Unk Dicko heading to Europe for 2 weeks ...Winter holiday

Just to update all my regular visitors, tonight I'll be heading to Europe with my dear wifey.
This is a "no work" just plain relaxing (hopefully ) winter holiday.
Though we've been travelling to many different places in the world together, somehow we
have never been in Europe as one.
3 decades ago, while I was in Rome at the famous Fontana de Trevi ( featured in the movie 3 Coins in the Fountain ), I actually threw 3 coins into that fountain....and made 3 silent wishes which legend says " will come to pass".
Well, the legend must be really powerful for all my 3 wishes have come true.

For newer readers of my blog...you can find lots of TRUE stories under Blog Archives.
Check out some of these:-

# Gunung Tahan..S'pore's very 1st Expedition
# Heaven and Hell...almost!
# Meeting Princess Gunung Ledang ...face to face!
# My 1st train journey
# and many other exciting posts.

It is not likely that I will be able to post while travelling as we'll be on the move.
Until you hear from me again,
Best wishes to all for this holiday season...take care.

Unk Dicko

The SILVER Photo Contest ...details all here!

Calling on all you Hawaii - Five Os. Yes, the seniors out there! Here's a chance for you to do something so simple and in the process stand to WIN a huge LCD-TV set and also a Nintendo

Wii game set.

What do you have to do?

Simply submit your photos on the chosen theme " A Happy Memorable Moment " online.

To participate click on the flyer here for details or visit the Infocomm 123 Facebook site....at

http://www.facebook.com/infocomm123.sg/

Notice the dates. Submit between December 3 and 31 December 2009.

That's it ! Good Luck!

Oh, one other thing...this contest is meant for senior citizens only.

And they have to be Hawaii 5-0 at least! 50 years and above.

But if you are much younger why not help someone older register?

Unk Dicko

Silver Infocomm Ambassador

Gaming at Libraries? WHY not!

Unk Dicko was interviewed by The New Paper on Monday by reporter Liew Hanqing. The interview took place at the 14th floor of the National Library.
The subject of the interview was to get my views and feedback about video gaming and in particular the session that I attended at the Jurong Regional Library, last month. The article appeared in the paper on Tuesday 24 Nov 2009, page 9.

On the Saturday morning of 24 October, I drove my wife, 3 grand kids and their maid to the venue. On arrival, I was happy to meet up with James Seah ( Blog to Express ) who had forwarded me the invite and Ivan Chew ( the Rambling Librarian blogger) who was the host.
It is really wonderful to meet and speak to fellow blogger friends in person.

Photo: James Seah and us.

Photo:

Young and old enjoying themselves at the Games station.

Photo:

Unk Dicko trying out the game of Bowling on Wii Sports with others.


Photo:

James enjoying playing a Board game.

Photo:

Unk Dicko playing a Board game with cards. It was fun as it required not just luck but some semblance of good memory.

Photo: The little ones enjoying their game of Mario Kart.
After the session ended at about 1 pm, we adjourned for a prepared lunch.

Overall the session was very successful and served its purpose. I think this is certainly a step in the right direction to make a library " more alive". We need to move with the times. We who have tried it out are all for this innovative move!

Thanks James. Thanks Ivan.

Jingle Bell ...Bhangra style!

Unk Dicko has always had a special liking for Punjabi Bhangra. The music and rhythm is so lively, with the drumbeats, ankle bells and all adding to an unbeatable, heady dance mixture.

In 1988, when I led the Serangoon Gardens Sing Singapore group to emerge Champions of the island-wide inter-constituency Sing S'pore championships...one of my key strategy was to have 2 lead Bhangra dancers, male and female...whom I knew would not fail to captivate the crowd.

They not only did not fail but were simply superb. One was the daughter of our friend in Sg Gardens and the other my very good friend, Max Singh... a bespectacled young men then.

So in tribute to their "bhangra prowess" of 1988 and sending you all my early Christmas greetings in a non-traditional way.... enjoy " Nickmas with Bhangra!"

ps: Remember to switch off the JANGO Jukebox music which plays automatically.

What happened to Adrian Lim's flat?

Adrian Lim, Tan and Hoe were arrested and detained for the purpose of investigation into the Toa Payoh cult murder in 1981. Subsequently, the "unholy trinity" were tried in open court in 1983, found guilty and sentenced to death. They remained on death row until their eventual execution on 25 November 1988 when all legal appeals failed.

What happened to Adrian Lim's 3 room flat in T Payoh?

It was vacant for 5 years after his arrest.

Then a Catholic family bought over the flat. They were interviewed by the Straits Times in this

report of 26 November 1988.

I truly admire their stand. They showed no fear, no qualms, no queasiness about making it their peaceful home despite knowing the nightmarish history and background of what occured there.

That as I said, was in 1988 when this news report appeared.

More than 2 decades have since flown by and I have no idea and no updates about the place.

I presume no news is good news.

As a matter of fact, many buyers of properties never really check the history of their intended

purchase. It was only when reporters or other interested parties approached them long after the crime for permission to film, photograph, interview etc...that they discovered the truth.

Quite a few homes which were scenes of brutal crime and murder have been sold to new buyers

who apparently were unaware of their dark history.

The agents may have known but chose not to divulge.

All traces of Siang Lim Park gone forever!

This post is a continuation of the previous post on the new Siang Lim Park.

I walked to the end of Lorong 40 joining a T junction with Guillemard Road.

Direction of camera - facing directly south in this photo. Opposite Lorong 40, across Guillemard Road is the Versailles Mansions (condos). If you look at my map Ref#24, I indicated that this was where my very good friend the late Charlie Tan Boon Seng used to live in...a row of single storey terrace houses. Further back was just nothing but open bushland where we could go hunting for tasty birds like the "burung ayam ayam" among others. Many of us were adept at using homemade catapults for hunting...accuracy pretty deadly. We made a small fire and had our own backwoods cooking right there. To us and for us, it was like Red Indian country at the bushland.

This corner of the Waterina used to be the home of my friend " Mat Tikus" Ref# 23 on my map.

I was facing east.

There were no road barriers in the middle rof the road and no traffic lights here in the past. Traffic was very light in the early days.

At the end of the Versailles condos is Hemmant Road...which used to have a row of very old dilapidated houses occupied by squatters. In one of these dwellings lived an old couple and an only son. He was the most famous rojak seller in our kampong. Using a tricycle as his pushcart stall, he stationed himself permanently at the Lorong 40 bridge. I never knew his real name as everyone respectfully called him "Apek rojak". He operated daily from the late afternoon till the night. His devoted and loving wife or son will bring dinner for him. Tragedy struck one day when a huge fire engulfed the small colony at Hemmant Road burning it to the ground. Many of us kampong folks, including myself, rushed there hoping to pitch in some help. We only managed to help them carry away some miserable household and personal belongings. The fire had spread too quickly, aided by strong winds. They were devastated and so were we.

In one swoop, all the squatters were gone. That place was never reoccupied by squatters again. It later became the Police logistics Depot.


As I turned to the west, this is the scene. The Sunny Spring is to the right of photo. Further down the road, on the left is the Singapore Badminton Hall.

This is the Sunny Spring Condo. Just where you see a lady walking on the pavement was once the home of another family friend, Agnes. See Ref# 11 on my map. Their front door faced Guillemard Road.

This is the present entrance to the Condos. A friend of mine used to live here at the corner house. And it was from here that we watched the gunfight at Siang Lim Park across the other side ( the Waterina ), back in August 1965.

I did not have access inside this estate. However by eyeballing, if you walk straight ahead through the entrance, keeping slightly to the left...that would be where the 2nd ancient keramat used to be. Map Ref# 10 on my map.

Adrian Lim the Cult Murderer...part 2.

What kind of people go to a court of
law?
Well it depends....on your purpose of going there in the first place. Some are obviously working there within the judicial system.
Some are compelled to be there by the law as accused persons or defendents or witnesses.
The majority of those who turned up for the Adrian Lim trial were members of the public who came in large numbers. There were long queues for the limited seats in the public gallery of the court. People started queueing hours before the court convened each day...and still more came.
One reason for this other than the mere curiosity factor was the chief accused himself...Adrian Lim. As the trial proceeded, he was "enjoying" playing to the gallery more and more. Unafraid to describe in gruesome details the debauchery and the slaughter, he kept the courtroom engrossed and captivated with the very lively descriptions and answers to questions that were put to him.
The media and press coverage provided explicit reports of the day to day happening in the courtroom.
This kind of story is every newspaper's dream...it sells!
Just look at the photo with the large crowd of onlookers outside the courthouse. Every nearby road was filled with people and more people. Unbelievable!
Where you normally buy only one, many bought 2 or 3 different dailies to get more info and pictures or a different slant to the side stories.

Both these newsclips are dated 26 November 1988, Straits Times, page 21.
More to come...unk Dicko.

Adrian Lim the cult murderer...trial and execution.

[Above: Scanned image of ST 26 -11-1988 unk Dicko's private news archives. ]

The execution of condemned criminals is never announced to the public in Singapore beforehand. Except for those directly responsible for carrying out the final order of the court, no one has a clue when that date with the hangman will be. It was only when I saw the front page of the Straits Times on 26 November 1988 that I realised all 3 were hanged at dawn the previous day. Thus ended one of the most gripping story of murder in local history and the 2nd longest trial in Singapore...41 days. The record is held by the 62 days Pulau Senang trial in 1963.

The whole nation had followed the case of cult murderer Adrian Lim, together with his wife and mistress, charged with the brutal ritual killing of 2 young Primary school kids in 1981, at Adrian's Toa Payoh flat in Lorong 7.

When the hearing started in the High Court of Singapore under our 2 judges system in April and May 1983, it shocked an entire nation with its gruesome details of human sacrifice, black magic, sex and violence. Many people were horrified by the unspeakable acts that were committed by the "unholy trinity" ( it was a term coined for them ) involving bizarre practices such as drinking human blood ( 2 doctors got into some trouble later ), sexual perversions, spirit possession, indiscriminate cruelty and finally ritualistic murder.

When the killings were first discovered in January 1981, my family and I were also residing in Toa Payoh. Parents with young children everywhere but especially in my township, were frightened to no end. I recall that many forbade their kids from going to the neighbourhood playground...knowing full well what had happened to little Agnes ( 9 ) and Ghazali (10). As for me and D2 we always accompanied our 2 kids. Better to be safe than eternally sorry.

This case drew large crowds when the hearing started.

The 2 judges were Justice T S Sinnathuray and Justice F A Chua. Prosecution was led by DPP Glenn Knight. Adrian Lim was defended by H E Cashin while Nathan Isaac defended Hoe.

The late JB Jeyaretnam ( former Worker's Party leader ) defended Tan.

More original newsclip of the case in next post.

Don't MISS this tonight...Leonids Meteor Shower!!!

This will be a very short and brief post to alert all my blog visitors.

Sometime tonight, past midnight of 18 November ( Wednesday ), there will be an expected fireworks of meteors in the night sky. This is brought about by the appearance of the Leonids Meteor passing close to earth and vice-versa.

The 2 best places in the world to catch the viewing this time is North America and Asia.

Those of us in Singapore can prepare to see these fiery meteor fireworks from approximately midnight onwards upto 5am. The peak is between 3- 5 am.

For better viewing, go to a dark area free of urban built up lighting....the dark corners of a beach,

hilltop, Japanese Garden, Science Centre....etc.

Binoculars... if you know how to use them fast and properly, may add to viewing pleasure.

Otherwise, it can be a hindrance.

Unk Dicko would be an Owl tonight!

Can unk Dicko locate his old kampong home?

This is a bird's eye view of the Geylang River and Aston Mansions which is opposite to the Waterina condos. The river flows to the east towards Guillemard/ Geylang Road junction. My camera is facing NE. At the top right of the picture is a tall yellow striped block and, before it, is CITY PLAZA. In the old days, People's Emporium was located there and it was popular because the goods, mainly from China, were affordable. The area where the Aston Mansion is now located was previously a very old Muslim cemetery, behind the former Queens Cinema.

From Tim's cosy apartment, I now made my way down to have a walk around, past the swimming pool area, the children's playground and finally ended up near the Guardhouse again. I turned around and took this picture (below)looking inwards at the Waterina site. From what I gathered on the web, the Waterina and Sunny Spring presently have the most number of condo apartments at one site in Singapore...about 398 units each.
It is well-maintained and has two basement levels for car parking. Everything there looks pretty new and modern as can be expected. Ditto for the Sunny Spring too...although I did not get to go in. I managed to see it from the outside although I would have loved to have taken a walk inside.

If anyone reading this post can help me out with access, I'll be most grateful. As a reward, we can then have coffee at the Lorong 4o coffee shops and I'll mesmerise you with more anecdotes and tales from Siang Lim Park.
At the Security guardhouse, I told the 2 uniformed guards on duty that I was going out for a while, leaving my car still at the basement carpark. They had a quizical look on their face..must be wondering what this uncle was up to! So to pacify their curiosity I asked them, " Are you wondering who I am?"

They answered affirmatively. I then asked them if they were aware what was here before the condos were built. " No", was their answer. From my folder, I pulled out the old photos of our old home, Lorong 40 and S L Park...and showed to them. They were engrossed suddenly!

From the guardhouse of Waterina, facing north, I captured this scene of the present Lorong 40.
At the top of the picture is Geylang Road. On the right is the boundary wall of the Waterina. Where the cyclist is...that used to be the corner house of the " bapoks" Ref# 25 on my map. And more or less where the lamp post ( left of picture, near road sign "AHEAD") now stands....was the humble home where we Yippies once lived for more than half a century.


I swiveled round to face southwards. This is the present view of Lorong 40 adjacent to Guillemard Road. Sunny Spring is on the right of picture while Waterina is on the left.

The King And I...& original newsclip

The 1956 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II movie musical...The KING and I proved hugely popular when it was first released. It garnered 9 Academy Award nominations and eventually won 5 Oscars including the 'Best Actor' ( Yul Brynner ) and also 'Best Music" ( Rodgers and Oscar ). I remember seeing the movie when I was still schooling and again with my wifey, years later.
The movie is based on the real life story of a British widow, Anna Leonowens who in 1862 ,was appointed to tutor the many children and wives of King Mongkut ( Rama IV). Among those that she tutored was the young Prince Chulalongkorn (Rama V) who inherited the throne later when his father died.
Those of us who have seen the movie long ago may forget many of the details in the musical. But who can ever forget Yul Brynner's uttering the single suffix " HAH!" and that famous ending line to most everything he said...."et cetera, et cetera, et cetera".
I love the songs, the music and the lyrics. Getting to know you, Shall we dance?, Hello young lovers, I whistle a happy tune, Happy talking....etc, etc, etc, ( did you notice?...I have not forgotten what I learnt from the King and I, Hah! ).

About this newsclip of 10 December 1996 from the Straits Times.
It gives an interesting background about the Chakri Dynasty of Thai kings. The article was captioned most appropriately as the "Musical Dynasty".
From King Chakri (Rama I ) who ruled from 1782 to 1809 right to the present day king, King Bhumibol Adulyadej ( Rama IX )..this line of kings was very supportive of arts, music and culture and musically talented in their own rights.

Siang Lim Park...the new!

Photo:
This is the Condo block in the Waterina which faces the north. It was from there that I took some snapshots from Tim's open window to the west, north and east. Right below the block is the Geylang River.
















Photo:
I was facing about north-west.















Photo:
Facing directly north.
This row of double-storey pre-war shophouses has retained its old facade especially the rooftop. You can see the existing backlane at the rear of the houses. The backlane of our Yippie home was similar. It was quite broad and allowed us to put up a string or a tattered badminton net tied across the sides of the fences for our regular kampong pastime.



Photo:
Similar to above picture. To the right of the photo is the private Aston Mansions.







Photo:
Facing north-west. Part of the Lorong 40 field or playground can be seen on the left. It is so different from the past where it was basically one big field with only a few swings etc at the edge.
The single storey houses are part of Lorong 38. They are quite different from those in our old Siang Lim Park which all had a common, empty space beneath our floor called "bawah rumah" ( under the house ).


Photo:
Facing north-west.
An overview of the Lorong 40 playground today. Looking at it, one could not have imagined that 2 teams of any number of players were slogging it out in a game called football ...played regularly there. No bookings were required. First come, first served basis....kampong style.





Photo:
Facing approximately west. This part of the river will continue towards the sea. In the early days, the river had no enbankments. Wild vegetation grew on the river banks...lallang, bushes, trees. Many hens,chickens and ducks roamed freely. Eggs could be found among the bushes, riverbanks and "bawah rumah".
I took a walk on that bridge later. In days of old, we could sit on the parapet [ Map Ref # 40, see SL Park map ]. Today it can't be done...just a railing, cement parapet has disappeared.









Photo:
Facing west. That gate, footpath and boundary wall are part of the Sunny Spring today
If you look closely at the picture and follow that footpath from the gate, you come to a white rectangular patch ( top left of pic).
That's the approximate location of the old ancient keramat which I had earlier described in previous posts with Ref# 4 on the Map.

As I walked right to the river's edge, I did not detect any objectionable odour or smell. Except for the inevitable litter, flotsam and some other rubbish...the river today is infinitely cleaner than it was in my days.
Walking around, I did not see a single fruit tree of note.

Unk Dicko returned to the new Siang Lim Park

Yesterday, November 12 2009 was a memorable and a deeply emotional day for Unk Dicko.

It was the first time I had returned to my old kampong of Siang Lim Park since May 1995. That was the period when our original home at 94, Siang Lim Park ( see map ref 'Y' of previous post on S L Park ) had to be vacated for development work to start on the new SUNNY SPRING condos. My late parents were the only one living there. They were original tenants from before the 2nd world war. The rest of us my siblings and I have moved out long ago. But we have always returned to visit our parents and that home and the surroundings we all grew up in.
The story of Siang Lim Park on my blog actually began in January 2007 at our private Yippie Blogsite. I was then a complete newbie to blogging but having found the new experience fascinating, I started to blog in earnest.
Taking my old photo albums with pictures of S L Park and family members, I recounted real life stories and happenings of our childhood, of the people who lived there, of our friends, of the friendly hawkers, our neighbours, of unforgettable incidents and experiences...and more.

Then a nephew of mine asked if there was a map which showed the various houses in SL Park. He was intrigued and so was everyone else. Sad to say, no such maps exist..only a general overview map. I had promised that I would one day produce a hand-drawn map of sorts which could be used as a rough reference guide to follow the story.

Unk Dicko has kept his promise. That map is now on this blogsite.

Recently " Icemoon", a very active blogger, had asked about the 2 keramats that used to be at our side of the kampong ( Sunny Spring )...and about Queens Cinema. Added to that is Peter, another very active blogger friend, who wanted to know more about that famous Gunfight which made S L Park famous.

Well I thought the time is about ripe for me to do a major "mini-series" on the history of S L Park since the name itself has been forever wiped out from modern directories.

Then Tim Auger from Britain who has been working here for the last 14 years came upon my blogpost on that famous gunfight...and was surprised and shocked that it took place right where he is now residing...the Waterina!

Photo: Tim Auger [ unk Dicko's camera ]
You can check his comments at the gunfight post.

To cut the story short, I offered to meet up with him to confirm the location of the incident and to update him about the past history of that place.

Tim has a deep interest in our local and contemporary history. He has to be! He is the co-editor of SINGAPORE - The ENCYCLOPEDIA and is also on the editorial team of the huge project THE CHRONICLES of SINGAPORE.

As my car turned into Lorong 40, from main Geylang Road, I could still recognise the shophouses and houses of old. But once past that iconic Bridge over the Geylang River I felt as though I have landed on Mars! It was such a very strange scene to me. Not a single thing be it a tree, a lamp post, a building, plant or anything else was familiar to my stored perceptions.
It seems so incongruous to the very images that kept appearing in my mind's eyes. As I drove past the bridge, I slowed down staring to the right where our corner house used to be...expecting to somehow rather foolishly "hoping it's still there". Instead I saw a pinkish perimeter wall of the SUNNY SPRING and the adjacent condos within.

To my left was the bright white wall of the WATERINA condos. I stopped at the Guardhouse and stated my purpose of visit. It took a few minutes to security check. Again I felt alien and strange! We used to run around all over this place with no barriers to our freedom, fifty years ago.

I parked and made my way to Tim's unit at the very top of a block.

I said a cheery, " Good Morning Tim! Glad to meet you." We shook hands warmly and what began as a comment and inquiry on my blog lasted for nearly 3 interesting hours at his place.

After the pleasantries we chatted about our work and other things. He showed me the huge books he had worked on. I recommend all of you interested in history and heritage should get a copy. It's overflowing with fabulous pics and info.

I brought along my old photos and the map and with that was able to point out many interesting bits and pieces right before Tim's very eyes...looking out from his windows.

Photo: Here is a snapshot I captured from Tim's window. My camera was facing the north.

Part of the bridge over the river, the Lor 40 field on left, and the former makeshift wet market near the red car can be seen. In the background is Geylang Road.

Where today is the approximate location where the Gunfight at S L Park took place?

Using my map and checking my bearings from the outside as well, the famous gunfight occurred in the general area as shown in this photo.

Not any of the condo units themselves but in the common, open space near the pool.

Residents need not worry about this past happening as it took place 44 years ago. As far as I can recall, nothing untoward happened after August 1965 to any of the other kampong folks living in the 4 affected houses gutted by fire, then or since.
Pl refer to my map in previous post on the gunfight with Ref #29.

I wonder how many residents of this beautiful WATERINA condo estate today are aware of what took place here on 5 August 1965, witnessed by unk Dicko.

It's so pretty, peaceful and serene as I gazed at the scene before me here. Who could have imagined that 2 young men lost their lives right here when their paths crossed...one a heroic Police Inspector and the other, a wanted gunman and henchman of Morgan Teo named "Ah Hiap". He was killed in the shootout.

More pictures from early S L Park days and today coming soon.

I must thank Tim Auger for being such a nice host. We promised to be in regular contact and to meet up again.

An update on the ' devil's' pop-up window ..previous story.

A few of my online blogger friends have contacted me by email to confirm they had seen what
I had described on my blog...that offending pop-up box window. It's over now as I have squashed it just like that. But it entailed 2 days of solid painstaking detective work on my computer.
I had tried the following steps, all without success:-

1 Restore computer starting point to an earlier date before last Sunday.

2. Do a full McAfee Scan and keyed in " fix the problem". ( Took Hours )

3. Went to Internet Options to choose the programme " start computer without add-ons"

4. At Internet Options chose and set the various settings to "highest filter level".

5. Tried all kinds of options at "Tools" and Internet Options.


My Solution

By carefully reading up about these offending malware, spyware on Google...I discovered something really important. That our fully paid for anti-spam, anti-virus protection service provider like McAfee etc...CANNOT STOP ALL virus, pop-ups, malware etc..from invading and surreptitiously creeping into our computer.
They can stop most but not ALL.
I was very disappointed to learn about this.
If expert companies with all their advanced training and brains cannot prevent such offending nonsense, then WHY ON EARTH are we paying them for so-called "protection" of our systems?

One very important line I read and re-read again was this: the only sure way to get rid of the problem is to trace the offending file or files, cookie or cookies ( so called add ons ) then disable it and if possible REMOVE it.

It took me 2 days to locate the offending files ....yes, more than one! The reason it took so long was because I am not a trained I T expert or IT engineer. Even my computer shop owner friend told me over the phone, with his fully trained partner beside him, that it not an easy thing to solve or overcome! They gave me no solution.

I located the suspicious files by clicking one by one, all files downloaded on the "add on" system.
The details of each file pops up in a box. I scrutinised carefully. The offending files are camouflaged by so -called proper names like Google, Microsoft Corp, etc..
There were 3 that I confirmed were invaders and removed.

1) A Google Toolbar Notifier

2) An " XML DOM" Document

3) Microsoft Corp Silverlight - Activex Control

Here is the actual details of one of these "invaders". I copied them down.

Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper
Publisher: Not available
Type: Browser Helper object
Version: Not available
Date installed: Not available ( highly suspicious to me !)
File: Acro IE Helper. dll
Class: ID: 0684.......followed by a long string of letters and numerals
Folder: C/program Files/adobe/acrobat 7.0/Active X.

I hope our Govt and global IT authorities can take some action against the website/s that produces such nonsensical attacks on our computer systems.
Many of these spammers have been traced by FBI and other agencies and arrested and are now in jail. What about here in Singapore?
I do not have any idea where the offending website comes from.
But I do believe it is not an unknown thing to those in the know.

Just WHAT the devil is josiah mavenm com??

About 3 nights ago, an unwanted, horrible, real pain in the ass pop-up script window
suddenly appeared on this blog of mine. As soon as I clicked on my Owl blogsite and the latest
homepage opens up, within a few seconds...this parasitic pop-up box window appears. Then nothing more can move...even my cursor can't respond!!!
To access my other folders on the computer, I had to switch off the whole system and restart again...avoiding my Blogger dashboard.
I spent the last 3 days studying all the protocols and settings, all the controls and access plus googled about such unwanted malware, spyware, add-ons etc... .
Won't say the time is wasted as I have come out "learning" alot more about many of these technical stuff that confronts bloggers and computer users, from time to time.
This parasitic and devilish unwanted box window then added an advert on my blogpage with scripted letters...a thing I have never seen before. I wonder if any of you my regular visitors saw it. It was below the separate INFO COMM widget. There were a few tiny rectangular boxes with a red "X" in them...and a scroll-down page for Qs and As...in a broken and incomplete format.
In my attempts to get rid of this REALLY PESKY browser DEVIL, I tried everything ( almost )
that was possible with my limited I T knowhow. It obviously did not work 100 %...but slowly I was gaining the upper hand. At least, the cursor can respond.
Then pressing "Alt + F4 " will close it for a short while...then it comes right back again.
Whoever created such a DEVIL to frustrate and irritate ordinary peace-loving and upright people like Unk Dicko and countless others....just let me say you are rather fortunate to be hiding behind your asses.
I wonder if you have the courage to come face to face with just me.

I reproduce the actual wordings in the "Devil's" window below. It reads:-

" Connect to josiah.mavenm,com
The server josiah.mavenm.com at Josiah Staging User Realm requires a user name:_______ and password:_________ . "

In the pop-up box was also Windows own warning about this prompting!
WARNING:
This server ( mavenm.com) is requiring that your username and password be sent in an insecure manner( basic authentication without a secure connection ).

I urge all of you if you have faced such a devil's time as I did to share and REPORT this matter to our GOVT Infocomm and MEDIA CONTROL authorities.
Those of you reading this post ...if you are from IDA, MDA or INFOCOMM 123, may I gently invite you to kindly look into this matter.
Help prevent such nonsense from happening again.
Pl also check the background of the website mentioned.
What are they up to???
I was tempted throughout these past 3 days to divulge my confidential details just to end the stalemate!
But I NEVER did.
Unk Dicko never ever run away from bullies...even cyber types.
I MANAGED to clear that damned thing on my very own a short while ago!

A few thousand years ago, we had the same family!

On Saturday last week, I came across this very interesting article written by Senior writer Andy Ho of the Straits Times. The subject of his writing has always fascinated me and I presume a lot of other people out there too. Some of you may remember there was a TV programme, an interesting serial called "ROOTS !" many years ago. I used to enjoy watching it as it dealt with a subject closed to my heart...history. In this case the history of how the black people of America came over from Africa and elsewhere.

In Andy's article he reports on the postulations of some notable mathematician-scientist on the

why and how we present humans today will have the same common forefather if we go back just 3 to 7 thousand years ago. Read it. It makes you think!

I suppose most of us can trace our family links to grand and perhaps great-grand parent stage.

Those with carefully kept family historical records can go back hundreds of years...or more than a thousand years like the descendants of Confucius the Sage. Those with surnames"Kongs" number by the thousands worldwide.

How far can you trace your family links?

As for unk Dicko and his family tree...the Yip or Ye ( in mandarin), I had blogged about it previously. It is a really interesting read, with photos. Click HERE.

Whatever our innate prejudices may be, whatever differences we may have about the race question...the inescapable fact remains as supported by mathematics, science and history - we are all from the same family tree originally ( as in the diagram above ).

Queen of England related to Prophet Muhammad

In case you are wondering if this is an April Fool's joke...no, it is now November, not April.

Not only you but many people in Britain may not be aware that the present line from which Queen Elizabeth descended from are directly and indirectly related to many of the queens, kings

emperors, and monarchs of many European states...including Spain, France, Germany,Russia!

The news report came from my news clipping of Straits Times dated 11 October 1986.

This report appeared when Margaret Thatcher was then the Prime Minister of Britain.

It was produced by the Director of the Geanealogical Guide to Royalty of Britain.

Remember the title of my previous blogpost?

More "surprises" coming up!

There is no pure race..we are all inter-related !

This news report which appeared in the Straits Times on 24 December 2003 tells a touching story of how the family members of then Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, discovered they had living Chinese relatives in Hainan Island, China. They stumbled about it by chance when an American lady researcher was in Hainan Island studying the Chinese Muslim community there in the late 1980's.
Salleh, the Chinese Muslim in Hainan had 4 sons named....Hassan ( Hah Su Chiang), Alibaba( Hah Su Hiang), Amin (Ha Fu Kong) and Hussin ( Ha Hun San). The first 3 named brothers left Guangdong in the middle of the 19th Century and came to Malaya, settling in Bayan Lepas, Penang. Only Hussin remained in China.
Abdullah Badawi is the biological grandson of the first named Hassan (Hah Su Chiang).
In December 2003, more than 600 descendents of Hassan Salleh came together for a big private celebration and Hari Raya gathering. It included 2 of the grandsons of Hussin who came over for the first time.
Click on the report to enlarge and read.
Does any of this news surprise anyone here reading it?
It does not surprise me at all...as the title of my post tells you.
WHY?
Surely most will be able to figure it out by sheer logic !
You can't go wrong if you start with Adam and Eve...the first 2 humans created.

2009, A Fantastic Year for S'pore Women...Cabinet,EVEREST, Antarctica !

What a fantastic year 2009 has been for Singapore and especially for the ladies of Singapore in the world of adventurism!

In May, 5 out of 6 members of Singapore's Women Mount Everest Expedition made spectacular and awesome history when they stepped on the summit of the highest point in the world....Mt Everest. I remember proudly calling D2 to break the news to her as soon as I found out. As a member of Singapore's 1st Gunung Tahan Expedition team 1969, unk Dicko and certainly other fellow members, share a great sense of pride, joy and satisfaction with the success of this women team. Our heartiest Congratulations!

And in March this year, in a brave and bold move, the Singapore Cabinet appointed our first full woman Minister in the person of Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, MP for Serangoon Gardens. Previous to this, she was a Senior Minister of State, holding two portfolios. It has taken nearly 50 years to see this 'psychological barrier' broken. As a result of this, more and more women will be able to step forward confidently and take up new challenges that once were thought unthinkable. I had blogged about this historic breakthrough appointment. You can read it HERE.

And one person, one super lady who has stepped forward confidently to 'take up a completely new and unimaginable CHALLENGE' is the subject of this blogpost...SOPHIA PANG, S'pore's team representative to this all women polar expedition. Having met and spoken with her, Unk Dicko is confident that come 1st January 2010, SOPHIA will go into the history book as the first Singapore woman to have conquered the South Pole.

Let us all as fellow Singaporeans wish her and her team "a Safe and Successful expedition". Between now and her return, you can read up interesting details about the expedition on their official website which is "live" with tweeter etc.

Those of you who might be wondering about how they would cope in those harsh and extreme conditions with regards to their food, water, health, sleep, hygiene, toilet, communication, direction finding, travel, pulling sleds ( 80 kg! ) etc..., just click on the link to their website below. There are lots of photos too.

http://www.kasperskycommonwealthexpedition.com/

I hope readers will send their good wishes or messages in the comment box.
Sophia is aware that I will be blogging about her journey and we will keep in touch.