Degeneration-Y

Most people heard of DX (Degeneration-X) who is famous in the WWE. Let's see what's the meaning of "degenerate".
A search online shows the followings:

1. To fall below a normal or desirable state, especially functionally or morally; deteriorate:
2. To decline in quality
3. Having fallen to an inferior or undesirable state, especially in mental or moral qualities.

Whom then represents Generation-Y?

Those born 1982-2000, or 1977-1994, depending on the source, grew up in the 1990s and 2000s.

What are the common things of Gen-Y?

• 97% own a computer
• 97% have downloaded music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
• 94% own a cell phone
• 76% use instant messaging and social networking sites
• 75% of college students have a Facebook profile and most of them check it daily.^[17]
• 60% own some type of portable music and/or video device such as an iPod
• 49% regularly download music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
• 34% use websites as their primary source of news
• 28% author a blog and 44% read blogs
• 15% of IM users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week
• 14% use online purchasing to buy tobacco related products
• 8% have confessed to having an online gaming addiction at some point in their life

Sounds like you, eh?

Our society today, especially the Gen-Ys are declining generally. They are not as smart as those from Gen-X or before, not as rich as them, not as hardworking as them, etc. Maybe the society culture has provide too many temptations for the Gen-Ys that they are easily sidetracked in the things they wanted to achieve.

Many say the economic downturn is nearly as serious as it was in the late 80s but I don't really feel the sense of urgency in the Gen-Ys to start thinking about their future. Their spending power is still great! The Governments around the world must have love them as they are "stimulating" the worlds' economy before it goes to a total standstill.

Maybe we should called them Degeneration-Y instead of Generation-Y? :P

Nobody is exempted from this. So how can the Gen-Y get out of the degeneration? No one has the definite answer but we all do know we need to start reaching them from Internet.

First Dance

My bro and his newly wed wife

07 5512 1013

I got a miss call from this number while I was at my brother's wedding reception. I wondered who would have called me as I don't have any friends in Qld that would call me. Luckily I didn't pick up the phone.

After checking on the Internet, I found that it's from a telemarketing company for a resort called "Wyndham Vacation Resorts". Apparently, they been annoying people by ringing just to see if the number is active. Once confirmed, someone else will ring you to sell a package or something.

Beware people! For more info, go here & here

However, you've gotta admire their guts!

Approved Lies

Ever what which job in the world gives you the authority to lie and not getting penalised for it later? I think it should be the weather forecaster. They can brag about anything and if the weather doesn't change or turn out to be like what they said, most people will just take it as "we can't predict the weather, it's nature course".

Other professions like the fortune tellers, they can tell "lies" and if something didn't happen, they can easily push the blame unto you. You didn't do this, didn't do that, etc. Then again, nobody would really blame them, as they are just trying to earn a living. If you knew they are liars in beginning, why would you seek them in the first place?

In the case of Anwar Ibrahim, who promised a new Malaysia on 16/9/08 but didn't happen, will the public be so unforgiving? With the change of leadership in BN, it only made things a lot harder for Pakatan Rakyat to gain power. Now the long lasting Dr M has also been very active in "guiding" UMNO on the right track. Should the oppositions be worried or be happy about it?

We can see that quite a number of Malaysians are quite upset about the failed takeover of government however, we must be realistic in this case as well. What do you expect PR to do? Get the military in? Go to the Agong and called for emergency meeting? I don't think it's the best way to do it. Furthermore, it's too risky. What if the party hoppers decided against PR in the last minute? Oppositions will be all doomed. I'm sure Anwar would know if today they hop to PR, tomorrow they can hop back to BN. Any party hoppers are not reliable. Then, what's Anwar's strategy but voicing out so loud for everyone in the world to know? Some say it's strategy 29: 树上开花 (Putting flowers on Tree). Why has he failed? Timing is not right. Surely Anwar applied strategy 5: 趁火打劫 (To loot a house on fire), but the fire is not big enough. The political tsunami is not big enough for a government change.

So, we must wait patiently and keep reminding ourselves on how the BN Govt has mistreat us, especially non-malays or non bumis. The journey is hard & long. In the next general election, let's oust BN out once and for all!

Size Matters?

Often we heard of the phrases about "size matters, big is better", etc but is it really so? Without a doubt, generally speaking size does matter. For example, bigger house, bigger car, bigger family, bigger wealth, etc.

However, bigger things also come with bigger disadvantages. How so?

Bigger house = more cleaning up to do, more maintenance, etc

Bigger car = higher petrol consumption, higher road tax, etc

Bigger family = more disputes, more financial burden, etc

Bigger wealth = higher risks of losing it, lost true friendships, etc

So, does that mean we shouldn't go for bigger size? Just be content with smaller things or stick with something that has worked nicely before?

The more important point to consider is whether we are able to handle the consequences or disadvantages of being big or small. Take the CLMC situation for example.

Due to the cultural background of most church members (from Sarawak), they prefer a large group gathering a.k.a Youth Fellowship. Some of the new or first generation church members prefer small group gatherings a.k.a cell groups. So, very often we have "debates" on whether to keep small group or go for the large group gathering methods. Sometimes debate do not go to public but rather toilet-talk (if you know what I mean).

From my point of view, we shouldn't revert to large group gathering methods or stick to the small group methods totally. We should have 1-5 or 1-6 gatherings style. It's known as 1 large group gatherings in every 5 or 6 small group gatherings. The large group shouldn't replace the small group meeting on that week.

This way, we can keep the bond strong for each cell groups as well as the cohesion between cell groups. The large gathering shouldn't be wasted on playing too many games or talk rubbish. It should be used as an opportunity by the pastor or leader to educate the members of the church vision & goals. In the cell groups, members can then apply what they learned from the large group gatherings with the support of all members.

Why couldn't it be a 1-6 for small groups (1 small group in 6 large gatherings), I think the answer is pretty obvious. What are we trying to achieve? An easy way out to the problem of leaders shortage? Building an even stronger inner circle that's indifferent or ignorant to the outside world?

Problems we faced in small group should be addressed properly and solutions must be brainstormed together. However, having said that, those who doesn't have small groups mentality shouldn't be in the leaders circle. They can only cause more harm than good. They should step down from their positions.

Another thing is about getting feedback. Every year we have the committees asking for feedback. What's the purpose of it? Feedback are to be listened to initiate change. If we are not ready for changes, don't bother with feedback. It's just a waste of time. To ask for feedback, you need to know what you want to know about first. Not asking blindly.

Anyway, with the future of CLMC small groups in jeopardy, whoever is the zone leader has a very heavy responsible on his/her hands. May God be with him/her.

New Beginning

Finally, it's all confirmed now. I'll be moving to the Carlton office from 1/12/08. After spending nearly 1.5 years in the Hawthorn area, it's a good time for a change. Probably I might miss all the nice foods on Glenferie Road & Burwood Road but Lygon Street & CBD are not fluke as well!

By the way, my brother is getting married tomorrow! Heard he spent quite a lot on his wedding! Rich guy! Then he's flying straight to Japan for his honeymoon after the night reception.

I haven't had my honeymoon yet, wonder when will I get the chance to go? I'm getting old :S

And by the way, CLMC should be choosing a new zone leader tonight, wonder who will it be?

A Time For Everything

Just as I thought my days are going downhill like the stock market, I found something to keep me rebounded up a bit. Last night and this morning, I spent some quiet time before God as I'm quite lost in terms of directions. Surely enough as usual, my cries didn't go unanswered. God as amazing as He is, give me a direction this morning.

I was reading through the book of Ecclesiastes (傳 道 書 )chapter 3.

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. More

How relief I was upon reading that. There're always a time for everything. I don't have to accomplish everything at once or feel bad about it just because it didn't happen the way it is supposed to be.

A friend of mine also left me the same message in my MSN this morning. I was double confirmed by it. Awesome God, You used others as a communication bridge to others :)

I was also reminded of a story I once heard:

There were 2 farmers praying for rain in their drought areas. Both prayed earnestly, night & day. One of them went out to prepare the field everyday to expect the rain. The other one did nothing but just waits for God to deliver the rain. Now, who is the person with greater faith?

Same principle apply to us as well. When God deliver the rains, are we ready for it? Am I ready for it? Are you ready for it?

I don't know about you but I'm not totally ready yet! I need to spend more time in front of God, seeking His will.

By the way, I saw my new building today. I must say, I'm quite impressed! For more information about it, go here

Mind Vs Heart

These few weeks have been quite a hard time for me. So many changes, trials, temptations, etc.

The hardest probably is the mind vs heart. My heart wanted to do something but my mind is very reluctant or my mind wanted to so something and my heart is reluctant. I'm contradicting myself most of the times. Rev Ha's sermon was a good mirror to my current situation as well. I didn't like what I've turned into.

For example, I wanted to be a cell group leader to help lead the members but my mind is saying no, at least not right now. I wanted to get involved in neighbourhood watch but my mind is saying you can't do it as you don't enough time to commit. I wanted to sponsor a theological student or missionary but my mind says you are poor yourself. I know I wanted to study theology but my heart feels that I'm not ready. My heart wanted to do more for the church, my mind doesn't. Few weeks ago, I've already surfed on SIM website to look for missionary works but my mind is just resisting it. :S

November has been quite a mess for me, spiritually and mentally. Year is ending but what about me? If I'm lucky, a new year awaits then it just go round & round.

Right now, 大局未定, don't know who will be the 龙头 or 君.

Mentally, it's resisting me from doing anything for now, which is not a good feeling as it's suppressing what my heart wanted to do. Answers should be out by this Wednesday and next week though it should all still within expectation.

Will it helped my situation or damage has been done? Can I still regroup & refocus? How well can I fare this spiritual growth challenge? My heart seems willing, but my mind is not willing to. There're still things which I can't let go. It's so hard, so hard.....

大事不妙.......

I guess I need to apply the 36th strategy: 走为上

Why wasting on "No-hopers"

Just read today that the CEO of Harvey Normam has slammed the Australian Charities in "wasting" their donations on no-hopers.

RETAILING billionaire Gerry Harvey has lamented that Australian charity is being wasted on "no-hopers". Asked in a new book about his community role, Mr Harvey said giving to people who "are not putting anything back into the community" is like "helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason".

He said it was arguable that giving charity to the homeless was "just wasted". "It might be a callous way of putting it but what are they doing?" he said. "They are just a drag on the whole community." More

Most people would be shocked to see such statements especially if it comes from the mouth of a billionaire. However, I'm not too surprised. I can see his point and why he's making such "bold" statement.

For those who attended my Sunday School classes before, they also should know the answer to it.

Remember the question: Why a poor people will always be poor no matter how much you have helped them? Giving money, food, shelter, etc etc. For those who know the answer, feel free to post it into the comments.

I guess that's why Mr Harvey is saying they are just a drag the community .

Does that means we shouldn't help those no-hopers? Certainly not, we should help more but in the RIGHT way. What's the right way? Refer to the answer to the above question.

If they can't grasp it, to be honest, I agree with what Mr Harvey said.

How about Jesus? Would he have physically help EVERYONE that he saw? Many would say yes, I said not really. Remember he walks away from crowds that are still waiting for him to perform healing miracles? Same principle here.

Don't Do The Dash!

A woman is dead after a high-speed smash between a commuter train and a car this morning. Emergency crews were greeted by a horrific scene after the woman's small white Hyundai hatchback and a six-carriage Connex train collided near Dandenong at 7.20am.

Victoria Police Acting Inspector Michael Talbot told reporters at the scene the train was travelling at 110 kmh and there were no skid marks to indicate the driver tried to brake. He said investigators were considering several scenarios, including the possibility the female driver was using a phone, blinded by the sun, or simply didn't see the crossing. More

Not the best sight! Just reminds everyone not to do the dash! Don't think you can beat the lights!

It doesn't hurt to wait for 5 minutes unless you wish to see God earlier.

Tang's Storm

Queensland just got hit with the strongest storm in 20 years yesterday, which is coincidentally the day the Tang family visited Gold Coast! He he! You guys sure know how to make an entrance! :P

BRISBANE has been declared a natural disaster area, as soldiers help repair damage caused by one of the biggest storms to hit the city in two decades.

More than 32,000 properties across Brisbane, Redcliffe and the Gold Coast were without power yesterday after Sunday's storm brought hail and wind gusts of up to 130 km/h, unroofed homes and toppled power lines and trees. More

Ms Bligh said some people would not be able to return home for weeks. She also warned of more storms to hit the region on Thursday. The Queensland capital has been declared a natural disaster area, as soldiers help fix damage done by the wild wind and rain. More

The Movieworld & Seaworld trip might be in jeopardy! Hope you guys still can make something out of nothing lah! Most importantly, safe trip!

The place is hit pretty bad. Perhaps you guys can take some photos for us? Don't forget to keep them in our prayers!

Oh by the way, Citibank is going to slash 50,000 jobs worldwide! Crazy! Everyone hold on tight to your job!

Holy Sex Offender?

Let's look at http://truthofgodministries.org. It looks nice & tidy. Nobody would have doubt anything was wrong with it if we don't read carefully. Found an article regarding it today on www.wired.com

A convicted pedophile who turned up in MySpace's 2007 purge of sex offenders faces new charges of bank fraud for allegedly running counterfeit checks through a bank account he established for his online church, TruthOfGodMinistries.org.

It's not clear whether Courtright got any donations from his ersatz missionary work, but the indictment, filed in September in federal court in St. Louis, charges that he used the same computers on which he made child porn to produce $3,100 in counterfeit donation checks payable to his church. In February of last year, he allegedly deposited the checks and cashed them out through ATM and Visa Checkcard transactions before they were rejected.

When Regions Bank asked him about the apparent fraud, he wrote a letter as Pastor Carl assuring the bank that he'd cooperate in the investigation, and was looking forward to a continued business relationship. "Last year alone, our operating budget was $987,436.00," he boasted. More

Guess who is the founder? Pastor Carl A. Courtright a.k.a Carl Courtright III

Ouch! So don't simply believe in everything you see on the Internet! Some may argue and say he's repentant now but I wouldn't be so sure.

Another nice example of how God & religion has been abused by people for their own benefits.

By the way, we always think that Christianity has lots of cults & sects. What about others? Saw an Islam cult today from The Star newspaper.

Among the teachings of this cult is that the more members they pull in, the more solat (prayers) they can “settle”. Members would not need to pray or fast as they were considered “pure” for following in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad. However, new members are required to pay RM2,000 each to the preacher to help them settle the prayers they need replaced. A follower who only wanted to be identified as Norah said members who did not bring in more members were labelled as “great sinners. The preacher asked me how many sins I had, and I said ‘a lot’. After calculating, he said the amount I had to pay was RM28,800. How­ever, I was given a discount. So I only had to pay RM2,000,” she said.

Norah said the cult had ambitions of setting up a true Islamic government known as the Mahad Al-Zaiton in Indonesia by 2015. More

This cult uses a tactic like "direct sales" method, which is quite creative! Heheh! Similar method has also been used by Christians in the dark ages.

The question for intellect Christians out there would be: why would we see cults in other religions as well?

Give you a clue to where the question is heading: As Jesus said, "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?"

Melbourne Snapshot

Melbourne is not so boring after all. Let's look some of the things happening around us lately:

MELBURNIANS could soon be subject to tough new daily water limits under a State Government plan to curb use. It is believed individuals would be asked to limit water use to 155 litres a day; average use is now 165 litres a person a day. The plan is expected to be similar to a Queensland campaign known as Target 170, which requires southeast Queenslanders to limit their water use to 170 litres a person a day.

If water use exceeds that level, a notice is sent, along with an information package on tips to save water. If a household continues to exceed the required levels, an explanation is required. An outdoor water use ban can be imposed if the usage is not justified. More

155 litres per day should be quite reasonable. In my household, there're 4 people at the moment so that would be around 620 litres per day. Well, according to our water bills, we are using about 800 litres per day! Guess we should be cutting down on our usage! Mainly, I believe comes from long shower times and washing machine! Summer is coming, so we might take showers twice a day! Ops!

Having said that, commercial & industrial plants uses a lot more water than residential. I don't think they'll want to limit it, as it could slow or half productions. Wait a minute! World economy is slowing down, so productions might slowed down itself! :D

Australia is one of the driest continent in the world, so they might need to think of other plans in the long term. Built more dams, catch the rain water, convert sea water, or something? Huge investments are needed here. Maybe learn from Singapore?
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MORE than 60 people a week faced losing their homes last month after being served home repossession orders. In a sign that financial hardship has overwhelmed many struggling families, a record 277 repossession orders were served in October, compared with an average of about 250 for the year. It is about three times the number served on home owners five years ago. More

We have lots of homelessness people out there, now people are also forced out of their homes! Renting prices haven't drop as well and not likely to within the next 24 months. The cycle is go round & round!

The rich will be richer, the poor will be poorer. The world is heading towards globalization but the people is heading towards individualism. Greed will always win over mercy. I wouldn't dare to imagine 100 or even 50 years later what would the world become? Remember the days of Noah, where God has to destroy everything and "restart" it? It could almost be the same scenarios! The Second Coming sounds familiar to you?
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A FAST-moving storm has caused disruptions across the city this morning, affecting train timetables and traffic lights with lightning strikes. Authorities have warned motorists to take extra care, with traffic lights disrupted at many junctions and deep water lying across roads throughout the state. Train services were disrupted across the city during peak hour with Sydenham the worst-affected line. More

That's why you love Melbourne! Few days it's hot like sauna, then suddenly it's cold like winter! It's a glad relief anyway to get the rain today. At least it cools off the weekends for us! The summer is expected to be HOT! So brace yourselves!

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Melbourne's inner city suburbs would have a blanket 40kmh speed limit under a plan being pushed by three councils and health groups. The invite to the Safe Speed Forum features a 30kmh zone sign, suggesting the group behind the meeting ultimately wants a 20kmh reduction in the current speed limit. Members of the Safe Speed Interest Group include the City of Yarra, City of Melbourne and City of Port Phillip.

Sigh, as if the traffic is not slow enough these days! Thanks to the peak hour traffic! Sometimes cycling can be faster. Should teach those pedestrian how to cross the roads, not slowing down drivers to cover for the mistakes made by pedestrians. Build more walking paths, more crossings, etc.

The world needs to go faster, not slower. What's the point of building high powered car when you can only go 40km/h? Better introduce trishaws? It's slow enough, safe enough and environmental friendly!! By the way, it could be good for Australians as we are generally obese.

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Badminton for Saturday & Sunday! Woohoo! Can't wait for it! Then my parents are here.

Kingdom of YHWH

Sometimes we don't know whether we should be happy or unhappy that some groups are just so into Jesus or YHWH (aka Yahweh, Jehovah). Lately, a sect called "Kingdom of Yahweh" has made headlines in the Melbourne Northern suburbs.

A CULT calling itself the Kingdom of Yahweh is defying state laws, driving illegally, faking number plates and allegedly planning to obtain firearms. It's been reported they refuse to provide police with names and addresses and have sent affidavits to authorities saying they do not have to pay for driver's licences or registration fees.

There have also been suggestions that some of the group's fake number plates are booby-trapped, with a police officer injured while trying to remove one of them recently. They claim they have their own laws and this is the way they're going to live. More

Obviously these dudes are twisting what I called the "common & standard" understanding of Christianity faith. I don't think they are huge fans of Jesus either because what they claimed are contradicting with the Bible and Jesus' words.

For example, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" and "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right."

It's amazing they still have followers behind them as well even with such false teachings. The true and sound teachings are no longer of interests to many. Partly because those who follow the true teachings do not act like a follower of one. The standard and teachings are too often compromised to win the heart of people rather than God.

So, since the "true" and "false" teachings are irrelevant and no longer for God, they rather choose something that gives them advantages compared with others. The "true" gospel doesn't seems to deliver each time (maybe like Poslaju :P), while the "false" ones delivers like DHL! Why wouldn't you go for better & more reliable service? It's the survival of the winners these days.

Let us who claimed to be mainstream Christianity people don't just put the blame on them or labeled them as anti-Christ or evil sects but look inside ourselves first. Are we not to blame for their existence as well? As in the bible, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? If we have done our parts well, surely, there'll be less people who are interested in those false teachings. Not saying there'll not be anymore cults but a lot less than today.

God's words are perfect, but the doer of God's words are pathetic which strays them away. From Bishops to theological students, lay leaders to congregational members, if we don't re-examine ourselves, we're not much different to them.

Be courageous to face our failures & mistakes, be bold to initiate change.

National Recycling Week

Yes, it's the National Recycling Week this week (10th-16th November) for most of us who have no idea at all. It's time for us to raise more awareness towards our planet earth and how we have damaged it instead of being a good caretaker of it.

Our Social Concerns group just reported 10 huge things to be done and one of them includes recycling. However, no mention about National Recycling Week at all? Perhaps they didn't know?

Anyway, let us as a church set an example in recycling to help save our planet. Just look at how many papers we wasted each week for the bulletins, Methodist News, etc. We should have recycling habits in our homes as well. Let's all try to start TODAY.
For more information, refer to http://recyclingweek.planetark.org

Heal The World

Movember Fund Raising

Few weeks ago, I've posted that I'll be doing a fund raising for Prostate cancer & male depression research.

After growing my mustache for 10 days, it hasn't grown much! Well, I'm not those hairy type! :P

Here's a photo of it:
Again people, You can donate on http://www.movember.com.au. If you do it online, you can pay via credit card or PayPal.
My ID is #1663391
First Name: Shawn
Last Name: Lu

So far, I've only received $10.00. Ha ha! Keep it up people~! By the way, donations are tax deductible if over $2! So rich guys & girls, help minimize your tax by donating for charity!

p/s: I need to shave it before 16th as my parents are coming. Don't want to shock them! :P

Unchristian-like Christians

And these people are supposed to be holier than thou type!

GREEK Orthodox and Armenian worshippers have traded blows in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christian denominations jealously protect their hold over areas of the traditional site of Jesus' crucifixion.
Israeli police went into the shrine, which faithful also believe contains the tomb of Jesus, to restore order.
Two clerics were arrested.

Dozens of worshippers, dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, traded kicks and punches, knocking down tapestries and toppling decorations at the site in Arab east Jerusalem.

The brawl erupted during the Feast of the Cross, a ceremony in which the Armenian community commemorates what it believes was the fourth century discovery of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.

Fights are not uncommon in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre among the representatives of Christian denominations who are responsible for maintaining its different chambers. Source

Shame on them!

Perhaps that's the reason why nobody would know the exact location of the burial as everyone would have idolized it today instead of worshiping the One that has risen!

Sadly, these so called "holy people" are fighting over it today. Sounds more like extremist or "over-zeal"? I wonder what Jesus would be thinking about them right now.

S-H-A-M-E

Funny...

真猪


Part 2: "Don't waste, according to the law, must finish your food or I saman you"


Part 3: "1 table 4 chairs, not 3 chairs. Don't play play with me!"


Reason why ABC would go under

Larger Than Life

It seems that I've underestimated our Social concern groups in my previous postings. Tonight during the service, they mentioned 10 things that they wanted to do. Some includes eradicate poverty, reform the health care system, fight for injustice, combat racism, tackle homelessness issues, etc. Perhaps Kevin Rudd should think of employing them?

They are basically "Larger than life". What I think made them even larger is they claimed that we can do it as long as we unite as a church. Maybe they are belittling the global problems that we have at the moment or their faith is even stronger than Apostle Peter.

The mighty Bu Pyeong Methodist Church in Korea wouldn't even declare to solve any one of the problems mentioned above by themselves nor even thinking to do it by themselves. Even developed countries like USA or Australia dare not. However, CLMC has the "greatness" to make such bold claim. How great thou art!

Bu Pyeong Methodist Church understands the seriousness of the problems and how big the scale of the problems are! Hence, they have been seeking partnership in tackling these issues. They seek partnership from other Annual Conferences, churches & non profit organisations.

For CLMC's Social Concern, what are their plans for the coming years? Will we see CLMC extending or accepting more partnership in ministries soon? Will it be another empty greatness talk or will we finally see some serious commitments to tackle the above 10 matters?

一生绝望

Very meaningful song.

How many times have songs been sung to deaf ears? No matter how nice the songs are, most people never catch the main points. They are too immersed into themselves than absorbing from others.

Summer time is just around the corner, for some people, this time may be the last time we ever see them again. What will happen next year? Nobody knows!

One thing for sure, by the rate things are going, the title above says it all.

Celebrity Politicians

First it was the Terminator who became the mayor for California, who eventually voted as the top 100 people who help shaped the world. Nobody would have expected that when he was first voted into office. Good job!

Now, we have Kevin Johnson, former Phoenix Suns player, voted as the first black mayor of Sacramento, creating history together with Obama! Kevin has more a conservative social Democrat views. Let's see what's so special about Kevin:

In Phoenix, as president and CEO of The Kevin Johnson Corporation, Johnson oversees the operations of several subsidiary organizations specializing in real estate development and management, sports management, and business acquisition. A key component of The Kevin Johnson Corporation includes appearances and public speaking engagements for corporations, academic institutions, and community organizations. Johnson founded the St. Hope Academy in 1989 and served as its CEO until January 2008. St. HOPE is a nonprofit community development corporation whose mission is to revitalize communities through public education, civic leadership, economic development and the arts.

Johnson is a 2000 graduate of the Harvard Divinity School Summer Leadership Institute, a program that prepares students for work in faith-based urban economic revitalization. He also has a B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley that he completed after his initial retirement from the NBA.

In 2003, St. HOPE formed St. HOPE Public Schools, a pre-K-12 independent charter school system that provides education to nearly 2,000 students in seven small schools.^[3][4][5][6]

I believe Kevin Johnson's character is also mimic into a character in Slam Dunk, Ryota Miyagi (宮城良田)!

Anyway, with celebrities becoming politicians, who's next? Many think Paris Hilton! Oh My.....

Standard Singaporean

Standard Singaporean!

Finally.....

Finally, RPK is released from ISA detention today. Justice has prevail?

Finally, we see some "actions" from the Social Concerns committee from CLMC. Donating 2nd hand goods & non perishable food this coming Sunday. (Sometimes one have to wonder why they even create a position in the committee just for one event for the whole year? It's not as if it's a SUPER BIG event).

Finally, it's Friday! Will we witness another Monopoly game tonight? We shall wait & see......

Will U Plz Shut Up?

Thanks to the ever growing modern technology, now you can use your Blackberry or mobile phone on certain Malaysia Airlines flight! I believe it's the first in the world for any airlines to allow the use of mobile phones on board.

PETALING JAYA: Passengers travelling on certain Malaysia Airlines flight will be able to use their mobile phones and Blackberry devices effective immediately.

MAS has teamed up with AeroMobile, the world’s leading in-flight mobile phone operator, to become the first carrier in Asia to offer inflight mobile phone and data services.

The lightweight system was installed on one MAS Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The service will cover selected European routes, Australia, and across the Asian region including China and Japan. More

The main reason for not allowing the use of mobile phones on flight is not because of "safety- it might affect navigation panels and computers in the cockpit". It was mainly the cost of international roaming and also messing up the billing system for the mobile provider!

Do they really think we can be fooled that even up to today's technology the Boeing & Airbus planes couldn't come up with a technology to shield the cockpit from the mobile interference? What's the difference between using a mobile while inside the plane body and inside the departure hall (normally staffs workers who is on mobile chatting)? Will the mobile wave recognizes that "oh, you're in the plane body, so I'm going to interfere with the system. Oh I'm in the building, so I can't interfere"? It doesn't make sense. (Maybe I'm ignorant..haha). I'm not denying the mobile radiowave can affect the systems or 2-way radios used by pilots though. I'm just saying, they should have figured out how to shield radiowave from the cockpit.

Imagine the plane traveling at nearly 900-1000KM/hr, how many different satellites or mobile exchange towers would it have gone through in just a minute? Not sure? Say you travel in your car, if your mobile shows you which areas you are in, it'll display the mobile exchange you are using. For example, "Melbourne, Carlton, Royal park, Footscray, etc". How fast can you switch from different exchange to another? That's travelling at an average speed of 60KM/hr. Imagine how messed the system would be with 200 travellers cruising at 1000KM/hr with their mobiles on. If the exchanges are all local to a single operator, it's fine but not international unless prior agreements were made.

In addition, mobile companies say using phones on planes can play havoc with their ground networks, because the antennae can't cope with relaying the signal from a phone which is travelling at 500mph. More

Hence why this part explains it all:

All four Malaysian mobile operators have agreed to allow their customers to roam internationally on board the aircraft and users would be billed on their regular phone bills as with any other international roaming call.

The GPRS data feature exploits AeroMobile’s unique capability to operate BlackBerry and other e-mail services using Inmarsat’s Swift64 satellite system, which has been added to the trial B777 aircraft.

Sounds amazing huh? NOT. Imagine all the uncles & aunties chit chatting with their kids, talking loudly, non-stop all the way through your flight! How are you going to sleep? Have your peace & quiet enjoyment? Nowadays, for a few babies on board, you'd be scare of not getting any sleep. What about 200 travellers talking on their mobile? Ok, maybe it's over exaggerating, let say 20% talks on their mobile? That's also 40 people talking! Imagine in a tram where only 1 or 2 people talk on their mobile, how annoying can it be? Everyone would look at the person straight into the eye, some may even "SSshhhHHhhh"!

I would be really worried next time I get on a MAS airplane from Melbourne! 7 hours of annoying chit chatting & ringtones! Maybe even repeating the same thing, "I'm on a plane". Sigh....Perhaps MAS should create a special room to talk mobiles in! Like how they did for smokers.

MAS is still struggling to be a profit making airline. Will this move gives more advantage to MAS or disadvantage? With more passengers more concerned about safety & comfort, I believe this will strongly disadvantage MAS.

The Return of Monopoly

Arguably one of the most popular board games of all time, Monopoly. One would have thought only kids play that game, I mean I played it when I was like 9 years of age! I still remember the days playing against my cousins in a small town called Mukah. Who would have thought of playing the actual board game again? I have played the computer version of Monopoly last year but got bored as computer AI is still not as smart! So I've unistalled it.Until recently, thanks to one of our cell group members named Betty (the self proclaimed, cutest of em' all), she bought a new version of the Monopoly (World Edition). She was quite desperate to play the game each time. Pity Ye Seng who has to accompany her to play the game most of the time (also letting her build hotels, houses, etc and let her win the game :P)

So, as her group mates in the small group as well as the Friday gatherings, we decided to play the game as well. My oh my, it has since become an addiction for us!! For the past 2 weeks, every Friday & Saturday we would stay back after the gatherings to play monopoly! It normally ended around 1-2am! Even during exam periods!

Each time we have different winners, but normally the interesting thing is finding out who the loser is! Maybe it was due to me who during our 1st game mentioned that I'd never lose a monopoly game before, so they all wanted to see me lose! Bugger! I lost on the first night! Went bankrupt after hitting "Paris" with 3 houses I think. Then the cute Nexus who was the victor also lost on other nights. He only managed to buy 2 land titles and was hoping to lose 1/4 way through! By the way, Betty always seems to get the "Free parking" to collect all the taxes! Don't know how she does it, EVERYTIME! A bit unfair...:P
Betty
Nexus

Anyway, next time if we do play, I'll be the banker. I'm going to change the rules a little bit to add more spice into the game! Maybe we could have recession periods, booming periods, land prices falls, auction of land titles, lower interest rate loans for players, etc! It could be more fun!!

Ladies & gentlemens, get your dice ready! A new & improved monopoly will be on the way!

危机

About 2 weeks ago, in my post I mentioned about 危机, where it means in time of crisis, there're opportunities. Was just browsing through Jeff Ooi's blog today and I found the same thing too. It was used by one of the South Korean ministers to describe the Penang Government.

Indeed, a South Korean minister expressed his surprise that Penang was bold in looking out for opportunities within crisis times. The Chinese phrase "wei ji" ( 危机）, which was inferred to by Korea's First Deputy Minister of Tourism, Sports and Culture, precisely denotes that there are ample opportunities in the midst of crisis. More

It seems that the Koreans have mastered the ancient strategy well. What used to belong to the Chinese, now the Chinese couldn't grapse it well. Let's look at what our M'sian Chinese politician has to say about it:

Gerakan vice-president Huan Cheng Guan questioned the effectiveness of the trip, saying the state government could not even solve the financial crisis faced by the Football Association of Penang or hold a successful cultural expo at the Penang Pesta site. “The Koreans are now busy rescuing their own companies; do you think they have time for us? (Chief Minister) Lim Guan Eng should take care of his own backyard and ensure that everything is in order before leaving the country,” he added. More

Just compare at the different mentality between the two. One view the opportunity that exists, one view that it's a total waste of resources. According to Jeff Ooi, Huan Cheng Guan is a MBA holder! Some has to wonder which University did he get it from??

Maybe Huan is just trying to be an opportunist to play political game to attack the Penang State Government but without realising it, he has made himself a laughing stock to others. I guess that's the common standards for them. Shame on them!

What about us, the normal citizens? Are we in the same boat or worse of? I sincerely hope not. Let's learn to grasp some of the basic knowledge of survival and success. Do not be satisfied too easily. Aim higher in knowledge! The Koreans are a very poor country but they are able to develop so fast because they uses their brains a lot. If they are not using their brains, they would have been much worse off than what they are today. We thank God for that.

The key question for us: What can we do in time of crisis?

Discounts & Freebies!

FREE small slurpee on Friday 7th November, 2008 from 7am – 11pm @ 7-Eleven

FREE SMALL SLURPEE* ON 7-ELEVEN DAY

Just wish your local 7-Eleven store operator a ‘Happy 7-Eleven Day’ on Friday 7th of November and a free Slurpee is all yours!

*Limit of 1 FREE small Slurpee per person per store. Offer limited from 7am – 11pm on Friday 7th November, 2008

http://www.slurpee.com.au/

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AirAsia X turns ONE - Melbourne-KL ($182), Perth-KL ($157), Gold Coast-KL ($171)

Booking starts tonight (12 AM Msian time, 1 AM Perth, or 3 AM Melbourne)

Booking Period : 4 Nov 2008 - 9 Nov 2008
Travel Period : 1 Aug 2009 - 24 Oct 2009

The fare quoted is one way and includes tax and surchages, valid for both outbound and inbound.

As usual, add ons (baggage, meals, choice of seats) are extra. But it’s still damn cheap.

Connect to other destinations across Asia from AirAsia hub, Kuala Lumpur.
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Let's all get slurpy this Friday, yeah?

Facebook-ing

People always say that if you been to China but not the Great Wall (万里长城), you haven't been to China yet. In the Internet these days, if you don't have a Facebook account, you haven't really seen the Internet yet!
Facebook claimed to have over 100Million users worldwide, with numbers increasing by the minutes! Sounds all good yeah?

Well, things could backfired sometimes. Let's look at some of the recent news:

Virgin Atlantic has sacked 13 of its cabin staff after they criticised the airline and some of its passengers on social networking website Facebook. More

More than a hundred gatecrashers wrecked a family home after a teenager's house party was advertised on the Facebook social website. One partygoer said: "It got out of control. "People were having sex in bedrooms, smoking cannabis and wrecking the front garden." More

Kyle Doyle, a 21-year-old resolutions expert for telecommunications firm AAPT, bragged about his day off on the social networking site while telling his employer he was away for "medical reasons". But he was found out when his boss spotted this Facebook profile update on the day in question, August 21: "Kyle Doyle is not going to work, f*** it I'm still trashed. SICKIE WOO!" More

There're many more of these cases where someone has been caught by their employer. So, updating your status in Facebook at the wrong time may result in serious consequences! A lot of companies have started to "ban" Facebook at work citing reasons of distractions, etc.

On the other hand, banning Facebook, Myspace or Hotmail may backfire at the employers in the long run. By cutting communication or social networking in an ever growing IT dependent society may not be the best move. In fact, employers should start looking into ways to incorporate the free service to their advantage! Perhaps increasing communication & improving relationships between staff members, get more "life" into their 9-5 routine, etc. After all, working is about having fun and enjoying what you are doing.

By the way, I know quite a few companies especially in Singapore have used MSN Messenger as a communication tools for their staffs. Cost effective! As long as they can deliver the results, why not? Companies can set guidelines to those networking websites or tools, but banning it without full understanding might do more harm than good in the long run.

Anyway, boys & girls, if you are dating secretly, may be wise not to add your parents or relatives into your Facebook! You might just need to explain your case sooner than expected. He he!

Thoughts Of The Day

The world is really not fair. Why do people always need to clear up the mess created by others? I was told again today by Oliver that I was "demanded" to present myself again on Wednesday Prayer meeting to share the Korea experience. Anyway, the sharing has already been posted here.

Now, I have to call the person in charge to tell them I'm not going to be present on Wednesday night, not the easiest thing to do. Since "no" is not an acceptable answer, normally. However, might get an exception this time as they must have think that I'm hopeless by now! Hehehe!

The problem now is, why do I have to clear the mess that others brought up? I NEVER promised to share it during Wednesday PM in the first place. Then somehow, a second promise were made to others again, but not made by myself. Someone did it on my behalf without my consent but everyone is asking me to be responsible in this matter. I was like, "What? It's not my problem!!". The world is so unfair!

Call me selfish, inconsiderate, irresponsible or whatever but I just don't feel like sharing it during Wed PM. Call me a pessimist but I think sharing it on Wed wouldn't help anyone at all. Enough said.

By the way, tonight (Sunday) sermon by Rev Loi was OK, regarding lukewarm Christians. However, the explanations regarding the lukewarm water that has Calcium Bicarbonate and unsafe for drinking, that I have serious doubts. I'm not a scientist or chemical expert, but I think to claim that lukewarm water is undrinkable due to the substance it has is invalid.

Water naturally contains a range of trace substances at levels which are suitable for drinking – indeed many of these substances are actually essential for health. Calcium and magnesium are naturally occurring minerals is found, for example, in limestone and chalk rock. Both, but particularly calcium, contribute to the natural hardness of water. They are essential elements for health.More about water quality

What's lukewarm temperature? Basically, it's just slightly above room temperature, not too hot, not too cold. So I would say about 30 degrees. Isn't most the water we drank are lukewarm? We don't normally drink hot or cold water unless you are making special drinks like Milo or Ice milk tea. So by saying lukewarm water contains calcium bicarbonate and unsafe, we might as well not be drinking any "normal" water. Maybe someone with knowledge on this can correct me? Or it could be I heard wrong during the sermon.

Let's look at some of the benefits of drinking different temperatures of water:

Hot water: When toxin in the body goes up, the body concentrates them in the liver lymph system, intestines and skin to speed up their excretion. But the problem is toxins can make our metabolism slow. That is where the hot water does its work. By flooding the GI tract with heat, it stimulate peristalsis-muscle contractions that encourages the movement of toxins from the liver and lymph system into the digestive tract, therefore speeding their elimination from the body. Hot water also makes your pores open, which can allow stored toxins in the skin tissue to evaporate into the air.

Lukewarm water: When you drink lukewarm water you will feel full quickly. As soon as the water enters the stomach, the organ registers fullness more quickly than with hot or cold water. This makes the stomach expand rapidly, stimulating the brain's nerve to turn off hunger pangs. Room temperature water is also more rapidly absorbed by the stomach lining, so it doesn't stall the digestive process the way hot or cold liquids can.

Cold water: When you drink cold water your metabolism becomes 3% faster within 10 minutes of finishing a glass of cold water, and it stays elevated for 30minutes more says an expert. The reason here is that your body has to work harder to heat the cold water before it can be absorbed and used by the cells.