Fastest ever 3.2km @ 2-mile run (Personal best)


Yesterday, I was pushing to run under 18 mins, but only managed 18:09.80... Sigh... but I already pushed to the max! I mean, after stopping, I could barely walk, and my breathing... phew... like I'm a hurricane-brewing maching...

But thank God I could run that fast. I mean, 6 months ago, when I started running, I did 26:16. And yesterday, I was 8 mins faster than the first time. 8 mins might not seem a lot, but in a distance run, for those of you who run and knows about athletics, you'll know that that is a BIG increase in pace.

26:16 is 7.31 km/hr and 18:09.80 is 10.571 km/hr. Of course, I am still quite far from my goal, that is 13:00.00 or less, and 13:00.00 is 14.769 km/hr!!! Of course, simple Maths will tell you that 13 mins is half of the time I took to run my first 3.2K... LOL

I think, I'll need another 6 months... at least...

Let's GO!

Of course, all that is nothing compared to Haile Gebrselassie, who yesterday set a World Record in the marathon - 2:04:26 That is crazy... If you have no idea how fast is that, that is 42.195 km in 2:04:26, or 20.346 km/hr!!! *Jaws drooping* That's even faster than some drivers on the highways...

Amazing, isn't it?


From the past few times I'd been in church, I saw many changes. Some people who used to be in church every Sat and Sun are not there anymore. Not sure where they disappeared to. And some people who wouldn't do something wrong last time are doing the wrong thing now. And all these people, most of them are my friends.

Fact is, people change. Some change for the better, and some worse off than before. But I have decided to still love them and befriend them, regardless of what happened. I'm not going to CONDEMN them or tell them that they are wrong. They are mature enough to know what is right and what is not. And I am learning from God. And I go through changes too, myself. I just hope that my friends would still be able to accept me and befriend me, when things about me changes.



3 things remain unchanged about God:

1. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

2. He loves me and you as much as He had loved you and me before, and He will continue to love us, REGARDLESS of the changes we go through individually. This is the part of God that I am learning from. Isn't it amazing, that when we are going through shit in our lives, dropped so low, did so many mistakes and sins, hate ourselves, hate the things around us, become discontented and dissatisfied with many things, become worse, bad, whatever you name it, YET He still loves us ALL THE SAME??? Not a bit less!!!

3. His Word and promises.



Ok, gotta go back now (from office). Need to go run, hopefully can run under 18 mins for the 2-mile, and then rush home to finish off my monthly report due tomorrow. HECTIC huh? LOL

Just an example


Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word. (NIV, NIVUK and TNIV)

Turn my eyes from worthless things,
and give me life through your word. (NLT)

Keep me from looking at worthless things.
Let me live by your word. (NCV)

Turn my eyes away from things that are worthless.
Keep me alive as you have promised. (NIrV)

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in Your way. (NKJV)

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways. (ESV)

Turn my eyes away from things that have no worth,
and give me new life because of Your ways. (NLV)

Turn my eyes from looking at what is worthless;
give me life in Your ways. (HCSB)

Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,
invigorate me on the pilgrim way. (MSG)

Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
And revive me in Your ways. (NASB)

Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity (idols and idolatry);
and restore me to vigorous life and health in Your ways. (AMP)

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity;
and quicken thou me in thy way. (KJV)

turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity,
and quicken Thou me in Thy way. (KJ21)

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity,
And quicken me in thy ways. (ASV)

Remove mine eyes from seeing vanity,
In Thy way quicken Thou me. (YLT)

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity;
quicken me in thy way. (Darby)

Take away my foolish desires,
and let me find life by walking with you. (CEV)


This verse, Psalm 119:37, is a powerful verse. If you only look at one translation only, like KJV, you are missing out A LOT, seriously. KJV says "... quicken thou me in thy way." But other translations say "preserve my life", "give me life", "give me new life" (WOW!), "let me live", "let me find life", "keep me alive", "revive me" (WOW!), "invigorate me" (WOW!), "restore me to vigorous life and health" (double WOW!!!). If you had stopped at "... quicken thou me in thy way.", do you get anything??? Learn anything??? Quicken me??? Errr... quicken what? But look at the BIG picture you get from that same verse, from ALL the other translations... Powerful huh? This is what I call the power of unity. And two translations amuses me. The Message says "... toys and trinkets" and Contemporary English Version says "... my foolish desires". They are a bit out, as compared to the other translations, but think about it... toys and trinkets are worthless things, same as foolish desires. So, although the choice of words are totally different, but the context, or the meaning is the same... heh heh heh... Trinkets... funny lar...

So why, oh why want to get into arguments and make accusations of other translations? Jangan macam katak di bawah tempurung. Our God is definitely not a tempurung God. Have a good weekend friends! And enjoy His Word and His presence!

NIV, NKJV, etc. = False Bibles???





What the? As I browsed the net, I came across some very disturbing sites, saying that all modern translations of the Bible are false translations. They claimed that only one version, the original King James Version is the true and right Bible. Huh???



As I looked at the arguments, yah, ok, they looked at the difference in the words used, like "peddle" in the modern translations, instead of "corrupt" in KJV (2 Cor 2:17).



Sure, they mean different things, but am I bothered by it? Nope.



Instead of accusing all the other translations as the Devil's translations and false Bibles, why not firstly, look at the fruits of those who make use of the modern translations.



Look at Pastor Joshua Yee, Pastor Joseph Prince, Pastor Kong Hee... all of them frequently uses both translations, the NIV and NKJV. Look at their fruits... If the 2 translations had problems, then their respective churches will have lots of problems, agreed? But all 3 churches are still growing and growing and growing... lives saved, miracles take place, healing and deliverance, prosperity and financial breakthroughs beyond human understanding... now tell me, if the 2 translations are NOT from God, and had MAJOR issues, then, how did those things happen, or take place? Did the Devil orchestrate all the miracles? LOL...... you know the answer. Whatever that is NOT from God would not grow, would not last and would not persist or exist. Besides, these great men of God never criticized or condemned the KJV, and would sometimes quote from this version. Besides, being people who are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, I am very sure He would have warned them, if REALLY, there were something wrong with those modern translations.



I think I am more concerned about those people who try to confuse and cause disunity in His body, rather than be bothered about minor things like different usage of words in certain verses in different translations. Like what Pastor said, don't just look at one translation. Look at all the different translations. I normally take the side of the minority, but this time, no no. And I don't really fancy all the "thee", "thou", "thy", "thine", "shalt", "giveth", "knowest"... and many archaic English words which you can't really understand well, like "In the selfsame day" which actually means "On the very same day" and this verse "And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life." which actually means "And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life." and "But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you" which actually means "But Pharaoh will not heed you".



Selfsame, wherein, hearken??? Eeeeeeeeeeeeee....... *scratch head and butt*

The Most Important Book to Read

Dearest Friends, Pastor Joshua had been sharing with us for the past few weeks on the Word of God, how important it is for us to read and get into the Word of God to harness the tremendous creative power contained within it. Not only nowadays we faced many distractions (from the enemy), especially us working people, but I stumbled upon this interesting website (quite easy to read, as it has pictures LOL) that showed the history of the Word of God, how the enemy had tried (and is STILL TRYING) to destroy or manipulate the contents of the Word of God. Seriously, after being a believer for 9 years now (15th Sept 1998 was my salvation date), I never knew of things like Jesuit, Apocrypha, Roman Catholicism and all the what-nots in it, and how the enemy, via the Vatican tortured and killed 68 million believers, who believed that salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ, between 1200 - 1800 A.D., all "in the name of the Lord" because Catholics believe that salvation cannot be found outside the Catholic church!!! Unbelievable huh? You may say, ignorance is bliss? I don't think so. I think knowing these facts and history will make you appreciate the Word of God more. Definitely for me.

Please read this if you have time, or should I say, please make time to read this, and more importantly, read and get into the Word on a consistent basis. Remember: It's not a matter of whether you want to or had no time to read the Word of God. It's a matter of how blessed you want to be! Believe that your work and your business will experience supernatural bounties as you spend some time reading and meditating on His Word!

Have a blessed week ahead! Take care!

America's Top 400 Richest (Source: Forbes)





It's interesting to note that it now takes at least USD 1.3 billion to be on the Top 400 list.


And what is more interesting, is that the Top 5 are SELF-MADE.


This goes to prove that EVERYONE, with the right practices and habits, CAN make it to the BILLIONAIRE club.


So who says that you have to have a rich dad, or a huge inheritance to make it there?

Beatification?


Actually, I am through with posting about Catholicism, but when I received the Powerpoint presentation from Alex Lee this morning about Mother Theresa, I decided to read more about her on Wiki. And found out that she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta after she died.

At first I thought it was a wrong spelling for the word beaUtified. Since there is a link to the word beatified, I looked that up and behold, something extremely fool-nee (funny) I discovered.

In Catholicism, beatification (from Latin beatus, blessed, via Greek μακάριος, makarios) is a recognition accorded by the church of a dead person's accession to Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name (intercession of saints).

What the??? It's like, if I become a "Blessed", people will pray in my name??? Like... "... in Blessed John of Kuching's name I pray." LOL What the hell man....

And that's not all...

A person who is beatified is given the title "Blessed." The feast day, however, is not universal, but is celebrated only in regions where the Blessed receives particular veneration. For instance, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is honored in the United States of America and Canada.

So if I become "Blessed", there will be a public holiday in my name... LOL This is all incredible rubbish man...

And take a look at this progression chart. It's just ridiculous. We are all servants of God, venerables of God, blessed people of God and saints of God. We DON'T need beatification by a human Pope to make us BLESSED or not.

Blessed John of Kuching........ LOL........... What lah..............

Warning - this post might offend some people!

Hi Friends! Remember I promised to do research on whether catholics are saved? (Since my boss not around today... heheheh...)

It was very interesting to read about the views on this from various Christian denominations, even from Catholics' point of view too. Now before I go on, I would like to say that, when I say Catholics here, I am referring to traditional Catholics. Traditional, of course, does not mean OLD, but if you are a Christian, you will know what I mean.

So since this topic concerns Catholics and their salvation, why don't we look at what Catholics say about that huh?

When I read some Catholic sites teaching Catholics how to answer that question, I was indeed very amused. One site talked about being saved in the past, present and future, that salvation is a dynamic thingy... LOL And no mentioning of what you had done, that is to confessed with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believed in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). The Word of God says that you are saved when you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour. Believing that He died for your sins. But all that site mentioned was that since Christ died (for our sins) while we were still sinners, I mean, that is true, but if you NEVER accepted Him, then, the fact that knowing Christ died (for our sins) while we were still sinners doesn't grant you salvation. I mean, even the Devil knows that. And some people from other religions might know that too. And even if they don't, that statement doesn't make them saved. If you never DID anything, knowing or not knowing that statement does NOT make you saved, or else everyone in the world are saved. How ridiculous can that be? And the fact that salvation is dynamic??? LOL Come ON! Once saved, always saved... heard of that before? If you have accepted Him and put your faith in Him once before, you DON'T have to do it again to get saved. Christ don't have to die again and again for your salvation. I think why the site talked about present salvation and future salvation is because of one of Catholic's beliefs is that faith alone in Christ is not sufficient for salvation. The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that a person must believe in Jesus Christ AND be baptized AND receive the Eucharist (their version of Communion) along with the other sacraments AND obey the decrees of the Roman Catholic Church (coming from the Pope, of course) AND perform meritorious works (beginning with baptism, receiving the sacraments, confession of sin to a priest, etc.) AND not die with any mortal sins AND etc., etc., etc. to be saved. Wah lau eh!!! Like that die lor... Who can be saved then??? Any claim that WORKS or RITUALS must be added to FAITH in order for salvation to be achieved is a claim that Jesus’ death was not sufficient to fully purchase our salvation. Besides, it is interesting to note that many rituals and beliefs of the Catholic church are not in line with the Word of God. For example apostolic succession, worship of saints or Mary, prayer to saints or Mary, the Pope / Papacy, transubstantiation (μετουσίωσις), plenary indulgences, the sacramental system, and purgatory. While Catholics claim Scriptural support for these concepts, none of these teachings have any solid foundation in the clear teaching of Scripture. These concepts are based on Catholic tradition, not the Word of God. In fact, they all clearly contradict Biblical principles. Roman Catholics know about Christ, but do not know Him personally, therefore they are trying to work their way to Him. Roman Catholicism is essentially a religion of works and not of grace as taught in the Scriptures. After reading "But How ARE Catholics Saved? from the Catechism of the Catholic Church", I still don't know, if I am still an unbeliever, HOW or WHAT I should DO (the first step), to be saved. Too confusing and too many things... And it's interesting to find that Mary had such a high standing in a Roman Catholic belief - almost equal to Christ as a co-Redeemer and Intercessor for our sins! WHAT THE! Can you believe that? And some Catholics even believe that WITHOUT Mary, they CANNOT be saved! That's totally way off man... I mean, what did the Word of God say in Acts 4:12??? No OTHER name... and what about John 14:6??? No one comes to the Father except through Me (Jesus).

It just saddens me that this man-made system, or church if you can call it one, is driving people away from a rich and fulfilling personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. I just wonder how many Catholics actually made it to heaven. Of course, I am not just trying to hit at one wrong practice. There are many others, like Methodist, Baptist, and cults. But why the focus on Catholics? Because it is the world's BIGGEST religion. According to the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, the Catholic Church's worldwide recorded membership at the end of 2005 was 1,114,966,000, approximately one-sixth of the world's population at that time.

Thank God for Martin Luther, with his 95 Theses, started the Reformation and Protestantism. Did you know what did the Catholic Church call him? A drunken German, but never successfully responded or refuted his 95 Theses. Isn't it sad when man decides to take things into their own hands, when, by right, there should be only ONE denomination, ONE church.

These people are just AMAZING... (Speechless)

Sorry arr... I'm too busy (and lazy) to type... But do watch out yah!

Family dinner - 16th Aug

Yah, I know, this is like almost a month ago but somehow, I just keep forgetting that I have these pics in my Xda IIs...

Well, quality is not as good as my Nikon CoolPix P1, but still, it's not that bad...

Here's my family, minus my bro who's in OZ doing Degree in Music (Violin) now, and of course, my darling...

By the way, the food is really good... BB Plaza or something like that... in Pyramid... you know, the Thai steamboat with the green dragon with those funny TV ads

Aren't my darling pretty? *kiss* *kiss*

And such a natural photogenic model...

By the way, she didn't purposefully pose for this... hee hee hee...

Ahhhhhh.........ammmm....

Pictorial post (supposedly)


Hi Friends! How was your weekend? I just got back from Singapore. Was there on Thursday and Friday to conduct training. And I brought back one surprise too... heh heh heh...


Anyways, this is going to be a pictorial post (supposedly). So here goes...





Isn't this nice? Sadly, this pic, in real life, might never be seen by our future generations anymore, as scientists and environmentalist posted those pics showing a super rapid melting and disappearing of Artic ice. Who knows, with the rate the globe is warming up, you might be left with this... (sadly...)






And I think, many, many years later, this will be all that remains of all the nice ice and water...





Sigh... so sad right? So let's all do something to help reduce global warming (extracted from http://www.fightglobalwarming.com):

1. At Home: Use Less Energy

For example:

a) Replace standard light bulbs with new compact fluorescent bulbs. They cost slightly more than regular light bulbs, but they save money over time because they last up to 13 times longer.
John's tips: Get Philips light bulbs - not only they shine as brightly, if not more brightly than normal cheaper bulbs, they uses less electricity. And they lasts longer too (cheh cheh... promo for Philips)
The rest of the tips from http://www.environmentaldefense.org/page.cfm?tagid=608

b) Switch to green power, e.g. Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Biomass.
John's tips: Not only solar power can reduce global warming, you save money too, by no longer needing to pay electricity bills! And you definitely do not have to worry about getting enough of SUN to accumulate solar energy here in summer-all-year-long Malaysia! Check out http://www.solarbuzz.com/CompanyListings/Malaysia.htm

2. On the Road: Be Efficient

For example:

a) Travel light and pack smart

b) Drive less aggressively

c) Slow down

d) Know when to use the air

e) Don't idle

f) Maintain your car

g) Keep your engine tuned properly

h) Check the tires

i) Combine trips

j) Telecommute once a week

k) Carpool and use public transportation when possible

l) Drive less

Not only doing the above will reduce global warming, you save money on petrol and maintenance, and your car will last longer. Besides, you also become healthier in the process too! LOL I mean, come on, do you HAVE TO drive to the convenience shop that is just 5 minutes walking distance from your house??? Sheesh... And of course, you greatly help to reduce painful traffic jams.

3. Choose green: Buy a clean, efficient car

Well, like it or not, some cars just consume more fuel than others, given the same mileage. Get a greener car with better fuel consumption and better mileage. Read it here:

4. Neutralize the Pollution

Not sure if we got these kind of societies here in Malaysia or not... Hmmm...

AIKS! I thought this is supposed to be a pictorial post? Ahahaha.... In the end still become such a long wordy post... But I am serious about global warming. I am consciously helping the fight against global warming. You may think - WHAT COULD ONE PERSON in this whole wide world POSSIBLY and SUBSTANTIALLY do to help reduce global warming? Well, that's the whole big problem, isn't it? If everyone thinks like that, then there goes the fight. But if you do your part, spread the effort, encourage others to do the same, I'm pretty sure many others will join this cause. I would rather think of WHAT ONE PERSON COULD REALLY MOVE AND SHAKE the world, and reflect on those ONE individuals who changed and wrote history. I'm sure you know many of them...

Let's fight global warming together, and everyone will have a better world to live in happily!

Where have all the movies gone?

Why? Oh why? Aren't any of my favorite directors coming out with any movies this year? Sigh..... Spielberg is only releasing Indiana Jones 4: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull next year, and Shyamalan is only releasing The Happening (starring Mark Wahlberg!!!) next year also..... Sigh..... And Zhang Yi Mou is not helping too... quite a lame movie last year, The Curse of the Golden Corset... ooppss, I mean, Gong Li's Nen Nen... ooppss again... Flower. Is he retiring? How come no new films? Sigh.....

But it will be a good wait (rub hands in glee!!!) and a good training of my patience too... heheheh... I mean, I had ALWAYS been a great fan since a kid of Indiana Jones, and directed by one of my favorite directors somemore is super chun! And the second movie, is no doubt, gonna be explosive... Shyamalan + Wahlberg... yupz, definitely a good wait.....

3 Monday Blue Updates



1. My company experienced a total network crash since yesterday, and was only restored today at noon. Feels like shit, cos you can't print anything, can't check email or answer emails, and the worst is, NO Internet! Grrrrrraaaaaarghhhhh...! Thank God it is restored. Hopefully it stays this way until I post this post!



2. When I drove up to park my car at the first floor, I saw something on the pavement...








After I parked my car, and took a closer look, YUP, it's what it is...







A car's oil cap!!! LOL......... Perut sakit oi........ I mean....... WHAT THE????? Drive car until like that??? I don't want to comment further........ perut dan mulut sakit from laughing........



3. Guess who is this (not so) "hot" singer?









Clue #1: She is a Grammy Award-winning American pop music singer, songwriter, pole dancer, and author



Clue #2: She has sold over seventy-six million albums worldwide according to Time magazine



Clue #3: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) ranks her as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history, having sold thirty-one million albums in the U.S.

You will never believe it...

Someone who used to be so pretty, hot and sexy... has turned into this fat mama with a MOON... Speechless... If you are still interested to read about it... Go ahead here...

Are born catholics saved?

What does it mean to be "saved"?

These are the questions that popped into my mind with regards to Luciano Pavarotti's death. He was born a catholic.

For most catholics, they do not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. But I'm just wondering if they had ever confessed with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believed in their heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9)? Because if they did, then the Word of God says that they will be saved.

Before I insert my personal opinion, I would have to do some research at what people says, and also research the Word of God, and research about Catholicism, of course. Get the big picture from every angle.

Interesting question to research, anyway... heh heh heh... It's been quite a while that I had this question unanswered and unresearched. Time to get to work! Till then, have a good weekend friends! God bless!

Is caffeine BAD? (Part 2)


To answer Wei Luen's question, the answer is: tea is much milder and safer as compared to coffee, depending on what type of tea, as well.

5 oz or 150ml (coffee cup size) of coffee normally contains 65 to 120 mg of caffeine while the same amount of tea only contains 12 to 56 mg of caffeine.

The strongest tea is BLACK TEA, e.g. English Breakfast, Chai Spice, Earl Grey

The next strongest tea, but weaker than black tea, is OOLONG TEA, e.g. China Oolong, Formosa Oolong Bay Jong, Ti Kuan Yin

The next strongest tea, but weaker than Oolong tea, is GREEN TEA, e.g. Premium Green, Kangra Green Gunpowder, Darjeeling Green

The next strongest tea, but weaker than green tea, is WHITE TEA, e.g. Mutan White, Flowery Pekoe White, White Pearls

The next strongest tea, but weaker than white tea, is DECAFFEINATED TEA, e.g. Decaf Earl Grey, Decaf Chai Spice, Decaf Sencha Green

And the weakest "tea", if they can be considered as tea at all, since they DON'T contain caffeine, is HERBAL TEA, e.g. Chamomile, Peppermint, Lemon Blossom

So if you want to compare, the much lower amount of caffeine in tea does not really give you the "kick" or "boost" like coffee does.

So there is absolutely much lower chances of caffeine overuse or overdose by drinking tea, or even causing caffeine tolerance or withdrawal symptoms.

However, there had been many reports or claims on the potential health benefits of tea, unlike coffee, where there is almost NONE.

So, do I think that drinking tea is healthier than drinking coffee? Based on available evidences, the answer is a relative yes, although I wouldn't recommend overconsumption of tea. Daily drinking, 2-3 cups of tea a day should be more than enough.

But if you need the alertness, the instant "kick", then, I would have to say that tea does not do justice.

And one PRECAUTION though: ALTHOUGH tea has many potential health benefits, like improve arthritis (by reducing inflammation and slowing cartilage breakdown), help asthma (by improving airflow to the lungs (bronchodilation)), dental cavity prevention, improve fertility (a combination product called FertilityBlend has been associated with some success in helping women to conceive), heart attack prevention, reduce cholesterol or triglycerides, memory enhancement, relieving menopausal symptoms, anti-cancer, e.g. prostate cancer properties (because of the antioxidants i.e. flavonoids and catechins), sun / skin damage protection, increases metabolic rate (weight loss), possible anti-diabetes effect, boosts immune system and mental alertness, lowers stress hormone levels, effects on HIV, EGCG Specific mechanism, effects on bad breath, iron overload disorders and effects associated with caffeine, THERE ARE ALSO, POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS from drinking too much tea, in excess of 8 cups a day. What are the side effects?

1. You may be getting too much fluoride, which is naturally present in ALL tea leaves.
2. Overuse or overdose of caffeine
3. Too much oxalates, which could cause kidney damage, and cause you to lose calcium and other minerals from your body.
4. The potential health benefits of tea (mentioned above) are NOT strongly substantiated by clinical studies, so I will NOT say that I would support all the benefits of drinking tea, until more studies had been conducted to confirm the benefits.

So what is the conclusion? I would say that it depends on what you need. For health benefits, coffee has almost ZERO benefit while tea has many POTENTIAL benefits. For mental alertness and warding off drowsiness, may I say occasionally, coffee is a better choice. But whatever it is, BOTH, if abused by overconsumption, can cause SIGNIFICANT HARM to your body, with coffee relatively worse than tea.

Is caffeine BAD?

(Warning: This is going to be a long post, so you might need coffee!)

Many people think that this is a debatable topic, but let me address this topic, to the best of my knowledge and expertise as a nutritionist.

When consumed in moderation (2 to 3 cups/day of coffee), depending on body size and degree of tolerance to caffeine, it takes less than an hour for caffeine to begin affecting the body and a mild dose wears off in three to four hours. What effects? Caffeine is an ergogenic - it increases the capacity for mental or physical labor. Caffeine is also a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness.

Now, before I continue, I would like to inject my personal opinion here, that is: caffeine, when used OCCASIONALLY, and in moderation, is useful and effective in improving your performance, be it work, studies or whatever pleasurable experiences. However, caffeine does not eliminate the need for sleep or rest: it only temporarily reduces the sensation of being tired.

So, I think that, caffeine is very useful and good for short term events like rushing for deadlines or last-minute efforts. However, I am not encouraging that to happen all the time, since you must learn how to manage your time better. But unless you fall under the category of people like me who have endless amount of work, and short-notice deadlines, then, perhaps, it is unavoidable to consume caffeine in dire times of need.

From one angle, caffeine usage can be considered as "cheating" your tired body. What do you do when you are tired? You sleep, or rest, right? So caffeine "cheats" your body in thinking that it doesn't need sleep yet, until the effects of caffeine wears off, in 3-4 hours.

Now, let's talk about OVERUSE and OVERDOSE of caffeine. In large amounts, especially over extended periods of time, caffeine can lead to a condition known as caffeinism. Caffeinism usually combines caffeine dependency with a wide range of unpleasant physical and mental conditions e.g. nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, muscle twitching (hyperreflexia), insomnia, headaches, respiratory alkalosis and heart palpitations. Furthermore, because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid, high usage over time can lead to peptic ulcers, erosive esophagitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

There are 4 caffeine-induced psychiatric disorders recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition: caffeine intoxication, caffeine-induced anxiety disorder, caffeine-induced sleep disorder, and caffeine-related disorder not otherwise specified (NOS). Long-term overuse of caffeine can elicit a number of psychiatric disturbances. Two such disorders recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) are caffeine-induced sleep disorder and caffeine-induced anxiety disorder. In the case of caffeine-induced sleep disorder, an individual regularly ingests high doses of caffeine sufficient to induce a significant disturbance in his or her sleep, sufficiently severe to warrant clinical attention. In some individuals, the large amounts of caffeine can induce anxiety severe enough to necessitate clinical attention. This caffeine-induced anxiety disorder can take many forms, from generalized anxiety to panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, or even phobic symptoms. A study in the British Journal of Addiction concluded that caffeinism, although infrequently diagnosed, may afflict as many as one person in ten of the population.

Other side effects of caffeine overuse include: dizziness, tachycardia, blurred vision, drowsiness, dry mouth, flushed dry skin, diuresis, loss of appetite, nausea and stomachaches.

All the above, are just side effects of OVERUSE of caffeine. What about OVERDOSE?

An acute overdose of caffeine, usually in excess of 400 milligrams (more than 4 cups of coffee), can result in a state of central nervous system overstimulation called caffeine intoxication. The symptoms of caffeine intoxication include restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation.

In cases of extreme overdose, DEATH can result. The median lethal dose (LD50) of caffeine in humans is dependent on weight and individual sensitivity and estimated to be about 150 to 200 milligrams per kilogram of body mass, roughly 80 to 100 cups of coffee for an average adult taken within a limited timeframe that is dependent on half-life. Though achieving lethal dose with caffeine would be exceptionally difficult with regular coffee, there have been reported deaths from overdosing on caffeine pills, with serious symptoms of overdose requiring hospitalization occurring from as little as 2 grams of caffeine. Death typically occurs due to ventricular fibrillation brought about by effects of caffeine on the cardiovascular system. So don't play play. Instead of getting your name in the Guinness Book of World Records, you might instead, find your name in the Malaysian Registrar of Death Records.

So is caffeine good or bad? Now, before I make my conclusion, let's look at another thing that many people do not know about caffeine. It's called caffeine tolerance and withdrawal.

Because caffeine is primarily an antagonist of the central nervous system's receptors for the neurotransmitter adenosine, the bodies of individuals who regularly consume caffeine adapt to the continual presence of the drug by substantially increasing the number of adenosine receptors in the central nervous system. This increase in the number of the adenosine receptors makes the body much more sensitive to adenosine, with two primary consequences:

1. First, the stimulatory effects of caffeine are substantially reduced, a phenomenon known as a tolerance adaptation.

2.Second, because these adaptive responses to caffeine make individuals much more sensitive to adenosine, a reduction in caffeine intake will effectively increase the normal physiological effects of adenosine, resulting in unwelcome withdrawal symptoms in tolerant users.

Caffeine tolerance develops very quickly, especially among heavy coffee drinkers. Complete tolerance to sleep disruption effects of caffeine develops after consuming 400 mg of caffeine 3 times a day for 7 days. Complete tolerance to subjective effects of caffeine was observed to develop after consuming 300 mg 3 times per day for 18 days, and possibly even earlier. If you don't get my English here, then, in much simpler English, it means that daily consumption of coffee will reduce the effects of caffeine, requiring a higher dosage next time, to create the effects of caffeine, like keeping you awake. Instead of keeping you awake, you might sleep like a log! Eventually, that higher dosage will wear off too, requiring an even much higher dosage for caffeine to take effect. Eventually, you will reach the dosage that is under the OVERUSE and OVERDOSE section described above.

Withdrawal symptoms — headache, irritability, an inability to concentrate, and stomachaches — may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days, representing the time required for the number of adenosine receptors in the brain to revert to "normal" levels, uninfluenced by caffeine consumption.

So, what is my conclusion? Use caffeine when you really need it, or else, avoid from consuming it daily. And it is ALWAYS better to get ENOUGH sleep, rather than depend on coffee to keep you awake the next day. Remember: You are only cheating yourself, not your own body that you don't need rest or sleep. Eventually, you will break down from extreme fatigue and OVERDOSE or OVERUSE of caffeine. And of course, we all know that even God Almighty, The Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent God took a break too. God rested, so why should we not do the same?

Some trivia:
1. Many over-the-counter headache drugs (like Panadol) include caffeine in their formula.
2. Caffeine is toxic to dogs, including chocolate!

My darling, this picture is dedicated to you...

I love you

How's this for smileys?

... I find this guy very funny, trying to break away from conventional chatbox smileys, normally yellow in colour and the round head fella... Check it out...

(... and the best for last... LOL)

My Journey to be a Millionaire (Part 2)

Quoted from "The Millionaire Next Door":

"It is unfortunate that some people judge others by their choice in foods, beverages, suits, watches, motor vehicles, and such. To them, superior people have excellent tastes in consumer goods. But it is easier to purchase products that denote superiority than to be actually superior in economic achievement. Allocating time and money in the pursuit of looking superior often has a predictable outcome: inferior economic achievement."

Totally agree. Don't you? I mean, WHY base your happiness, peace, joy, etc... on EXTERNAL things that don't last? In the end, those things are just pieces of metal, plastic or cotton. You can't bring these things to heaven, and they will, in a short time, become outdated. Tell me honestly - can you REALLY keep up with technological advances? And expensive food - what happens to them??? LOL... yup, everyone knows that in the end, they all become SHIT, just the same as the maggi goreng telur mata from the mamak. Don't tell me there's such thing as a "superior" SHIT. All SHITS are SHITS, period.

But don't get me wrong. I am not against superior consumer goods. When I become a millionaire, and when I have positive cashflow, surpluses even after giving to the Kingdom of God, I will no doubt invest in "more superior" consumer goods. Besides, what's the point of working hard and finally achieving your goals/dreams/targets if you don't celebrate and enjoy your successes?

But sadly, people can't wait to enjoy their affluency now. They don't have plans to become a millionaire, no long-term investment plans. RM10K will be gone in a matter of months, or weeks, for some. Furthermore, we are all "corrupted" or "pre-programed" by the media, the press, and peer pressure. What does the media and the press do excellently? Sensationalize high-spending, lifestyles of the rich and famous. Mutu, gaya, keunggulan... The fame, the pleasure, the popularity... Quick cash, money-loaded TV quiz shows, jackpots, lottery wins, etc... Tell me honestly, have you EVER come across any program, any advertisement, anything in popular magazines that promotes wise spending, spending well below your means, being frugal, etc.? I mean, people will definitely go to sleep, seeing those kind of things telling people how much this person SAVED, how much that person INVESTED, the efforts to get a better DEGREE, the simple and plain lifestyle of totally unknown people.

It is not a wonder why so few people in Malaysia are millionaires. Even most people with six-figure annual incomes are not millionaires. They believe in spending tomorrow's cash today. They are debt-prone and are on earn-and-consume treadmills. To many of them, those who do not display abundant material possessions are NOT SUCCESSFUL.

It's your choice - superior on the outside or superior economic achievement?