Be careful when using Dry Ice

We should be aware for this especially when enjoying ice creams bundled with dry ice. It's good to take preventive steps.

Remember this esp when we buy lots of ice cream during Baskin Robbins 31st day offer!!!
They normally put dry ice in your ice cream pack if you buy a lot.


A friend bought four pack of ice cream and to prevent it from melting, the seller put the dry ice amongst the ice cream. My friend put it at the back seat (not the back of the car) and he started to drive with the windows closed and the aircon on (as what we all do). Soon after that, he had difficulty to breath and it was getting worser by minutes.

Luckily, he was in a traffic jam and when he almost fainted, beside him was an ambulance. He dragged himself to the ambulance and got the oxygen treatment. He was getting better on the way to the hospital.

The ambulance officer drove his car to the hospital and he had the same experience. However, before his condition worsen, he opened up the window and he can breathe easily. Only later, when my friend has returned to office and told his colleagues about his story, they pointed to him that the dry ice was the problem. WHY?

Dry ice was made of CO2 and when it "melts", it becomes CO2 gas straight away without leaving any wet mark (that is why it is called dry ice). CO2 is easier to be tied up in our blood and thus, when the dry ice sublimes into CO2 gas, it fills the car room with it along with the air cond circulation and caused CO2 poisoning. So, dont put the dry ice inside your car if you are using aircon with fully closed windows. You must leave the windows open for such situation.

Hope this will help to prevent any fatality just from a small negligence like this. Imagine if you have your children inside, they might be the first victim.

Identity Card: Can they keep it?

If you have ever visited some apartments or high rise buildings or perhaps even offices and factories... chances are you have likely encountered the experience of the security guards there asking to have your ID card handed over to them in exchange for entry into the premises. At times, it does make me wonder whether they do really have the authority to keep our identity cards.. yet we are being repeated advised to safeguard our ID and never give to other people.

So, can these security guards actually keep our ID? What if it gets stolen or being copied for wrong doings? What if they make photocopies of your ID and abuse it? Who will then be responsible for the matter? A case of negligence or blindly following instructions?

I received a forwarded mail from a friend the other day, answering my curiosity on this issue. It was a surat perkeliling (directive letter) from Kementerian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (Ministry of Internal Security) to the private agencies involve in security. But then... it is kind of surprising that this kind of letter flows freely on the internet. A quick check on the KKDN website did not return such document... however, i did find another blogger posting similar message...

Still if this is real, then the message reads that the Minisitry is requesting all security companies to stop this practice immediately. There are two points mentioned here which reads ...

"...Peruntukan Peraturan 7 Peraturan-peraturan Pendaftaran Kebangsaan 1990 memperuntukkan bahawa hanya seorang pegawai pendaftaran, pegawai polis, pegawai kastam, pegawai tentera atau pegawai lain yang diberi kuasa bertulis ole Ketua Pengarah Pendaftaran sahaja yang dibenarkan untuk meminta dan memeriksa identiti seseorang dengan mengemukakan kad pengenalan..."

This means normal civilians do not have the right to ask and check other people's ID except with written permission from Director of National Registration. It also states ...

"...Di bawah Peraturan 8A memperuntukkan bahawa adalah suatu kesalahan jenayah bagi mana-mana orang selain pegawai-pegawai yang dinamakan di peraturan 7 untuk secara tidak munasabahnya menahan kad pengenalan milik orang lain..."

The paragraph above mentioned it is a criminal offence to hold and in possession of other people's ID, except for those mentioned in Peraturan 7. This should clear up the views that Security firms are never authorized to keep our ID, even worse these days where the firms actually employ foreigners as security guards. Can you imagine what can possibly happen if you pass your ID to a foreign worker???

Well, based on the recommendations given by the Ministry, what these security firms can do is request the ID for the purpose of jotting down the information and return the ID back to the owner immediately once they have captured the particulars. Next time when they ask for my ID again, I'm going to tell them they can jot down but can't keep. Else, I'll report the matter to KKDN. It is still a win-win situation, right?

Old and New (LG T5100 & Nokia 6120 Classic)

After three good years, having good times (although it's been giving me some problems lately) with my LG T5100 phone, it is time to get a new one. The LG phone has been a durable and shock resistant phone, having been dropped numerous times from the table at least 3 feet high and it still functional... i'm impressed actually.

At the time it was released to market the phone is one of the most innovative in its class, having with 180 Degree Swiveling LCD Screen, the non-reflecting 262,000 Color 2.0"TFT LCD. Throughout the duration, the OS has only crashed twice with one severe crash completely destroyed all my data then and the keypad too started to give me problems when typing SMS. I guess with the price I paid for this phone then, it is worth every RM paid :)

I have been looking at the market for some time shopping for a new phone. Basically, despite all the hi-tech features that come with the latest phones, I seldom use them at all. Thus, I'll be looking for a phone with good (not best) functionality, stable and most of all affordable (well, budget is tight, waiting for bonuses to arrive, it is better to go for best value phone).

The one that grabs my attention currently is Nokia 6120 Classic. It's a candybar type, easy to hold and running on Symbian S60 OS, similar to the ones used in Nseries. It can work in any part of the world with operating freq of EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, enough to cover Asia, Europe and America continents. It is also a 3G phone and comes with 2MP camera, enough for me on normal usage. It meets my criteria already, hoping to get it some time this month or next :)

Lunch Buffet at E&O

Went to E&O yesterday for factory offsite meeting but i forgot to bring one item ... camera. Silly me, it didn't occur to me till during lunch time that we were going to have lunch buffet at one of the restaurants: Sarkies Corner. It is located next on the left of the hotel lobby, just beside the staircase. E&O is just beside the sea, needless to say, the restaurant too has the seaview. We had tables already reserved for us just beside the window, good to enjoy the view without feeling warm.

As I said, i forgot to bring the camera along thus no pix can be shown here. It has been a while since I last had buffet and frankly, the types of dishes served actually amazed me. ... For a start, i went for hot, thick cream of mushroom soup with a piece of sliced garlic bread. Then i went on for main dish of mostly local cuisine like sweet sauce prawns, breaded fish in sweet and sour sauce, bamboo clams cooked in oyster sauce and a sliced of beef in thick gravy. After completing first round, I went to grill station for some seafood and poultry... items on the plate salmon, squid and a 1" thick sausage...wow... they are all delicious...

For desserts, there were endless choices to choose from. I kept circling the table a few rounds before deciding what to fill on my plate. In the end, i chose Black Forest, Nutty Tart, Strawberry in Chocolate praline and other assorted of desserts ... a treat for sweet tooth people :):)

I believe the buffet below was the meal I took...it was paid by the Company anyway. :)

The Ideal Executive Lunch (Mondays – Saturdays)
12.00 noon – 2.45 pm
RM 38.00 ++ (adult) / RM 19.00 ++ (child)