Hari Raya open house pics

We had an 'open house' - a Malaysian tradition, on the 13th Saturday. We planned to have it from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm but somehow it got extended by a around 2 hours as some of our friends were only able to visit later.

Here are some pics:


Our second Raya in the UK

FOOD



Serunding (squarish plate), Chicken Rendang (yellow bowl), Lamb Rogan, Dhal Curry, Saffron Rice, Pulut Kuning & Nasi Impit (on the silver oval plate), and some different varieties of raya cookies.

Most of the dishes were prepared by my wife. The cookies and serunding were gifts from my in-laws in Malaysia (came by Fedex). The nasi impit was prepared by Nana's family. I only made the Dhal.


Cadbury Cocoa pudding


GUESTS


Rahil and friend











Thanks to everyone who visited our house. Special mention to Nana, Mozard and Family and Min who helped out.

Selamat Hari Raya 07

This is our second Hari Raya here in the UK. We had assumed that it was on Saturday until our friend Amrul called us up and informed us that it was today.

Had to go to the University today as I had a seminar from 1 to 2 pm. This was the first seminar for this term and I was a bit nervous at first. Today was just an "ice breaking" session and it went off quite well. The students came up with some brilliant answers to the scenario we (the tutors) had prepared for them.

In the evening, visited a few of our friends' houses. Tomorrow is our turn - we are having the Hari Raya open house from 11 am to 3 pm. Expect a lot of delicious dishes prepared by a World famous chef - my wife.

BP sponsors the Solar Decathlon

I consider myself quite eco-friendly and am doing my little bit for the environment. We are actively trying to reduce our carbon footprint by taking public transport, recycling, putting up energy saving bulbs and so on. I have realised that it makes economic sense as well. We found that our monthly expenditure has been reduced quite a bit after we implemented the energy saving measures and I think I am fitter as well, with all the walking I do now.

Anyway, I just learnt about the . In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, BP is the major sponsor of the 2007 Solar Decathlon. In this bi-annual event, 20 university teams from around the world design, build and operate livable, every-efficient, and completely solar-powered houses.

The teams form a solar village in the National Mall in Washington, D.C. from October 11–19. The contestants run a modern household by only using electricity generated by the sun.

Sponsoring this special event is part of BP’s Commitment to discovering cost effective yet cheap alternative energy sources. They first sponsored the event in 2002 (the first) and again in 2005.

Read the regular updates on the BP Solar Decathlon blog. It should be of interest to anybody who are interested in alternative energy, especially solar energy solutions.

Is the institution of marriage dead?

According to a recent statistics published by the Office of National Statistics, here in the UK, more and more couples are living together without getting married - the number increasing by almost two thirds between 1996 and 2006. At the same time, number of married couple families has dropped.

This may be bad news for the entire society as not being married means that the chances of breaking up are higher. The ones suffering most of the time would be the kids that are the result of such relationships.

Read the full report "Cohabiting is fastest growing family type."

Blackpool trip 2

Here are some pics from our recent trip to Blackpool.


We stayed at the Travelodge hotel at Preston Central about 20 minutes away.
Comfortable yet affordable.


The Blackpool Illuminations




The Fireworks


Blackpool tower illumination at night


Ferris wheel called the Blackpool eye




Blackpool Tower in the morning


The Ferris wheel "Blackpool eye"


View from the top of the Blackpool eye


My daughter sitting opposite me. She was very brave. Not scared at all.


View from top 1


View from top 2


Sea Gull


My wife and daughter

Ladies into golf

A lot of my friends are golf crazy and their wives have resigned to the fact that they can't compete with the game. However, of late I have noticed a new developments. A lot of ladies have also caught the golfing bug. Many started out accompanying their husbands on their weekend golfing sessions. Tired of waiting in the restaurants, they started hitting some balls on the deriving range and that was it.

Some of the ladies are there on the green, every chance they can get and some of them are really good. I am sure some of you reading this post are one of them. Several special golfing shops targeted at women and specializing on golf apparel ladies have come up. Loads of great comfortable and cool clothes and shoes to choose from.

Blackpool trip 1

One Friday, the 21st, we drove to Blackpool to view the famous "Illuminations" as well as the World Fireworks Championships. For your information, the Illuminations are turned on every autumn and have been a major part of Blackpool’s attraction since 1879.

The fireworks started around 8:30pm and on that day, it was the team from Austria's turn. We stood on the promenade and watched the wonderful fireworks display. Met up with Mozard and family later and a friend later.

The last and final display was on the 28th. Wonder who won the competition.

Here are some short clips of the fireworks: