dying future generation?

MOBILE phones are a necessity these days as the number of users have grown in ten folds since the mobile technology was introduced in the 1980s.

Tracing back to its roots, the widespread of modern cell phones is thanks to the birth of hexagonal cells for mobile phone base stations created by Bell Labs in 1947.

It was further improvised in the 1960s while the first call on a handheld mobile phone by Motorola’s guru Martin Cooper on April 3, 1973.

Today, Swedish based Nokia dominates the rapidly growing cell phone industry with a 36% dominance in the first quarter of this year.

The numbers of hand phone users especially its boom in the mid-1990s has grown to extraordinary numbers. China is projected to have more than 400 million users by next year while even the world’s poorest continent Africa records the largest cellular subscriber growth rate worldwide.

What was once thought to be an item of luxury, at present time, kids as young as six are utilising such devices.

Nevertheless, while the majority are more concerned in upgrading their phones to keeping on track with the latest designs, very few speak of the side effects.

Just like the drugs and oil industries, research and theories with regards to the telecommunications in particular cell phones have been suppressed by manufacturers.
The World Health Organisation concluded that serious health effects by mobile technology or their base stations are very unlikely.

Nevertheless, there has been a list of side effects, mostly cancer, connected to the usage of mobile phones. Several studies have been done but nothing concrete has been raised as most studies conducted are less than 10 years of research.

Even more worrying, while the majority of users back in the 1990s were from the upper bracket income with an average age of 35 years old and above, the income bracket and age category has diminished as evident today with children as young as six utilise the mobile phone while the spectrum of users from businessmen to labourers own at least one cell phone.

Also, mobile technology is constantly upgrading, from the 0G when it first started to the 3G we have today. How much radiation is involved remains unclear till today.

It is a booming business which no one wants to rock, however the consequences could be detrimental. From poor hearings and eye sights due to the usage of such devices to a rot in the reproduction system (especially by men who place their phones in their pants).

Hopefully, we will find out the truth in the damage such necessity can do to a person. Till then, follow these simple steps;

1 Hands free device help to minimise radiation to the head. However, avoid using wireless headsets and use the traditional hands free kit.

2 Mobile phones should be placed away from your body as often as possible. Avoid placing them under pillows when sleeping.

3 Do not be overly dependant on your mobile phone.

-The Man Who Sold The World-

the turkey of the year

I always thought of President Bush to be the most dumbest person alive.

I was wrong.

There's a new moron in town, and it's Sanjaya (pic) of American Idol.

I was watching a clip on youtube of a recent episode on American Idol (not a big fan anyway) where Jack Black (a very big fan) sang Seal's Kiss from a Rose as an audition stunt.

While Randy told Black he needed 'strechy pants' and Paula Abdul said "The School of Rock called and they want their diploma back", Simon Cowell lambasted Sanjaya by telling Black "You're much better then Sajaya"

Instead of being dissapointed or stunned by such a statement, Sanjaya, who was seated by his sister in the audience, was bursting out with laughter!

Therefore Mr Bush, I guess you're not so moronic after all as an American bred Indian has beaten you to the title!

p/s: I guess if Simon Cowell can escape slander by telling the whole world how lousy Sanjaya is, the former Idol wannabe shouldn't have a problem with this posting of ours eh.

-The Man Who Sold The World-

wind of change

A major shuffle in the Malaysian sports scene.

While observers have been anticipating this day since end of last year, Youth and Sports Minister Azalina Othman Said announced, via an email letter to all major publications, an hour ago with regards to the latest heads in the controversial National Sports Council (NSC) and the National Sports Institute (NSI).

Dr Ramlan Aziz, who took over from Mazlan Wira in NSC will now spear head the NSI while Datuk Zolkples Embong replaces Ramlan, brother to Malaysian Idol critical judge Roslan Aziz.

Hopefully the new wind of change will bring more glory to the sporting scene in the country.

Details of the letter as follows:

Ruj. Kami : KBS.1-13/8/JldVII ( )
Tarikh : 25 APRIL 2007
Siaran segera

SIARAN AKHBAR

PELANTIKAN KETUA PENGARAH MAJLIS SUKAN NEGARA (MSN)
DAN KETUA PENGARAH INSTITUT SUKAN NEGARA (ISN) YANG BARU

Kementerian Belia dan Sukan membuat penyusunan semula fungsi Majlis Sukan Negara (MSN) dan Institut Sukan Negara ( ISN) selaras dengan arahan Jawatankuasa Kabinet dan Surat Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bil 5. tahun 1987 supaya pewujudan penggredan semula jawatan dan pemansuhan jawatan-jawatan di Badan-Badan Berkanun dan Penguasa -Penguasa Tempatan diletakkan di bawah Agensi Pusat.

Selaras dengan itu hari ini, Menteri Belia dan Sukan Malaysia Dato’ Seri Azalina Dato’ Othman Said hari ini mengumumkan bahawa Dato Dr. Ramlan bin Abdul Aziz Jawatan hakiki Ketua Pengarah Majlis Sukan Negara dilantik sebagai Ketua Pengarah Institut Sukan Negara atas Gred Utama C. Manakala Dato’ Zolkples Embong dilantik sebagai Ketua Pengarah Majlis Sukan Negara atas Gred S 54. Pelantikan ini berkuatkuasa hari ini 25 April 2007.

Untuk Maklumat lanjut sila hububungi:

Yosri bin Abu Mahsin
Pegawai Perhubungan Awam
b.p. Ketua Setiausaha
Kementerian Belia dan Sukan Malaysia
Telefon 012 3636 910/ email yosri@kbs.gov.my



“BELIA BENCI DADAH”

-The Man Who Sold The World-

Creamcrackers turns ONE!!

LOL we almost forgot to blog on our first birthday!! But then again, guess it's never too late for us to give our birthday shout out to the readers of creamcrakers.

It's been a wonderful year filled with interesting issues and topics that we, the team of creamcrackers have had the chance to rant about.

We would like to thank the people who have stopped to share their views, those who provided us with interesting scoops and lastly to the folks who have inspired us to write on this little blog of ours.

Thank you and stay tune to creamcrackers.May the rantings, writings and opinions continue to flow in the coming year!

image from http://www.allaboardtoys.com/assets/product_imagesm/GU-75891.jpg

-the creamcraker crew-

How Malaysian Are You?

GOT this questionaire from a forwarded email. It certainly gets you thinking on how much or little you know about the country you call home.

Try it out and see how you fare. Try not to cheat and reflect your answers with the given answers below. Then grade yourself following the allocated marks given. All the best :)

QUESTIONS

1. How much is satu kupang?

2. Where's the favourite spot to take wedding pictures in Taiping?

3. In what dialect is Apo Nak Di Kato?

4. Name at least five variations of roti canai.

5. What is the staple food of native Sarawakians?

6. Name a popular Malay ointment made from "sea-cucumber"

7. Name the sauce made from fish or shrimp that the Kelantanese love.

8. What does pi mai pi mai tang tu mean?

9. Which fruit is Ipoh famous for?

10. What is the English name for putu mayam?

11. "Lah" is to Peninsular Malaysians as"..." is to Sabahans.

12. What does ABC stand for?

13. How long is a saree?

14. What does the Cantonese phrase" ngam ngam " means ?

15. Name Penang's famous beach.

16. How do you order coffee mixed with tea at a kopi-tiam?.

17. What's on Malaysian TV at 8pm?

18. On one side of our RM1 coin is the bunga raya, what's on the other?.

19. Now what's on our 10 sen coin?

20. What was the name of the KL Commonwealth Games 1998 mascot?

21. When you fill in a form, if you're not Malay, Chinese or Indian, you are...?

22. Who is Malaysia's favourite Kampung Boy?

23. How did the word "gostan" come about?

24. Lobo's Whispers in the Wind is the English version of which famous Malay song?

25. When did Malaysia last win the Thomas Cup?

26. What is the name of our national flag?

27. If you want 4D numbers, who do you consult?

28. What's the name of the Malaysian-made 175cc motorbike?

29. Name our national bird.

30. If the father is a baba, and the mother is a nyonya, then what is the son?

ANSWERS

1. Northern slang for 10 sen

2. Lake Gardens

3. Negri Sembilan, meaning "What's there to say?"

4. Roti bom, roti pisang, roti planta, roti telur, roti sardin, roti tisu, roti bawang

5. Sago

6. Minyak gamat made from sea cucumber, for wounds

7.Budu

8. Northern dialect that means coming and going but ending up at the same spot

9. Pomelo

10. String hoppers

11. Bah

12. Air batu campur OR All Asia Broadcast Centre

13. Six yards

14. Just in time or just fit or just right.

15. Batu Ferringhi

16. Kopi cham

17. The news

18. Keris

19. Congkak

20. Wira

21. "Others" or Lain-lain

22. Lat

23. A corruption of "go astern"

24. P. Ramlee's Getaran Jiwa

25. 1992

26. Jalur Gemilang

27. "Datuk"

28. Jaguh

29. There's none - lah

30. Baba

SCORES AND EVALUATIONS

0-10 - Malu-lah you! I suggest you spend at least one hour a day at your nearest coffee-shop.

11-20 - Boleh pass. Okay, you may claim to be the average Malaysian with a score in this range but you could watch less CNN on Astro and more local content on RTM.

21-30 - Wah, you one true blue Malaysian-lah. Top quality belacan. I am truly impressed, especially if you know the answer to No. 29 which is very tricky!

p/s: Got a couple of the questions wrong but according to the ratings above I'm a top quality belacan. Not bad eh.

-The Man Who Sold The World-

what goes around comes around

IT has been revealed.

The Asian student responsible for the 30 over deaths at the Virginia Tech University in US was a 23 year old South Korean Cho Seung-hui.

Reasons of such a trigger free attitude by the Korean was unexplainable at present time but while students and parents all over the nation are stunned in what is said to be the worst shooting spree, President Bush seems to be rather ‘cool’ with the morning drama.

An unconvincing address was made by Bush, pouring his sympathy to the victims but critics believe Bush is more worried about passing the ‘war-spending bill’ which the Democrats have reservations about.

This is another instance where the US is simply an easily penetrated country, despite its strict security regulations.

While the government is busy policing the world, there are many serious woes within the ‘Land of Opportunities’. From major scaled arm and drug dealings to foreign abuse and social ills, Uncle Sam has become into one twisted state.

Yet, we all praise the States, belittling our own people while Americans in actual fact employ us due to our diligence and loyalty and most importantly brains.

Among the dead in the Virginia Tech killings was an Indian- civil and environmental professor GV Loganathan.

Many questions have been raised, including the fact to why classes were still carried during the two hour gap? Why wasn't security within the campus beefed up right after the first attacks at 7.15am?

Sadly, we’re looking at another possibility of a racial backlash. First it was the Middle Easterners after the 9-11 attacks. And now Koreans are set to suffer the same fate.

Worst shooting sprees in USA.

1 August 1966 - Sniper Charles Whitman killed 14 people and injured dozens at University of Texas.

20 April 1999 - Two teenagers at Columbine High School Colorado, killed 13 people before killing themselves.

21 March 2005 - A teenager on an Indian reservation in Red Lake, Minnesota, kills nine.

Pic: A makeshift memorial for Loganathan at Va. Tech- courtesy of AP Photo/Amy Sancetta.

-The Man Who Sold The World-

singaporean conspiracy

SO was there a conspiracy to dish Malaysia by the Singaporean press?

Many observers seem to think so after two highly reported incidents in the Republic’s mainstream newspapers- with regards to former Malaysian international football player and national coach Chow Kwai Lam and the Formula One fiasco.

Kwai Lam was found guilty by the Singaporean District Court for corruptly offering between S$200-S$300 (RM455-RM684) and a further unspecified amount to Singaporean club side Paya Lebar Punggol goalkeeper Zulkifli Zainolabidin. The gratification was to intentionally allow the opposing team to score goals in an S-League match between Paya Lebar Punggol and Home United.

While family, especially Kwai Lam’s wife Shirley Sam, and friends strongly believe in Kwai Lam’s innocence, the Singaporean media has spun the story so wide, that even foreign new agencies picked on the story.

What baffles many is that Kwai Lam, who donned the national jersey from 1965-1971 and later made coach in 1978, would not have succumbed so low to actually ‘test’ the goalkeeper of his loyalty. Also, it must be noted Kwai Lam was not coaching any Singaporean team at that time and that the courts have only relied on Zulkifli’s testimony to charge Kwai Lam.

With all this going on, some strongly believe the Singaporeans have a hidden agenda. The same can be same with their ambitious outburst in hosting a night street F1 Grand Prix within the streets of the Island.

The moment Singaporean mogul Ong Beng Seng held talks and a dinner session with F1 supremo Bernie Eccelstone, the Singapore media have been on such hype, that they even got bold to thrash the Malaysian GP, adding that a leg run on their soil would be a replacement if not hurt the Malaysian GP for good.

It is an open secret Singaporean journalist are kept on a tight leash within their administration and can only find solace in whacking personalities or parties outside their country. This has been evident on numerous occasions and seems to be the case this time around.

Perhaps this is how Singapore- a country which claims its national language and national anthem Majulah Singapura is in Malay yet their formal administration letters are all written in English- works.

A country which claims to hear the voice of its people but only on certain issues and gags them if it goes against the wishes of the government.

Perhaps the observers are wrong, or perhaps not.

-The Man Who Sold The World-

and the english go a step further

ENGLISH club side Manchester United showed the world why they are the best after nailing AS Roma 7-1 in the UEFA Champions League quarter final.

The Manchester team, dubbed as Red Devils, advanced to the semi final after an 8-3 aggregate. Roma won the first leg 2-1.

Playing on their home ground at Old Trafford, the English side started their goal scoring campaign through former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Michael Carrick followed by Alan Smith and Wayne Rooney. Flamboyant but rather dramatic player Critiano Ronaldo blasted a shot at the bottom corner while Carrick added his name in the score sheets for the second time.

With six goals down, Roma’s consolation goal came in through Danele De Rossi but Man U’s Patrice Evra further added more dismay to the Italian side with the final goal of the day.

United are set to take on either AC Milan or German greats Bayern Munich.

The other English side to advance is Chelsea as they beat Valencia 2-1 (agg 3-2) to move on.

Like them or not, it must be highly regarded that Sir Alex Ferguson’s lads have done him proud as the massacre at Old Trafford is set to send shivers down the spines of the other competing teams.

As for Roma, it would be a day they would rather forget.

This has got to be the talk of town, erasing memories of Spur’s and English goalkeeper Paul Robinson beating fellow national keeper Ben Foster from his end of post during the Spur and Watford showdown. The London side won 3-1.

-end-

more glitz needed

IT was only fitting for national and world squash queen Nicol Ann David to bag the National Sportswoman Award.

While her father Desmond collected her award and the RM10,000 mock cheque from Yang de-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin (pic), she continues her winning streak of 43 unbeaten matches to date after overpowering Egyptian raising star Omneya Abdel Kawy in the on-going Kuwait Open.

Nicol’s win was based on her brilliant performance last year, winning the British Open titles and the gold in the Asian Championships and aided the Malaysian women’s team to finish third in the World Team Championship in Canada.

Bodybuilder and former Mr Universe Sazali Samad was named as the National Sportsman of the year. The 40 year old policeman from Batu Pahat won the bantamweight competition in the World Amatuer Bobybuilding Championships in the Czech Republic and managed the silver in the Asian Games, amidst biased judging.

He also pocketed RM10,000 for his achievement.

While the night was filled with joy, observers felt more could have been done prior in gearing up for the event, dubbed as the Oscars of Malaysian sports which was held at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara last night.

In fact, the media circle was only given a formal invitation via email a day before the event.

Even sadly, this is the first time our new young King is the guest of honour, and what better than a sportsman himself to hand out awards to his fellow athletes. The Terengganu King represents the country in equestrian, one of the very few leaders (eg Perak’s Sultan Azlan Shah) to ever be aggressively involved in sports. Sultan Azlan was awarded the Sports Figure of the year due to his long involvement in hockey.

Instead, the sports fraternity were more interested in the Formula One fiasco, with even miniters who have never shown any interest for the past editions since 1998 filling the Perdana Suite and grandstands over the weekend.

2006 National Awards Roll of Honour
Sportsman: Sazali Samad (bodybuilding)
Sportswoman: Nicol David (squash)
Men’s Team: Bowling- Alex Liew, Aaron Kong, Azidi Ameran, Ben Heng, Daniel Lim and Zulmazran Zulkifli.
Women’s Team: Lawn Bowls- Nur Iryani Azmi, Azlina Arshad, Norhashimah Ismail.
Best Male Paralympic: Faridul Masri (athletics)
Best Female Paralympic: Zainab Mohd Ashari (athletics)
Best Male Coach: Mohd Ariffin Ghani (lawn bowls)
Best Female Coach: Choo Yih Hwa (lawn bowls)
Sports Leadership: Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid (lawn bowls); Datuk Thomas Lee (golf)
Sports Figure: Sultan Azlan Shah (hockey)
Special Award: Krishnan Thambusamy (athletics); Yeoh Cheang Swi (rugby); Balwant Singh (triathlon).

Pic coutersy of TheStar online

-The Man Who Sold The World-

Hamilton rules again

THERE’S a new kid on the block, and he’s all out to prove he aint a flash in the pan.

The Sepang International Circuit hosted round two of the 2007 Formula One Grand Prix over the weekend and British lad Lewis Hamilton stole the limelight once again.

Hamilton made a possible 1-2 finish for McLaren Mercedes at Sepang as former world champion and team mate Fernando Alonso crossed the line ahead. Alonso clocked 1:32:14.930s to end the 56 lap race.

This is Hamilton’s second podium finish of the season. The 22 year old was also placed third in the season’s curtain raiser at the Australian Grand Prix on March 18.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikonnen came in third after clocking 1:32:33.269s.

Now Hamilton looks forward to the Bahrin GP next week (Apr 15).

“I didn’t think I would be here on the podium next to two of the world’s best drivers, so I just want to say thank you to the team,” said Hamilton after the race.

“The race was definitely difficult. It was difficult to keep the Ferraris behind but fortunately I was able to trick them into out-braking themselves to the point Fillipe (Massa) eventually lost control,” the Briton added.

Hamilton has proved his successful debut start to the F1 is no fluke but some believe it is too soon to tell if the first black F1 driver could be a world champion in the making.

Meanwhile, Team Spyker failed to end the race as both cars broke down. While local ace Fairuz Fauzy was not given a chance to test the car while he was in Sepang, creamcrackers learnt Fairuz plans his test drives cautiously as he is to pay ₤90 000 (about RM 630 000) for each test drive session.

Fact file:
Name: Lewis Hamilton
Nationality: British
Date of Birth: 07/01/1985
Team: McLaren Mercedes
Podiums finish: 2 (to date)
Points: 14 (to date)
Background: Graduated from Formula Renault series (won Formula Renault in 2003- 10 race wins, 9 fastest laps, 11 pole positions); F3 Euroseries (2005 champion- 15 wins, 10 fastest laps, 13 pole positions); GP2 (champion in debut year 2006).

Note: Pic courtesy of Yahoo.com

-The Man Who Sold The World-

step up or step out

THE Singaporean and several foriegn media have been harping on the possibility of a night Monte Carlo type street circuit on the Republic's soil.

creamcrackers obtained a piece from what was supposed to be published in The Weekend Mail (Apr 7-8, 2007 edition) but was axed by the editors as 'being an ammunation for the Singaporean government to bid for the race'.

As a consolation, the writer was told the piece was a good fact finding report, but clearly being good at times isn't good at all.

Note, paragraphs in the article does not point the fingers at SIC solely, but encouraging better understanding between the parties involved in making the Malaysian GP great and able to withstand a possible rivalry with Singapore.

Article as follows;

MOTORSPORTS/ High time for Malaysia to rev up.

by haresh deol

THE truth hurts, and its time for us to face reality.

The Singaporean media are in a frenzy over the past month as Singaporean hotel mogul Ong Beng Seng has held talks, including a dinner, with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone over a possible F1 showcase to be staged on the Republic's streets at nightfall.

Also, in weeks to come Singapore could be named as the new headquarters for the A1 Grand Prix and with the planned construction of a 3.5 km circuit roughly estimated at USD 200million, our Islander friends have something to cheer about.

Perhaps much research and development have been quietly done by the Singaporeans prior to their ambitious outbursts. However safety remains top priority as stated by Mark Webber with BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld echoing more have to be done to ensure no blackouts occur as drivers sweep corners at 200kmph.

So where will this leave the Sepang International Circuit (SIC)? The SIC have been bombarded with calls from the Singaporean and foreign media on the numbers of foreigners, in particular Singaporeans who frequent the Malaysian Grand Prix. According to the statistics revealed by SIC, the total number of Singaporean ticket buyers since 2004 is 45,515 (2004- 14,400; 2005- 10,557; 2006- 20,558).

SIC recorded a 40% increase in ticket sales this year compared to the previous edition but the total sold and foriegner-local sales breakdown remains unclear to date as the country plays host for the next three years and hopefully until 2015.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said and SIC's chairman Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir are not too perturbed over Singapore’s bidding. Nevertheless, many agree more has to be done to promote motorsports in addition to solving the teething problems since the inaugural GP in 1998.

Mailsport received calls from disgruntled fans yesterday morning, claiming their credit cards could not be used to buy merchandises due to a 'system failure' while the ATM machines within the circuit's compound were also out of service. They were forced to take a 15 minutes drive to the nearest petrol station to withdraw money while some were stuck in the long lines, missing the morning practice sessions. However, we were told the system was up and running later in the day.

Transportation is still a problem. While going to the KL International Airport is made easy thanks to the ERL and several bus services, the same cannot be said in getting to SIC.

Fans who drive are charged between RM50 to RM100 for a three day parking pass, and for the price, they expect parking their vehicles on better paved bays. Some claim the bays are too far out and the shuttle service is of no help as they are forced to wait for hours to obtain a place in the sardine packed busses.

And the massive traffic that builds right after the race, coupled with the existing weekend volume along the highway further puts off motorist. Not all can travel with police escorts or enjoy helicopter rides.

Whether Singapore wins its bid in organising the F1 remains to be seen. This, however, should not discourage Malaysia from putting up a brilliant show as hosts. Nevertheless, those involved need to buck up in providing better build ups and accesibility towards motoring events organised here.

Otherwise we could be looking at a bleak future, just like the French Grand Prix.

-end-

p/s: pic courtesy of www.virtualmalaysia.com

-creamcrackers-