Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

I'm one of those people who are generally computer illiterate and more specifically technology benign. People who are above 50 can actually survive nicely without their  mobile phones or  tablets most of the time. I remember then , I  was using the typewriter to type my 500 page dissertation. It was no easy work  as  there were no Microsoft words, no Power Points , no SPSS software and no Nvivo software to process the qualitative data. But still we were able to complete our theses despite the lack of enabling modern technology. Now everything  is so easy as long as you are willing to keep yourself abreast with the latest technology and software.

Samsung Tablet 7.0

Samsung Tablet 7.7

Since I don't want to kept behind from technology I decided to buy the latest Samsung Tablet 7.7 which I bought close to RM 2000 at the Mines Shopping Complex in Serdang. I decided this rather than the 10.1 version because I find the latter too big to fit into  my pocket. The 7.7 tablet too can be used as a phone but it's too cumbersome to use it as your personal phone. If you hold up the phone on your face it will cover half of your face and it looks so funny. As a result I decided to buy a phone accessory i.e the wireless  earphones via Bluetooth. That additional thing costs me nearly RM 200. Anyway I feel that the 7.7 should not be the only mobile device. Despite having the phone feature you still need to have another hand held small sized phone and for that I bought a Nokia NX 2  which costs me an additional RM 200. Technology actually costs lots of money.

Another nice thing about the tablet is that it is not too sensitive to touching compared to the first generation tablet 7.0 version. The old version would just move to a diffent page with the slightest touch and it is really an irritation. But one thing I find is that the speed of the first generation tablet is not that far behind compared to the latest version despite the latest equipped with a dual core processor. An unsophisticated user of a tablet like me  a 50 year old guy will not notice the difference in terms of the speed.

The trusted typewriter

In addition the 7.7 screen is 0.7 inch bigger but it feels very much bigger compared to the the first generation tablet. The screen is big enough for an old person like me to use and read. I think it is big enough as not to buy the 10.1 version although the latter is very much cheaper. I think this 7.7 tablet is better than the Galaxy note. The screen is very much bigger. My advice to you is to just forget about getting the note as it is just too small and not worth the money.

In short although the 7.7 tablet is a gadget with numerous applications, I still just use it to make a phone call and to text to my family members. The other sophisticated features are yet to be explored but I dont think I will. I just want to have the technology in my pocket to show to the world that Im also tech savvy but in reality Im still the same old traditional guy who will do just with the mechanical typewrter and a simple phone.

Taman Tasik Cempaka Bandar Baru Bangi

One place  that people in Bandar Baru Bangi converge is Taman  Tasik Cempaka, a nicely designed lake garden planted with lots of Cempaka trees. The lake  is man made and waist deep but it is  not that huge and encircled  with a jogging  track . The distance of the track is around 2-3 kilometers and yours truly always jog in the morning to loosen up the muscles. On  Saturdays  people from all walks of life would gather there  in the early worning to do a work out in the form of aerobic exercise or poco poco dancing led by a very experience instructor. The joggers at the  lake would always  be accompanied by a blaring noice from the aerobic dancing   throughout the lake .

The dirty lake

An accident waiting to happen

The place is clearly a nice venue that the folks in Bandar Baru Bangi would release their tension. However, one not so good thing about the lake is that it is not a very clean place . Every morning I see workers using the machine blowers clearing up the leaves but the cleaning would only  focus on certain areas especially the main entrance of the garden . The other areas of the Taman Tasik Cempaka especially the area facing the housing units are ignored or very rarely taken care of. As a result, you see rubbish scattered everywhere . The dustbins that are placed in some of the places at the garden are not working properly or they have been vandalized by irresponsible people. The sad thing about the Kajang local council is that they they don't  take the necessary steps to repair or replace the damaged dustbins. I notice that they have been in that bad conditions for a long time.

The bridge linking the two sections of the lake

If you walk along the jogging track you will notice that there are nice lamposts arranged all along the jogging track. The design of the lamposts is neo-classical and they don't look that  bad. But if you look closely at the lamposts you will notice that the wires are protruding dangerously  from its proper socket. Someone must have taken the electrical parts of the lampposts and have inadvertently exposed the wires. The exposed wires are really dangerous to the young users of the garden. They just might touch the live wires and the consequences are obvious for us to see. It is just a matter of time that someone will get electrocuted by the exposed wires. I think only then the local council will start the blaming game.

The exposed wires of the lampost

Taman Tasik Cempakaa is divided by two sections and  is connected by a wooden bridge. The bridge is rather long and supported by a two  small metal pillars positioned almost at the two ends of the bridge which was built quite long ago. One thing about the  bridge is that the wooden  floor of the bridge has worn out. Some of the wooden planks need to be urgently  replaced. I'm not suprised that one day someone heavy  might just step on the decrepit planks and would just fall through and go staright to the tasik. It is just an accident waiting to happen.

Taman Tasik Cempaka is quite a nice place to be especially in th afternoon when the weather is not too hot. It is also a place for the young couple too be together to really express their feelings. However, the place now is now not very well kept and could also be a  dangerous place for children. I hope that those responsible for the upkeep of the graden to act upon the  complaints from the public. It is hope that the place will once  again be  a nice garden   especially when you are with your family members.

More nice dishes in Bandar Baru Bangi

Murtabak Raja

Macaroni and Cheese

Bandar Baru Bangi is fast expanding and it is becoming a vibrant town. A few years back the mentioning of traffic jams would conjure surprise faces amongst the residents in the area. Now not anymore as there are too many  vehicles in Bandar Baru Bangi. Car dealers and service centers are mushrooming in this upcoming town. The latest to join the fray is the  Honda 3 S center not far from Section 9 of the town which will be opened quite soon. Bandar Baru is not  just  an academic town full of vehicles but  it is also a food heaven provided that you know where to find them  at the  right places .

If you are on a diet and  looking for soft tahu goreng to consume there's a stall selling nice tauhu goreng that is very professionally done and packaged in section 4 of the town. The stall is located  along the stretch not far from the Perodua dealer and Yus restaurant of section 4 Tambahan. The tauhu (4* for food) is bathed with thick spicy gravy sprinkled with  coursely chopped ground nuts and sprinkled with sesame seeds.  The tauhu looks crispy from the outside but its actually very soft and moist in the inside. The dark thick spicy gravy is complemented by  the white colored soft tauhu and it offers a good alternative for people on rich protein diet. A pack of two delicious tauhu goreng will cost you around RM 4. 

If you are into Italian and western  food there is a new reastaurant( at least new in terms of management) called the Islamic steak house (3 * for food 3 * for service). The place is in section 8 not far from Yati Ayam Percik and Ayuni hotel.The restaurant offers a number of steak dishes but the size of beef  is not that big but the price is slightly on the high side. I think the restaurant owner is testing the market with  its exorbitant  prices  that he is  charging. I would not go for the steaks  as the portion is too small and they don't really taste good. The appetisers are good especially macaroni and cheese that costs around RM 12. The pasta is really delicious and topped with generous amount of mozarella cheese and its so gooey and yummy. My youngest son loves this  appertiser.

If you want a nice Murtabak that is not far from Bandar Baru Bangi there is a mobile stall not far from UNITEN that sells a huge Murtabak or sometimes called Murtabak Raja. And the best part is that the thick Murtabak sells only for RM 5 (4* for food). The size of the murtabak is 3 to 4 time the size of an ordinary  murtabak. Despite the huge size it tastes really good. I believe the murtabak maker is from Kelantan and he uses the right mixture of  kelantanese spices. Make sure you come early for the murtabak because they always close shop early due to the huge orders.

Satay ayam willy 

Satay Daging Willy

The best satay in Bandar Baru Bangi is not Sate Samuri . Sate Samuri used to be good but not anymore because they  industrial produce and place them in an air tight container.   The medal should now go to Satay Willy (5* for satay) especially the one in Section one near Surau An Nur. The satay there is so moist and tender unlike the ones grilled by sate Samuri. The owner will only start  grilling  the satay when it is ordered and he never uses an electric  fan to control  the flame. He would use his old trusted kipas nipah as he gently takes care of  the heat. Its probably the best satay is the world. Even when describing this, my mouth is salivating thinking of the satay especially sate daging. Believe me you will never forget the experience of tasting the satay.

So guys those are the places in Bandar Baru Bangi to whet your appetite. Bon appetit.

Lim Guan Eng

Apa lu gila ke?

Hj LGE

Karpal Singh a few months back in a "slip of the tongue" mentioned that Lim Guan Eng would be the Prime Minister of Malaysia. He later  backtracked and claimed that Anwar Ibrahim was actually the person that he meant that was to be given the  Prime Minister's post. I honestly believe that given the choice the recalcitrant Karpal Singh would rather have Lim Guan Eng  hold the post and he would  be the first non Malay Prime Minister of Malaysia. I don't think the Punjabi guy  loves Anwar's butt so much.  It is pretty much like what happened in the United States where the voters especially the young ones chose Obama , a black, as their 44 th President of the United States. I personally believe that Lim Guan Eng can be the PM of Malaysia provided that he is truly a patriot and fully subscribe to the culture ,norms and mores of the Malay society, the largest ethnic group in the country.

LGE can be the PM if he actually  uses Bahasa Malaysia in his day to day communication .  But sadly, he always uses English to communicate with most  people and it is the language that he is very comfortable with . His Bahasa Malaysia is not very fluent but   very much  textbook  like. In most of the functions he attended he  would rather use English or  Chinese rather than Bahasa Malaysia. He would only use Bahasa Malaysia  when he is addressing the Malays at the masjid. He seems to be more comfortable  using English than Bahasa Malaysia. I believe the DAP party meetings use mostly English and Chinese. It seems that he does not accept the notion that Malaysia is a Malay state in the Malays archipelago and and that Malays are the majority of the population. His notion of Malaysia is more like Singapore where the Chinese will rule the country. To him Penang is a mirror reflection of Singapore. The Malays will always  be the coolies.

LGE can be the PM if he can prove that he is not  racist. The PM of Malaysia should be a neutral figure  that would fight for all the citizens of Malaysia. But it seems that LGE will only fight for the Chinese. He would only hilight the problems and the sufferings of the Chinese. He is very much unlikely to talk about the problems faced by the Malays. He does not care about the Malays in Penang nor in other parts of the country. I have not seen or heard  him actually talking like a statesman but has frequently displayed a character  of a narrow minded traditional Chinese politician just like his father. He probably got his ethnocentrism training from his Sr. Unlike LGE, Mr Obama is not  racist and his mentality and belief reflect that of the middle class white Americans depite being an  african American. Had he displayed his "niggerness" during the election days  he would have never been elected as the US president.

LGE can be the PM of Malaysia if he adopts the Malay culture or at least supports the  culture of the main ethnic group in the country. I would elect Mr LGE if he eats nasi lemak using his fingers. But alas he would always use fork and spoon or chopsticks. LGE has never shown any love for the Malay culture or traditions. I have not seen him officiating any Malay literary event. I have not heard of  him speaking anything good about the Malay culture and the Malay people. Do you think this kind or person should be the Prime Minister of Malaysia? To him, the Chinese is everything and the Malays nothing. 

I would rather vote for Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah he decides to run as the  PM. I would also vote  for  Prof Khoo Kay Kim if he wants to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia. But Lim Guan Eng is another species altogether. He is very much an alien species imposing on others. He does not fit in. "Mana ada tipu"

Independent Chinese Schools

It is  so sad that after decades of independence from the British we are still deliberating about the establishment of independent Chinese schools in the country . Recently, the Barisan Nasional government is succumbing to  another unwanted pressure from the Chinese community to establish another unwanted independent Chinese school this time in the state of Pahang. The Chinese community especially those in the BN would be celebrating. In fact, the Chinese outside and within the BN will be celebrating. The losers are the peoples of Malaysia.The reality is that  these schools are actually a hindrance to the 1 Malaysia concept and an obstacle to unity. These schools also run contrary to the national education philosophies.I believe that these schools should be abolished altogether for the sake of unity.All these 60 independent school in the country should be closed down.

It is clear for everyone to see that the independent school only caters for one ethnic group-the Chinese . Children in these schools will not have the opportunity to mix around  with children from other races. They will only use one language that is the Chinese language. What kind of children are we producing? These children will not be equipped with the social skills to mix around with other races. They will not be comfortable communicating  with  other races. They will only mix with their own race. This is what Chinese extremists such as Dong Zong want. One day I believe that  the independent Chinese schools will produce students who are going to have extreme views and will make China as their educational and theological  pillars.

Chinese gangsters

It is obvious that  students from  these schools will not be able to express themselves well in Bahasa Malaysia. They will not be able to communicate in the national language because it is going to be more of  a foreign language to these children. The children  will be indoctrinated with Chinese literature and Chinese race based values,nuances and norms. It looks like  these children will ultimately  be replacing the uneducated and racist councilors appointed by Ronnie Liew who are not able to read and write in Bahasa Malaysia. These children will  be DAP future cadres and future leaders. Lim Guan Eng must be really pleased.I'm not surprised that these children will also become the future  brothel owners . These are also the future street  pedlars along   the Pudu street selling contraband goods imported from China or Chinese Taipei.

 It is apparent that the children from these schools will be spending at least 10 year of their life being taught only by Chinese teachers. This is because only the Chinese race and those who have Chinese certificates would be allowed to teach in these schools including Bahasa Malaysia  and English teachers. They will now be taught that  Malaysia is only full  of one ethnic group-the Chinese. The exams that they take will only be UEC examinations conducted and prepared  by the  Chinese schools by Chinese teachers and assessed by Chinese examiners. The exams will be in what else but  the Chinese language. That saddest part is that the Malaysian government has recognized this UEC certificate and they would be able later to join the mainstream education. 

Dear Malaysians please wake up. We don't need this misplaced and racist cultural beliefs that are so ethnocentric. We are in the 21st century. We need to think glocal. We need unity . We need our children to mix around with other races. The world is just not about Mandarin, pork chop, shark fin soup, communist terrorists, dragon dances. Chinese opera and everything Chinese. The world now practices multiculturalism, democracy, gender equality and other universal values. Please we need to close down these schools.