Mumbai under seige

During the last three days my parents have been closely following various news channels and internet to get updates on what was happening in Mumbai. As you all know, Mumbai was attacked by terrorists on 26th November 2008. The terrorists were well organised and attacked two most luxorious hotels of Mumbai, namely Taj and Oberoi. They also attacked few other places. The fight between terrorists and authorities (Police, Army and Navy) went on for more than 3 days. While most of the people held as hostages were rescued, still more than 150 people have been killed (including 13 foreigners). As I write this blog, the authorities have finally delcared that they have control over all the places that were attacked.

I have lived in Mumbai for a long time. It is a very lively city. People from all races and communities live together peacefully. Even though there have been terrorist attacks in Mumbai earlier as well, this one has been the worst. It is an attack on humanity. Intelligence forces from all over the world are collabrating to find out who the terrorists were and what was their real motive.

Please join me in paying tribute to the victims of Mumbai terror attack. I sincerly hope and pray that life in Mumbai will be back to normal soon and government will ensure that there are no more such attacks in future, not only in Mumbai, but anywhere.

Each small step is a big invention - Lighting our lives

A light bulb flashing over the head of a lone scientist is the universal symbol of invention.

Just imagine if there were no electric lamps, how life would have been after sunset or in darker places !! How life woud have been in Northern Europe during the winters, when the days are very short!! How would traffic run on roads with no lights!! Do you think, candles and lamps would have been enough for all this? No way...life would have been dull and boring without the electric lights.

Electric lamps have been one of the greatest inventions. They have made our lives comfortable in many ways. Many inventions have taken several centuries to develop into their modern forms. A light bulb is no exception. It is one of the best inventions.

Do you know Thomas Alva Edison didn't "invent" the light bulb. He actually improved upon a 50-year-old idea. In 1809, Humphry Davy, an English chemist, invented the first electric light. In 1878, Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, an English physicist, was the first person to invent a practical electic lightbulb (13.5 hours). In 1879, Thomas Alva Edison invented a carbon filament that burned for forty hours. Edison placed his filament in an oxygenless bulb. Edison continued to improved his lightbulb until it could last for over 1200 hours. In 1991, Philips invented a lightbulb that lasts 60,000 hours.

So you see, how this important invention, that has given light to our lives, has evolved over time. The modern day lamps, different colours, sizes, and types for different uses, all originate from the early inventions. Today, it is very difficult to imagine life without electric lamps.

Each invention may be just one small step on the road to the ultimate goal.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)

SPCA stands for
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
I never knew that I have got to do anything for them. Few days ago, a woman from SPCA visited ISKL and told us about SPCA activities and how we can help SPCA in a responsible way. I then also logged on to SPCA website and got to know of their services. They are really doing a great job which is worth appreciation. The aim of the SPCA is to protect defenseless animals and to alleviate their suffering. They are constantly challenged by shortage of space and limited funds.

Services provided by the SPCA are:-
Adoption programme - Members of the public are encouraged to adopt animals from the SPCA.
Stray animals in distress - Whilst the animal shelter will receive sick, injured or very young, orphaned animals round-the-clock, the SPCA ambulance also responds to distress calls between 8am - 8pm.
Inspection of cruelty complaints - SPCA inspectors investigate complaints relating to animal cruelty whenever possible. The identity of complainants is kept confidential.
Educational talks - Upon request, talks are conducted either on SPCA premises or at schools, clubs and other organizations to discuss topics such as responsible ownership, animal care, strays, neutering etc.

How can we help?
We can donate our pocketmoney,clothes, dog and cat food, newspapers, puppy pens, cages. SPCA need people to adopt animals. We were shocked when SPCA told us that many people cut tails of dogs for fun. So if you see you anyone being cruel to their pets or stray animals please call the SPCA.
SPCA needs money to provide shelter for more animals so please donate for the good cause. I think Malaysian government should also increase the amount of the fine if people are found being cruel to animals. If the government would increase the fine I think people would stop being cruel.

I request all readers to spread this message.

I remember, I had promised to give answers to the 2 riddles I had posted in the last post.

1st : because the window was shut

2nd : because they were bald

First Impressions

My Name is Adhip. I am 11 years old and study at ISKL. I live with my loving parents at Kuala Lumpur.

I have no siblings. I sometimes feel bad about it, because then I could have had play mates with me all the time. On the other hand, I am happy as I dont have to share my stuff.

We have recently moved to KL from Aberdeen, UK. After we settled in at KL, the local magazine, Expatriate Lifestyle, published an article on us. The article was titled First Impressions. Thus, I have picked up the title for my first blog from there.

Prior to moving to Aberdeen, I was at Mumbai, India.

Modern cars is my passion. My favourite cars are Aston Martin DB7, Lamborgini Gallardo and Audi A6. My favourite movie is "Delta Force". My favourite colour is "Green". I like to play games on PSP & PS2. I also like assembling lego Toys.

I keep in touch with my old friends at Aberdeen & Mumbai by e-mails. I miss them all.

Ok, some riddles for you...keep thinking and wait for the answers in my next post.

Macho the wonder dog can drink 5 litres of milk, jump 7 feet,climb trees. But Macho cannot jump through the 4 foot window.Why?

Young boys were playing rugby and it was raining very heavily all day long. Not a single strand of hair got wet inspite of the boys not wearing any protection like a cap, hat etc. Any luck?