Jesshosy's Notes

In line with the fight against global warming, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has called on Malaysians to switch off all non-used lights for an hour, from 8.30pm-9.30pm on March 28 (Earth Hour).

This campaign was initiated in 2007, Australia. In 2008, many countries including 35 official flagship cities and also 400 supporting cities have participated in this campaign.

As for Malaysia, I believe it would be the first to be held in big scale. As off today, many iconic landmarks such as KLTower, Angkasapuri, Sunway Pyramid, MidValley Megamall, etc., in Malaysia have pledged their commitments for the ‘Earth Hour’ campaign.

The benefits of this campaign is obvious – energy saving -> reduces CO2 released -> reduces global warming. The amount of energy saved just in 1 hour by switching the lights and non-used electricity off, is quite alarming. Here are some figures from various countries which have participated in this campaign before:

• “Toronto saved 900 megawatt-hours of electricity. 8.7% was saved if measured against a typical March.”
• “Ireland, as a whole, had a reduction in electricity use of about 1.5% for the evening.In the three-hour period between 18:30 and 21:30, there was a reduction of 50 megawatts, saving 150 megawatt-hours, or approximately 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide.”
• “In Dubai, where external lighting on several major city landmarks was turned off and street lighting in selected areas was dimmed by 50%, the Electricity and Water Authority reported savings of 100 megawatt-hours of electricity.”
• “The best result was from Christchurch, New Zealand. The city reported a drop of 13% in electricity demand.”
• “Melbourne, Australia saved 10.1% of electricity. Sydney, being the city that participated both 2007 and 2008 Earth Hour, cut 8.4% electricity consumption.”

So friends, what are you waiting for, let’s switch off our lights too.

For more info about Earth Hour:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour
http://www.earthhour.org/
http://thestar.com.my/

Wooo….hooo….Chinese New Year is around the corner again. Gong Xi Gong Xi!!!

Unlike previous years, instead of getting angpows, I’m giving out angpows. Those who are interested, feel free to come and visit me.

Anyway, I’m think you will definately agree with me if I say Chinese New Years isn’t about angpow alone. I’m sure a lot of you (my friends) will be leaving KL for your hometown (balik kampung) to celebrate this auspicious event with your family.

But before you go back, remember to keep all your doors and windows lock, your auto-timer lights switched on, your neighbours or security guards informed (if you trust them…hehe) that you are leaving house for a couple of days. In addition to that, perhaps there’s no harm taking an extra step by informing your local authorities too. SMS them:

 SMSPOLISKL<space>BK<space>YOUR ADDRESS<space>HOLIDAY DATE send it to 32728

One more very important info:

POLIS KL HOTLINE:  03-2115 9999 (remember to save this no. into your mobiles)

Other states Police Headquarters HOTLINE: http://www.rakancop.net/HubungiKami/tabid/100/Default.aspx

Lastly, have a safe journey home and may you have a happy and prosperous chinese new year friends!

SEND as E-Card, RECEIVE as PHYSICAL card…for FREE!!! @ Enveluv.com\

Yeah…while some people are bringing our offline (physical) products to the online (internet) marketplace, these group of creative people are integrating both processes, creating an ONLINE convenience for a OFFLINE consumption.

Have you ever imagine how troublesome and expensive it is to send a physical greeting card? Not only that you got to buy a card from some gift stores, you got to stuff it into an envelope, you got to get some stamps from the post office, and you got to drop it into a post box. At the end of the day, you might say, “Hey, forget about greeting cards. It is so troublesome…”

But guess what guys, now, everything is done by A CLICK AWAY…and most importantly, it’s F. O. C.

It doesn’t sound believable to you? Well…I’ve tested it on my own. After about a week, my darling’s card arrived…

Being one of the oldest and most common surgical procedures known, perhaps the term Male Circumcision (surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis) is not uncommon to us. Normally this procedure was undertaken due to cultural, religious and social reasons. But with the advancement of the medical studies, male circumcision is now strongly encouraged by WHO as scientific evidence have tied the benefits of this procedure to the reducing possibility of sexually transmitted disease including the most serious type of STD: HIV.

HOWEVER, do you know that while male circumcision is strongly encouraged, female circumcision on the other hand is strictly opposed?

Female Circumcision, is also known as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) (surgical removal of all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs). Similar to male circumcision, this practice is conducted in regards to traditional, cultural, and religious procedures.

Unfortunately, on the contrary to male circumcision, female circumcision practice that happens frequently in Africa, is extremely controversial due to 2 reasons: (a) issue of consent and (b) safety and consequences of the procedure.

(a) Issue of Consent – Most of the time, the procedure is normally carried out when child is between the ages of 4 to 8, in which it means that the child are still at innocent age to determine if they want the procedure or not. Decisions were being made merely by parents.

(b) Safety and consequences of the procedure - Due to the banned of this procedure, superstitions that persist have led to illegal/underground circumcision practices. Female circumcision performed by under the lack of medical training, anesthetics, sterilization and use of proper medical instruments have caused: death through shock from immense pain, excessive bleeding, infections, urinary and reproductive tract infections, menstrual flow blocked, scarring, infertility, infibulated women, increase risk of infant death during delivery, and many more side effects.

Horror of Female Circumcision

The issue of female circumcision is therefore still hot debate as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has stated that [the] practice violates the basic rights of women and girls, [...]” and “[...] female genital mutilation or cutting is not required by any religion.”

References:

http://www.unaids.org/en/PolicyAndPractice/Prevention/MaleCircumcision/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_cutting

“Life and Death in Shanghai” by Nien Chang, is one of the best autobiographies I’ve ever read.

Nien Chang who worked for Shell in Shanghai was accused of being a British spy during China’s Cultural Revolution. She was imprisoned in the 1st detention house at that time for 6.5 years. Her daughter was killed by the Red Guards when she refuse to denounce her mother. Even after she was released, she still suffered from continuous harassment and intimidation from the people around her.

Not only that the author has fantastic English, her ability to re-exposed and describe every little detail of her tragic experience during the Cultural Revolution in China, has taught me a lot about the history of China. Her strong will for survival to prove her innocence is something we should learn from.

Life and Death in Shanghai – A MUST READ BOOK!!!

When I was shopping at Sg. Wang Plaza, K.L few weekends back, I happened to come across some cute little decorationss. I did not realized that those were displayed items until I took a second glance. My goodness… they were merely cakes and sushi made of TOWEL. They looked so real. Price range was rather cheap too (RM20-RM70). If you’re looking for something special for birthdays, perhaps you should check this out!!!

Couple of months back, my little puppy, ‘Icy’ (White Miniature Schnauzer ) was sick.  She discharges blood during urination. The problem lasted for a month until the second visit to the doctor suspected that it could be urinary tract infection. However, since it has been quite some time, we decided to bring her to the animal hospital in UPM. Upon X-Ray confirmation showing existence of a few stones in her bladder, we were directed to a private vet hospital in Brickfields (due to hospital bed were full for another 2 weeks).

We admitted her there for 3 days. The surgery was a success and the vet removed 4 big stones from her bladder. But, the cost is not cheap – about RM1k.

The stones removed from her bladder

Anyway, we’re glad she’s back home safely. She’s a little weak for the first couple of weeks though. But now, she’s definitely as active as she was before this.

Doctor had advice us take good care of Icy’s diet. Now, we have to avoid giving her any sort of doggy tit-bits (because it is extremely salty) and any human food except fruits. According to the some scientific source, small breed dogs such as (miniature schnauzer, pug, pekingese, yorkshire terrier) are more prone to bladder stones. So those of you my friends who have been keeping small breed dogs, remember to not give salty food to your puppies. Give them more water and encourage them to do lots of exercises. May your beloved puppies always stay healthy too.

I happen to received this shocking news today…The earthquake in CHINA was claimed to be human planned and caused by the HAARP weapon.

HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program), jointly funded by the United States Air Force, the Navy, the University of Alaska and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), uses large antenna to beam high radio frequency into the atmosphere. The energy created energy (in BILLIONwatts) by the HARRP antennas have the capabilities to destroying missals, modifying weather, and also lifting a portion of the outer atmosphere further up into space.

Just imagine the power of this destructive weapon, HAARP…Perhaps this is one of the most powerful modern-age warfare instrument.

Today, 6 June 2008 is the World Environment Day. Let’s us all do some part in this meaningful day. Little things that YOU AND ME CAN DO today:

1) Reduce plastic bag-If you are purchasing something from the grocery or the supermarket, try to not take so much of plastic bags from them. If the purchased product can be carried without a plastic bag – Just do it.

2) Reduce paper - Let’s just recycle the white paper that we are doing. Print on both sides.

3) Turn off the lights, PCs and other electrical appliances when you are not using it.

These are only selected things that most of us might not be aware off. You can also check out for more tips at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/envirotips/tips_spring.htm

Your contribution towards making the earth a better place for all of us will definitely help in curbing global warming.

I think enjoying my 1 cup of coffee or tea everyday is one of the most pleasurable moments of the day (I limit myself to only 1 cup a day). However, having heard of medical experts encouraging us to have less coffee and tea due to it’s’ caffeine nature, I think the below caffeine information can guide us in selecting the best type of caffeinated beverage.

Caffeine is found in varying quantities in beans, leaves, and fruits where it acts as a natural pesticide. It is commonly found in coffee plant and leaves of the tea bush. Caffeine in human act as a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, used to temporarily ward off drowsiness as well as restoring alertness. You can normally find caffeine in beverages such as COFEE, TEA, CHOCOLATES, SOFT DRINKS and ENERGY DRINKS.

Double espresso (2oz) 45-100 mg
Brewed coffee (8 oz) 60-120 mg
Instant coffee (8 oz) 70 mg
Decaf coffee (8 oz) 1-5 mg
Tea – Ceylon/black (8 oz) 45 mg
Tea – green (8 oz) 20 mg
Tea – white (8 oz) 15 mg
Coca Cola (12 oz can) 34 mg
Pepsi (12 oz can) 38 mg
7-up (12 oz) 0 mg
Chocolate milk (8 oz) 4 mg
Dark chocolate (1 oz) 20 mg
Milk chocolate (1 oz) 6 mg

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine
http://coffeetea.about.com/library/blcaffeine.htm