Ultimate badminton fan

This is so amazing that I want to post it here....

97-year-old travels 2,400km by bike to see badminton


(Source: CCTV website)

A 97-year-old grandmother has travelled 2,400 kilometres (1,491 miles) by tricyle to watch the Chinese badminton team in action at the Beijing Olympics.

Xiao Xincui, affectionately known as old Xiao, sat in the back while her grandson Liu Xianghui provided the pedal power on their mammoth journey from Henan province in central China.

The epic trip took five weeks and they arrived to see women's singles champion Zhang Ning play on Sunday.

"I'm very excited to be here," said Xiao.

Her grandson said he wanted to make the trip as a thank you to Xiao for bringing him up after his father died when he was young.

Their journey has caught the imagination of the Chinese media and public and they now have tickets to see the 110m hurdles final at the National Stadium where the whole of China will be willing Liu Xiang to win another gold medal.

Copyright © 2008 Agence France Presse

source :
badminton forum
cctv

What? No more badminton in Olympics after 2008!

And the ridiculous thing is that it (and judo) will be replaced with croquet and chess. This is what the president of the ICF has to say about badminton.

"Unlike judo, croquet has a distinguished and civilised history," said Laer Diputs, president of the ICF. "It's also not like badminton where you simply run around wildly, hitting back and forth. Croquet is very competitive and depends on a combination of physical skill and careful strategy. Most of all, success depends on a cool assessment of risks and probabilities, yes, much like chess."

I know what chess is and whatever battle there is to the game, it happens in the mind only. It doesn't test your physical prowess except maybe your ability to sit long in the chair and periodically use your hands to move the chess pieces, set the clock and scribble some letters and numbers. It is a respectable game and I enjoy playing chess, mostly chinese chess, however. But I don't think it deserves to be included as an Olympic sports.

When I think of Olympics, I think of the training the athletes have to go through. They train both physically and mentally. Physically, the athletes train for strength, speed and endurance. They will refine their skills and techniques in their respective disciplines - sprinting, long jump, high jump, long distance running, javelin, archery etc. Also, they will spend a lot of time analyzing their mental weaknesses and how to work on those. The mental part separates the champion from the rest.

Now, I play badminton and I can tell you that it requires you to be good at everything that I just mentioned. Sometimes it feels like sprinting across the court to retrieve the shuttlecock. Sometimes you need to jump to execute certain quality shots. To win points, sometimes you have to be really sharp and accurate. Your technique needs to be correct so you don't waste your energy unnecessarily. You need to be super-fit in order to stay in the championship. At the highest level, where all players have equal chance to win, it is the person who is strongest mentally more likely to triumph. The beauty of the game is that even a small kid can beat an adult.

And so what is this croquet game all about? I searched for it in youtube and here's what I found.



I can't believe that this game will replace badminton and judo in the next Olympics. Don't be surprised that the beauty pageant or any dance routine will feature in future Olympics as well.

Meanwhile, I still enjoy the game of badminton. Whoever wins in Beijing in August - best of luck! And to badminton fans out there, don't miss the last Olympic badminton event.



links:
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/badminton-central/content/view/125/2/
http://en.beijing2008.cn/spirit/beijing2008/graphic/n214068254.shtml

All England 2008 - The continuing battle for the Malaysians

I don't know whether to keep my eyes on the stock market, the election campaign or the badminton All England tournament. On the stock market, things don't look very good. I think we are heading towards a very bad financial crisis and I don't think Asia or the rest of the world is decoupled from US. You can check Malaysia's KLCE performance at Yahoo Finance, for example. On election, things are getting a little interesting. Tomorrow is polling day and all Malaysians will be glued to their TV or computer monitors. On badminton, ahhhhh....

It has been an exciting tournament so far. Two of my favourite players were on court today. Indonesian Taufik Hidayat wants to capture the only major title that is missing from his collection. Malaysian Lee Chong Wei wants to go one step further by playing in the finals. Eventually the game was won by the Malaysian (23-21, 21-17). Both players made some mistakes in the game. Lee was a little passive in the first set and he seemed overcautious, playing more rallies and seldom attacked. His signature cross-court smash was also missing. Taufik had 3 matchpoints before Lee caught up. Taufik applied the pressure on Lee in the second set, and I thought Lee was going to lose this one. After the 11-point break, Lee stepped up the gear and was leading all the way. His defense was better. His net-play seemed better than Taufik's.

I feel sad that Taufik missed his chance to complete his collection of wins but believe he will try again next year (despite his intention to hang his racket after the Olympics in Beijing). At the same time, I feel happy that Lee has made it so far and hope that he will achieve his dreams. It was nice to see Taufik boyish smile when they shook hands after the game ended. I think Taufik did not mind losing to Lee.

It was quite heartbreaking to see Malaysia's number one women singles player lose in today's semi-finals. Wong Mew Choo had her chances when she beat Korea's Hwang Hye Youn in the first set. She played more attacking style in the second part of this set to win. However, in the second set, Hwang was getting to the net and shuttle earlier and making excellent shots. Wong was rattled and trailed too far behind. She should have just let the match go and concentrate on the third set, instead of wasting her energy on long rallies. In the third set, Wong tried to pressure Hwang but to no avail. She seemed happy to push or lift the shuttle from the net, instead of varying her shots more. The game ended with 17-21 21-10 21-13 in favor of the Korean lass.

What interest me in this game was the Malaysian coach's (Wong Tat Meng) advices to Wong during the intervals. He was speaking in Cantonese. After she won the first set, the coach said "hai mai hai mai, kom nyong ta hai ngam keh, ngam mo ngam mo" - correct, correct, that's how you should play, correct, correct. And something like to continue playing the same way. During the second set 11-point interval, he said "ting chi la, ting tak to mo? chang lok huei" - can take it or not? endure. Playing for the last set, he said "hai kom ke la, hai kom san fu ke la, nei pa pin to mou san fu keh? hai kom san fu ke la" - it's always tough, don't you remember? it has never been easy for you, it's always tough.

I talked about this to Amy. She said the coach should have told her to change her strategy - give her more tactical advice. It is good to give a psychology boost but you only need to spend a few seconds on the tactical aspect. Couldn't agree more. If Wong had changed her strategy, the outcome could have been different. That is why it is so heartbreaking. Perhaps Wong could have won. Lee, on the other hand, has the ability to change strategy midway in the game. Perhaps Lee should have sat next to the coach and help her during the interval. Who knows. Zhang Ning has done that before for Xie Xingfang.

Malaysia's other hope is the men doubles pair of Lee Wan Wah-Choong Tan Fook. After losing twice to Denmark's Ericksen-Lungaard in the finals, this would be their best (and most likely last) chance of redeeming themselves and making their long overdue mark in the badminton books. Park Joo Bong, the legendary men doubles player from Korea in the 80s once said that this pair was very promising and predicted a successful career for them. However, the only major title that they have won is probably the ABC championships held in Johor Bahru one year.

The veteran players have been through it all. They had appeared in local headlines reporting their bad relationship among themselves and with their former coach, Park himself. They had undergone surgeries after bad injuries from playing badminton. I watched their All England final games. And when they lost the second time (they played brilliantly in the beginning but everything just collapsed toward the end), I couldn't imagine how disappointing it must have felt for them. Still, they bounce back. Time and again, they bounce back.

Even the current coach, Rexy Mainaky, is all praised for them. Although they are oldest pair in the national squad, they are training even harder than the younger pairs. Such is their dedication and commitment. Perhaps this is the reason they are the only survivor in this championship. All the other Malaysian pairs were knocked out after the first round, including the defending champions. Strange, but perhaps experience makes a lot of difference. Let's hope their experience will lead them to close the chapter with wonderful memories.

So, the battle continues.....

[Pictures from badmintonforum]

Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong to defend their All England title

Koo-Tan winning All England 2007

When Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong lifted up the All England trophy last year, it ended Malaysia's agonizing wait for a breakthrough in the badminton circuit. 25 years to be exact.

Can we hope for another inspiring performance from this young pair? They showed that their victory was not a fluke by winning the following tournament, the Swiss Open. Just for the fans, here's the clip featuring their last match in the All England tournament.

When they did badly in the team event in the Doha Games prior to All England, Rexy Mainaky, their coach, broke down emotionally and wanted to quit. I remember he was even hospitalized during one of the team training.

Undeniably, Rexy's dedication to the sports is unparalleled. As a player with former partner, Ricky Subagja, they have won every single tournament there is to win (if I am not mistaken). Having won the Olympics as well, he has set it as an important goal for his protege to achieve.

Recently, Rexy was calling it quits again after a dismal performance from his men doubles department. If you have been following Koo-Tan's stellar progress, you might have watched some of their interviews and documentaries. One of the interviews/documentaries was shown on Malaysia's private cable TV station, Astro. There was one part where Koo said he asked his partner Tan what they should do as they felt the situation was getting really serious and Rexy could give up on them. Apparently, Rexy was fuming with anger because his doubles pairs did not play to his instructions - everything that he taught the players was not there during matches.

Koo-Tan getting ready

In my eyes, Rexy is one of the best coaches Malaysia has ever hired. When he was with the English team, he helped bring up the levels of the English players (Men Doubles as well as Mixed Doubles). To lose him before the Olympics games in Beijing this August would be a complete mess for badminton sports in Malaysia. Cheah Soon Kit, the coach for the women doubles department had left BAM to join KLRC. Some other players also have plans to seek greener pastures in KLRC.

I was sitting behind Rexy during a match in 2005 World Championship in Anaheim. He turned around and was looking in my direction because I booed at some bad line call (or something else) against the Malaysian pair (Chan Chong Ming/Koo Kien Keat). Naturally, I was thrilled. He was pretty animated and showed his displeasure over the incident. Clearly, this guy really loves the sport, both as a player and coach.

(Note: This sounds like a blog post about Rexy. However, I get the impression that both players and the coach work as a team. Without Rexy, this pair could not have gone so far so quickly. In similar vein perhaps, in order to demonstrate his success as a coach and instructor, Rexy needs a good pair to work with in the first place. Just my humble opinion.)

So what will Koo and Tan do this time? I have not made any great strides in the arena of sports myself. But I think as with all human activities, in order to persevere in a particular discipline, one must have a passion for it. Passion keeps you going even when the cards are against you. Passion will help you to see through your initial setback. For instance, Rexy commented that Tan has developed some kind of phobia when playing. In contrast, I think Koo's natural personality - that 'arrogant' personality has helped him to stand and play fearlessly against any opponent. As long as passion remains in Tan, I think he will be able to overcome his weaknesses. Come to think of it, I like to see the way Tan play too. He has a unique body coordination and unique strokes.

Koo does the jig

Everyone has their ups and downs. The most important thing is to bounce back after the fall. I think Lee Chong Wei has succeeded in this case. Personally, I would also like to see Hafiz make a strong comeback. He has the talent and his game is very enjoyable to watch; if only he could go on winning ways like during 2003 when he won the All England Men Singles title.

Let us give our support to Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong. They have made us proud a year ago. If they win again, it will be a confidence booster for them. Has any pair won the All England title back-to-back? If they lose, they must quickly get over the defeat and focus on improving and preparing for the Olympics.

Interesting thread links in badminton forum:
Kien Keat-Boon Heong gives Malaysia first All-England doubles title in 25 years
Young Pair End Malaysia's 25-Year Wait For All England Men's Doubles Title

Badminton websites:
Badminton Forum/Badminton Central
Malaysia Badminton Forum (in Chinese)
KKK's blog(looks like no update.....lol, too busy training)

[Images from Badminton Forum]

All England historical chart(up to 2006) (click reference here for clearer picture)

Some profound Zen stories

The Zen Master did it again! Congratulations! Let's hope our local hero, Lee Chong Wei, can continue his amazing run in the next Super-series event - Korea Open.

I only came across some Zen stories when I was doing my research in Singapore. There are some that I think I can understand - actually very few that I understand. There's one about the Zen Master asking his disciples if they can answer why the leaf on a particular tree they were observing was moving. The first disciple answered that it was the wind. The second disciple answered it was something else (don't remember, too bad). Both answers were not what their teacher wanted to know. Well, the answer was it was their heart that made the leaf move. Does anyone out there know where to find this story? It's a meaningful story. Generally, I find Zen stories difficult to grasp. It feels hanging in the air.

As I was searching for some inspiration on what to write, I came across this website. It is called the Inspiration Bit. There's a post where an outgoing link for 101 Zen Stories was mentioned. Here are some that I have read before; the ones that I can appreciate.

A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”
“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”


A Parable

Buddha told a parable in a sutra:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!

Muddy Road

Tanzan and Ekido were once travelling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl," said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't do near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

The following story is new to me but lately, I have been pondering about the role of the giving and realized that it is true that the giver actually seeks to receive. Therefore....

The Giver Should Be Thankful

While Seietsu was the master of Engaku in Kamakura he required larger quarters, since those in which he was teaching were overcrowded. Umeza Seibei a merchant of Edo, decided to donate five hundred pieces of gold called ryo toward the construction of a more commodious school. This money he brought to the teacher.

Seisetsu said: "All right. I will take it."

Umezu gave Seisetsu the sack of gold, but he was dissatisfied with the attitude of the teacher. One might live a whole year on three ryo, and the merchant had not even been thanked for five hundred.

"In that sack are five hundred ryo," hinted Umeza.

"You told me that before," replied Seisetsu.

"Even if I am a wealthy merchant, five hundred ryo is a lot of money," said Umezu.

"Do you want me to thank you for it?" asked Seisetsi.

"You ought to," replied Umeza.

"Why should I?" inquired Seisetsu. "The giver should be thankful."

And lastly, one that mentions about Jesus Christ's parables.


Not Far From Buddhahood

A university student while visiting Gasan asked him: "Have you even read the Christian Bible?"

"No, read it to me," said Gasan.

The student opened the Bible and read from St. Matthew: "And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these...Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."

Gasan said: "Whoever uttered those words I consider and enlightened man."

The student continued reading: "Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, is shall be opened."

Gasan remarked: "That is excellent. Whoever said that is not far from Buddhahood."

Lee Chong Wei - All the best!

Lee Chong Wei leaping for the shuttle [Source: Lurker, Badminton Forum]

Two Lees will be battling it out in tonight's Finals. Two Lees who are both students of Li Mao. Two Lees who have beaten Lin Dan before. One is a right-hander; the other - a southpaw. Two Lees and no less. But only one Lee will emerge victorious. Only one Lee will win the 2008 Malaysian Open Super-series event. Lee Chong Wei or Lee Hyun Il.

5 years ago, I had the fabulous opportunity to watch both Lees play at the Likas Sports Complex, Kota Kinabalu. I went there with my father and younger sis. Ma stayed at home because I think she could not 'tahan' (stand) the pressure.

The quarter-final kept us on the edges of our seats. It was a rare chance to see 3 representatives from Malaysia playing at the same time on four courts. Wong Choon Han, Yeoh Kay Bin and Lee Chong Wei were all playing. Actually Yeoh Kay Bin put up a courageous fight against the invincible Chen Hong, who was world number one at that time. Wong Choon Han, who was Malaysia's number one singles player at that time, outclassed Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro. Lee Chong Wei was playing against China's tall and lanky Bao Chunlai on the next court and that was probably the match of the day for all of the spectators. The game stretched to 3 sets (9-15, 15-13, 15-11). We were cheering for Wong and Lee one after another whenever they won a point. And after Wong finished his game, all of us shifted our full attention to Lee's match.

Lee Chong Wei always reminded me of the schoolboy style of playing then. I mean, I have seen schoolboys during my time playing that style. So I associated his style with the schoolboy style. He did not have a lot power in his game and was not the attacking type. He looked so frail and skinny you think those players from China and Europe would crush him in a single blow. Yet he played with a lot of intelligence and executed his crafty game very well. And cheered on by the home supporters, he fought like a warrior. His retrieval skills were already quite evident then. Midway through the game, Bao was obviously losing his nerve. He did everything he could but Lee amazingly threw everything back at him. And so, this victory would become the first of the seven consecutive wins over Bao. I predicted that Lee Chong Wei would one day become a top player then.

Today, his game is so different from yesteryears. I think he is a very complete player already, with the exception of Taufik Hidayat, of course. Nonetheless, the badminton world would be less interesting without Lee Chong Wei. After training under Li Mao, his game improved in terms of speed and power. His smashes are power-packed nowadays and some say he is probably the fastest player around, probably faster than world number one, Lin Dan. After Li Mao left for Korea, Lee asked to have Misbun Sidek to be his coach - again. Yes, although Misbun has been known to be controversial as a player in his days and sometimes not very popular with the fans, he is instrumental to bringing up many top players in Malaysia (e.g. Wong Mew Choo).

After a slow start last year for Lee, he began to pick up his pace, winning tournaments and was back to the top of the ladder again. He seemed to be playing differently - he seemed calmer. In fact, after he won his first tournament, he said the reason for the resurgence in his career was because he found inner peace. He is now the Zen master of badminton. Still, he can crack, like he did when he lost to Indonesia's Sony at last year's World Championship held on home ground at the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex. By now, the whole badminton community probably knows about his emotional outburst immediately after the defeat. Lee is well-known for his humble nature and professional attitude. So this incident came as a surprise to many of us. Indeed, there is a lot of pressure being the number one player in Malaysia.

Although I personally find that he is rather camera-shy (maybe it distracts his pre- and post-match thoughts), I like the fact that he is very focus in his matches. He will do his best in every tournament and almost always delivers. He is now world number two, after Lin Dan. After following so many matches involving Malaysians, I think he is probably the most reliable player around of all time (modern times).

Tonight, I hope he will not disappoint us in this outing. He is the nation's last hope. Last year's edition was won by the popular Dane - Peter Gade Christiansen. He came down with a bad fever on his way to Malaysia and almost did not compete. This year, Lee was also sick. Hopefully this is a good sign, hahahaha. Even if he doesn't win, he still deserve all Malaysians' hearts for coming this far. It is not easy making a comeback, after experiencing some bad confidence-busting episode. Lee's nightmare probably started around the time he finally lost to Bao. Malaysia's other singles player, Kuan Beng Hong, lost to Denmark's Joachim Persson in the last Thomas Cup event, and never quite recover since then. Another player, Hafiz Hashim, famous for being the most recent Malaysian winner of the coveted All England prize, is still struggling with himself.

Or perhaps tonight's match will be interesting because it will be a match of the Master vs the student. One Li and one Lee. Since Li Mao has been coaching Lee Chong Wei before, he will know Lee's character and play very, very well. Regardless, we badminton fans all hope for an exciting game. So far, it seems there is no major problem with line judging. We all want to see a fair and inspiring game. So let's hope it will stay that way.

Here's one of his matches against Bao played in France lasat year. Watch his deceptive cross-court net flick just before the match point [7:53]. It left Bao scratching his head.

P.S. Watch Malaysian Open 2008 live here.

Underdogs rule!

There is a popular quote from the Rocky Balboa 2006 movie. Rocky was speaking to his son:

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!"

There are advantages to being an underdog. Underdogs usually fight with all their heart and soul. They put in a lot of hard work and passion in what they set out to accomplish. They do not think too much about the trophy, prize money or medal. All they want to do is to prove their own worth. As they fight on and start winning points, their belief in themselves grow stronger. It is very exciting to watch the underdogs fight and eventually triumph. Their heroic victories inspire us to do the same with our own battles.



"Who am I kiddin'? I ain't even in the guy's league...It don't matter, 'cause I was nobody before...I was nobody. That don't matter either, ya know...It really don't matter if I lose this fight. It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, either. 'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed. And if I can go that distance, ya see, and that bell rings, ya know, and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, ya see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood." - Rocky (1976)

Malaysia has always been considered the underdogs when it played against other badminton powerhouses like Indonesia and China back in the 90s. When they finally won the Thomas Cup in 1992 after 25 years, the whole nation celebrated the historic win by declaring the next day a public holiday. Although everyone played their best, maybe the super-underdog that day was Foo Kok Keong. Nobody thought he could beat Olympic champ Allan Budi Kusuma. He had never before until that night.

".....But the old warhorse didn’t read that script. He ran, jumped, dived, rolled and almost threw up on ran his way to a shocking straight set victory."
- from the Like That Also Can Ah? blog.

(Wow, 5xmom even watches badminton - see her comment.)

Will Malaysia be able to repeat the feat again this year in Indonesia? I think it needs to rely on its doubles players to win 2 points since it has only one reliable singles player in Lee Chong Wei. Again, if he crumbles mentally like he did in important tournaments such as the 2007 World Championship where he lost tamely to Sony on homeground, that will probably spell doom for Malaysia's quest for the prestigious cup. It was heartbreaking to watch him lose at Bukit Jalil sports complex last year. But you know what, it was Wong Mew Choo who brought cheers back to everyone with her underdog win over Xie Xingfang. So, being an underdog, there is less pressure on you to win and as a result, you can just focus on the task at hand.

"No, maybe I can't win, maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he's got. But to beat me, he's gonna have to kill me, and to kill me, he's gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me, and to do that, he's gotta be willing to die himself and I don't know if he's ready to do that. I don't know, I don't know." - Rocky IV (1985)

When I was young, I had a paper folder with an inspiring message on it. Again, google help me recover this long-lost poem:

The Man Who Thinks He Can
Walter D. Wintle

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't;
If you'd like to win, but think you can't,
It's almost a cinch you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the word we find
Success begins with a fellow's will,
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outcasted, you are;
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

How I began my new year

The pyramid-looking Luxor Hotel

New York, New York!

Treasure Island Hotel

Toni Braxton performing at Flamingo

Phallus-looking Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian

Paris Hilt...oops...Hotel

A lot of cranes at construction sites

Some statues at Caesar's Palace

Caesar's Palace

Fountain outside the Forum Shopping Mall

Busy holidaymakers

Busy traffic at Las Vegas Boulevard

Getting dark at Mirage

Denny's and other shops

So, I celebrated the new year holiday with my family at Las Vegas. In case you don't know, it is a gambler's haven. I don't really fancy gambling, so what am I doing there? Well, there are other things to do there as well. Like going for shows. They have all kinds of shows from magic show, impersonation/comedy, drag show, musicals, acrobatic/circus performances, topless shows etc. I didn't go to any either. Would like to but they can't allow kids under five years of age. Unless I hide Zoey in my pocket, that is out of the question. Err, so what else to do there? Shopping. Of late, it seems there are more shopping avenues there. Did not get anything though. Just took lots of pictures.

Just to do a comparison of my experience at Las Vegas 7 years ago and now:

Then: Lots of walking down the strip and visiting lots of hotels/casinos
Now: Spending most time looking for foodcourts and taking Zoey to lots of toilets

Then: Can hang around till very late - too excited to sleep
Now: Go to bed early - Zoey needs to sleep

Then: Carry a camera only
Now: Carry camera, and a bag packed with Zoey's items, and Zoey

Then: Buffet galore
Now: Eat at McDonald for smoke-free environment

Then: Can hang around anywhere
Now: Got rule for minors, so this indirectly applies to me too

Then: Can watch XXX on adult channel
Now: Watch Sesame street on kids channel

Well, I am not complaining. I betted one dollar on the slot machine and won 14 cents. That is, not before I have lost 46 cents first. So, it is a decent win anyway.

Las Vegas is probably a good place to visit if you can explore freely all that it has to offer. Of course, it will burn holes in your pocket too. But for old geezers like me, spending time with my family is good enough already. Doesn't really matter where although I won't mind doing it at the badminton gym, hahaha.

Talking about badminton, I have been playing non-stop for 3 days this weekend and my body is terribly sore now. Surprisingly, I played pretty well. Amy's women doubles partner commented that I was very consistent and making a lot of right shots. Eric, our UCSD student friend, who is usually very stingy with good compliments, even said I played not bad. I was really surprised too but I guess some days, everything just come together.

Hmm, perhaps I had been pretty down this past week and that made my game better. Maybe I was mad at something, so I decided to go all out in the games. And that is also why I had not been blogging for a while. It is hard to write something when you are not settled.

Hey, look at the picture to your right - looks like the middle finger. Hahahaa.

Anyway, the weather was good when we were at Las Vegas. Today, and yesterday, it was raining heavily in San Diego. I heard there was a big storm in San Francisco area and resulted in power failure in more than 600,000 homes. I even heard that earthquake and maybe tsunami is going to hit California soon. Indonesia is hit by flood on Jawa island and I heard that there is a fear that there could be an earthquake too. I was told that the volcanoes are all active at the same time now - never has this happened before. Now, I am not sure how correct my source of information is but people seem to think that this has something to do with global warming.

I haven't got time to check the stock market but the oil price hit $100 per barrel for a couple of minutes. And the Dow Jones index have gone below 13000 points again ahead of a possible Fed rate cut. Seems like the same scenario replayed all over again. Then, in December, there were all the bad news before the rate cut and as the date approached, the speculators rallied the market up.

So, how to keep your spirits up when you are down and there is bad news all over?

Well, I just randomly opened a book and found this poem:

Have Faith, and Expect the Best

by Beth Fagan Quinn

Faith begins
by believing
in your heart
that what is right
has a chance.

Faith is knowing
in your heart
that good can
overcome evil,
that the sun can also shine
in a rainstorm.

Faith is peaceful
and comforting,
because it
comes from within
where no one
can invade
your private dreams.

Faith is not something
you can demand
or command;
it is a result of
commitment to belief.

Faith is believing
in something
you can't see or hear,
something deep inside
that only you can understand
and only you control.

Faith is trusting
in yourself
enough to know
that no matter
how things turn out,
you will make
the best of them.

So, I guess we should never lose faith in ourselves.

Sometimes, it is hard for others to understand you. Sometimes, it is hard to help others understand you. No matter what you say or do, there is already a prejudice against you. At times like this, you can only hope that there will be someone somewhere soon to listen to your cries. Try to stay positive and do things that can make you feel positive about yourselves. Find someone that you can talk to. But, above all, don't lose faith in yourselves.

As the year come to an end....

There are two more days to go before we say goodbye to 2007. So you still have 48 hours to meet your current year resolutions, if you have any. Not everyone believes in making new year resolution actually. They just have things to do as they go along.
I guess that's fine too. The important thing to remember is that if you don't spend your time wisely, it is gone - forever.

Well, one of my resolutions for year 2007 was to polish up Chinese language. Yeah, yeah, I 'paiseh' also - I feel like a fake Yonex racket. So we approached one of our previous nannies, Mrs Yip, for Chinese lessons. Zoey sometimes joined us too though her eyes barely reached over the table top. The lessons got disrupted because of the holiday breaks. So, this will be an ongoing mission to complete...until we can read what's on the dinner menu at Chinese restaurants.

My next goal of the year - not in order of importance but still important - was to improve my game level in badminton. I think the breakthrough came when I started going to the gyms and parks for body conditioning and self practice during lunch breaks at work. Some of the exercises include skipping rope for 1000 times, hitting (the shuttlecock) against the wall for 500 times, practicing footwork and doing various shadow drills. And not forgetting watching badminton videos as well. I think the most important website (for English-speaking people) for badminton is Kwun's badminton forum. Not only did I get to know the game better from visiting his website,I even learned how to string rackets! And the best achievement of all was to finally beat my rival (and good friend) and neutralize the score! Hahahaha....

As for integrated circuit designs (which I did for a living), I think I have done everything I wanted to do already. Since I was getting bored with the radio-frequency circuits already, having worked on front-end amplifiers, mixers, oscillators and filter circuits, I wanted to learn some mixed-signal circuit designs. I did phase-locked loop circuits (integer and fractional types) and digital-to-analog converters already in previous years. Finally, this year I got to work on analog-to-digital converters. And so, I achieved an important and (yawn) boring ;) milestone in my engineering career. Still, I got fired because I cannot design a lousy operational amplifier - yup, believe me.

And some other forgettable goals like ....... I forgot.

Well, do you need to plan for the year? Or let God plan for you? Sometimes things don't go according to your plans. Regardless, the year end must be a time where you can sit back and reflect on the events that took place. You will find things that make you smile and cry. These are the memories that describe about you when you no longer exist in that spectrum of time (and space?).

If you have watched the movie "Forrest Gump", at the end of the movie, Forrest (the title character played by Tom Hanks), a person who struggles to understand normal people but yet surpassed everyone in achieving honors and success, asked a profound question by his mother's graveside - do you plan out your life or do you allow your surrounding to shape your life? Well, something along that line. And then he answered himself that perhaps it is a little of both. And the movie ended the same way it began - with the feather drifting back and forth and away.

I enjoyed the movie so much that it kept playing in my head for one week. I guess for some people, it is better to have a direction in life (or maybe a sense of direction). You may like to think that you have self-control over your life or perhaps there is always an invisible hand to guide you along. But ultimately what is important is that you find yourself growing in ways that you love.....and learn to love yourself more and more.

Down on a cold winter's night

Gee, I fell sick on the eve of Christmas Eve. Too much blogging and babysitting has taken the toll on me. I must also admit that playing badminton recently despite my poor physical conditioning of late has made my body physically exhausted. Just the recipe for a bug attack.

Symptoms include painful throat, painful bone joints, muscle sore and feeling light-headed (like want to fall over).

Interestingly, the local papers (The San Diego Union-Tribune, dated Sunday Dec 23, 2007) published an article concerning how climatic change may be the cause of the people of Castiglione di Cervia, Italy, suffering from chikungunya, a tropical disease normally found in the Indian Ocean region.

Global warming news again...

It seems global warming has made it easier for tiger mosquitoes to spread the tropical virus to that part of Europe, according to the Italian public health officials. So, the town now has the dubious distinction of playing host to the first outbreak in modern Europe of a disease that had previously been seen only in the tropics.

Chikungunya or cheeky-yaya, I am going to rest early tonight. Don't play play.

My good friend tonight...

Wong Mew Choo - you are a role model!

Seriously, if you ask me, I won't bat an eyelid and tell you straight that it is much harder to juggle between serving your toddler and doing other housework and squeezing in some blogging time than to, say, win the China Open Badminton Women Singles Title!

Okay, got your attention. Well, actually, I am really proud of Wong Mew Choo's achievement. I remember reading some comments by her former coach, Li Mao, that she has a body of an 80 year old and a mind of an 8 year old. What he meant was that she has so many body injuries already at her age and yet she plays without thinking much about her opponents' games.


Wee, I finally beat Zhang Ning! (After winning semis CO07)

I have seen one of her earlier games (SEA games or Commonwealth games) and I think she was being pushed around quite badly and she had quite an awkward movement to the forehand deep corner (baseline). She has great fighting spirit and incredible stamina but could only retrieve shots most of the time. What I saw in her game against Xie Xingfang was totally different. It almost look like Lee Chong Wei's style. She moved faster and was attacking a lot. She had that jump/overhead drop and mimicked that deceptive cross court net shot that currently is Lee's signature shot play. And wow, even that backhand save (from a smash) with the body and legs spun around ala Lee's style. Other men players mostly just dive for it and end up lying flat on the ground (like Lin Dan, Taufik).

It is obvious that she has worked really hard to get where she is now. This tells me that it doesn't matter whether you are an 8 year old kid or an 80 year old folk, you can still improve yourself as long as you have the heart to do it. I had doubt about Wong's ability to achieve great heights given the history of the standard of women players in Malaysia. Yes, the doubles pair of Chin Ee Hui/Wong Pei Tty have also make very good progress and beaten some of the top pairs. But I think Wong Mew Choo's accomplishment is even greater because when you have beaten all the top players, you move to a new level of confidence - you break a significant mental barrier. I read that she can beat the guys in endurance training.


Look, my new jump smash (after beating Xie Xingfang in CO07 Finals)

I have watched her quarter final win against Xie in WC07 in Malaysia last August and while the other Malaysians fell by the wayside, she gave us something to be happy and jubilant about. My good friend once gave me a bookmark with a simple motivational phrase that says "Hardwork + Determination + Confidence = Success". I think Wong Mew Choo is a living example for this statement. She is an inspiration to underdogs like me. Success doesn't always go to the faster or stronger but to the person who thinks he/she can. What is important for her now is to stay focus in her personal goals and stay happy doing whatever she is doing now.

Congratulations Wong Mew Choo! Best of luck in the Grand Super Series Finals!

(Great pics from badminton forum.)

Badminton

Permainan bulu tangkis, in Malay. Like a movie of epic proportion, spanning a length of more than 10 years, I finally equalize our scoreline from 15-0, 11-0, 7-0, 5-0 (I think). My hard work and perseverance paid off. I can play better badminton in terms of skill, experience and mental aspect - thinking more and better match temperament. My worthy opponent - Fong Bo Hong. Of course, my journey would have been more difficult had it not been the support and encouragement from my wife. She taught me in the beginning that you need to analyze your game as well as your opponents' game. So what type of player is Bo Hong? Basically, he is a retriever with tennis strokes and footwork. He has got good sense of the game and court awareness but I think he lost because he is a tennis player playing badminton game. His last complaint is that a 76 shuttle is still too fast. To be continued......