Dessert @ Kuantan

Mustafa Cendol

Kuantan was boiling hot hence we decided to cool ourselves with a nice bowl of Cendol @ Mustafa Cendol.

In KL, you can get a bowl of cendol from a small stall and you probably have to eat by the roadside e.g TTDI cendol. But Mustafa Cendol must be something in Kuantan, it’s like a restaurant!


The bowl of cendol came in a stainless steel bowl, which I think makes the cendol retains its cool. It’s not too sweet – just nice!

Other than cendol, I heard that this place serves good ABC and rojak.

Related Link
Purple’s Diary: Mustafa Cendol Corner, Kuantan
Pahang Delights – My Favorite Eating Place in Pahang

Keropok Lekor @ Kuantan Mini Zoo

Yes, at all places, you can get good keropok lekor (dried fish crackers) in Kuantan Zoo. Its only 30 cents per piece (or RM1 for 3 pieces). It’s crispy from the outside but soft inside.


Deep fried crab!!

However, be careful while in Kuantan Mini Zoo. I saw a monkey kidnapping someone’s keropok lekor after he walked away to take some pictures. I’ll fight to death if a monkey does that to me!!

Kemaman Kopitiam @ Kuantan

In early May, the xes.cx makan team made a trip down to Kuantan, Pahang.

When we first stepped in Kuantan, my first question was ‘Where to have lunch!?’

The answer was ‘Kemaman Kopitiam!’

So we headed towards the place, which on located on a corner lot, opposite Berjaya Megamall.

I immediately did a quick search on the internet and found a blog recommending their toasted bread and iced coffee.

So ordered their toasted bread and iced coffee plus their ‘milo king’, special nasi lemak and Myanmar noodles.


Niamah Noodles. Tasted weird.

The service was excellent. Commendable.

The interior was excellent as well. Very homey and comfortable.

But I must say their food and drinks sucked. It was no where near Yut Kee, Kluang Railway or Village Park.


Milo King – came with ice cream and chocolate chips – crap

The bill came up to RM39! Bloody expensive for a meal for 2 people for this type of food!

Upon checking, it seems that my nasi lemak with a small piece of grilled chicken and a fried egg costs me RM13.90!


Soooo not worth it! kanasai! RM13.90 I can eat two plates of nasi lemak + rendang ayam @ Village Park!

Thumbs down for this place!

But if you want to find a good place to relax and have a drink, you can head to Kemaman Kopitiam. The map is below.

What ever you order, don’t order Milo King. Damn kanasai.

Help! Someone stole my blog!

I came across this article about “splog” or spam blog.

SINGAPORE, May 27 — Pirated bags, pirated clothes, pirated software, and now, pirated blogs?

With advertising dollars to be had from site hits, copycats have come up with ever inventive ways of leeching off the efforts of original bloggers.

It can range from “splogs” that use automated software to copy online content, to human copy-and-pasters who either lift wholesale with small changes or in part.

Blogger Blobzz, a 29-year-old housewife, was a victim of one such copycat.

She runs a blog shop at knickknackstogo.blogspot.com, which sells mainly handbags and fashion accessories.

Although it was profitable — she earns an average of more than S$2,000 (RM4,830) a month — she e-mailed her customers last month that she was going to be slowing down as she wanted to spend more time with her sons, aged 2-1/2 and 1.

But soon she started getting strange e-mails. The first few were inquisitive, asking if certain items were in stock, even though she hadn’t put up anything new.

But then she got an e-mail saying she was dishonest, accusing her of saying something was in stock when it wasn’t. The writer also called her by a different name.

“That’s when I asked her where she got my e-mail from,” she said.

The writer insisted it was her website. The housewife kept asking until eventually, the writer revealed the web address. It wasn’t her blog shop, but the address was remarkably similar.

Someone had copied and pasted her blog shop’s terms and conditions plus other relevant information without even changing her e-mail.

“When I tried to e-mail her, I e-mailed myself,” she said.

But she eventually got the other blogger’s contact. After a confrontation by e-mail, the alleged copycat (who insisted someone else had done her site) changed the text and removed the e-mail.

But there was no apology.

Recently, the socio-political blog “The Wayang Party” has also started fighting its own version of the clone wars.

On 16 May, it posted an announcement that “a few blogs were set up lately with the sole purpose of plagiarising our articles in order to divert some traffic away from us on search engines”.

Eugene Yeo, the blog’s chief editor, said they were informed by their readers sometime in late March.

The alleged copycat would cut and paste articles wholesale from the blog without putting a reciprocal link.

“Tenacious”

He said: “The originator is very tenacious. We have given him a few warnings not to plagiarise our articles before complaining to WordPress (the blog host) to shut down his blog.”

But blogger would then start another blog with the same root name almost immediately.

Yeo said the impact on his hits and revenue was “minimal”. He no longer writes to the copycat, but simply e-mails the host to shut down his site.

Wendy Cheng, better known as the blogger Xiaxue, said she had been plagiarised several times before.

It has no effect on her ad revenue, she said. Although she was annoyed and incredulous at first, she now “can’t be bothered” unless they repeatedly do it.

Blogger Sesame, who runs several sites, said her beauty and fashion blog www.vivawoman.net, which gets 4,000 to 5,000 hits a day, is the target of many “splogs”.

She deals with the automated ones by not publishing full feeds. But when a splog is a major issue, she’ll contact other blogs affected by it and write to the webhost to shut it down.

To deal with manual copycats, she uses a script to make it more difficult to copy (you can’t highlight text).

Danny Foo, a Malaysian who runs dannyfoo.com, a website design blog, found a copycat website on free blog provider Blogger.com last September.

He said: “The perpetrator not only copied my text to his blog without any reference back to my blog, he even directly used my images from my post.”

Well-known local blogger Cowboy Caleb said: “It’s a new kind of problem, made possible by the “openness” of bloggers to syndicate their thoughts.”

To deal with this, he has a copyrighted by-line that links back to him that appears at the bottom of all his RSS feed items.

Because of the link, he knows it is happening to him on a regular basis. But he prefers to just ignore them.

He said: “Bloggers should focus on creating better content and engaging their readers instead of worrying about petty things like being scraped or copied. They should be honoured that some small time petty criminal even knows them.” — The New Paper

Interesting huh? Definitely can sue for copyright infringement already! Passing off..hmm maybe.

If you had been reading this blog for long, you’ll probably remember how this blog was plagiarized by one “xxess”. That was like 4 years ago! Time flies!

Taken from my entry titled “Copyright Infringement

Lets see..
Here are some screenshots of the website (click for bigger image)

Cris’s banner! OMG!


Frank’s post!

….

JeffOoi’s Screenshot is a Chinese blog? WTF!?


Look @ my link icon!

aahh.. those were the days.

Giving talks

The past few months were great. I’ve been getting invites from all places to speak about internet law. Many thanks to those who invited or referred me.

Recently, I was invited to speak at a small event, a group of 10 people. It was my first time addressing a smaller crowd. The past talks were around 30 – 200 people.


Crowd @ eLawyer Conference

I read from somewhere that, when giving talks, some participants would listen to what you say, some participants doesn’t agree with what you said and some participants just have no clue what you just said. I was ready to address these 3 types of participants.

But no one told me about disruptive participants!

Since it was a small crowd, I ended my talk quickly so that we could have an interactive session i.e. a Q&A. One participant asked me about me about Computer Crimes Act i.e. whether an employer can access their employee’s emails. When I gave my answer, one participant (who I later found out is a senior lawyer), objected and indicated that I was incorrect. It ended up in a debate and other participants joined in as well.

Once we disposed the issue and probably dropping his ‘waterface’, the I could see that the lawyer was dissatisfied and he started to interrupt and tried correcting me a few times.

Fortunately, I had the assistance of another fellow participant who was also a lawyer. Fellow chairperson was also there to diffuse the tension.


My fortune teller tells me that I would always have people helping me. How true.

But I must say it was fun. It was fun to be engaged in a public debate. It also gave me another experience on what can go wrong in a talk.

At my closing speech, I thanked the disruptive participant for sharing his knowledge. I didn’t want to be small and hold a grunge. But I think he probably left a “lousy speaker!! goto back to law school!!” comment on the feedback sheet.

After everyone packed up, one participant came up to me and said, “that guy is a jerk!!!!!!!!”.

Zee Avi

When I first saw the name, I thought it was a Japanese adult video actress by the name Zee.

But I soon found out that Zee Avi is no pornstar, but she’s a star in the US! Born and bred in Malaysia, Zee started off posting her songs on YouTube and soon found herself signed to perform in the United States.

Check out her song below.

I must say, “WOW!”. Malaysia does have some great singers!

Zee hails from Miri, the land of hot chicks. I wonder how come Miri has so many hot chicks. I remember being there couple of years ago and I met this girl who looks like Asa from http://www.aceentrance.net

It must be the duck flavoured char kuey teow from the market.

From Zee Avi’s Myspace

About Zee Avi
CATCH ZEE AVI ON TOUR — TOUR DATES BELOW BIO

Zee Avi is just 23 but she’s an old soul. A huge talent in a petite frame bringing a universal message from the unlikely birthplace of Borneo, an ancient island east of Malaysia which remains an untouched, natural paradise, an apt description of her songs.

How Avi came to record her debut album in L.A., the first joint release from Ian Montone’s Monotone Label and Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records, is a true 21st century tale of the way the Internet has transformed the music business and shrunk the globe in the process.

Born in the tiny town of Miri in Sarawak on the island of Borneo, Zee grew up near the South China Sea in a liberal, encouraging household where her father owned an energy consultancy. “I was bred to be a lawyer,” she says, but music was in her blood. Her father’s father sang and played double-bass, accordion, violin and guitar in bands.

At age 12, Zee moved from Borneo to Kuala Lumpur where she has been based since. At 17, Zee started locking herself in a room for hours on end to learn to play guitar. Guitar took a back seat for 4 years while she was studying fashion design in London. When she returned to Kuala Lumpur, she picked the instrument back up and began writing songs and performing with a band.

Zee began recording her songs on a webcam and posting them on YouTube for a friend to hear. “I remember getting so excited when there was one new comment from some random person I didn’t know… One read ‘I’m lost for words – I shall favorite it and ponder if that’s OK,’ ” which was written by Kris Rowley, a U.K. singer-songwriter with a YouTube following under the name Zzzzzzzzap. He began posting her videos on his site, which began a viral snowball effect.

The day before her 22nd birthday, Zee posted what she intended to be “my last video,” a holiday song, “No Christmas for Me.” By the time she checked her e-mail Avi had almost 3,000 messages including a slew of label offers. One email came from Ian Montone, who had been shown the YouTube clip by Raconteurs’ drummer, Patrick Keeler, prompting Montone to get in touch and offer to release her music on the Monotone Label.

Before she knew it Zee was on a plane to L.A. to record her debut with producer Robert Carranza at Brushfire’s Solar Powered Plastic Plant. “No Christmas for Me” was then featured on the holiday charity album, This Warm December, A Brushfire Holiday, Vol. 1.

With an eclectic pool of influences that range from such eccentrics as Cat Power, Regina Spektor, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Jolie Holland, Daniel Johnston and Chris Garneau, to jazz greats Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, to classics like Velvet Underground and Led Zeppelin, this self-described “rock lover at heart” captures the dark, bittersweet qualities of romance with a crack left open for hope and optimism.

From the sensuous scat singing on “Honey Bee” to the sultry break-up song, “Is This the End,” recalling the existential longing of Peggy Lee’s “Is That All There Is,” Zee is hopeful of finding love, but equally aware of lurking heartache.

The songs on Zee Avi’s debut are about an outsider’s desire to belong and the tentative hope of moving on, filled with regret and loss, but boasting an impish, worldly wise sensibility. “I tend to be a loner,” she nods. ” ‘Honey Bee’ is about a romance between two nonconformists who are different from the rest of the hive, and are trying to avoid the pressure to be like everybody else.”

“Just You and Me,” the first song she wrote on ukulele, has a ‘20s New Orleans swing jazz vibe.

“I get my melodic feel from the simplicity of classic jazz, people singing what they felt with straightforward lyrics and not too many harmonies,” Zee says. “Just a lot of honesty. I’m a girl of simple pleasures.

The elemental acoustic guitar of “Story of…” is enhanced with an Eno-like ambience that add to its shimmering quality, while “Poppy” is autobiographical “with a little bit of poetic license” that looks back at the demise of a two-year relationship.

“My stuff is pretty dark,” Zee admits. “Most of my songs are about the reality side of romance, outlets to vent my emotions.”

While her live experience amounts to playing gigs in Kuala Lumpur, Zee appeared this January on From the Basement, the U.K. TV webcast/broadcast that has featured Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Damien Rice, the White Stripes and the Shins. From the Basement will also air on the U.S.‘s IFC Channel.

From Malaysia to Los Angeles, Zee Avi is enjoying the ride and ready to take on passengers. “I’m still pinching myself” she gushes. “My parents always told me it’s important to keep yourself grounded. I’m thankful, but at the same time, I just want to jump through the roof. It’s been a pretty amazing journey, getting to work with some really wonderful people, a blessing, really.”

Zee Avi’s Monotone/Brushfire Records debut returns that blessing…and then some.

Monotone Records is owned by Ian Montone, whose Monotone, Inc. manages the White Stripes, M.I.A., The Shins, Vampire Weekend, the Raconteurs, Against Me!, Cold War Kids, Crookers, among others.

Brushfire Records is owned by Jack Johnson and his manager Emmett Malloy and is home to artists like Rogue Wave, Matt Costa, Neil Halstead, Money Mark, G. Love, Mason Jennings, ALO and Zach Gill.

Related Link
Zee Avi’s Official Website
Zee Avi’s YouTube

Call from agent

The last time I dealt with X, a sales agent of a local company, was one year ago.

Last week, out of a sudden, I received a call from him…

X: Mr. Fooooonngggggggggggggg…Hoowww aree youuuuuu??? Mr X from XX Companyyyy
Me: Mr. X goood.. how are you? so watsup?
X: Nothing laaaa.. just want to ask you how are things la..you know la, times are badd nowww… call me if anything ok? ok?? ok????
Me: Er..ok

*tooot tooot tooot*

Is the economy that bad now?? Anyone feeling the pinch?

Anyone lost his/her jobs?? I know one local bank is looking for 80 – 100 relationship managers and a local boutique store is looking for a store manager. If you need more info, let me know.

And I think Astro’s Customer Service department should be looking for people..with the amount of abuse their staff get, I would have quit on my first day. Check out the video below.

Jeeva, I salute you!!

Bar Council Extraordinary General Meeting

As some of you may know, immediately after the arrest of the 5 lawyers for trying to provide legal assistance to some activists who were arrested, the Bar Council immediately called for an extraordinary general meeting to condemn the arrest of the lawyers.

For the first time, the EGM was held in Kompeks Civil at PJ State. It was a rather small place. I remember being there with Umeng and some other chaps many years ago to watch an orchestra. I remember it being quite pleasant and comfortable. However, during the EGM, it was hot and packed. Around 1400 lawyers packed the auditorium! There were not enough places to sit. I was sweating like a pig!!


So packed..

Our quorum of 500 was met almost immediately. Few years back, it was 1/5 of 12000 Bar members. We always had trouble meeting the quorum back then.

Getting a car park was troublesome as there were limited spaces. Further, PJ State is a busy area thus most parking bays are taken. We ended parking quite far from the auditorium. Some lawyers decided to park illegally and this resulted in some cars being towed away.

When I arrived the 5 lawyers who were arrested spoke on their experience. It made my blood boil when the lawyers said they were handcuffed, thrown into a smelly cell with other detainees and made to wear the pink ‘lockup’ tshirt. It made my blood boil further when the police insulted one of the lawyers and gave him no respect.


‘Lockup’ Tshirt – god knows what disease you can get from wearing this tshirt.

Some of you at home would probably think, ‘what has it got to do with me? You lawyers can fight all you want’. What I can say is that this is not a lawyer’s fight. This is the right of every citizen of Malaysia. The right to have legal representation. If this very right is denied, we are moving towards a police state with no civil liberties. Think Zimbabwe and North Korea.

How many of us here would fear whenever you see a police patrol car or a road block? We shouldn’t fear but to feel safe when they are around. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen much.

After lengthy speeches and inputs by other members of the Bar, the motion was amended to include other actions such as suing the police, the OCPD of Brickfields (the chap who wore the Head Hunter tshirt in the video below) and demand that the Home Minister and Inspector General of Police (IGP) to resign. The lawyers may also take the streets again but it is not known when it will happen.


After the EGM

When this happens, keep an eye on my twitter for live updates!

Related Link
xes.cx – Walk for Justice (entry on 2000 lawyers who took the streets)

Restaurant Lam Yee @ Living Food Restaurant Sdn Bhd @ Uptown Damansara

Whenever I pass by this place, I would think of fat juicy noodles dipped in thick dark gravy. But everything I pass by, my stomach is already full from Village Park Coffee shop.

However, I finally skipped Village Park for a day to give this restaurant a try.

This restaurant has two floors. It was packed on the first floor hence moved up to the second floor.

The second room was rather quiet. There were not many people but most tables were filled with used glasses and bowls. The waitresses were too busy to clean the place up!


We had to fill up a form first to order.

Few minutes later, my Lam Mee came!

After so many years to thinking about it, I finally get to put it in my mouth..waahahaha

However, it was disappointing. It was not as good as I expected it to be. The most important bit i.e. the gravy was so so. It needed a little bit more taste in it.

But if you wish to try it yourself, the map to this place is as follows:


Rough Estimation

Address
67 Jalan SS21/37,
Damansara Utama,
PJ