Powder or CO2?

I need to have the fire extinguishers in the office serviced. At the moment, we have the powder type.  Someone suggested that it may be good to change to CO2 as the powder extinguisher leaves behind a messy residue.  Price factor aside (CO2 is more expensive than powder form), what are the advantages of using one over the other? This is what I found out :

1. There are different classes of fire.

• Class A fires involve ordinary combustible materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, and most plastics.
• Class B fires involve flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, grease and oil.
• Class C fires involve electrical equipment, such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers and outlets. Never use water to extinguish class C fires – the risk of electrical shock is far too great!
• Class D fires involve combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, potassium, sodium etc found in chemical labs.

Source : http://www.fire-extinguisher101.com

2. Powder (ammonium phosphate) is more versatile as it is suitable for Class A, B and C fires.

3. CO2  is more suitable for use in computer rooms and kitchens as fires at these places would involve flammable liquids (grease, oil, kerosene) and extensive electrical equipment i.e. Class B and C (D too?) fires.

So which fire extinguisher you choose is highly dependent on where you are going to use it. If you have no fire extinguisher in the house and a fire has started up on your stove, DO NOT DOUSE IT WITH WATER or you’ll be in trouble.  Have a look at this video.

This site offers a good write-up on the various types of fire-extinguishers.

Memories

You think you’ve gotten over someone’s death, that you’ve come to terms with your loss. That you’re done with your grieving. That you have moved on.

Then, one fine day, you see reminders of your beloved and tears flow again. It has been more than seven months since my mother passed away. These past few days, I have been getting fresh reminders of her. During Sunday worship for example, I can’t remember what it was that triggered my memory of mum but it was painful enough to bring tears to my eyes.

For dinner yesterday, I cooked black pomfret in tomato sauce just like how mum used to cook it. Later that evening, I went to Aeon with the kids and saw a middle-aged woman who walked like mum and again I thought of her. On Monday evening, we had pot-luck with my siblings and their families at mum’s house. It was just like old times, except that mum wasn’t there.

I have friends who lost their sons even before they reach the prime of life. Ben was 15, Wei Xiang was 8 when they were called home by the Lord. My heart goes out to their families who are still struggling to cope with their grief. When death comes unexpectedly and before its perceived time, we are caught by surprise. It may take a long time to recover from the pain of the loss especially when you are constantly inundated by reminders of them everywhere.

When you eat chicken rice, you remember that it’s his favourite food. When you walk past the computer where he’s spent hours playing, you see his lingering shadow. When you walk past his room, you remember how he used to snuggle down to sleep. When you see Pokemon at the toy shop, you remember that it was his favourite toy. When the Harry Potter movie comes to town, it tears your heart to pieces because if he were alive, he would badger you to take him to the cinema. When someone of the same age as him celebrates his birthday, you think of how tall your boy would’ve grown had he lived.

Memories… they can cause so much pain but when the ache subsides, we can smile at how our lives have been enriched by our beloved when they were alive.

No, thank you

Giant opened at Setia Alam on 12 August 2010.  The layout is rather like nearby Tesco’s. You have to take the escalator to the first floor where the hypermarket is located.  Giant’s entrance is located on the far left after you get off the escalator. You have to pass by many hazards before you get to buy your groceries in peace.

The hazards come in the form of sales people who want to entice you to buy anything from induction cooker hobs to perfumes to water heaters to children’s encyclopaedia. I don’t want to sound rude, so I usually just brush them off with a “No, thanks.” But some people can be really persistent, especially if they spot you with a full trolley. A loaded trolley seems to be a magnet for these sales people, shouting out, “Hey! I’m loaded with lots of money and stuff!  Come sell me more goods!”

So there I was, trying to avoid the eagle eyes of the sales promoter after I’d done my shopping.  (Never lock eyes with them, that’s an invitation for them to approach you.) From the corner of my eye, I saw one young woman striding purposefully in the same direction I was heading. I know where she was headed : me.

Excuse me, dkdkkek lwketcmdkk  ekeke e iiieiekk dkellwlsekkee k kkekk ueuoeoie llskeke, free recycling bag. Her elevator speech was gibberish to my ears, honest.  I don’t know what she was peddling and I don’t want a free recycling bag. I think a better method to get customers’ attention is to carry a small card, about A5, with big bullet points for the main selling points of the product. They can still babble their elevator speech but for those who aren’t really listening, at least the card can be shoved at them, politely of course.

Then there are the credit card canvassers (CCC) lying in wait at the check out counters. Again, a loaded trolley is a big magnet to the CCCs.

Do you have a Giant-xx card? No? Very easy to apply.

You say, Sorry but I’m in a hurry.

But it will only take one minute to sign up.

Haha, right, if you can do things at fast-forward mode of 20X.

I’ve been on the other side before. I was an encyclopaedia sales rep about twenty years ago. I was one of those fellas who would hang around the mall trying to entice you into my stall so that I can show you my books. I know how hard it can be. I know how demoralizing the situation can get when everyone just pushes you away with a No, Thanks or when they just plain ignore you. That’s why I always try to be as courteous as I can to these people. They’re just earning an honest living.

So it’s “No, thanks” for me.

If this doesn’t work, the line which always does is : I’VE GOT IT ALREADY.

Name your toes

Q: What is the name of the finger between the thumb and middle finger?

A: Telunjuk.

That was the answer given by a radio contestant to Lite Fm’s Cash Climb trivia quiz. Of course it is the wrong answer since this is an English station, not Malay.

In case you don’t know, the five fingers of our hands are called : thumb, index finger (sometimes called pointer or forefinger), middle finger, ring finger and little finger or pinky.

What about your toes. Do they have names? They are called big toe, second toe, middle toe, fourth toe and small toe. Unless you want them to be called Market piggy, Stay-home piggy, Roast-beef piggy, No-beef piggy and Crying piggy after the nursery rhyme.

Gruesome find

You would not believe what I found on the staircase to my office this morning. No, it wasn’t a bunch of dead flies or a discarded paper cup with leftover orange cordial or Ah Long’s namecard or a stack of Tesco flyers.

As I climbed up the first flight of stairs, I spotted some black stuff on the second flight. Mmm… did I drop some rubbish on the way out yesterday? I don’t think so. The rubbish had been neatly tied up in a bag before I disposed of it. As I drew closer, I saw what the black stuff was.

It was a decapitated rat head!  It lay on the floor beside some black and brown bits which I take to be the rat’s innards and a yellow lump the size of a thumb. I have no idea what the yellow thingy was.  I diverted my eyes from the neck portion and saw the pointy head with whiskers still standing erect.

Gross! Lucky thing I haven’t had my breakfast. I’ve seen a dead rat before but not a severed rat head. Urrggghh. Some cat must’ve gotten in the staircase through the grilles, mauled the rat and eaten it for supper and left the inedible parts behind. Obviously the cat isn’t Chinese or there would’ve been nothing left.

I swept up the rat’s remains and dumped them into the dustbin downstairs. Goodbye rat head. I hope your cronies learn a lesson from your gruesome death and stay away from this area.

Brains, plates & cabbages under the sea

Not real brains, plates and cabbages but corals. I saw them during my trip to Tioman island last week with the family. I didn’t know what these corals were called but I told my kids that they look like a brain (to which no. 2 quipped: ‘It’s no. 3′s brain’ – yeah she can be so mean to her brother), a cauliflower and a big satellite dish. Just before posting this entry, I googled corals and discovered that the various types of corals indeed include the brain corals, plate corals, cabbage/lettuce corals, cauliflower corals and staghorn corals.

If you have not been to Tioman, you must make a trip there to see the beautiful underwater world. The water is clear and you can see the colourful fishes darting between your legs. The corals are really a wonder to behold. They were in shades of pink, red, green, white, and pink with blue edges. Think of the scenery in Nemo the movie, and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what it looks like.

And don’t wait ten years before you step foot on Tioman. An article in The Star (10 June 2010) reported:

A team of divers has found that corals here have changed colour, a signal that they are dying.

“The cabbage corals, brain corals and staghorn corals have turned white,” said Kids Scuba director and scuba educator Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Hassan.

He said the underwater temperature had also changed.

“In my numerous dives here previously, the temperature was between 25°C and 27°C. However, in my two days of underwater discovery, the temperature was at 32°C,” he said.

…. Syed Abdul Rahman’s forecast was that the corals in Tioman Island would die soon due to the warmer weather.

“There are some corals which are still intact and colourful. However, most of them are changing colour, showing that they are not healthy.”

He hoped that the wet weather would come soon.

During his four-day stay in Kampong Salang, he said the villagers told him that the climate was hotter now. “What is happening to the corals is quite sad. I would not be surprised to see all of them turning white and dying,” he said.

He also said that he found more sea urchins during his dive.

At one point, I saw a huge cluster of sea urchins. Good thing there were several feet below me.

Now tell me if this doesn’t look like a brain, not yours of course. (Image from http://www.floorcookie.com)

Unscrupulous advertisers

My office is in a block of 3-storey shops. We take up four units which means there are four post-boxes at the bottom of the staircase which belong to us. Sometimes thick wad of brochures would be sticking out from the slots. Name cards by loan sharks frequently make their way into the boxes. I have no grouse with those who want to promote their business by distributing leaflets. It is a common enough method of promotion. What I do mind is opening up the mail box to find 8 pieces of the same leaflet. Clearly someone is shirking their duties. Then I would call up the advertiser to let them know that they have been ripped off by the leaflet distributor.

I also hate it when advertisers resort to vandalism to promote their business. Loan sharks are unscrupulous (so what’s new?). The wall of my staircase has the contact of a loan shark stencilled into it. They come with their template and spray paint and leave their indelible mark on the pristine wall. They also defaced the door of the housing for the electric meters. I’ve also seen their ad in the toilet of the mamak restaurant near my place. I don’t know who’s more desperate, borrowers or sharks.

Other types of business owners are jumping onto the band wagon. Recently I saw an A4 piece of paper advertising cleaning services stuck to the wall near my office entrance. I tore it off immediately and white remnants were left on the bright red wall. I rang up the person listed in the ad and told her off for vandalising other people’s property. She sounded very timid. I hope I scared her (diabolical laughter). Hehe, but I won’t do it to the loan shark. If they send hooligans, red paint and Molotov cocktails to my place, habis-lah!

Jam Recipe

The Kota bridge has been clear for some months during non-peak periods. You could get from MPK across the bridge in 5 minutes. But this past week or so, you need 15 minutes to get across. I was wondering why until a friend enlightened me. He’s very aware of what’s happening in town as he zips all over town frequently. It’s Persiaran Sultan Ibrahim that’s causing the jam. The road in front of Public Bank is now pot-holed and coupled with inconsiderate bankers who obstruct traffic by indiscriminate parking along the road shoulder, you have a sure recipe for jam. My friend called up the road authorities and gave them a piece of his mind.

Get the contractor to resurface the road, he said.

We did but they won’t do it, they said.

You do it for them, and then bill the contractor, he said.

So smart-lah, my friend. Anyhow, here’s the recipe for jam. Anything to add to give more kick?

Jam Recipe

Ingredients

1. One inefficient and slow road builder

2. A dozen potholes

3. Two inconsiderate parkers

4. An ineffective town council

5. Road authorities with no bite

6. Rain (optional)

Method

Take one road builder. Spread its workers slowly over the road. Throw in some potholes big and small. Add two parkers who simply park anyhow. Stir in town council who’s slow on the job and road authorities with mild disposition. Kacau really well. For stickier jam, sprinkle with rain and the consistency will be so thick that it would take one year for it to drip from the spoon to the jar.

Potholes, roadblocks or hurdles

I was at Jusco Bukit Raja last week. It had been more than a month since I stepped foot there. I wasn’t prepared for the feeling of melancholy and sadness that engulfed me. I used to go there regularly: sometimes once a week, sometimes every other day. It was a pit stop for me while waiting for the kids. The Jusco food court was also my ‘work place’ – I’d bring my notebook and park myself on one of the chairs that face the expanse of glass windows so I can look out at the luscious leaves waving from outside while I write or wait for the muse. My favourite haunts were (still are) Popular and MPH where I’d check out the Malaysiana shelves without fail, and occasionally bug the sales assistants about giving my books a prominent display.

My days of wandering around Jusco are gone. No more freedom to go where I want when I want. I miss the good old days, the kids do too.  Now it’s all about this new venture which has its own teething problems. As I reflect on the not-so-good things-which-aren’t-s0-terrible-either which have happened of late, I think to myself, how should I view these?

Potholes? They only make the ride bumpy and shake up the suspension. Not good for the driver and the vehicle. What you get is a feeling of relief after you’ve negotiated the potholes.

Roadblocks? A complete waste of time unless it’s meant for nabbing someone like Osama.

Hurdles? You jump over them; some fall, some remain standing. And they are good for strengthening the legs.

Hurdles it shall be.

Having said that, there are so many blessings to be thankful for too. I’ve got friends/partners who are helpful. The family help out when they can. The centre has been beautifully renovated. There’s no way to go but up.

New Venture

Blog readers, thank you for your forbearance with this inactive blog. As you know I’d been pretty busy getting the manuscript for my children’s guidebook done. Well, it was done and submitted BUT I have to rework it to add more information. Thankfully, my new deadline is end of the year, so there’s time yet.

These past few weeks I’ve been busy with something else: getting ready a language centre which I will be running. You don’t have to be a prophet to predict that now there’ll be even less time for me to blog. However, I will try my best to include updates at least twice a month.

Now for more info on this new venture. It is a franchise called Cambridge English for Life. There are courses for very young learners of 3 and 4 right up to working adults. The new centre is located in Setia Alam. Postcode wise it is in Shah Alam but location wise it is in Klang (on the way to Meru.)

Our official opening is this Sunday, 18 October at 2.30 – 5.00 pm. There’ll be a colouring contest for children aged 7 to 12 and high tea. If you are in the area, do drop by. Email me at tehlydia@yahoo.com for directions.

Book done, tremors felt

Finally, I am done with my manuscript for my children’s guide book. What a relief! I had been burning the midnight oil for the past few weeks in order to meet the deadline. It’s not the end yet, of course. I will have to revisit the manuscript after it has been edited by my editor but the bulk of the work is out of the way.

I am so glad that I won the Samsung laptop or I would still be slogging away on the book. Murphy’s Law being what it is, my telephone cable had to snap during the Hari Raya break which meant that I was without Internet for one week. Telekom came to restore the line yesterday. While the line was down, I had to hog cafes with wifi in order to do my online research. Last Saturday was the longest session I ever had : 7 hours without budging from my seat except to take toilet breaks. Total spent: RM15 for brunch, coffee and tea. Quite reasonable. (If I had gone to Starbucks, just one cup of coffee or tea would’ve set me back by RM10.) Fortunately the eatery was not busy or the waiters would’ve stared daggers at me for overstaying my welcome.

After sleeping just five hours last night, I was acting like a zombie in the morning.  At six-something in the evening, while working at my laptop in the kitchen, I felt the table swaying. Now that couldn’t be due to lack of sleep as I had caught up on sleep in the daytime. I thought my legs were shaking the table as one knee was propped up against it. (That’s one advantage of working from home. You can sit anyhow you like.) I moved my leg away from the table. The table was still shaking.

Next thought which crossed my mind: Woah, lizard, take it easy, will you. Why are you shaking the table so (this thought directed at the scoundrel of a lizard which has taken up residence at my dining table – under the Lazy Suzan). But then it can’t be the lizard. It’s not that strong. Must be some other animal – a rat perhaps? Urrgh.

Then I felt my chair swaying. It can’t be due to lack of sleep – I caught a nap (two in fact – one to make up for lost sleep and another to celebrate the completion of my book). Oh no! It’s an earthquake!

“Hey! Did you feel the earth shake?” I yelled at the kids upstairs. No. 3 was blur like a sotong. No. 2 said, “Yeah, I felt it but I thought I was feeling dizzy after staring at the computer for too long.”

Later after picking up no. 1 from college, I asked if he felt the tremor. He did but he thought he had a bout of dizziness due to working too hard (haha!).

I suspected an earthquake had hit some place in Indonesia. True enough, it was an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale in Padang, Sumatra. At moment, online reports said the casualty is 20+ lives. Terrible, but this figure will probably climb in the next few days.

Update

Life has been pretty hectic : writing, teaching, cooking, chauffeuring, sending mum to the hospital and so on so forth. I did sit down to write two new posts. As you can see from the earlier entry, my story of Goldilocks got gobbled up by the internet gremlin. After hitting ‘publish’, my entry disappeared as the Streamyx connection went bonkers. In fact, Screamyx has been pretty shaky of late, which is very, very frustrating indeed. Another time, I wrote about some of the funny stuff my kids said, and that too got eaten up by the gremlin. I should’ve typed it out in Word first, then cut and paste into the blog. If the internet connection went bonkers, at least I have a copy in Word.

I need your help. Details in the next posting.