Premier Fantasies

FINALLY, the new season is upon us! For some less succesful teams (Arsenal and Liverpool) you could say their season starts tonight with the Champs League qualifiers.

Anyway, I've joined the OFFICIAL fantasy league at http://fantasy.premierleague.com and set up my team for the season. Hopefully you can join me there, with just a few simple steps:

1. Register a team (it's FREE!!) at http://fantasy.premierleague.com
2. Choose your players - make sure to just choose all the stars as you have to stick within a certain "budget"
3. Join my league - my league ID is 568355-171013

That's it! Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

My very first treasure hunt!

I've always wanted to join a treasure hunt. And no, I'm not talking about real treasure here, the kind associated with pirates and Indiana Jones. But rather, the more urban type of hunt where teams drive around "hunting" for answers to riddles in a set amount of time. It's become a popular pastime here in KL, where even "professional" teams of hunters exist. I've had experience with a "walk-hunt", and also entered the The Sun hunt a few times (even managing to win myself RM100!), but when the opportunity arose, I made the leap to enter my first ever PROPER treasure hunt.

So there we were - me, the missus and another couple - at the flag-off point somewhere in the USJ area at SEVEN in the morning. The hunt's organised by Lexis Nexis and the KL Bar and unfortunately for us, there wasn't any separate Masters category - so it was a baptism of fire for us as we had to compete with the "professionals".

For those of you who haven't joined these hunts before, the questions are mostly "cryptic". The hard part really is to decipher the questions. Once you have (sort of) figured out what the question wants, it's then just a matter of looking out for the answer amongst the multitude of shop signs along the specified route. As an example, the first question that was asked was as follows:

Some trial with its logics revolutionized.

Some of you may be thinking "huh?????". Well this a typical cryptic clue, and you need to know what words to look out for to solve it. There are actually 2 parts for the answer here:

1. "Some" is a partial indicator, which means that a portion of the next word forms the answer. The next word is "trial", so the answer could contain "TR" or "IAL" or even "AL".
2. "Revolutionized" in the question is an anagram indicator, which says that the answer is made up of the jumbled up letters of other words in the question. In this case, "its logics" is the anagram.

Once you've deciphered the question, it's then up to everyone to stare at all the shop signs looking for a name or phrase that fits the question. Lo and behold, the answer was:

IAL LOGISTICS (MALAYSIA) SDN BHD

See how the answer fits the question? "IAL" is part of "trial", and "LOGISTICS" is an anagram of "its logics".

So actually, a LOT of thinking has to be done on the day. Worse still if you have NO IDEA on what the question means, and you end up trying to scrutinize EVERY single shop sign to see if it fits the question in some way!

So how did we do? Well, we got 30 answers out of 40 correct, but didn't get any of the four required "treasures" - more on the treasures in a future post. Including some bonus points, we had a grand total of 95 points. There were prizes for the top 30 out of a total 60+ teams. And guess what? Even the team that finished in 30th place got more points than us!! BOTTOM HALF!! All that effort for nothing!

Well, this is just a start, and there are a few more hunts on the horizon. For the next ones, hoping to enter a Mercer team with the name "The MERCERnaries". Hopefully some luck from our 5-year winning streak in the annual Actuarial Society of Malaysia quiz would rub off!

Staying put - for now

Well, well. Who would've known. Seems that the Ronaldo-Madrid transfer saga has ended - at least for now. And seems that he's staying at Old Trafford - at least for now. The full transcript of his interview with a Portuguese paper can be found at Guardian's football site.

Short of a press conference with Fergie by his side, the interview is the closest you can get to a concrete statement from Ronnie on his future. He says all the right things, that he takes full responsibility for wanting to move, that he didn't want to move because of money, how he's "grateful" to United (reason why he sees a potential world-record transfer fee as his "gift" to the club), and his denial of his support of Blatter's slavery comments (though it was said during a TV interview), bla bla bla bla bla.

Personally, I still don't forgive him for the way he has handled this. To be fair, I accept and understand his reasons for leaving, as I've pointed out in an earlier post. What I CAN'T accept is the timing of him letting us know of his intentions - on the triumphal night of United's Euro win in Moscow itself. The whole summer (or at least the couple weeks after Moscow), the backpages of newspapers worldwide should be filled with praises, analyses and reports of United's unprecendented double triumph. However what we get are "will he or won't he?" articles on Ronaldo. So much so that - together with the Euro tourney - people have all but forgotten the TEAM'S achievements. The least Ronnie could do was to wait until the Euro started, better still AFTER Portugal were kicked out. You get this feeling that the transfer saga even affected his own performance at the tournament.

In the meantime, even if he is staying - say it with me, at least for now - he's still crocked until October, and United have an injury crisis for the first few games of the season. Nani's still banned for that stupid red card last season, Rooney and Carrick both have a "mysterious" African virus, Hargreaves, Saha and Park are all injured (what's new?), and Anderson's at the Olympics. And it's been quiet on the transfer front with United and Spurs stil not agreeing on a price for Berbatov. Oh well, at least we're only playing unlucky Newcastle at home on the first day - my outside bet for relegation this season.

PC Fair

Went to the PC Fair today, first time in a couple of years in fact. Needed to get me some proper speakers for the iMac, as everyone knows that the built-in ones just dont cut it. So after Friday prayers at the KLCC mosque, straight I went to the Convention Centre, thinking going then would be the best time with the less crowd, and should be a half hour, MAX one hour trip. Oh, how WRONG was I.

• Punters were treated like MICE, we could only go in through the main entrance and were guided through all the exhibition halls using a combination of barriers and OVERZEALOUS "jaga"s.

• To make things worse, nowadays the PC Fair takes up a whole TWO floors from one end of the convention centre to another.

• There were just too MANY promoters, at least on this first day, seemed that there were more promoters than visitors. Saying that, I have NO PROBLEMS AT ALL with the skimpily dressed doll-faced promoters (well most of them anyway) who are happy to pose for any old FART with a massive dSLR.

• Speaking of which, I just DESPISE all these promoters who stick leaflets into your face asking if you have broadband. In the past, it only used to be Streamyx, but now we have to face wave after wave of ATTACKS from Maxis Broadband, Celcom Broadband, etc etc etc. And then there are the mobile phone companies promoting their postpaid plans and banks asking us to SELL OUR SOULS by signing for a credit card for a stupid free bag/cap/umbrella. They should sell signs for people to put round their necks saying "I HAVE STREAMYX!!!", or "I'VE GOT A MOBILE PHONE NUMBER ALREADY, HOW MANY FREAKIN' NUMBERS DOES ONE NEED?!?!?!". Maybe that would stop getting bugged by these PESTS.
  

So did I get the speakers then? Yup, bagged myself a set of Edifiers. As you can see, the satellite speakers are not too big and go well with my iMac, yet give a more than decent performance. The subwoofer - not seen in the photo as it's on the floor - though not massive, still manages to RUMBLE MY INSIDES so much that makes me want to use the toilet! Not bad for a set that costs less than RM120, eh?

Bangkok Dangerous

Been some time since my last post. Have just been plain busy lately - work, weddings, photo edits, creation of a new homepage (more on that later), and the odd holiday to Bangkok thrown in. Bangkok was supposed to be a balanced trip of sightseeing and shopping, but it somehow turned into a shopping and cinema trip instead. Go figure. Anyway, didn't get too many keepers from the 100 or so snaps I took in Bangkok, but then there are other things that I learnt from the trip:

• Compared to their Malaysian counterparts, Thai AirAsia flying-waitresses are more decent, refined and professional (read: less slutty).

• I may be an L in K.L., and can even get away as an M in London, but I'm MOST definitely an XL in Bangkok - witness the nice t-shirts that I haggled for at Chatuchak market only to find out upon returning to the hotel that they were so small that our previous PM looked way better in the skintight cycling jersey during the Tour de Langkawi some years back!

• Bangkok really is Toyota city. If you are contemplating dropping RM110K on a new Altis, do yourself a favour and visit Bangkok - it's just teeming with bright PINK full-bodykit Altis' turned into taxis!

Vegetarian KFC?!?!??!?

Terrorists? Bah!!!! We should be afraid - nay, we should be VERY AFRAID - of VEGETARIANS!! According to kypost.com, it seems that KFC Canada has given into pressure by offering VEGETARIAN CHICKEN!! And guess what this "chicken" is called - UNCHICKEN!! I really do not get these VOLUNTARY vegetarians (I'm cool with those who are vegetarian for religious/medical reasons). I mean, it's BLOODY OBVIOUS - if you don't like chicken, then DON'T GO TO KENTUCKY FREAKIN' FRIED CHICKEN in the first place!!! I think it's fair that a restaurant called Kentucky Fried CHICKEN only sold CHICKEN. I mean, I wouldn't pop into the local Baskin' Robbins and expect to them to serve cendol, would I? Or on a similar note, I wouldn't go to TGIF expecting them to serve a hot glass of TEH TARIK to go with my MAGGI GORENG???

If you don't want meat, then TOO BAD. After all, there's always the VEGGIE BURGER for your kind. Or have a double helping of the COLESLAW. All us NORMAL PEOPLE (i.e. us meat-eaters) should unite and be weary of this new threat that we face. If ignored, I wouldn't be surprised if one day killing an animal for its meat would THROW YOU IN JAIL and you end up having to play "pick-the-soapbar" with your fellow inmates in the shower!

MEAT-EATERS RULE!!!

Steamed over steamboat

The Missus took me out for dinner tonight at this steamboat place at Ikano. Forgot the name of the restaurant, but it's the one at the basement level, with tables that go almost right into the P1 parking. If you're lucky, you can get a parking spot literally next to your table. Like going to your favourite Mamak, just that it's underground and the air is much more polluted with car exhaust fumes. The food itself was okay, I guess. We ordered the 2-person combo which had a bit of everything, with tomyam soup which was spicy, even for my high pedas threshold.

What I really want to rant about is the whole concept of "steamboat". I mean, when I eat OUT at a RESTAURANT, I expect the food to be COOKED. Instead I'm given a plate of raw fish, chicken and vegetables and am expected to cook it myself. And some places add insult to injury by charging a bomb for this "privilege". I mean, if I'm supposed to boil the food myself, I might as well get the raw stuff at my local Tesco, bring the food home, set up a rice cooker in my living room, fill it with water and pop in a few tomyam cubes, and eat while watching the latest downloaded episode of Family Guy!

I personally think that of all the possible options to open a restaurant, opening a steamboat restaurant would hands down be the most profitable. I mean, you don't need to hire skilled cooks to cook, as there's NO COOKING INVOLVED. You just need to get your supplies in, and chop them up into bite-size pieces, and serve them to your gullible patrons together with a boiling pot of cubestock water.

My precioussssssss

After months and months of saving up, I finally got myself the new iMac - 24" version, no less. I've already pimped it up by getting these LED strips from Ikea and sticking them to the back of the screen! Gives the iMac an aura befitting of something so freakin' sexxayyyy.

More details on shot above at its flickr site.

Ashbil & Fatimah

A photo from the wedding of my friend Ashbil and his wife Fatimah. More photos of the newlyweds taken by moi can be found at the link below.

Ashbil & Fatimah

Beware the lady with the SUV

Now I've always been very apprehensive whenever I see a lady driving a big SUV, specifically Toyota Harriers/Lexus on Malaysian roads. I'm sure you agree with me that some (most?) of them act as if they're driving small Kancils and there are no other motorists, barging their way to change lines or cut queues.


Well seems that things are not so different in other parts of the world. In Belfast, Northern Island, a lady driving a Lexus SUV somehow managed to drive her car over both a Porsche AND a Toyota Celica! I forgive her the mistake of changing into the wrong gear, but she must have floored the pedal really hard! I mean, as the SUV was originally static, even if you did go the wrong way, you surely would've realised it long before you're suddenly parked on top of two other cars!!!

You can read more at the BBC site here.