Memory of 2010

As a wannabe runner, I resumed my exercise after getting clearance from the doctor since the bike related injury that broke my right scapula. Almost 1 year ago 9/dec/2009.

That was about Feb'2010. The first ever running event was sort of a bandit run at Energizer 10K event. Never in my life that I ran more than 8k before the race. I can still remember that I tried to chase down Miss Jewel to say hi when I saw her overtook me, what a futile effort. Haha. No medal for that event, I didn't bother to queue up to get it. Didn't know anybody then except Boon which we got separated half way.

The most memorable half marathon will have to be Standard Chartered KL marathon. That was by far the most enjoyable run, felt really good during the run and can feel that I can go on and on and on. Something just click during the run. Breathing was regular, no cramp, perfect weather, plenty of water station and nice route.

The most suffering run will have to be the Singapore Newton 30k run, also my first ever outside Klang Valley and outside Malaysia run. Needed that to build up the mileage towards the full marathon. Got sucked into the face paced runners at the first loop and burned out at around 13k, and then it was run walk till the end. Not an enjoyable event, but learned the most about running preparation and strategy.

The longest sporting event will have to be the Ipoh Century ride. 168km of pedaling. It should be an enjoyable ride with some tough hill climbs, but due to the lack of training and the lost of confidence since the bike accident, I was really suffered during the hill climb. But I finished it, which to me is one of the biggest achievement of 2010.

The longest run ever for 2010 will be the Penang Bridge International Marathon, 42.195km of running. After more than 1 month, I am still amazed about finishing the run. Considering how out of shape i was in the first 40 years of my life, still out of shape now :)

Overall, my journey to completing the first full marathon was considered well planned, the mileage gradually got increased, and that helped in getting me to the finish line.

Moving forward to 2011, return to cycling, get into the pool more, and run smarter, not more.

I miss Genting Sempah, i miss FRIM. :)

Felt healthier is the best result. All the medal, certificate cannot replace that.

My 2011 weekly training schedule

Sunday : Morning Cycling (outdoor) or LSD run or Brick (7m30/km)

Monday : Evening RPM challenge (manulife)

Tuesday : Morning BodyPump Class (manulife).

Wednesday : Morning speed run treadmill at gym (5m/km)

Thursday : Evening swimming

Friday : Morning Hill run (8min/km) at Bukit Damansara

Saturday : Rest day and/or stretching

Tentative plan. Need more thinking about it.

why am i an atheist?

Why don't I believe in God? No, no no, why do YOU believe in God? Surely the burden of proof is on the believer. You started all this. If I came up to you and said, "Why don't you believe I can fly?" You'd say, "Why would I?" I'd reply, "Because it's a matter of faith". If I then said, "Prove I can't fly. Prove I can't fly see, see, you can't prove it can you?" You'd probably either walk away, call security or throw me out of the window and shout, ''F—ing fly then you lunatic."

- Ricky Gervais

Great quote

"Coming to work with a sense of urgency about what we are doing. I mean, even if it seems like a simple task kind of day-to-day basis, getting it done is the thing that lays the groundwork for everyone else to do the other things that they are doing that it all adds up to something huge." Mark Z.

Borrowed from Run Kooky Run blog at http://run-kooky-run.blogspot.com/2010/11/work-wednesday.html

PBIM 2010 Result

No point talking about how happy, unhappy, satisfied, pissed off with the result. It is over, moving forward.

So, result is out, pretty fast. 

C Category Result : Full Marathon Men Veteran

Placing in the category : 371/422 (Bottom 13% of the age group, ouch!!)

Placing overall : 890/1067 (Bottom 16% of all men. double ouch!!)

Official Time : 6h12m14s

Net time : 6h11m5s

Garmin time : 6h11m7s (very close, i am impress)

And now, the weird distance marker timing by the organizer

3.7km : 28m50s

18.7km : 2h27m47s

21.1km : 2h52m31s

33km : 4h44m38s

37.8km : 5h29m51s

According to my Garmin and in the bracket are the pace that i should follow to get 5h30m, looks like i still need more training on endurance and speed. around 20k is the time that i lost the pacer and my pace slacking. 

5k : 36m58s (39m06s)

10k : 1h15m22s (1h18m12s)

15k : 1h55m25s (1h57m18s)

20k : 2h39m20s (2h36m24s)

25k : 3h25m28s (3h15m31s)

30k : 4h11m52s (3h54m37s)

35k : 5h0m30s (4h33m43s)

40k : 5h49m12s (5h12m49s)

What is good?

1. I ran most of the time, very brief walk at the water station

2. No cramp, probably enough of hydration and salt

3. Giving out water bottle (just nice to drop a nuun tablet in)

4. Enough fueled, took 1 Gu gel 15 minutes before the run and then 1 every 1 hour. The last one almost make me puke

What is bad?

1. No banana by the time i hit the u-turn at the Jelutong highway

2. Not enough water station at the Jelutong highway, despite of the feedback during the runner session briefing at Crystal Crown.

3. What happen to corn starch cup? I tot i can get some extra nutrient :)

4. Traffic control for the fun run

Targeting 5h15m for my next FM. when leh huh? 

My home made pace band

A valuable advice from a much better runner also called Khoo.

I made  this and will be wearing this during my run to meditate on during the long and numbing run.

http://www.marathonguide.com/fitnesscalcs/PaceBandCreator.cfm

5h30m, some consider very slow, but hey, I am not competing with you. I am trying to get to the finishing line.

This is my planned pace for PBIM

Did some magic on the excel spreadsheet (I still hate Micrisoft).

Here is the plan.

First quarter: 7m30s pace

Second quarter : 7m40s pace

Third quarter : 7m50s pace

Last quarter : 8m pace

Check point for every 5km

5km : 37m

10km : 1h15m

15km : 1h53m

20km : 2h31m

25km : 3h10m

30km : 3h50m

35km : 4h30m

40km : 5h10m

FM : <5h30m

Guess not :)

DiGi iPhone 4 Real

First and foremost, the flexibility, I can start low and upgrade as the need arises. Which is so much better than other option.

By migrating my current Celcom subscription to Digi, it will save at least RM100/month.

And the zero interest easy payment plan will be very popular among the people.

But the main reason I love Digi iPhone 4 plan is the transparency. Nothing is hidden and the consumer knows what he/she is getting. Even the exist clause is included in the T&C.

DiGi iPhone 4 Play

Since I love to experiment in cooking, if I ever get a free iPhone from Digi, I will first install apps Epicurious so that I can download all the fantastic recipe and use the iPhone at the kitchen to cook fantastic meals for the family.

The apps is based on a popular website that has been the primary source of recipe and tips for many people and I am glad this site has been ported to the iPhone apps.

DiGi iPhone 4 Me

Ever since my sister show my lovely daughter Megan the games loaded in her iPhone 3G, Megan has been nagging me to get an iPhone so that she can play with the games in the phone.

I think for being a fantastic daughter and for recently scoring 100% for her Chinese spelling test, she deserve that.

So, I want an iPhone 4 from Digi.

Please give me one.

Ipoh Century Ride 2010 - Ride report

3 weeks after the Century Ride. Thinking I should be writing the experience down before I forget and sign up for next year. Slap me!!!

Me, Boon and Alan, 3 brave souls decided to take part in this year's Century ride with minimum training and preparation. Especially for me, my longest ride before the century weekend was 76km from GS to Bentong Shell. that is 90km short of the century distance. No respect of the distance. Also not too many mileage with the clip. Mistake #1.

Last minute, actually, 1 week before the ride, wife decided not the bring the family along to Ipoh, so, decided not to stay the night before the ride at Ipoh, instead drive up from KL Sunday early morning. So, had about 4-5 hours of sleep, woke up at 2.30am Sunday morning, had a quick bite, have a sit down, and hit the road to Bukit Kinding, Tanjung Rambutan after pickup Alan. Both of us were lack of sleep and felt tired. Mistake #2.

Arrived the starting line 1 hour before the ride, the buzzing of activities at the site, everyone were getting their bike ready, pumping air to the tyre, loading the back pocket with energy bars and etc. I was getting nervous then knowing that this is it, no turning back.Was hoping to visit to toilet for another sit down, but heard of a long queue at the toilet and decided not to go. There are always petrol stations on the way. Had a powerbar and loading the rest of the power gel to the Camelbag. Decided to use camelbag as I am not too comfortable with drinking from bottle while riding. Finish off the bottle of Mountain Dew before lock the car and head to the starting line. 

Decided that I will stick to the end of the pack since I am not going to be fast and not going to be good to join peloton. After the "NegaraKu" and a brilliant short speech by the politician, we were wave off with a 5km rolling start. 5KM? I got tired already at 5km mark. :)

The first 20-30km was pleasant, I was taking it slowly, enjoying the scenery without realizing that it is actually a race. And since it is still cool and fresh muscle, I should have push a little harder to cover some distance before it get hot and depletion of energy. Mistake #3.

By the time I reached the first set of hills, I was ready to tackle them. Push hard and grind to climb the hills with minimum 22km/h speed. Pushed little too hard and burned the quads at the last hills and had to come off the bike and hike the bike. Which is a shame. saw Maryam and Boon riding pass. Boon was fast since he suffered his first puncture at the first few KM of the ride. 

The hills just come and come and come. By the time I arrived at the mid point, I was within "cutoff time" that Boon told us, 11am. I got in with about 15minutes to spare. I was happy about it and refilled my camelback with water, had a donut and a powergel before pushing off. 

This is when the suffering began. From the 100km mark onward, the voice in my head begging for me to give up was so strong. Too painful, too hot, saddle sore, hungry, thirsty, boring, all kind of excuses. That lasted for about 40km, deep down inside, I was hoping that I got stopped by the organizer for being too slow and take me away from the misery. Every time the bus pass me, I was hoping it will stop and got dragged on to the bus. :) 

But I push on, at the second last water station, which didn't come any earlier as I ran out of water way before, load up with water and 100+, had the last powergel and push on for the last 40km. Maybe I had a rest, some water and knowing I got only 40km left on the ride, I gain the confidence that I can actually finish the ride.

So, the entire mindset changed, now I was telling myself, if they want to stop my ride and get me on the bus, I already had the speech for them, "f**k you!!! I am going to finish it!!!" :)

The last 40km was long and tough and damn boring. I was practically alone for most of the journey. Occasionally saw another 1-2 rider, overtaking them or got overtaken, was ask to tag along (draft) behind a pair of rider which make it more interesting, not really the drafting part, which I suck at, but chasing the pair and ride together with others, that took away the boredom.

Well, here is where the embarrassing moment happen. At the traffic light, it turned red when I was approaching it. At the exact moment, both legs got cramps and I just lost balanced and fell in front of all the car at the light. Those drivers and passengers in the cars will have plenty of story to tell when they got home. 

Ride on approaching the finishing line, just like in the running race, I saw many riders with their bike secured on the car and going home while I still had about 5km to go. Motivating? demotivating? You tell me.

At the finishing line, I had no feeling at all, happy, sad, ecstatic? Nothing. Just glad I did this, without injury. 

Doing it again next year? possibly, but need training. Lots and lots of them. 

One side effect from this ride, I lost confidence in climbing. Now I have fear even going up GS. Which is a pity. 

I still have the tan line to show. :)

I FINISHED 168KM of bike ride!!!! YAY!!!!

MAMILs!!!!

This is so true. I want a specialized S-Works Roubaix SL2 DA. Hahaha

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10965608#story_continues_1

"Man continues to look at bib shorts and decides they will help conceal his 36-inch waist. "

Hahahaha

Best Companies to work for

Summary of what make them so great.

1. high quality child care

2. health insurance coverage

3. unlimited sick days

4. medical center and paid by company

5. free fitness center

6. Swimming pools

7. library

8. summer camp for children

9. No lay off or closing office during recession

10. increase 401(K) matching

11. stock option exchange program

12. 20% of time on project of their choosing

13. collaboration and openness

14. stock options on hire

15. baseball games

16. surfing lessons

17, kayaking tours, white water rafting, bonfires, bowling

18. volunteering opportunities

19. motivating message about the state of business

From here.

A ride on GCE

Finally managed to find a weekend to join the BJ (Bukit Jelutong) cyclist on their regular saturday ride on GCE.

This is the 4th or 5th time that I ride with the clipless. I am still very fearful of it and constant worry about falling over. Heard from a commentator during the broadcast of TdF yesterday that a TdF winner fell over the other day on a training ride.

That did not make it less worrying, it actually make it worst. That actually tell me that I will never get used to it.

Back to the ride, it was enjoyable, riding among the high end bikes with expensive groupset and the wheels. I tried to take it easy and just enjoy the ride. First few KM was tough because of the cold muscle, but it got better after that.

Overall a nice ride, safe because it was on bike lane most of the time and no drain cover like those in Kesas. I still slow down a lot when going into the tunnel. The fear will never leave me, I supposed.

I will definitely join this guys for saturday ride in the future.

Total distance is about 32KM.

A brand new web services for runners and photographers

This idea appeared when I was running the Pacesetter 15K run at Padang Merbok. During the run, i saw many photographers on the route and I know they took pictures. I am just wondering how can I get the picture from them.

And talked to some photographers, they also have a question on how to sell/give those picture to the runners.

Hence this website was created. 

SnapnTrades

We provide a market place for runners and photographers. We have a database of events entered in the system and will be providing registered user to add the event as well.

After an organized run, can be local or international run, photographer can upload their pictures to the site (resize to smaller for easier upload) and the runners can go to the website to search for their picture with the bib number.

Viola. Linking the supply to the demand. 

SCKLM'2010 result and picture

Am I happy with the time? Oh yes. Can it be better? I sure hope so. 

Call me crazy

Still having some ache on the knees from SCKLM, just signed up Newton 30K run in Singapore. Yes, I am crazy

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 27/June/2010

Even though this is the second half marathon I participated in, I was pretty anxious for the few days before the run. All due to lack of training and the lower back ache that I was under since friday. 

The first HM was done 3 weeks before at Setia ECO. No pressure at that time since I treat it as an LSD preparation for SCKLM. After Setia ECO run, I only did 2x weekend run of about 10K and 2x weekday run of about 6-8k each. The entire week leading to SCKLM was just chilling at home, except 1 RPM class with Lilian at FF.

Alarm woke me up after 3 hours of sleep at 3am. Planned to wake up early to make sure I am relax and not rushing. Try to sit down for couple of time, but not really successful. Had a peanut butter sandwiches and a bottle of Gatorade as breakfast. The night before, I pack all the stuff in the SCKLM bag and left it at the door. So, it was pretty relax. No mad rush to find stuff.

Left the house at 3.45am, with a can of mountain dew with me and drove towards KL. Still figuring our where is the best place to park and finally decided to head towards tugu. 

FMVs are gathering around the fountain opposite the flag pole, I went to say hi to June and then leave them alone. I need to just sit down and relax without creating too much excitement. Enjoy the remaining of the mountain dew with the complimentary powerbar while waiting for the starting gun of the FM.

Bump into FF BodyPump instructor Jackson. Second time in the race, first was Setia ECO. He will run almost all half marathon except Singapore standard chartered full. Heavy rain few minutes before the start of FM and every runner gathering at "kandang" getting soaked while supported running around looking for shelters. 

Too much excitement for me, I turned on the iPOD to "Blah Blah Taxi" and just find a corner to hide while people watch.

At around 6am, I move towards the kandang and get some warm up done while turn up the volume for PodRunner podcast to get myself psyche up for the run. Until then, I was very worried about my lower back pain and mentally prepared to bonk at KM3. Hamstring were tight and painful. 

When the gun goes, I just slowly walk towards to mat and start slow jog to follow the huge crowd. When I started running, then it felt better and the pain go away. KM by KM it go and passing many major sights of KL, the KTM train station, muzuem, KL sentral, brickfield, federal highway, Jalan Loke Yew, Cheras, Jalan Tun razak, Bukit Bintang, passing Pavillion, Raja Chulan, Weld, Beach Club, KLCC, towards Raja Laut and back to Dataran Merdeka. 

On the way, bump into the guy i met at the running kit pickup queue. He just finished the great ocean road marathon in Victoria, Australia. 

Also have a short chat with Margie, the RPM instructor at MBF FF. Also saw Swee, the BodyBalance instructor at FF as well.

The route was beautiful, the weather fantastic, the volunteer did a great job, plenty of water even up to KM20, I make sure I drink at every station and had powergel at KM11 and KM17. Skip the banana though, never try that during training, not taking the risk of stomach ache, which I heard someone was suffering from it. 

I was surprisingly happy about how painless the run was, breathing was easy, no much pain on the legs and stomach. Possibly due to the well rested legs and nice cool weather. I won't say it was easy, but I felt much much better compare to the Setia ECO run, even though I was 2 minutes longer in SCKLM.

At KM20, iPOD ran out of playlist and don't bother to select another song, try to absorb the atmosphere, also watching 10K runners merging into the route with us. Saw a flasher dropping his sarong at Raja Laut, as suspected, only weirdo hang around there.

Well, I finish my second half marathon, in a month. Cool leh.....

Still asking myself, what did I do differently that make this run easier relative to Setia ECO. Carbo loading, pasta/rice meals prior to the run, load up with energy drink (for the salt) 1-2 days before the run. Positive mind for the run. Proper time to take the powergel. What else?

PS : My condolence to the family of Lim, he runner who pass away after collapsed during his 10K run. 

Registered Event Confirmation of Triathlon Malaysia

yay.....Oh boy.....

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Dear Swee-Chuan Khoo

We've confirm your registration with Triathlon Malaysia. This is your registration details:

Newton 25km / 12km Challenge Kuala Lumpur [Click to View]

Registration Info

Name	Khoo Swee Chuan
Reference No	tri4c1033b8095f2
Registration Status	Confirmed
Entity	Individual
Race Category	25km - Men Jr Veteran (40 - 49 years) Run
Payment Method	Credit Card
Price	RM 60.00

Newton 25km/12km Challenge Kuala Lumpur - Registered for 25k

Oh boy....

Siemen run 2010 - 10KM registered

Good advice to get out of the doghouse

Tell them what you are going to do,

tell them that you are doing it,

and tell them you got it done

NB Pacesetter 15K run on 16/May

Well, another milestone as I mentioned in my FB page. I done the 15K, barely. 

Signed up this run as part of my training for the full marathon end of the year. Need to gradually build on my mileage, developing endurance and pushing the body.

The week that leading to the run was slacking, Only managed to put in a 6km run twice at the gym. The entire family was sick and I was hoping I won't get it before the race, and as luck was on my side, I got the sore throat 1 day before the run. 

Didn't get enough sleep saturday night too since the little one was crying most of the time. Up at 4am, make some oat meal for breakfast and couple of hard boiled eggs, a good sit down later. Left the house at around 5am and drive towards Padang Merbuk, a little too early, but was thinking to get there early, get a good parking spot and just absorb the atmosphere. 

Didn't feel nervous at all. Meet Boon and his friend Elaine, joke around till the start of the run. 

And following the tradition of the pacesetter run, hills after hills. It was a really tough run. I was doing ok till about 6km and then started to feel uncomfortable. 

Push on till the first water station and took the opportunity to walk while down 2 glass of water. After that I will run on flat and down hill and will try to pick up pace during up hill. 

At about 8km if where I turn on my iPOD and start playing some good running music to keep me entertain. 

My time for yesterday run was terrible, but I am glad I did it and still below my estimated time of 2 hours, just by couple of seconds. 

Bib number : 3010 (Men Junior Veteran)

Split time : 54m35.48s

Total time : 1h58m13.37s

Position in age group : 185/214

Position by gender : 865

Position overall : 1101

Let's compare to the same age group

Fastest : 49m49.06s

Slowest : 2s29m15.01s

I should target 1h45m for my future 15k run. 

But it was awesome. I really glad I did it.

Now move training. 

Are you healthy?

Article from LiveStrong 

HR
The WHtR is calculated by dividing waist size by height, and takes gender into account. As an example, a male with a 32 inch waist who is 5'10" (70 inches) would divide 32 by 70, to get a WHtR of 45.7 percent.

WOMEN 
• Ratio less than 35: Abnormally Slim to Underweight 
• Ratio 35 to 42: Extremely Slim 
• Ratio 42 to 46: Healthy 
• Ratio 46 to 49: Healthy
• Ratio 49 to 54: Overweight 
• Ratio 54 to 58: Seriously Overweight 
• Ratio over 58: Highly Obese

MEN 
• Ratio less than 35: Abnormally Slim to Underweight 
• Ratio 35 to 43: Extremely slim 
• Ratio 43 to 46: Healthy 
• Ratio 46 to 53: Healthy, Normal Weight 
• Ratio 53 to 58: Overweight 
• Ratio 58 to 63: Extremely Overweight/Obese 
• Ratio over 63: Highly Obese 

Inspired by David Lebovitz's roast chicken

A fastastic recipe from David Lebovitz inspired me to make this in one of the weekend, while mom was in town.

Recipe is from here. The picture above show my version. without the parsley.

Roast Chicken with Caramelized Shallots
Serves 4 to 6

Adapted from French Farmhouse Cookbook (Workman) by Susan Herrmann Loomis

I use a whole chicken cut into eight pieces; two legs, two thighs, and I cut each breast piece in half, crosswise, keeping the wings attached. You could also just use eight of your favorite chicken pieces.

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 large shallots, peeled and minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
One whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
one generous handful of coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC).

2. In a large baking dish, one which will hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer, mix the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, shallots, and some salt and pepper.

3. Toss the chicken in the mixture, so they're completely coated with the shallots. Turn the chicken pieces so they are all skin side up.

4. Roast the chicken for about twenty minutes, until it starts to brown on top. Turn the pieces of chicken over. Scrape any juices and shallots over the chicken that may be clinging to the pan, and bake for another twenty minutes, or until the pieces of chicken are cooked through and the shallots are well-caramelized.

5. Remove from oven and toss in the chopped parsley, then serve.

This is it. The route for SC Half Marathon.

Time to kick start the training

RPM 46

Attended the class with the newly released RPM 46.

RPM 46

01. Cosmic Girl – Jamiroquai
02. I Gotta Feeling – TransNoise
03. My Life Would Suck Without You (Bass Force Remix) – Kelly Clarkson
04. Home – Paul van Dyk feat. Johnny McDaid
05. The Pretender – InTheWind
06. Sincere For You feat. Kirsty Hawkshaw (Radio Mix) – Lange
07. Evacuate The Dancefloor (DJ KTW Remix) - Studio88
08. Don't Know What To Do – Dane Rumble
09. No Air duet with Chris Brown – Jordin Sparks featuring Chris Brown

I am so ashamed by the PM

I am so ashamed. He is the leader of the country and speak without thinking. Please resigned.

"I am a Malay but I am comfortable being a Malay in a Malaysian society" - Prime Minister of Malaysia

Tuesday morning jog

determined to get the mileage this morning after a lazy monday due to rain and mild sore throat.

Woke up at 6am, sneak out of the room so not to wake up Ashlee. Drank a glass of water and hit the road.

Did a loop with u-turn at 3km distance from house to PutraHeight.

Tried to pick up the pace when running but still watching the breathing and posture. The pace is tougher then usual but manageable.

Time is 37m25s. Not bad, but Target is 36min. Will try again.

Felt good for forcing myself to get up and run this morning.

Saturday "interstate" morning ride (3/April/2010)

Saturday morning. Woke up hungry, made a small bowl of oat meal and left house after saying good bye to Megan.

Got to Kajang toll by 6.45am. Good time. but miss the turning to get coffee at McD at the highway. No coffee before the ride, fearing the worst. :)

The party arrived at the RV point slightly late, quickly setup the bike and managed to starting rolling at 8am sharp, I will prefer to start at 7am.

The entire route starts from Semenyih sentral bus station go up to the highway towards Seremban and turn off at Manting towards Lenggeng and Broga, had a meal stop at some nasi lemak place (I will prefer something better) and heads back to the car.

Total distance is about 54km, took about 3.5hours because of some waiting for MTB rider.

I had a close call when foot slip off the pedal when pushing hard going up a small hill. really need to consider getting a right pedal and shoe.

IT was a hot hot morning. The picture will show how hot and un-ready i was to put on some sun-block. Lesson learned.

After the ride, rush home to take a quick shower before heading to F1 qualifying.

How to put on weight

Copied from here.

• 20 ounce bottle of soda = 250 calories, 16 tsps sugar
  • One per day for one year = potential weight gain: 26 lbs.
• 20 ounce bottle sweetened tea = 210 calories, 14.5 tsps sugar
  • One per day for one year = potential weight gain: 22 lbs.
• 12 ounce can of soda = 150-180 calories, 8-10 tsps sugar
  • One a day for one year = potential weight gain:16-19 lbs.

A busy Saturday (27/March/2010)

Saturday morning, woke up at 5am, after a late TT with some new friends.

After couple of peanut butter sandwiches, a small bowl of oat meal, hit the road with Ee, drove from USJ to Gombak OAH for the usual ride up to Genting Sempah.

This time, only 4 of us be riding. Me, Ee, Chai and Indran. Everything is ok, except due to the lack of sleep and lack of energy, didn't felt that good, but still match the previous time of 1h5m from OAH to the mechanic shop near Genting Sempah.

Got home around Noon after a heavy brunch of TeoChew BKT. Excellent way to recover and carbo load.

Took a nap with Ashlee and try to recover and rest.

At 7pm, drove to Cyberjaya for Energizer Night Race. I didn't registered for the event, but a colleague has an extra bib, I was thinking, why not. Even though I still have jelly knees after the ride in the morning. But I wanted to experience running in the race environment, absorb the atmosphere.

9pm, the race begins. First 1km was a little uncomfortable as my muscle was tired and cold. Yeah, I am such a beginners, no warm up at all. After that, I was getting into the mood and just keep putting one leg in front of another. The KM starts to get by (BTW, bad signage, can't tell the distance covered for 10k runner). Bumped into some friends and chat a little. I was determine to make sure I got back before the cut off time of 90 minutes, easy feat for some, but I am glad I able to complete within the time.

Final time on my watch : 73m25s.

Not bad for me. 6 months ago, I need 2 stops to do 1km run.

Next race : 25/April/2010 NST-MPSJ 10k run.

OAH to GS ride on saturday

After almost 3 full months without riding, took the Trek up to OAH with bunch of office and riding friends to Genting Sempah mechanic shop. Round trip of about 30km, more of less.

Didn't suffer much except the 1km between 37-38KM from Bentong (the milestone is a good marker), when one see 38km to Bengong milestone, prepare to grind, hard!!!

Anyway, good to be back on the saddle. Already plan for the next visit this 27/March and maybe u-turn at the air-panas on the way to Bentong.

Foot in mouth #1 : Datuk Ahmad Husni Mohd Hanadzlah

"Kalau orang Cina di Pulau Pinang buli kita, kita lawan balik orang Cina"

- Second Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Husni Mohd Hanadzlah

From LKS blog

Please email me if you see more. I plan to collect all of them and remind the voter in the next general election, knowing that Malaysian voters have short memory.

Lose lose situation

About this ridiculous trial of our opposition leader. What outcome will the govt want?

Guilty, send him to jail, more people will vote for PR, more seat in parliament will go to opposition. You may become opposition.

Not guilty, release him, more people will vote for PR because it just prove that the govt was wrong in the first place. . That will be the end of BN.

How come we have leaders who know how to dig hole deeper for themselves?

Hire some good PR consultant, who has no link with the political party and do something. Or maybe, don't do anything. whatever :)

Memo from Jonathan. "Sun is a brand, Oracle is the company"

Believe it or not, it's been more than nine months since Oracle first announced their intent to acquire Sun in April, 2009. And the 'interim' period has been tough on everyone–on our employees, and our partners and customers. Thankfully, that interim period is coming to an end, with regulatory approval from the European Union issued today, and only a few hurdles remaining–before Oracle formally expands beyond software to become the world's most important systems company.

Even though we're not quite across the finish line, I wanted to leave you with a few final thoughts.

All in all, it's been an honor and privilege to work together. In my more than twenty years in the industry, the last thirteen at Sun, I've had a chance to work with and around an enormous diversity of companies, from every sector you can imagine. I can say with conviction that Sun's people have always stood apart as the brightest, most passionate, and most inspiring. I've never had a bad day in my thirteen years for one very basic reason–I've always been surrounded by the best and brightest individuals I've ever come across. That's been an honor and privilege, for which I'm enormously thankful.

Technology from Sun, alongside our employees and partners, have changed the world. We've opened markets, elections and economies. We've helped build the world's most important and valuable businesses. We've played a key role in discovering new drugs, in bringing education and healthcare to those in need, and supplying the world with an incredible spectrum of entertainment, from smartphones to social networking. I doubt any company has had such a significant influence over the way we see or experience the world. I once told Scott McNealy he was the Henry Ford of the technology industry, making remarkable innovations accessible to anyone, and creating an immense number of jobs around the globe for those that made use of them. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of my association with that cause and the people behind it, and the value we created for ourselves and those that exploited our innovations.

I also know we've had more than our share of very tough challenges. Amidst the toughest market and customer situations imaginable, I'm proud we've always acted with integrity, with a sense for what's right, and not simply what's expedient. Over the years, I've heard time and again, from those inside and outside the company, "I like and I trust Sun." 

Building that good will is something to which you've all contributed. And you have every right to be very proud of it.

Make no mistake, it's been an enormous asset.

So, to the sales and SE teams across the world who continually give their all to bring the numbers home–thank you for the trust you've built with customers, and the results you've delivered. I hope you're prepared to have the wind at your back, you deserve it.

To the service professionals who every day build, maintain and run the world's most important data centers–thank you for your excellence and discipline, 7×24.

To the professionals who run the functions and processes that are the company's spinal column–thank you, we'd be paralyzed without you.

And lastly – to the engineers and marketers who've fostered a perpetual belief that innovation creates its own opportunity – thank you. You're right. Innovation does create its own opportunity. Like Oracle, we're an engineering company in our heart and soul, our potential together is limitless.

Now many of you know that I came to Sun when a company I helped to found was acquired in 1996. I've also led, and been a part of many, many acquisitions at Sun, both large and small. From those experiences, I've learned one very clear lesson–the single most important driver of a successful acquisition are the people involved–and how committed they are to the new owner's mission.

And the most effective mechanism I've seen for driving that commitment begins with a simple, but emotionally difficult step. 

Upon change in control, every employee needs to emotionally resign from Sun. Go home, light a candle, and let go of the expectations and assumptions that defined Sun as a workplace. Honor and remember them, but let them go.

For those that ultimately won't become a part of Oracle, this will be the first step in a new adventure. Sun has a tremendous reputation across the planet, well beyond Silicon Valley. It's a great brand to have on your resume. We're known as self-starters, capable of ethically managing through complexity and change, for delivering when called upon, and for inventing and building the future. With the world economy stabilizing, I'm very confident you'll land on your feet. You're a talented, tenacious group, and there's always opportunity for great people.

For those that have roles at Oracle, may you start with a clean slate, ready to take on the myriad opportunities ahead. With the same passion and tenacity for Oracle's success that you've had for Sun's, and a renewed sense of energy around executing on a far broader mission. There is no doubt in my mind you, and Oracle, will be remarkably successful, beyond the market's wildest expectations. But it's important you come to work thinking, "Sun is a brand, Oracle's my company." Don't look for ways to preserve or dwell in "how we used to do things." Look for ways to help customers, grow the market, and improve Oracle's performance. 

Sun is a brand, Oracle is your company.

And to that end, with nine months of getting to know them, I've found Oracle to be truly remarkable, led by remarkable people. From Larry on down, they understand the enormity of the opportunity before them, and they're more than prepared to execute on it – across the board. I've seen their commitment and focus, now they need yours. I'm confident you'll give it the 10,000% effort it deserves–and we'll all see the end result.

So thank you, again, for the privilege and honor of working together. The internet's made the world a far smaller place–so I'm sure we'll be bumping into one another. 

Go Oracle!

Jonathan

 

Don't be fool by the $6 hair cut

A local small town barber noticed a discount/chain $6 hair cutting salon going in across the street from his shop. He started losing business so he went to a local banker friend for advice. After a few hours of dialog with the friend, he returned and put a new sign in his store window. 'We fix $6 haircuts.'

Wise man speaks

One should not honor only one's own religion and condemn other religions. Instead, one should honor other religions for various reasons. By so doing one helps one's own religion to grow and also renders service to the religions of others. In acting otherwise one digs the grave of one's own religion and harms other religions as well. Someone who honors his own religion and condemns other religions may do so out of devotion to his religion, thinking, 'I will glorify my religion'; but his actions injure his own religion more gravely. Concord is good. Let all listen and be willing to listen to the doctrines professed by others

-- Goenka
29 August 2000 in the United Nations General Assembly Hall to the participants of the Millennium World Peace Summit

3 little mantras

• It's not about me, it's about the role. It's not about me, it's about the role.
• The fun stuff that comes with my job doesn't belong to me. The fun stuff that comes with my job doesn't belong to me.
• This, too, shall pass. This, too, shall pass.

Last email from Scott McNealy

A maverick himself. So proud to serve under him for almost 6 years. Great leader and motivator. Honor to able to meet him and shake him hand. So much happen when I was with Sun. Meeting great friends, learning fantastic skills, and going places. I will miss Sun.

Subject: Thanks for a great 28 years
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:46:16 -0800
From: Scott McNealy <Scott.McNealy@Sun.COM>
To: allsun@sun.com

Gang,

When I interviewed many of you for employment at Sun over the years, one commitment often made was that things will change above, below, and around you faster than any place you have ever been. Looks like this was one area we exceeded plan for 28 years. While it was never the primary vision to be acquired by Oracle, it was always an interesting option. And this huge event is upon us now. Let's all embrace it with all of the enthusiasm and class and talent that we have to offer.

This combination has the potential to put Sun, its people, and its technology at the center of yet another industry and game changing inflection point. The opportunity is well documented and articulated by Larry and the Oracle folks. Not much I can add on this score. This is a very powerful merger. And way better than some of the alternatives we were facing.

So what do I say to all of you now this is happening?

It turns out that one simple message to the large and diverse Sun community is actually quite hard to craft. Even for a big mouth who is always ready with a clever quip. The community includes our resellers and customers, our current and former employees, their friends and families who supported our employees on their mission to change the industry, our investors, our supply and service partners, students and educators, and even our competitors with whom we often collaborated.

But let me try. Though nothing I could write comes close to matching the unbelievably strong and positive emotions I have for you all. See, I never was able to master dispassion. I truly loved starting, running, and living Sun. And the last four years have not been without serious withdrawal. And the EU approval rocked me more than it should have.

So, to be honest, this is not a note this founder wants to write. Sun in my mind should have been the great and surviving consolidator. But I love the market economy and capitalism more than I love my company. And I sure "hope" America regains its love affair with capitalism. And except for the auto industry, financial industry, health care, and some other places (I digress), the invisible hand is doing its thing quite efficiently. So I am more than willing to accept this outcome. And my hat is off to one of the greatest capitalists I have ever met, Larry Ellison. He will do well with the assets that Sun brings to Oracle.

What we did right and wrong at Sun over the years might make for interesting reading. However, I am not a book writer. I am a husband, father of four, and a builder and leader of people who want to make a difference.

But spare me a bit of nostalgia. Not of the mistakes we made, and lord knows I made a ton. But of the things we did right and well.

First and foremost, Sun innovated like crazy. We took it to the limit (see Eagles). And though we did not monetize our inventions as well as we could have, few companies have the track record in R&D that we had over the last 28 years. This made working at Sun really cool. Thanks to all of you inventors and risk takers who changed how we live.

Sun cared about its customers. Even more than we cared about our own company at times. We looked at our customer's mission as more important than ours. Maybe we should have asked for more revenue in return, but our employees were always ready to help first. I love this about Sun which I guess makes me a good capitalist if not a great capitalist.

Sun did not cheat, lie, or break the rule of law or decency. While we enjoyed breaking the rules of conventional wisdom and archaic business practice and for sure loved to win in the market, we did so with a solid reputation for integrity. Nearly three decades of competing without a notable incident of our folks going off course morally or legally. Not all executives and big companies are bad. Really. There are good companies out there. Special thanks to all of my employees for this. I never had to hide the newspaper in shame from my children.

Sun was a financial success. We paid billions in taxes, salaries, purchases, leases, training, and even lawyers and accountants for devastatingly cumbersome SOX and legal compliance (oops, more classic digression). Long term and smart investors made billions in SUNW. And our customers generated revenue and savings using our equipment in countless ways. Many employees started families, bought homes and put them through school while working at Sun. Our revenues over 28 years exceeded $200B. Few companies make it to the F200. We did. Nice.

Sun employees had way more fun than any other company. By far. From our dress code ("You must!") to beer busts to our April Fools pranks to SunRise to our quiet enjoyment at night of a long hard well done day of work, no company enjoyed "work" more than Sun. Thanks to all of our employees past and present for making Sun such a blast.

I could go on for a long time reminiscing about the good and great stuff we did at Sun, but just allow me one last one. We shared. Not the greatest attribute for a capitalist. But one I could not change and was not willing to change about Sun while I was in charge. We shared in the success of Sun with our resellers. With our employees through stock options, SunShare, beer busts, and the like (for as long as Congress would allow) and through our efforts to keep as many of them on board for as long as possible during the inevitable down cycles. With our partners through the Java Community Process, through our open source collaborations, and licensing strategies. With our customers through our commitments to low barriers to exit. Sun was never just about us. It was about we. And that may be a bit of the reason we are where we are today.

But I have few regrets (see Sinatra's "My Way") and will always look back at Sun and its gang with only pride. Enormous pride. You are the best this industry ever had though few outside of Sun recognized it. And what we are about will live on in Sparc, Solaris, Java, our products, and our spirit. Well past everyone's recollections of what we did together. I will never forget though.

Oracle is getting a crown jewel of the technology industry. They will do great things with Sun. Do your best to support them and keep the Sun spirit alive and well in the industry. Our children will be better for it.

Thanks for the off the charts support to everyone who ever carried a Sun badge, used our products, or helped our company through the years.

And thanks to my wonderful wife, Susan, who gave this desperado (see Eagles) a chance to choose the Queen of Hearts before it was too late. Someday, hopefully, you will all get to see or meet her and my other life's works named Maverick, Dakota, Colt and Scout. If you do, perhaps you will understand why I stepped back from the CEO role four years ago. And why I feel like the luckiest guy in the whole world.

My best to all of you, and remember:

Kick butt and have fun!

Scott

Thoughts of the day

My car got scratched on purpose by someone. there is a suspect, but no proof.

Anyway, i had about 5 seconds of anger and then I just think, it is done. Nothing I can do.

Today I read about this in a website. I am glad I didn't stay angry and worst, seek revenge.

Let other people off the hook. They didn't mean harm, and even if they did, it hurt them more than it hurt you. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and rise even taller. Don't use anyone as your excuse to shirk your responsibility to live a bigger life. Victimhood is not a badge of honor. Overcoming adversity is. Use success and joy as your barometer. And march on.

Om.

Not so poverty Aglio e Olio

Thought of making seafood marinara. Found out that we ran out of tomato sauce. So, I improvised and make a seafood aglio olio. 

clean the prawn and squid. Fry the chopped garlic in olive oil in slow heat, to infuse the oil. after couple of minutes, turn up the fire and thrown in the seafood. Season. when the seafood are cooked, add in the pasta and add some mixed herb.

It was pretty good. Nice if I have parsley and Parmesan cheese. 

Stupid parent

Amazing to think that there are parent/adult still think that the earth is only 6000 years old. From FailLog

"Note: Just to let you it is not that we don't believe in things like that, it is just misleading when you talk about it being billions of years old, when we all know that the world is only about 6,000 years old. So why would I pay so that you can misslead my children, your world is just a revolving(?), ours has a start and an end. God created the world. He created animals and man all in the same week. It was also Adam who named all the animals, they will do the essay 'Rock and Minerals' but it might not be 5 pages long, and about billions of years, it will be according to the Bible."

Tips for making cookies

I have been searching for so long about this. Finally, thanks to BakingBites. I found it.

If you want chewy cookies, add melted butter. Butter is 20 percent water. Melting helps water in butter mix with flour to form gluten.
More gluten will make for a chewier cookie, just as it will make for a chewier bread. Keep in mind that you're introducing extra liquid with a substitution like this one, and the cookies may be thinner than you'd like unless you add more dry ingredients or less liquid.

If you want thin, candy-like cookies, add more sugar. Sugar becomes fluid in the oven and helps cookies spread.
A little extra sugar will also help you get a crisp edge on a cookie. Caramelized sugar does not always survive well in the open air. Too much sugar and your cookies will be thin and chewy, not crisp, although they should still taste great. An airtight container will help preserve their fresh-from-the oven texture.

If you want cakey cookies, add more eggs. Yolks make cookies rich, and whites cause cookies to puff and dry out.
The same warning about too much liquid can apply to this. Too much egg and you'll have cookies that have an eggy flavor to them and a spongy texture. It's best to start with small additions, maybe one yolk or white at a time

If you want an open, coarse crumb and craggy top, add baking soda. Baking soda reacts quickly with acidic ingredients (such as brown sugar) to create lots of gas bubbles. If you want a fine, tight crumb and smooth top, add baking powder. Baking powder works slowly and allows for an even rise.
Leavenings interact heavily with the other ingredients in a cookie, so a small amount of baking powder or baking soda added may not make much of a difference. A cookie that is already tending towards cakiness, for instance, will be more likely to have a smooth top than a craggy one. You may want to try two batches at once when experimenting with leavenings so you can easily track your progress.

Fantastic lecture on how bad sugar is

Everyone should watch this and get informed. Educate your family member.

My riding plan for this year

Ok. Here is the plan. I will want to cover the first 6 stage of Tour de Langkawi. Large map here.

Stage 1 - Kota Bharu - Kuala Berang (174.5km)
Stage 2 - Kuala Terengganu - Chukai (182.9km)
Stage 3 - Pekan, Pahang - Mersing, Johor (144km)
Stage 4 - Mersing, Johor - Parit Sulong, Johor (163.5km)
Stage 5 - Muar, Johor - Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan (140.3km)
Stage 6 - Putrajaya, WP - Genting Highlands (103.9km)
Stage 7 - Kuala Kubu Baru - Dataran Merdeka (loop x6) (92.8km)

Stage 1, 2 & 3 can be done in one extended weekend.

Stage 4 & 5 can be done in one extended weekend.

Stage 6 will be challenging.

Not sure how interesting is stage 7.

Any taker? Who want to join me? Need logistic, support car and etc.

Probably after May.

Lemon baked pasta

Found out I have a tub of sour cream in the fridge while planning for lunch yesterday. And some lemon as well. 

Decided to use all these ingredient and make PioneerWoman's baked lemon pasta. Since I have a craving of something lemon for a while, even though I should not be eating pasta (am in a low low carb diet). Here is the recipe.

I don't have parsley and parmesan cheese at home. So, not exactly the same as PW's cooking. And I may need to reduce on the lemon since the wife think is a bit too sour. Megan's also think so, but she did finished her portion.

I think I need to plant parsley at the herb project.