aussie out of world cup

I have no idea how many Australians who actually watch the game live, must have been plenty, but unfortunatly they lost. A bitter lost, I might add. 90 minutes of fighting and it was ended by a penalty kick.

So with the final score of 1-0 favouring Italy, Aussie is now out of the World Cup. Well the good news is we will be able to sleep like we used too.

a stupid bird

Please turn on your speaker for the bird.


Want one? Go to www.geocities.com/testiflash

don't worry...

I like this,

The future is unclear. Instead of hoping for what it could be, just wait and see.

krispy kreme in VIC (not melbourne)

Yes, it is TRUE. Krispy Kreme, the famous American donuts (or doughnuts, whatever), is coming to Victoria. So far, they've only open stores in NSW.
Well, everybody knows this. But now there is a definite date on the store launch. It's 4 MORE DAYS. The 22nd of June (correct me if I'm wrong but that Jakarta's birthday right ?) is the date when the only Victorian store will open. The fun starts at 6.30am.


As you are all aware, the store is located in Narre Warren, exactly it's on Fountain Gate Shopping Centre. If you have the VIC map, Narre Warren is south-east of Melbourne. It's pretty easy to go there. You can just take Princess Highway and after a series of traffic lights, you'll reach there. Ok, I don't want to mislead you, it is quite far. I think it's about 1.5-2 hours drive from Melbourne (or maybe more). So make sure when you go there, you fill up the car's boot with donuts, about 10-15 dozen maybe ?


They're saying that the store will open 24 hours and provide a drive in service, you know....like McDonalds. For the opening, there will be performances, bands, etc and I think they're going to continue for 4 days. For more information, go to http://www.krispykreme.com.au. Over there as well, you can join to be a FRIEND of KRISPY KREME. But, there is one condition; you must be obese or at least fat. Ok, just joking. Everybody can sign up and receive news about the upcoming store.

Well, before I finish. I have one more thing to say. Just something to remember when you're eating that mouth-watering tempting enticing alluring original glazed donut.....mmm..... To burn 1 donut, an average person of 75kg need to walk for 30 minutes.

cheap petrol

Everybody wants cheap petrol these days. When I first came to Melbourne, petrol was around 70-80 cents a litre. Apparantly a couple of years before, it was only about 50-60 cents a litre. In the recent months, the price of petrol has jumped so high, it's leaving us with a big hole in our wallet. So, we want something to stitch back our wallet.

Firstly, the supermarket docket. Spend $30 or so dollars and they'll give you a coupon to save on petrol. Savings vary but normally it is 4 cents, some supermarket has 30 cents discount but there is a lot of conditions (only 30 litres, spend more than $50, fill up at independent petrol kiosk, etc). But I seriously don't understand why the supermarkets are still giving discounts at 4 cents a litre. They're giving 4 cents discounts when fuel was 70 cents a litre and now when it's nearly $1.50 a litre. Ok, just imagine with 4 cents discount coupon, you will save:

• small car: 4 cents x 30 litres = $1.20 savings per fill
• medium car: 4 cents x 50 litres = $2 savings per fill
• large car : 4 cents x 60 litres = $2.40 savings per fill

That's not a lot, not a lot AT ALL. Last time, to fill up a tank of petrol, I need to fork out around $40-50 but now, I'm spending $60-70 on petrol. That's about $20 difference and the docket is only helping me with $2, nice....

But, if you do shop at supermarket and get the docket anyway, just use it. As my mom always say, $999 is not $1000 without the dollar, every dollar (and cents) count.

Another way to get cheap petrol is by regularly checking websites like this one, http://au.maps.yahoo.com/fuelwatch/. Yes, I know that there is a lot out there but I think this one is kind of cool. You search by suburb or postcode and it will then give you a map of the suburb. You can zoom in or zoom out, but the nearest petrol stations are displayed. This includes, the cheapest petrol station, the most expensive one and average. They label this with stars, green for cheapest, red for most expensive and yellow for in between.

Then, you can click on the start and find out the price for unleaded petrol, the address and the petrol kiosk operator (Coles Express, Mobil, Caltex, etc etc). Nice. I haven't actually checked whether the price on the website match the real one but I guess it should be pretty acurate cause Yahoo is doing it with Motormouth (which is a website that looks at petrol prices and stuff).

Ok, it doesn't actually let you save money like the docket but it's a great tool to find where's the cheapest fuel around.

Another tip is to follow the petrol price dynamics, the cycle, when it goes up and when it goes down. It always goes like this, slowly going down until it reaches the minimum point then sharp and sudden rise (about 10 cents rise), and then it slowly goes down again. The cycle normally repeats itself every week. Currently, the price always goes up every Wednesday and the lowest point is around Monday-Tuesday. It used to go up on Thursday so they're always changing so keep your eyes open.

Some other people has resort to something more dramatic like stealing petrol, not paying for it, putting another person's plate, etc etc.

Or you could always switch to public transport or cycling or motorcycling. I want to switch to motocycling but I don't have the dough to get a bike (and the helmet, jacket, gloves, and so on). But seriously, for long term I am considering motorcycle. They're saying that the petrol price could reach $2/litre by the end of this year. Imagina how hard would life be if that happens. That's another $20 extra per fill and not including the price increase on goods.

So that's why, bring on the next generation in transport: fuel-cell car, hydrogen powered car. But in the meantime, let's try and save up for every fill.

dion (in memory)

a good friend....

it has been 2 long years.....

rest in peace my friend.....

will always remember you....

God, please take care of him.....

Pam's Blog

Wow, I didn't realise that it's been a couple of months since I put an entry to my blog. I guess after a while, it's kind of hard to get a topic going. And when you do get one (or a few), you just have absolutely no time.

Anyways, the reason I'm adding an entry today is I have just seen Pam's blog. Well if you don't know, Pam is one of my friend who's been with me since the beginning of time...haha, I meant my time in Melbourne. She is a very funky girl and if you do know her, I think you will agree.

Well, here is the link to her blog. She's a really good writer and have very interesting topics/things that you might not even think at all. Her blog is http://itspams.blogspot.com/. I will add the link to my Links section as well.

Go Pam, we'll be waiting for your next blog.

save the environment

Hey people, this is something that we can all do to save the earth.

TAKE YOUR CANVAS BAG WHEN YOU GO TO THE SUPERMARKET.

This is a message that I got from the Royal Gala of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. This comedian managed to create a song for the canvas bag and in the whole song, the lyrics are

"take your canvas bag, take you canvas bag when you go to the supermarket..." (repeat 50 times)

Well, actually he did rap a bit in the middle of the song but that's not the point.

So, take your CANVAS BAG or GREEN BAG or ENVIRONMENTAL BAG or whatever you call it next time you go the supermarket. CONDEMN PLASTIC BAG.

even more things

Adding to the list of events.

Next Thursday, 30th of March, the AFL season is going to start. Yup, it's that time of the year again, footy.......
It won't play in Melbourne though. The MCG will be back for footy action on Anzac day, 25th April (I THINK - but it's definitely in April). They have to clean up the tracks from the Commonwealth Games.

And tomorrow (or today), Monday, there is going to be a parade for the Australian athletes. It will start at noon from the Arts Centre to Swanston St. and then Collins St.
I can't find more info on the route or anything else so I guess if you want to see the parade, just follow the crowd.

That's it for now.

more things to come

I wrote this yesterday but when I was trying to upload it to blogger, the server went down. Hence, some info is outdated but I'll just leave it here so you know what you miss

If you read my previous post, you'll know that Melbourne is going to host several big events. I'm just going to add some more events to the list.

Currently, there is still the Commonwealth games, where Australia has basically taken all the medals. The last time I checked it was 54 gold medals. Commonwealth games will end on Sunday 26th of March with a closing ceremony in the MCG.Check out www.melbourne2006.com.au for details.

I think the tally now has gone up to 57 gold medals for Aussie.

Today, the 23rd of March, xbox360 is being launched. If you're a games freak and you have $1000 to spend. Go and get one. The best deal is on Big, the complete system for $628 instead of $649 and the games are $75 each for TODAY only.Kmart has a sale also 15% off storewide for today and tomorrow but it doesn't include the console, damn.

A little comment on the xbox360. The games in BigW was practically sold out. So, if you didn't know about this yesterday, then tough luck yeah ?

Next Thursday, there will be the Grand Prix, the Foster's Australian Grand Prix. Shifted from being the first GP to start the year because of the Commonwealth Games. It will be on from the 30th of March until the 2nd of April. Who will win it this year? Renault again? What do you reckon?For info check out http://cars.grandprix.com.au/.

The after that, there will be the annual flower and garden show in Carlton gardens. This will be on from the 5th of April until the 9th of April. Check here for tickets, http://www.melbflowershow.com.au/.

The following week will be Easter holiday I think.

Fiuh, if I know more events, I'll let you know. Of course in a couple of months there will be FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany.

Have fun.

banana alert

Danger for you banana lovers in Australia. If you haven't been following the news, there will be a shortage of bananas because of the storm.

A couple of days ago, there was a hurricane that hits northern part of Queensland. The hurricane was hurricane Larry. I wonder who named all these hurricane, Katrina, etc. Was there a papa hurricane and mama hurricane ?

Anyways, the storm hits Queensland quite hard and as a results, all the crops there are vanished (well, they didn't actually vanish). And that part of Queensland is the part where they grew fruits for all of Australia, especially bananas.

The farmers estimated that it will take at least 9 months to recover supply of bananas and to get back the their previous condition would take them years. SO, there will be a shortage of bananas for at least a year. Australia cannot import bananas because of strict import rules. Yesterday, in some places, bananas have already hit $6/kg. They normally sell for $2-3/kg. It is estimated that it will go to $9/kg. Amazing.

So if you really like bananas, better get them while it's still somewhat affordable and reasonable before it's too late.

Do you know that 70% of people buys bananas from impulse ? As in, they didn't planned to buy bananas but when they see it, they'll buy it.

stupid chain letter

Somebody send me this so called "chain letter". Frankly, I don't understand it (AT ALL). Maybe because it's in SINGLISH (Singapore English - casual way of speaking by mixing a few different languages in Singapore).

INSTANT NOODLES
Dear instant noodle lovers, make sure you break for at least 3 days after one session of instant noodles before you eat your next packet! Please read the info shared to me by a doctor. My family stopped eating instant noodles more than 5 years ago after hearing about the wax coating the noodles - the wax is not just in the styrofoam containers but it coats the noodles. This is why the instant noodles do not stick to each other when cooking. If one were to examine the ordinary Chinese yellow noodles in the market, one will notice that, in their uncooked state the noodles are oily. This layer of oil prevents the noodles from sticking together.
Wantan noodles in their uncooked state have been dusted with flour to prevent them sticking together. When the hawker cooks the noodles, notice he cooks them in hot water and then rinses them in cold water before cooking them in hot water again. This process is repeated several times before the noodles are ready to be served. The cooking and rinsing process prevents noodles from sticking together. The hawker then "lowers" the noodles in oil and sauce to prevent the noodles from sticking if they are to be served dry.
Cooking instructions for spaghetti require oil or butter to be added in the water when boiling the spaghetti to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Otherwise, one gets a big clump of spaghetti!
There was an SBC (now TCS) actor some years ago, who at a busy time of his career had no time to cook, resorted to eating instant noodles everyday. He got cancer later on. His doctor told him about the wax in instant noodles. The doctor told him that our body will need up to 2 days to clear the wax.
There was also an SIA steward who after moving out from his mother's house into his own house, did not cook but ate instant noodles almost every meal. He had cancer, and has since died from it. Nowadays the instant noodles are referred as "cancer noodles".

Ok, I don't understand what you mean to break. I just don't get it. Is it me or the languange or the people who actually uses this languange in the first place ? It's a puzzle.

it's already MARCH

Yo, haven't updated the blog in a while. This is because I didn't have internet for a few days (and also somebody from Singapore came to disturb my life here).

Do you realise that it is now MARCH ? It's the 3rd month of the year, soon....in 9 months, 2006 is going to end (okay, I might be exaggerating a bit). Aren't we all screwed ? Time flows faster when you're older.

For the people of Melbourne, March is a month that they can be proud of (or not). This month the city of Melbourne will be hosting a lot of events. Starting next week, the 13th of March, there will be the annual Moomba Festival.

Following that, the highly unanticipated Commonwealth Games. This will go on from the 15th until the 26th of March. Then finally, the Australian Grand Prix.

A crazy month huh ?

Stokers Pancake

Do you know about Stokers ? It's a pancake restaurant up in Heidelberg. Some people told me that it was a really nice place. They've got nice pancakes but a creepy toilet, that's what they told me.

Today, I tried it for myself and I can tell you, the toilet IS creepy. It's more like the walk to the toilet that is creepy not the toilet itself. The place is really...really...dark. The whole room is only powered by a few lights (2 or 3) except the kitchen.

They basically got 2 types of pancakes, the savoury one and the sweet ones. Average pancake price is around $9-$11. They've got a lot of different menus but none really catches my attention except chicken mornay and rum banana.

Anyways, I tried it and the portion was REALLY small for 10 bucks. And it's not even pancakes, it's more like crepes cause it's so thin. It's really nothing compared to Pancake Parlour. I think it's not really worthed to eat there. If you have a spare 10 bucks to spend on 2 small crepes with fillings then go ahead. The chicken mornay was not bad. Really think that they should do something with their price.

I still think Pancake Parlour has an advantage for pancakes. The pancakes there are delicious BUT you cannot eat too many of them. Pancakes are one of those things that make you full really fast.

Just have a look at THAT.


Watch that drool....., but realistically, you could only eat about this much.


Well, stop licking at your monitor already.

let's talk about love

Somebody on my MSN list has the following as his nick, Two words a guy never want to hear: JUST FRIENDS or I love you....like a brother.

Is that true guys ? Interesting isn't it ? So girls, I think you should find a better things to say if you want to reject guys...hehehe.

new nam loong

If you're a resident of Melbourne, you would know the restaurant Nam Loong. It's a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown that was hit with a few scandal a few years ago. It was something that they used in their cooking, a special recipe (hehehe....). However, let's not look and dig up the past. The fact is now Nam Loong is cleaner than ever and their food is still freat (especially the buns).

Nam Loong has opened a new branch after successfully opening Nam Loong 1 (original) and Wing Loong (Nam Loong 2). The new restaurant is called Nam Loong Seafood Restaurant. I haven't tried it personnally so I don't know what's on the menu but I think it'll be more of a dish type.

It's located in the same street as Nam Loong 1, Russel St. I think it's next to the Amusement or Asian Grocery there.

Anyway, it's worth a look at and give it a go.

happy valentine's day

valentine's day........

it's all about the flowers....


it's all about the chocolate....


it's all about loveeee.....


happy valentine's day everybody

good on ya iinet

Wuhuuuu...finally my exchange is going to be DSLAM enabled soon. Estimate is second quarter of 2006, then I can experience lightning fast broadband up to 24000 kpbs.

I highly recommend iinet and not because I'm using it. Because it's the best deal there is for internet (broadband).

The bad thing about iinet is you've got to connect your home phone with them and their rate is quite high (I think it's $29.95 + $3.41, the $3.41 is because of that bloody Tesltra). But then again, you could get a VOIP from them. VOIP is basically telephone using the internet instead of a normal phone line. Because it's using the internet, they can significantly reduce the cost.
So just use your VOIP, it's 10c per call.

PLUS, if you actually in the DSLAM area, your internet speed will be 24000 kpbs (depending on how far you are from the exchange). Ok, with that speed your download speed will be around 2.4 MB/s....FULLY SICK. Ok, reality is you will not get a speed that fast but it's still a good deal.

I'm not trying to promote iinet, just want to share my happiness that my exchange will soon be DSLAM enabled, that means I can enjoy FAST broadband. Huhuiiii.

For more info on internet provider in Australia, check Whirlpool. It's a good website to compare providers and while you're at it check the forum, see what other people think and what problems do they have.

dancing with the stars

You should all know about dancing with the stars, the TV show where celebrity dances and try impress the judges and audiences at the same time.

Well, for this season (2006), the Australian version of the show will put some of the best celebrity, including former Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins. YEAH!!!

Other names that will be on the show, includes

• Alicia Molik - Australian tennis superstar (I think she's suppose to be injured that's why she didn't go for Australian Open 2006)

• Simone Warne - Shane Warne's ex wife (the cricketer who has been involved with a lot of SMS scandal)

• Molly Meldrum - Australian icon (the man who lives in a cowboy world of his own)

• Kostya Tszyu - Australian boxer (I hope he doesn't punch his dance partner outside the ring...I mean, dance floor)
• Kate Langbroek - Australian radio presenter (I think she does morning show with Nova FM in Melbourne)

Well, if you want to bet on them, the current favourite is Jen, with $3.50...hehehe. I think she'll win. She's just gorgeous.......ok stop drooling guys...hehehe. Will it be worth a watch now ?

another CRAZY stuff

TWO GIRLS, 14 years old, have been charged with the murder of a cabbie (taxi driver) that happened a few days ago. For you guys who doesn't know about the story, here is how it goes. A taxi driver has been bashed and was left to die in the early morning. He was left on a street and finally died during the journey to hospital.

And now, 2 girls are charged with the murder. AMAZING yet again. What sick person will do such a thing ? Remember, we're talking about Sydney here. I expect the people there to be more civilised and educated. Yet, the behaviour of some people are worse than they who are in a third world country.

What were the girls thinking ? I don't think they should be tried in a children's court. I think they should be tried in adult's court. Prison for at least a few decades won't be enough.

I really don't understand what is going on their mind. SICK, truly sick.