H5N1 is back

Remember SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) seven years ago? Well, it's back!

Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of human bird flu in seven years and raised the bird flu alert to ‘serious’. Read here.

A 59-year-old woman had tested positive for H5N1 bird flu after returning to Hong Kong from the Chinese mainland, and is in serious condition in a local hospital.

We just had H1N1 last year and this year we are going to have another round of flu, this time, H5N1.

Again, the worry is where did she contract the flu from? She must have got it from someone or from the birds.

And please, everyone, please practise cough/sneeze etiquette. Just imagine how H1N1 which started in Mexico could spread to the entire world. We should thank those who don't practise cough/sneeze etiquette for that.

As long as we don't observe this etiquette, we are going to face another round of influenza pandemic again.

Something was in the hotel room, I am sure

It happened way back in September 2005 when I was working as an auditor. I was sent to Sungai Petani together with my colleagues and we stayed in a golf resort for one week. I will not name the hotel. If you know Sungai Petani well enough, then you will know there is only one golf resort in Sungai Petani. Haha.

All of the rooms are designed like a chalet and it is located at the end of the golf course. From the lobby, you need to drive to the end of the golf course to reach your room. Of course you still can walk there but it is quite far. It is pretty creepy since all of the rooms (or chalets) are lined along just next to a jungle.

I shared the room with one of my colleagues and my other two colleagues took another room just next door. On the very first night after working, my colleague took a bath first. After his turn, I took my bath and he left the room to discuss work related stuff with my other colleagues. Even the toilet is creepy enough because there is a small window at the top corner facing the jungle and the window is opened. If your imagination is running wild, you can just imagine what sort of things could climb in through that window. Haha.

Good thing nothing happened while I was bathing. So, I was wiping my body getting ready to come out when I hear a knock at the toilet door. I can remember it was a loud and obvious knock. The knock was just once, "KNOCK". Thinking that my colleague wanted to use the toilet, I quickly wrapped the towel around my body and opened the door. Nobody was outside the toilet. So, I walked around the room and indeed nobody was in the room. And yes, my colleague had already left the room earlier after bathing! At that point, I had goosebumps throughout my body and I could feel some chills running up my spine. Who knocked the toilet door just now?

I began to ponder whether it was my colleague who knocked on the door and then ran away? But it was impossible. I took just 5 seconds to open the door after the knock. And the room door is not very near to the toilet door, unlike most hotel rooms where the toilet door and the room door are just next to each other.

Whatever or whoever knocked the door, I was not perturbed to it because I have bigger things to worry at that time. My work! I was working in a tight deadline environment! But I am sure that there was something in the hotel room. However, there were no other incidents for that entire week. Or could it be just a door crack? I don't think so because I can clearly remember the knock was loud and obvious as if someone has knocked on the door.

Some English radio stations in Malaysia

1. Hitz.FM (previously Hitz FM)
I have stopped listening to this radio station since 10 years ago. All they play is only the current hits. They don't play any old songs at all. But I used to like the Rick Dees Top 40 programme every Saturday back then.

2. Mix FM
I listened to this radio station somewhere between 2000 and 2006. My favourite programme is the one-hour Awesome 80s programme. I remembered that the Awesome 80s programme was on every weekday morning at 8am. Then in 2004, they shifted the programme to 8pm instead. They played 80s music throughout the day with songs from other decades sandwiched in between. I don't listen to Mix FM anymore today.

3. Lite FM (previously Light and Easy)
I began listening to Lite FM somewhere in 2007 after I was dissappointed of how Mix FM has transformed into another Hitz FM. To my delight, Lite FM also introduced the Awesome 80s programme in 2007. I remembered that they have it every Saturday morning for two hours from 10am to 12pm.

There was also a time I listened to the then Light and Easy in 2003 for just one month. At that time, Light and Easy played more music from the 50s, 60s and 70s. They even had a programme that played songs from the 1940s!

4. Red FM
I can't remember exactly when I began listening to Red FM. Maybe in 2008 or 2007. Red FM also played a lot of 80s music but now I feel like it's just like Mix FM. Sadly, they played hip hop music as well. But most importantly Red FM have this Retro Disco programme on every Saturday night. They played music from the 70s and 80s for about two hours. Mix FM also used to have this programme many years ago but I'm not sure if Mix FM still have this similar programme today.

5. Classic Rock
Classic Rock only operated from 1997 to 1998. I used to listen to it just a while and it played only rock music and mostly classic rock from the 60s and 70s. But, the Classic Rock radio station can still be listened on Astro today. On some days I would switch on the TV just listening to this Classic Rock.

6. Talk Radio
As the title suggests, it's a talking radio station. LOL. It also operated just from 1997 to 1998. I used to listen to it as well. It's more like a forum radio station with a lot of discussion going on. Of course, they played music as well. I think Talk Radio is almost the same like RTM Radio 4 (now Traxx FM).

7. Traxx FM (previously Radio 4)
This is the radio station that I listened to before 1997 and I only listened to it when I'm in the car as a small boy. It's the only English station in Malaysia, I believe, during those time. I remembered there were more talkings than music on Radio 4, just like Talk Radio.

How I like the 80s music

I don't really listen to the radio when I was a schoolboy in the 1990s. The only good radio station at that time was Radio 4 because that's the only English radio station available!

Then came 1997 with Hitz FM, Mix FM, Light and Easy, Talk Radio, and Classic Rock. My bas sekolah (school bus) driver used to play cassettes on his bus radio before 1997. And from 1997 onwards he began to tune in to Hitz FM. It was a great radio station playing songs from Will Smith, Savage Garden, Spice Girls, 911, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and so forth at that time. But I began to feel annoyed with these bubblegum pops and the resurgence of hip hops in the late 1990s.

It was a relief when the bus driver changed to Mix FM one particular week in the year 2000. Mix FM was once famous for playing lots of 80s music. Yes, 80s music all the way. Sadly, Mix FM sounds like Hitz FM today. Lite FM (previously Light and Easy) has now taken over the role from Mix FM of playing lots of 80s music. Red FM also plays lots of 80s music.

It is very nostalgic listening to 80s music after not listening to 80s music throughout the 1990s because there were no good radio stations in the 1990s.

From that day onwards, I fell in love with 80s music. It is so much better compared to 90s music for sure. It is also so much better compared to 70s music because 70s pop music are too cheesy. But 70s classic rock are good, very good!

Let me share with you one of my favourite 80s songs (Whitesnake - Is This Love). It is a power ballad sung by a hair metal band. Power ballad is soft rock in layman term. Hair metal is the 80s heavy metal in layman term.

Bill Clinton at INTI International University

Bill Clinton was here at INTI International University, Nilai giving a speech to students. It was reported in The Star right here.




In his speech, Clinton gave a definition of a good citizen of his time and today.

“In my time, the definition was this: If you are young, you get as much education as you can, you give your best effort when you take a job, you pay your taxes honestly and you cast an informed vote in every election,” he said.

“Today, one more item has been added – every educated person with awareness of social conditions should also devote his time, skill and even resources to solve public concerns as a private citizen.”

I find what he said was really inspirational.

I wonder why our local politicians could not give such inspirational political speeches like most of the American presidents could do.

Burn, burn, burn...and pollute the air.

A few days ago while I was studying, I decided to open the window to breathe some fresh air. Instead, I smelt something unpleasant. Air pollution! My nearby neigbour has been burning again. They were burning some incense on the road. They will do it every month.

I noticed that only Malaysians and Singaporeans have developed their own newfound culture of burning really really really big incense. They are helping us to destroy the planet. We all know that the Chinese in mainland China don't burn such big big big incense. Only Malaysians/Singaporeans do such thing. If I am not mistaken I believe that such culture of burning big big big and really big incense does not exist like 10 or 20 years ago. So what happened?

Thank you again, Malaysian/Singaporean businessmen for telling lies again. Yes, the bigger incense you burn, the better because through this way only the God will notice. That was what I was told. Looks like our unscrupulous Malaysian/Singaporean Ah Beng businessmen are making good fortunes here by selling lots of big big big incense.

My neighbour, Ah Beng, will always burn as well. Especially with the SPM exams coming soon, the family will burn, burn, and burn hoping that it will help their son to score really well. Rigghht. Anyway, he always hang out with his friends almost on a daily basis. Well, some people don't need to study, they just need to burn to score well in exams.

Perhaps they have not heard this verse "God helps those who help themselves."

You see, I don't mind if you practise your religion, but please bear in mind that what you are doing is detrimental to our planet and to everyone because you are polluting the air.

Two young Malaysians were infected with HIV through dental treatments?

It was recently reported in The Sun newspaper and here, that two young Malaysians working in Singapore have tested positive for HIV in the last four months. The two young Malaysians, both aged 20, went for a blood test to renew their work permit in Singapore. One of them, a young woman, broke down on the spot when the doctor revealed that she is HIV positive.

Both of them claimed that they were virgins, did not do drugs, and have not had any blood tranfussions. So how were they infected?

It was believed that they were infected after undergoing dental treatment.

The doctor that tested one of them said "if the dental equipment was not cleaned properly and the earlier patient was HIV positive, it could spread that way."

Okayyy, that's dangerous. Many of us have been to a dentist, so now, should we all go for a HIV blood test now?

I have already taken the HIV blood test two months ago in Island Hospital and thankfully it was negative. You can read my post again - Lung Infection (Part 7).

Doctors in Malaysia are not allowed to do a HIV blood test on us unless we have given permission to them to do so. I believe this is due to ethical reason. That day, the doctor had to ask my permission to do a HIV blood test on me.

Please take precaution whenever you have to deal with blood or any bodily fluids. HIV is spread through blood, semen, vaginal discharge, and breast milk. Experts said that HIV cannot be spread through saliva. But bear in mind that the saliva of an infected person does contain the HIV virus. All they said is that the HIV virus in the saliva is insignificant.

Ladies and gentlemen, please have a talk with your dentist next time to 'educate' him/her to sterilise the equipment before he/she treats you. Please take precautions!