N2

You know what? I haven't dived at all this year. Not even once. The deepest I've been is 1.8m, in a swimming pool.

The only island I have set foot on is Penang. Taiwan doesn't count, because I didn't even get out of the airport.

I'm feeling some nitrogen deficiency withdrawal symptoms now. This is the opposite of nitrogen narcosis, which is caused by too much nitrogen in the blood.

My blood is short on nitrogen, and I need a good dose of vitamin sea.

Or maybe God is healing me from an addiction to breathing compressed air. As they say, SCUBA = Self-Confessed Underwater Breathing Addict. :P

AMBER Alert

In the light of the recent tragic abduction and murder of poor little Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, numerous opinions have been aired and debated. Perhaps when the dust has settled, everyone should consider some concrete measures to prevent or at least reduce the occurrence of such atrocities.

Firstly, the police have to get their act together and be more proactive. How about taking a tip or two from the Americans, who established the AMBER Alert system.

Secondly, we have to vote out dense politicians who make inane and insensitive comments.

Thirdly, parents have to teach their kids to take care of themselves. This is a most unfortunate reality of today.

Fourthly, parents have to be more vigilant about their children, but without being paranoid. This is another unfortunate reality of today.


The AMBER Alert System began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered. Other states and communities soon set up their own AMBER plans as the idea was adopted across the nation.

This is what AMBER does: When someone reports a missing child (below age 17), the police will follow a standard screening procedure. Once law enforcement has determined that a child has been abducted and the abduction meets AMBER Alert criteria, law enforcement notifies broadcasters and state transportation officials. AMBER Alerts interrupt regular programming and are broadcast on radio and television and on highway signs. AMBER Alerts can also be issued on lottery tickets, to wireless devices such as mobile phones, and over the Internet.

AMBER has been effective in recovering abducted children, and in deterring abductors. AMBER Alert cases have shown that some perpetrators release the abducted child after hearing the AMBER Alert on the radio or seeing it on television.

Find out more here.

iBridge Camp 2007

Go here or there to find out more and to register.

This is one of the best camps in the universe. But don't take my word for it, go and see for yourself!

Venue: Cameron Highlands

Date: 13-16 Oct (Sat, Sun, Mon and Tue) - Mon is a public holiday

Cost: RM199 (excluding transportation)

Closing Date: 30 September 2007

Baaaa

Where do sheep study?

In the ewe-niversity.

Kota Kinabalu

5 reasons why I like KK (in random order):

1. Everywhere in KK is reasonably near to everywhere else.

2. It's got some pretty happening churches.

3. It's got good dive sites within 15 minutes of the city centre. If you have a long lunch break, you can go out, do a dive, and be back in office by 2PM. You can wake up on Saturday morning, do 3 dives, see some turtles and be back home by 7PM.

4. The sunsets are consistently gorgeous. The sky is actually blue.

5. The mountains are less than 2 hours away. And I mean, real mountains. Not hills. Need some exercise? Just climb Mt Kinabalu.

6. The different ethnic groups are better integrated compared to Peninsular Malaysia.

7. The seafood is pretty good. Well, I'm not sure if it's harvested from sustainable sources, or bombed out of the sea.

8. The diesel is cheaper. Well, not really cheaper. Just subsidized more. Thanks to Petronas!

Of course, the grass is always greener on the other side... :)

Carbon Playwright

How do we know that Shakespeare used pencils to write his plays?

Because he said, "2B or not 2B? That is the question."

Chris Tomlin

I love this guy's music.

Indescribable


Forever


Here's the studio version of Made To Worship,

You may also want to check out the "music video" of this song.

And here's the live recording of the same song...


Oh, and I love this one too, although it's not by Chris Tomlin... this is Majesty (Here I Am) by Delirious?

Calvary's Love

We sang this song this morning...

CALVARY'S LOVE
Greg Nelson & Phill McHugh

Calvary's love will sail forever
Bright and shining, strong and free
Like an ark of peace and safety
On the sea of human need
Through the hours of all the ages
Those tired of sailing on their own
Finally rest inside the shadow
Cast by Calvary's love across their souls

Calvary's love, Calvary's love
Priceless gift Christ makes us worthy of
The deepest sin can't rise above
Calvary's love, Calvary's love

Calvary's love can heal the spirit
Life has crushed and cast aside
And redeem till heaven's promise
Fills with joy once-empty eyes
So desire to tell the story
Of a love that loved enough to die
Burns away all other passions
And fed by Calvary's love, becomes a fire

Calvary's love has never faltered
All its wonders still remain
Souls still take eternal passage
Sins atoned and heaven gained

Earthquakes?

The earthquake off Sumatra last week jolted (pun intended) my mind to the events mentioned in Matthew 24, that passage in which Jesus talks about the end times. Earthquakes are specifically mentioned in verse 7. So, is this earthquake another sign that the end is near?

There have been people who have nothing better to do but try to predict the future. Sadly, such leaders lead their followers on a wild goose chase, and some even end in tragedy. The bottomline is, no one knows when the Second Coming will be, except the Father. It will happen like a "thief in the night", i.e. it's unpredictable, so we must keep watch and be ready (Matt 24:42-44).

My personal view is that we've been living in the end times since Jesus' Ascension 2000 years ago. There is no extra special "end time". We're living in just a part of the continuum of the end times. Yes, if you consider the increasing severity or frequency of the signs happening, it looks like we're living in the end of the end times, but no one knows exactly when it will be. Next year? Another 10 years? 50 years? The signs are here, but similar things have been happening throughout the past two millenia.

In case you're wondering, my eschatological viewpoint, as of right now, is amillenial, post-tribulation Rapture (1 Thess 4:13-18). What's your stand? Does it really matter? Well, yes, but it's not the most important matter. What's most important is, Are you ready? Will you be ready when Jesus comes again? And, for heaven's sake, what are you doing on earth now?

Here's a classic song, "I Wish We'd All Been Ready", written by Larry Norman in the 60's and remixed by DC Talk. The song describes a pre-tribulation Rapture (which I don't subscribe to). But the question of readiness is infinitely relevant regardless of which end time stand you subscribe to. You don't want to be caught with your lamp out of oil (Matt 25).

Undying Love

We sang this song in church last last Sunday...

LOVE CRUCIFIED AROSE
Michael Card

Long ago, he blessed the earth
Born older than the years
And in the stall, a cross he saw
Through the first of many tears
A life of homeless wandering
Cast out in sorrow’s way
The Shepherd seeking for the lost
His life the price he’d pay

Love crucified arose
The Risen One in splendour
Jehovah’s soul-defender
Has won the victory!
Love crucified arose
And the grave became a place of hope
For the heart that sin and sorrow broke
Is beating once again!

Throughout your life, you felt the weight
Of what you’d come to give:
To drink for us that crimson cup
So we might really live
At last, the time to love and die –
The dark appointed day
That one forsaken moment when
Your Father turned his face away

Love crucified arose
The One who lived and died for me
Was Satan’s nail-pierced casualty
Now he’s breathing once again!
Love crucified arose
And the grave became a place of hope
For the heart that sin and sorrow broke
Is beating once again!

MIFC 2007

Team Malaysia
Grand Opening
18 August 2007

Still learning to shoot fireworks with remote-controlled bulb shutter... my timing was out.

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Team Japan
Merdeka Eve
31 August 2007

The best of the three shows...




























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Team Global
Grand Finale
2 September 2007

I didn't get many good shots this time... I even pressed the remote control button wrongly on the last 4 frames.




















*The last 3 photos were taken by Daryl