Short bytes

PRU
Can you feel the heat in the air? Wah - hangat! Are you excited? I am!

Schools oh schools 1
"So did they make you president of the Computer Club this year?" I asked my brother #6 (I'm #2 by the way). He's really into computers and is really good, too. Last year he was the treasurer. "No. I'm no longer in the club. This year they allocate clubs by classes." "What?" "Yes. Only those in Form 1A, 3B, and 5C got to be in the Computer Club. I have to join the History Club." What kind of policy is this? One that will ensure each club has equal number of members? The teachers still ask him to help fix the computer problems, though.

School oh schools 2
My youngest brother #8 faces a dilemma every Friday. Either go to Friday prayer and be late for school (sesi petang) even if he goes straight from the mosque, or miss the prayer. My parents had succumbed to his plea to skip Friday prayers because he couldn't stand being scolded by his teacher. He may be 8, but this is sending a very wrong message! Why can't the school start later to accommodate Friday prayers?

Fresh names
Several shops near the new Petr0nas station in Seksyen 3 Tambahan BBB have refreshingly simple names:
-Kuali (a restaurant)
-Tukang (a hardware & DIY shop)
-Cuci@Dobi
-Beras House
-Meat Shop

The Truth About Food
I watched an interesting episode of Oprah (rerun) recently, where Dr Mehmet Oz was invited as a guest. He was there to speak about a "scientific televised investigation—delivering for the first time real provable evidence of just how your diet influences every area of your life". The project is a collaboration between BBC and Discovery Health. Read more about it here and here. I went to the BBC link and read, among others, that "the theory that too much sugar makes children hyperactive doesn’t stand up to the tests". I hope they'll air the series here soon, but here's a few points being discussed during the Oprah show. We already know them probably, but reminders are always good!
- Calcium helps to reduce fat absorption by combining with the fat to form 'soap'. (Yeay, I've always loved milk and cheese!)
- Eating raw vegetable and fruits will reduce our cholestrol level and high boold pressure.
- Tomatoes help our skin to minimise the negative impact of sun rays.
- The omega 3 contains in fatty acid in oily fish (for example sardines, tuna) can help to reduce stress.

Positive Parenting
My sis had introduced to to a very informative quarterly parenting education material Positive Parenting, a collaboration between Malaysia Paediatrics Association and a few other societies (ie it's not profit-oriented). You can read or download the content from the website, or if you prefer to read hardcopy magazine (like me) you can subscribe and pay RM12/annum for the administrative and postage costs.

Munief & Fifa
"Main," Munief adressed his little sister. He started putting several 'spongy' alphabets and numbers (you know which ones that I mean, right?) on Fifa's tummy. He picked the number 3 and flashed it in front of her face. "Nam," he said. Ummi laughed. "Bukan enam. Tiga, sayang."