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Booking a vacation can be daunting and hassle. If you want less hassle, more value and have travel experts to arrange an exceptional vacation that meets your style, needs and budget, look nowhere else but TravelStore Inc.

TravelStore Inc lists all the different options for vacationing, and has detailed analysis of what each option entails (which is great for someone who is planning their first trip or taking a trip on a new air line or cruise line). This site has all the details listed, right down to the thread count on the sheets! They also get into the amount of planned activities versus unstructured time, depending on if you want to have a schedule or just relax.

One example of a travel package that sounds great is Costa Rica vacation packages. It is an amazing vacation destination for so many reasons, not least of which the promise of its tag line: “No Artificial Ingredients. If you are looking to take a vacation or plan a cruise, then I think this link is a great resource to start with.

If you notice the ads from Nuffnang here, myeg is a portal for various government services queries. You can even renew your road tax online and have it delivered to you. I think this will really benefit the rakyat coz you know home much hassle it takes to renew a fucking road tax at the JPJ or finance offices. Only if you have the vehicle logbook with you, life is easier.

I think the portal is worth checking out.

www.myeg.com.my

My best buddy is now abroad and we catch up with each other every other day. However, the call rate is expensive for both of us. Therefore TheRichCom is the answer. Their prepaid phone card is quite cheap. If you’re lucky, you can get phone cards for almost every destinations in the world. Oh, by the way, the holiday season is around the corner and you would want to keep in touch with your loved ones living overseas.

They’ve introduced a 3% cash back rebate program recently where you will get 3% of every calling card or phone card purchases that you make with TheRichCom. Wow, thats good. In their website, there is a phone cards list where you can compare card before making a purchase. They even have a phone card tip on using phone cards which I find it very informative.

For example, usually each card has good rate for only one country or two. They allow people to buy $5 calling cards. The reason being that some people like to try several different cards to find the best deals. Those people usually prefer to buy $5 calling cards, the cheapest value, before they start buying a bigger value phone cards. This is understandable giving the situation of the rate changes that might occur from the phone card manufacturer’s side. If you find a very good rate for a specific country, don’t use that card for other countries. If there is not rate list for the country for a specific card, that means rate is high. Don’t use those card designed for international call to make a domestic call. Usually there will be more charges.

This evening I left office at 6.15pm and I only reach Kaka Bakkutteh in Kepong at 8.54pm. The first 30 minutes plus was spent from my office building to Wisma KFC. The traffic today was real madness and its unusual. Took some detour but every road was the same. Even Sri Sinar in Kepong was not spared. What the fuck…..

Sometime I wonder, what had the Prime Minister promised. He promised a few years ago that with the hike in fuel prices, funds meant for fuel subsidies to be channeled to upgrade the public tranportation especially in the city. Man, is there any difference as compared to 2 years ago?? The traffic is the same. Same shit. Maybe worse. Cars are so cheap anyone can just pay as little as a few hundred ringgits as down payment to get a fucking car. Despite venting my frustration through my blog many times before on the matter…. i just can’t help doing it again. Single occupancy vehicles is just an ever growing problem that is gripping Kuala Lumpur. Of course the more cars on the road the more chances of business for my trade but to think on the other hand, the environmental aspect of it…. everything seems to be related as far as the business of loss is concerned.

The more cars we drive, the more carbon we produce. The more carbon we produce, the more greenhouse gasses are produced. Then, with all the greenhouse gasses concentration, there’s climate change and there will be more rain, flood, storm, snow, blizzard, drought and any other catastrophe. With all these undesirable weather, people will tend to drive rather than relying on public transport. It all goes back to square one. Tiu.

Some people have no choice but to drive to work. Some people do have a choice. Just wish the government will impose a super high congestion fee for every vehicle that enters the city. Yeah, I wish. I think my company should give everyone a laptop and a broadband connection. Sometime it is just not convenient to travel back to office just to rush a report or two.

Looking for a company offering convenient, easy and low cost business computer repair and residential computer repair? Look no further. With their certified technicians, Fast-Teks provides best in class computer repair service and other computing services at the lowest affordable rate. Their certified technicians provide fast, affordable business computer service and Computer Help - offering same day, weekend and evening appointment. Short or long term computer and software training support are just a phone call away. Fast-Teks also offers franchise opportunity if you are looking for a business opportunity in computer hardware repair and support services.

It was a surprise party for Ng and the place was Chiang Rai Style Restoran in Aman Puri, Kepong where delicious Thai food was served. The party was arranged by none other than the wife of the birdday boy, BeeF. Also gotta give credit to Szer and I is that we bought the cake. BeeF was not convenient to buy the cake.

Ok, forget about the date imprinted on the picture. It was backdated for some other earlier purposes. Isn’t it nice to meet all your friends and their lovely other halves at the same time?! This is so merry. There should be more of these gatherings. I just love and enjoy all these meetings.

Of course there wont be any complete picture without my appearance. Haha. Oh yeah, Mun Choon came late.

Soon Keong and his jolly moves really entertained everyone.

Husband & wife….. so lovely.

Happy Birdday, Ng.

Ok… was going off from my Szer’s place and they have this security checkpoint with gate at every junction of the street. I was blasting in my iPod and when I reached the security gate, I was pissed as it was not open when I reach there. Normally it would be like smart tag whereby the gate will open automatically when the guard see a car approaching.

A guard came out from the “hut” and waived at me to stop. I obliged. Windows down and he was mumbling some foreign words I guess coz I can’t really hear as I was blasting loud to Paul Potts’ version of Nessun Dorma. He motioned to me to take the “paper” from him and I was like “is he giving me flyer/brochure?”. But then I saw the hologram strip on that paper reflected a streak of light emitted from the street lamp and I knew it was money that fell from the sky. I just reached out to it and took it and smiled at him as he was opening the gate and I sped off.

RM10.00 note I took from him.

I still wonder why would he give me money. I mean, any sane person would put money they found… into their own pocket first, right?! Even if a security guard career is lucrative…. I don’t see a reason why he gave me the money.  Ok… he just bought me my village park nasi lemak breakfast for tomorrow. Yay.

Hi there, its been sometime since the last post. Lately, I’ve ran out of inspiration to write due to some unexplainable circumstances. I need to post something…. exam’s later in the afternoon. Happy that I’m going to eat nasi lemak again at Village Park this Saturday.

Ok, yesterday was in the elevator going up to my office. It was 80% occupied and suddenly there was a cat meow’ed in the lift. It was so loud, everyone was disturbed by it and it turned out to be someone’s phone ringtone. You won’t believe that a few people (including myself) were shocked and looked to floor in search of the “cat”. We all thought a cat manage to jump into the lift. Then the malay guy standing at the lift buttons whipped out the phone to answer it. Geez.

Ringtone supposed to be individual preference and you can put any voice clip, sound and music you like. However, I just can’t stand some people who loves current latest songs as their ringtone. Man, there was a time in the office where 5-6 people in the same department have Wastelife’s Uptown Girl ringtone (they bluetoothed to each other). You know the pain.

Ok… in conjunction of the World Earth Day, please don’t use the ringtone that many people have. Save the people from voice pollution. Haha.

Contract works insurance provides cover during construction and maintenance period. After handover, the owner has to prove that any damage was due to negligence of either parties involved. Option for the building owner would be to negotiate settlement with the parties or sue them. Both options could be lengthy, costly processes with no guarantee of success.

* Latent defects insurance offers assurance to the insured should their investment suffer from damage caused by a defect in design, workmanship or materials.

Risk
Insurers will take some form of risk assessment/technical audit of the property and/or construction site before offering cover.

A fee is agreed for this service and will usually be collected as a deposit premium. This is a proactive measure taken by insurers as an attempt to prevent loss and will provide dedicated additional resource to detect possible issue and areas of potential loss.

Some examples of issues ad areas of potential loss are:-

• Poor reinforcement in floor slabs
• Absence of wall tiles
• Lack of movement joints
• Roof membrane laid incorrectly

These risk assessments are taken by professional structural engineers.

Cover
The main elements of cover for building are:-

1. Structural defects
2. Ingress of water
3. Subsidence, landslip and heave
4. Threat of imminent collapse requiring immediate remedial works to prevent damage

..caused by a defect in design, workmanship or materials but not discovered before the inception of the cover

Cover can be granted in respect of plant and machinery. Cover can also be provided in respect of business interruption and will relate to loss income, rent or an increase in cost of working from arranging alternative premises. Cover periods vary in length. Policies can be issued for five, ten or fifteen years or longer.

Sum insured selected should represent the full reinstatement value of the building and should include:-

1. Professional fees
2. Debris removal
3. Demolition costs

Rating and underwriting factors
Underwriter will obtain details about the following:-

1. Insured
2. Building
3. Parties to the contract
4. The period of cover required
5. Sum insured required
6. Level of deductibles
7. Method of maintaining up to date sums insured

Market
Limited market dealt with by a specialist division or workforce dealing solely with the latent defects insurance. Cover available only to major property owners/developers or construction companies.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has more than one reason to support the Reds in the Nou Camp next week. Playing for Barca’s rivals Real Madrid should be enough, but the Dutchman’s love for United means there’s no confusing where his loyalties lie…

How’s life?
Good. It was a big change moving to Madrid from Manchester. My wife was eight months pregnant and it was a busy year, with the baby, settling in, a new language for us and a new team. But we came through it well and everything is more settled. I now speak the language and know my way around Madrid.

Isn’t it true that Dutch people learn a new language every day after breakfast?
[Laughs] I tried to pick up Spanish straight away. I had classes and after six months I could speak a bit. Very few people speak English in Madrid so I had to learn quickly. David Beckham helped me when I arrived. That was a great help.

Do you miss Manchester?
We do. We were very happy there and I always thought that I would finish my career at United. Sometimes things don’t go the way you plan, but that’s true in life and not just football. We spent five years there and Manchester will always be part of us. Me and my wife went back last summer for a weekend to see friends. It was nice to be there and drive around the city. When I finish my career I’ll return to Holland, but I will visit Manchester a couple of times a year.

What have you made of Cristiano Ronaldo’s form lately?
His development has been the biggest change since I left. He stands out now. His improvement has been incredible. He came as a young lad and needed to improve. The manager gave him confidence by playing him all the time. By doing that he got the footballer he wanted. Ronaldo’s now a great player. He makes the right decisions, taking the man on when he needs to and passing the ball at the right time. He does everything – he takes free kicks and corners. He leaves goal kicks to van der Sar, but I expect him to start taking them soon! If he carries on like this he’ll be the best player in the world. He’s got everything.

Do you still watch United’s matches?
I see most of the games. United are always on television in Spain, usually before we play. It’s good to see the team doing so well and I like seeing games at Old Trafford because I’ve got happy memories from there.

How do Spanish fans compare to their English counterparts?
The English are the best supporters in the world. The stadiums are always full. When United played away, our section was packed with the hardcore making a great atmosphere. I can hear the United fans singing when I watch matches on television. I noticed that they have changed the words of one song from ‘Glasgow’, where the 2002 Champions League final was held, to ‘Moscow’ the venue for this year’s final. ‘Follow, follow, follow, because United are going to Moscow,’ – that’s the one. United have the quality to get there.

Ok… went to this nice delicious eatery at marc residences at Jalan Pinang yesterday with my szer. AT the moment, the place is still nice and it is not crowded and pact with patrons. The interior decor is something you should go and check it out yourself.

The price on the menu is very reasonable and they are very generous on food as compared to other eateries of it’s class.

Knowledge management is the compilation and redistribution of organisation’s collective skills and experience for the benefits of organization as a whole. What are the benefits of knowledge management to an organisation?

Knowledge Management is a branch of management for achieving breakthrough business performance through the synergy of people, processes, and technology. Its focus is on the management of change, uncertainty, and complexity. It evolved from the need for advancing beyond the failing paradigm of Information Technology Management that accounts for 70%-80% system failures. Knowledge management refers to the critical issues of organizational adaptation, survival and competence against discontinuous environmental change. Essentially it embodies organizational processes that seek synergistic combination of data and information processing capacity of information technologies, and the creative and innovative capacity of human beings. It is also more about the pragmatic and thoughtful application of any concept or definition, as it is not in the definition but in real world execution where opportunities and challenges lie.

Lessons learned from the world’s greatest organizations show that even simple technologies can generate great performance when empowered by smart minds of motivated and committed humans. Knowledge management activities are all over the map: building databases, measuring intellectual capital, establishing corporate libraries, building intranets, sharing best practices, installing groupware, leading training programs, leading cultural change, fostering collaboration, creating virtual organisations - all of these are knowledge management, and every functional and staff leader can lay claim to it.

Clearly the goal of knowledge management is sustained individual and business performance through ongoing learning, unlearning, and adaptation. Technologies of computing have inherent limitations. They have difficulty in generating meaningful insights from data as they can’t question or re-interpret their programmed logic and assumptions. Given inherent limitations of the technologies of computing, human users of such ’systems’ have at least an equally important role in knowledge management. Some people says that knowledge management cannot be done without technology and somehow it is in danger of being perceived as so seamlessly entwined with technology that its true critical success factors will be lost in the pleasing hum of servers, software and pipes.

Whenever a business decide on investing in a new strategy, program, process, or project, they need to make sure that it is really worth investing and value-adding. They also need to analyse the cost-benefits of such an investment and the return or value that they get out of that investment. In today’s increasingly difficult economic times pose the need for cost-effective initiatives and organisation heads always need a clear understanding of the bottom line knowledge management benefits before they invest in such initiatives.

The Knowledge management benefits can be categorized into three which include knowledge benefits, intermediate benefits and organisational benefits. A typical example would be of an organisation such as a manufacturing firm or an academic institution or a government agency which has numerous physical files. Categorization and segregation into working databases allows the employees who need specific information to access the databases more efficiently through word or category searches instead of having to sift through so many folders. Updating of these databases will also result in having the most recent and relevant information and knowledge stored and easily accessible by any employee who may need any specific information.

Large organisations know a lot of things, but they don’t always know what they know. Consider this scenario: You are a specialist in construction technology who works in a field office of the PLUS Expressways Bhd (PEB). A civil engineer at the Works Ministry calls you, requesting information about Superpave asphalt mixture design. You know PEB has plenty of information about Superpave. But where is it? How do you find it? Whom do you call? The situation is complicated by the fact that knowledge about Superpave exists in a number of forms. Some pavement experts at PEB have been following Superpave developments ever since the technology was introduced. A good-practices paper was written to document one state’s experience. Several university researchers have written journal articles about the effects of the environment on Superpave asphalt mixtures. How can you be sure, even if you identify one or two sources of expertise, that you’ve done more than scratch the surface of the available information?

That’s the kind of problem faced by thousands of organisations — thousands of times a day — and it’s the reason for the development of a concept known as knowledge management. The benefits of knowledge management are endless.

Phew…. went for a morning walk with my szer this morning at TTDI arboretum. That place is quite nice but the trail is just a fraction of that of FRIM. We are establishing an exercise routine to stay fit. Not smoking makes a difference for me as I don’t “puncture” that easily now. Hehe.

By the way, is everyone prepared for the upcoming Euro 2008?! FOS is selling some nice polo T of some great footballing nations (err… please exclude England as it is not available and they did not even qualify to the finals).

Pic: Oliver Bierhoff’s golden goal made this moment happened at the old Wembley in 1996.

Rematch !! Oscar De La Hoya is going to fight Maywheather this coming September 2008. Sources have that the fight would be on either September 13th or 20th and you can catch it on HBO per-per-view. The match is likely to be held at the 27,000 seat Home Depot Center, Los Angeles… home to Los Angeles Galaxy where David Beckham is playing. For De La Hoya/Mayweather tickets, you should check this out before it is all snapped out.

If the fight happens in September, the 9 month break will be the longest of the Grand Rapids native’s career, by slightly more than a month. Mayweather’s fights with De La Hoya and Hatton were the biggest of the year and the promotions were exhausting. He also found mainstream recognition during his fall run on the popular reality series “Dancing with the Stars.”

De La Hoya, who said he hoped to fight for three times this year, but has not fought since losing to Mayweather, will have been idle for more than 16 months, the second-longest layoff in a career filled with lengthy respites in recent years. His part-time status has done little to dampen De La Hoya’s popularity, but may have contributed to three losses in his last five fights. De La Hoya had planned to return to the ring May 3, but didn’t have an opponent. The prospect of facing British star Ricky Hatton, his first choice, evaporated when Mayweather returned to welterweight and knocked Hatton out in the 10th round on Dec. 8.