Wednesday, January 09, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008

Kami ke Sunway Pyramid untuk makan malam dan membeli-belah. Sangka kami “Jualan Tengah Malam di Jusco” pasti menawarkan harga runtuh. Rupanya hanya barangan terpilih sahaja yang runtuh harganya. Sarung kusyen yang menjadi subjek utama pembelian kami langsung tiada diskaun. Nampaknya mama kena beli di Jalan TAR sahaja.

Keluar sahaja dari Jusco, jam menunjukkan hampir 12.00 tengah malam. Saya yang masih belum mengantuk terdorong sama menyertai ribuan manusia lain menyaksikan pertunjukkan bunga api sempena meraikan kedatangan tahun baru di perkarangan Sunway Pyramid.

Selamat tinggal 2007 penuh kenangan. Selamat datang 2008 !

AIDILADHA 1428H

Aidiladha kami menjelajah lagi. Mula-mula balik kampung, dari Puchong ke Dungun, membelah lewat malam Aidiladha melewati lebuhraya dari barat ke timur mengambil masa agak lama dari biasa disebabkan kesesakkan di sepanjang laluan keluar dari lembah kelang dan tol-tol plaza, hinggakan plaza tol Jabor yang selama ini lengang, penuh sesak dengan kenderaan pada jam 3 pagi. Mujur juga banjir telah pulih. Jika tidak, pasti kami tersangkut dimana-mana.

Selang 2 hari kemudian, perjalanan diteruskan lagi dari Dungun ke Ipoh untuk memenuhi jemputan perkahwinan sepupu mama. Pengalaman baru merentasi laluan Dungun – Jerangau – Kuala Berang – Gua Musang – Ipoh, mengambil masa antara 6 ke 7 jam untuk disempurnakan. Laluan santai dari Dungun hingga ke Kuala Berang, seterusnya menuju ke persimpangan Tasik Kenyir bertukar kepada laluan penuh berliku merentasi hutan belantara tetapi menyeronokkan, memecut dan melayan selekoh di laluan yang cantik dan sangat lengang. Hanya sesekali berselisih dengan kenderaan lain. Tengkujuh di pantai timur diburukkan lagi dengan lereng-lereng bukit yang runtuh di beberapa kawasan, malah ada satu laluan yang telah runtuh sebahagian darinya menyebabkan kami terpaksa dilencongkan ke laluan tanah merah. Ngeri juga melihat gaung menjunam ke bawah. Mulanya kami bayangkan laluan yang ditempuhi merupakan jalan yang ditar cantik hingga ke pekan Gua Musang, namun sampai suatu ketika sedar-sedar kami telah pun melalui kawasan ladang sawit yang begitu asing. Kawasan itu namanya Felda Aring dan Felda Chiku, Jalannya sempit, tidak rata dan nampak seperti belum siap sepenuhnya, berterusan hinggalah kami keluar ke laluan utama Kota Bharu – Gua Musang. Agak mencabar, tetapi sangat berbaloi dan perjalanan dapat dipendekkan jika kami membuat laluan Grik – Jeli ataupun merentasi laluan Genting Highlands melalui LPT.

Selepas Gua Musang, jalan yang dilalui kembali sempurna tetapi masih lengang. Pertama kali merentasi Banjaran Titiwangsa, melalui kawasan penempatan orang asli di Pos Blau dan Pos Selim, kawasan pertanian sayur di Lojing yang suatu ketika dahulu pernah menjadi kontroversi akibat penarahan bukitnya seterusnya laluan ke Cameron Highlands, akhirnya keluar ke Jalan Gopeng.

Saga Iswara 1.3 papa cemerlang lagi!

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

60 USES OF SALT

1. If you drop a whole egg on the floor, pour salt on it. Let it sit for awhile, then use dustpan, the egg will come right up, without all that mess.
2. Soak stained hankies in salt water before washing.
3. Sprinkle salt on your shelves to keep ants away.
4. Soak fish in salt water before descaling; the scales will come off easier.
5. Put a few grains of rice in your saltshaker for easier pouring.
6. Add salt to green salads to prevent wilting.
7. Test the freshness of eggs in a cup of salt water; fresh eggs sink; bad ones float.
8. Add a little salt to your boiling water when cooking eggs; a cracked egg will stay in its shell this way.
9. A tiny pinch of salt with tup fluffier.
10. Soak wrinkled apples in a mildly salted water solution to perk them up.
11. Rub salt on your pancake griddle and your flapjacks won't stick.
12. Soak toothbrushes in salt water before you first use them; they will last longer.
13. Use salt to clean your discolored coffee pot.
14. Mix salt with turpentine to whiten you bathtub and toilet bowl.
15. Soak your nuts in salt brine overnight and they will crack out of their shells whole. Just tap the end of the shell with a hammer to break it open easily.
16. Boil clothespins in salt water before using them and they will last longer.
17. Clean brass, copper and pewter with past r, thickened with flour
18. Add a little salt to the water & your cut flowers will stand in for a longer life.
19. Pour a mound of salt on an ink spot on your carpet; let the salt soak up the stain.
20. Clean your iron by rubbing some salt on the damp cloth on the ironing surface.
21. Adding a little salt to the water when cooking foods in a double boiler will make the food cook faster.
22. Use a mixture of salt and lemon juice to clean piano keys.
23. To fill plaster holes in your walls, use equal parts of salt and starch, with just enough water to make stiff putty.
24. Rinse a sore eye with a little salt water.
25. Mildly salted water - Use it hot for sore throat gargle.
26. Dry salt sprinkled on your toothbrush makes a good tooth polisher.
27. Use salt for killing weeds in your lawn.
28. Eliminate excess suds with a sprinkle of salt.
29. A dash of salt in warm milk makes a more relaxing beverage.
30. Before using new glasses, soak them in warm salty water for awhile.
31. A dash of salt enhances the taste of tea.
32. Salt improves the taste of cooking apples.
33. Soak your clothesline in salt water to prevent your clothes from freezing to the line; likewise, use salt in your final rinse to prevent the clothes from freezing.
34. Rub any wicker furniture you may have with salt water to prevent bugs
35. Freshen sponges by soaking them in salt water.
36. Add raw potatoes to stews and soups that are too salty.
37. Soak enamel pans in salt water overnight and boil salt water in them next day to remove burnt-on stains.
38. Clean your greens in salt water for easier removal of dirt.
39. Gelatin sets more quickly when a dash of salt is added.
40. Fruits put in mildly salted water after peeling will not discolor.
41. Fabric colors hold fast in salty water wash.
42. Milk stays fresh longer when a little salt is added.
43. Use equal parts of salt and soda for brushing your teeth.
44. Sprinkle salt in your oven before scrubbing clean.
45. Soak discolored glasses in salt solution to remove stains.
46. Clean greasy pans with a paper towel and salt.
47. Salty water boils faster when cooking eggs.
48. Add a pinch of salt to whipping cream to make it whip more quickly.
49. Sprinkle salt in milk-scorched pans to remove odor.
50. A dash of salt improves the taste of coffee.
51. Boil mismatched hose in salty water and they will come out matched.
52. Salt and soda will sweeten the odor of your refrigerator.
53. Cover wine-stained fabric with salt; rinse in cool water later.
54. Remove offensive odors from stove with salt and cinnamon.
55. A pinch of salt improves the flavor of cocoa.
56. To remove grease stains in clothing, mix one part salt alcohol.
57. Salt and lemon juice removes mildew.
58. Sprinkle salt between sidewalk bricks where you don't want grass growing.
59. Polish your old kerosene lamp with salt for a brighter look. Remove odors from sink drainpipes with a strong, hot solution of salt water.
60. If a pie bubbles over in your oven, put a handful of salt on top of the spilled juice. The mess won't smell and will bake into a dry, light crust which will wipe off easily when the oven has cooled.

WARREN BUFFET

Ini ada satu cerita tentang Warren Buffet, amat menarik untuk diteladani.

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

1) He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
3) He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5) He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6) His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.
7) He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
8) He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.
9) Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
10) Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.
11) His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself.

Amazing individual indeed......