Collectibles

One finds the most amazing things when looking for crushed seaweed in the supermarket. Like these cookie boxes. Metal. With a nice 3-D print of an Aussie, Aussie, Oi Oi Oi! car on it. 

Each of the various boxes had a different muscle car on it. All very uhhhhh. Each had the year of manufacture on the number plate. Just this one. The ugliest thing in the collection is the one with my birthyear on the plate. Just my luck I guess. 

So, this stayed int he shop. Will have to find another Zilla for the collection!

Chicken and Egg Question

I have so many questions about this. Like.. Who buys this and why. How would you know? What is the difference in taste (remember,.. I don't do eggs!)? 

Either this is something worthwhile or just a marketing gimmick. Could be similar to the connection between sushi and female chefs - not my idea, ya!

Would you pay more for a First Born Egg?
 

Working go Where?

Singapore: "From Jan 15, unvaccinated workers not allowed to return to workplace even with negative pre-event test."

Strange. I thought we all work from home (WFH) since that is so mightly cool and NOBODY ever wants to go back to work in an office? An entire industry was to be at the brink of extinction as office space is to be such a thing of the past.

Does this mean I could not go home if I have a home office? So many questions. 

Ballsy!

 

My latest toy is a ice ball "maker". It really is a simple silicone sphere, which is two halves that snug together and can be filled with water. Takes a good day for the ball to freeze up and be in shape for a drop into the Whiskey. With some Whiskeys having 45 % ABV or more, it is recommended to have a little water to open up the flavour. As these ice balls are massive, they melt slowly and are good for a few fillings (Remember, ice blocks used to be shipped from the poles to hot countries in sailing boats).

The ice maker was a gift from Albert Wines that was added to my last order. I was nicely surprised about that and appreciate that it is something useful.

Even the Best Make Mistakes

 

You made a mistake? Ok, cool! Learn from it. And in my view, the most important lesson is that everyone makes mistakes. And the more you "do", the higher the chance that some issue will creep in. Take this website for example. It has dozens of pages. And I am sure that agency, programmer and client have checked and double checked the site. Yet, this page is still there, hidden in some obscure function that may not show when you test the site. On the note of testing a website: do it over and over again and ask a dozen people to do it as if they were clients.

At 7:37am today, I am sure I already made a mistake or two as well...Onwards and upwards.

The One Thing I Miss

 

There really is no shortage of food in Asia. Technically, one would be just 5 minutes away from a place that has something on offer at any given time. Even on long-distance buses, part of the attraction is that there is food being served.

One thing I miss though: proper bread! Yes, there is toast. But it is all very soft, white and not very filling in my opinion. I like it crunchy. Chewy, dense and needing a lot of effort to munch. If it is freshly baked, I could easily eat a loaf like this without anything. Simon Ng is a master at this and I am glad to have access to his creations. 

Christmas dinner is going to be awesome with these 3 babies on the menu.

How Would I do that?

To pick up or have it delivered? Buy or make decision. For some fire extinguishers I ordered from a nearby vendor, I opted for delivery to our office. Technically, the office is always attended and even if we are out for lunch, we are not far and could easily just nip back. The order was placed waayyyy before a massive rainfall resulted in massive floodings that shut down thousands of businesses. 

Some companies were just declaring a day off. Government officials announced help in various shapes and forms. People posted videos of cars bouncing in the waves. 

Maybe what follows is a sign of the times with the gig economy?

Yesterday, the XYZVan fella tried to deliver my designer fire extinguishers. He was in a bit of a rage to find the office closed. I mean, who would think of THAT when there is a pandemic with strict SOPs and half the country not going to work as people are still looking for relatives underwater in an re-enactment of "Grey Lady Down". When he could come back? He wasn't able to say in his rage as he now had to go off to another delivery first and come back another time. 

Who would call ahead in such situations to avoid a wasted trip (all 2 km from the vendor)? Phone numbers have to be given nowadays with everything, so it couldn't be an issue of not being able to be reached. Well, I would. Just in case, seeing how thousands of households are badly affected by the storms. 

Jacqueline and Stefan Wish you Merry Christmas

 

The end of 2021 is in sight. And what a year that was! The last week will be a slow one with the office closed, all things needing doing done for the year and the wines on order for a proper send-off for the past 12 months. Got the inflateable out again and the mood is pregressively getting festive. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

Looking for a Food Place

 

We hosted a training session for our Asian Trucker Drivers Club. The caterer was just 3km away and wanted way too much money for delivery. So, I said I drive over and pick it up. First time we used that particular supplier and I had not been to their place before. Google Maps had to place 200 meters to the north. I called them to send me the location. When I opened the pin, this image popped up.

I suggested to have a look at their Google Maps entry. Just for clarity on location and to a lesser extend what kind of service they provide. I am not sure they took my advice seriously. 

Flooded!

Reuters reported: "Torrential rains in Malaysia have caused flooding that has driven more than 11,000 people from their homes, closed dozens of roads and disrupted shipping, authorities said on Saturday.

More than 66,000 personnel from the police, army and fire department have been mobilised nationwide to help rescue people stranded by flood waters and take them to shelters, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob told a news conference late on Saturday."

THIS DAMN CONE KNEW WHAT WAS COMING! 

Another Another One?

 

And every time we are in Ipoh, I would head on down to the fabric shop and pic an obnoxious pattern for a tailored shirt. Shown here is the one I grabbed this time for the creation of my next shock-shirt. All in, the cost for such a shirt is not much more / less than what I would pay in a shop. However, buying my fabric and then having it stitched into a shirt ensures it fits and that there aren't 100s of others wearing the same thing. But then, who else would wear THAT?

I Feel a Headache Coming On!

 Just looking at the sheer amount of this gives me a headache before I could even develop one on my own!

We Win Again!

On December 9th, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MTHC) celebrated excellence in medical travel journalism at the virtual Medical Travel Media Awards Presentation Ceremony 2021 (MTMA2021). Graced by the Honourable Khairy Jamaluddin, the Minister of Health Malaysia, the annual awards event honoured local and international media for their contributions in positioning Malaysia as a safe and trusted destination for healthcare.  

This year’s MTMA received 420 submissions, a 20 percent increase from 2020 with entries coming in from countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Malaysia. 

David Bowden made me aware of this award and we decided to partner in order to co-author a bid for the award. On first sight, the idea that buses would have anything to do with medical tourism is, of course, somewhat obscure. However, we cleverly weaved together material about buses, hotels, travel, the country and how people go about having a vacation while getting healthy. 

Our work bagged us the Best Print Report of the Year! Special thank must go to "Tony", who did 12 iterations of the layout before we finally uploaded the version we were happy with. 

Also worth mentioning was the award ceremony, which was extremely professionally done. No waiting for any VIP stuck in traffic or people that are "on the way". Just that one has to bring food and drink along... 

Whiskey+ Gin, actually

 

I had heard about this event before, but did not go the last time it was on. Having had a chat with Chad, the organiser, I was then convinced that going to this annual event would be a worthwhile gig to to go to.

At first the idea is a bit bizarre: you go around an event hall where you can sample Whiskey. And then buy it. Sounds like a bit of a party, but it is indeed more education than anything else. As you go around, the good people selling their wares will explain each expression. I am sure that they will also have a few shots, but mostly they would have to be sober. So I think... Poor buggers!

Going round, looking serious, trying and discarding certain brands, discovering others, one realises: this IS a serious affair and not some Frat Party in KappaGamma House. Anyone that has proudly bought a locally made bottle of booze while on a trip to an exotic location (say, Japan for example) and having discoved that the brew acquired for a small fortune actually tastes like glue meets jetfuel will appreciate this arrangement. Try and if you don't like it move on, getting a lil boozier in the process.

Some of the samples I had were surprising. Some peaty ones I totally disliked, although I tend to opt for peated Whiskey. Acclaimed Japanese ones were... well, just not to our taste and some of the really old ones wowed (Dewar's 21 and 25...Yummmmmm).

It was good to see this event being successful with everyone have a jolly good time. For an afternoon we forgot our worries about C-19 and all that stuff.

And we walked home with mostly Gin!

Tough: Being an Actor

Today, this was Simply My Truck!

MAN in Malaysia has given me an absolute phantastic opportunity: to be the presenter for a video produced to launch their new truck here. The recording took place on a Saturday morning in their factory in Rawang (near Kuala Lumpur). Going around the vehicle, I had to point out and describe the truck, features, explain about the history of the brand etc. In total it was seven pages of text to be memorised. 

A lot was learned. Aircon has to be off as the noise would be picked up by the microphone. Means that rivulets of sweat start running a moment after the take for the interior started. Dogs barking in the distance would also be picked up by the mic. I now appreciate the work an actor would have to do when learning the lines. It is tough to memorise all this and to recall it. In the right sequence, using the right words for "things" and in a manner that is engaging. 

Remember this?

Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland,
Ein Birnbaum in seinem Garten stand,
Und kam die goldene Herbsteszeit

Finally I understand why we learn to recite the full peom in school. I just wished they had told us that this might be something useful in our careers!

After 5 hours of shooting (for 15 minutes of video mind you!) one is also nicely roasted. The make-up... Hang on,... yes, I insisted on make up! is caked to your face while the arms show signs of sunburn. 

THIS was really something. And you can see the full video here.

Story Time

A brand is, oftentimes, a good story. In the case of locally made Timah, the producers did an outstanding job of explaining the idea behind this, the meaning of the name and who the chap on the bottle is. Worth a read as one can learn something. Who said that drinking is just a silly pastime? 

This particular bottle was gifted to me in November 2020. Before the brand gained notoriety. Unopened since, seeing how I had tried it before. Is it any good you ask? Well, for what you (used to) pay for it, it ok. Totally fine at that price point and surely a talking piece, considering that it is a Malaysian product. 

This bottle will be kept for a special occasion or for a long time in case this might become a collectible.  

Never Knew I Needed THIS!

 

Signs of the times when the design for a toilet roll holder calls for the integration of a tray for your phone...And it can hold up to 2kg! That is good enough for an I-pad or some smaller PC even! 

No. I did not buy this, but thought it was an interesting find in the DIY store. 

Goodness! Freshness! Great Tanks of Fishness!

 

This is not a pet shop, but the fresh seafood selection offered by Beihai Seafood in Selayang. Here you can buy the fish, oysters, lobsters and crab and bring them home or have them sent to the adjacent restaurant where they cook them for you to your liking. Doesn't get any fresher! Getting there:

When I first introduced this concept to my dad, way back in 2005, he initially refused to eat in such places. Guess having bonded with the fish by tapping on the glass, he didn't want to eat them. But then,.. it occured to him that there is no way the food could be any fresher. He still leaves the fisheyes to the more adventurous ones... 

Always Someone Cheaper

 I'll do it for 4 per 30 minutes.

SAP has Nothing on this One

In times where everything needs an App (Want to use the toilet in the Mall? Sure, just download our CrapApp!) it is refreshing to see lo-tech still ruling. This is the order tracking system in an eatery in Ipoh. 

After hours, these may also be re-purposed to become some kinky toys. Who knows. 

The Blair Pertz Project

 

It was my fault, because it was my birthday. Everything had to be my way. And this is where we've ended up and it's all because of me that we're here now –stuffed, boozed-up, and broke. I love you mom, dad. I am so sorry. What is that? I'm scared to order another one, I'm scared to stop drinking!”