Chinese New Year 2010

No postings uploaded during the Chinese New Year celebrations. I had also been sick since the third day of CNY (16 Feb).


We had the Re-union dinner with my brother (and family) as our parents have passed. All the relatives gathered at my Aunt's place on the first day of CNY. I did take some photos of the occasion, but for reason of privacy (ie no permission from them) I am not posting them. Posted above is one of the Lion Dance I attended.



I had wanted to show that most of the lion dance troupes were now just in it for the donations / collections. This was shown by the fact that most of the "members" of these troupes were not even chinese! But the troupe in the photos above was from the local chinese school (Kian Kok Secondary School), so were all chinese.

Moral Compass

Continuing on the musing posted on 26 January 2010 regarding the ideas in the book (that I am slowly reading) The Evolution of God.

In those primitive times, the normal person lived in a village (group) of between 30 - 50. To him the villagers were either "kin = relatives" or "non-kin = friends". All outsiders of the village were "strangers = enemies".

So his relationship to kin was conducted following "kin-selection" (technical term by them psychologists meaning that we are willing to sacrifice for close relatives). His relationship with non-kin would have been conducted in accordance with "reciprocal altruism" (ie, if I am nice to you, you will be most likely to be nice to me in return). So his behaviour in the context of the village (his "world") was always ethical. His Moral Compass was in-built and was not part of his "religion".

Another idea introduced in the book is that religion is self-serving. This is not to mean that its bad, just that it must serve our interest. Note that self-interests are not just those selfish ones that come to mind immediately. They also include the interest of the family, society, country, ethics, moral truth, and spiritual truth. The two extreme ends of this range of interests give the two views of what religion is (also the difference between the "primitive" religion and "modern" religion).

The primitive view was that there were good and there were bad Gods. They could be influenced (prayers and offerings) to be friendly to primitive man. The modern view is God is good, so we must change to be like him (God as role-model). So our Moral Compass has expanded and has become externalised in our religion.

Duck Hunting

Roast Duck Hunting, that is. Today is Chinese New Year's Eve and we are having dinner at my brother's place. So I'm hunting for a roast duck or two. I say hunting as many places are no longer selling roast duck to walk-in customers today. Practically all the production of roast ducks, roast chickens, roast pork, and char siu have been BOOKED!

No luck at Foh Sang. Crowded with "Last Minute Shoppers".


I next went to Kampung Air (It was a "Water Village" in the 60s!). But my favourite Roast Duck shop was no longer there. It was now the "Lavender Lodge".


Luckily the next door coffee shop still sells roast duck. I bought one (second one from the right!).


Not feeling fully satisfied, I went down to KK looking for "Kwong Tung Chai". It's the KK branch of a very nice roast meats shop from Inanam. Note all the "Booked" ducks and roast pork. So I bought one more. You can never have enough roast duck. I hope it keeps well in the freezer!

Today's Weather - South East Asia Satellite Photo

More of the same for Borneo. As predicted, the newspapers are beginning to carry stories about possible droughts (blamed on El Nino).




Thought For The Day:

The superior man understands what is right;
the inferior man understands what will sell.
~Confucius

Why does the "inferior" man prefers what will sell?

Note that Confucius's Superior and Inferior relates more to "Enlightened and Unenlightened" and not the more modern meaning.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.
Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.
Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish
and he will eat steak.
~Jay Leno

Jay Leno knew why.

Lamp Post Repair

When I passed by at 4 pm, there were 2 repair crews fixing up the damaged lamp post and re-connecting the wiring.

A green one and ...

A Yellow one. I didn't realise until now that it was a giraffe painted on the side!

The repaired lamp post (seems the lampholders have not yet been re-adjusted to shine their lights downwards). Looking closer at the base, it was smoking!


(Photos taken by my daughter with her Canon 450D)

A Vehicular Mishap

I went out this morning on some of the Company's affairs. I had been carrying my camera around with me in my bag. On the way home I saw a small truck that had a "Tender Moment" with a street lamp post.


The camera was pretty fast from switching on to be ready for shooting the first photo. The truck suffered damages to the front windscreen and lights. They were trying to push the truck off.



The light post was made of soft steel so it deformed easily.



They got the truck off the lamp post and took off leaving a leaning lamp post (with one lamp-holder dangling from the wire) and another wire trailing across the road.

What's the "right" thing to do in this sort of situation? Should he have reported this? And to whom?

As can be seen, another hot and sunny day in Kota Kinabalu. The satellite photo did show a clear sky over practically the whole of Borneo.

Today's Weather - South East Asia Satellite Photo

No change to the weather in Kota Kinabalu. The high humidity and clear skies will only increase the "hotness" today.


Thought For The Day:

Swallow a toad in the morning
and you will encounter nothing
more disgusting the rest of the day.
~Nicholas Chamfort

I had read the book Eat That Frog! Although the author was talking about curing procrastination and practicing time management, I like to tell myself "Eat The Frog!" each morning, so that I would do first the item I least like to do (on the day's To-Do list).

The quotation writer was Nicholas Chamfort (1741 - 1794), a french writer of comedies, political and literary articles and poetry. Interestingly he took part in the French Revolution and was also known for his botched-up suicide. He didn't managed to kill himself after shooting himself in the head, cutting his own throat and stabbing himself in the chest. He only died a year later.

He was known for his other sayings. They included:

"There are well-dressed foolish ideas just as there are well-dressed fools."

"Society is composed of two great classes; those who have more dinners than appetite, and those who have more appetite than dinners."

"I have three kinds of friends: those who love me, those who pay no attention to me, and those who detest me."

Sutera Harbour Marina & Country Club

On the way home, we made one last stop at Sutera Harbour Marina & Country Club. Apparently my daughter's photography class assignment included an attempt to "stop" the waterfall there.



While she did her assignment, I wandered around looking for some good shots, but my camera battery said "Time's Up, Buddy" after this last shot.



Kota Kinabalu - truly a wonderful place to be.

To be fair to my camera, I have taken some 100+ shots with some videos and all the usual viewing and stuff. It was charged when bought some three weeks ago. It's a Panasonic FZ-35. Good camera, I am still learning all the features.

Gaya Street Fair

After the Tamu, we went to Kota Kinabalu's Gaya Street Fair (Sundays 5am to 1pm). It's been quite a while since my last visit. We started at the Sabah Tourism Board (STB). It was the Main Post Office in the old days. I'm glad they didn't demolish the building. Instead they turned it into the STB office.

Gaya Street Fair (pedestrian only) starts at this end flanked by UOB (Singaporean Bank) on one side.

And The Jesselton Hotel on the other side. Jesselton was the old name for Kota Kinabalu (named after Sir Charles Jessel, Vice Chairman during the North Borneo Chartered Company era at the end of the 19th Century). The Jesselton Hotel is a boutique hotel (ie small number of rooms & priced like them big hotels). They serve nice steaks and pizzas.

One block down, there was a fountain (unfortunately not working). Yet another bank (Affin - a Malaysian Bank with Hong Kong connections) and there were more banks to the right and behind me (but no point to advertise for them).

At the end of the fair was City Hall and the stage area.

At this end there was an arch. I am told the chinese characters say something about political stability and communal harmony being the essence of national prosperity. Yet another bank (Agro Bank, previously Bank Pertanian).

There were a lot of stalls selling mundane stuff to some rather interesting stuff. But One Man's Meat Is Another's Poison. So I'll just post those that caught my eye.

A Name-Plaque stall, started by the Filipinos if I remember correctly.

A Fabric Butterflies stall, very colourful.

A Carp stall (spelt "Cap").

A Roots and Bark Stall. Roots are strong and so will you be after consuming them!

A Sea Shells stall. Hmmm... aren't some of those ENDANGERED?

An Orchids stall. No owner around though!

A Birds and Roosters stall. Pet roosters, I think. They must be a dwarf variety.

A Decorative Plants and Cactii stall. I don't have a green thumb.

A Cake stall. I am not showing the couple running the stall as the number of cakes are limited!

You don't need three guesses for what I bought. Blueberry Cheesecake, Durian Cheesecake, and a Walnut & Almond Buttercake. Those jambus are big and juicy, but not that sweet.

Lots of people around. The Young and The Old ....

The politicians ....

The Beggar Lady ....

And The Old Busker.

KPD Tamu

Continuing with my Daughter's Photography Class Assignment, we went this morning to our local Farmers' Market. It is held fortnightly at the KPD Tamu Ground. KPD is a GLC (Government Linked Corporation) that is charged with rural development.



The schedule for this year was displayed on the Notice Board by the Main Gate. The next few Tamu will be on Feb 21, Mar 14, and Mar 28. Most of the items are also sold daily at the local markets and shops. It is an opportunity to support our local farmers directly and of course the produce are fresh.

Some of the more unusual items (to me at least) are in the following photos.



There was something called "Boneless Milkfish". Does it mean the fish is boneless? That's unlikely. Does it mean the fish has been "de-boned"? Maybe. I couldn't buy one to try as we were going to a few other locations.



Another stall that had big yams for sale attracted my attention. He was clever enough to sell the big yams at a "big" price.



So I bought one (RM15)!
I hope we know what to do with it!



There were Big Pumpkins.



There were people buying our local rice varieties.



Of course there were durians too. As the season seems to be just starting, I will wait for a week or so before buying.

I met two of my aunts (plus husbands) and one cousin at this Tamu.

All in all, an enjoyable morning with nice atmosphere.

Today's Weather - South East Asia Satellite Photo

Totally clear over Sabah. Very light winds will make today not just fine and sunny, but also probably the Hottest Day of The Week.



Thought For The Day :

If you don't get everything you want,
think of the things you don't get
that you don't want.
~Oscar Wilde


Nothing much need to be added here. Don't be unhappy when we don't get what we want. Be happy that we didn't get what we don't want. Think about it. Be Happy.

Today's Weather - South East Asia Satellite Photo

The Clear and Sunny Days continue.









Thought For The Day:

Get mad,
then get over it.
~Colin Powell

Getting angry, feeling mad, and being upset. These are all emotional responses. We human beings can't stop our emotional reactions to situations and happenings that are not according to plan or expectation. An easy example is when another driver cuts in without signalling while on the highway.

If we realise that emotional responses are just that; AUTOMATIC RESPONSES, then we should let them happen for the proper time, enough time for the cursing and brief flash of high-blood pressure. Then say "OK, now that I have let the anger run its course, its back to business as usual".

But you can't get over it if you didn't get mad first!

Note that there are two distinct separate phases there. The first phase is the emotional response phase. Don't make any physical reaction during this phase; it will only be a rash response that you will regret later.

Today's Weather - South East Asia Satellite Photo

More of the same. It's almost totally clear over north borneo. It will be a scorcher!





Thought For The Day:
Age is an issue of mind over matter.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
~Mark Twain

This word-play shows why he is one of the great authors. The saying can be interpreted in many ways. I take it to mean growing old is natural and I shouldn't mind it happening. This helps me to accept growing old gracefully.

Today's Weather - South East Asia Satellite Photo

Almost cloud-less @ 4am over Sabah. What else but another hot and sunny day in Kota Kinabalu. If it carries on, the newspaper articles will begin carrying stories on drought-like conditions.


Thought For The Day:

The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right. ~Hannah Whitall Smith

This is very true. I treat giving advice as giving my opinion (when asked for). Another human being does not have to follow my opinion (ie advice) as he can believe in his own opinion. Note that under this "philosophy", I become partly responsible for the consequences if he follows my advice. But the quotation is talking about when my advice is not taken. I should not care if he does not accept my opinion (ie advice) as he has every right to decide whether to follow his own opinion or my advice.

Hannah Whitall Smith (1832 - 1911) was a lay speaker from the US and also wrote a book called The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life (1875).

Today's Weather - South East Asia Satellite Photo

Another Fine and Sunny day for Kota Kinabalu.









Thought For The Day

"First we thought the PC was a calculator. Then we found out how to turn numbers into letters with ASCII — and we thought it was a typewriter. Then we discovered graphics, and we thought it was a television. With the World Wide Web, we've realized it's a brochure."
— Douglas Adams

Does Technology actually bring improvements? We get to do more, see more, want more ... Is there anytime left for just ourself?