as you have a family. The career will grow automatically eventually". I dismissed her opinion as outdated village people's idea at that point of time. Today, I think it makes sense because if you start a family only when your career is successful, you may not have sufficient time to generate offspring. Just look at the situation of most of the Chinese community in Malaysia/Singapore. How many of us are childless?

When we were young, wild, restless and dangerous, we dismissed a lot of opinion from elderly folks and less educated folks. I guess we were more arrogant but time will prove us wrong.

Dear Mom & Dad

I know why I couldn't sleep last night and had to seek the help of alcohol to get myself into deep sleep. The answer is simple: I miss my mom and dad who passed away in May and September respectively. A friend who lost his father once told me that it may take a long time to get over it. I wonder how long! Probably years!

I used to write to my parents ever since the day I left for college. They would start to get worried when they didn't receive any letter. Over two decades of writing home, the number of letters gradually dropped due to the busy schedule of my job or ...should I say the laziness of writing. I even missed out mother's day, father's day along with their birthdays sometimes. Now I realise how much I miss simple things like writing a letter to my parents as follows:

"Dear mom & dad,

How are you? I hope both of you are fine.........

All the best and take care.

Your son, ........"

The letters writing eventually evolved into phone calls as my dad had problem writing. I noticed his writing was getting worse each time he replied - spelling issues, canceling of words all over the letter, missing words, etc. Knowing that my dad was an English teacher, he would not do this kind of mistakes. Eventually I was told that his brain was shrinking. During the days of our phone calls, I was usually the one calling back home. My dad would call me only if there was a long period of silence from me and my parents started to get worried. Eventually, our conversation grew very simple and short as my mom didn't have much to talk about once my parents moved to Penang - no more gossiping with the neighbours...so, I had very little news about the neighbours, my parents' friends and their children. I remember that in one of our conversation, my dad told me, "Even if we have nothing much to talk, give us a call..hearing your voice is good enough". I wish I can hear their voice the way they longed to hear mine. I even miss simple phone conversation translated from Hokkien to English as follows:

"Daddy/Mommy, how are you? Have you taken your lunch/dinner? What are you doing? How's the weather?.......Take care. Bye."

My good bye would eventually became the last good bye to them.....

2009 The Year of Death Continues

The year of death, 2009, continues to claim more lives of people I have known.

Up to May:
I lost 3 friends and my mother.

In Sept:
The number of friends that passed away increased to 4.
Then I lost my father.
When trying to contact a former teacher/neighbour, I also found out she passed away already.

Total lost so far:
4 friends
2 family members
1 teacher/neighbour

What a fucked up year, don't you think so???

I have never lost more than 3 people I have known per year in the past decades. 2009 is absolutely fucking amazing! It's a fucked up year!!! I won't be surprised if the world ends tomorrow!!

No Fishing! Can't You Read, Idiots?

This morning as I walked to the park near Ara Damansara, I came across 5 "blind" Malaysians adults fishing in the lake when the the signboards had been placed around the lake indicating "No fishing" or "Dilarang memancing" in Malay. The signboards even came with pictures that a 5 year-old kid could understand.

Normally I saw kids below 12 years old trying to fish in the lake. Most probably they caught nothing. Today, I was so surprised to see adults in their 20s-50s fishing at the lake. I was pretty sure they're Malaysians and not foreigners. At the inner part of thye lake, I saw two Chinese men probably in their 30s and 50s, fishing with a big bucket. At the outer part of the lake on a wooden bridge, I saw a Malay man and two Indian men doing the criminal acts.

What a coincidence! They comprised of 3 main races of Malaysia. I am ashamed!! In my heart I was sinking and asking them, "Can't you read the signboards, idiots?".

Not many people were at the lake because it was approaching noon. I only met a man doing his morning walk like myself. He probably was asking the same question to those "criminals". We walked pass and greeted each other with a simple "good morning". He just gave me the look and smile indicating there were idiots in the park.

There was a man cleaning the park but he seemed to be ignorant although the crime was carried out right in front of him. Probably, it was not his responsibility to catch the "criminals". There was a police station nearby but I think it was not their responsibilities to take care of the park too. There's no such thing as any park ranger in a small park like this I suppose.

No wonder a lot of parks in Malaysia look worse than cemetery!!!!

Tribute to Hungry Ghost Festival

Being a "kampung" (village) boy originated from Perlis, I have been exposed to a lot of supernatural stories since I was a little boy. Most of the events occurred in Perlis.

I remember being told that a lot of Malays/Siamese in that area used to keep some kind of spirits for their protection in the olden days. As they passed away, their offspring do not carry on with the traditional practice anymore. So the spirits roamed freely.

The hill in Kangar town near the old Mahkota cinema is known to have a lot of spirits (keramat). Several people got lost on the hill in the past including some of my schoolmates in 1980s. My dad told me "bomoh" had to be called to assist when a skeptic got lost decades ago.

My family members had been exposed to supernatural elements as well especially my late mother who was exceptionally "sensitive".

I remember my sister telling me that she saw a lady ghost hanging around at the hall of a "kampung" house we used to live. She could not enter the room because there was a Buddha statue inside the room. Eventually, my family found out that the wife of a teacher who used to live there passed away.

When I was a little toddler, I used to fall sick every Thursday. Any other days, I was fine. Even the doctor was puzzled and joked that Thursday did not suit me. With the consultation of a medium, my family found out that an ancestor from Indonesia was seeking my family's attention. After praying, everything is back to normal ever since. My ancestor actually migrated from Indonesia.

When I was a boy I used to live in an area called Kampung Bakau which is next to Sekolah Menengah Perlis. That entire housing area was infamous as being haunted. There were several occasions that my parents saw weird things when staying there such as:

1. A hairy hand trying to grab my dad when he was watering the plants

2. My late mother saw someone that looked like my dad but "he" was not my dad.

3. My late mother saw someone that kept rushing into the toilet thinking "she" was my sister but "she" was not my sister.


The neighbours also encountered weird things around that area:

1. My neighbour's children saw kids with green face and red face playing with water at the sink.

2. Neighbours complained about hearing baby crying at night (Note: there were a lots of stray cats in that area too. So, it could be cats)

3. An old man was seen by the son of a neighbour when there's no old man in the house

4. A lightning stroke my sister's friend's room directly at the chair he used to sit. Eventually, a medium informed that the house was haunted and he had been living with a female ghost in the room.

I remember the late Pak Dollah who used to live in a nearby "kampung" told my parents that the area had a lot of suicidal/rape cases during the Japanese occupation. He even pointed out that the trees in front of our house and the back of our house used to be the suicide spots of 2 women.

I used to work in Cyberjaya for about 2 years plus and I used to pass by the infamous Lim Kok Wing Institute where there were a lot of accidents. All of the time I drove alone even after midnight. I had never encountered anything supernatural there but I knew it was a dangerous part of the road. I felt half asleep there once and almost had an accident when making a u-turn. Another dangerous part of the road is in front of NTT. I remember very well that someone died in an early morning accident there years ago. I only heard about security guards complaining about the lift in my former company going up and down by itself when nobody was around, as well as mysterious window tapping sound.

In my current company in PJ, I often have to work alone in the office. Sometimes, I can hear weird sound like someone typing using the keyboard when nobody was around. I even walked towards that section to check but found nobody. I believe the noise is caused by the temperature changes leading the windows frame to generate the noise. Strong wind often causes the gap of the windows to "whistle". I have got used to it.

In my apartment, I often hear the sound of marbles or something dropping after midnight too. I don't think it's something supernatural or rather I try to dismiss it. I believe there's a Malay family with a kid staying upstairs.

I am actually an in-between believer and non-believer. I believe because I have no doubt about what my family members encountered. Even my cousin who is a doctor and my uncle who is a former army have encountered supernatural stuff. I don't believe because certain encounters can actually be explained but our brains play trick on us sometimes.

Natural Planted Tank Update

This is how my NPT (Natural Planted Tank) as of today. The faunas remain as Platies and Endlers but I have also added a pair of Kribs lately after they're bullied by another breeding pair of Kribs from another tank. Therefore you may have noticed the additional pot.

I threw out a lot of plants from this tank because they were either hit by BBA, stunted or dead. I only keep those doing well in the tank currently. The water of this tank is often full of debris because the tank is overcrowded with fishes. Furthermore there's no filter.

I am quite happy with this tank that I use common garden soil (Topsoil) and Holland sand although it looks messy. It cannot beat a tank with ADA soil which is likely to look very neat but what the heck in terms of $$$$ ????

Breeding Kribs

Babies of Kribs:


Male Krib Guarding The Fry:


Female Krib Guarding The Fry:


I found my newly bought Kribs digging a cave underneath a rock one day. The next thing I spotted was dozens of eggs sticking on the rock. In a few days, I found something moving inside the cave. Due to poor visibility inside the dark cave, I thought it was caused by the heat generated from the light. Eventually, I found out they were fry of the Kribs.

After 2 days, my wife told me all the fry had disappeared. To my disappointment when I checked them out, I found majority of them missing too although I could see a few of them still moving inside the cave - I thought there were less than 5 of them. I thought the parents had eaten them. Days later, I found the cave collapsed (poor engineering skill of the adult Kribs). I thought "There goes all my Krib babies!". After careful inspection, I found a big group of fry swimming along with the parents. The parents were indeed taking turns to take care of their babies. All the intruders were chased away. They even stared at me when I photographed them thinking I was an intruder too. They attacked the other pair of Kribs sharing the tank till they ended up with broken tails and fins.

Now it makes me wonder how I am going to keep the fry when they grow up if they're so aggressive.

The Kribs are indeed very good parents. I have never seen any fish taking care of their fry in my tanks prior to this. Who says fish has no feeling? They care for their young ones the same way human and other mammals do.

New 3 X 1.5 X 1.5 Feet Tank

After going through 3 broken/crack tanks, this is the result of a new tank with 10mm glass thickness. The old crack tank is left at the balcony with a lonely Black Molly with water level of only 3 inches. I can't think of what to do with the tank and the Black Molly. Maybe I should breed some Mollies :)

How She Felt?

I woke up this morning and suddenly I felt how my mom felt when she was alive - the pain she went through.

Losing her mom at the age of 11. His father got himself a second wife. I bet my mom felt abandoned by him because he must have spent most of the time with the second wife's family. I still remember very well what she told me when I made her angry when I was a boy - "If I die, then you'll know how suffer it is to live with a stepmother". Those days, I could only imagine the stepmother on TV especially the one from Snow White. Although not all stepmothers are cruel, I am sure that there are still some that cause havoc to the first wife's family members.

She was raised up mainly by her grandparents. Her only close family members are her grandparents, a brother and cousins. I can imagine how sad she was when her grandparents passed away. I still remember very well that she treated her cousins like brothers and sisters as she lost her own brother eventually.

Her relationship with her only brother broke down due to a misunderstanding. Throughout her life, I realise that she was always very sad when I had an argument with my sister. The fear inside her that our relationship would ended up like her brother and hers was very strong. She would break down and cry, begging us to stop fighting. I still remember the day she explained to me about her fear. I promised not to repeat the mistake. She only attended his funeral in 1980s. If they are both alive today, I would have brought them together to mend their relationship.

I'm sure all her suffering is over now. I hope she understands how much we love her. Even though she almost lost everything, she still has a family.

Great Distortion of Sonic Youth

I love the song from Sonic Youth's album, Dirty, called 100%. I think this is the greatest distorted sound ever produced that I have been in love for more than a decade. I was listening to NME Radio online, when 100% was played, it triggered me to search for the video clips. I came across the following video clip that I find very interesting and cool!!

Death Counter

I have been counting the number of death involving people I know this year. I still think this is the year of death, no matter how my friends deny it.

I lost 3 friends - Deh Koon (Jan), Soo Aun (April/May) and Makhzani (May).
I lost my own mother in May.
The mother of my close friend, Wen Shyang also passed away in June, 2009.

The counter has reached 5, excluding Michael Jackson, of course.

The number has never reached so high in my life before this year. Something must have gone wrong this year!! I really hope the death counter will stop increasing for the rest of the year 2009. At least, don't involve people I know!!

For The Memory of My Mom

My mom, Khaw Seok Eng, was born on the 11th Dec 1931 in a well-to-do Hokkien family in Penang. Her grandfather was a business man running some kind of a grocery shop if I am not mistaken. She was so unfortunate that her mother passed away due to stroke/high blood pressure when she was only 11 years old. She was mostly raised up by her grandparents. Those days, she stayed with one big family consisting of grandparents, uncles, aunties and cousins. She had a younger brother but they didn't get along at later part of their lives but my mom still attended his funeral which took place when I was a teenager in the late 80s. Due to her poor relationship with her brother, she broke down and cry whenever I had wars with my sister - my mom didn't want us to repeat the same mistake of herself and her brother. The second world war came when she was just a young girl. Her family escaped into the country side/hill to get away from the war. In 1950s, when my mom was in her 20s, she loved movies, singing and often visited her uncle (her mother's brother) that I had never met (he passed away before I was born). From my mother's 2 years diary written in 1954 to 1955, I have the impression that her uncle loved her very much - he often gave her money to spend. Before my mom passed away, she told me she could have been rich if she kept the money given to her but she spent them all on watching movies. My mother was engaged to a rich man before my father. Unfortunately the rich man was a playboy who made the servant's sister pregnant. So the engagement was called off.

My mother also had a step-mother, a step-brother and I think 2 step-sisters. I was told about a story that my mother banged the door of the bathroom without knowing that her step-mother was inside. Her father wanted to beat her up but her grandparents threatened her father to stop him beating up my mother. When I was a small boy, she often warned me about having a step-mother. It gave me the impression that she didn't have a good experience with the step-mother.

My mother was a very strict no-nonsense person. I was beaten severely by her whenever I did something wrong or when I was naughty. She would beat me with anything she can get hold of. It could be a cane, a broom, newspaper, lidi (Malay term for vein of coconut leaf) but she had never use a belt. Sometimes, it freaked out my dad, so he took me out of the house with him to prevent me from being beaten up. To be frank, I hated my mom when I was a little boy. Anyway, she often showed me her love by buying me toys whenever I ask for it. She would buy me presents whenever I behave nicely. She often worried about my studies and the people I mixed with. I eventually found out that she had a very good reason to worry - she didn't want anybody to look down on me, she also wanted me to have a good future and she also didn't want me to mix with the wrong company like her brother. I believe my rebellious behaviour reminded her of her own brother.

During my teenage years, my relationship with my dad turned sour because I was rebellious and didn't like to stick to his rules. I guess 2 stubborn people could not live under one roof. I deeply missed my dad in his younger days when we were very close. My mother was always on my side whenever there was a "war". Being a very fair person, sometimes she would criticise and tried to correct me as well. I spent a lot of time chatting with her in the room. I could always discussed with her whenever I was in trouble. Whenever I fell sick, she would be taking very good care of me - I could never pay her back on what she did when I had chest injury, jaundice, measles, high fever and food poisoning. She really took care of me 24 hours.

Years before she passed away, I always asked what she wanted me to buy for her. Most of the time she would answer that she didn't know what she wanted. Weeks before she passed away, knowing that she loved "kacang putih", I bought her a packet. She asked for dried minced meat..not just for herself but for my dad as well, so I bought her a packet. The value of everything costs me less than RM30. The value of her love is something I cannot pay back. I even asked her to think carefully on what she wanted from me the night before she was gone but she didn't ask for anything. If I can bring her back to beat me like she used to do when I was a little boy, I definitely want my mother back. I miss her deeply!

My mother passed away on 27 May 2009 at around 8.30am.

This photo was taken on 1 June 1951 when my mom was just 20 years old:


My mom's wedding photo:


This photo was taken around 6th of May 2009:

2009 = The Year of Death?

I think I have been surrounded by death in 2009. Just a few weeks ago, I counted that I lost 2 friends. On the 27th of May, I received another bad news that my own mother passed away. After several days of getting myself busy and a couple of sleepless nights without any internet access, I found out that another of my ex-colleague also passed away on the same day as my mom.

What a year!!! Is 2009 the year of death of the year of ox?????

Malaysians Behave Badly In Lifts

I wish all lifts in the country should have sensors at the doors and they should come and go like LRT (light rail transit), monorail or MRT. So that I don't have to be pissed of with anyone.

I have been noticing some bad attitudes of Malaysians in lifts. The main ones I have seen very often are two of the following:

1. Rushing into the lift but went to the end of the lift without bothering to hold the door opened. Such assholes should be thrown out of the lift!!

2. Rushing into the lift even before anyone else inside the lift has the chance to get out. These kind of assholes deserved to be smashed into pieces by the lift!!

Tonight, I was pissed off that I had to pick up something my wife left in the car. I had to wait for the lift for a mighty long time at level LG (lower ground floor) despite we had 3 lifts in the building. As usually, one of the fucked up lifts broke down during weekend. I saw it stuck at level G (ground floor) forever. Then another one kept going up and never came down. The third one came down from level 12, 11, 10, 9....2, 1, G, but went up to level 1, 2, 3.....the rest was history.

By the time one of the lifts reached me, I saw a Weirdos family. I held the lift for them but none of them entered the lift. There were at least 8-10 persons. One of the kids asked me whether I was going up or down. I answered "up" but in my brain I was answering "This is the lowest floor. Can I go down further.... to hell?". None of the adults bother to tell me whether they're coming in or not after letting me held the door like their door boy. I felt like a serial rapist that could rape everyone of them if they entered the lift with me. By the time I heard one of the adult's conversation in Mandarin, "Let them go first....", I immediately hit the close the door button. Then I heard one kids shouted "Oi! Oi!". In my brain I was thinking, "Such a little bastard with no manners dares to call me 'oi'. Fuck off and enjoy waiting for the lift!".

When I am in a bad mood, even kids are not spared by me....let alone adults. If you happened to misbehave and meet me in the lift when I am in a bad mood, beware!!! I may just ask you to fuck off...

My Metal Days

It has been ages since I last listened to something really noisy. I am not talking about punk rock or indie stuff here as they do not match the noise of the music I listen during my metal days back in the late 80s-90s. To experience the true noise of music, you have to listen to Heavy Metal. Check out Death Metal, Speed Metal and various Metal stuff....not just the lovey dovey Bon Jovi crap.

I remember a punk rock friend questioned me about Death Metal, "You call that music?". I just kept quiet because I listened to indie, punk rock as well as heavy metal during that era.

In times of trouble when I am really pissed off, heavy metal is the music that calms me down by letting me letting go of all the tension. You got to be joking if you tell me that the music of Britney Spears, Mozart, lovey dovey Bon Jovi or even Morrissey helps. I will need something noisy and really heavy like these:

Sepultura with Roots Bloody Roots:


Soulfly with Prophecy:

Air Asia's Crappy GoInsure Interface

After lodging a complaint against Air Asia's crappy GoInsure (insurance) interface directly to the CEO in January 2009, I still don't see any action being taken by them to improve it.

Since there is no action from them, I will continue to warn people about their crappy interface. This time I have captured the screens.

When booking for your flight ticket with Air Asia, you need to be extra careful about GoInsure if you do not intend to purchase it. The web based booking system's interface is very confusing and you can be easily tricked into purchasing it.

When booking the flight, in Payment page, you need to be very alert. Look out for the right section of the page where I circle in the following screen. You need to click the word "[Cancel]" in order to cancel avoid paying for GoInsure. Note: Please click on the image to get a better view.



After clicking on the word "[Cancel]", a pop-up window as follows will appear. Note: Please click on the image to get a better view.




By default, majority of the users will click on "OK" thinking that OK is to agree to cancel the GoInsure but not for this crappy interface. For this pop-up window, the users are expected to click "Cancel" button in order to cancel GoInsure. Do you see what I mean by confusing? If the users are in a hurry or careless, very likely that the poor users will end up purchasing GoInsure. As a software developer, I personally think that this system is not professionally developed at all. It has the intention to cause confusion to the users. Do we call this cheating?

I wonder which idiot created/designed/tested this user interface and which idiot agreed to accept this lousy user interface on behalf of Air Asia!!!

Death

It has always been a painful process to loss a friend for me especially when you won't be seeing the person on planet Earth again - DEATH! This year seems like a horrible year because I have lost two friends to lung cancer. Both of them were non-smokers and I doubt they're regular drinkers.

Early this year, I lost an ex-colleague. She was my volunteer photographer on my wedding day and also my ex-colleagues in 3 different companies. I wish I had the opportunity to see her before she's gone. Unfortunately, she refused to let any of us visited her when she was hospitalised - I was not even aware that she was in Malaysia.

Last Sunday, I received a SMS from a friend. Initially I thought it was just another annoying advertisement SMS from Digi. It turned out that another of my friend was diagnosed with lung cancer. I was in Penang visiting my sick father and my friend was hospitalised in Klang. So, I could only plan for a visit after I returned to Petaling Jaya. During that period, I also sent out a couple of SMS to other friends and made some phone calls regarding the bad news. I told my sister about it and she printed out an article about consuming asparagus to fight cancer for my friend. The moment she passed me the article, I received another SMS that my friend had passed away. I could hardly believe it because I was hoping that he was wrongly diagnosed. The bad news hit me really hard. Barely 4 months, two of my friends were no longer with us.

I really hope that there is a cure for cancer. For prevention, I would encourage everyone to consume a lot of asparagus and green tea. At the same time, reduce the amount of meat consumption. I cannot say what is the possibility of success but let's hope that it works.

Let's hope that both of my friends are resting in peace now.....

Planted Tank For Beginners - NPT Method

I have decided to write this article to encourage a fellow online friend, Constance, to re-setup her tank after all her fish went to the Heaven. :) Hopefully, your kids will get the opportunity to learn a thing or two out of this hobby as well. I am pretty sure they will learn about science (biology and chemistry to be specific).

Since Constance mentioned to me that her fish died when she was on vacation. She suspected that starvation could be the cause. Yeah, this is possible for a non-planted tank. Her Platies might have died because there's no algae or any critters acting substitute food. The risk is even higher for fry. Usually a fish can survive without food for about 5 days. The risk goes up as the number of days increases. If you decide to use an auto feeder, make sure you test it first before going for vacation. Honestly, I have never used it. In a planted tank, normally you will find some critters that you can hardly see with your naked eyes. These critters could be the fish food when you're away from home. Furthermore, planted tank is more stable in terms of water chemistry - the plants can absorb some of the chemistry that is harmful to the fishes such as ammonia. In other words, the plants act as natural filters. At the same time, the plants also make the tank feel more secure for the fishes. So stress is reduce.

Some people say that NPT (Natural Planted Tank) or Diana Walstad's method may not be suitable for beginners. I am doubt so. I would say that anybody can do it as long as the person is willing to try. This is the cheapest way to have a proper planted tank without using expensive ADA or other manufactured soil made specifically for aquarium tank. If you're willing to spend money on the expensive soil, you may go ahead though. It's like driving a Myvi or BMW to get to your destination.

Before going into very detail with soil, let focus on light first. Light is one of the important elements to keep plants alive. However, getting the wrong type of light does not help much in a planted tank. For a planted tank, you'll need lighting tube of 5,000 - 10,000 Kelvin. A lot of lighting tube companies do not supply you this information. Therefore, sometimes people go for 2 watt per U.S. gallon theory which is not very accurate. If you do not intend to go into too technical, consider "copying" from your friends - basically find out what lighting set works in their tanks and try to buy the same lighting set for your tank. I use 2 sets of ADA 15 watt florescent tubes for one of my 15 gallon (2 feet) tank. As usual, all ADA products are expensive. You can consider PL (compact florescent) tubes from Dymax and Aqua Zonic as they work fine in my tanks. You can also use Phillips 36 watt PL. Bear in mind that majority of the lighting set supplied along with the tank you purchase are not suitable for plants unless you asked about it. Meanwhile, don't trust the salesperson too much as well.

Here's a sample information about the lighting set I use. Like I mentioned earlier, no information about Kelvin:



The other element that ensure the survival of plants is the substrate. Here I would like to suggest a mixture of Holland Sand and Top Soil. Holland sand is a common cheap aquarium sand you can find in most of the LFS (local fish shop). The sand may consists of different colour but I highly recommend the colour of the sand in my photo below. The main reason is, you won't spot the dirt. White colour sand is the worst - everyone with a common sense will know the reason:



Top Soil is a common garden soil sold very cheaply at the nursery. No, you don't buy this at the LFS.



Before using the soil, may consider doing some test on the soil. The method to test is basically use a bottle, fill it up with some of the soil. Measure the level of the soil and mark it. Fill it up with water and shake it. After 30 seconds, measure the soil and mark the level. After 2 minutes, measure the soil and mark it again. Check out how murky is the water. You may want to leave it over night to see whether it clears up. This method helps identifying whether the soil is suitable or not. Check out the following link about my Diana Walstad's Experiment for more details and also check out how to fill up the tank with the soil & Holland sand:

My Diana Walstad's Experimental Tank

As for the filter, the following are some of the cheaper options. You may go for canister filter which is more expensive and looks neat in the tank.

Internal Foam Filter:
It takes up space inside the tank but it works great especially in a livebearer tank with frequent production of fry. You have to hook it up to an air pump.


HOB(Hang On The Back) Filter:
For my case, it's hang on the side filter because I hang it on the side instead of at the back. It occupies space at the top of your tank making placing lighting set a bit of headache. You may tie a piece of foam to prevent fry from being sucked into the inlet. Eheim is my favourite brand in terms of filter but it is more expensive. It comes with quality though.


Plants selection:
For beginners, I suggest the following plants. Try to google to find out how they look like. It's better to do some research before purchasing. Otherwise, you may end up getting non-aquatic plants such as Mondo Grass that is often sold at LFS.
1. Hornwort or CeratoPhyllym Demersum - you can even leave it floating if you don't have any strong current. Good as hiding space for fry especially livebearer.

2. Elodea or Egeria Densa - you can even leave it floating if you don't have any strong current. Good as hiding space for fry. Good as hiding space for fry especially livebearer.

3. Java Fern - There are a few varieties or sub-species including Philippines Fern, Windelov, etc. You don't need substrate to keep this plant. Just tie it to a driftwood.

4. Hygrophila Polysperma - You can see this plant in my previous post or just google. It's a fast growing plant.

5. Duckweed - Most of us will eventually grow to hate it because it grows like weeds blocking the light from other plants.

6. Anubias - There are several varieties such as Anubias Nana, Anubias Nana var Petite, Anubias Nana var Marble, etc. You don't need substrate to keep this plant. Just tie it to a driftwood. Best to keep them sheltered by other plants.

7. Cryptocoryne Wendtii - the easiest Crypt to keep

8. Cryptocoryne Retrospiralis - this is an easy Crypt suitable as background plant.

9. Potamogeton Gayi - This is an easy background stem plant.

10. Riccia - Most of us will eventually grow to hate it because it grows like weeds and it's hard to keep it tied to the driftwood or rock because it's naturally a floating plant.

11. Marsilea Quadrifolia - The easiest carpet plants to keep. Will grow taller if the light is insufficient.

12. Corkscrew Vallisneria - As long as the substrate is rich in nutrients..even fish poo will do, it will grow and produce runners very fast. Suitable as background plant.

13. Subwassertang - Just tie it on a driftwood/rock. Subwassertang

Fish selection:
Livebearers are generally not well taken care of by the farms because they are cheap fishes. Therefore, it's very common for you to get sick ones home and they die within days. You may consider livebearers such as Guppies, Mollies (need brackish water), Swordtails (need at least 20 gallon tank) or Platies if you can find good quality ones. These are some of my favourite hardy fishes:

1. Ember Tetra - Small sized and the colour will brighten up in a planted tank. So, don't overlook them.

2. Lemon Tetra - Medium size tetra. Best to keep them in a group. Just beware that they're jumpers.

3. Cherry Barb - Very hardy colourful barbs.

4. Yellow Phantom Tetra - Very hardy medium sized tetra. Not aggressive as the cousin, Black Phantom Tetra.

5. Kuhlii Loach - Interesting because it looks like a worm/snake. Very fun to look at but require some hiding space.

Here's a list of things I will do to re- setup a tank:

1. Bleach the tank to make sure it's free of disease. Use non-perfumed bleach. Rinse the tank over and over with tap water.

2. Fill up the tank with Holland sand at all four corners. Then add the soil inside the tank. Then cover the soil with more Holland sand.

3. Add the plants you want into the tank and make sure they're well planted into the substrate. Make sure you moisture the plants to make sure they don't dry up (you may spray some water onto the plants). Tall plants should be planted at the back and short ones in front (make sure you know the plants you're having)

4. Place a clean plastic bag to cover the substrate and plants to prevent water from stirring them up. Then, fill up the tank with water.

5. Add some anti-chlorine into the tank.

6. The water may appear a bit murky. Just leave the tank alone for at least 24 hours.

7. When the murky water is gone, you should look into cycling the tank with hardy fish. Try with 3-4 fish first and keep it that way for at least 1 month. You may consider fishless cycling too - this method utilises ammonia to cycle the tank. Cycling process is introducing beneficial bacteria into your tank to ensure the survival of fish.

8. Theoretically water change should be 10-50% on weekly basis. I prefer 50%. Sometimes I go beyond 50%. At the initial stage, I believe 50% water change is the minimum when the tank is going through cycling process.


Additional Notes:
It's very important to find out the exact size of your tank, so that you can plan to set it up properly. Example: The amount of lighting, fishes and fertiliser depend on the size of your tank. Here's a useful link to find out the actual measurement of your tank along with various aquarium related calculators:

Aquarium Stuff Calculators

Activated charcoal is unsuitable for planted tanks. The main purpose of activated charcoal to get rid of chemical in the water that are harmful to the fishes. In a planted tank, it also get rid of fertiliser of chemical needed by the plants.

In a planted tank, normally we don't vacuum the substrate like we used to do in non-planted tank. The fish poo and debris act as fertiliser to the plants. You will uproot the plants or even kill the plants if you do so regularly.

In order to control the duration of light or even CO2 (if you decide to use it), it's best to get yourself a timer. IKEA offers the best price for timers in my opinion - you'll get two timers for the price of one. Even though the timers are made in China, it's hassle free to get them replaced in IKEA if they're found to be faulty within the first week. Usually, you will discover faulty one within one week. So make sure you test them 24 hours for 7 days during the first week :) Using a timer, you don't turn on the light 24 hours a day. So, it's very safe even if you're away from home.

Normally, it's very safe to run the air pump, filter and powerhead even though you're away from home as long as the water in the tank does not dry up. I heard of powerhead caught fire - it happened because some stupid people decided to place powerhead outside the water when powerhead was meant to be inside the water. Anyway, I don't fancy powerhead because it generates heat inside the water. I have never heard of air pump or filter catching fire before. The highest quality filters are made in Germany. To be specific, the brand is Eheim as I have mentioned before. If you use air pump, it's best to look out for one that does not produce too much noise. Otherwise, the noise will be very irritating in the long run.

In a tropical country, sometimes we use a fan (similar to a PC fan) to cool down the temperature of the tank to optimise the growth of some plants. The only drawback is the water evaporates causing the water level to go down. Usually I switch off the fan if I am away from home - I don't want to damage my filter.

Spot The krib

Here are some random photos from my multiple tanks. The original intention is just to let the original owner of the Krib that I adopt to see his former "baby". The Krib started hiding again after one night of not acting shy - I noticed that it came out to greed my hand. Unfortunately, it's camera shy again the next day (perhaps I scared it when I was changing the water). It's peeping in one of the photos. So, try to spot the Krib.

Aquatic Plants Experiment

Currently I have started another experiment using my Diana Walstad experimental tank. Basically I go around LFS (local fish shops) searching for various cheap plants. Buy a bunch back. Take some photos. Post them online in forums to get them identified. Make sure they're true aquatic plants. Otherwise, I will publish the blacklisted plants to the public. Yeah, I am acting as an unauthorised inspector now knowing that many LFS sell non-aquatic plants to their customers. I don't blame this completely on the LFS because some of them lack the knowledge as well. Anyway, what is the excuse of selling something you don't know? The blame is to be shared by the farms, suppliers and the customers themselves for not doing any research.

Here's my number one targeted plant. I have been setting my eyes on this plant for years but I often thought it's non-aquatic. It turned out to be a true aquatic plant known as Hygrophila Polysperma. Possibly Hygrophila polysperma var. 'Rosa Nervis'. It's a fast growing plants that is suitable for beginners.




Here's another plant that I have yet to identify. It looks like a type of Vallisneria but the leaves are unlike Vallisneria - they're harder. The leaves remind me of the non-aquatic "lalang" (wild grass). I found out from the forum that it's actually Cyperus Helferi that can be planted submerged or emersed. It is a native plant from Thailand. I believe I have seen it in the wild in Malaysia as well.




The root of Cyperus Helferi:




The leaves of Cyperus Helferi:

My Earliest Days of Alternative Music Exposure

My earliest alternative music exposure are due to a few top 10 hits in the 80s by British bands such as The Cure, The Smiths, The Housemartins, Depeche Mode, OMD and Jesus & The Mary Chain. Those days they were not even called alternative music. Here are some music videos as a tribute to them.

"Panic" by The Smiths:
I first heard this song on the radio. I think it was BBC World Service.




"Ask" by The Smiths:
The first time I heard this song was on the local English radio station, Traxx FM. Those days, I think it was known as Blue Network.




"Lullaby" by The Cure:
I cannot recall from where I heard this song but I remember watching this music video on the TV and I thought it was the coolest music video. I love the gothic looks of Robert Smith.




"Happy Hour" by The Housemartins:
I think I first heard this on the old Blue Network radio station. I loved this song instantly. Paul Heaton remains one of my all time favourite song writer/lyricist along with Morrissey of The Smiths over the decades. I heard The Beautiful South formed by Paul Heaton has split up as well and he has gone solo.



"Five Get Over Excited" by The Housemartins:
I could have heard this song from Blue Network radio station or BBC. I loved this song instantly as well. I fell in love with almost all of the hit songs of The Housemartins instantly anyway.




"Me and The Farmer" by The Housemartins:
Another funny video clip of one of my all time favourite songs.




"Shake The Disease" by Depeche Mode:
This is one of the earliest electronic music exposure. I didn't love them initially until I heard "People Are People".

Diana Walstad's Experimental Tank Part 5

I have added the following plants and make sure some of the stem plants such as Limnophila Aromatica & Rotala Indica are planted at the background. The first four new plants are supplied by my friend, Thomas.

- Rotala Rotundifolia
- Rotala Sp. "Green"
- Eleocharis Vivipara
- Sagitaria Subulata
- Bacopa (not sure of the exact species)

A Full View of the Tank:


Unknown Bacopa:


Rotala Sp. "Green":


Blyxa Japonica:


Sagitaria Subulata:


Platies:

Diana Walstad's Experimental Tank Part 4

I decided to remove Hornwort and put them in the bin because it looked messy and it melted when my lighting set blew up forcing me to leave the tank without any light for one day. Trust me, next time if you want to send your existing light for modification, don't do it. It's a waste of time and money, unless you do it yourself and willing to take risk. It's wiser and easier to replace the entire lighting set. I am currently using Aqua Zonic lighting set with 55 watt PLL. Another product from China!!! It's damn difficult to find non-made-in-China product these days and Japanese products are too expensive (referring to ADA).

I am having difficulties keeping the Glosso planted because the Platies keep pulling them out. The water looks a bit brownish comparing with the rest of my non-garden soil tanks. I suppose it does not look that bad as it stands out among the tanks. Maybe I have been replanting the Glosso almost everyday causing the soil to be stirred up a bit. No outbreak of algae so far. The fry are still able to hide among the plants although I saw some fry being chased around by the adults a few times. It's no longer as safe as when Hornwort was around. I also have difficulties keeping the stem plants planted. Somehow, they keep floating up. So I decide to let them be. I know I am not being patience.

My last Black Molly fry died in this tank days ago for unknown reason. The rest of the fishes are fine.

This is how the tank looks like currently: