earth hour: the aftermath...

This must be the first time I blog twice in short a short duration of time.

So the Earth Hour's over, what next?

I know I get a lot of flak for not 'participating' our country's Earth Hour between 8.30-9.30pm earlier.

Make no mistakes, kudos to all those who successfully switched off all electrical devices and whatever that can help preserve energy during that hour. Good job there.

But again, how many of you turned on the lights, fans, airconds, computers and televisions IMMEDIATELY after the clock struck 9.30pm?

So you think your ONE hour contribution to help fight global warming is enough reason to critisize my decision not to turn off my lights for that ONE particular hour? Wow, one hour experience as an environmentalist and suddenly everyone have the rights to judge and condemn.

I think somewhere along the line, I have done some part in helping to preserve energy despite doing the opposite during this certain hour, but again the reactions I received convinced me that many in our country did not get the 'true' message behind the Earth Hour.

For those who think that they've practically saved the world and humankind just because they did a good thing for ONE hour yesterday, I've nothing else to say other than 'Congratulations'. If you're content that you've done a great job for one hour to help fight global warming, go on and continue patting yourself on the back.

I know no matter how much I do, I will never do enough to help save earth.

earth hour looming...

Minutes to go and we're entering the official 'Earth Hour'.

Am I participating in switching off my lights?

No.

Not that I don't support the cause. But just my personal opinion though, I think people around are taking advantage of the marketing gimmick more than supporting its real cause.

Look and read around. People are calling to turn off the lights for one hour to help save our earth. Get real. Do you think ONE single hour is enough to save the earth? People are jumping on the ship because it's the latest fad. Everyone's getting excited because they are hyping it up as a 'happening' event. How many are actually doing their part to spread the message and create awareness?

It's a good cause, but I think the approach was wrong. I hate to say it but when I see local celebrities being engaged to promote this 'earth hour' without knowing the true cause, I feel like it's a joke. Real bad one.

This isn't about this ONE bloody hour without lights. It's about fighting global warming, and it requires effort way bigger than joining in the party turning off the lights for ONE hour. If anything it's a mockery to those genuine enviromentalists.

Do something for the rest of the year to save the earth rather than shouting like you care just because it's the 'in' thing today.

pot.kettle.black...

Haha, recently I've been observing regularly the scenario above, and boy, does that happen often in our daily lives.

I don't know, most probably I do that too myself at times, but it's a real eye-opener to see how everyone seemingly to be so objective with their criticism but failed to reflect themselves at the mirror. And to be honest, I find it pretty annoying and a whole load of hypocrisy.

And yet, I could be doing it myself.

Hahahahaha, human nature. There's so much to learn about humanity we'll never learn enough in our lifetime.

ray of light...

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch scored two to beat Everton.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy scored from the penalty spot to down Man Utd.

Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney sent off and will miss their next match against Aston Villa.

Luka Modric scored the only goal in the slim win against Chelsea.

So far it has been a good weekend, up to Saturday that is.

Liverpool to play Aston Villa tomorrow night. Let's see if the Reds will shoot themselves on the foot again or not.

guess who just gave birth?

Quills just gave birth to another litter of hoglets yesterday. Not surprisingly though, I was expecting the delivery date to be within this week anyway.

But the wonderful news is, this time Quills gave birth to 5 hoglets!

Didn't expect to have so big a number in one delivery.

It's actually the first time I managed to see how the hoglets look like in their first day of birth, the previous time I was away for work in Sabah and missed the first 4 days of their lives, how they grow up from day to day.

And my other half jokes that this time around, I'll get to spend a full 2 weeks with them, considering she's going away for training starting from next Monday. ; )

Although my schedule has been pretty tight lately, at least I'll get to monitor their growth from day to day until the hoglets are big enough to be handled.

Hope to see some difference in colours this batch, and perhaps a pure white or two. : )

the day liverpool tore madrid apart...

Despite the title of the post, I honestly think it was a flattering scoreline. Too flattering in fact.

4-0.

Who would've thought this match will end with such scoreline?

Anyway, even with the four goals (one invalid penalty with the lousy linesman's error), Liverpool looked comfortable for only about an hour of the match. From then onwards, it was all Real Madrid, and if they have half the luck, Raul could've scored a few to make the final score more realistic.

Reina had a great match and saved all the shots coming towards the goalmouth, and the backline was immensely compact. Arbeloa must be drifting in wonderland though towards the end as his flank was constantly exposed, but credit to Aurelio for upping his tempo and contributing so much in the match.

Mascherano must be desperate for attention, he was all over the pitch. In fact, he was so dominating I didn't realize Alonso was playing at all until the Spaniard got substituted. Thumbs up for the Argentinian captain's performance, Liverpool will miss his presence in the next round with the automatic one-match ban for kicking the ball away.

Babel showed character in this match, and for all the hype of him being a selfish player, he actually created two goals directly. Something to praise, and hopefully he will come to realize that not all heroes score the goal, the assists are just as important.

Finally, the combination of Gerrard and Torres when both are fit: Awesome.

I'd like to know what was going through Cannavaro's mind when he was left hanging in the middle of nowhere as Torres deftly flicked the ball past him three minutes into the match. Must've shat his pants when Torres just strolled past him there, classic.

Another important game over, and next comes Man Utd at Old Trafford. Would love to see Liverpool put up a decent challenge against the Devils, although I think it would do little to alter the outcome of the title race.

words don't hurt me...

I may not be the best one to explain everything regarding property investments, but I will have to concede that at times, the more I explain the more futile it gets. Especially when the people around find it easier to knock down my idea rather than take seriously why I do things the way I do.

Is property investment risky? From a common point of view, yes it probably is. To start investing in property one may consider having tens of thousands cash to begin with, down-payments, legal fees, bank loans, insurance and stuff. You only need to make ONE mistake in property investment to earn you a one-way ticket to hell.

But me being me, I’d like to think it’s a complete opposite from the general perception of high-risk.

Yes, many have told me that I’m gambling with this. At my age it’s easy for people to assume that I do not know what I’m doing. It’s too convenient for people to make sweeping statements when somebody my age talks about property investment.

It really irks me at times, especially so when someone 10-20 years my senior makes degrading remarks of me ‘pretending to be smart without much substance or investments’.

Does it hurt? I’d be lying if I say I don’t. But I guess over time I’ve come to realize that I’m not doing this to prove anything to others, but to protect myself financially for my future.

Besides, me playing with fire? Serious shit? Nobody; who knows me personally; takes me as a risk-taker all my life, and believe me, I am not still.

Lucky?

When I’ve gone through months of extensive research on the area’s development past, present and future, its population, capital appreciation or depreciation, prospects, yields, browsing through endless legal documentations and exploitations, continuous scouting, surveying and negotiations, seeking professional advices in both banking and legal, thorough discussions with investors, and countless other efforts probably not worth mentioning?

Me being lucky is a fantastic analysis for the lazy.

Well, then again, maybe I am lucky.

Like what some people say: the harder you try, the luckier you get.