Show off your photography skills by participating in the KL Photoawards 2009 for contemporary portraiture.
The contest, organised by Time Out KL and its partners, is open to all photographers — professional and non-professional. Participants are invited to submit up to six images.
The main prize for the professional category is US$3,000 (RM10,500) and a trophy while for the non-professional category, the main prize is US$1,500 (RM5,250) and a trophy.
There are two runner-up prizes in each category.
Portraits submitted by the top 40 finalists will be displayed in a public exhibition at the Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur in May.
The deadline for the contest is on Mar 1, 2009.
For more information, visit www.klphotoawards.com or e-mail Steven Lee at info@klphotoawards.com.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Calling all photographers
Microsoft strikes back softly
Microsoft Corp is ramping up its antipiracy campaign but this time it is taking a slightly different approach — it wants to be gentle.
The software giant calls its new non-intrusive approach Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) and claims that it’s mainly intended to protect users from becoming victims of pirated software.
“We want to help users who have inadvertently installed an illegitimate copy of Microsoft Office,” said Annabelle Co, Microsoft Malaysia senior product marketing manager.
Microsoft expects to go live with OGA on Jan 27 in 27 countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Spain.
Its previous Windows Genuine Advantage antipiracy initiative caused users’ desktop to turn black if they were using pirated copies of Windows XP.
The OGA notification, on the other hand, will display a dialogue box prompting the user to buy a genuine copy of Office.
Microsoft said users have unknowingly purchased pirated copies of Microsoft Office because they have been fooled by the packaging and price which is similar to the original.
OGA will be rolled out through Window’s automatic update service and users will be given the option to not install it. It will verify the authenticity of Office 2003, 2007 and XP.
However, OGA will not stop the user from continuing to use Office.
“The dialogue box will pop up twice a day for a period of 30 days if the user chooses to ignore it,” Co said.
After the 30-day period is up, there will be a permanent star icon on the toolbar to remind the user that it is an illegitimate copy of Microsoft Office.
Because it doesn’t interfere with the functions of Office, some users will continue to ignore it, Co said.
“Some may even think it’s cool to have a star on their toolbar but I believe they would be embarrassed if they were to do a presentation and the audience spotted it,” Co said.
Microsoft even claims that if a customer had paid a large sum of money for a pirated copy of Office, it will replace it with a complimentary copy of Office Professional regardless of the edition of the illegitimate copy.
Users will have to fill up a form online, which they have to print and mail with the fake CD and receipt to Microsoft’s headquarters in the United States.
Also, the CD must bear the Microsoft hologram. “If you send a CD-R with the words Microsoft Office on it, you won’t qualify for the complimentary copy,” she quipped.
5 Reasons Not To Sleep with A Virgin
1- There’s extra prep work
Unlike a more experienced woman, a virgin really doesn’t know what to expect. This means that you’re going to have to put in some effort before the deed is done and plan ahead to make sure that she’s comfortable and completely willing. It may take some considerable convincing on your part to get her into bed, and while that isn't one of our five reasons not to sleep with a virgin, your seduction skills will certainly be put to the test when it comes to taking a girl’s virginity. Also, the older she is, the harder it will be. If she has managed to protect her virginity all through high school and into her 20s, it will be that much more difficult to persuade her that she should give it up to you.
2- There’s a freak-out potential
When it comes to having sex with a virgin, the potential for her to freak out before, during or after the sex act is quite high. She may decide at the last minute that she doesn’t want to go through with it or she may feel massively guilty afterward for having done it. Because so much importance is put on her virginity, her first time is bound to be an emotional experience, which means that you might have to deal with panic, sadness, guilt, and other unpleasant reactions. She has probably imagined the event for a long time and wants it to go absolutely perfectly. If even the slightest thing doesn’t go according to plan, it could result in tears and tantrums. If you don’t like watching girls cry, don’t sleep with virgins. That’s a lot of pressure and that’s why it’s among our five reasons not to sleep with a virgin.
3- She’ll likely get attached
It is fairly likely that a recently devirginized girl will expect to have a lasting relationship with the guy that bedded her. If you’re not planning on becoming her boyfriend, or at least continuing to date her, don’t sleep with her. It’s really that simple. Very few girls imagine their first time with someone who drops off the face of the earth immediately afterward, never to be heard from again. She’s going to want you to stick around, so if a relationship is not in your plan, consider this point in our list of five reasons not to sleep with a virgin and find someone else to share your bed.
4- She lacks skills
Since she’s inexperienced, she’s probably not going to be that good in bed, and that’s a big reason not to sleep with a virgin. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, since there are plenty of skills a girl can learn before she loses her actual virginity. If, however, she has little experience with sexual activity in general, the encounter is not going to be all that pleasurable for you. If all you want is the power trip that comes from taking her virginity, then you’re golden, but if you want a mutually satisfying sexual experience, you should look for someone who has had time to develop some sexual skills.
5- It could get messy
There is a possibility that having sex with a virgin could literally make a mess of your sheets. Being penetrated for the first time is likely to hurt her and it could result in some bleeding. If the sight of blood makes you squeamish, devirginizing a girl is not for you. A woman’s first sexual experience can leave a very unsexy mess to clean up.
Where no man has gone before
As you can see, taking a girl’s virginity is not all that it’s cracked up to be. There are groundwork concerns, emotional issues, commitment questions, technique problems, and other more tangible messes to deal with. So perhaps you should leave the devirginizing to the high school boys and look for a sexual encounter that isn’t quite so complicated.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Release Date: 28th May 2009
Language: English
Rating: G
Genre: Action
Starring: Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Mendes, Anton Yelchin, Christian Bale
Monday, January 19, 2009
EPF conversion to pension not viable! Why??
KUALA LUMPUR: The proposal to convert the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme to a monthly pension scheme for private sector employees is not viable as individual savings are too small.
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary general G. Rajasegaran said that on average, savings of the majority of the seven million private sector employees in the EPF upon retirement was less than RM50,000.
"Assuming the retiree lives for the next 20 years and if this savings was given to him in monthly installments instead of one lump sum, he would receive about RM214 monthly as pension," he told Bernama on Monday.
He said this amount was definitely insufficient for the retiree to sustain himself.
Rajasegaran was commenting on a statement by Human Resources Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam that the cabinet had given the green light to the ministry to study the possibility of converting the EPF scheme to a pension scheme for private sector employees.
Public sector employees in Malaysia are already enjoying a pension scheme, including free medical treatment at government hospitals for life.
Rajasegaran said the proposal was nothing new, as this was discussed between the MTUC and EPF Board more than 15 years ago and no viable solution had been found, so far.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) suggested that to make it viable, the government should give the employees an option either to withdraw their savings in a lump sum or on a monthly instalment basis.
Its executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan, said savings in the EPF rightly belonged to the employees and they had a right to do what they wanted and the government could not decide for them. - Bernama
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Year's Biggest Full Moon
Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days. But the orbit is not a perfect circle.
The moon's average distance from us is about 238,855 miles (384,400 km). Friday night it will be just 221,560 miles (356,567 km) away. It will be 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during the year, according to NASA.
Tides will be higher Friday night, too. Earth's oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. Scientists call these perigean tides, because the moon's closest point to Earth is called perigee. The farthest point on the lunar orbit is called apogee.
