" GEOGRAPHY FACTS "

Alaska

More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska .


Amazon

The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.

The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States .

Antarctica

Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country.


Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica . This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert. The average yearly total precipitation is about two inches Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, ice.), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.


Brazil

Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around.


Canada

Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. Canada is an Indian word meaning ' Big Village .'


Chicago

Next to Warsaw , Chicago has the largest Polish population in the world.


Detroit

Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.


Damascus, Syria

Damascus, Syria, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence.


Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.


Los Angeles

Los Angele's full name is El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula -- and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size: L.A.


New York City

The term 'The Big Apple' was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930's who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple.

There are more Irish in New York City than in Dublin , Ireland ; more Italians in New York City than in Rome, Italy ; and more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel .


Ohio

There are no natural lakes inside the state of Ohio , everyone is man-made.


Pitcairn Island

The smallest island with country status is Pitcairn in Polynesia , at just 1.75 sq. miles/4,53 sq. km.


Rome

The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome , Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.


Siberia

Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.


S.M.O.M .

The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (S.M.O.M). It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts, and as of 2001 has a population of 80, 20 less people than the Vatican. It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.


Sahara Desert

In the Sahara Desert , there is a town named Tidikelt , Algeria , which did not receive a drop of rain for ten years.
Technically though, the driest place on Earth is in the valleys of the Antarctic near Ross Island . There has been no rainfall there for two million years.




Spain

Spain literally means 'the land of rabbits.'


St. Paul , Minnesota

St. Paul, Minnesota , was originally called Pig's Eye after a man named Pierre 'Pig's Eye' Parrant who set up the first business there.


Roads

Chances that a road is unpaved in the U.S.A : 1%, in Canada : 75%


Russia


The deepest hole ever drilled by man is the Kola Superdeep Borehole, in Russia . It reached a depth of 12,261 meters (about 40,226 feet or 7.62 miles). It was drilled for scientific research and gave up some unexpected discoveries, one of which was a huge deposit of hydrogen - so massive that the mud coming from the hole was "boiling" with it.


United States



The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one-mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.


Waterfalls

The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). They are 15 times higher than Niagara Falls .


I have always said, you should learn something new every day.

Unfortunately, many of us are at that age where what we learn today, we forget tomorrow. But, give it a shot anyway.

Tetamu dari Jubail!

Minggu ini aku di datangi tetamu istimewa dari Jubail. Neeza "A Slice of Bledho" pulang bercuti selama 3 minggu. We missed each other on their previous holidays. So happy to see her and her family. Tak puas bersembang rasanya. Hubby dia pun tak sempat masuk rumah dah keluar menge"teh" berdua2an dengan my hubby! Ada rahsia kut yang x nak kita orang tahu...hehehe :)


Special cupcakes for them.


Shahmey loves my cupcakes very much...tak sia2 Mak cik Nik buat.


Neeza n Sumeyyah


Hope they like my mee bandung n pumpkin pie...itu sahaja rezeki yang ada.


Second helping.

Neeza..thank you for the gifts. Hope to see you again, InsyaAllah.

Patah sayap, ku terbang jua....

Salam,

Eceh...bukan main lagi tajuk kat atas tu! Aper yang patah nyer erk... Kan akak punya digital scale dah kong hari tu kan? Namun demi keinginan yang tak tertahan selepas tengok chocolate eclair dalam citer "The One" kat Astro tu...macam sedap jer, akak buat jugak chocolate eclair tu walau pun timbangan dia tak accurate bila akak guna non-digital scale akak yang lama punyer. Nasib baik akak x buang scale lama tu...hehehehe :)

So, main belasah jer lah timbangan tu. Inilah hasil nya, tadaaaa....;


Buat sikit jer...


Tak cantik maner pun rupa nya...skill x der.


Hmm...tak sedap maner pun!

Cuti sekolah dah nak habis...

Cuti2 skolah ni aper lagi aktvt akak ni kalau tak masak, makan, masak, makan...kerja ofis pun terbengkalai. Bertambun2 enquiry tak di layan...tak per, home office. Gua boss gua kuli! Cukup bulan tak ader gaji...hahaha :)

Meh kita layan antara masakan2 yang telah di cuba dengan cemerlang skali kat bawah ni; sampai kan digital scale akak pun dah naik "kong" sbb asyik2 timbang tepung, gula, mentega....


Spaghetti Meatball with a dash of parmesan cheese...letih juga menggentel meatball nyer!


Quiche Lorraine. Yang ini try individual case pulak...instead of one big whole case.

Up close n personal...tak tahan tengok strawberry tu.

The whole picture of Strawberry Cheese Tart...byk kalori nih!

Fruits tarts...tak semua isi fruits, custard filled n chocolate filled pun ader.


One whole big Apple Pie for my dearest friend Aton.



Trying a petit one...cute tak?

Ada yang terliur ker? This entry is special dedicated to my cyber friend nurkasih...kau jangan marah akak yer dik!

Stress?

Semalam aku pergi membeli-belah sedikit keperluan dapur kat T**** M**** di Jalan Beserah. Semasa check out di kaunter, cuma ada seorang cashier di situ. Seperti biasa aku akan menawar kan diri untuk memasukkan barang2 ke dalam plastic bags supaya mempercepatkan kerja nya dan orang lain tidak perlu menunggu lama di belakang kaunter.

"Saya tak boleh bagi kak plastic bag lah" kata cashier tu. "Protokol nya kami tak boleh bagi plastic bag pada customer", tambah nya lagi. " Eh, kenapa pulak? Selalu nya OK jer", jawab ku. "Management tak bagi", katanya. "Tu lah pasal, kat sini hari2 staff berhenti kerja", katanya lagi tanpa aku bertanya. "Kenapa?" tanya ku. "Alasan yang selalu dorang kasi, letih dan stress", jawab nya. Aku dan suami ku tersenyum. "Hmmm...kerja cashier pun stress", kata ku.

Hahaha....nak tergelak lah pulak. Cuba citer sket kerja aper yang tak letih dan tak stress? Aku rasa budak2 sekarang memang manja. Tak boleh susah sikit. Susah jer sikit...berhenti kerja. Belum di suruh memimpin negara! Hubby aku kata...Mat2 Bangla kat situ OK jer, tak berhenti pun!

Jodoh pertemuan, ajal maut.

Salam,

Hari ini aku memenuhi jemputan kahwin seorang kawan. On the way ke majlis tersebut aku terserempak dengan satu kemalangan jalanraya. Tidak tahu bagaimana kejadiannya nya tetapi yang pasti terbujur satu jenazah di atas pembahagi jalan yang telah di tutup dengan kertas surat khabar. Yang kelihatan hanya sebuah kereta Proton Saga lama yang telah remuk dan sebuah lagi kereta yang terbabas di dalam longkang.

Begitu lah ketentuan Tuhan. Hari ini ada orang yang telah sampai jodoh nya dan hari juga ini ada orang yang telah sampai ajal nya. Sesungguhnya rezeki, jodoh pertemuan dan ajal maut semuanya di tangan Tuhan.

Bagaimana dengan kita?

Rabun

Huhuhu .... :( Mata akak dah rabun lar! Especially time membaca. Focus dah blur daaa.. Semalam nak check latihan Bahasa Melayu yang akak beri kat Ery. Rasa2 nya dah tak boleh tunggu...kena pakai spec dah. Semenjak 2 menjak ni payah sikit bila membaca buku atau magazine. Hubby akak ketawa cam nak rak! "Nak pinjam spec?" katanya.

Aper lagi...sign of aging lah tu! Allah dah mula tarik nikmat. Malaikat dah hantar utusan!

Security in life...

Semalam hubby aku balik lambat lagi. Habis meeting dgn CEO pukul 7 ptg. Bila balik dia asyik mengekor aku. Cerita tentang discussion dengan CEO. Nampak macam upset sikit. Tapi dia cuba jadi reasonable dan rasional. Instructions...clear cut. Please assume this company is yours. What you gonna do if your company is not making any profit? No sentimental value any more. Maintain who you want, let go who you do not want. No such thing as security in Petronas...no more. Anybody can be kicked out whether you are high flyer or not. In other words, keep minimum manpower with high efficiency. No problem of paying them more. Squeeze them...in my simple term.

Berat...berat...itulah yang hubby aku fikirkan. Fikirkan tentang nasib anak2 buah dan nasib sendiri. Restructuring is not a good news. Even if he will be maintained but he will spend more and more time in the office than at home. Makan gaji macam tu lah.

Cuba bagi tahu kat aku apa yang secure dalam dunia ini? Jawapan aku...tidak ada. Tidak ada apa yang secure dalam dunia ini. Hidup ini terikat dengan perancangan Tuhan. Kita hanya bertindak mengikut pemikiran kita tentang apa yang terbaik buat kita. Tapi Allah sebaik2 pelaksana. Life can change its course half way...who knows. You may have something today but not tomorrow. Rumah, kereta, pekerjaan, anak2 semuanya milik Allah. Hatta diri kita sendiri pun. Cuba kenangkan kisah Nabi Ayub alaihissalam. Hmmm....still thinking that you are invincible? Think again....

Aku sentiasa mendoakan yang terbaik buat suami ku!

Sudah Takdir?

Semalam kawan aku telefon lagi. Dia cuma ingin dapat kepastian tentang cerita nya pada aku mengenai soal pelan perceraian dengan suami nya. Sama ada talak telah jatuh atau tidak. Kerana telah beberapa kali suami nya menyebut perkataan "let go" dan nak lepaskan dia dan anak2. Perkataan begitu di panggil lafaz kinayah. Sememangnya cerai bukan perkara main2. Aku terjumpa definisi ini semasa membuat carian tentang kinayah.

Lafaz talak itu ada dua iaitu:

1. Lafaz sarih : iaitu lafaz 'talak' dan 'cerai'. Apabila ia dilafazkan walaupun tanpa niat, maka jatuhlah talak.

2. Lafaz kinayah : apa-apa perkataan yang digunakan yang menunujukkan kepada maksud talak atau cerai selain daripada dua perkataan di atas ('lafaz' / 'cerai'). Penggunaannya hendaklah disertai dengan niat talak.

Contohnya: bebas, lepas, terbang, baliklah engkau ke rumah engkau dan seumpamanya.

Jika benar, telah habislah jodoh mereka. Mungkin itulah perkataan terbaik tentang takdir yang di tentukan Allah. Bak kata orang sudah takdir nya begitu. Apa2 pun, wajarkah kita salahkan takdir? Aku sering mencari2 makna takdir di dalam kehidupan ini. Sememang nya memahami takdir itu rumit bagi ku. Maklumlah ilmu aku amat kurang. Sukar membezakan sesuatu ketentuan Allah dengan sesuatu yang di laku kan atas usaha tangan kita.

Setakat ini, cara aku memahami takdir adalah seperti analogi permainan computer atau playstation. Pilihan2 akan di beri oleh si pereka sepanjang permainan. Jika pemain memilih A, end result menjadi lain. Jika memilih B, ending nya lain pula. Seperti juga cerita “Back To The Future” dan "Terminator". Setiap tindakan kita akan memberi kesan secara langsung dan tidak langsung kepada kita dan orang lain juga. Cuma skrip nya terletak di tangan pencipta. Ending nya telah pun ada. Yang menetapkan apa yang berlaku selepas pilihan2 itu di buat. Mungkin aku salah memahami takdir, tetapi itu sahaja yang aku faham setakat ini. Wallahualam.

Semoga ALLAH memberi aku petunjuk.

Why Men Don't Listen

Catchy kan topik kat atas tu? Aku mengemas bilik buku cuti 3 hari ni, maklum lah adik aku nak datang kerumah...kalutlah sikit mengemas. Standard lah tu! Pastu aku terjumpa satu buku. "Why men don't Listen & women can't read maps" by Allan & Barbara Pease.



Bila pulak akak beli buku nih? Belek punya belek, ooooh buku Kak Yong ruper nyer.... bila masa Lembaga Penapis ni terlepas pulak tengok buku apa yang anak aku beli. Sure dia beli masa ngan big boss lah tu.

Hmmm...bila browse buku ni, macam menarik lah pulak. Tergendala kerja sekejap. The excerpt from the book (pg 150), check this out ;

Why Men Hate to be Wrong

In being wrong, a man considers himself
a failure because he has not been able to
do his job properly

A million years of not wanting to see as failure seems to be wired into the brain of modern man. Most women do not know that if a man is driving in the car alone, he'd probably stop and ask directions. But to do it when she is in the car makes him feel like he is a failure because he couldn't get her there.

When a woman says, "Let's ask direction", a man hears: 'You're incompetent, you can't navigate'. If she says, "The kitchen tap is leaking,let's call a plumber", he hears: "You're useless, I'll get another man to do it!". This is the reason why man have difficulty saying,"I'm sorry". They see it as admitting they are wrong, and to be wrong is to fail.

To deal with this problem, a woman needs to make sure that she doesn't make a man feel wrong when she discusses problems with him. Even giving man a self help book for his birthday is often interpreted by him as, "You're not good enough".

A man needs to understand that a woman's objective is not to make him wrong; it is to help him and he should not take things personally. A woman wants to improve the man she loves but he interprets this as meaning that he is not good enough. A man won't admit mistakes because he thinks she won't love him. But the reality is, a woman loves a man more when he will admit his mistakes.

Macam nak gelak tergolek2 pulak bila baca buku ni half way. Ery pun "terbaca" beberapa mukasurat dan dia pun kata best lah buku yang emak baca ni! Such a good reading material. Can't believe that Kak Yong is reading this kind of book!