Through the jungle yet seeing no trees

The lights begin to fade.

It was dusk and I could hear the mosquitoes humming in my ear as I make my way through the thick brush. The notion of the sun setting in the mountains really is just a myth as far as I am concerned at this point. In the dense rain forest it is already quite dark and I lighted my torch lights just in case. There was ten of us and one guide; so eleven souls. Four guys and the rest girls from our hiking and camping club and we intended to make it up and back from Gunung Tahan in ten days. We have another group of fourteen guys that should be done in seven days. They will leave later and should be passing us some time tomorrow. I was hiking ahead of everyone looking for a good place to camp. We should have arrived at the camping ground an hour ago.

The walk have been excruciating and slow. The fitness training we went through before we started this hike probably helped but didn’t have the effect that I expected. I was hoping that the daily jogs we did would at least prepare us for the ordeal, it didn’t. As we tracked the jungle paths laid ahead we have no idea how far or how long we have to go before we arrive to our campsite. The groaning and swearing of everyone could be heard probably miles ahead as we use our final ounce of energy and keep putting one feet ahead of the other. One of the guys, Bob is way overweight and is clearly regretting the decision to join us on the hike. Well he does have a mean spirit and I hope that would be enough.

I could see some clearing ahead. The dense jungle was opening up welcoming us not unlike into a small corner of paradise. A stream making the gushing sound that is music to my ears flows down the slopes back into the dark jungle. I shouted to the rest and could hear cheers of celebration and loud groans of relief.

I needed to start a fire and begin dinner. Cooking is an important part of camping and I find it fun. The basic necessities is all you have and good cooking means no one throws up. I dumped my bags and walked around looking for if there is a fireplace left behind by any previous campers. This is usually the best place to start a fire as some of the wood may still be around and the camping ground is soften in.

Just by the stream I saw a couple of small rocks and an extinguished fire. I touched the stones; it’s cold. The last group must have passed here quite a while back since the next camping grounds are a good day’s hike away they would have to leave very early this morning. There were still some wood left by the fire. I smiled.

With the fire starter which is really a fancy name for the piece of white gunk I lighted the fire back up. I have my gas burner but I would use it only on a wet day. When it didn’t rain its better to use wood. The food would not have that weird taste you get from burning gas. The rest of the gang arrived noisily. Chattering away and with Bob still cursing they headed straight to the stream to wash up, with me just in time to warn them to head downstream. I didn’t need any biological waste in my food tonight thank you.

We were on day three of our hike and I could sense that everyone have lost the initial enthusiasm that kept us going the first day. We just wanted to get this over with. The peak is still a day and a half away. The guide mentioned that the hike tomorrow is more of the same. Climbing hills and hiking along slithering tracks as we slowly ascend the mountain. The cooling jungle smell is refreshing but the long walks punishing. My foot is screaming murder me as I prepared dinner. The rice is bubbling away and I could hear the girls giggling in the distance.

Then she walked over to me. Nita.

Her hair wet and walking barefooted she winced as she stepped on a couple of stones. I looked at her and made a funny face. She smiled and I suddenly felt a rush of warmth all over. I accidentally knocked one of the pots and managed to stop it from toppling over. She laughed and sat next to me. Helping me to steady the pot I caught a hint of her perfume. She glanced over to the rest of the girls as if to ensure that we are alone. Bob was lying down and I wonder if he is still alive. You could hear the heavy breathing, and his red face looks like the back of a boiled crab in a fancy Chinese restaurant. I pointed to Bob with my eyes to Nita, she looked at him and snickered.

I have always wondered why she came on this trip. She is the most KL girlie girl you can find. The closest to a jungle she ever came before was probably driving by Lake Gardens on Jalan Parlimen. You know Madhuri Dixit? She looks like that. She has a smile that will melt any man. She melted mine.

I am amazed how good she smells a hundred miles from civilization after two days into the jungle with no showers. I held her hand gently as I lifted to cover on the pot to see how my rice was doing. Then we heard footsteps. We turned around and saw Mack coming out from between the trees. He has a big smile on him. He showed me a bark and said that the guide picked it out for him. Apparently it’s Sarsi, the cordial drink we make it actually from a tree back. He asked me to boil it and add some sugar to the juice. Cool.

We all sat around the fire with three pots cooking rice and two mess-tins heating up the Instant Rendang we brought along. I told Mack to go wash another mess-tin to boil the bark. I really wanted to be alone with Nita actually and gave her a sly smile.

I have always wondered what is it that she saw in me. She is gorgeous and could have any guy on campus or even off. Yet, we spent most of the time shagging away in hidden parts of the campus. I was young, foolish and horny. The relationship we had was physical. I was in lust. She may not have been my first love but she was definitely my first lust. We had fun - lots and lots of fun.

However, I never really encouraged her to come along these hiking trips knowing how much of a town girl she is. The sight of a rat sends her scrambling back from Damansara all the way to Shah Alam with an immediate bout of food poisoning. I have been on several excursions sans Nita and all I brought back was pictures and tales of our adventures. Maybe that caught her interest.

I can tell that she is going through hell. But not once did she complained. This really bugs me. In KL she will bitch for a good twenty minutes when I am late. She have been behaving really well all throughout the trip that I am like a nervous baby bear trying to break into a bee’s nest for the first time. She might explode at any time, and I need to be ready. I was of course extra nice to her too. We were really one of the more spoken about couple. As we didn’t really hide our affections on campus we do attract quite a bit of attention. In my head all I could think of is being able to look at the guys and shout Suckers!!! I was proud. Proud of my girl and my conquest yet bewildered as to why.

Why was she with me? Insecurity didn’t even begin to spell my feelings.

It was the same insecurity that drove her away. That is what young couples do. Drive each other away. I have sometimes thought of Nita. The what ifs and the what could have been. But as most would say, things happens for the better. If I knew then what I know now well it might have been different.

I did ask her after we broke up why she came with me on the trip. Her answer? It was the biggest sacrifice she knew at that time to prove to me that she really loved me and help me get over my issues. Being naive, I asked again why is it that she loved me. All I got from her was a bewildered look and a shrug. She said you will never understand. Zed you will never get it. I didn’t then.

I do now.

(Zed’s Note: So blogaholics tell me all about it. All about your first love, your first lust even your first time if you want to! No holds barred just spill it like you mean it…)

The Seven that is not a tag

There I was banging away on my keyboard creating an entry for the blog and with a swift highlight of the mouse; I lost a whole page! I don’t know what happened, it was just a minute ago. I usually create my entries in word and then copy it over to the blog. This time I didn’t and paid the price for it. So lesson learned.

Anyway, what I was writing about earlier is about how we are only seven days away from celebrating Aidilfitri. Seven days away from lazing in front of the tube watching movie reruns and circus shows.

Seven days away from waking up early in the morning getting dressed in our brand new Baju Melayu or Baju Kurung and for the men head out to the mosque and pray – some for the first time this year while others just because everyone else does it. Also in case you haven’t done so we have only seven days left to pay Zakat Fitrah.

We are also seven days away from eating the rendang, ketupat and lemang with the sumptuous kuah kacang right after we come back from the mosque. I can almost taste it now. The spicy rendang with lemang, and being careful so as not to dirty the Baju Raya. The whole table filled to the brim with what I would say makes fasting worthwhile and somewhat necessary. It is supposed to be just a mid-morning snack but often it turns into a binge.

Just after that quick so called snack we gather together, one big family and inevitable some eyes will well up with tears as we salaam and hug each other asking forgiveness. We look into the aging faces of Paktuk and Maktuk wondering how many years more we will be together. (Zed’s Note: We lost Maktuk last year and will be missing her lots this year) We also look into the excited eyes of the children as they salaam not to seek forgiveness but the green packets which is a tradition that grew from being a Malaysian and has little to do with Aidilfitri.

Then we sit down with our favorite relative - an uncle, a brother or a cousin and we chat away about how we all have grown up and how much things have changed. How we used to be poor. How Abah used to have to scrape together whatever he can to make Raya a celebration for his kids, and how today there are seven cars parked in front of the house and some of the family are staying in a hotel because their kids complain that "rumah Opah panas!". After that we go out and check out the new car Paksu just bought and tell him how great the car looks, while some uncle pours expert advice about cars and you can tell it really is just sour grapes.

Seven days away from opening that bottled rows of Kuih Raya lined up on the table which after the first few begins to taste just the same. And seven days away from having to visit relatives which you would rather not but sometimes are thankful, especially seeing how some of them have grown up into really beautiful ladies.

The hugs, the tears, the advice from our parents and grandparents for the lucky few that still have them will be forthcoming in seven days.

In seven days most of us will be celebrating except for about 200 people.

They will die on the road.

In an accident.

You know you have OD'ed on Blogging

Yes. You Overdosed.

When you start to develop the following symptoms it is safe to say that you have overdosed and now it is time for you to seriously take a break from the bloggerholic addiction you have.

When you start to remember the details of each of the blogs you frequently visit and know exactly the contents of the last entry, since you’ve clicked on it so many times and they haven’t updated their blogs yet! (Zed’s Note: Ehem… hint! hint!)

When your favorites list in Explorer is two pages long with a whole list of bloggers and it takes you at least two hours to go through every one of them, which you religiously do every morning.

When every free-time you have is dedicated to browsing blogs, trying to sound funny or smart when you insert comments and when your boss asks a favor you curse and say that it will take you a week to get anything done because you are so busy! (Zed’s Note: Yeah right, busy blogging?)

When you start checking your stats counter, more often then the Bursa Malaysia’s index and the last time you read the newspaper was three months ago.

When you start using bombastic words that you normally would not use like “hoi polloi” and “trabadour”, and when asked what it means you respond by raising your eyebrows in surprise and say “What? You never heard of it? Where have you been? You don’t blog izzit?? You HAVE to check out this site…”

When you start passing out blog-links to unaware “victims” hoping they too will turn into Bloggerholics like you!

When you start doing what people tell you to do on the blog like taking a drive to One Utama just to have spaghetti at Italiennes when you didn’t have a crave for it in the first place.

When you actually imagine that your next relationship must be with a blogger so you could tell the whole world about how you met on the blog and share all your mushy blog entries with people whom you think cares about your love affair. (Zed’s Note: Much like watching the F1’s we are NOT interested in the race, just the wrecks! So it’s when you are breaking up that your hits would go up as you bitch and rant about how much you hate the idea of getting a date via blogs! Else, we are on wait mode *evil grin while rubbing hands* heh heh heh)

When you start solving your problems during work by asking yourself “Hmmm… I wonder what Zed would do when he’s faced with this problem” (Zed’s Note: Heh heh heh sorry, a bit “perasan mode” here!!!)

When you start taking notes of what people are wearing and what you are eating so that you could update your blog with more useless blab that you hope people would write comments about and survive one more day with one more mind-numbing entry.

When you start ranting about blogging overdose.

When you rant about blogging overdose and still hope people would drop a comment and you hope that you have witty replies for them

When you actually start to think that you are witty!

Okay, okay enough already! I admit I HAVE BLOGGING OVERDOSE!!!

So now, after failing my rehabilitation program miserably, I shall have to contain myself and try to manage my addiction. I have tried TV therapy that failed, Retail therapy is dangerous what with Raya just around the corner, food therapy ain’t gonna work with fasting and all. Also unable to do much outdoor activities due to the fear of getting thirsty and end up not being able to fast - so no walking or jogging in the morning, very minimal golf and “almost” no night outs. Well, it will be a rough few weeks ahead I am sure, but as I look forward to more ranting days ahead; I tell myself so what if I blog too much?

The only harm that could come out of it is that I start talking to myself in the middle of a crowded LRT station as I imagine the last blog I visited… “Phew the babe’s picture was hot! She writes well too…I wonder if she’ll give me her number?”.

Oops, sorry there I go thinking out loud again.

Poignant Dignity

You taught us humility
    When they at first questioned, you smiled
    When they kept on lying, you smiled
    When they challenged, you smiled

You taught us patience
    As they oppose, you persist
    As they fumbled, you persist
    As they contradict, you persist

You taught us how to follow
    We kept on doing what we knew, but you exemplify
    We thought we knew better, still you exemplify
    We insisted, and yet again you exemplify

You taught us how to grieve
    All of us watched your courage
    All of us wished we have your courage
    All of us knew the price of your courage

And now we question no more
As we look up to you and ask

Pak Lah, what can I do?

Zed Ezekiel, M.i.N.d.B.l.o.G. 2005

A breath of fresh air

Been looking at the same pictures for a while now, and decided to change the layout slightly. Am going for a discreet with subtle sophistication look. Not sure if I achieved this, but the theme is still keeping to a black and white layout. Minimal colors and the emphasis of the site is on the words written within.

I haven’t really nailed down a blog personality yet - which means what kind of blog is M.i.N.d.B.l.o.G. Maybe you could help. Tell me what you think? What do you think of this blog? As we surf we see many styles from the really hilarious blogs, then some mushy ones, also not forgetting some ranters and bitchers which are just people venting off (Zed’s Note: My my bloggers are an angry lot aren’t we!).

I have experimented with several themes - writing stories like Brown Eyes with A Twist, The Zed-HXM4000 User Manual and multiple entries with verses of poetry that lined the page. This is really what this blog is all about I believe. It is an experiment. For me and you reading it.

Perhaps one day I may realize my dream of writing a book or even a biography, and this exercise of writing blogs are really baby steps in a somewhat safe zone on the journey towards actually writing for a living. So I am your student, while you teach me the nuances that pleases your senses and styles that turn you off. As stories unfold lets hear what you think about it, not only from a content point of view but also from a constructive writing style perspective. It would be great to hear from some of the really acute writers out there.

I intent to refine the arts and craft of writing by writing.

Al-Fatihah

Datin Seri Endon Mahmood , 64, the wife of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, passed away at 7.55am Thursday at Sri Perdana, the Prime Minister's official residence in Putrajaya.

May Allah bless her soul, and may her family be strong during this trying moment.

Men are from Manjoi and Women are from Pulau Tikus

Don’t waste your money.

It was probably the title that got the book all the attention. (Zed’s Note: The real book please… If you don’t know the actual title, just stop reading) As far as the contents of the book is concerned? A bunch of mumbo jumbo about trying to create a logical view of men and women.

No this entry is not about a book review, it’s about me being awake at 3.30am again and am just banging away at my keyboard with no apparent reason, beyond putting these words together and perhaps making some sense at the end of it.

Men and women are different. This is a fact. However, most of the difference stem not from the sexual disposition of the two genders, but from the selfish need of self preservation and ego. That’s it.

You may disagree. Why? Because you see it as your prerogative. Because you are a women and you believe in the values that you deem is your right. So do us men. Well guess what? The only reason we believe that we have rights is because of our own insecurities and our own need to cling to the notion of love and relationship. Is there a rule in relationships? What keeps two person together? Trust? Marriage? A piece of certificate? Grow up.

Beyond your own selfish reasons that you have to be with your partner, husband, wife (whatever) there are no other logical explanations. You don’t think so? Think about it. You are with her because she looks hot and makes your friends envy and you look cool – ego perhaps? Or maybe you’ve been married so long that you have put on a bit too much of a love handle that now it’s actually the whole bag (rather then just the handle) so going back into circulation may not be the best move. How about him? He pays the bills. You pout and gets the new hand phone that you want. He is willing to part with his cash to continue being there for you – self preservation?

Don’t get me wrong here - yes there is love. But it’s a verb not unlike eat, drink, jump or even sleep. It’s an action that you choose, not an ambiguous random event that you think it is. So you can choose to love - and defend that reason with all the notions of how he treats you, how good looking he is or even how smart and cultured he is. However inevitably you choose to love because he gives you what you need. Unless someone else comes along and is able to give you more, he stays. Atrocious? No; it’s just survival of the fittest.

It ensures the best chance for your own future and your progeny.

So now we get back to the idea that men and women are from some distant planet trying to coexist. What makes it work? To address the need of self preservation and pride two possibility exist.

The first possibility is fulfilling one’s own needs. If he gets what he wants and she gets what she needs equilibrium exists and a relationship is formed. However if he or she thinks that they can do better? Well, need I say more? It starts with a small tiff, then escalates into minor arguments and finally its – let’s just be friends.

Oversimplified you say?

When was the last time you broke up and why? My bet? You will say because he's a jerk but have you wondered why he's behaving that way? Maybe he wants you to think that he is a jerk so he could move on. And how about her? Did she dump you for no apparent reason at all? Are you sure?

Do I have all the answers? Of course not! I just can't sleep and have nothing better to do and Astro keeps repeating the same damn shows. Go figure.

Fire and Ice

SOME say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Robert Frost (1874–1963) From Harper’s Magazine, December 1920.

This instant. What emotion is playing their tune in your heart and mind? Anger, frustration, depression, happiness, pride, envy, lonesome, greedy, lazy, hungry, lustful, enthusiastic, impatient, disillusioned or a whole plethora of feelings all mixed together?

Will we do something about it? If we are driving and someone cuts you off, will you roll your window down and shout? Give a finger perhaps? Why? Don’t worry this is natural. A norm for the society we live in, one that exacts retribution based on our pride and prejudices.

As I am somewhat of a semi-pro blogger nowadays often reading blogs, and writing some of my own – I realized something about us bloggers. I noticed that bloggers are a new form of society, one that breaks the chains of the traditional physical barriers to a conversation. This breach allows a group of common ability (Zed’s Note: Ability to express themselves on a blog that is) to come together and bond at an altitude that didn’t exist before. It’s a village emerging in the middle of the web where fabrics of relationship spans amongst strangers. A whole new community that transgresses natural boundaries.

When a blogger goes missing, others wonder; what happened? Irregardless of location really. Interesting.

Connected by comment boxes and catching up with each other almost daily, some as natural as friends that have been together for much longer then the forty days that span from the first note dropped in response to an entry written about a wily cat with poor toilet-manners (Zed’s Note: The cat really is on the prowl! LOL). We seek new entries and look forward to some blogs more then others.

The question I have is how long will this superficial congeniality last. I have seen some nasty remarks before, some in my blog and often in the more popular blogs out there. In real life there is always that asshole or that bitch that goes through life thinking that making you miserable is their god-given duty. Where is this person in the blog community?

(Zed’s Note: Of course we only get this remarks from bloggers who turn themselves into anonymous commenter for fear of retribution)

Do we behave better in a blog for fear that others may drop by our blog and give us hell? Does the fact that words on a webpage last longer and having everyone read all the nasty entries shame you into being a nice pussy?

Now, if we take this lesson on a blog and apply it to our real life, and remember that EVERYTHING we say is recorded permanently and EVERYONE will be able to see it, will that make us a better person? More polite perhaps? Maybe with less mala fide? Perhaps, we will even commit less sin when we realize that all our sins will be displayed on a big blog one day for everyone to see.

(Zed’s Note: Mala Fide that’s Latin for “With or in bad faith, treacherously” a word made popular by a popular politician a while back; now the whole KL really should know what it means!)

If we know that everything we do will be known to everyone much like the transparent surroundings of a blog, will we behave?

Counting the days

1426 Hijrah, that’s the Islamic Year for this year (2005/2006)

In case you’re curious the following is how the Islamic Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar match up for this year.

Islamic Month (Gregorian Dates)
Muharam (February 10 - March 10, 2005)
Safar (March 11 - April 9, 2005)
Rabiulawal (April 10 - May 8, 2005)
Rabiulakhir (May 9 - June 7, 2005)
Jamadilawal (June 8 - July 6, 2005)
Jamaldilakhir (July 7 - August 5, 2005)
Rejab (August 6 - September 4, 2005)
Syaaban (September 5 - October 3, 2005)
Ramadhan (October 4 - November 2, 2005)
Syawal (November 3 - December 2, 2005)
Zulkaedah (December 3 - December 31, 2005)
Zulhijjah (January 1 - January 30, 2006)

16 days to 3rd of November, 2005 which is expected for 1st Syawal when Aidifitri or Eid Mubarak is celebrated.

So what is the meaning of Eid Mubarak and Aidilfitri?

Eid Mubarak
Pronunciation: eed moo-bar-ak • (phrase)

Definition: A phrase of greetings said among Muslims to congratulate each other on holidays. It literally means, "Blessed Festival!"

Aidilfitri
Eid is an Arabic word derived from ‘aada. Literally it means a recurring event. In Islam it denotes the festivals of ISLAM. The word Eid occurs in the Qur'an once meaning a joyous recurring occasion.

Eid-ul-Fitr is the festival that marks the end of the month of Ramadhan. Fitr means to break and it therefore marks the breaking of the fasting period and of all evil habits.

So let me be the first to wish all Muslims Selamat Hari Raya Aifilfitri or Eid Mubarak to you and your family.

• 11 of the days until Aidifitri are working days, unless the government decides to announce 2nd November a holiday since its sandwiched between Deepavali and Aidilfitri.
• Deepavali is on the 1st of November, which is a Tuesday. So if you take Monday and Wednesday off, you get a whole week break.
• Over 200 people will die on the roads again this festive season on their way back to their home-town. Please be careful on the road, be patient and remember SPEED KILLS.
• 76 days left in 2005 and then it’s a brand new year!
• 50 days of working days left in 2005 and that’s inclusive of Public Holidays.
• 12th November is when the school holiday starts, all the way to 2nd January 2006.
• Christmas is on a Sunday this year, so enjoy the long weekend.
• 8 weeks are the number of working weeks left this year if you take the week of Deepavali and the week after Aidilfitri off, and also exclude the week of Christmas. That translates to about 40 working days only.
• I have all my slots for breaking fast taken up this week, so another 5 more days left to fill up and I shall be enjoying (Not!) the over-priced hotel buffets for the next two weeks.
• 4 more days to this Saturday.
• Killed 30 minutes writing this up.
• About 8 hours before breaking fast today.

So what are you counting on?

The tri-cycle of life

No I wasn't referring to the one with wheels.

I again made the mistake of thinking, and now am stuck with this thought that I have to get out of my head. It may be depressing. It's about death; and death is depressing. Proceed with care and I hope you gain the insight that may have eluded me. Depending on when death strikes there are three different circumstance. Often we see this in different perspective, but what if we look at what we lose and who mourns the lost? Three different times in one lifetime and we are faced with the same question.

If I die, whose lost will it be?

You are too treasured to lose
At the prime of youth – full of hope and eager to live. Nobody wants to lose you. They love you and provide you with all the tender loving care that you deserves. You are bright and when you run afoul they say you are naughty not evil, and when you cry they dry your tear. Your smile brightens their day and when you walk into the room, you light up everyone’s day. If you die, they will say what a lost! She was so young and beautiful with her entire life ahead of her.

Oh! What a lost! What a tragedy!

I have too much too lose
Precious children, you look into their eyes and realize that you need them more then they need you. You just moved into you dream house and drive around in your favorite car. You excel at work, and while they may not be appreciative of you but you know your stuff and get things done. You know they all need you. Life is great, while it may suck when you don’t get what you want, but you have more then most others out there. You are not begging, you have more food then you need and in the eyes of your child you are the whole world to them.

You don’t want to die. You want to live forever.

They just wish you get lost
As they sit by your bed and say that they pray for you to get well soon. They cry in front of you, and show you that they are really sad. They tell you how brave you are and how so and so recovered from exactly the same malady that effects you. They take a towel and wipe the sweat off your forehead. They hold your hand and cry. Then they leave your room. They tell each other that you have suffered long enough perhaps it is best that you die. Yes die!

They forget their tears and start catching up on the latest gossip in the family. There sometimes even are laughter creeping through and maybe you can hear this from your bed. You lie weak and hope that you can actually give them their wish – and die.

Remember, you will die. We all do.

When?

The ZED-HXM4000 Series 2.0 User's Manual

User Installation and Maintenance Documentation
ZED-HXM4000: Humanoid Male

Thank you for your purchase of the state of the art ZED-HXM4000 Series 2.0 or ZED for short.

ZED is an advanced model of a long series of homosapien males which have been produced over several versions to-date. The following is a quick summary for the installation and maintenance of the ZED unit. For your continuous pleasure and ease of maintenance, we strongly recommend that you read the manual carefully before usage of the product.

Manufactured by G.O.D (General Opus Division)

System Design Specifications:
- User Friendly
- Self Cleaning (Depending on Mode Selection)
- Energy Saving Standby Mode When Not In Use
- Self Portable Operation
- Highly Efficient if properly motivated
- Bi-directional Audio Input/Output
- Prefers Output over Input, and has a 2 megawatt Input suppression capability
- Heat seeking capability for hot CHICKS is pre-installed
- Systems are incapable of high doses of alcohol, nicotine and caffeine
- Low Anger Management Control and may need cooling off period if exploded
- Pleasure senses are highly developed and is capable of going for hours if properly maintained

Production Details:
After basic construction, the unit undergoes six weeks of onside HOME programming and burn-in testing. Listed features are installed during this period. Since G.O.D uses local suppliers, there may be variations between units. G.O.D quality assurance may reject inferior units. However, users may sometimes salvage rejected units, and this is subject to their own precautions. All rejected units have no warranty coverage and is repaired on best efforts basis only.

Beware of clones or wannabes. These may violate import restrictions.

Installation Procedures:
Upon receiving the ZED unit, the user should examine the unit to verify that all I/O channels are operational. Look for minor bugs in or on the system. Bugs are indicative of the local supplier production environment. The user may manually remove any bugs.

Bring the ZED unit to operation in an environment temperature at 27º C (± 3 º tolerance). Use a quiet room with the primary user(s) present.

ZED is a highly complex system which has the ability to relate and interact with its environment and is both an active and passive learner. It is equipped with a neuron net which is able to produce loud noises when excited and will sometimes shut-down due to increased heat, too much interference from a competing model or a due to presence of a WOMEN unit.

The Operating System of ZED have been optimized to operate within the domain of a WOMEN, however it requires periodical ALONE time to operate efficiently. It shall make bored faces and looks of incredulity if expected to do any HOUSE chores and will retaliate if pushed too far. Several ZED units have been terminated due to this error.

Applications:
At present, there are few productivity software applications for the current ZED model. Future enhancements can be expected as the unit is stabilized.

WISEASS is a killer app. This is pre-installed.

Many owners use their ZED unit for completing complex tasks or to kill boredom. ZED units play best when they are fed. Due to various models of WOMEN available the ZED capabilities have been tuned to meet most requirements. Some ZED capabilities are:

WORK
The ZED unit has this ability incorporated into its design and will hunt for WORK when necessary to ensure continued interest by WOMEN

SEX
The standard parameter for the ZED unit is to want to have SEX with all WOMEN that it finds attractive based on its default factory settings. Training and control is required to ensure that the ZED unit is not jumping on all chicks.

SLEEP
Usually after SEX (often almost immediately!)

TALK
Place the unit in front of an audience and it shall automatically TALK. To shut it up, introduce a very good looking WOMEN and it usually will run out of things to say.

EAT
The ZED unit have been programmed for most foods, however will have problems digesting vegetables and drinking milk.

Maintenance:
ZED will self-recharge. This takes 6 to 8 hours in a 24 hour cycle. However insomnia attacks is a common occurence and is fixed with either SEX or TV.

The ZED units are self cleaning and require little user maintenance. Do not clean the unit with alcohol or benzine-based solvents. This may lead to a violent explosion.

Do not attempt to open a ZED unit. There are no user serviceable parts inside. If a unit emits strange smells or sounds, it should be serviced immediately by a DOC.

Warning Notices:
ZED systems are user-friendly. However, in certain documented situations, it may befriend just about any good looking chicks especially if under the influence of alcohol. Be prepared to drag the ZED unit to HOME and allow it to reboot. Attempts to lecture the unit will only result in over-heating, the best approach is to leave several sarcastic remarks and allow it to recharge.

ZED units are very hot under the hood and requires frequent shutdown to allow for cooling off periods. Ignore the ZED unit during this period.

If the ZED unit looks depressed do not attempt to CHEER the unit, usually this will only end up in childish laughter with no real effect. Ask the ZED unit what is wrong, and carefully analyze if special care is required. Failing which revert to SEX mode and this would often solve all the bugs.

Do not forget to feed your ZED unit. Major errors may occur due to a hungry ZED unit attempting to operate within its normal parameters. Some say that the way to a ZED heart (if applicable) is through its stomach. So keep your ZED unit well fed.

Lifetime Warranty:
The ZED unit is guaranteed against catastrophic failure. However as users have the ability to infect ZED, nocturnal errors voids the standard warranty.

Documented Problems:
The Ctrl key on most ZED units is defective. This may lead to serious performance problems.

Do not install a CHICK unit at a site which has an operational ZED unit working. The ZED unit may be distracted and all productivity will drop.

The ZED unit has a wandering EYE problem. It is best to just ignore it, there is no patch for this problem yet.

The ZED unit has the ability to prowl at night so unless SEX is introduced, the unit will turn on its AUTO-HUNT feature and users will have very little control over the unit.

There have been cases of ZED units which has run afoul and executed a BYTE on the neck of its users, please select this feature carefully. It may leave lasting marks.

Contacting ZED Technical Support
Our highly trained technicians are ready to help you. As soon as they wake up from their nap submit your Requests for enhancement (RFE), etc. Remember: it's not a bug, it's a user change request. In fact just don't bother sending in your complaints: just like your ZED unit, our technicians won't pay attention either.

We hope that your purchase of the ZED unit is satisfactory and be prepared for the future release of the ZED-HXM5000 which will incorporate complete understanding of WOMEN as a standard feature.

A slow drag along sluggish days

Well this isn’t new. It’s an annual affair. Fasting month in its glorious wonders do tend to slow people down a bit during the days. I am used to the idea of hanging around Coffee Bean, Starbucks and even the many Nasi Kandar joints in town when I meet people.

I obstinately hate offices.

The sound it makes, the invincible barriers between the cubicles and offices, the nitpicking people have – these are pretty good reasons to hate the office environment I believe. So that is why, I often conduct my meetings over “teh tarik” and coffee all over town. It works for me. I bring my client or whomever that I want to meet into an environment where they can relax, away from the prying eyes of their colleagues and everyone is more relaxed, so I get more things done – and usually a lot more information too.

The only time the office is useful is when you need to have big (often useless, but important looking) meetings to pretend that everyone is going to work together or when you listen to boring vendors trying to impress you with something that really doesn’t meet your need, more expensive then it should be, and is impossible to implement.

So now, during these weeks I am somewhat desk-bound. Watching the whole lot of people working very hard at pretending to work, and flipping screens every time someone walks by. As I always believe, it’s a hypocritical life we lead, and sometimes we just need to move to a place where it’s a bit more translucent.

The blog kinda helps, but it's not enough yet.

Can you imagine if your brain is wired to your laptop, and you can transfer ALL your thoughts into your blog without typing anything? And what would be more fun is if you don’t have any control over the flow of thoughts, so whatever is in your mind will just pour into the pages of your blogs! Imagine all those hidden dark secrets reeling in our minds being emptied into these pages.

Now that’s what I would call nasty! And FUN!

Yummy...

(Zed’s Note: I am really getting the hang of this ranting thingy.)

The falter of wisdom remains heaven for fools

"Happiness ain’t a thing in itself—it’s only a contrast with something that ain’t pleasant.... And so, as soon as the novelty is over and the force of the contrast dulled, it ain’t happiness any longer, and you have to get something fresh."

Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)

A brand new week and a brand new start. Much have transpired over the last few weeks that have resulted in a rather morose entry throughout. However, as with any beginnings – it ends. So here I am, a brand new soul perhaps wiser in thought and eager to move on.

I did Babe’s tag. I realized that I have not read a lot of pretty good books. Now thanks to her, I have a very long shopping list, and will be spending countless hours in Kinokuniya hunting some of the books down. I have just finished reading most of the books I have in hand. Here are some recently digested titles;

Losing My Virginity, Richard Branson

Read this! Seriously folks, even if being a billionaire isn’t one of your lifetime’s agenda just read it. So much to be learned about taking risks and living life the hard way. This is why biography’s are written. It reflects on the lesson one learns over a lifetime, which can be reflected on over a weekend of reading. And this is also when I realized, a blog is much like a biography. We write what we think the world should read about, and keep the rest within.

Mind Map, Tony Buzan

Okay, admittedly I am behind the curve on this. Very 90’s but hey a good idea is a good idea.

www.mind-map.com

The Mind Gym, Time Warner Books

A good exercise! Much like our body, the brain needs its exercise too, at least this is what the folks at The Mind Gym believes. Does it work? I shall tell you when I feel fitter. Gym? Naah…

www.themindgym.com

Now, be prepared.

A very long list that I am sure have been growing as this tag is sent around a few times. I have decided to add three biographies at the end of it as I didn’t notice any through the list.

Cheers!

The rules are as follows:

- Bold the ones that you've read
- Italicise the ones you started but did not finish
- Add three books (that you have read) to the list

Note: Books that you have read do not include blurbs on the inside/back covers or reviews and / or movie adaptations of the books.

001. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
002. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
003. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
004. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
005. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
006. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
007. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
008. 1984, George Orwell
009. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
010. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
011. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
012. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
013. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
014. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
015. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
016. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
017. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
018. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
019. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
020. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
021. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
022. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone, JK Rowling
023. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
024. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
025. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
026. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
027. Middlemarch, George Eliot
028. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
029. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
030. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
031. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
032. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
033. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
034. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
035. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
036. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
037. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
038. Persuasion, Jane Austen
039. Dune, Frank Herbert
040. Emma, Jane Austen
041. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
042. Watership Down, Richard Adams
043. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
044. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
045. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
046. Animal Farm, George Orwell
047. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
048. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
049. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
050. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
051. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
052. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
053. The Stand, Stephen King
054. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
055. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
056. The BFG, Roald Dahl
057. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
058. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
059. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
060. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
061. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
062. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
063. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
064. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
065. Mort, Terry Pratchett
066. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
067. The Magus, John Fowles
068. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
069. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
070. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
071. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
072. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressel
l073. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
074. Matilda, Roald Dahl
075. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
076. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
077. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
078. Ulysses, James Joyce
079. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
080. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
081. The Twits, Roald Dahl
082. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
083. Holes, Louis Sachar
084. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
085. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
086. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
087. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
088. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbns
089. Magician, Raymond E Feist
090. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
091. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
092. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
093. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
094. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
095. Katherine, Anya Seton
096. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
097. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
098. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
099. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winter's Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Black Bird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Jester
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen God's Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setter's Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magic's Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magic's Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving
302. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lion's Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Lilith's Brood), Octavia Butler (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago)
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magic's Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime O'Neill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Divine Comedy, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L'Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
374. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. Dick
375. Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb
376. number9dream, David Mitchell
377. A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
378. Five Quarters of the Orange, Joanne Harris
379. Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler
380. Einstein's Dreams, Alan Lightman
381. Dance On My Grave, Aidan Chambers
382. Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Leguin
383. Hyperion, Dan Simmons
384. Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
385. Checkmate, Dorothy Dunnett
386. To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis
387. A Clash of Kings, George RR Martin
388. The Egyptian, Mika Waltari
389. Moab Is My Washpot, Stephen Fry
390. Contact, Carl Sagan
391. Mythago Wood, Robert Holdstock
392. Feersum Endjinn, Iain M. Banks
393. The Golden, Lucius Shepard
394. Decamerone, Boccaccio
395. Birdy, William Wharton
396. The Red Tent, Anita Diaman
397. The Foundation, Isaac Asimov
398. Il Principe, Machiavelli
399. Post Office, Charles Bukowski
400. Macht und Rebel, Abu Rasul
401. Grass, Sheri S. Tepper
402. The Long Walk, Richard Bachman
403. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
404. The Joy Of Work, Scott Adams
405. Romeo, Elise Title
406. The Ninth Gate, Arturo Perez-Reverte
407. Memnoch the Devil, Anne Rice
408. Dead Famous, Ben Elton
409. Scarlett, Alexandra Ripley
410. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
411. Look to Windward, Iain M. Banks
412. The Colossus of Maroussi, Henry Miller
413. Branded, Alissa Quart
414. The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
415. Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac
416. White teeth, Zadie Smith
417. Under the bell jar, Sylvia Plath
418. The little prince of Belleville, Calixthe Beyala
419. Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
420. A King Lear of the Steppes, Ivan Turgenev
421. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
422. Memoirs of a Revolutionist, Peter Kropotkin
423. Hija de la Fortuna, Isabel Allende
424. Retrato en Sepia, Isabel Allende
425. Villette, Charlotte Brontë
426. Steppenwolf, Herman Hesse
427. Ubik, Philip K. Dick
428. Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler
429. Solaris, Stanislaw Lem
430. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
431. Nausea, Jean Paul Sartre
432. The Island of the Day Before, Umberto Eco
433. The Elementary Particles, Michel Houellebecq
434. The Angel Of The West Window, Gustav Meyrink
435. A Farewell To Arms, Ernest Hemingway
436. Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
437. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
438. In the Eyes of Mr. Fury, Philip Ridley
439. Consider Phlebas, Iain M. Banks
440. Into the Forest, Jean Hegland
441. Middlesex -Jeffrey Eugenides
442. The Giving Tree -Shel Silverstein
443. Go Ask Alice -Anonymous
444. Waiting For Godot, Samuel Becket
445. Blankets, Craig Thompson
446. The Girls' Guide To Hunting And Fishing, Melissa Banks
447. Voice of the Fire, Alan Moore
448. The Geography of Nowhere, James Howard Kunstler
449. Coraline, Neil Gaiman
450. The Circus of Dr. Lao, Charles G. Finney
451. Jitterbug Perfume, Tom Robbins
452. John Lennon: The Lost Weekend, by May Pang and Henry Edwards
453. A Long Fatal Love Chase, Lousia May Alcott
454. Pygmalion, Bernard Shaw
455. Breakfast at Tiffany's, Trumate Capote
456. Skinny Legs And All, Tom Robbins
457. Written On The Body, Jeanette Winterson
458. An Equal Music, Vikram Seth
459. The Book of Three, Lloyd Alexander
460. Glory Season, David Brin
461. The Steel Bonnets, George McDonald Fraser
462. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Roddy Doyle
463. My Dateless Diary: An American Journey, RK Narayan
464. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
465. Straight from the gut, Jack Welch
466. Losing my virginity, Richard Branson
467. Elephants can dance, Lou Gertsner

Have anyone seen her puppy?

(Zed's Note: I know, I know. Fat jokes are so 80's but I got this in my email, and had a pretty good laugh, and I bet you didn't expect this over here! Have a good weekend folks, and remember it's Ramadhan - don't be notty!)

Through the depth of conscious the phoenix rises

When do we learn?

I ask myself this often. Is it through all my successes? No. In success the lesson lays deep and often forgotten. We celebrate our achievements and forget the pains we go through to end our journey. Are we all superficial? I ask myself. Are we ignorant and doomed to repeat the same mistake over and over. When will it stop? Then I realize.

No. It is pain that halts stupidity. Once we touch a hot kettle, it will not happen again. Once we failed in our quest, whatever it was that resulted in the failure, becomes a lesson engraved in our mind forever. So this leads me to a simple conclusion then. For us to be successful, we need to keep making more mistakes. Simple!

So as this blog witnesses the life and times of Zed, as he would like to remember it, it shall be here then that he logs his mistakes and may others learn from its modest disposition. Today? Trust no one. Yes that would be the lesson for today, as Zed rises from the ashes of camaraderie and learns that the world is not lonely after death, but it begins now. Fair weather friends abound - none in sight when tribulations disembarks.

Now to more current events.

Traffic has been horrendous in KL the last two days, so to all of the bloggers currently out of this city, just be thankful that you are not stuck here. As far as the promise of the food from the “Pasar Ramadhan” call me lazy but have you noticed the crowd? The rude, incessant and in some areas obnoxious crowd pushing each other to purchase the best “this” and the best “that”? Is this what fasting is all about?

Food?

October

O HUSHED October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
To-morrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
To-morrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow,
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know;
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away;
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

Robert Frost (1874–1963). A Boy’s Will. 1915.

We leave September, and welcome a new month. And we welcome Ramadhan in its folds.

Life works in manners we can’t be certain but oftentimes we are left to hope. Frost belabors the coming of winter and the cold it brings. However, deep within his verse one seeks to understand if grapes were really his apprehension – or was he really talking about life? When one season ends and another begins, along with it comes the uncertainty of a new weather. Promises left unfulfilled as new dimensions are presented will remain unconvincingly a mere promise.

I look forward to these turbulent times, as I know, should I live to remember it - I will remember the lessons I learned and the pains I overcame. Worry not about the trepidations of life, as that is what adds color to our mundane existence.

May the seasons bring the joy and the sadness of existence and may we have the wisdom to seek the lesson it brings within and may we spend the comprehension we gained on making our lives one that conveys meaning to ourselves and those that depend on us.

And may all fast not in hunger but in humility and as I bid you well, I bid myself valediction to serenity.

Thanks Inn for the pix, it does say a thousand words!