Torture seats

When my wife and I flew AirAsia X to the Gold Coast in not-so-sunny Queensland in Nov 2007, it was just four days after the innovative, low-budget, long haul airline had made its inaugural flight there. Then, the airline had no aircraft to call it own and had to lease a plane from a nameless, full service carrier from somewhere for their service.

I had recalled commenting to my wife that the seats were not bad: they were configured eight to a row (2-4-2 configuration), wide enough and had enough length (pitch) for us to stretch our legs comfortably during the eight-hour flights. But despite the TV console at the back of every seat, there weren't any entertainment. Luckily, I had my trusty minidisc player and a Sudoku book which was quickly filled up to kill the boredom of the journey.

By now, AirAsia X has already taken delivery of its own planes. They are flying everywhere -- Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, Taipei, Hanzhou, Tianjin, London and now Abu Dhabi -- at a fraction of what normal, full service airlines charge. But AirAsia X's low prices come at a cost to the traveller. An uncomfortable cost. The airline has compromised the seat arrangements to squeeze the most mileage from the plane's real estate (it's now nine in a row, a 2-5-2 configuration). What this means, according to what I've been reading, is that a) the seats are now narrower, b) the seat pitch is now shorter and c) the seats cannot recline at all. In short, AirAsia X is attempting to pack as many passengers as possible into their planes and squeeze the most profit from people who are being packed like sardines. Some people uncomplimentarily call it "cattle" class. This can be a very rude surprise to unsuspecting travellers.

Of course, not having the chance to fly AirAsia X again means that I cannot verify their seats for myself. Not that I want to put myself under torture for the experience. However, a simple Google search can uncover many of the comments and complaints about the low-budget carrier's seats.

Fortunately, one of my old chess kaki's suddenly emerged to email me that he had returned recently from Taipei by AirAsia X. He was blogging about his experience and he wrote (with obvious tongue in cheek):

The Taipei International Airport is a marvelous place to be at even when having to wait a couple of hours to catch an flight back home to KL. For a mere USD 150 or return so I was flying AirAsia X on an ultra modern Airbus (as you can see below, plenty of leg room too).

Plenty of legroom, he said. I would have believed him if not for the photos that accompanied his post. Yes, he took a photo of his seat and from what I can see, it was really bad. I wonder how people can stand being cooped up in this seat for hours during long-haul flights. You cannot stretch your legs, you've got to sit upright, your knees almost touching the back of the seat in front of you and you can't even turn left or right. I told my wife that unless AirAsia X replaces their seats with better width and pitch, nobody's going to catch me flying with them in the foreseeable future. For a few hundred ringgits more, I will choose the more spacious and comfortable normal fare carriers!

To be fair, I should also add that all budget airlines generally fail to provide comfort to their passengers. I've heard that the seats on JetStar are equally bad. At least, the seats on AirAsia's regional flights can be reclined very slightly. Not much but still reclinable. Not so JetStar's. They are all upright. So don't think that low budget travel is a boon. Maybe it is so for those in their 20s or 30s. But once you pass that magical age of 50, you like some comfort to go wih your holidays. In my opinion, being herded like cattle is not a creature comfort. It's likely to do more harm to my health than the relaxation that holidays are supposed to give.

(Oh yes, I'm still travelling Air Asia on the short haul between Penang and the KLIA LCCT. For that one-hour flight, I can endure the slight seat reclination. Still bearable.)

Devious and dubious

Now I know that the main job of politician-lawyers or lawyer-politicians is to make other people look stupid, simple or incompetent. Just follow the exchanges between Jagdeep Singh and RTM cameraman Adial Singh at the sedition trial of Karpal Singh on Tuesday, as reported by The Malaysian Insider:

During cross-examination, Jagdeep asked if the cameraman had any academic qualification.
Adial: SPM
Jagdeep: When was your camera, Panasonic 102B, bought?
Adial: Two years ago

The defence began grilling the cameraman and suggested that he did not have the professional qualification to certify whether the camera was functioning.
Adial: The camera is in good condition because there was no problem when I used it before and after the press conference.
Jagdeep: You agreed that you don’t have the professional qualification. You cannot say that the device is not working 100 per cent. Don’t you agree that you are not competent?
Adial: I can say yes because the camera has not given me problems until today.

The defence counsel asked the cameraman if he is able to repair the camera.
Adial: If there is a problem, the camera will give me a signal at the view finder.
Jagdeep: But you do not have the professional qualification to ascertain whether or not the camera is in a proper working condition. Do you agree?
Adial: Yes
Jagdeep: So I suggest that you cannot be sure if the camera is in a proper functional state?
Adial: No, I don’t agree. I can say that my camera is in good condition.

I think it is all so absurd. It doesn't take a degree holder to handle a camera or know when it malfunctions. My wife can handle my camera and she's already happy enough if the picture turns out okay. I tell her to tweedle the buttons and she tweedles the buttons until the image on the small screen turns out right for her. It's not rocket science. Do you need to be a mechanic to be able to drive a car? Do you need to be a computer repairman to be able to use a laptop? In my opinion, it's all a rather devious line of questioning.

Very small milestone: my 50,000th visitor

I just noticed that this blog quietly zipped past its 50,000th visit this morning at about 5.34am. Someone logging in from St Louis, Missouri, was reading my piece on Rolf Harris. Sorry, no fanfare or celebration to share. It's just another day.....

Typically Penang

It rained at dawn in Penang yesterday morning and it had stopped by the time I left the house to go to work. Nevertheless, the roads were wet and the proverbial queue at the Penang Bridge, right after the toll stations, were already building up. Oh well....

What I couldn't stand are sights like this: someone smoking in his car and then sticking his hand outside the window to flick away the ashes. True to form, the cigarette butt also went the way of the ashes...through the window.

On my way back yesterday, I saw that workers were still trying to dismantle the vertical beams from the mid-span towers of the Penang Bridge. They are certainly taking their own sweet time, either because they are trying to prolong their stay on the bridge or they take pleasure from causing pain to the bridge commuters.

And finally, my traffic woes did not stop when I reached Bayan Baru through the bumpy, haphazardly, patched up coastal road (I still wouldn't call it a "highway"). Just because of the spot of rain in the early morning, there were traffic jams all way. This, by the way, led to the roundabout.

Face masks: do you feel adequately protected?

These policemen who were stationed near the nomination centre of the Permatang Pasir by-elections seemed to be scared of an invisible foe, the influenza A(H1N1) virus. Hence, the face masks. In fact, they were all donning the face masks. Every policeman I came across on the mainland yesterday, while on my way to work, were all covered up.

At the nomination centre, both politicians and supporters alike were also sported with face masks, like these chaps who thought they were killing two birds with one stone. However, they don't realise that their face masks are doing more harm to their health than to protect them from the flu virus. My wife took just one look at this photo in The Star and she asked me immediately why these idiots were breathing in the toxins from the ink. Idiots, from an apolitical point of view. Score one point for female logic.

By the way, I was at a clinic yesterday and I saw a few chaps in the waiting room with masks over their faces. Me, I hadn't a mask. Every time I looked around the room, it made me feel more and more uncomfortable. I was feeling rather inadequately protected until it was my turn to see the doctor. To my surprise, he was unmasked. So I asked him: "Shouldn't you be wearing a mask?" "No," he replied, "there's no need to. The people who should be wearing masks are those who are sick." Mmm...is he correct or only half-correct? If masks are supposed to keep the flu virus in, can't they keep the virus out to?

Pathetic denial

Muhyiddin Yassin keeps denying that there is controversy over their choice of Rohaizat Othman as the UMNO candidate in the Permatang Pasir by-election. “There is no controversy. Only the Opposition (sic) wants to create the controversy. We have done our homework. We checked and as far as the law is concerned, he is clear."

Poor guy, he is clearly deluded. And still in deep denial. He still thinks that UMNO is the government in Penang. He needs to wake up. Muhyiddin, let's keep one thing very straight: YOU are the Opposition in Penang, not the Pakatan Rakyat state government!

At the same time, it's interesting to read the Bar Council's statement yesterday on the same matter. According to The Malaysian Insider:

The Bar Council has confirmed that Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for the Permatang Pasir by-election, Rohaizat Othman, was found guilty of misconduct last year and struck off the rolls

In a statement today, Bar Council secretary George Varughese said the Advocates and Solicitors Displinary Board disbarred Rohaizat on March 7, 2008.

“The Disciplinary Board’s decision arose from an investigation into the complaint lodged against Rohaizat Othman by the purchaser of a piece of real property. According to the complaint, Rohaizat Othman failed to refund almost RM 161,000 to the complainant after the transaction was aborted,” said Varughese. He said Rohaizat had also appealed to the High Court against the decision of the disciplinary board. The appeal was dismissed by the High Court last Wednesday. Varughese added that the finding of misconduct was personal to Rohaizat as the disciplinary board would not hold a lawyer liable for the actions of his partners.

Now I'm wondering whether they were talking about the same law!

By-election: here we go again

Yes, the silly season has started again and no, I'm not talking football. I'm referring to the by-election upon by-election that we are destined to have in Malaysia until the next General Election comes around in about three years' time. This is already the eighth one in the country.

This time, the by-election will be in Permatang Pasir, the Penang state constituency that lies smack within the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency. So this is a PAS stronghold. It fell vacant when the incumbent, Mohd Hamdan Abdul Rahman, died on 31 July 2009. Permatang Pauh itself has already seen its by-election with Anwar Ibrahim winning big, Penanti had its by-election too with UMNO fighting shy of fielding a candidate and now, Permatang Pasir is having its claim to fame, all within the same parliamentary zone. People are already wickedly asking whether Seberang Jaya will be next.

Yesterday was nomination day. The roads were busy with cops, I think most of them are imported cops, although the numbers seen on the roads looked less than earlier by-elections here. You just can't avoid them. On my way to work, there were two standing at the Perda junction along Jalan Permatang Rawa. A policeman straddling his prized motorcycle rode by and stopped at the Bukit Tengah roundabout to join another of his colleague. But blardy shit....where was the usual one that would be controlling traffic here? Not around and so, the traffic slowed down and the queue stretched until the Petronas station. Stupid. Those two rascals could at least have helped out with the traffic flow since they were there.

I read that it would be a straight fight between PAS and UMNO. An independent came trundling along but he failed to submit his nomination papers on time. It would make no difference though. I'm certain that he would lose big even if he had successfully filed his nomination papers. I don't foresee PAS losing this seat. And interestingly enough, UMNO seemed to be already throwing in the towel. They claimed that it would be a moral victory even if they managed to reduce the PAS majority on 25 Aug. Personally, they can talk all they like. Who cares? A victory is a victory, whether by one vote or 5,433 votes, but I'd like to see PAS win by at least 5,434 votes.

Let's just take five today

My friend Eric was suggesting that perhaps I should order this item from Amazon.com...the 50th anniversary edition of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's landmark Time Out album on compact disc. This edition on two CDs and a DVD offers an unprecedented presentation of music, images, insight and history, including the chance to hear them in top form live at Newport, plus a companion DVD offering a fresh take on the making of this pioneering recording. Should I get it? It's only USD14.99, excluding shipping. Still in two minds.

Yesterday, I decided to dig out these two records from the cupboard to give them a spin.


By right, this should be called Dave Brubeck Quartet's Greatest Hits to give full recognition to the four legendary members of the group. Instead, the names of Paul Desmond, Eugene Wright and Joe Morello are only mentioned on the back cover. Mmm.... Anyway, it contained possibly the Quartet's most famous number, Take Five, which was what I wanted to hear in the first place.

Side 1: Take Five, I'm In A Dancing Mood, In Your Own Sweet Way, Camptown Races, The Duke
Side 2: It's A Raggy Waltz, Bossa Nova USA, Trolley Song, Unsquare Dance, Blue Rondo A La Turk, Theme From Mr Broadway


This was the second album I was listening to. Incidentally, this was to be the Dave Brubeck Quartet's farewell tour and it took them all over Europe including Paris where this album was recorded for posterity.

Side 1: Swanee River, These Foolish Things, Forty Days
Side 2: One Moment Worth Years, La Paloma Azul, Three To Get Ready

Of course, I've got other Dave Brubeck stuff in the house but they are all on compact discs, like these four CDs which came from the boxed set, Time Signatures: A Career Retrospective.

Glorious morning

Good morning! Two days ago, I woke up to a wonderful display of colours outside my window. I simply thought that I should share it with you today:

Who's Karpal?

Another instance of letting kids run loose on the streets. She's a reporter and yet she doesn't know what's happening around her. Okay, granted that she was only in the job for two months but...the onus was on her to understand the big issues of the day if she wanted to be a news reporter, and nothing was bigger than the Perak constitutional crisis at the beginning of the year.

But I also really don't understand how lawyers - especially politician lawyers and the worst being wise-ass lawyers - behave in court or out of court. I know they only want to win cases at any cost but does it include having to intimidate and make other people feel small in the process? Humiliate them in the process? I think it is very much uncalled for but then, it's their nature.

Police shoot dead man

Cor....this is BIG news, man!
The Police are now adding dead men to their list of shooting targets. I suppose dead men are easier targets than live men.

Penang Bridge update

I should have known that it couldn't last. I was rather upbeat yesterday that the Penang Bridge expansion project had been completed and all six lanes had been opened for public use. Even when I drove across during rush hour yesterday afternoon, traffic was smooth.

But this morning at about 6am, I saw that the authorities had replaced the cranes and brought back the mobile containers at the mid-span. Needless to say, they have re-closed a lane each on both sides of the bridge.

What the heck. They opened all six lanes yesterday just for show only. Just to hoodwink everyone - especially those who doesn't know any better - that they could allow smooth traffic flow IF they want to. And now, they don't want to. So typically bureaucratic.

Les Paul (1915-2009)

I've just learnt that inventor and legendary guitarist Lester William Polsfuss (a.k.a. Les Paul) is dead. He will be remembered as a towering figure whose influence and legacy touched all of music. Paul died yesterday in White Plains, New York at a ripe old age of 95 from complications due to pneumonia.

It seemed that until June this year, he still played in public every Monday night. His musical influence cut across all music genres from rock to country and from jazz to pop. As an inventor, he built the first solid-body electric guitar in 1940 or 1941, and created such recording techniques as multi-track recording and tape delay.

Together with his wife, Colleen Summers, they made a name for themselves as the recording artistes Les Paul and Mary Ford. They later divorced in 1964.

An anecdote I read about a year ago: in 1948, a serious automobile accident almost destroyed his right elbow and the arm would never bend again. Paul had his doctors set the arm at an angle so he could still play the guitar.

Another anecdote: after listening to a chap playing the guitar in a pub, Paul walked up to compliment him on his playing. The guitarist asked whether he also played the guitar and Paul reportedly told him, "See, that's my name on your guitar."

Western cuisine

It's not often that I show any enthusiasm about new places to eat but yesterday, my colleagues and I chanced upon this stall at the Bayan Baru market food centre. Funny, we hadn't noticed it earlier but never mind....now that we've seen the stall, we'd give the food a try.


Turned out that the partners who set up this stall - which opened only three days ago - were former cooks at the Rasa Sayang Hotel in Batu Ferringhi. So obviously, they knew what they were cooking and they sure cooked up a storm for us. The two partners said they were also into catering for home or office functions, and claimed to be equally at home with German and Japanese cuisine. But no pork for the moment because their operating licence from the Penang Island Municipal Council forbade them from including pork into their menu. I found that rather absurd because the stalls around them were all merrily selling pork hawker fare.

Anyway, give the stall a try. We didn't regret it and it was a refreshing change from the standard, everyday fare of economy rice, hokkien mee, curry mee, tok tok mee, banana leaf rice, chicken rice, etc.

Clockwise from top left: fish and chips, grilled dory fish, barbeque chicken, chicken cordon bleu

What "ultra vires" really means....

I betcha that even Ultraman can catch the Influenza A(H1N1) "ultra vires" if he's not careful when busting infected criminals and monsters... :-)

For obvious reasons, "ultra vires" is different from "super vires", "bat vires", "spider vires" and all the other superhero "vires". All budding journalists should take note of the different strains of "vires" in case they misinterpret, misinform, misunderstand and misguide the general public unnecessarily.

Penang Bridge expansion almost done!

[UPDATED VERSION] I was almost over the mid-span of the Penang Bridge this morning when i suddenly realised that there was no queue at the usual bottleneck. Strange, I thought to myself. Then, after taking a second look through the rear view mirror, it struck me that all three lanes at the mid-span, on both sides of the bridge, were now open to traffic! The flow was so smooth that I hadn't realised it. My drive across the Penang Bridge was so automatic this morning that I didn't realise that finally, the Penang Bridge expansion project has been completed. Well, at least, 99.9 percent of it.

While crossing the Penang Bridge late yesterday afternoon - and that was only about 14 hours earlier - I still noticed that the vertical railings beside the four towers at the mid-span were slowly being dismantled. Good, I had thought then, it will only be a matter of time before all six lanes on the bridge are opened to traffic. "I'll be looking forward to the day when there is no longer a bottleneck on the bridge at the mid-span and traffic can flow smoothly from one end to the other." I had muttered to myself. Well, the day is HERE, finally!

Ultra vires

This can't be happening: the level to which journalism, as defined by Utusan Malaysia, has sank. Don't they even remind their bozos to double-check on things that they do not understand? It's all assumptions ... assume, assume, assume ... making an ASS of themselves!

Here's the quote from The Malaysian Insider:

Mohd Nizam: “Although the orders have been confirmed by the Sultan. If the decision is ultra vires then the decision can be adjudicated by the court.”

Jagdeep then asked Nizam to explain what ultra vires means to the court.

Nizam looking confused and replied: “To insult.”

Jagdeep then told Mohd Nizam that his misunderstanding of the word had caused chaos in the country because the word actually means “beyond the powers”.

Dimage Z5 extension lenses

My lens accessory kit arrived earlier this week. It's meant for my old Konica Minolta Dimage Z5 camera which, unfortunately, is already an extinct toy. Konica Minolta has closed shop and although Sony is supposed to be providing support, I doubt that I'll ever see any reasonable support here in Malaysia. Still, without going back to my SLR (or now, DSLR) experience, I'll have to continue using this camera until it breaks down and I cannot use it further. Using it means that I was looking for some accessories that would add some muscle to the existing features. So I went to ebay and plonked some money down for this kit:


I've attached a friend's wide angle extension lens to my camera before, so I knew what to expect. Here's a shot from my house at the camera's widest angle, WITHOUT the extension lens.


And here is the shot from my house WITH the 0.45x extension lens, also with the camera set to its widest angle. I don't mind the barrel effect because it gives some character to the picture. Even my camera without the extension lens still exhibits a slight barrelling at its widest, so it is nothing unusual for me.


But not so the telephoto extension lens. First, this is taken with my camera at its longest zoom range WITHOUT the extension lens.


Now, this is taken WITH the 2.0x extension lens at the camera's longest range. My first impressio was, oh my god! Awful. There wa so much loss of definition. Depth of field problem? Lens combination problem? I don't know but I'm sure it's not the fault of the make of my camera. Got to lodge a complaint with the seller but I doubt anything will arise from it.


My one consolation is that I did not have to pay for the lens kit myself. It came from funds earned from my other blog.

All tired out

Travelling takes a great strain on many people, myself included. And in the past five days, I've been moving between Penang and Kuala Lumpur. All that I can say is, I'm darn blardy tired! Last Wednesday afternoon, I flew down to Kuala Lumpur to meet up with the Malaysian Chess Federation's honorary life president. Then, it was dinner at Yut Kee Restaurant before I crossed the road to the Wilayah Complex to drop by the Dato Arthur Tan Chess Centre. The DATCC chess league was in session and Hamid was expecting me. But of course, most of the other players there were surprised to see me. Stayed there until 11pm or so before adjourning to Kampung Baru for a late-night nasi lemak supper and thence to the CitiTel at the MidValley. Flew back on the first available Firefly flight the next morning to resume work in the office. A full day's work. Felt rather tired because my back was giving me problems. It was either my muscles or my nerves going ... or both! I could hardly move without pain shooting through my back. Had to see the doctor and she recommended an injection in my derriere. Ouch! Now I have a pain both up and down, and it's all your fault, I told her. She simply laughed. The injection worked. By nightfall, the pain had subsided and by the next morning, it was all gone. Thank goodness for that. But I wonder what was in that injection... My wife and I left the house at about 9.30am. Took a slow, pleasant drive all the way to The Curve to meet up with Eric for lunch at Paddington's. Please remind me not to go there again, whether at The Curve or here at the Queensbay Mall. After lunch, spent time at IKEA to look at furniture and finally checked in at the Radius International Hotel at Tengkat Tong Shin. That's just a stone's throw from the Bukit Bintang area. My daughter arrived to join us at about 7.30pm. Saturday was her Big Day at the UTAR convocation ceremony. We're so happy for her. We sat through the four-hour ceremony without falling asleep and then it was all photos, photos and more photos. Also went to the photo studio for a family snapshot. Nightfall...a mini-celebration of sorts at the Ichiban Boshi Restaurant at the Pavilion. Bintang Walk. The whole place is full of blardy Arabs. Boorish Arabian tourists. Dunno why the federal government treat them like gold and are so beholden to them when it's so obvious that they look down on their fellow Muslim brothers here. They are all so full of themselves, rude and possibly the stingiest people in the world. I saw a few of them haggling over the price of goods in places where prices are fixed. And in the shopping malls, holding up the queue at the payment counter. They are all blardy nuisance, as far as I'm concerned. And only yesterday, one of my colleagues in Penang complained that she was rudely pushed into the lift by an Arab. She glared at him but he just laughed. At least she got off lightly enough with a bruised dignity. Another person I know related that his brother in Kuala Lumpur was roughed up physically after he had his mobile phone snatched by an Arab who then had the temerity to accuse his brother of being a robber. His brother protested but who would believe him? A local's word against a seemngly rich Arab tourist? Of course, in the confusion, the Arab slipped away with the mobile. Sunday rolled along and we had to leave. I dropped by Yut Kee again to pick up their kaya and a Swiss Roll. Then made a surprise visit to the chess centre. This time, nobody expected me to turn up! Not even Hamid. But there was a small surprise awaiting me too. Dato Tan Chin Nam was there concentrating on a chess game. So great was his concentration that probably, he wouldn't be aware too if a whirlwind had passed through the chess centre. That's him, Mr Concentration himself, and it's not a posed photo! Then off we went to the MidValley for a hasty lunch and some last-minute shopping. We tried the Portuguese Grill Fish at the food court. Despite all the acolades and people ehthusing about the food, I think the fare is only of average quality. Anyway, we left Kuala Lumpur at 3.30pm and reached Bukit Mertajam just in time for dinner. Five days of travel. Enough to make me all tired out. Will I declare surrender to more travel? Nahh, I don't think so. Come this end of the month, I'll be going to Kuala Lumpur again and this time, it's to witness the last few rounds of the IGB Arthur Tan Malaysia open tournament and the opening rounds of the ASTRO Merdeka rapid chess team tournament. But I've still two other invitations to consider: the Malaysia open dinner this month and the Kuala Lumpur open tournament next month. Do I want to risk walking around like a zombie because I enjoy being with my chess friends?

Of prostitutes, single mothers and spinsters

This is so hilarious but I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. There's actually a group of people practising polygamy that has invited prostitutes to join their association, claiming that they will have a blessed and blissful life if they are part of such a relationship.

According to the advisor to the Ikhwan Polygamy Club who incidentally is a female, single mothers and spinsters were welcome to join. To date, the group has 646 members – 222 husbands and 524 wives. Should you laugh or should you cry?