Brief History of The English Language

 

"Stole" this interesting information from here: http://sjsandteam.wordpress.com/

A brief chronology of English
BC 55	Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar.	Local inhabitants speak Celtish
BC 43	Roman invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain.
436	Roman withdrawal from Britain complete.
449	Settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins
450-480	Earliest known Old English inscriptions.	Old English
1066	William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England.
c1150	Earliest surviving manuscripts in Middle English.	Middle English
1348	English replaces Latin as the language of instruction in most schools.
1362	English replaces French as the language of law. English is used in Parliament for the first time.
c1388	Chaucer starts writing The Canterbury Tales.
c1400	The Great Vowel Shift begins.
1476	William Caxton establishes the first English printing press.	Early Modern English
1564	Shakespeare is born.
1604	Table Alphabeticall, the first English dictionary, is published.
1607	The first permanent English settlement in the New World (Jamestown) is established.
1616	Shakespeare dies.
1623	Shakespeare’s First Folio is published
1702	The first daily English-language newspaper, The Daily Courant, is published in London.
1755	Samuel Johnson publishes his English dictionary.
1776	Thomas Jefferson writes the American Declaration of Independence.
1782	Britain abandons its American colonies.
1828	Webster publishes his American English dictionary.	Late Modern English
1922	The British Broadcasting Corporation is founded.
1928	The Oxford English Dictionary is published.

Hypocrisy

by speakofthemind

Hypocrisy and hypocrites are everywhere
This is the world we are living in?
Where all the good people gone?

What is said, is not meant, and what is meant is not done
Smile for the sake of smiling, shake hands for the sake of shaking them
Nothing comes from the heart and soul.

This is the world we are living in
We say culture is important, we need to uphold them
At the same time, we are the one who breaks them, and use it where it suits us only

We are of human race, Homo sapiens, no doubt about that
Religion, ethnicity, caste and creed, now there is a doubt
Sense of belonging, to a group is most important that anything else in the world

Who do we belong to? What we belong to? Why?
Does it matter, if I'm a Jewish, and marry a Muslim?
Doest it matter, if I'm a Christian and converts to Buddhism?

Why it matters to many, and why it does not matter to some?
Why some say, they don't have to belong to this group, and still live a good life?
The other says that this is what we are, and we should not change this!

What we are changing here? Is it the basic essence of ourselves that we are changing?
Are we changing a way of life or simply going out of this group, to live our own life?
Would this change, changes the balance of the universe forever?

Why the fear, my dear hypocrites of the world?
Have you not changed silently before, and then coming back to re-join?
Even being in the group, you still do not uphold the principles and philosophy of it.

Superficial, the outer layer, that's what matters
Inner core, is not something that to be seen outside, and this can be forgotten
This is what happening, and this is what perceives to be important

We are unique, and yet we are same in many different ways
We force everyone else to believe, in what we believe in.
We believe that we need to bring back those who sway from this way

It is noble on how we save each other
How noble it can be if what we do, is actually destroying some one else's happiness
We continue to do this, thinking we are saving them

What we are saving here?
Are we saving ourselves, as by not saving the "drifters" we will be damned?
Damnation of the self that is the greatest fear

What is there to fear?
We are made of flesh and blood bearing the soul that operates the body with our mind
Then where are all this religion, race, caste and creed here?

A way of life, this is how it all started
A guide for the people, to live in peace and harmony in this universe
What this has become now? Wage War to uphold this?

Hypocrites of the world!
Stop this lie and deceit in the name of religion, ethnicity, caste and creed
Don't you see what this is doing to us, the human soul?

We are becoming soulless creatures, driven by this hypocrisy
We are becoming animals with religion, and culture
Why we are lying to ourselves and others?

Source: Malaysia-today

The Ideal Nation

We shall dream....

Extracted from book "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations" by David S Landen Chapter 15

"Let us begin by delineating the ideal case, the society theoretically best suited to pursue material progress and general enrichment. Keep in mind that this is not necessarily a "better" or a "superior" society (words to be avoided), simply one fitter to produce goods and services. This ideal growth-and-development society would be one that

1. Knew how to operate, manage, and build the instruments of production and to create, adapt and master new techniques on the technological frontier.
2. Was able to impart this knowledge and know-how to the young, whether by formal education of apprenticeship training.
3. Chose people for jobs by competence and relative merit; promoted and demoted on the basis of performance.
4. Afforded opportunity to individual or collective enterprise; encouraged initiative, competition, and emulation.
5. Allowed people to enjoy and employ the fruits of their labor and enterprise.

These standards imply corollaries: gender equality (thereby doubling the pool of talent); no discrimination of the basis of irrelevant criteria (race, sex, religion, etc.); also a preference for scientific (means-end) rationality over magic and superstition (irrationality).

Such a society would also possess the kind of political and social institutions that favor the achievement of these larger goals; that would, for example,

1. Secure rights of private property, the better to encourage saving and investment.
2. Secure rights of personal liberty – secure them against both the abuses of tyranny and private disorder (crime and corruption).
3. Enforce the right of contract, explicit and implicit.
4. Provide stable government, not necessarily democratic, but itself governed by publicly known rules (a government of laws rather than men). If democratic, that is, based on periodic election, the majority wins but does not violate the rights of the losers; while the losers accept their loss and look forward to another turn at the polls.
5. Provide responsive government, one that will hear complaint and make redress.
6. Provide honest government, such that economic actors are not moved to seek advantage and privilege inside or outside the marketplace. In economic jargon, there should be no rents to favor and position.
7. Provide moderate, efficient, ungreedy government. The effect should be to hold taxes down, reduce the government’s claim on the social surplus, and avoid privilege."

Are You Wearing a Mortarboard or A Mortar Board?

 

The level of education we have achieved is not judged by the mortarboard we wear on our head. For all we know, it could turn out to be one made of mortar that burdens or weighs us down instead of enlightens us.

If we take criticism as if they're out to take us down for all we're worth, then we will go the way we take it for. But if we take criticism as a warning message that whatever we're doing really needs improvement then we should thank whoever criticizes us for wanting to see us improve ourselves and start taking positive action from there. Definitely "truth is hard to accept".

This blog entry and the accompanying comments from readers, bares it all for us to judge how far we have progressed as a nation of 50 years. Don't be alarmed by some of the abusive stances, personal attacks and racial slurs used, but try to understand the frame of mind of various levels of our society and judge for yourself where we really stand, not in the eyes of the world, but our very own eyes.

If we want to be world class then we should be arguing with maturity like these two persons (below) for example.

http://educationmalaysia.blogspot.com/2006/06/universiti-teknologi-mara-world-class_06.html

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Note: MORTAR (mixture)  noun [U]
a mixture of sand, water and cement or lime that is used to fix bricks or stones to each other when building walls
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Anonymous said...

To ANON of Fri Nov 24, 10:44:38 PM
You said: "alangkah sayangnya apabila bangsaku dihina & deperlekehkan oleh bangsanya sendiri ..."

I have been reading some posts by Malay ANONs - I don't think they "perlekehkan" bangsa sendiri. In fact, to their credits (like Khairul Idzwan Kamarudzaman), they took many unfair, insulting and demeaning comments thrown at them bravely. Instead of letting anger rule them and biting back, they chose to be introspective and look within themselves, and come out with ways on how to improve their own race. To Khairul and a few other Malay ANONs who have been doing their best to respond rationally, hats off to you.

I would like to share my experience with Malays. I am a "banana" Chinese, who spent the whole of my secondary and primary schooldays in a "Sekolah Kebangsaan". I only have Malay and Indian friends in school, simply because I couldn’t speak Mandarin or my own dialect well (my shortcoming actually, for not picking up my own mother tongue). I ended up being proficient in both oral and spoken Bahasa Malaysia and English.

Throughout my 10 years of working experience, I come into contact with Malaysians of all races. I have come across Chinese who, the moment they find I can’t speak Mandarin or other dialect well, choose to pay less attention to me. Some even change their facial reaction when I try to communicate with them in English or basic Mandarin. For the Malays, their initial coolness would usually melt away the moment they find I can converse well in their language.

After my degree, I work in 3 private Chinese-owned professional firms, and currently, I am employed in a private "Chinese" IPTS. From my contact and working experience with Chinese and Malays, I would like to give a little of my input:

i. All Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese or other races, are diligent. Some Malays appear "slower" to respond if instructions are given to them in English, but once they understand what they need to do and what they are expected to achieve, they put their shoulders to the wheels just like any other person would.

ii. The same thing can be said for students – Malays, Chinese and other races. Some Malay students again appear "slower" in learning or having "poor initiative", but if you were to counsel them properly on why and how they can improve themselves, the transformation is fantastic. In fact, ANY student – Malays, Chinese or Indians – can change, with proper counselling and encouragement.

iii. Many Malays, whether they are from the cities or "kampungs", do not really want to rely too much on their "special rights or privileges". If they have a choice, they would rather sweat it out too. I have come across many Malay friends and co-workers who say how they admire other races who can manage on their own, and that they (the Malays) also harbour high ambitions that they would stand on their own two feet one day. We can try talk to the Malay students in "Chinese" IPTS – some actually reject offers from UM and UiTM – not because they think the "Chinese" IPTS is superior or UM/UiTM are inferior, but because these Malay students want to:

1) learn from the different races and their cultures
2) they want to go through the challenges of studying in an unfamiliar and strange environment
3) they want to prove to themselves that ultimately, the degrees that they earn are due to their own hard work and not their race.
4) they believe that they must learn to mix with other races before they join the workforce.

iv. Many Malays are very friendly, hospitable and trusting. They are one of those rare races in the world who would not hesitate to invite a stranger to their homes and think it is a great honour to have visitors visiting them.

I think we should perhaps draw a line now and cease all these racially-inclined arguments. The whole topic of UiTM is not only about Malays, but Malaysia. If other races can give constructive feedbacks, the Malays can say "banyak-banyak terima kasih" and act on these. But that is not a licence for other races to start giving demeaning and insulting comments and innuendoes. Human nature is such that the moment someone starts saying things in a negative or hurtful manner, we tend to be defensive, emotional and we listen no further. This is regardless of whether we are a Malay or Chinese. As stated by someone, "it is not what you say, but how you say it". Malays, like Chinese, do stand to reason.

To ANON of Fri Nov 24, 11:20:08 PM: Sorry to hear about your bitter corporate experience. But you may want to take a step back and reflect that cronyism and nepotism are colour-blind and skin-blind. These are a part of our sad Malaysian culture, be it in Malay or Chinese or Indian companies. In the Government services and GLCs, other minorities tend to level also the same accusation that promotions and advancement are based on "kulit-fication".

It’s all very basic – if you are controlling a money-making company and if you (the top guy) happen to be short-sighted in your visions and you do not treasure meritocracy, you too would want to adopt the same practice of promoting your "own people", only to have the "own people" slapping you in your face with half-past-six performances.

To me, by your first MNC workplace overlooking your talents and abilities, they were the biggest loser, not you. As you yourself proved it, you found another place which saw your talent and soon put it to good use.

Now that you have earned your rightful place in the top management level, perhaps you would want to learn from your past bitter experience and not act against a particular race, out of your sense of "revenge". That is to say, if other people want to be myopic, discriminatory or adopt poor human resource practices, you can choose not to follow. After all, as a victim of discrimination yourself, you would know better, that cronyism and nepotism would not get an organisation anywhere, and that talent management and appreciation are what should be emphasised in a vibrant organisation. I.e. appreciate talents, regardless of the race and colour of the person.

When I first started out in the work-force, one Chinese middle-level manager friend advised me that if I had a choice of working for either a Malay or Chinese boss, I should pick a Malay boss. Why, because Malay bosses generally are more appreciative of talents and competencies. In his words, "A Malay boss prefers to leave you alone and let you do your job without much interference or control, as long as no trouble arises. If you are efficient, competent and can stand in for him any time, he would reward you handsomely and take care of you for the rest of your tenure in that place". I find this comparison to be generally true throughout my working experience.

LASTLY, regarding the original topic of UiTM being world class university, I fully agree with "Peace out, Keranamu Malaysia" (ANON Tue Sep 19, 03:31:32PM). Let us keep to Tony’s original topic for discussion.

I think some of the common grounds we can start off with are:

i. UiTM is still not yet world-class.
ii. All Malaysian Universities are still not yet world-class.
iii. Some day, we will all get there, if we believe we can.
iv. We will get there if all of us can sit down together and discuss on strategies to take our Universities there.
v. If our not having world-class universities is a big problem, let us talk about solutions, not just repeating, re-emphasising or re-highlighting known problems and obstacles.
vi. Good ideas and solutions would flow naturally if discussions are open, frank but tactful, rational, with logics, based on facts, not personal and not emotional.
vii. Give ideas, suggestions and feedbacks by all means, but try not to impose on others, i.e. not take the stand, "I have told you, if you want to solve this problem, you must do this. If not, your problems will never be solved."
viii. It’s really up to the recipients whether they want to grasp, follow or appreciate the advices and feedbacks given. Do not hang/crucify them or give insulting, demeaning comments if they don’t agree with you.

khairul idzwan kamarudzaman said...

To ANON Sat Nov 25, 05:27:45 PM ,

I TOTALLY AGREE with your comments. Sometimes, it is not that we want to lower down our own races, but sometimes we have to say something that is truth in order to get things better. There is a Malay idiom which says that "Kebenaran itu memang pahit untuk ditelan".

Yes, it is hard for us to accept the truth, but the truth is the truth. UiTM is still not a world class university, as well as other Malaysian universities. We use a system which is not systematic. Our education system is too exam oriented, and until this system remains unchanged, non of our universities will gain a world class status. Malaysian students will be like a robot, non progressive and just follow the order without really knowing what they are suppose to do.

To ex-uitm, I don't think that all 'you people' are that prejudice. let me tell all of you something. when I was in kindergarten, I was sent to a Chinese oriented kindergarten which is Eden Child Development Centre. I learned Chinese, I learned other cultures, and we, malays, chinese and indians in the kindergarten (although ofcourse Malays are the minorities) ate together and played together.

When I was in primary school, i mixed with other races, and i learned my english in primary school. this is due to the fact that most of my friends are non-malays and we speak in english.

however, when i entered secondary school, which is a boarding school (Sekolah Berasrama Penuh), all the students are Malay Muslims. It is not that I want to say bad thing about my own race. For God's sake, NO! But honestly, when I learned in a monoethnic surrounding, I've found some 'horror' things:

1) Malaysians who live in their own race enclave tend to be VERY PREJUDICE to other races
2) They do not know about other races
3) They do not like other races

That's why i missed my primary schooldays where there is NO RACES BOUNDARY! We live together with harmony. And not to forget, when I entered six-former for 4 month, i was in a relationship with a chinese girl... So, to ANONS who sent comments such as 'seperti perhimpunan agong umno', 'you people' whatsoever, STOP FROM BEING PREJUDICE TO OTHER RACES! To have a strong Malaysia, we need to have a strong UNITED MALAYSIANS!!! And not to forget, a world-class education system...

And, yes! Our universities are not world-class enough. Let us work together and have a better Malaysia!

I LOVE MALAYSIA!

p/s: miss my ex-girlfriend, Audrey Thean Ong Kei...

Reconsidering My Options

Optimum Strategies for Creativity and Longevity

By Sing Lin, Ph.D., Member of National Council of Chinese Institute of Engineers – USA/Greater New York Chapter, and Member of Board of Director of National Taiwan University Alumni Association – Greater New York - March 2002

Longevity vs. Retirement Age

The pension funds in many large corporations ( e.g., Boeing, Lockheed Martin, AT&T, Lucent Technologies, etc.) have been "Over Funded" because many "late retirees" who keep-on working into their old age and retire late after the age of 65 tend to die within two years after their retirements. In other words, many of these late retirees do not live long enough to collect all their fair shares of pension money such that they leave a lot of extra-unused money in the pension funds resulting in the over-funded pension funds.

Dr. Ephrem (Siao Chung) Cheng provided the important results in the following Table 1 and the associated chart from an actuarial study of life span vs. age at retirement. The study was based on the number of pension checks sent to retirees of Boeing Aerospace.

Table 1 – Actuarial Study of life span vs. age at retirement.

Age at Retirement       Average Age At Death   

49.9                                             86     

51.2                                             85.3   

52.5                                             84.6   

53.8                                             83.9   

55.1                                             83.2   

56.4                                             82.5   

57.2                                             81.4   

58.3                                             80     

59.2                                             78.5   

60.1                                             76.8   

61                                                74.5   

62.1                                             71.8   

63.1                                             69.3   

64.1                                             67.9   

65.2                                             66.8   

Table 1 and the chart indicate that for people retired at the age of 50, their average life span is 86; whereas for people retired at the age of 65, their average life span is only 66.8. An important conclusion from this study is that for every year one works beyond age 55, one loses 2 years of life span on average.

The Boeing experience is that employees retiring at age of 65 receive pension checks for only 18 months, on average, prior to death. Similarly, the Lockheed experience is that employees retiring at age of 65 receive pension checks for only 17 months, on average, prior to death. Dr. David T. Chai indicated that the Bell Labs experience is similar to those of Boeing and Lockheed based on the casual observation from the Newsletters of Bell Lab retirees. A retiree from Ford Motor told Dr. Paul Tien-Lin Ho that the experience from Ford Motor is also similar to those in Boeing and Lockheed.

The statistics shown in the Pre-Retirement Seminar in Telcordia (Bellcore) indicates that the average age that Telcordia (Bellcore) employee's start retirement is 57. Therefore, people who retire at the age of 65 or older are minority as compared to the number of early retirees.

The hard-working late retirees probably put too much stress on their aging body-and-mind such that they are so stressed out to develop various serious health problems that forced them to quit and retire. With such long-term stress-induced serious health problems, they die within two years after they quit and retire.

On the other hand, people who take early retirements at the age of 55 tend to live long and well into their 80s and beyond. These earlier retirees probably are either wealthier or more able to plan and manage their various aspects of their life, health and career well such that they can afford to retire early and comfortably.

These early retirees are not really idling after their early retirements to get old. They still continue doing some work. But they do the work on the part-time basis at a more leisure pace so that they do not get too stressed out. Furthermore, they have the luxury to pick and chose the types of part-time work of real interest to them so that they can enjoy and love doing that "fun" work at a more leisure pace.

The late retirees are small in number, tend to die quickly after retirement and disappear from the population of old people beyond the age of 70. Late retirees, therefore, have very little weight on the statistical average life expectancy of the population of "old people" dominated by the early retirees.

Several years ago, a Japanese friend of mine told me that most Japanese people retire at the age of 60 or earlier. This may be one of the factors contributing to the long average life span of Japanese people.

Changing Trend of US Pension Plans

The traditional pension plans of many major US companies used to place a lot of value on the experience of long-term older employees by increasing the pension money rapidly and nonlinearly for long-term employees as their age + service year increases beyond the threshold of the rule of 75. Most long-term employees cross this critical threshold at about the age of 55. On the other hand, the early retirees incur very heavy penalty in pension and in other associated retiree benefits (e.g., employer paid medical insurance, employer paid life insurance, death benefits for family, etc.) when they retire before they meet the rule of 75.

However, in recent few years, many large US corporations are switching from their traditional retirement pension plans to the new portable Cash Balance Plans. The new portable cash balance plans are much more favorable to the younger employees but are very unfavorable to the long-term older employees. Some older long-term employees found that when their employers switched from the traditional pension plans to the cash balance plan, their pensions were reduced by 30% to 50%.

One of the implications of this trend towards the new cash balance plan is that the US corporations are now placing more value on the higher creativity and adaptability of younger employees and less value on the experience of the older employees. This is consistent with the accelerating pace of innovations and technology advances. The creative and dynamic younger employees are better positioned, than the older employees do, to keep up with the faster pace of technology advances.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The most precious, creative and innovative period in your life is the 10-year period around the age of 32. Plan your career path to use this precious 10-year period wisely and effectively to produce your greatest achievements in your life.

The pace of innovations and technology advances is getting faster and faster and is forcing everybody to compete fiercely at the Internet speed on the information super-highways. The highly productive and highly efficient workplace in USA is a pressure-cooker and a high-speed battleground for highly creative and dynamic young people to compete and to flourish.

However, when you get older, you should plan your career path and financial matter so that you can retire comfortably at the age of 55 or earlier to enjoy your long, happy and leisure retirement life into your golden age of 80s and beyond. In retirement, you can still enjoy some fun work of great interest to you and of great values to the society and the community, but at a part-time leisure pace on your own term.

On the other hand, if you are not able to get out of the pressure-cooker or the high-speed battleground at the age of 55 and "have" to keep on working very hard until the age of 65 or older before your retirement, then you probably will die within 18 months of retirement. By working very hard in the pressure cooker for 10 more years beyond the age of 55, you give up at least 20 years of your life span on average

 

Isn't that why I always wear short-sleeves?

Your Brain is 47% Female, 53% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

To all kids who were born in the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's

Got this amusing message from a friend of my age. 
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First, we survived being born to mothers who had no full time maids/cooked food/cleaned the house while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate cheese , sweet dishes  and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.  

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking .

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a local bus/train was a special treat.

We drank water from the tap and NOT from a bottle.

We would spend hours on the terrace under bright sunlight flying our kites, without worrying about the UV effect which never ever affect us.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate pastries, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours repairing our out dated bicycle and scooter out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem .

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms........! ..WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were never given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, we made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Cricket League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned

HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them!

CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

PS -The big type is because your eyes are shot at your age

 

Smile Only - No Service here...

Don't go out after the WITCHING HOUR!!!  THEY'RE still out there in spite of ALL the 'actions' we heard about... Whatever you want to celebrate, finish it early and get home before hell breaks lose.  Better be safe than sorry.  We live in a state of terror in spite of our GREAT VISION of 2020!!!  Add this to all our other woes.  Great spin, huh?

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New Straits Times reporter LYDIA GOMEZ had a harrowing time in the early hours of Saturday when she stopped at a traffic light and was set upon by a group of Mat Rempit

I NEVER thought it could happen to me, despite having written numerous stories on Mat Rempit rampage.

The many police patrol cars and roadblocks in the Bangsar area, especially on weekends, made me think I was safe.

Friday night was meant to be a prelude to my birthday on Wednesday. I spent it with friends from Penang.

After the party, I headed home from Bangsar to Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam. It was 1am and I anticipated police checks along Jalan Maarof, but there were no roadblocks or patrol cars in sight.
After dropping off a friend, I reached the T-junction of Lorong Maarof and Jalan Maarof, just before the Bang- sar Shopping Centre. I stopped as the lights were red.

My Perodua Kancil was the only car there. That’s when at least 15 people on motorbikes rode past me. Some were performing "wheelies" and pull- ing other Mat Rempit stunts.

Some were shirtless, some wearing full-face helmets and some were shouting and screaming at their own stunts.

I thought I was safe, as I was minding my own business, waiting for the light to turn green.

Seconds later, I felt my car shake and I saw one of them, wearing a white-collared T-shirt, blue jeans and visor, banging on my car door.

He tried to open it but failed as I had locked the doors. I was stunned but decided to wait for the light to change. Suddenly a hard object hit my passenger window.

There was a crack. Something hard crashed into the window again, shattering it.

I was paralysed with fear. It all happened within seconds. Then I noticed one of them drawing out a dagger about five inches long from the pocket of his denims.

This was when I knew they were after my handbag, which was on the passenger seat. The traffic light was red, but I stepped on the accelerator.

One of the Mat Rempit chased me. I sped off, beating the lights as I feared for my life.

I was not taking any chances. At the same time, I remembered the victims who had been killed in accidents as they sped away from assailants.

Fortunately, the motorcyclists gave up. I pulled up before the Damansara toll booth. My hands were shaking and I was in a state of panic. I called my friends but no one picked up the phone.

I drove home, snuggled into bed and hoped that when I woke up the next morning my car window would be intact and it would only be a story I had written.

But it was not to be, I picked up the broken pieces of glass from the car and then mustered enough courage to step out of my house to make a police report.

The police top brass say all the time that you could report an incident at any police station. Well, they have yet to inform the Bukit Jelutong police station about this.

The policemen shooed me to the Brickfields police headquarters "as the incident happened in their jurisdiction".

Despite the trauma, I drove to Brickfields and lodged a report at 11pm. The investigating officer told me that hours after what happened to me, a girl was mugged outside her house in the area.

Fortunately, I was not injured and did not suffer a major loss. But I realise how vulnerable we are to the Mat Rempit menace.

And I just can't get over this: http://www.skthew.com/2007/06/05/pdrm-mesra-cepat-dan-betul/

Slow Down Culture

Just got this e-mail from a friend... which seems like an antidote for the rush culture we're experiencing daily, what with some people working themselves to death , rushing to complete assignments, projects.  Others trying to keep up with the Joneses, attaining the 5 Cs, etc, Read it and rush along if you're in a hurry....  I won't keep this here forever. heheh. ----------------------------------------------------- An interesting reflection: Slow Down Culture It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule. Globalize processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results. Said in another words: 1. Sweden is about the size of San Pablo , a state in Brazil . 2. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants. 3. Stockholm , has 500,000 people. 4. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, Nokia are some of its renowned companies. Volvo supplies the NASA. The first time I was in Sweden , one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn't say anything, either the second or third. One morning I asked, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot." To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place closer to the door. Don't you think? Imagine my face. Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe name Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week. Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fueled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being". French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the US 's attention, pupils of the fast and the "do it now!". This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means reestablishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living. It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence of spirit. In the movie, Scent of a Woman, there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance to a tango. Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". Congratulations for reading till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this globalize world.

Source : Forwarded by my friend via email.

Lemon Grass

A friend sent me this info.  Something worth knowing.  (Lemon grass, serai (malay), Chang-mao (hokkien/teochew)

 

A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube.

 

Israeli researchers find way to make cancer cells self-destruct at Ben Gurion University.

 

At first, Benny Zabidov, an Israeli agriculturalist who grows greenhouses full of lush spices on a pastoral farm in Kfar Yedidya in the  Sharon region, couldn't understand why so many cancer patients from  around the country were showing up on his doorstep asking for fresh lemon grass.

It turned out that their doctors had sent them.

 

"They had been told to drink eight glasses of hot water with fresh lemon grass steeped in it on the days that they went for their radiation and chemotherapy treatments," Zabidov told ISRAEL21c.

"And this is the place you go to in Israel for fresh lemon grass."

 

It all began when researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev discovered last year that the lemon aroma in herbs like lemon grass kills cancer cells in vitro, while leaving healthy cells unharmed. The research team was led by Dr. Rivka Ofir and Prof. Yakov Weinstein, incumbent of the Albert Katz Chair in Cell-Differentiation and Malignant Diseases, from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at BGU.

 

Citral is the key component that gives the lemony aroma and taste in several herbal plants such as lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), Melissa (Melissa officinalis) and verbena (Verbena officinalis.)

 

According to Ofir, the study found that citral causes cancer cells to "commit suicide: using poptosis, a mechanism called programmed cell death."

 

A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt the cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube.

 

The BGU investigators checked the influence of the citral on cancerous cells by adding them to both cancerous cells and normal cells that were grown in a petri dish. The quantity added in the concentrate was equivalent to the amount contained in a cup of regular tea using one gram of lemon herbs in hot water. While the citral killed the cancerous cells, the normal cells remained unharmed. The findings were published in the scientific journal* Planta Medica*, which highlights research on alternative and herbal remedies. Shortly afterwards, the discovery was featured in the popular Israeli press.

 

Why does it work? Nobody knows for certain, but the BGU scientists have a theory. "In each cell in our body, there is a genetic program which causes programmed cell death. When something goes wrong, the cells divide with no control and become cancer cells. In normal cells, when the cell discovers that the control system is not operating correctly for example, when it recognizes that a cell contains faulty genetic material following cell division - it triggers cell death," explains Weinstein. "This research may explain the medical benefit of these herbs."

 

The success of their research led them to the conclusion that herbs containing citral may be consumed as a preventative measure against certain cancerous cells. As they learned of the BGU findings in the press, many physicians in Israel began to believe that while the research certainly needed to be explored further, in the meantime it would be advisable for their patients, who were looking for any possible tool to fight their condition, to try to harness the cancer-destroying properties of citral.

 

That's why Zabidov's farm - the only major grower of fresh lemon grass  in Israel - has become a pilgrimage destination for these patients. Luckily, they found themselves in sympathetic hands.

Zabidov greets visitors with a large kettle of aromatic lemon grass tea, a plate of cookies, and a

supportive attitude.

 

"My father died of cancer, and my wife's sister died young because of cancer," said Zabidov. "So I understand what they are dealing with. And I may not know anything about medicine, but I'm a good listener. And so they tell me about their expensive painful treatments and what they've been   through. I would never tell them to stop being treated, but it's great that they are exploring alternatives and drinking the lemon grass tea as well."

 

Zabidov knew from a young age that agriculture was his calling. At age 14, he enrolled in the Kfar Hayarok Agricultural high school. After his army service, he joined an idealistic group which headed south, in the Arava desert region, to found a new moshav (agricultural settlement) called Tsofar.

 

"We were very successful; we raised fruits and vegetables, and," he notes with a smile, "We raised some very nice children."

 

On a trip to Europe in the mid-80s, he began to become interested in herbs. Israel, at the time, was nothing like the trend-conscious cuisine-oriented country it is today, and the only spices being grown   commercially were basics like parsley, dill, and coriander. Wandering in the Paris market, looking at the variety of herbs and spices, Zabidov realized that there was a great export potential in this   niche. He brought samples back home with him, "which was technically illegal," he says with a guilty smile, to see how they would grow in his desert greenhouses. Soon, he was growing basil, oregano, tarragon, chives, sage, marjoram and melissa, and mint just to name a few. His business began to outgrow his desert facilities, and so he decided to move north, settling in the moshav of Kfar Yedidya, an hour and a half north of Tel Aviv.

 

He is now selling "several hundred kilos" of lemon grass per week, and has signed with a distributor to package and put it in health food stores.

 

Zabidov has taken it upon himself to learn more about the properties of citral, and help his customers learn more, and has invited medical experts to his farm to give lectures about how the citral works and why.

 

He also felt a responsibility to know what to tell his customers about its use. "When I realized what was happening, I picked up the phone and called Dr. Weinstein at Ben-Gurion University, because these people were asking me exactly the best way to consume the citral. He said to put the loose grass in hot water, and drink about eight glasses each day."

 

Zabidov is pleased by the findings, not simply because it means business for his farm, but because it might influence his own health. Even before the news of its benefits were demonstrated, he and his  family had been drinking lemon grass in hot water for years, "just because it tastes good."

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scientific Journal report:

http://www.thieme-connect.de/ejournals/abstract/plantamedica/doi/10.1055/s-2005-864146

 

photo from: http://www.lemongrassworld.com/home/