Interloper View

Nature provides a lot of wonderful gift to us and it is up to us to appreciate them. One such gift is the aloe vera plant. This is how the plant looks like: When you cut the leaves, you will find within in a transparent jelly like substance. Many companies started discovering its wonders so you can find various skin care products containing extracts from Aloe Vera. In fact, my parents occasionally use for minor cuts, help with hair growth and even make dessert from it. This is my observation but I do not have any medical background so don't take my word, just try it yourself. Only thing I can tell you that so far it works. There are some write up the benefits here - I am not promoting their product!! Some more writeup also in wikipedia .

One of the amazing plants we have in Malaysia is called the pandan. The plant looks like this: If you look at Wikipedia , it indicates that this plant is used for cooking because of its aroma. Here are some other uses for it: Natural air freshener (for the drawers, cupboard, car etc). Natural insect repellent (some insects like roaches do not like the smell)

Noticed some pigeons in my neighborhood. Thought I'd share there here: Peek-a-Boo: Others:

For those who are unaware, hibiscus is Malaysia's national flower. It is also known as "Bunga Raya". Here is how it looks like:

The following is a night view of the swimming pool in Equatorial Penang. The jacuzzi is in a man made cave (shown here).

I just received a flyer from Direct Access indicating that you can get 2 % rebate on your purchases from any of the petrol stations. However, there are a few condition: The maximum expense on any one month is RM2,500/- (or RM 50/-) rebate. I did not see how long the offer will last. With this offer, we can potentially get the maximum of 3.5% rebate from petrol (that is 2% from the card and another 1.5% from the Smiles card - Esso and Mobil). This is an update to my earlier posts: Interloper View: Getting Money back from your Credit Card and Interloper View: Getting Money back from your Petrol

Before the Penang Bridge was built the only way for cars to travel between the island and the mainland is with the Ferry. However, in recent years, there has been articles saying that this service will be retired since it is money losing operation. So if you ever come to Penang be sure to take the opportunity to use the ferry or you may never get the chance again. Here are some nice pictures to share: The ferries used to be all yellow but now they have different colors and each of them are named after an island in the country: View from the ferry: View of the island: Oldest clock tower in Penang: Approaching the dock:

With the recent increase of oil prices, there is new incentive for searching for alternative fuel. Let us review what are the current alternatives: Nuclear energy. Hydro energy Coal Wind BioDiesel Solar Energy. Nuclear Energy When Nuclear energy was first proposed, it seems like it is the answer to all the power but as you know now those who are using them have to find ways of disposing all the radio active waste generated. True the generators generate immense energy but the waste is very toxic to the environment. Hydro Energy Hydro energy is great for countries that are blessed with hills and waterfall. However, the process of building the dam and the reservoir for this requires that we clear out vast forest and eliminate natural habitats of animals there. The other problem has to do with the sludge that will accumulate over the years when the hydro electric plant operates which if not handled properly will cause the plant to be unusable. Overall though this is still one which caus...

My wife was recently in Kuala Lumpur for a conference and took some very nice photos of the famous Petronas Twin Tower using a Nokia Handphone. Day Scene: Night Scene:

When you visit Penang, you will find a lot of pre-World War II house. Some of these ancient residence, due to the reality of economy, have been converted to commercial sites. Tourist spot: Here is one that has been changed to a restaurant: Here is another converted into a food court:

One of the most picturesque hotel in Penang is the Equatorial Hotel. It has won the "Best Deluxe Hotel" award. See further description here . Here are some scenic view from the hotel: Scene from the top: Sceneries within the hotel: Saw this pretty insect on the hallway: If you like to know more about the hotel, you can find it here .

While visiting some relatives in a high rise apartment, I noticed the bird's nest near the elevator. You can see the bird perched on the electric cable. Here you have the nest: Here is the bird looking out of its nest: With all the development work going on throughout the country, we will see more and more birds making nest in our buildings as their original habitats are eliminated. This is an example of nature adapting.

Have you seen children who will spend lots of time creating excuses or tricks just to avoid doing something they don't like? For example, a boy wants someone else to bring him a cup of milk. He will scream and shout until he gets his way. The amount of energy wasted that could be saved if he just walks over to the fridge to get it himself (especially since he is like just 5 meters) from the fridge. In another example, you can observe people jay walking to cross a very busy road. They are willing to risk their lives to cross when they could just easily just use the overhead bridge which is just beside them or even the zebra crossing which is just 5 meters away. They will even cut through the iron bars on the divider just to cross over. When you ask them why they do it, they say it is for convenience. I wonder if it is, if you look at the risk factor or economic factors, it is like spending RM 50/- just to save 10cents. (RM0.10). If we take the time to think, there is a lot of e...