Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
MalaysiaToday: Petrol and Diesel Conspiracy?
Source: Malaysia-Today.Net
The diesel engine car is very efficient. So, now, if you spend RM100 and it gave you about 400KM, with Diesel, you spend the same RM100 (assuming Diesel and Petrol is the same price) and yet, you get about 700 to 800 KM of mileage.
By Ganesh
I refer to Petronas’s recent efforts of setting up a RM544 million hospital. Petronas should stick to their specialisation of oil and gas instead of venturing into other non-related areas such as setting up hospitals or Philharmonic Orchestras. Investing in Motorsports and F1 was viable because it was fuel related.
Instead of investing in hospitals, Petronas should be investing in efforts to provide cleaner diesel and also promote diesel car usage.
Why isn’t the Malaysian government promoting diesel cars?
In Europe, for every petrol car sold, 3 diesel cars are sold.
Why? Because Diesel is a much cleaner fuel than petrol and also, surprisingly, a very efficient fuel giving nearly twice the KM.
Malaysians used to believe Diesel cars were dirty because old lorries and old taxis used them. But that was the diesel engine of yesteryears.
Today, the diesel engine, especially the turbo diesel (TDi) car engines produce higher Bhp (more power) than a similar petrol car engine, as well as being a much cleaner fuel than Petrol. In other words, it has much lesser emissions than petrol, while at the same time giving far more mileage than the petrol engine counterpart..
It is now proven by all European Governments that modern car turbodiesel engines (Euro 3 and Euro 4 standards) are more efficient and less polluting (CO emission per km) compared to similar vehicles with similar petrol engine capacity. Nearly all European car manufacturers are now pushing more diesel engines. Even Honda and Toyota produce very efficent small and large cc diesel engines.
Why are the current diesel cars in Malaysia emitting thick black smoke? Firstly, because the engines in them are about 10 to 20 years old. On the newer enginers, like the Mercedes 320 Cdi and BMW 530d, don’t blame the vehicles, blame the dirty diesel if you still see thick black smoke. Our diesel has heavy sulphur content and it is this sulphur that causes a car to emit thick black smoke.
The diesel engine car is very efficient. So, now, if you spend RM100 and it gave you about 400KM, with Diesel, you spend the same RM100 (assuming Diesel and Petrol is the same price) and yet, you get about 700 to 800 KM of mileage.
Why isn’t Petronas or the Government promoting cleaner diesel and also diesel Cars?
If the government is sincere about helping the rakyat and alleviating the hardship of the rakyat, it should promote a fuel that gives nearly double the milegae. At least with the same amount of money spent on fuel, the rakyat will get nearly double the mileage with a Diesel car.
Unfortunately, Petronas is not spending money on providing a cleaner diesel which conforms to EU standards but prefer building a hospital.
Has Malaysian diesel’s sulfur content been reduced yet? There were plans to conform to Euro 2 standards (500ppm sulfur compared to 3000ppm currently), I am not sure whether it has been implemented.
Singapore and Thailand have conformed to Euro 2 for years, and have now progressed to Euro 3 and eventually to Euro 4 standards. Euro 4 standards, which is the current standard in the whole of EU, have much lesser emissions than even Petrol!
It looks like the government, since it owns Petronas, and a substantial stake in Proton, is only promoting the usage of petrol and Petrol cars for and by the general public. Who suffers? The rakyat does. If one has a diesel car, at least whatever he spends now on Petrol, he will get nearly double the mileage. To make matters worse, the road tax on Diesel cars are much higher, a sign to discourage diesel cars and the usage of diesel by the general public.
Is the government encouraging the Rakyat to use more Fuel ie Petrol?
Is it because if we use Diesel, we will be using lesser fuel (for we get more mileage), thus, we will buy lesser fuel, and this in turn will result in lesser revenue for Petronas? And in return, Petronas will pay lesser dividends and company tax to the Government?
Petronas, Perodua and Proton, the three P’s should start promoting diesel cars and diesel fuel to lessen the burden of the suffering rakyat.
MARINA MAHATHIR – You walk the talk first
Source:http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/18/focus/21566187&sec=focus
By MARINA MAHATHIR
The Government wants us to change our lifestyles to cope with inflation. It is easier said than done since most people were having it difficult even before the hikes. The Government must first set an example by doing things it should have done long ago.
WITH the recent hike in fuel prices and the Government’s exhortations for us to change our lifestyles in order to cope, may I provide here some suggestions for the Government and those who work for it to "share our burden".
1. Stop having meetings, especially out at resorts, far enough away to be able to claim transport allowances. Have online meetings instead or teleconferences. Use Skype or chat.
2. No need to order special pens, bags, T-shirts, notepads and other goodies for those same meetings.
3. No need to order kuih for mid-morning or teatime meetings in government offices, or nasi briyani lunches for those meetings that happen to end just at lunchtime.
4. Cancel all trips for government servants to conferences overseas unless they return with full reports of what they did there, who they met and what they learnt and how they mean to apply what they learnt at home. Ask them to do presentations to colleagues who did not get to go, on the most interesting and important papers that they read.
5. Scrutinise invoices for contracts to make sure they are truly reflective of what those projects or supplies cost.
6. Stop elaborate launches for government programmes. In particular, stop the buying of souvenirs, special batik shirts, corsages, bouquets and caps.
7. Make all civil servants and politicians travel economy class. That means really travelling at the back of the plane and not buying full fare economy class tickets that allow them to be upgraded to Business Class.
8. Stop having the full complement of police escorts to cut down on petrol costs. If they need to be somewhere by a certain time, start earlier like the rest of us. Wouldn’t be a bad thing for them to also experience a traffic jam.
9. Once a week (or more), have ministers use public transport so they know what everyone else has to suffer. This might provide them with the incentive to improve them.
10. Once a week, let ministers go to a market to buy food for their families with instructions to not spend more than RM100.
11. Get ministers to carpool. They might get more work done just by being able to talk to each other to see what can be coordinated between their ministries. For instance, the Ministers of Health and Women could discuss what to do about women’s health issues in the car on the way to work. Maybe have a secretary to travel in the front seat to take down notes on what was discussed. By the time they get to their offices, things can get implemented.
12. Once a month, get civil servants to work with one disadvantaged group in order to be better able to appreciate their problems. It could be blind people one month, hearing disabled people the next, orang asli the following month and people living with HIV/AIDS after that.
We could start buddy systems which pair one civil servant with one disadvantaged person and at the end of it, ask each pair to make recommendations on how to make life better for each other. This might get rid of the problem of desk jockeys, people who never stray very far from their desks yet make policies for people they know nothing about.
13. Have PA systems that shout out the name of the officers who have to serve people at government offices so that people get the services they came for and don’t have to keep coming back just because the officer was out having coffee.
No counter should be left unmanned for more than five minutes before the officer is paged to go back to their stations. This should cut down waiting time for the public and save them transport costs in having to keep returning just to get one thing done.
14. Government officers who lose people’s files should be fined and have their names publicised for being careless and causing inconvenience to the public. Instead of making the public travel to their offices several times to deal with their problems, they should travel to go see their client and deal with it right there and then.
And every officer who goes out of the office should be given a reasonable time to get his work done after which he is expected back in office so he doesn’t waste time doing something else.
15. And newspapers should save paper by reporting real news rather than non-news that they carry, particularly nonsensical utterances by politicians.
As they say, we need to do this all together in order to make a difference. So if the Government and politicians make these lifestyle changes, I will do my part and change mine.
TechRepublic: Take control of any Windows PC on the Internet with CrossLoop
Source: Video: Take control of any Windows PC on the Internet with CrossLoop
Remotely controlling an end user’s PC across the Internet can be complicated. Remote support tools, like Windows Remote Desktop and VNC, simplify the process, but even these programs can trip up a frustrated, novice user. Add firewalls and routers to the mix, and remote support becomes a real headache. CrossLoop might be the cure.
CrossLoop is a remote control application that distills connecting two PCs via the Internet into a simple one-button interface. The program works through firewalls and routers, making it easy to connect two computers on different networks. CrossLoop uses GPL-licensed TightVNC, which protects all transferred data with 128-bit encryption
In this IT Dojo video, I demonstrate how easily you can establish a remote connection with CrossLoop. To run CrossLoop yourself, you’ll need a machine running Windows 98 or later, with a Pentium 500 MHz or better processor, at least 128 MB of RAM, 2 MB of free hard drive space, and a high-speed Internet connection.
CrossLoop is one of the best remote support tools I’ve used. It’s not perfect, and it sometimes drops connections, but it works as well as any remote control application on the market–only without the hassle. I frequently use CrossLoop to support my technically-challenged friends and family.
For more information on using CrossLoop read Mark Kaelin’s article, “Take control of any Windows PC on the Internet with CrossLoop.”
Carrots, Eggs, & Coffee! – Which One Of These Are You??
You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots
out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘ Tell me what you see.’
‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, mother?’
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.
May we all be COFFEE !!!
Fire Burning In Malaysia Parliament House!
" Let me be transparent, and tell you readers up front. The comment/articles below has no hard feeling towards any people around the world or insulting anyone around the world. It’s only my personal point of view, personal diary filed in my own personal blog! It has nothing to do with any third party or any political people in the world too "
It was reported by many big time mass media that 30th April 2008, Wednesday, was the first time Parliament of Malaysia in fire! The fire wasn’t a normal fire burning like you burn your paper, I can imagine it’s like burning the whole Parliament House! MPs from Pakatan Rakyat of Malaysia have been symbolic as clown in the circus, while the MPs from Barisan Nasional is trying to observe what those Pakatan Rakyat were shouting at! Damm it, it’s all because now, the process of the Parliament House will be shown Live on RTM1 for half an hour, only those BN MPs will shut their mouth there, and let PR people shout like mad.
I support the work of Pakatan Rakyat. It might be quite a shame shouting in front of the TV and let fellow Malaysians see you while you’re behaving like, people call as monkeys, beruk or whatever, but while you’re in there, you should fight for the rakyat, not for yourself! I support Pakatan Rakyat because they dare to do it without thinking of their own faces, but the faces of the rakyat, the Malaysian that casts their votes for them.
When Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia allowed the latter to intervene, Karpal Singh said he hoped that the “bigfoot from Kinabatangan won’t disturb me”.
“You-lah, big monkey,” Bung Mokhtar retorted loudly.
Bung Mokhtar, who is also one of BN MP, shouted "You-Lah, big monkey", so who is big monkey now? Bung Mokhtar? or Karpal? I have no interest in knowning this also… What I’m concerned as rakyat is whether Bung Mokhtar really a MP? Being so rude to Karpal Singh is an insult as Karpal is a disabled man that’s fighting for the people of Malaysia! I’m curious, why this low class MP can be MP in Parliament?? Maybe I have the chance also??
TheStar quoted "Dewan turns into a "zoo" over seating position, name calling" This is what exactly happening before this newbies becoming MPs lar! Watch Youtube.com, and see who is shouting who la… Looks like BN MPs shouts more often last time because Pakatan Rakyat not many supportive inside mah… but this is what we want, we want a change in the history of Malaysia! If those BN MPs still thought they can live a life like before, I think they should sit at home, and not in house of parliament if they have no interest in rakyat! Of course la, their mouth sure say "we have interest lar"…. yes, interest in wasting rakyat money lar!
I read that during the General Election 2008, our honorable PM & honorable DPM use rakyat money for their business, I call this personal business! Come on lar, during General Election 2008, Parliament already dissolved, they are just a normal rakyat of Malaysia, how dare they use the money of rakyat and fly here and there? For more about this, Read Here! (http://1426.blogspot.com/2008/05/another-pak-lahs-wasted-and-costly-trip.html)
Coming back to the Parliament house, Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Hishamuddin said First session, a total waste of time
“It was better for me to be at the ministry to do some work. I think I will be outside drinking more coffee,” he added.
YB, if you really wanna drink coffee in Parliament House, then might as well you go back home and drink your coffee, else you can call me out, I can buy you a coffee with me belanja you! Not in Parliament of course, because if you’re drinking coffee in Parliament, you’re wasting the resources of Malaysia since you don’t have any interest to listen in the Parliament House of what not, as a MP of rakyat! I don’t think you have any qualification becoming Education Minister since you’re saying such a low class comment!
Again, I still believe that MPs should interest in rakyat affairs, but not showing you’re driving a big car or staying in a big house. What we want to see is the nation will improve in future, and be competitive among other countries! If those MPs that always boast themselves, and still think that they are living in the era of having good life, I would suggest that you "dabao" (bungkus) and sit at home!
