Entries for May, 2008
May 8th, 2008
My KK Trip Itinerary
Posted by vampire at 04:02 PM on May 8, 2008.
I just got back from KK on Tuesday. Here's the itinerary:
SABAH ADVENTURE TOUR
29/04/08 10:15AM-1:05PM Penang –> Kota Kinabalu
Lunch @ Dowish Restaurant
To Beaufort
4:30PM Arrive at Klias River Bank
Tea Time
River Cruise (Search for Wildlife)
Dinner (Malay food)
Check in to Hotel Jasaria
30/04/08 7:30AM Breakfast (Sarawak Kon Lau Mee)
Kwan Ying Temple
To Kuala Penyu
10:00AM Boat Ride to Pulau Tiga
Check-in (Long House)
2:00PM Mud Volcano Pit
Swimming/Snorkelling/Kayaking
Dinner
Happy Hour (Billiards/Karaoke)
01/05/08 7:30AM Breakfast
To Snake Island, Sand Beach
Back to Pulau Tiga
1:30PM Lunch
2:30PM Boat Transfer to Kuala Penyu
To Kota Kinabalu
Check-in (Tang Dynasty Hotel)
6:00PM Sunset @ Megalan Resort
Dinner@ Floating Seafood Center
Cultural Dance
Tanjung Aru Beach
02/05/08 8:00AM Breakfast (Beef Noodles)
To Tamparuli
10:00AM Arrive @ Kuilu Rafting Point
11:00AM Briefing & Rafting (Grade1-2)
1:30PM BBQ Lunch
Back to KK
Shopping @ Filipino Market
7:30PM Dinner
03/05/08 8:00AM Breakfast (Fish Noodles)
Yayasan Sabah
UMS + Aquarium
To Kundasang
Check-in @ Kinabalu Pine Resort
Lunch @ Pine Restaurant
War Memorial Park
To Poring Hot Springs
Canopy Walk
Hot Spring Bath
Steam Boat Dinner
04/05/08 7:00AM American Breakfast
To Mesilau Resort
8:30AM Start Hiking Mt Kinabalu
12:00NN Packed Lunch
5-6PM Reach Laban Rata Rest House
Buffet Dinner
05/05/08 1:30AM Breakfast (Cup Noodles)
2:30AM Start hiking to summit
6AM Reach Low's Peak for sunrise
Back to Laban Rata
9AM Buffet Breakfast
10:30AM Hike down to Timpohon Gate
2:30PM Shower & Lunch
To KK
Check-in (Tang Dynasty Hotel)
7:30PM Dinner
06/05/08 5:30AM To Airport
7AM KK -> Penang
Tour fees of RM1400 includes land & sea transport, accommodation, food, mountain guide, hiking permit, certificates, park entrance fee.
Return Air Ticket is around RM300.
Well worth it.
May 12th, 2008
Mini Baccarat
Posted by vampire at 06:47 PM on May 12, 2008.
Just got back from Genting Highlands last night.
I tried my luck at Mini Baccarat. You may read the rules
here. It's a game of Player vs Banker. You bet on either the Banker or Player. Initially, each side draws 2 cards. You add up the numbers (Ace = 1, JQK = 10), and take the trailing digit. Example: 8 + 8 = 16, so you have a hand of 6. And according to a fixed table, player/banker may draw another card.
This is a casino game where the casino has the least house edge. Meaning the casino has least chance to win among all card games.
Before going Genting, I tried a game simulation by continuously betting on banker, with increasing bets if I lost. It's a good formula to win, with least risk among the 50-50 games (Casino War, Tai Sai, etc). It's because the Banker has a higher odds of winning than the Player.
First I try at the tables (minimum bet: RM25), and lost quite a few hundred there, because the Player keeps winning. My formula doesn't work there.
Then I played Mini Baccarat at the TouchBets (machines). Minimum bet is Rm10. Maximum goes up to Rm800. I started with RM200 capital. By using my formula, I win around RM10 per round. In the end, I won RM710. Which means I effectively won at least 71 rounds. So I won back my losses at the tables.
My formula (may be confusing):
Bet Amount = (2n + 1) * b
where n = number of running losses
b = base bet (amount to win per round)
n B.A.(RM)
0 10
1 30
2 70
3 150
4 310
where b = RM10
Highest bet I placed is RM150. Luck was good that I didn't lose more than 3 rounds in a row. If Player wins 5 times in a row, then you're done for.
Another rule with No-Commission style Baccarat is that if the Banker wins with a sum of 6, we only win half the bet we placed on Banker. There was once I bet RM150 on banker, and only won RM75. Effectively lost 7.5 rounds of RM10 bets.
May 15th, 2008
Iron Man Bonus Ending
Posted by vampire at 02:26 PM on May 15, 2008.
Went to watch Iron Man last night. Was told to stay on after the credits to watch the extra ending.
I did not stay on, cos no one remained, and the lights were already fully on.
But later found out that the movie showed in GSC here (not sure about other cinemas/other countries) isn't the same with the one shown in USA.
In the USA, the movie ended with the sentence "I am Iron Man". Credits rolled after that.
In M'sia, credits rolled after the bonus scene involving Nick Fury, boss of SHIELD.
May 16th, 2008
CPP
Posted by vampire at 02:52 PM on May 16, 2008.
I received a call from Hong Leong Bank (HLB)/CPP yesterday, trying to market their product, approved by Bank Negara.
What do you think of this? BTW, this is not a paid post.
Card Protection Plan is offered by CPP Asia, partnering with certain local banks such as CitiBank,
HSBC and
HLB.
Imagine this scenario, someone is overseas on biz/holiday trip, and lost their handbag/wallet or got robbed. Usually the handphone and wallet/purse is gone together.
So that person need to report his card as stolen/lost. But his/her handphone is gone. How to remember all the numbers to phone to report of his/her HSBC, HLB, Maybank, PBB credit cards and ATM cards lei?
Some benefits of this CPP product:
1) You only need to make one free call to one phone number, which is quite easy to remember. You report whatever cards that are lost. They will then call the individual banks to report card loss.
2) You get fraud protection up to RM300K for your cards after the call.
3) Before the call/notification, you get RM440 fraud protection per card (up to 10 cards).
4) If you're overseas, and have no more cash, you can get up to RM2200 emergency advance cash, up to RM5,000 emergency hotel bill payment, up to RM10,000 emergency air ticket replacement.
5) Can claim up to RM375 to buy new wallet/purse.
The price is RM98 for individual plan, and RM118 for household plan. The household plan covers up to 5 people within the same house with same registered address (for bank accounts).
I think the household plan is worth it lor... I haven't sign up for it yet, but may do it soon. I think this is good for those who are constantly travelling.
What are your opinions?
May 25th, 2008
Brisingr
Posted by vampire at 05:16 AM on May 25, 2008.
September 20th:
Still such a long way to go before its release to complete the Inheritance trilogy...
Eragon, Eldest, and now:
Brisingr: http://www.alagaesia.com/index.php
Interesting News
Posted by vampire at 05:27 AM on May 25, 2008.
Some interesting news from the newspapers:
Dog-Cloning
If you love your pet dog so much, you can now clone your dog. Thus, the new dog will have the same DNA, and characteristics as your old dog. But it comes with a huge price tag, of at least US$100,000.
Wolf-Whistling
In most countries, Malaysia inclusive, construction workers wolf-whistles at gals (especially attractive ones) when they are close by. In New Zealand, workers got a treat when they do their usual wolf-whistles, and the "not an unattractive looking" lady stripped for them. Persistence pays off, eh?
May 26th, 2008
Boogers
Posted by vampire at 09:42 AM on May 26, 2008.
This is interesting
news I heard from my colleague:
There is an Austrian doctor, Dr. Friedrich Bischinger, a lung specialist working in Innsbruck. He believe that people who pick their noses with their fingers are healthier, happier, and more in tune with their bodies. His argument stems from the notion that exposing the body to the dried germ corpses helps to reinforce the immune system.
"With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner. And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system." He then added, "Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine."