king of the hill

    I felt that I was king of the hill after I hiked up Penang Hill/Bukit Bendera again in 57 minutes, because I’d never seen anyone else going as fast as me. As far as I knew, everyone else walks slowly up, even backward, or four-abreast. Many people wear long-sleeve shirts and long pants and towels around their necks, and some hold umbrellas aloft.  So I’d thought that I was the fastest, as no one passes me, and I pass everyone. »→

    • June 29, 2009

      topics: Malaysia, recreation/leisure

    what a bargain

    My little motorbike’s front tire was deflating after I rode to Air Itam Dam in Penang and back. So I rode the bike to KH Tyre and Auto, where one of the three teenage sons of the proprietor replaced the innertube for only 14 ringgit ($3.97). What a deal! As when I had the rear tire’s inner tube replaced months ago, the shop owner asked whether I wanted a standard inner tube, which requires reinflation almost weekly, or the best, which will maintain air pressure for at least a month. Again I opted for the better-quality inner tube.  I wonder what the cheaper inner tube costs (installed). Motorcycle maintenance is so affordable in Malaysia. †

    • June 26, 2009

      topics: Malaysia, money/prices

    new record

    Today I hiked up to the fountain and police station on Bukit Bendera (Flagstaff Hill) in 57 minutes. That’s three minutes faster than the last time. I didn’t march uphill faster, but I jogged further. I didn’t amble; I strode quickly on the inclines. I just didn’t hike faster than the last time. But jogging on more sections, and farther on the obvious ones, made the difference. In April and May, whenever I reached the mostly-level portions of the road after climbing a steep grade, I wanted to rest my legs by just walking. It’s only natural. And last time, when I hiked purposefully, nonstop, up the steep portions, I certainly wanted to ‘rest’ by ambling when reaching some of the easy segments. But I jogged according to my legs’ ability. »→

    • June 21, 2009

      topics: Malaysia, recreation/leisure

    Bukit Bendera road march

    I hiked and jogged up the north side of Bukit Bendera (Flagstaff Hill) in exactly one hour. I’d intended to ascend non-stop as fast as I reasonably could. In previous hikes and descents I’d stopped one-to-three times to rest or to watch monkeys. One time I carried a camera. So I spent about an hour and a half -or more- each trip, if I stopped once for ten minutes and again for five minutes — or twice for five minutes — or once for ten minutes. I never timed my ascents. »→

    • June 18, 2009

      topics: Malaysia, recreation/leisure

    road trip preparation

    Business trip? Family vacation?

    Long trips are actually easier on your car than day-to-day driving — but a breakdown far from home can ruin your day -and a vacation or business trip. Extra phone calls, delay of plans, towing charges, rental car cost and a repair bill may be avoided by inspection and preparation of your vehicle, by you or a qualified automotive technician. »→

    • June 17, 2009

      topics: travel

    100,000 million?!

    January 2009 Readers Digest magazine reads, “Facebook, the online networking phenomenon, has 100,000 million users with pages full of photos…”

    Earth has less than seven billion people, most of whom don’t have personal computers linked to the World-Wide Web and Facebook.  I’m surprised that 100 billion people use Facebook.  Either 93 billion people on other planets have accounts or Earthlings have multiple accounts.

    • June 16, 2009

      topics: hassles/stupidity

    today

    Today I slept late after watching the first several hours of the 24 Hueres du Mans on Eurosport TV last night and this morning. I went out walking and jogging briefly, bought a loaf of bread, returned home then resumed watching the 24 Hours until its conclusion. Then I swam in a pool at The OceanView. Now I’m on the internet for a few minutes, but I’m hungry.

    • June 14, 2009

      topics: at home

    TM Net is too slow

    The 3000 megabits/second (3 gigabits/second) broadband internet access in Malaysia is painfully slow when accessing websites outside Malaysia and neighboring Singapore. Data transfer across oceans and seas via cables is slow. Accessing U.S. websites from the U.S. with a broadband is so much faster than trying to reach the U.S. from here. And this is the fastest service that is offered by TM Net. I shudder to think how slow the cheaper services from TM Net –and the cellular phone companies– are. This is slow enough.

    • June 10, 2009

      topics: at home, Malaysia

    water-cooled roofs

    Household water in Malaysia is so cheap –even free from rivers for Malaysians in the boondocks– that some residents spray water on their homes’ roofs via hoses and lawn sprinklers to alleviate heat in the summer.

    • June 9, 2009

      topics: at home, Malaysia

    today’s thought

    The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. †

    • June 8, 2009

      topics: today's thought

    Use Firefox or Chrome

    Internet Explorer 5 and 6 are old, defective browsers that no one should be using since the advent of Exploiter 7 and 8. Browse the internet more securely and see websites as they were designed by using Firefox, Safari, Camino, Google Chrome, Flock, Opera, OmniWeb, or IE 8.  By the way, the new Firefox 3.5 is two times faster than 3.0.

    • June 4, 2009

      topics: at home

    today’s thought

    Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.~ John Lennon

    • June 2, 2009

      topics: today's thought

    movie trivia question

    What are commonalities of the movies Days of Thunder and Rain Man? I know that Days of Thunder was hokey, but both of these flicks were shown on television movie channels in Malaysia recently. »→

    • June 1, 2009

      topics: at home, today's thought

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