Flame Master

Boycott

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:37:51 GMT

Boycott is the buzzword nowadays. It's created a lot of debate, including among my friends and I. There are 2 camps: 1) who don't support the boycott and 2) who support the boycott. Both have their own perspectives of the issue and they both have strong points to back up their opinion.

Generally I can gather 2 strong points from the non-boycott group. Firstly, they say the boycott is not good for the economy; it is akin to shooting oneself in the foot. And in the current situation the world economy is facing, it is not a wise decision. A lot of locals could lose their jobs.

The second point is that the boycott will achieve little. It will not do any harm to Israel or America either because there are not enough people boycotting or because the boycott itself is not powerful or impactful enough.

I used to be in this first group who laughed at efforts by people who boycott. "It's a waste of time" I thought. However, recent events have forced me to change my viewpoint. The extreme evil perpetrated by the devilish state has gone beyond the limit.

That's why the only way I can think of to show my disgust is by boycotting their goods. It doesn't matter to me if I am the only one in the whole universe who is boycotting, because I know that I'm doing the right thing. Let's look at 1 analogy: If you were asked to donate 20 sen towards building a mosque, would you bother if nobody else donated? Your money alone would not be enough to build the mosque, but would that stop you from donating? If boycotting Coca-Cola would only reduce their income by $1 per day, would that stop you? At the end of the day, it all boils down to one's own principles. Whether other people do it or not does not matter. Whether it impacts or not does not matter. What matters is that it is a good cause.

Of course we have to be a little realistic, lest we start throwing away our Intel-powered PC's and our Nokia handphones. Even by reducing our usage of the products, it is already good enough. Lifting a finger is much better than doing nothing. (if that's all we can do). At least one day we can look back and say "I did someting, I didn't just talk".

If you've seen the movie "Apocalypto", it portrays the Mayans, an ancient civilization who were going about in their daily lives dancing and singing happily. One day, the Europeans set foot on their land. That was then end of their civilization.

We are not alone in this world. One day the fire from other places will spread to where we are sitting (so comfortably). And then we may regret, saying "why didn't we hold hands with our brothers and sisters halfway across the globe? They would have been holding our hands now in our hour of peril" By then it would have been too late already.

Guidelines

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:06:08 GMT

    In my humble opinion, if any Muslim doesn't agree with a certain fatwa, then by all means, don't even bother listening to it. He/she is not going to jail for not abiding by it.

    Rather than raising a ruckus and blasting the religious authorities, (who only announced the fatwa as a guideline), just keep quiet laa. I repeat: A GUIDELINE. The way some people reacted is as if everybody who took up y*g* would have their heads sliced off.

    It's sickening really. More so, when the media has chosen to blow the matter out of proportion. Everyone is entitled to his/her own view. However, protesting with such ferocity is truly unwarranted when the sole purpose of the fatwa is just to guide us. In fact it sometimes it sounded as if there was a hidden agenda behind it. Certain quarters get free publicity when they voice out their "concern" for this matter. The barking certainly gets louder when they smell a front page headline coming. Some are laughing with glee when this tiny spark is transformed to an explosion.

In the end, the biggest losers are common sense... and racial harmony. Thank you to our media for that. That's the "free" media for you..

Gold, golden time

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 08:21:50 GMT

Dear blog,

With all the hoo-haa about the price of world commodities; gold, rubber, palm oil etc going bananas.. you couldn't blame me for having the urge to jump on the commodities bandwagon to make some quick money. Yet, while it seems these commodities are the only valuable things in the market, there IS another commodity more valuable to me than everything else. That commodity is TIME.

It's strange how time seemed like cheap junk during bachelor times. Now in married life, every minute is like precious platinum. Back then, playing video games throughout the day was normal. Now, to afford even an hour for games is to much to ask. Phew.. does this mean I've become stingy with time? Yes, you could say that.

I've learnt to appreciate time just like I appreciate money. Borrowing time, by procrastinating yields the same bad results as borrowing money. Time is gold. How true...

History is Repeating Itself

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:49:33 GMT

Dear blog,

The great US empire is crumbling. As dramatic as it sounds, yes it is happening. If you read between the lines of the world news (biased and controlled by the US), the US economy is going down the drain.

Soon we will see a tsunami on a bigger scale. It will make the Malaysian tsunami look like a ripple in a puddle. The US empire has lasted for more than 100 years. I don't know whether to feel lucky or unlucky to be alive to see the downfall of US. Lucky if the US downfall will bring prosperity to the rest of the world, particularly Muslim countries. Unlucky if the US, struggling from its death throes, starts committing illegal and destructive actions. Only time will tell what is going to happen.

In the meantime, we should start paying attention to the current events. Only then can we prepare ourselves better for the oncoming Super Tsunami.

Last chance

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:46:03 GMT

I used to watch this cartoon series "Captain Planet" when I was a kid. It was a cartoon specially designed to inculcate awareness on environment preservation among children. I must say it has been successful, in influencing my opinion and thinking today.

I think today the average Joe has probably heard calls to save the environment a thousand times now. We all have. And some of us may be tired of hearing it again and again. Yet being tired of this message doesn't meant the problem will go away. 10 years ago, people were already giving grave warnings about the environment. 10 years from now, what kind of warnings do you think we'll get? Certainly even graver, more urgent warnings that are perhaps too late.

The other day I watched this short commercial on Discovery. And the message there was very touching. While showing all the species of animals on the planet, the narrator said: " Of all the species on planet earth, only one has the power and intelligence to ensure safety of all other species: Man".

Yes, only mankind can save this planet. That's why we are called "khalifah di muka bumi". That's also why we are commanded not to "melakukan kerosakan di muka bumi". This message was given to us 1400 years ago when there was no global warming and pollution yet. If we only understand this message, then we should know our responsibility as Muslims to protect this earth.

It's not difficult to save the earth. We can start small by putting aside plastic bottles that we use for recycling, reducing wastage of water and electricity and reducing plastic bag usage just to name a few. Just small things that make a big difference. Because if everybody can just contribute a tiny deed for the environment, not only can we change this world we live in but we can save it as well.

Please read this if you love your country, Malaysia

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:07:15 GMT

Please read this if you love your country, Malaysia.

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/ORGANIZATION/EXTPRESIDENT2007/EXTPASTPRESIDENTS/EXTOFFICEPRESIDENT/0,,contentMDK:20977460~menuPK:64343277~pagePK:51174171~piPK:64258873~theSitePK:1014541,00.html

I AM DEAD SERIOUS ABOUT THIS.

Lost phone

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:44:20 GMT

Remember this?(pic below). Well, on Jul 2005 I posted an article showing my new phone (new at that time). It was my most prized possession. Unfortunately, this prized possession got lost on Thursday night while I was at a resort in Merang, Terengganu. It happened while I was karaoke-ing and somehow, the phone slipped out of my trackbottom pocket. I was only 30 seconds out of the karaoke room when I remembered. When I hurried back to the room, it was already too late. I couldn't find it and so couldn't the two resort staff who were there singing.

As most people who have lost their phones will agree, the most valuable thing I lost were the contacts in that phone, not to mention the photos and pictures and SMS-es. I guess I'm supposed to feel very down and sad at the moment. But maybe this is just an expensive lesson for me, that could one day prevent me from losing even more valuable items.

Meanwhile, it has given me an excuse to get a new phone:

That sort of numbs the pain...hehehehe. Well, after all the old phone lasted about 3 years...

Original article about my old phone on Jul 2005 (entitled "Mah new baby~~):

http://flamemaster.blogdrive.com/archive/cm-4_cy-2008_m-4_d-12_y-2008_o-40.html

Do you know what causes inflation?

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:08:55 GMT

Do you know what causes inflation?
Would you believe it if I told you that the interest rates they charge at banks are the main culprit? Mind you, this statement is based on pure logic, and is not from opinion alone. Why does the price of goods always go up and not down? Why does RM 1 today not equal RM 1 of tommorow?

Here's why:
Let's say I'm the manufacturer of KIT KAT chocolates.

Scenario 1: Bank offers 2% interest rate on fixed deposit
If I want to manufacture 1 KIT KAT bar today, I spend RM 1 today. Tomorrow I have 0 ringgit. Fine.
But if I don't manufacture a KIT KAT today, and put it in a bank, tomorrow I have RM1.02. (2% interest)

It makes sense to try get a profit of more than RM0.02 from manufacturing a kit kat. Otherwise, it's better to put it in a bank.

Suddenly, tomorrow the interest rates increase to 10%. Surely I'll want to increase my profits to more than RM0.10 right? That means prices of goods will go up!!!
PRICE GO UP = INFLATION

Scenario 2: Bank offers 0% interest rate on fixed deposit

I don't have to make sure my profit exceeds RM0.02, coz I don't have a better option.
No need to worry about interest rates going up, so my merchandise stays at the same price.

Now that we understand that, we also need to know there are also OTHER causes of inflation:
i) People spending too much money unnecesarily, so sellers tend to increase their prices.
ii) Petrol price increase, so price of goods also increase. But when petrol prices go down, nothing else goes down. This I cannot explain.

Here's a typical cycle of inflation

a) People spend lots of money coz the economy is doing well.
b) Prices of goods go up
c) Inflation goes up
d) To control inflation, Bank Negara increases interest rates, so it's harder to borrow money, and there is less supply of money in the economy. so that people spend less. (Interest rates are connected to BLR that determines your monthly loan payments)
e) People spend less
f) Inflation goes up, Businesses go bankrupt because nobody wants to buy anything.
g) Economy grows at slower pace (economy is down)
h) Bank Negara reduces interest rates, it's easier to borrow money, more supply of money in the economy, and people start spending more.
i) Return to (a)

At this point, the reader is free to figure out what would happen if we didn't have interest rates.

It's a complex topic, and admittingly even I have not fully understood it. That's why I'm writing this blog entry, hoping it will help me understand it better by teaching what I know to you guys.

Nitrogen Tyres

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:54:57 GMT

A few weeks ago when I was getting into my car near Taman Permata, a salesman stopped me. "Damn..I don't wan't to hear this", I said to myself.

(5 minutes later),

After showing a few glossy coupons, he sold me an RM30 membership card for a new car workshop. The membership included many coupons for "freebies", since it was a promotional product. Freebies like free car wash, free nitrogen gas for tyres, and free 18-point car check. I was naturally so hooked by the number of freebies that all my logic went out the window.

The workshop was actually near the MPAJ building near Pandan Indah. Since I didn't want all the freebies to go to waste, I drove all the way there to get a free car wash, free nitrogen gas for tyres and free 18-point car check.

Upon arrival, I was told: "Encik boleh guna 1 kupon saja setiap kali datang". "Ok, then, I'll take the car wash". The man replied " Car wash kita dah berhenti, MPAJ tak bagi bukak". After a minute of deliberation, I decided on the nitrogen gas for my tyres (worth RM10). The hype behind nitrogen gas was pretty amazing. It was supposed to:

i) Improve fuel efficiency

ii) Improve safety in driving

iii) Increase lifespan of the tires

With all that in mind, I felt pretty good with all that nitrogen gas in my tyres. The workshop crew lifted my car up, and filled everything up, and I was ready to go. On the way back, I could have sworn the car felt lighter to drive. The feel good factor lasted till I came home, where I boasted to my bros about my nitrogen gas tyres. "Hail the nitrogen gas car, Hua Hua Huaaaaaa"

The next week, my car couldn't start. The starter contact point was worn out. Damn.

I'm back!!

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 03:54:35 GMT

Hi everyone,

If you didn't already give up on this blog, you might have noticed it wasn't updated for the last 3 months, hahahh. Well, a lot of things have happened in my life recently; in fact too many till it made me procrastinate more each time I thought about it. I've had many interesting topics to share, and as I procrastinated, even more new topics and events came up, and soon it was all piling up in my head. Being the lazy guy that I am, instead of starting something, I decided to conveniently "forget" I even had a blog.

Activities I should have written about:

i) My trip to Redang Island

ii) My wedding ceremony

iii) My honeymoon to Bali

iv) The aftermath of my wedding.

In a nutshell, this blog is a compilation of excuses why I didnt write about all this, as well as to get rid of the guilty feeling of not updating my blog. I don't even have pictures with me now..hahah

Blog Reader: "Shut up, we don't want to know that, tell us about the juicy stuff like what you did during your honeymoon!!!"

Me: OK2....I try to do that when I'm free..till then..

Blog Reader: I'm gonna boycott this blog...