Haze

I couldn't take it anymore. For 2 months I've been patient with Indonesian #1 export commodity which is free for all and tax exempted. How does this affecting my life?

1. I travel from Puchong to Bukit Bintang every weekday on a motorcycle. The exhaust fumes from KL's roadusers are enough to tear my lungs apart and I really should skip additional dosage of smog.

2. I can't take decent photographs nowadays. The haze cuts off sunlight, kills small creatures and discourages me from going outdoor.

3. Sports activities might bring illness instead of health.

What on earth are our top leaders doing??? I bet these guys are so comfortable in their climate-controlled office that they dozed off for the past 2 months. What sort of wisdom they are trying to pull that takes so much time? I wonder, maybe there are more people died of respiratory illness due to the haze compared to those linked with SARS and Nipah virus. If mortality is not the suitable yardstick, then how about the medical cost associated with treating our citizen that are inflicted with various illness wrought by the air pollution?

I really could not think of any other issue that is of greater importance and requires such immediate attention as this. While various statements were issued by so many ministries everyday regarding whatsoever news headlines, are they not pale in comparison to how critical the air we are breathing? Well, unless you have a climate-controlled office, vehicle and resident...
Of course there are things that are beyond control. Regulations of La Nina phenomenon and annual monsoon are still out of the reaches of any modern technology. But burning forests and haystacks are purely a matter of choice. A guy took a match and burn something on his land which is supposed to be cleared for upcoming plantation, how difficult is it to figure that out? Those who made such diabolic action should be punished, no matter what series their BMWs are.

Something updated more frequently

I have subscribed to another service which I update more frequently that here- a photoblog at fotopages. While this blog will continue to serve as my bucket of random thoughts, the fotopage is where I stash some IPs of little worth. For some reasons, I am entering a period where thinking is a luxury.

http://tramontina.fotopages.com

It has something like this thing here which happened to lurk near my dad's chili plants.


P/S: Leave comments at the entries to help me gain popularity. I will know who contributes to my quest for fame.

Hiking Gunung Angsi

It has been many many years since I last went for mountain climbing. The last one was in 2002 to Gunung Datuk where I almost surrender less than half-way up due to knee pain. It's the kind one pain that keep on recurring whenever I do something more than walking. For this particular trip I equipped myself with knee braces and some minyak panas. They both really help, a bit.

We went there on Friday night and camped at the Ulu Bendul campsite. Early the next morning (defined as 9am) the hiking started. It was 2 hours of joy and 2 hours of pain. The path was nice since it wasn't raining the day before. Met one tiny leech that landed on my friend's calf, fortunately no other unpleasant encounter.

For nature lover, this is a nice place to go for a walk. You won't see much of exotic animals yet there might be some that can prove to be quite a surprise. Birds are not much in sight. You can hear them chirping but who knows where within the meadows they are hiding. I saw gibbons twice swaying beneath the forest canopy, an enormous caterpillar frozen in time on a tree trunk, some weird-looking insects and colorful fauna.

Malaysian Naturalist

I gave a thought at joining the Malaysian Nature Society. It sounds very enticing, considering I am all for nature conservation movement. Except for some bad habits such as hunting house geckos with my BB gun, I still hold the little kid's passion for preserving a green planet. Not many share this concern as something of a priority though.

Uncontrolled development, waste dumping and unnecessary pollution is rampant. We are slowly, yet conciously, making the planet bleed. Perhaps it is because we don't see what one person can possibly contribute that makes us reluctant to lend any effort to help. Or perhaps we profit more from being ignorant. The most popular reason might be to simply blame it to the relevant authority/NGO/country/guy-next-door. Well, if you picked your current MP and he's thrashing the environment, you are all to be blamed.

In the 21st century, one person can choose to do a lot. Joining an NGO focusing in nature conservation is a big help. It's not just about the membership fee donation, it's more about keeping such movement alive. Stop trashing rivers and picnic sites. We are not doing this for the sake of tourism but as being non-selfish creatures. Humans are not the only ones dwelling these places- plenty of organism infact live there all their life.

If we can work hard to save money for our children's education and future, do have a bit of thought on the earth they will inherit from us. Most of the time, what we need to do is to do nothing. The beetle might not notice your kindness but your breeding line will. This could be your most lucrative investment, the one that shall repent the sins of mankind to mothernature.
http://www.mns.org.my

I found this guy perching near where I parked my car this afternoon. Looking very comfortable there, I just add it to my list of neighbors.

If I can just get a few more species to my circle, then it might fit me as the Druid of Kinrara.

Ahoy, neighbor

For lack of anything else to write here, I'm posting another view of the skinny guy.

I have a new boss and right now we are working on how to achieve synergy. This one looks like a tough one.

Mute neighbor

I kinda like this guy who I saw twice, living at the playground nearby. He doesn't talk much though. In a way, it keeps him safe most of the time. One wrong sound and the last thing you see is the shadow of a predator.