As a member of Enrich frequent flier programme, you will accumulate points every time that you travel using the participating carriers or purchasing items through any participating outlets. The points will expire after some time given that you did not redeem the points.
However, if you want to redeem your Enrich points, you should be prepared for the following facts:
1. Your points will be deducted upon redemption, fair enough. For example for a return flight from Kuching to KLIA, 25,000 points will be deducted.
2. You have to pay cash for Airport Tax. Keep in mind that the amount of airport tax is very expensive. For example, for a return flight from Kuching to KLIA (true as of this posting), you have to pay cash RM229 for airport tax. So you need to have some more cash if you plan to use your Enrich points for your spouse also.
3. After confirming your flight details, you cannot change the time and date of your bookings. Unless you are pretty sure about your itinerary, you can go ahead with your bookings otherwise you have to really give a lot of thought about your bookings. You still can change your flight but you have to pay some amount of money as a penalty. Well, that is the price of trying to utilize things that are so called free flight.
4. You are only allowed to get the ticket at the MAS ticketing office. If you want to get the ticket at the MAS ticketing office at the airport, your request will not be entertained because their ticketing office at the airport is meant only for immediate flight.
Well, those are the experienced that I got recently when I tried to redeem for my so called free flight. Actually, the flights are not free after all. You have to use their carrier frequent enough (that is their motto, frequent flier) in order to get the free flight. They should make it much more friendlier and more accommodating to the need of their customers.
27 January, 2008
24 January, 2008
Wave Piercing Vessel
The look of this vessel is amazing and extraordinary. This is a three-hull Earthrace vessel which can flies through waves rather than ride over them. It can travel at high speed even in the toughest ocean conditions. According to "Going Places" January issue, it runs exclusively on biodiesel. Biodiesel is an energy source derived from living plants, vegetables and animal derivatives.
It has a maximum speed of 45 knots (90kms), the cruising speed of 25 knots. It is a 24m catamaran built of carbon fibre and kevlar composites. Its fuel capacity of 10,000 litres which can go to for a distance of 6000km. The ship is owned by New Zealander, Pete Bethune.
23 January, 2008
street light
Finally the local authority has turned on street lighting for the housing development phasing that we are staying after several months of surrounding darkness. The community would be much safer and it will be much easier for others to visit especially at night with the street being lighted up.
22 January, 2008
Express Bus Accident
Again, another incident of express bus accident at KM27.7 of Kulai-JB highway heading to Johor Baru. The bus carry 10 passengers fell into ravine causing two dead and two others severely injured.
The accident rate involving buses is very high given the small number of buses on the road as compared to passenger vehicles.
At another location, an accident involving a school bus packed with school children and a factory bus. Luckily there is no injuries reported.
The accident rate involving buses is very high given the small number of buses on the road as compared to passenger vehicles.
At another location, an accident involving a school bus packed with school children and a factory bus. Luckily there is no injuries reported.
21 January, 2008
Finally Settle for Maxis Plan
Mobile phone charges among mobile operators are getting very competitive. Decision to choose which plan to use takes quite some research to be carried out. There are two major mobile operators in Malaysia i.e. Maxis and Celcom. The competition between the two operators to get more subscribers is very stiff. I have been using Maxis since 1995 and since then I cannot afford to loose my contacts with friends. Thus, that is the main reason for me to maintain my Maxis number. Another reason is that by using my existing number together with the latest Family Plus Plan, I will get the best value for money.
My previous plan is called Value 50 which mean that you have to pay minimum RM50 per month regardless of you making a call or not. But if your call exceed the minimum limit you have to pay accordingly. Using the plan, your call from Maxis to Maxis is 15 sen/min. Your call from Maxis to other operators is 20 sen/min. Your SMS from Maxis to Maxis is 5 sen/min. SMS from Maxis to other operators is 15 sen/min. MMS from Maxis to Maxis is 25 sen/min. MMS from Maxis to other operators is 50 sen/min.
Between family lines: Free voice calls, SMS, video calls, no access fee and credit sharing.
So all of the RM100 that you paid can be shared between your line. For example if your spouse only make little call, you can use their remaining credit for your call.
The Nationwide calls (per min) are as follows:
Maxis to Maxis 15 sen
Maxis to other operators: 20 sen
SMS (per SMS)
Maxis to Maxis 5 sen
Maxis to other operators 15 sen
Monthly commitment fee RM50
My previous plan is called Value 50 which mean that you have to pay minimum RM50 per month regardless of you making a call or not. But if your call exceed the minimum limit you have to pay accordingly. Using the plan, your call from Maxis to Maxis is 15 sen/min. Your call from Maxis to other operators is 20 sen/min. Your SMS from Maxis to Maxis is 5 sen/min. SMS from Maxis to other operators is 15 sen/min. MMS from Maxis to Maxis is 25 sen/min. MMS from Maxis to other operators is 50 sen/min.
Using the Value50, if you want to add your additional family line you have to pay RM10 per month and the call rate is as the rate of the family plan. So regardless of your other line is being used or not you will certainly have to pay RM10.
However, recently Maxis introduced their Family Plus Plan. I have to pay min RM50 per month for my line and another RM50 per month for additional family line. The benefits are:
Between family lines: Free voice calls, SMS, video calls, no access fee and credit sharing.
So all of the RM100 that you paid can be shared between your line. For example if your spouse only make little call, you can use their remaining credit for your call.
The Nationwide calls (per min) are as follows:
Maxis to Maxis 15 sen
Maxis to other operators: 20 sen
SMS (per SMS)
Maxis to Maxis 5 sen
Maxis to other operators 15 sen
Monthly commitment fee RM50
Flood Risk
Engineers are anticipating for a major flood in California's Central Valley. They observed existing scenario, they predict, they plan and hoping for the disaster not to happen in the future.
California flood risks are 'disaster waiting to happen,' say engineers from PhysOrg.com
While flooding in California's Central Valley is "the next big disaster waiting to happen," water-related infrastructure issues confront almost every community across the country, according to engineers at the University of Maryland's Clark School of Engineering in separate reports to California officials and in the journal Science.
[...]
20 January, 2008
I-35W Minnesota Bridge Collapse
Tuesday, 15 January, 2008, Federal Investigators announced that a "serious design error" was a key factor behind last summer's deadly collapse of the Interstate 35W's Minnesota bridge. The bridge collapsed on 1st August 2007 killing 13 people and injured more than 100 people. Routine bridge inspections will not likely discover the failure. , but also said that the mistake would not likely have been discovered during routine state inspections.
The bride had been built with gusset plates - the steel parts that connect the girders, which support the bridge. Investigators found that the gusset plates were too thin to hold up the bridge with increased traffic and additional weight of infrastructure improvements.
Investigators have found 16 fractured gusset plates from the center section of the steel-deck truss bridge. The thickness of the gusset plate was about half the required thickness to carry present day loading.
Investigators have found 16 fractured gusset plates from the center section of the steel-deck truss bridge. The thickness of the gusset plate was about half the required thickness to carry present day loading.
The bridge was built in 1967 and after 40 years of service, the bridge was modified to carry more traffic by increasing the driving deck thickness.
The bridge was designed by Sverdrup & Parcel, a Missouri-based civil engineering firm. The company was later bought by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. in Pasadena. At the time of the bridge's collapse, maintenance crews were using tons of equipment and construction material on the bridge's deck thus putting additional strain on weaker spots on the bridge and finally gave way into the Mississippi river.
Pay Your Driving Licence Online
The Road Transport Department (JPJ) has recently introduced their online driver's license renewal system. Drivers can renew their driving licences online without having to leave the comfort of their homes. And for a small fee, they can even have their licence renewal slip delivered to them by registered mail or courier.
The website is http://www.jpj.gov.my/ and by clicking on the appropriate link for online license renewal. Applicants need to provide the usual personal particulars, such as their MyKad number, licence expiry date and their mobile phone number. Via the online form, they can choose to renew their licences from one to five years, as well as decide on how they would like to collect and pay for the renewal slip.
The fee remain the same – a renewal fee of RM30 per year and a processing fee of RM2. Drivers who want their licences delivered to them will be charged a small delivery fee between RM5 and RM10, depending on location. Those who do not want the renewal slip may head to any state JPJ branch to upload the renewal information into their MyKad. Applicants can also choose to collect their renewal slip from one of the many e-service centres in the country, which are operated by e-services concessionaires MyEG Services Bhd and mySPEED Sdn Bhd. Payment can be made via credit card, or electronic online payment systems such as e-cash and e-debit.
The website is http://www.jpj.gov.my/ and by clicking on the appropriate link for online license renewal. Applicants need to provide the usual personal particulars, such as their MyKad number, licence expiry date and their mobile phone number. Via the online form, they can choose to renew their licences from one to five years, as well as decide on how they would like to collect and pay for the renewal slip.
The fee remain the same – a renewal fee of RM30 per year and a processing fee of RM2. Drivers who want their licences delivered to them will be charged a small delivery fee between RM5 and RM10, depending on location. Those who do not want the renewal slip may head to any state JPJ branch to upload the renewal information into their MyKad. Applicants can also choose to collect their renewal slip from one of the many e-service centres in the country, which are operated by e-services concessionaires MyEG Services Bhd and mySPEED Sdn Bhd. Payment can be made via credit card, or electronic online payment systems such as e-cash and e-debit.
Swiss Chronoforce
The image is not very sharp since it was taken using Canon Digital IXUS 500 at a very close up range. If anybody out there knows how to take a sharp picture using compact digital camera your comment is greatly appreciated.
The specification for the watch is as follows:
Name: Swiss CHRONOFORCE
Water Resistant: 10 ATM
All Stainless Steel
Swiss Made
Include three small dials for stopwatch: minutes, seconds
Bought in Kuching
14 January, 2008
In Memory of Dr. Luay Bakir Hussain
Friends from USM send a very sad news today that Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luay Bakir Hussain passed away in Penang on 13th January 2008. The academic community will greatly miss him due to his expertise in metallurgy. He was admitted and later passed away at Hospital Pantai Penang. His Jenazah will be sent for burial in Sg. Nibong. May Allah forgive him and give mercy on his soul.
13 January, 2008
Libra Cafe
Thank You for the farewell hightea at libra Cafe, Parit Buntar on the 9th March 2007. The party was organized by Pn Zainab and several Kerian Local Agenda members.
India Ultracheap Car
India's Tata Motors unveiled its world's cheapest car which cost around $2,500 or RM8,300. The name of the car is Nano. There are several no's to the car to make it very dirt cheap: No air-conditioning, no radio and no passenger side mirror. It is a compact four-door car which can sit four or five passengers. The car is powered by a rear wheel drive, 623 cc multi-point fuel injection petrol engine.
It would be of a great concern in term of the safety of the car since the manufacturer would compromise on the safety aspect of the car in order to make it very cheap. Besides safety aspect, the higher number of buyers of the car will worsen the congestion issues in India due to the affordability of the cars. Thus, the relevant agencies should look into the issues properly before deciding on importing such kind of cars.
It would be of a great concern in term of the safety of the car since the manufacturer would compromise on the safety aspect of the car in order to make it very cheap. Besides safety aspect, the higher number of buyers of the car will worsen the congestion issues in India due to the affordability of the cars. Thus, the relevant agencies should look into the issues properly before deciding on importing such kind of cars.
12 January, 2008
Jogging Track
This is a jogging track located in Desa Ilmu, Kota Semarahan. The track is paved with bitumin. The track is circulating the man made lake. The lake is a "Borrow Pit" lake used for building roads in the vicinity area about 30 years ago.
The track is about 1-km long. You can circulate the jogging track three times and you will cover the length of about 3-km. The surrounding of the jogging track is very pleasant with a beautiful surrounding.
Wan Hamzah wedding
Another photo of Wan Hamzah wedding. This is a typical kenduri style for wedding in Sri Aman.
Uploading your photo to your Blog using Flickr
Flickr a fancy photo sharing thing, is a powerful tool to upload and share your photos online. After uploading you r photos, you can choose the "Blog This" button to upload your photos to your blog. It is very convenient way of storing your photos and at the same time share your photo in your blog.
Free flickr has a limited number of photos that can be shown (i.e less than 200 photos). If you have more than 200 photos, flickr only show the latest 200 photos. However, if you link your photo to your blog, the photo in your blog will keep on showing even though it is not being shown in your free flickr due to Free Flickr limitation. Thus, in order to overcome this, you can blog your chosen flickr photo and keep sharing your photo with the public.
Free flickr has a limited number of photos that can be shown (i.e less than 200 photos). If you have more than 200 photos, flickr only show the latest 200 photos. However, if you link your photo to your blog, the photo in your blog will keep on showing even though it is not being shown in your free flickr due to Free Flickr limitation. Thus, in order to overcome this, you can blog your chosen flickr photo and keep sharing your photo with the public.
11 January, 2008
Wan Hamzah Wedding
Congratulation to Wan Hamzah Wan Masra and his beloved wife for their wedding which was held in Kpg Muhibbah, Sri Aman, Sarawak on 4th December 2007.
Another Case of Missing Children: Sharlinie
A five-year old Sharlinie Mohd Nashar disappeared from a playground about 200m from her house in Taman Medan at 11 am on Wednesday, 9 January 2008 as reported by The Star.
Previously, a six-year-old girl was abducted near her flat in Kampung Sepakat on Monday, 7 January 2008 but was found three hours later in Wangsa Maju.
Those with the information about her whereabout could contact her father Mohd Nashar Mat Hussain at 016-258 3450/016-2709096 or call the police at 03-79662222 or Rakan Cop at 03-2115 9999.
Mohd Nashar, from padang Perut, Terengganu, has been a wireman for the last five years.
Previously, a six-year-old girl was abducted near her flat in Kampung Sepakat on Monday, 7 January 2008 but was found three hours later in Wangsa Maju.
Those with the information about her whereabout could contact her father Mohd Nashar Mat Hussain at 016-258 3450/016-2709096 or call the police at 03-79662222 or Rakan Cop at 03-2115 9999.
Mohd Nashar, from padang Perut, Terengganu, has been a wireman for the last five years.
Sir Edmund Hillary: A Legend
Sir Edmund Hillary, a pioneering conqueror of Everest, dies at 88 today. He together with his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, won worldwide acclaim on May 29, 1953 by becoming the first to scale the 29,035-foot summit of Mount Everest.
Edmund Percival Hillary was born on July 20, 1919, in Tuakau, near Auckland, the son of Percival Augustus Hillary and Gertrude Clark Hillary. His father, originally a journalist, was a commercial beekeeper, and Edmund and a younger brother, Rexford, worked on the family farm.
In more than five decades since the first successful climb of Mount Everest, more than 3,000 people have reached the summit of Everest, while more than 200 have died in the attempt, 8 of them in 1996 expedition that was savaged by a blizzard and chronicled in 'Into Thin Air" (Jon Krakauer, Villard Books, 1997).
Sir Edmund is a lanky New Zealand mountaineer stood at 6 feet 5 inches. He as a tough, rawboned with a long leathery and wrinkled face, intelligent and unsophisticated man with tigerish confidence on a mountain but little taste for formal social doings.
Sir Edmund and Mr. Norgay were part of a Royal Geographical Society-Alpine Club expedition led by Col. Henry Cecil John Hunt - a siege group that included a dozen climbers, 35 Sherpa guides and 350 porters carrying 18 tons of food and equipment. Their route was the treacherous South Tor, facing toward Nepal.
Edmund loved climbing and at the age of 16 spent a weekend on Mount Ruapehu, a 9,175-foot dormant volcano in New Zealand. Each year after that he climbed New Zealand's Southern Alps.
He attended public schools in Auckland and Auckland University, and served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II. After the war he resumed climbing seriously, taking instruction from leading alpinists and specializing in ice-climbing techniques. In 1950, he climbed in the Swiss Alps and got to know British mountaineers with Himalayan experience. The next year he joined a New Zealand expedition and climbed peaks of more than 20,000 feet in Nepal.
Sir Eric Shipton, the veteran Himalayan climber, took him on an expedition to reconnoiter the south face of Everest. Sir Edmund performed so well that he was invited to join the 1952 British expedition to Cho Oyu, which tested high-altitude equipment. As his reputation grew, Colonel Hunt chose him as a member of the 1953 expedition that conquered Everest.
Sir Edmund wrote or co-authored 13 books. His famous autobiography quoted in "Nothing Venture, Nothing Win" (1975, Hodder & Stoughton). His other book about the Antarctic expedition is "No Latitude for Error" (1961, Hodder & Stoughton).
Reference "New York Times (January 10, 2008)"
Edmund Percival Hillary was born on July 20, 1919, in Tuakau, near Auckland, the son of Percival Augustus Hillary and Gertrude Clark Hillary. His father, originally a journalist, was a commercial beekeeper, and Edmund and a younger brother, Rexford, worked on the family farm.
In more than five decades since the first successful climb of Mount Everest, more than 3,000 people have reached the summit of Everest, while more than 200 have died in the attempt, 8 of them in 1996 expedition that was savaged by a blizzard and chronicled in 'Into Thin Air" (Jon Krakauer, Villard Books, 1997).
Sir Edmund is a lanky New Zealand mountaineer stood at 6 feet 5 inches. He as a tough, rawboned with a long leathery and wrinkled face, intelligent and unsophisticated man with tigerish confidence on a mountain but little taste for formal social doings.
Sir Edmund and Mr. Norgay were part of a Royal Geographical Society-Alpine Club expedition led by Col. Henry Cecil John Hunt - a siege group that included a dozen climbers, 35 Sherpa guides and 350 porters carrying 18 tons of food and equipment. Their route was the treacherous South Tor, facing toward Nepal.
Edmund loved climbing and at the age of 16 spent a weekend on Mount Ruapehu, a 9,175-foot dormant volcano in New Zealand. Each year after that he climbed New Zealand's Southern Alps.
He attended public schools in Auckland and Auckland University, and served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II. After the war he resumed climbing seriously, taking instruction from leading alpinists and specializing in ice-climbing techniques. In 1950, he climbed in the Swiss Alps and got to know British mountaineers with Himalayan experience. The next year he joined a New Zealand expedition and climbed peaks of more than 20,000 feet in Nepal.
Sir Eric Shipton, the veteran Himalayan climber, took him on an expedition to reconnoiter the south face of Everest. Sir Edmund performed so well that he was invited to join the 1952 British expedition to Cho Oyu, which tested high-altitude equipment. As his reputation grew, Colonel Hunt chose him as a member of the 1953 expedition that conquered Everest.
Sir Edmund wrote or co-authored 13 books. His famous autobiography quoted in "Nothing Venture, Nothing Win" (1975, Hodder & Stoughton). His other book about the Antarctic expedition is "No Latitude for Error" (1961, Hodder & Stoughton).
Reference "New York Times (January 10, 2008)"
Tokoh Maal Hijrah
This year national level Tokoh Maal Hijrah is Billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary. Negeri sembilan's Tokoh Maal Hijrah is Malaysia's first man in space, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha. The award was presented by the Yang DiPertuan Besar Tuanku Ja'afar Tuanku Abdul rahman at the Seremban Municipal Council Hall.
According to Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar, his parents taught him to provide for the poor and destitute. His philanthropies values were nurtured from the age of 23 when he started a small business dealing in rice. When he received his first monthly income of RM1,500, his mother has told him to donate half of it to the poor. Today, countless poor people benefited from his Albukhary Foundation. From 1996 t0 2006, his foundation has contributed almost RM1 billion to charity.
His business interests range from trading to banking and port development, are spread throughout the world. He has humanitarian projects in Asia and Africa, including rebuilding the lives of Afghan refugees, Pakistan's earthquake survivors and Indonesia's tsunami victims and is now working to establish an AIDS hospital in Uganda.
Among the Foundation initiatives are the Albukhary Tuition Programme for the poor underachievers and Albukhary Scholarship Programme for poor high achievers.
According to Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar, his parents taught him to provide for the poor and destitute. His philanthropies values were nurtured from the age of 23 when he started a small business dealing in rice. When he received his first monthly income of RM1,500, his mother has told him to donate half of it to the poor. Today, countless poor people benefited from his Albukhary Foundation. From 1996 t0 2006, his foundation has contributed almost RM1 billion to charity.
His business interests range from trading to banking and port development, are spread throughout the world. He has humanitarian projects in Asia and Africa, including rebuilding the lives of Afghan refugees, Pakistan's earthquake survivors and Indonesia's tsunami victims and is now working to establish an AIDS hospital in Uganda.
Among the Foundation initiatives are the Albukhary Tuition Programme for the poor underachievers and Albukhary Scholarship Programme for poor high achievers.
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