My Precious Birthday's Present

I didn't get much birthday present since I was 12 years old. Birthday celebration for me is my wife and kids have a nice dinner at home. The 'special gift' from my wife though has to wait until all the kids went to sleep.

Not until my recent birthday, I got a very precious gift from a friend that I knew for only 3 weeks. Well, it's not physically precious as the present was a pair of socks. My friend bought it for a nice bargain. Buy one free one and it's only cost him RM 4. It's not about the socks I want to highlight here but it's all about this friend of mine. He is very decent guy working as general worker in one of the local survey company. His gross monthly income is RM 300 per month (believe me, he did showed his payslip). Well, with that kind of money what you expect to get in today's world.

He did somehow knew that my birthday was coming soon but his financial was so tight. So, he decided to sell 'Gambir Sarawak' in Kuching Water Front's area with only a small profit margin. He then managed to get some extra money from the sale and bought the socks. And that was how I got my birthday's present.

When he handed me the present I was shocked, not because he gave me a nice wrapped socks but the thing was, I didn't expect anything from him. We just knew each other for 3 weeks and RM 4 for him is just like, I don't know maybe a RM 100 for most of us. Furthermore he had to do extra work to earn it and he did so just to give me a birthday's present. I still remember what he said to me," I have nothing special to give you but this is all what I can afford. Happy Birthday my friend....." I knew from that very moment, I was not only getting a pair of socks but a friend and a very sincere friendship as well. That is the most precious birthday's present I ever had. Thank you my friend for the lovely socks

Nothing....Truly.....

My mind jammed. I had this what they called writer's block. So what I do? I lighted up my ciggarette and with every puff I took I was inspired. But still nothing to write...Inspired but totally useless. "C'mon you can do it..." I said to myself. "Don't let those ciggarettes wasted." 6 sticks in 6 minutes and still nothing happened. What should I do. I laid down and closed my eyes for 10 seconds, no 20 seconds oh no, its 5 minutes I think. By the time I opened my eyes it was exactly 1 hour and 10 minutes. "Shit, I was asleep." Blame it to my comfy pillow.

I made myself a cup of hot Milo. "Emmm...marvellous." Within 5 minutes it's all gone. Still nothing in my mind. "Wah...this is terrible. May be a yoga will clear the clog in my mind. Ah...may be 1 more ciggarette will do." I reached for my ciggarette pack but it was empty dumpty. I was ran out of inspirational source. "What the heck, the shop is only 5 minutes away." 10 minutes later, I was fully back up with 2 packs of king size ciggarette. Then, I had another problem. It was my lighter. It won't work. Krit....krit....and no fire at all. Jammed like my mind. I went straight to my kitchen and light up my double burner stove as a substitute for the lighter. Vaah....within a second I burnt a bit of my cultivated and groomed hair of my upper lip or a moustache. "Damn it, now I have to trim it back."

It was though...My mind don't want to cooperate at all. I looked at my watch, it was 9.00 pm. "May be I shouldn't force it." After a thorough consideration, I switched on my PS 2 and played Winning Eleven. Goal! Every matched I played I won....Too easy...I switched off the console. By then it was 11.00 pm and I went straight to sleep....zzzzzzzzz......

Proton Perdana V6 Executive Vs. Mercedes Benz E200K

3.43 million for the comfort of state exco members and senior officers in Terengganu. After a thorough consideration, decision then is made by the state government to purchase 14 units of Mercedes Benz E200K and to replace the former Proton Perdana V6 Executive purchased in 2004. The reason, German cars were bought for the safety of the state officials who had to travel extensively and to reduce the cost of maintenance.

The question is why Mercedes Benz and not the other brand? Toyota or Honda for example. How come maintenance cost for our national car is higher than those of foreign cars? Is it means that our national cars is brokedown more often compare to theirs counterpart and thus increase the cost of maintenance? If that is so, why is such situation happened?

Whatever the answers are, now we all know that our national cars are less safe and more expensive to maintain. Now, that are the problems, so let us find the solution to overcome these. So Proton, you have a job to do. Your job now is to convince back Terengganu Government in the credibility of our proud national car, Proton V6 Executive. That is a challenge you have to take. How will you compete in the international market if you have already lost in the local one?

CHESS IN SCHOOL

For a starter, consider this statement; The State of New Jersey passed a bill legitimizing chess as a unit of instruction within the elementary school curriculum. A quote from the bill states "In countries where chess is offered widely in schools, students exhibit excellence in the ability to recognize complex patterns and consequently excel in math and science..."

A research conducted in Russia indicated that, after a considerable amount of educational research in elementary schools found that experimental groups of children who learn chess in a formal, systematized way in school perform better in math and science than aged-matched control groups.

One of my chinese friend in Sibu, Sarawak said to me that he had learned Chinese Chess or Xiangqi in his school as a part of the curriculum. By playing chess, he has improved his mind concentration and focus.

According to Jerry Meyers, a chessmaster and scholastic Director for the Pittsburgh Chess Club, playing chess will improve overall academic performance by teaching the following skills:

• Focusing • Children are taught the benefits of observing carefully and concentrating. If they don't watch what is happening, they can't respond to it, no matter how smart they are.
  
  
• Visualizing • Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions before it happens. We actually strengthen the ability to visualize by training them to shift the pieces in their mind, first one, then several moves ahead.
  
  
• Thinking Ahead • Children are taught to think first, then act. We teach them to ask themselves “If I do this, what might happen then, and how can I respond?” Over time, chess helps develop patience and thoughtfulness.
  
  
• Weighing Options • Children are taught that they don't have to do the first thing that pops into their mind. They learn to identify alternatives and consider the pros and cons of various actions.
  
  
• Analyzing Concretely • Children learn to evaluate the results of specific actions and sequences. Does this sequence help me or hurt me? Decisions are better when guided by logic, rather than impulse.
  
  
• Thinking Abstractly • Children are taught to step back periodically from details and consider the bigger picture. They also learn to take patterns used in one context and apply them to different, but related situations.
  
  
• Planning • Children are taught to develop longer range goals and take steps toward bringing them about. They are also taught of the need to reevaluate their plans as new developments change the situation.
  
  
• Juggling Multiple Considerations Simultaneously - Children are encouraged not to become overly absorbed in any one consideration, but to try to weigh various factors all at once.
  

With all the benefits and excitement of playing chess, why don't we promote this game in school at early stage and put it in the curriculum as a part of education. I strongly believe it will play a major role in early childhood education development.

My Favourite Southpaws

I am a left handed person which means my right brain is dominant than the other side. Which also means that I am more into artistic nature such as writing and day-dreaming to name few.

About 10% of the world’s population is left-handed. There is a genetic component that determines right versus left-hand dominance, and it’s called the LRRTM1 gene. People with this gene are more likely to be lefties.

Throughout the ages, many lefties or southpaws had significantly influenced our world although they only consist of 7-10 % of world's population. Among others these are my favourites (regardless of the chronology):

• Albert Einstein (famous for his Theory of Relativity and mass-energy equivalence, E=mc2)
• Bill Gates (American business magnate, philanthropist and chairman of Microsoft).
• Wolfgang A. Mozart (prolific and influential composer of the classical era)
• Leonardo Da Vinci (a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer) a true genius.
• Alexander The Great (was one of the most successful military commanders in history, and is presumed undefeated in battle).
• Marie Curie (a pioneer physicist and chemist in the field of radioactivity, a nobel prizes winner and the first female professor at the University of Paris).
• Kurt Cobain (a famous American musician).
• Pablo Picasso (one of the most recognized figures in twentieth-century art)
• Billy The Kid (was a famous 19th century American frontier outlaw and gunman who was a participant in the Lincoln County War).
• Julius Caesar (Roman military and political leader that played a major role in transformation of Roman Republic into Roman Empire).
• Winston Churchill (was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II).
• Pele (the greatest footballer of all time).
• Charlie Chaplin (one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid Hollywood cinema era).
• Robert De Niro (American film actor, director, and producer).
• Marilyn Monroe (was an American actress, singer and film producer. She won a Golden Globe Award, and in 1999 was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute).
• Nicole Kidman (she was the highest-paid actress in the motion picture industry in 2006).
• Jimmi Hendrix (my rock icon).
• Neil Armstrong (the first person to set foot on the moon).
• Buzz Aldrin (the second man to set foot on the moon).
• JF Kennedy (35th president of USA).

All these men and women had contributed significantly to the world in their own fields and expertise. To me, they are the symbol of great mind of the left handed people. Hail to them.....