2 wasted hours ...

2 wasted hours best describes the commute to and from work every weekday that I have to endure.

2 wasted hours each day makes 10 wasted hours each working week.
10 wasted hours each week makes 40 wasted hours each month.
40 wasted hours each month makes around 480 wasted hours each year.

480 wasted hours. Let's just imagine that there are 2 million car commuters like me around the Klang Valley. That makes 960 million wasted hours each year.

Even if my logic is oversimplified, no one can say the impact of traffic congestions in Malaysia isn't immense.

Each wasted hour could be spent either working, with the family, with friends, doing workouts or simply engaging in more meaningful activities than sitting in a car chugging around at speeds which cyclists would beat handily.

I suspect the will to solve the ever growing problem of traffic isn't really there.

• Roads and highways are built, but they are sometimes tolled at prices that are not attractive. And as a result, they are highly under utilised. That serves no one - road users do not enjoy less congestion, and operators don't make any $$$.
  

• How can we say we're trying to encourage public transportation and yet be producing national cars that are ever smaller and affordable?
  

• How can it be that so many new highways are built with only 2 lanes? One accident in Damansara Uptown during the height of the peak hour will result in congestion all the way to Puchong.

• Has anyone ever thought of where train stations REALLY should be located?

• Does urban planning policies include traffic considerations? Why allow a suburb to have plenty of high rises without providing a sufficient road network and public transport?

• Why are we making it so impossibly difficult for public transportation users? Has anyone ever thought of proper interchanges, uniform ticketing systems, and synchronizing the various modes of transport to get a synergy going?

• If the reason why train stations can't be built at the best location is because there isn't any land, why was that tract of land sold in the first place for development? Why can't it be made compulsory to make developers to assign land tracts for transport hubs or centers? And although it's more expensive, why not build it underground, then?
  

I have a lot of questions, plenty of observations, and a heap of frustration. And I suspect there is a growing mass of Klang Valley residents who feel just like me.

I really want to support public transportation, but that option is not available to me. And again, I don't think I'm off the mark when I say that many people share the same sentiment.

I live in Bandar Kinrara. I work in Damansara. The obvious transportation option is to drive to work. Here's a simply elaboration why:-

There are no train stations in my neighbourhood. The nearest stations are at Kelana Jaya, and in Seri Petaling. And where I work in Damansara, the nearest train station is on Jalan Bangsar. So, I rule out train because I'll still need to drive (there isn't any feeder service I'm aware of to both stations from where I live), and park. And I still have to pay for the train, and feeder bus before I get to work. And I'd have to go through the same trouble coming back.

The timing of buses, location of stations (have to pay toll to get to them), parking (outdoor) and general inconvenience makes it an unattractive proposition.

There are no buses that go from Puchong to Damansara. Not even ones that snake around the city all day long before ending up in Damansara. So much for that choice.

I heard that trains are coming to Puchong. I'm hoping it will be properly planned - proper access roads - with ample bandwidth, proper parking facilities - hopefully covered and secured, and proper location - in an area which has plenty of population.

Too often in the past, stations are located where they are convenient to build - in places that have few considerations for parking, and are sometimes out of the way - how in the world would you encourage usage by making it so unattractive in the first place?

In the long run, by properly mapping train stations and facilities, synchronizing the trains with buses, and planning traffic as an important part of urban planning, there is yet hope.

Why my rant? Because I'm finding it impossible to manage my work and off work life when I lose 2 hours each day to traffic congestion. 2 hours is enough time to do a decent workout, for example, but I don't have time for that because I lost it to traffic. And that lost time creates a ripple thru the rest of the day. I can't do more work, find more time to workout and relax, find more time to blog, and really, I'm sacrificing some sleep too.

Granted, this is not a problem exclusive to Malaysia, but I feel we can do a much better job at improving the transportation system compared to what it is now.

Top Ten Flavors I Don't Want In My Mooncake

Ah ... the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival, popularly known as the Mooncake festival.

This idea for a Top Ten really came up while having lunch today, when a discussion about the absurdities of the modern, commercialised Mid Autumn Festival, which falls in early October this year, took place.

Mid Autumn Festival evokes memories of young children, cheerfully playing with lanterns, the elders gathering round to appreciate the moon (that's what seung yuet literally means), and eating a slice of ....*cue: silly music theme* ... durian flavored mooncake !!! *stop silly music theme*

Look people, I know it's what they call ... innovativeness ... but durian flavored mooncakes? Why not manggis flavoring? Why no rambutan flavor? It's getting crazy, I'll tell you, the marketing gimmicks surrounding mooncakes. Every confectionary is trying to outdo the competition by producing more outlandish mooncakes, be it in terms of flavors, packaging or marketing.

While I still enjoy my mooncakes whenever I can, I hope I won't have to give it up someday just because mooncakes will stop becoming mooncakes.

So, what will make Moz stop mooning mooncakes? These are the top then flavors that would have me run in the opposite direction ... and more so if you add a couple of salted eggs in there ...

• Dragon Fruit <-- sadly, my mum just walked in with Dragon fruit flavored jerky ... what's happening with the world ???

• Ah Yat Abalone. Or Shark's Fin, for that matter.

• Chai Latte
  

• Coca Cola. <-- I hope no one's done a Coke flavored moon cake yet ...

• Ginseng, Gingko Biloba, or any other healthy herbs ... as if there aren't enough 'health food' out there already ...
  

• Beef Rendang

• Ngan Yin Cap Tangan peanut butter <-- if ever, they come up with this product in the first place ...

• Brand's Chicken Essense
  

• Diamond Energy Water
  

• Power Root Tongkat Ali (tm) <-- Imagine Mawi promoting Kuih Bulan perisa Power Root Tongkat Ali !!!
  

Top Ten Signs You're Suffering from Blogger's Block

Man, you can't even start imagining how tortured I am not being able to update this blog more often ... you don't know how hopeless I felt all those nights, just being able to browse the Net without finding much to blog about. And you don't really want me to rattle off about how impossibly boring and intense work was, right?

The long hours at work trying to clear the in-tray did not help as well ... it's just a major torture ... I'm sure with a bit of time, I can coax something out of my fatigued brain, but with the long hours, sleep obviously takes precedence.

I looked into my photo archives, and thought about posting some of those. I'm sure no one's seen much of the Thailand photos I have, right? But ... that was so ... uninspiring. I'll use 'em sometime else when I can actually write something useful instead.

I wanted to write top ten lists about current affairs in the country, but I wanna stay away from political matters. The way things are now, I could end up in the slammer if I'm not careful.

And I'm back in Malaysia, so not much I can blog about that you don't already know ... it's not like I'm in Sydney or some other gorgeous country ... so ... it's official, I guess ... I have blogger's block.

So, the techie in me decided to analyse the problem, and see where it all went wrong. The soul searching resulted in a list of excuses. It's called the Top Ten Signs You're Suffering from Blogger's Block ..

• The most interesting subject you can think of - "And so, I watched my toenails grow ..."

• You start drafting entries, but never go beyond the 4th sentence.

• The thought of doing a bimbo entry actually crossed my mind ... "Oh .. Look, what beautiful nails I have ..."

• In a moment of weakness, you wanted to just go to some fancy restaurant and order something really expensive so that you can blog about it.

• You start complaining to anyone who would listen that there aren't enough people doing stupid things for you to write silly Top Ten lists about. I mean, where are all the silly people?

• Suddenly, the idea of writing an entry about THAT tatto, you know, the one down THERE, doesn't seem like such a bad idea, after all.

• Er .... er ... er .... hehe .... er ....
  

• You were actually praying for someone to tag you with a meme of some sort. I mean, where the hell are all the memes when you need 'em?

• The only Top Ten list you can create is one about blogger's block.

• Your nick is Moz Monster

Coming home ...

By the time you read this posting, chances are I'll be on the way home, either stuck in an airport or dozing off on a plane.

I'll miss the sarcastic humour of Aussie people ... and hope to be able to get some R&R over the early part of next week ...

I didn't see anything worth shouting joyously about in the 2007 Malaysian Budget. No obvious tax breaks for people like you and me, no obvious areas where I see $$$ getting in my pocket. And that makes 2 years in a row. I don't get it ... with GST about to kick in soon, and modest fuel price increase expected next year, if you're not smart and managing your $$$ now, you'll probably see less money in your pocket next year.

But I'm still happy we're not taxing up to 47% of individual income, like Australia does. That's 47 cents taken from you for every dollar you earn when you're on a high tax bracket. And believe me, many people fall into that bracket.

I'm so happy I'll get to be driving again ... =)