nuffnang

Thursday, December 31, 2009

A Good Morning

What a lovely morning today is...




the daily morning scene at our house..


that's Ibu our cat..


the other 2 are Ibu's boyfriends... hihi...




I just don't know why.... but it's really therapeutic to start your day with this...




today is the final day of 2009


I'm welcoming 2010 with arms wide open...

2010 I SEE you... :)

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

MUET 2010 Calendar - MUET Registration Date For 2010


click photo to enlarge


for more information on MUET please visit http://www.mpm.edu.my/

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

New Year Resolutions


get the joke?
hehe

It's the time of the year again....
the time to set our new year resolutions...
but what about the last year's resolutions? hahaha...

before we think of any resolutions, let's ask mr wiki what is New Year's Resolution

A New Year's resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous. The name comes from the fact that these commitments normally go into effect on New Year's Day and remain until fulfilled or abandoned. More socio-centric examples include resolutions to donate to the poor more often, to become more assertive, or to become more economically or environmentally responsible. People may act similarly during the Christian fasting period of Lent, though the motive behind this holiday is more of sacrifice than of responsibility. The new year resolution is one example of the rolling forecast-method of planning. According to this method, plans are established at regular short or medium-term time intervals, when only a rough long-term plan exists.

As for me, one of my new year resolutions would be...

.

I will try my best to be wiser with my money.. and refrain myself from buying this kind of stuff


Monday, December 28, 2009

You Are Always IN/ON My Mind..??

I know we normally say “on my mind” but is it wrong to say “in my mind?” – LP

It depends on what you mean. When you say “There’s something on my mind.” you mean you are thinking a lot about that something or worrying about it. But when you say “I can still hear the music in my mind, even though the concert took place many days ago.”, you are talking about something you can still remember. “On someone’s mind” is an idiomatic expression: you can change “someone’s” to “my” or “your”, etc, but you can’t change “on” to “in” without altering the meaning of the expression


By FADZILAH AMIN - THE STAR

Friday, December 25, 2009

Lalalaa Happy Day...

To all christians out there..

Merry Christmas

and to to the rest...

Happy New Year!!! -

Wishing everybody a fantastic new year!


New Year's sunrise... a bright new year ahead.. God-willing..

Thursday, December 24, 2009

What Subject?

Question: What subject you take in university?

(Is this the correct way to ask a friend who is still studying in university?)

Answer:

It is better to say:“What subject are you taking at university?”

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Meet or Met?

Is this correct?

1. A: Have you ever met him?

B: No, I have not met him.


The Answer.

1. “Met”here is used as a past participle and is part of the present perfect negative verb “have not met”. The answer is in the present perfect tense because the question is in that tense, using the verb “have met”. It would be better to use the adverb “never” in the answer instead of “not”, because the question uses the adverb “ever”. Thus the dialogue would go:

A : Have you ever met him?

B : No, I have never met him.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

On Weekend Or At The Weekend?

We are still on the topic of American English vs British English, now let's look at the differences in the usage of prepositions.


Prepositions

There are also a few differences in preposition use including the following:

American English – on the weekend

British English – at the weekend

American English – on a team

British English –in a team

American English – please write me soon

British English – please write to me soon



source: Mind Our English - The Star

Monday, December 21, 2009

I've Just Had Lunch vs I Just Had Lunch

In British English, the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example: I’ve lost my key. Can you help me look for it?

In American English, the following is also possible: I lost my key. Can you help me look for it?

In British English, the above would be considered incorrect. However, both forms are generally accepted in standard American English.

Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include already, just and yet.


British English:

I’ve just had lunch.

I’ve already seen that film.

Have you finished your homework yet?

American English:

I just had lunch.

I already saw that film.

Did you finish your homework yet?

So... which one to use? Both are correct. It is up to you which one to use.


POSSESSION

There are two forms to express possession in English - have or have got.

Do you have a car? Have you got a car? He hasn’t got any friends. He doesn’t have any friends. She has a beautiful new home. She’s got a beautiful new home.

While both forms are correct (and accepted in both British and American English), have got (have you got, he hasn’t got, etc.) is generally the preferred form in British English while most speakers of American English employ the have (do you have, he doesn’t have etc.)



an excerpt from - Mind Our English - The Star

Latest Book By Marianna Pascal To Improve Your English Language

I went to Popular Bookstore few days ago and I came across this book..






It's RM29.90 before discount.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Redmummy.com



I've been reading redmummy.com religiously for the past 2 years...

Look at her blog hits! Wow! That is really amazing. How I wish this blog of mine will someday, somehow received that kind of hits! Wishing and hoping! :)

Friday, December 18, 2009

What Is Maal Hijrah?

Maal Hijrah, which is also called Awal Muharram, is an important day for muslim. It falls on the first day of Muharram on every Muslim calender year, which is the first day on muslim calender.

The meaning of Maal Hijrah in English is migration. On this day, Muslim remember Nabi Muhammad S.A.W migrate from Mekkah to Madinah on the year 622 A.D. Besides, Maal Hijrah also mean changes from bad to good side and can be said as starting point and evaluate inner-self on self achievement.

Awal means begining in English and Muharram is the first month of muslim calender. In another words, this is the first day in Muslim calendar. Therefore, this is also the new year for all Muslim.

This day has became an important religious day for all muslim. All the mosque will have solat sunat.


Happy New Year To All Muslims

Thursday, December 17, 2009

It's Thursday!



nice.... ahakss..

Monday, December 14, 2009

How Soon?





Nomenclature??

I've received a memo with a word 'nomenclature' in it...

I was like... huhh? what's that?




with the help of wikipedia I found the meaning for 'nomenclature'

Nomenclature refers to either a list of names and/or terms, or to the system of principles, procedures and terms related to naming - which is the assigning of a word or phrase to a particular object or property.[1] The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal conventions of everyday speech to the internationally-agreed principles, rules and recommendations that govern the formation and use of the specialist terms used in scientific and other disciplines.

Naming "things" is a part of our general communication using words and language: it is an aspect of everyday taxonomy as we distinguish the objects of our experience, together with their similarities and differences, which we identify, name and classify. The use of names, as the many different kinds of nouns embedded in different languages, connects nomenclature to theoretical linguistics, while the way we mentally structure the world in relation to word meanings and experience relates to the philosophy of language.

Onomastics, the study of proper names and their origins, includes: anthroponymy, concerned with human names, including personal names, surnames and nicknames; toponymy the study of place names; and etymology, the derivation, history and use of names as revealed through comparative and descriptive linguistics.

The scientific need for simple, stable and internationally-accepted systems for naming objects of the natural world has generated many formal nomenclatural systems. Probably the best known of these nomenclatural systems are the five codes of biological nomenclature that govern the Latinized scientific names of organisms.

KPTM Staff Day 2009

more photos - http://kptmkuantan.blogspot.com







Sunday, December 13, 2009

Thursday, December 10, 2009

The 7 foods experts won't eat

by Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief, PREVENTION,


How healthy (or not) certain foods are—for us, for the environment—is a hotly debated topic among experts and consumers alike, and there are no easy answers. But when Prevention talked to the people at the forefront of food safety and asked them one simple question—“What foods do you avoid?”—we got some pretty interesting answers. Although these foods don’t necessarily make up a "banned” list, as you head into the holidays—and all the grocery shopping that comes with it—their answers are, well, food for thought:

20 ways to feed your family for $100 a week.

1. Canned Tomatoes

The expert: Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A

The problem: The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Unfortunately, acidity (a prominent characteristic of tomatoes) causes BPA to leach into your food. Studies show that the BPA in most people's body exceeds the amount that suppresses sperm production or causes chromosomal damage to the eggs of animals. "You can get 50 mcg of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that's a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young," says vom Saal. "I won't go near canned tomatoes."

The solution: Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (which do not need resin linings), such as the brands Bionaturae and Coluccio. You can also get several types in Tetra Pak boxes, like Trader Joe's and Pomi.

14 worst health mistakes even smart women make.

2. Corn-Fed Beef

The expert: Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface Farms and author of half a dozen books on sustainable farming

The problem: Cattle evolved to eat grass, not grains. But farmers today feed their animals corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter. More money for cattle farmers (and lower prices at the grocery store) means a lot less nutrition for us. A recent comprehensive study conducted by the USDA and researchers from Clemson University found that compared with corn-fed beef, grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium; lower in inflammatory omega-6s; and lower in saturated fats that have been linked to heart disease. "We need to respect the fact that cows are herbivores, and that does not mean feeding them corn and chicken manure," says Salatin.

The solution: Buy grass-fed beef, which can be found at specialty grocers, farmers' markets, and nationally at Whole Foods. It's usually labeled because it demands a premium, but if you don't see it, ask your butcher.

25 ridiculously healthy foods you should be eating now.

3. Microwave Popcorn

The expert: Olga Naidenko, PhD, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group,

The problem: Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize—and migrate into your popcorn. "They stay in your body for years and accumulate there," says Naidenko, which is why researchers worry that levels in humans could approach the amounts causing cancers in laboratory animals. DuPont and other manufacturers have promised to phase out PFOA by 2015 under a voluntary EPA plan, but millions of bags of popcorn will be sold between now and then.

The solution: Pop natural kernels the old-fashioned way: in a skillet. For flavorings, you can add real butter or dried seasonings, such as dillweed, vegetable flakes, or soup mix.

Your nutritional guide to grocery shopping.

4. Nonorganic Potatoes

The expert: Jeffrey Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board

The problem: Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes—the nation's most popular vegetable—they're treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they're dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting. "Try this experiment: Buy a conventional potato in a store, and try to get it to sprout. It won't," says Moyer, who is also farm director of the Rodale Institute (also owned by Rodale Inc., the publisher of Prevention). "I've talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals."

The solution: Buy organic potatoes. Washing isn't good enough if you're trying to remove chemicals that have been absorbed into the flesh.

14 ways to make veggies less boring.

5. Farmed Salmon

The expert: David Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany and publisher of a major study in the journal Science on contamination in fish.

The problem: Nature didn't intend for salmon to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT. According to Carpenter, the most contaminated fish come from Northern Europe, which can be found on American menus. "You can only safely eat one of these salmon dinners every 5 months without increasing your risk of cancer," says Carpenter, whose 2004 fish contamination study got broad media attention. "It's that bad." Preliminary science has also linked DDT to diabetes and obesity, but some nutritionists believe the benefits of omega-3s outweigh the risks. There is also concern about the high level of antibiotics and pesticides used to treat these fish. When you eat farmed salmon, you get dosed with the same drugs and chemicals.

The solution: Switch to wild-caught Alaska salmon. If the package says fresh Atlantic, it's farmed. There are no commercial fisheries left for wild Atlantic salmon.

Delicious and easy fish recipes

6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones

The expert: Rick North, project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and former CEO of the Oregon division of the American Cancer Society

The problem: Milk producers treat their dairy cattle with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST, as it is also known) to boost milk production. But rBGH also increases udder infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers. "When the government approved rBGH, it was thought that IGF-1 from milk would be broken down in the human digestive tract," says North. As it turns out, the casein in milk protects most of it, according to several independent studies. "There's not 100% proof that this is increasing cancer in humans," admits North. "However, it's banned in most industrialized countries."

The solution: Check labels for rBGH-free, rBST-free, produced without artificial hormones, or organic milk. These phrases indicate rBGH-free products.

Don’t be fooled by these 11 health food imposters.

7. Conventional Apples

The expert: Mark Kastel, former executive for agribusiness and codirector of the Cornucopia Institute, a farm-policy research group that supports organic foods

The problem: If fall fruits held a "most doused in pesticides contest," apples would win. Why? They are individually grafted (descended from a single tree) so that each variety maintains its distinctive flavor. As such, apples don't develop resistance to pests and are sprayed frequently. The industry maintains that these residues are not harmful. But Kastel counters that it's just common sense to minimize exposure by avoiding the most doused produce, like apples. "Farm workers have higher rates of many cancers," he says. And increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides (from all sources) with Parkinson's disease.

The solution: Buy organic apples. If you can't afford organic, be sure to wash and peel them first.

Resume

HOW TO WRITE A BETTER RESUME by Brian Konradt

Which word is more scarier to you? If someone yelled out “fire!” or if someone whispered in your ear, “Did you write your resume yet?” To most people, hearing the word “resume” induces panic attacks and beads of sweat across the forehead.

Writing a resume is hard work. You must write your resume correctly; it must be perfect! Any blunders in your resume could cost you the job. The entire resume-writing process can be confusing. We’ve all asked ourselves these questions: “Which information goes in?” “Which stays out?” “How exactly should I format my resume?”

If you jumped into a pile of books and articles on how to write the perfect resume, you’d drown in words, sentences and advice that all sound the same. So what in the world will make your resume leap out of the pile and scream out, “Grab me! I am the person you want to hire!”

Writing a resume is an art and a science. We need to know a successful formula of words, sentences, format and finesse to convey effectively our selling points. The following tips are shortcuts to write a stellar resume for whatever sort of job you desire.

FORMAT WITH CAUTION

Your professional history will strongly dictate your resume format. We must choose one of three basic resume types: chronological, functional or combination.

The Chronological Resume - This is the most common type of resume, the one that comes to mind when we speak about a resume. A chronological resume is appropriate if you’ve had steady work experience with little to no breaks, have kept each of your jobs for long periods of time, or have industry-related experience that shows your working toward a specific goal. The Chronological Resume is comprised of:

• Objective (which we’ll discuss in a few paragraphs)
• Employment history (starting from your most recent job)
• Education
• Optional section (for things such as military experience or any special skills/interests that may pertain to the job at hand)
• References

The Functional Resume - A variation of the chronological resume, a functional resume intends to highlight skills found outside of work experience; it’s useful if you’re in the process of changing careers, have little to no work experience or have held several, seemingly unrelated jobs. This sort of resume is comprised of:

• Qualifications summary (a bulleted list of achievements or interests that qualify you for the job for which you’re applying).
• Employment history
• Education
• Optional section
• References

The Combination Resume - A combination resume is what it sounds like: a combination of the chronological and functional formats. It tends to be slightly more useful than the functional resume, as that format sometimes makes an employer suspicious that you’re hiding something (such as a lack of experience). The combination resume is comprised of:

• Qualifications summary
• Education (especially if it’s a particularly strong area for you)
• Employment history (in reverse order as the chronological resume)
• Optional section
• References

RETHINK YOUR OBJECTIVE

Many books and articles extol the virtues of an objective; it is, after all, a great way to position yourself within a job and show an employer what you want and how willing you are to get it. A lot of job-seekers have been ditching the objective in favor of a qualifications summary, and employers seem to be responding well. The reason for this is simple: objectives are, by nature, focused heavily on youemployer. Your potential employer, while certainly interested in what you want, is far more concerned with your qualifications and what you can do for the company.

The idea isn’t all bad, though. It just needs a little tweaking. Instead of an objective, try creating a positioning statement.; it functions on the same way as an objective but puts the focus on you. Take a look at these examples:

Objective: To become an associate editor of children’s books at a major publishing house.

Positioning Statement: Children’s book editor with 10 years of experience in publishing.

These are loose examples, of course, but you get the idea; put the focus on you and the employer will take notice.

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

Be specific about what exactly you’ve done. Your former job responsibilities and achievements are excellent selling points in your resume. Avoid being vague, unless you want your resume to read like everyone else’s. Think about your previous jobs: what exactly did you do and how does that qualify you for a new position? For instance, don’t write that you “assisted the senior editor with a number of editorial duties.” Instead, write “contributed to editorial copy and content editing, cover design and overall concept of several major projects.” Detailing your specific job duties and accomplishments show the employer what you’re capable of and what he or she can expect from you as an employee.

SHOW THEM WHAT YOU CAN DO

It’s tempting to outline your responsibilities to save some space and not appear overly conceited, but remember -- you’re here to sell yourself. You have one shot to make an impression. Chances are good that the employer will already know a bit about the duties of your last job (especially if it’s linked to this job), so they need to read about what you’ve accomplished as opposed to what you did. Anyone could go through the motions of a nine-to-five day, but what did you actually achieve? What were the results of your work? Don’t be modest with this; if a book you edited hit the best-seller list, then by all means, let the employer know. Never withhold important information about your achievements.

WORD IT WELL

The words you use in your resume are just as important as the results you’ve achieved or the jobs you’ve held. Make sure you use lively, engaging words and always avoid the passive voice; it reads in a boring, trite manner. Always write in active voice so you sound more formal and direct. Stay concise -- are you using more words that necessary? Would a great action verb effectively replace a whole sentence? Are there any obvious clichés, like “great customer service skills”? Strive to say things in the most interesting manner possible, and make sure you spell all words correctly. There’s nothing worse than a typo on a resume, as it leaves the impression that “if this person doesn’t care enough to spellcheck their resume,” the employer thinks, “then how in the world will they care enough to do this job well?

PERFECT THE PRESENTATION

Resume presentation is another crucial aspect to the resume-writing process. How your resume looks will serve as the employer’s first impression of you; if it looks bad, or amateurish, your resume may not get a second glance. Make sure the visual formatting is correct (consult a resume guide book for samples of formatting) and always leave lots of white space; this makes it easier for an employer to skim through your resume and find the information they need. Use an easily readable font, such as Arial or Times New Roman; print it on high-quality white stock (no photocopies!); and send it in a white or manila envelope with a printed mailing label. And always, always, always remember to include your contact information, even your email address; it’ll be hard to land that new position if the employer can’t even get in touch with you.

© B. Konradt

Brian Konradt is a freelance writer and founder of FreelanceWriting.Com (http://www.freelancewriting.com),

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Buka Langsir

“Buka langsir dan tutup langsir,” in English can we say: Draw up the curtain and draw close the curtains? – Please help


Strangely enough, we can say
“draw the curtains” to mean both “buka langsir” and “tutup langsir”. But there are other expressions that distinguish between the two actions and can therefore make our meaning clearer. These are “draw back the curtains” or “pull back the curtains” to mean “buka langsir” in contrast to “pull the curtains” or “close the curtains” to mean “tutup langsir”.We don’t say “open the curtains”, though!


by FADZILAH AMIN - thestar

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