Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Life's Transience

shake belly sashimi
shake belly sashimi
ebi an chawan mushi
ebi an chawan mushi


Decided to treat myself to "shake belly sashimi",  which is one of my favourite indulgences, and a "ebi an chawan mushi".

Felt the craving for sashimi after reading this from the "Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Chapter 2"

"What is our life but a dance of transient forms? Isn't everything always changing: the leaves on the trees in the park, the light in your room as you read this, the seasons, the weather, the time of day, the people passing you in the street? And what about us? Doesn't everything we have done in the past seem like a dream now? The friends we grew up with, the childhood haunts, those views and opinions we once held with such single-minded passion: We have left them all behind. Now, at this moment, reading this post seems vividly real to you. Even this page will soon be only a memory."

Also, would like to share my commentary which came out in Johor Streets, a pullout of the New Straits Times on

Water leak causing problems

 
I READ with much concern the front page report "3 States on Alert" in the New Straits Times recently.The article was about how water supply from dams and rivers nationwide were drying up.
Johor is one of the three states on alert.
   After reading the article, I stumbled upon a puddle of water bubbling up from a road in Susur 1, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak in Johor Baru. The water was overflowing into a nearby drain.
   I talked to office workers who work in the neighbourhood and found out that this has been going on for more than a month, maybe even two.
   One of them was former State Tourism and Environment committee chairman Freddie Long, whose legal firm is in the vicinity.
   Long told me he had reported the matter to Syarikat Air Johor (SAJ) Holdings Sdn Bhd which told him that the water samples taken from the site did not contain chlorine and thus, could not have been from a broken water pipe.
   N. Usha Devi, 55, a secretary in an engineering firm there, said she, too, was concerned as well as outraged because of all the water which could have been saved if the relevant authorities had looked into the matter sooner.
   Usha even brought the matter up to the Johor Baru MCA division public complaints bureau chairman, John Cheah, who said the incident occurred after workers from Tenaga Nasional Bhd had dug up a stretch nearby to lay some cables.
Cheah, who is also part of the Communication for Behavioural Impact (Combi), said not only does the wastage of water bother him but also the fact that some parts of the road may become a breeding ground for the Aedes mosquito.
   No doubt the water is flowing into the drain, but there are some areas with stagnant water.
I feel that this is another cause for concern and if this is allowed to continue, it could cause the road to sink.
   I have also checked with the local municipal council which said no public complaints have been lodged so far.
   With dengue cases mushrooming all over the country and the possibility of taps running dry, can the authorities please do something about this?
   If SAJ claims that the leak is not from a water pipe then which department should look into this?
   Sometimes, the public is at a loss when it comes to matters like this.
   They just do not know who to turn to.
   In the end, the issue goes viral and on social networking sites like Facebook.
   In fact, people have already started posting the issue on Facebook with various comments

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