FOOTBALL: INTERESTING CLASHES

Manchester City VS. Manchester United

Chelsea VS. Arsenal

Roma VS. Fiorentina

Can Manchester City repeat what they did against Manchester United? The other two clashes are also as big and will be the focus of the day.

When will Calderon & Mijatovic resign or Schuster being sacked? Real trouble in Real Madrid, everything is going so wrong right now. Injuries piling up and morale at all time low and next match's clash against Sevilla will mostly force someone to resign or being sacked if it is not done already soon. The management in Real Madrid is all messed up yet again. What is new? I hope a new sustainable management will come real soon. Barcelona on the other hand are running crazy with impressive results. The Yin and Yang of the La Liga, it has to always balance out somehow, how very strange but it is so true.

FOOTBALL: FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP FINAL

Hi people, I'm sharing this nice information to you all in the blog! Come on, try your luck!

A TRIP OF A LIFETIME!
WIN A TRIP TO TOKYO & FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP FINAL TICKETS!
21 December 2008
Campaign period: 27 October 2008- 7 December 2008

Goal TV

1 Grand Prize of a trip for 2 (pax) to Tokyo, including 2 tickets to the final of FIFA Club World Cup, 2 nights accommodation and 2 economy class air tickets

The teams to play:
Africa: Ahly Sporting Club
Asia: Adelaide United FC, Gamba Osaka
Europe: Manchester United
North & Central America: Pachuca
Ocenia: Waitakere United
South America: LDU Quito

FIFA.com

FOOTBALL: UEFA SCORERS RECORD AS OF 26 NOVEMBER 2008

Top Five Leading Scorers In UEFA Club Competition

1. Filippo Inzaghi (ITA/ AC Milan) – 64 goals

- Raúl (SPA/ Real Madrid) – 64

3. Gerd Muller (GER) – 62

4. Andriy Shevchenko (UKR/AC Milan) – 61

5. Ruud van Nistelrooy (NED/Real Madrid) – 60

Leading Scorers In UEFA Champions League

1. Raúl (SPA/Real Madrid) – 62 goals

2. Ruud van Nistelrooy (NED/Real Madrid) – 60

3. Andriy Shevchenko (UKR/AC Milan) – 56

4. Alfredo Di Stéfano (ARG/SPA) – 49

5. Eusebio (POR) – 47

6. Thierry Henry (FRA/Barcelona) – 46

FLOOR PRICE SET AT RM3?!!!

Excerpts from The Star article, Fuel price plan on Monday - either set floor level or float:
"Shahrir said Fomca had proposed that the petrol floor price be set at RM3 per litre to encourage the prudent use of petrol, promote the use of public transport and push for development in alternative energy."

Can someone tell me whether it is a typo? I mean is it RM1.50/2 instead of RM3 or is it ceiling instead of floor?

Encourage the prudent use of petrol? Promote the use of public transport? Push for development in alternative energy?

First and foremost, with RM3 as FLOOR PRICE, only the super rich will use petrol. We are already extremely PRUDENT in using petrol now because the rest of the things in the country have shot sky high in prices.

Secondly, public transport is almost non-existence in Malaysia, especially in rural areas (Sabah & Sarawak). In the city, the super jam, dirtiness and lousy maintenance and non-efficiency are reasons why people are not using it! They are also not much cheaper now because they use fuel too, duh! The current situation is already clearly showing that bus and taxi fares have increased significantly. They give excuse that maintenance costs and the spare parts costs are rising. Therefore, please explain to me how will people switch to public transport once the price shoots up to RM3?

Finally, alternative energy is great but I don't see any concrete and excessive investments and research fundings by the government to do it. All talk and more talk but no results.

What does FOMCA stand for anyway? FEDERATION OF MALAYSIAN CONSUMERS ASSOCIATIONS. Basically I think they don't really represent ordinary consumers at all. Last time when fuel price shoots up to RM2.70, prices of almost anything in Malaysia shot sky high and inflation was out of control and is still not recovered yet. If it is to shoot to RM3 now, I think all hell will break loose. I think I will have to start to grow my own food, buy a bicycle as well as consider migrating seriously with crime rate increasing out of control.

In conclusion, I may not have economics background but RM3 per litre as floor price is DAYLIGHT ROBBERY!

FOOTBALL: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CONTINUES

Villarreal VS. Man. Utd.
Fiorentina VS. Lyon
Arsenal VS. Dynamo Kiev
Fenerbahce VS. FC Porto
Zenit St. Petersburg VS. Juventus
Sporting Lisbon VS. Barcelona
Atletico Madrid VS. PSV Eindhoven
Liverpool VS. Marseille

The few matches to look out for above this week! It had been a rather quiet weekend for most of the top clubs. We shall see if there are some surprises in the Champions League matches. The William Gallas saga has been dominating the headlines for the past week after the Cristiano Ronaldo 'I'm the first, second and third best player in the world' comment. Let's focus on the matches.

BANKS MERGERS ARE IMMINENT

I got this forwarded mail from my aunt and had a great laugh. I thought I share it here for people who has not received the forwarded mail yet.

IF THE GLOBAL CRISIS CONTINUES, BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, ONLY 2 BANKS WILL SURVIVE...

-- THE BLOOD BANK AND THE SPERM BANK --

BOTH THESE WILL THEN MERGE AND IT WILL BE CALLED...

" THE BLOODY F*CKING BANK "

**Don't ask me why they purposely highlight the banks in blue and yellow.

BOND CARS FROM SHELL

After going through two rounds of Ferrari cars collections, Shell is going for James Bond's famous cars in the latest promotion to all its customers. They are smart to capitalize on people like me who likes to collect all these stuffs. The size is more than 100% smaller than the previous Ferrai car collections but the price difference is less than that. The Ferrari cars used to cost around RM7++.

You need to buy the Bond cars at RM5.50 each with a minimum purchase of RM40 worth of Shell petrol / diesel or Shell Helix 3L / 4L pack. There is also a transparent side briefcase costing RM60 (I think) which can house all these cars into it for display purposes. I don't think I will spend purposely for that.

What is your favourite car? I think the Lotus Esprit looks ugliest and the Aston Martin DBS from the latest movie is the coolest of them all. I thought the collection is great because it gives you a quick trip down memory lane of some of the great cars Bond used since 1962's Dr. No. Oh, Dr. No reminds me of Ursula Undress, I mean Andress. She is to me still the hottest Bond girl of all time! Honey Ryder and the mango tree. Mmmmm.....

Till today, I still don't like Daniel Craig as James Bond no matter how many defenders out there are saying how good he is and the fact that he could be the best Bond of all time. Haha! For me, Sean Connery is the real James Bond. If not, Roger Moore.

SUNBEAM ALPHINE 5 (DR. NO 1962)





Sean Connery drives around Jamaica in his convertible Sunbeam Alpine 5, with the sun on his face and the enemy on his back.

ASTON MARTIN DB5 (GOLDFINGER 1964)





Bullet-proof glass, a smoke screen and ejector seat save Seany Connery and his Aston Martin DB5 from Oddjob's henchmen.

LOTUS ESPRIT (THE SPY WHO LOVED ME 1977)





Roger Moore drives, then dives his Lotus Esprit out of danger - making an escapeacross the Mediterranean.

BMW Z3 ROADSTER (GOLDENEYE 1995)





Pierce Brosnan tries out 'all the usual refinements' of his BMW Z3 in the Carribean countryside.

ASTON MARTIN DBS (QUANTUM OF SOLACE 2008)





A package in Montenegro reunites Daniel Craig with the keys to his state-of-art Aston Martin DBS.

PUBLIC BANK IS ASIA'S PRICIEST BANKING STOCK

The only local Malaysian bank I am supporting and I hope they continue to grow strong throughout this tough recession period.

Public Bank is Asia's priciest banking stock

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 - In a period of grim economic news, Malaysia's third largest lender in asset terms is coming out smelling like roses. According to Citibank's research unit in Kuala Lumpur, Public Bank is currently Asia's most expensive banking stock trading at close to three times book which is almost three times the Asian average.

The stock is already Malaysia's largest bank in terms of market capitalisation (RM29.5 billion) outpacing both Maybank and CIMB, both of which have larger asset bases. And its share price has come off the least compared with other Asian banks, sliding 32 per cent since January compared with the regional average of over 50 per cent.

The statistics say much about Public's conservative management which is still led by its septuagenarian founder and controlling shareholder Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow. Teh built up the bank from scratch and never let it deviate from his stamp of conservatism, a grounding that stood it in good stead as it was one of the few Malaysian banks that didn't make a loss during the 1998 Asian financial crisis.

Even so, there are those who feel that Public's share price level is "unsustainable". Both Citibank and Credit Suisse recently called a "sell" on the stock. Both calls, however, failed to make much of a dent in the bank's share price which has stubbornly stayed at around RM8.40.

One attribute is its solid balance sheet. For the year to Dec 31, 2007, Public Bank made a profit attributable to shareholders of RM2.12 billion on revenues of over RM5 billion. And its net non-performing loans are below two per cent, the lowest in the industry.

The other key attraction of the bank for investors is its high payout ratios. From 2005 onwards, the dividend payout has ranged from 87 per cent to 92 per cent, making the stock a very attractive dividend play. It could be one reason why foreigners still hold over 40 per cent of the stock.

Even so, the bank is expected to scale back. For one thing, its loan growth - which averaged over 40 per cent in 2007 - is expected to come off sharply, estimated by Citibank to drop to 18 per cent this year and 9 per cent the next as the Malaysian economy begins slowing sharply.

Citibank also believes that the bank's management will also cut dividend payouts to shore up its Tier-1 capital ratio which is among the lowest among Malaysian banks because of its aggressive dividend policy. It would also be very much in keeping with Teh's conservatism.

But even at Citibank's target price of RM7.17, Public Bank would still be among Asia's most expensive banks with a price to book ratio of 2.9 times. In contrast, Citibank estimated that the three big Singapore banks, on average, would be priced at 0.9 times book. - Business Times Singapore

KIWIFRUIT FROM NEW ZEALAND?

How many of you didn't know that the kiwifruit is actually not from New Zealand? Raise your hands and let me count! I don't!

I was shocked when my China friends gave me preserved slices of kiwifruit to eat after going home for holiday. I told them then that there is no way kiwifruit can be from elsewhere on the planet. Well, how so wrong I am! They told me it was originated from China but did not have much success back home. It was exported later and New Zealand made it famous! It sounds like the story of rubber, cocoa, coffee, tea or pepper.

An excerpt from Wikipedia, the fountain of knowledge, will give a clearer picture:
The kiwifruit (or kiwi) is the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa and hybrids between this and other species in the genus Actinidia. The Actinidia is native to Shaanxi, China.

The most common cultivars of kiwifruit are oval, about the size of a large hen's egg (5–8 cm / 2–3 in long and 4.5–5.5 cm / 1¾–2 in diameter). It has a fibrous, dull green-brown skin and bright green or golden flesh with rows of small, black, edible seeds. The fruit has a soft texture and a unique flavour, and today is a commercial crop in several countries.

Originally known as the Chinese Gooseberry, the fruit was renamed for export marketing reasons in the 1950s; briefly to melonette, and then to kiwifruit. This latter name comes from the kiwi — a flightless bird and New Zealand's national symbol.

It is not uncommon (outside New Zealand and Australia) for the fruit to be referred to simply as "kiwi".

BAIGOOHOO!

Well, remember the Anything or Whatever drinks from an old post of mine? That was about people who cannot make decisions on drinks. Now, you have a choice of BaiGooHoo, the search engine for the same type of people who cannot make decisions of what to use! Since this triple search engine (3-in-1, not to be mistaken with any drink mix) is a combo of the best of the best and ex-best search engines in the world, we can quote it Phua Chu Kang style below.



"BaiGooHoo is the best in Beijing, Menlo Park and some say Santa Clara!"

Of course, we know Microsoft is in with the possibility of the acquisition of Yahoo! and Jerry Yang had stepped down as its CEO just recently.

Now, you can enjoy the best of three worlds!

FOOTBALL: MARADONA VS. CAPELLO IN WORLD CUP 2010 FINAL?

What do you think of the chances of a Maradona VS. Capello clash in the World Cup 2010 Final? Possible?

I thought I should by now say something about the recent matches played. The main reasons are definitely for the debut of Maradona as Argentinian coach, Capello's win against Germany and the argument that Cristino Ronaldo always flop in the big stage.

Germany 1-2 England
Brazil 6-2 Portugal
Scotland 0-1 Argentina

First off, the thrashing of Portugal by Brazil ahead of the arrogant statement by Cristino Ronaldo before the match. Let's read two excerpts from two articles below first.

Excerpts from the report in Goal.com:
Ronaldo: I am the best in the world!
In an interview with Sao Paulo-based paper O Estado, Ronaldo stated that he wants to win the awards but also to go on and try and have an even better campaign this time around.

"I am the first, the second and the third best player in the world. But there are other good candidates like Kaká, Messi and Fernando Torres," he said.

Excerpts from the report in Goal.com:
Ronaldo Tried To Break My Leg - Silva
Ronaldo grabbed Marcelo round the neck, and Brazil defender Thiago Silva believes that Ronaldo tried to break his leg.

The 24-year old Fluminense centre back is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: "He [Cristiano Ronaldo] has the cheek to say I jumped over his tackle. But if I did not jump he would have broken my leg.

"Being considered the best player in the world, he must have more respect. It is difficult to accept what he did. "

"He is a little [naughty], yes. But that is football. And we need to know to deal with it. He was nervous because he couldn't create anything," Silva concluded.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, what do you think of Cristino Ronaldo? There was a poll done to measure C.Ronaldo against Messi at Goal.com. The results from the poll is a 50-50% split between football fans in the planet of who is better. My view?

Well, to me, Cristino Ronaldo is a great player who had a tremendous season last year for his club BUT he has nothing special that makes him different from the other good players of this generation, he flops big time in big matches, he dives, he cheats, he is too arrogant and I bet he will not repeat the same performance again ever (prove me wrong then!). All these qualities will not make him into a legend.

I don't know whether they misquoted him as they will always give such excuses when they give controversial comments in football interviews. It happens so commonly in the football world you guess is as good as mine that the best excuse is always I AM BEING MISQUOTED with a very naive, innocent looking face. I am sick and tired of that excuse so will the people who write such articles record down the interviews (in video or at least voice) as proofs in the future whenever the 'misquoted' people deny it? Thank you very much! You can always upload to YouTube to prove them wrong.

He said he is the first, second and third best player in the world and then said Kaká, Messi and Fernando Torres are also good players. Does it mean that they are the fourth, fifth and sixth best players in the world after him (1st, 2nd and 3rd)? Or does he mean if he is going to play against all three at the same time, he is still 1st, 2nd and 3rd then comes the three of them. That's what I conclude from his statement. Really arrogant, proud and ambitious statement from one season of performance for his club. He did nothing for the Champions League final, I dared to say they can even win without him on the pitch that day and his EURO2008 performance was even worse.

Lionel Messi is the rare type of player whom you only see once or twice in a century or two. He is the type who can make the difference in a very crucial match which can determine a cup as big as the World Cup or the Champions League Cup. The last player I remember to have such skills at this age is Zinedine Zidane. One touch or two of his made the difference between a crucial win or loss. Other potential legend candidates we heard like Robinho who was given so much hype to be the next Pele is totally a letdown and we have yet to see much from Brandao, nicknamed the ‘New Ronaldo’ and ‘Little Ronaldo’, who is playing for Real Madrid Castilla. Will he be the next Real Ronaldo against the current Fake Ronaldo - C.Ronaldo?

If I am a coach and am given a choice to buy Messi or Ronaldo, I will bet to get Messi. He is totally at a different level and he is what you can declare a talent among all talents of this age to have the best chance of becoming a legend. He is basically a legend in the making and I am looking forward to it. Well, of course, Cristino Ronaldo can still improve and become even better but to me, Cristino Ronaldo = hardwork and Lionel Messi = talent. I don't mean Messi doesn't need to work hard, I just mean one does not have exceptional talents born naturally while the other does and requires hard work to reach his status while the talented one if work hard and be consistent, will reach legendary status. Hope this explanation shows my view accurately.

Let's move on to Capello. Well well well, what else do I have to say to my most favourite football coach? He broke another record, giving Germany their first loss in the capital since 1973! How many more records this guy want to break? I think we better start counting now before we lost count! He does not have a fully healthy squad to bring to Germany and eventhough it is just a friendly, the win is a massive psychology victory for all England players and fans.

As for Argentina, we all have to admit that they are super underachievers given the amount of great players they have in their squad. Just look through the collection of star players in their team sheet: Gabriel Heinze, Nicolas Burdisso, Javier Zanetti, Javier Mascherano, Maxi Rodriguez, Fernando Gago, Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero. We have to admit they have a superstar selection which any national team on the planet can only dream of. Even an expensive assembled all-star Chelsea will look inferior against this talented Argentina national team.

All I have to say is Argentina is a club oozing with talents and are a good candidate to the World Cup final if they improve together as a team. Maradona's presence as their national coach gives them a tremendous mental and psychological boost before we even talk about his management skills. England is about hardwork and effectiveness under Capello and he can build any mediocre teams into champions.

Argentina VS. England in the World Cup final 2010 possible? Argentina = talent = Lionel Messi VS. England = hardwork = Cristino Ronaldo. You get the analogy. I am dreaming about this possibility. That's where the flow of this post is suppose to bring you to from the start. Hehe! It's a good case study to prove who is better. This is so typical in Japanese storylines about an ordinary guy who works extremely hard to overcome a talented guy.

JOHOR BAHRU TYPICAL TREE



This is how a typical tree in Johor Bahru looks like. It is always well decorated with many signboards of advertisements. These range from lorry rental, services like massage, loan money, house movers, painters, insect killers and manhood enhancement drugs. I saw this particular one with even a website dedicated to the manhood gel again. Well, the closer the trees are to the traffic light junctions, the more loaded the ads are on their trunks.



The add reads:
Keras! (Solid!) Tahan! (Durable!) Yakin! (Confident!) ++Saiz! (++Size!)
100% Herba dan Selamat! (100% Herbal and Safe!)

Check it out!
GEL LELAKI HEBAT / KAPSUL LELAKI HEBAT
(Powerful Male Gel / Powerful Male Capsule)

This post is dedicated to my friend, Holy^Mamk!

SITEX 2008

Your Digital Playground
20th Anniversary
The longest IT Event in Singapore

27 - 30 Nov 2008
Singapore ExpoHalls 5 & 6, Atrium 5 & Foyer 2
11am - 9pm

SITEX

SUSHI BAR ETIQUETTE

This video too has been out for ages and I still found it online. Check it out! I'll have to ask my Japanese friend if it is true. Haha! Enjoy!



What's your favourite sushi? For me, any seafood attached on top is fine from jellyfish to clams to squids to octopuses to fishes (tuna, mackerel, salmon). I know a friend who doesn't like seafood, both the flora and fauna versions. I guess she will not survive in a sushi bar.

MALAYSIAN PETROL TAX, TAXIS, MELAMINE TEST & POLICE

Are we the first oil producing country in this planet to have petrol tax? We probably break the world record! I saw a few petrol stations putting signboards saying they don't have fuel today. This is very common sight in Malaysia. When fuel price shoots up sky high, they keep quiet. When it goes down, they said they are making a loss. Great logic.

Our neighbour, Singapore, has cut prices for the 12th consecutive time since July 2008. Premium 95 grade now stands at S$1.636 a litre, while the price of diesel is reduced to S$1.373. Malaysia had the latest price cut, which is only the 5th since August 2008. The new pump price for RON97 is now RM2 per litre while RON92 will be sold at RM1.90 per litre and diesel will be at RM1.90 per litre.

As for the taxis, the news about nearly 60% of the complaints filed with the Commercial Vehicle Licencing Board (CVLB) each month concerns taxi drivers refusing to use meters is long overdued. According to CVLB chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran, taxi operators risk having their permits suspended or withdrawn if they do not use the fare meters.

Can they please implement it in Johor Bahru? Almost 99.99% of times when I board a cab, nobody is using the meters. I think out of 30 times I took cab, there is only once the driver followed the meter. They overcharged what is shown on the meter. Even worse is on some journeys which is far away, they expect you to pay two ways because they tell you they will not find any passengers at the destination you want to go. The best example is the airport because they have airport taxis. Apart from that, they charge you for using the car boot / trunk. Charges are higher if you grab one close to the immigration exit from Singapore. They are also choosy in the locations they want to go.

On another news, they said Malaysia takes two weeks to get results from melamine testing while Singapore only needs two days. Well, what's new? It's expected. I thought it takes two months but they just release the same results 12 days later (14 days - 2 days) after Singapore announces the results.

On the police, I am without words to comment. I just know how to shake my head.

The Star

MADAGASCAR 2: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA

What other reasons to watch a comedy in the cinema apart from having Ben Stiller amd Chris Rock in the cast? Well, a nice catchy song and nice animations from DreamWorks Animation. Whenever you hear the song "I Like to Move It" (an old 1994 song by Reel 2 Real (Erick Morillo), featuring The Mad Stuntman (Mark Quashie)), you will recall back the first Madagascar movie in 2005.





It has been three years since the movie and the only character I can remember is Alex the Lion. This is probably because I never watch the original in the cinema, paying less attention to the rest of the main casts of Marty the Zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo. I particular like the penguins though, they sounded like those characters of the Al Capone days. The faces of the main four animals resembles the faces of the real actors, especially Chris Rock. It's funny but interesting way to portray them.

Well, the movie basically continue where it left when they left New York's zoo and left stranded on Madagascar. They 'flew' to Africa instead of New York because of insufficient fuel, back to Alex's hometown. It's great that they put in abit of storyline to link from the past. The story focuses on family bonding and friendship. It did not disappoint me because sequals tend to disappoint. I am hoping for the best for the next one. You have the green light from me to go and enjoy this in the cinema. Have a good laugh and have a great time!

MALE RESTROOM ETIQUETTE

Well, many years back I saw this video and I am surprised I still see it there. What do you hate about those standing urinals? There are always people who cannot aim well and you find urine on the floor slightly in front and on the floor. Same for the commode, I really hate going in one with urine in front of it. Well, watch the video and comment as you wish. The story goes abit out of hand but you get the picture. Hehe!

U MOBILE AD

'Pay only for what U need! U call the shots!'

Well, I had seen their ads for a long time now but my favourite is the teh tarik one. I still keep on smiling whenever I see this U Mobile ad. When will I ever get bored? I like the part where the customer imitates the voice of the teh tarik man although I know most probably it is the same voice of a person. The guy looks so dejected with such an extreme bent angle eyebrow frown after his request for a half cup teh tarik was rejected. I also like the end part when he dragged the glass to himself once it was half filled while the teh tarik man stared at him in disgust. Haha!



Apart from this, they have three more others but I feel that they are not as good and funny.

BRAIN POWER!

People who are completely paralyzed due to illness or trauma are getting help communicating with a new technology that connects their brains to a computer. Scott Pelley reports.
November 3, 2008
CBS NEWS


Watch CBS Videos Online

The scary thing is how we have the chance to understand and perhaps communicate with animals in the future.

ECONOMY CRISIS CREATES ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

"When you are hardest hit, when you are most desperate, that's when the best of you will be born if you go against the challenge."
quote by DieHardX

I read with interest the Digital Rules article 'BACK TO THE 1970s' by Rich Karlgaard (page 30, November 10, 2008 Forbes Asia magazine) where he argued that high taxes, inflation and political blunders killed the stock market but some U.S. entrepreneurs were just getting started in the 1970s. The online version is available here at Forbes.com. He gives a few examples: Southwest Airlines, FedEx, Microsoft, Genentech, Apple, SAS Institute and Oracle.

An excerpt from the article:
"I don't think it was a coincidence that entrepreneurship thrived during the 1970s. High income taxes and a lousy stock market--each made worse by inflation--drove bright young people into unconventional careers. Picture Bill Gates in the 1970s, with an SAT score of 1590 and a burning ambition. What existing jobs could possibly have satisfied young Gates? Wall Street was a sleepy place back then. IBM was a blue-suit, white-shirt workplace. Bell Labs stimulated the brain but offered little adrenalin. Entrepreneurship was where it was at.

If Barack Obama wins the presidency with large majorities in the House and Senate, we know that taxes on income, savings and investment will go up. We know that inflation will quickly follow any economic recovery. High taxes and inflation! Which means, like in the 1970s, some of the better career paths will be found in entrepreneurship. Startups pay lower salaries, but one can build wealth behind the tax curtain and harvest one's gains in more favorable times.

Entrepreneurship based on innovation--this is where the action will be. I want to be there, don't you?"

HOW CAPITALISM WILL SAVE US

I read this article by Steve Forbes at pg.18 of Forbes Asia November 10, 2008 issue and I thought I will share the four charts to you all. The full article is also online at Forbes.com.

Higher Oil Prices Weren't Caused By Supply & Demand
Steve Forbes 10.22.08, 6:00 PM ET
Forbes Magazine dated November 10, 2008

For decades the prices of gold and oil have closely paralleled one another. In 2003 an ounce of gold would have bought you 12 barrels of oil. Today that ounce will buy you about 11 barrels, even though the nominal price of oil is almost three times what it was in 2003. Thus most of the oil increase is a result of dollar inflation, not traditional supply and demand.

The Importance of a Strong Dollar
Steve Forbes 10.22.08, 6:00 PM ET
Forbes Magazine dated November 10, 2008

Since 2002, the value of the dollar against the euro has trended down sharply. We've only recently seen a correction. For the economy to fundamentally improve, this trend must continue.

The Cost of Inflation
Steve Forbes 10.22.08, 6:00 PM ET
Forbes Magazine dated November 10, 2008

There's no better measure of inflation's impact than looking at the spread of the S&P over time, both before and after inflation adjustment.

Good As Gold?
Steve Forbes 10.22.08, 6:00 PM ET
Forbes Magazine dated November 10, 2008

The Fed should tie the dollar to a gold price range of $500-$550. That's one way to fend off future monetary blunders.

FOOTBALL: REAL MADRID HUMILIATED!

Segunda B club, Real Unión humiliated Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey and now they are in crisis. I have since last season when Bernd Schuster took over said that what he inherited was a team well built by Capello. He is not the reason for their success in the league last season. He just took over a very high morale and well united squad. However, the team did not last long and we can slowly see the difference this season. They are sinking so low and we see again players not united yet again. They will never learn, the cycle repeats again. I strongly believe if Capello had not been sacked, they could have captured their 10th Champions League crown last season.

"If it is not yours, don't claim it is yours. Time will tell. Give credit to whom it is dued"
quote by DieHardX

Things are not going well lately for Chelsea and Liverpool too. Chelsea lost to Burnley in the League Cup while Liverpool were defeated yet again by Tottenham Hotspurs. How much longer will Tottenham keep going on with their great form? Only God knows and their unbeaten run has gone to 6 matches now.

FOOTBALL: FOUR GOALS MACHINES

Samuel Eto'o and Gonzalo Higuaín scored four goals this weekend to give both clubs a win each in the La Liga. Eto'o did it in an even more impressive fashion by scoring all four goals in the first half of the match! This could be a football record.

Barcelona won convincingly 6-0 against Valladolid while Real Madrid have to come back three times to force a 4-3 victory against Málaga. Barcelona continue their supreme form despite getting a new coach, Pep Guardiola while Madrid continue to be in deep shit as they entered the match with three defeats in their last five outings. The win will help sustain Schuster's job for a while. It is really impressive how Barcelona changed so drastically by just dismantling one core member (Ronaldinho) of its Dream Team. They are learning faster than Real Madrid during the Galaticos era which I applaud them!

Meanwhile, Arsenal killed Manchester United at home with a brace from Samir Nasri, the guy whom everyone said will be the next Zidane. I hope to hear more from him as he has been rather quiet since his transfer this season. I also did not see him much during the EURO2008. This should a relief for Wenger who had some bad matches results recently. Liverpool moved top with a convincing 3-0 victory against West Brom (Robbie Keane double).

Chelsea have the chance to share the top position tonight if they manage to beat Blackburn tonight. They hold a much better goal difference record currently so they can take the lead. I will also keep watch of Tottenham tonight to see if their superb run will continue against Manchester City. The latest match saw Darren Bent grabbing a hat-trick against Dinamo Zagreb with a 4-0 victory at home in the UEFA Cup.

FOOTBALL: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS

Shocking defeats for Chelsea and Werder Bremen. Barcelona also surprisingly struggled against a much weaker team.

AS Roma 3-1 Chelsea
Scorers:
AS Roma: Christian Panucci 34, Mirko Vucinic 48, 58
Chelsea: John Terry 75
Red card: Deco (Chelsea) 80

Anorthosis Famagusta 3 Inter Milan 3
Scorers:
Anorthosis Famagusta: Cedric Bardon 31, Georgios Panagi 45+1, Nikolaos Frousos 50
Inter Milan: Mario Balotelli 13, Marco Materazzi 44, Julio Cruz 80

Werder Bremen 0 Panathinaikos 3
Scorers: Vangelis Mantzios 58, Giorgios Karagounis 70, Alexandros Tziolis 83

Barcelona 1 Basel 1
Scorers:
Barcelona: Lionel Messi 62
Basel: Eren Derdiyok 82

LUCKLESS QUEUES

As a Malaysian, it is expected when you go to the public / government sector handled by public servants, the quality of service is among the 'top' in this planet. It is the mentality which will curse Malaysia as the 3rd world country forever if nothing is changed. However, since everyone is expecting it, we are very well prepared to digest whatever they throw at us when we go to their counters to seek service.

Possible irritating situations:
1. Reach there only 3 out of 20 counters are opened, the rest of the 17 shows NEXT COUNTER PLEASE signs. It is the reason I close all my bank accounts which are forced to be opened in CIMB (then Bumiputera Bank) and EON Bank. After that, I only go to Public Bank (many counters, many customers but 10 ten times furiously fast!), foreign banks and Singaporean banks
2. You see many counters closed and the staffs having tea break behind there, chit chatting casually when the queue formed is as long as the perimeter of the building. They still laughing and smiling there while we look at them in full frustration
3. You see many counters or all with the sign TECHNICAL PROBLEM or COMPUTER BREAKDOWN (Malaysian passport application counters)
4. You go there and many counters are closed because they are taking a break elsewhere (Malaysian passport, identification card application counters)
5. You go there and they handle one people for 20 minutes, taking things slowly with no urgency while the queue formed is as long as the perimeter of the building

In normal circumstances, you are having bad luck in the queue if:
1. It is your turn on the queue when suddenly they run out of receipt issuing papers and they need to change it
2. The person in front of you is purchasing something which the bar code scanner cannot detect and they staff needs to go to grab it or call someone else. The cashier keys in manually, it still will not work (lousy local barcode printers - this happens in Giant Malaysia mostly)
3. You go to a queue with a staff performing 10 times slower than your neighbouring queues at different counters
4. The credit card the person in front of you is using creates a lot of problem for the machine to detect, dial and approve
5. The automatic counter breaks down just before you or when it is your turn
6. They run out of small change and require to go to other counters to make exchanges
7. They are changing shifts right when it is your turn and you have to wait for the new staff to get the stuffs ready before serving you
8. You are in a queue when the person in front of you take centuries to finish his matters, this is especially for ATM / cash deposit / cheque deposit machines
9. The person in front of you is representing another person to queue and when it is the person's turn, the person who suppose to bring an item or two over has not reach yet, forcing the cashier and everyone else in the queue to wait. Sometimes the person want to exchange things because of getting the wrong brands with quite similar packaging or the item is spoilt
10. The person in front of you has someone else who is still shopping and when it is the person's turn, the someone else return with ten times more items
11. The person in front of you is buying more things allowed for the Express Counter which only allow 8-10 items. The person can pretend he/she does not notice it or buying 8-10 types of items in bulk is fine or just doesn't care and act tough so the cashier does not dare to question
12. The person in front of you have thousands of friends who come later and cut into the queue, adding in front of the person and that means you are further down the queue and require to wait longer

I had a serious bad encounter of this from AirAsia check-in counter. There was a family who was in front of us (there was another couple right in front of us after that family) checking in as a group when a person behind us went towards them to request for help to check in together. They feared their luggages may be overweight since they carried a lot of luggages. The father of the family agreed without expecting how many of them were actually checking in together.

To our horror, they were like a group of students with at least 10-15 people! Imagine the horror when 10-15 people with heavy luggages overtake the queue and go in front of you to check in so many luggages at the same time. Of course people who suppose to be in front of them in the queue are not happy with it but they are just insensitive, ignoring us. The couple right in front of us were more direct and complained loudly behind them. They heard it but pretended that nothing had happened. AirAsia staffs saw this and luckily there was an empty counter right beside us which they had to open to cool down the crowd. If not for that extra counter, I wonder what will happen.

Feel free to share your experience and add to the list!

LEWIS HAMILTON, THE YOUNGEST F1 CHAMPION!

Congratulations Lewis Hamilton and McLaren Mercedes! He lost the title by a point last season but he won it with a point this season. He also won it in the last lap. He is also the youngest Formula 1 driver to capture the crown at 23 years, 9 months and 26 days old. Fernando Alonso was the youngest champion at 24 years old, 1 month and 27 days old.

Hamilton is also the first ever black driver to win the Formula One crown, the 9th British champion, the fist since Damon Hill in 1996 and the first McLaren champion since Mika Hakkinen in 1999. Massa must be having a tough day despite winning the race. German Tiko Glock lost 18 seconds in his Toyota to give Hamilton the 5th place.

Although I am a Ferrari fan, Hamilton does have the skills and the luck this season to win the title so he does deserve the title. Massa has been having many unlucky races for the last few races of the season which made his title chase so much more tougher. I guess that's how it is in life sometimes. A point can make such a huge difference. I hope he will come back stronger next season!

FOOTBALL: EUROPEAN RESULTS 1ST NOVEMBER 2008

How on earth do you explain these results? This is what I called a complete twist of fortunes. Everything just go the opposite directions. Tottemham suddenly are grabbing the headlines of the football news in the right way after the change of their coach. It is incredible how things change so fast so drastically.
Stoke 2-1 Arsenal
Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool

Anelka scored a hattrick while Lampard scored his 100th goal for Chelsea in the demolition of Sunderland. They now sit at the top of the table with Liverpool 2nd, tied on points but with a much better goal difference.
Chelsea 5-0 Sunderland


After 0-3 defeat to Chelsea at their own homeground, they now lost again over Manchester United. I watched the early part of the match and did not continue. I now regret this since I missed the other 6 goals.
Manchester United 4-3 Hull

Roma continues to be in crisis as they were beaten by Juventus. This is their 5th defeat in a row and their coach Luciano Spalletti is struggling to hang on to his job.
Juventus 2-0 Roma

Barcelona have been in fine form of late, scoring goals in huge numbers. Things are looking brightest for them now in La Liga while uncertainties hit all the rest of the top teams. This year could be the rise of Barcelona after they dismantled their Dream Team.
Malaga 1-4 Barcelona

SNIFFER RATS / HeroRATS

I read about these interesting rats in the National Geographic magazine (October 2008 Vol. 214 No. 4) and I thought I should share it here. Well, rats or mouses are always a nuisane to humans. However, Bart Weetjens found a way to make use of them. They are light and easier to train than dogs so they are used for locating land mines. There are some 60 million land mines scattered in 69 countries worldwide. They are used heavily in Tanzania and Mozambique in Africa, in the world's most mine-riddled continent. The rat, the African fiant pouched rat, has a very sensitive nose. Apart from sniffing out land mines, they can screen human saliva for tuberculosis and finding earthquake victims buried in rubble.

HeroRATS