Monday, 31 August 2009

Oil prices up again?

Price of RON 95 at RM1.80 from Tuesday
By NURBAITI HAMDAN and TEH ENG HOCK


KUALA LUMPUR: The newly introduced RON 95 fuel is now priced at RM1.80 - five sen higher than the previous RM1.75.

Meanwhile, RON 97 is upgraded as a premium product and has gone up to RM2.05 from RM1.80.

Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the new prices were decided based on the current method of Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM).
(what current method of pricing? What type of method you people used when you people decided to hike and lowering it couple of years back?)

“Although the price is now 5 sen higher, the Government is still subsidising 33.81 sen per litre (of RON 95) which is equivalent to RM304mil monthly,” he told reporters after the launch of Primax 95 by Petronas here on Monday.
(i guess this is the best time to let jack came out of his box ain't it Ismail Sabri? And it must be the BEST ever present to the people of Malaysia for the Merdeka Day celebration!)

Currently, the Government is subsidising RON 97 by 42.72 sen per litre.
(So?...it is still expensive than few neighbouring countries oil prices if calculated one to one, furthermore they don't even have they own oil)

The cost for RON 95 went up 102% from USD$ 40.75 per barrel to USD$ 82.30 in December last year and August respectively.

“If there is any changes in the global prices, we would revise it accordingly. It is up to the Economic Council to decide.
(His trying to tell that it is not his decision for the increase...)

“RON 95 also adheres to the EURO2M specification where it can lessen pollution,” said Ismail Sabri, adding that consumers would get quality petroleum at a subsidised price.

With the new pricing, Ismail Sabri added that RON 92 was phased out from the market as the usage was only 5% from total petrol sale in the country.

In April last year, then Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad said the Government was considering the use of petrol with higher research octane number (RON) to reduce fuel subsidies without hurting the lower-and-medium income groups.

A higher octane number means higher resistance to engine “knocking”. “Knocking” could possibly damage the engine over time.
(People of Malaysia -- be rest assured, we, the government decided to assist you all during this economic slowdown and hard time by increasing the oil prices so your car engines wont give way too soon and you wont have to fork out so much of money repairing your cars)....does it work that way?.....

Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia president Datuk Hashim Othman said petrol stations could easily recalibrate their pumps to adjust to the new price.
(huh....?...who cares? i guess the Star journalists / editor of this section had nothing better to make this story more compact)

“With technology, all you need to do is push some buttons. It is almost automatic in most stations now, except for a few in the rural areas which are still using the manual system,” he told The Star.
(irrelevant to the actual feeling of the mass majority of Malaysia who will definitely be taken aback by this crude all of a sudden notice)

He added that petrol dealers would make a slight gain with the price increase as they had bought their current stock at the old price.
(irrelevant to the rakyat......)

“It is only a little as the price increase is small,” he said.
(oh yeah mister?....why don't you try being the ordinary income earner in Kuala Lumpur, gotta pay toll at every highway, even for a short 10 km distance, paying for monthly parking, paying for loans and mortgages, feed your family, taking them once a while for nice food and leisure....
go take your calculator and try to count lah!! dumb dumb!)

Trouble Sleeping?


Just Breathe....
By Brad Kearns

If your mind is racing and you are having difficulty falling asleep, a few minutes of simple but effective breathing exercises can help calm your nervous system on a chemical level and lead to greater success in hitting the sack.
The awareness and control of breath has been a central component of yoga, martial arts and Taoism for thousands of years. There are dozens of different methods and exercises you can explore through a good teacher or book.
The practice of breath control in yoga is called pranayama. I'll detail a simple pranayama exercise here that is particularly effective for falling asleep called alternate nostril breathing (that's "nadi shodana" for the Sanskrit posse out there).

Alternate nostril breathing is a great way to clear obstructed nostrils, balance the yin and yang energy of the body and focusing the busy mind on the present for a deliberate and calming exercise.
When our nostrils are unobstructed, we involuntarily alternate breathing through one or the other about every two hours. Breathing through your right nostril stimulates the left side of the brain (intellectual, analytical, rational thought) and prepares the body for physical action (yang energy).

Breathing through your left nostril stimulates the right side of the brain (creative, emotional thought) and prepares the body for passive mental activity (yin energy). If both nostrils are not clear, breathing will become imbalanced and so will the energy in your body.

When you are feeling restless at bedtime, head outside (weather permitting obviously, but even in wintertime, you can certainly spend a couple minutes on a balcony or porch in brisk air), sit in a comfortable chair and begin the exercise. You will likely have a really hard time focusing your mind on only the breathing exercise. Establish a rule that whenever your mind wanders away from the breathing exercise to other random thoughts, you have to start over. With practice, you'll develop the esteemed ability to relax and center -- not just to calm the mind for bed but any time the stresses of life are closing in.

Alternate nostril breathing is performed as follows: Take one hand up to your face for blocking nostrils. For example, your right thumb will close off your right nostril while your right index or middle finger will close off your left nostril. Block off the right nostril and inhale fully (notice how your inhale and exhale will be slower since you are only using one nostril).

Pause at the completion of your inhale and switch nostrils by using your finger to block the left nostril and releasing your thumb from the right nostril. Exhale through the right nostril, inhale through the right nostril, then pause and switch to exhale through the left nostril. Thus, you switch nostrils in the middle of the breath cycle.
To complete a cycle of 10 breaths, count each inhale/exhale as one. After your complete your breathing session, you can return to bed with a calm brain and hopefully induce a good night's sleep.

For more information on How to Sleep Better, visit LIVESTRONG.COM.


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One that will add up to many other remedies i have up my sleeves.
This, of course i will definitely try soon to counter my everlasting sleeping problems that had been with me ever since I'm a teenager.

What i know is -- i felt utterly envious of my SO who can just doze off easily once he put his head on the pillow thus he can't comprehend why can't i just sleep although i had been running up and about or after a very tiring day.

All i know is -- it's not my body or due to high metabolic rate that I'm having.
It is more of my head is running a marathon on some nights and a cross country on others. Yes, i do have nights where i can sleep easily -- hmmmm...for example, after a long flight, or the earliest like 12 am ( i can count with my fingers...) and ....and....after i didn't sleep the whole night and day!!..
Do that count?

It is an exasperating situation.
It is not doing good to my body.
It is not doing good to my skin no matter how many types of creams from low to high end that i use.
It is not doing good to the eyes....oh gosh.....The eyes! The eye-bags, the raccoon or panda eyes....

Whatever it is, I'm longing for the beauty sleep....and hope it will come to visit me soon...just for couple of days, in which i will be so appreciative cause i know it wont last that long anyway.

Sunday, 30 August 2009

Memories Of Days Before Merdeka

Memories Of Days Before Merdeka

Good memoirs...but as far as i can judge, the country is going backward instead of forward.
Thus the old wine saying shall not be applicable to Malaysia and its current leaders after Mahathir Mohammed.

Anyway.... Merdeka!Merdeka!Merdeka!

May the rakyat be more mature in selecting their leaders to come. Hopefully.