Sheer heart attack

It was the English FA Cup Fourth Round tie.

In the red corner is Liverpool, currently at fifth place in the English Premier League. In the blue corner is Havant & Waterlooville, a non-league team consisting of part-time players such as school caretakers, plumbers and gas engineers, 122 places and six divisions beneath Liverpool in the world of English soccer.

The match will be played at Liverpool's home ground Anfield. Everyone predicted a whitewash/bloodbath/nuclear-annihilation. What can go wrong?

None, unless Liverpool's manager Mr. Rafa "I have a case of the clevers again" Benetez then proceed to take out the back bone of the Liverpool team by leaving Torres-Gerrard-Carragher on the substitutes bench. When I saw the team list before the match I already have a bad case of the jitters. This is baddddddd karma, I told my pal Rkaru by text message, and I even said that if Liverpool ever loses this match because Rafa fielded a badly selected team, I swear I will support Manchester United from now on.



True enough, Havant scored in the 9th minute and I was busy picking up my jaw off the floor. An incomprehensible clearance by Liverpool's newly signed center back Skrtel resulted in a Havant corner and that resulted in a goal. Havant's 6000 supporters went wild.

Lucas equalized for Liverpool later and I breathed a sigh of relief, but not for long. Again Reds defenses sprung a leak and Havant scored again to lead 2-1 from a deflection off Skrtel. By now I was yelling for this guy to be taken off the field!

By the end of the first half the score is tied 2-2 after Benayoun realised that he has to start earning his salary by playing proper football for once.


In the second half, Liverpool started playing like proper footballers and not a bunch of school kids. I guess Rafa really gave their butts a real chewing during the half time talk. The match ended 5-2 in Reds' favour. The introduction of Gerrard in the 85th minute resulted in the fifth goal scored by Crouch. Gerrard should have came on much earlier.

A 5-2 scoreline is no big deal. In fact it was an embarrassment. I expected 12-0. It was fortunate that H&W has not mastered the art of parking the bus (i.e. defend your goal with 11 men after leading the match) otherwise Liverpool would have been out of the FA Cup.

Look, if you are H&W, you know you are going to lose the match anyway, so your game plan would be to attack, attack, attack. Get one or two goals in so that at least the H&W player can someday tell his grandchildren that he once scored a goal at Fortress Anfield. That's all they want to do. Score against Liverpool. It was supposed to be Liverpool's job not to let this happen because every H&W goal will be an embarrassment. Somehow Rafa missed the plot, and caused me a lot of grief for more than 50 minutes.


Havant & Waterlooville, I salute you for daring to dream.

'It looks like me, and the voice sounds like me..."

A certain prominent person who answered that way recently when questioned during a certain governmental inquiry into a certain video clip of a certain telephone call reminded me of what Eminem once rapped:

And there's a million of us just like me
who cuss like me; who just don't give a f**k like me
who dress like me; walk, talk and act like me
and just might be the next best thing but not quite me!

'Cause I'm Slim Shady, yes I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating
So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up,
please stand up, please stand up?

The thing is, this prominent person made Slim Shady believable!

Liverpool, you are a pain to watch.

EPL : Middlesbrough 1 - Liverpool 1.


I think this is the moment of this EPL season that I am quite sure that the championship title dream for Liverpool finally went up in smoke, unless three meteors strike the stadiums of Arsenal, MU and Chelsea simultaneously. This is also the first time in my history of watching EPL matches that I really wanted to throw the TV remote against the TV screen. This is also the first time that I wish Rafael Benetez will get sacked.

Why oh why oh why did he persisted in fielding Voronin in his starting eleven? This sack of potato was losing possession of the ball all night that he made Momo Sisoko look classy. It was that bad. And he was the reason I wanted to throw the remote at the TV. Steven Gerrard shaking his head while walking off the pitch at half time summed up my disgust at the team's pathetic performance.

I won't even go into Rafa rotation policy anymore. He is treating his players like poofs that cannot play 2 matches in a week lest they drop dead.

Gone were the days when Liverpool plays a match and I will enjoy watching them, win or lose. Now they have degenerated into a team that is painful to watch, through no fault of the players but because of a manager that's having an extreme case of the clevers. Having my teeth drilled without anesthetic is more fun.

I will even settle for Jose Le Mouth nowadays.

The inconsiderate #$%^&*@s are back

There are those who remembered my rant "It can only happened in Lahad Datu" from December 2005 about inconsiderate drivers who jumped queues near my housing area.

Guess what? They are back after 2 years hibernation.

It is now December 2007, it is the school holidays. Yet this stretch of road still suffers from a massive jam every day starting from 7am until 8 or 9am. It now takes 40 minutes to travel 500 meters, and my 10 minute drive to the office now becomes a 50 minute crawl.

As usual these inconsiderate jerks took the side road on the left to escape queuing on the main road. When they reach the junction shown in the photo they expect cars jammed on the main road (which hardly moved at all due to these jerks' inconsiderate behavior) to actually give way to them so that they can rejoin the main road. The most remarkable thing is the cars on the main road actually let them get away with it, and suffer in silence!

Too bad if one has a sick passenger needing urgent medical attention at the hospital located only 5 minutes drive away. Must be nice and give way to these jerks first. Your passenger died? Tough luck.

After my initial rant in 2005, the Road Transport Department (JPJ) did station their officers at that junction to stop this farce. It worked, and for two years all is well, and everyone get to work and school on time.

I shudder to think what will happen on 3rd January 2008 when school starts, and the traffic flow doubles.

Hey JPJ people! Get to work!

Season's Greetings

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.


All the Christmas shopping's finished. The gift wrapping's done. The Christmas Eve dinner at a local hotel booked. The missus bought enough food for Christmas Day lunch to give my cardiologist hypertension.

The Wombats wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2008. May there be more peace on Earth and goodwill to all mankind. During the festivities, give a thought and a prayer for those who are less fortunate and may their lives be a better one in the coming year.


Yes microWombie, there is a Santa Claus. He exists in our hearts always, and he will be there as long as you want him.

Liverpool 0 - Manchester United 1

I waited 2 weeks for this match. I was so sure that this time Liverpool will beat Manchester United at Anfield. The time is now--- not!


We lost again, to a sucker-punch ball just before half time. Why oh why oh why do Liverpool always has to lose to Man Utd either just before half time or just before the end of the match? Are we jinxed?

Well, at least this time I can live with the lost--- almost. Both teams played their hearts out, though I felt that Man Utd came to Anfield just to get a 1-0 win, or worse, a draw. So they packed the midfield and the defense. For the final 20 minutes, they parked the bus.

The referee did a good job, and was fair with his decisions, unlike the one in that Reading match.

There was no diving or blatant attempt to cheat, well, almost. That little twit in the number 7 MU shirt did try to dive in the fifteenth minute but the referee did not buy it.

Liverpool fielded the exact same team that demolished Marseile last week, and the understanding between the players grew as a result. No more of those frustrating missed opportunities just because players cannot read each other thoughts. If Rafa field this team again in that League Cup match tomorrow night, we may just have Chelsea for supper. (Hey, I lost my dinner, so no more dessert!)

As for Man Utd, we will meet again, in the League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League and EPL return match at Old Trafford. Plenty of opportunity for revenge. That is, if you don't get knocked out by other teams first!

We need a new tree next year

Sunday night....

Wombat : *Drag Christmas tree out from the store room*

Little Wombat : *Assembles tree*

Wombat : *Untangles chasing lights and coil them around tree*

microWombie : *Hang ornaments all over tree*

Mrs Wombat : *Clean up white teddy bear*

Wombat : *Places star ornament on top of tree*

Wombat : "Ready?"

MrsW/LW/mW : "Yes!"

Wombat : "And now, let there be lights!" *click* :


That was the annual setting up of the Wombats family Christmas tree. It won't rival any of the trees in the shopping malls or hotels. It's our family tradition to set it up at least twelve days before Christmas and taken down only after the twelfth day of Christmas.

We have been using this tree for the past thirteen years. The tree does look a bit aged and tired, but we had a lot of great times around it during Christmas. Little Wombat and microWombie grew up with it. Those pine cones are real, picked from the area around Perkasa Hotel in Kundasang.

I may want to get a new tree next year, but am in two minds about disposing this one for it has so much memories. Oh well, let me think it over during the next twelve months.

But if we do replace it, this is what we will probably get next year :

Be afraid, Man Utd, be very afraid...

UEFA Champions League.

For some strange reason Liverpool dug themselves a very deep hole in the group stage this season, thus requiring them to win the remaining three group matches to have any hope of progressing to the Final-16 knock-out stage, where the big money is.

"Difficult/Impossible/Nightmare/No-chance/Hopeless etc", said the pundits.

"A man can dream, can't he?" I said.

Match Day #Four : Liverpool 8 - Besiktas 0. (Gawd, that felt good!)

Match Day #Five : Liverpool 4 - FC Porto 1. (Two down, one to go.)

Early this morning...

Match Day #Six : Liverpool 4 - Marseille 0. (And who said it cannot be done?)


Liverpool is through to the last sixteen a.k.a. knock-out stage, for the fourth year in a row.

I mean, one look at the starting XI is enough to tell me Reds will be in for a goal fest, despite playing on Marseille's homeground. With a starting XI consisting of Torres, Kuyt, Kewell, Gerrard, Mascherano, Benayoun, Riise, Carragher, Hyypia, Arbeloa, Reina, everything is possible. Best of all, there's no sign of Momo Sisoko, Voronin or Crouch.


This Sunday Liverpool will face Manchester United at Anfield in the English Premier League and then Chelsea in the League Cup a few days later. If manager Rafa maintains this team and stop playing his rotation Russian roulette, victory against M*n U*d is not only possible but assured. And we will not have to dive to get goals, unlike a certain number 7 on a certain team.

Then we will have Chelsea for dessert later.

Feels So Good

When I was studying in Kuala Lumpur in 1981, the music that was played by the radio deejay at the end of his night time request program really mesmerized me. That instrumental track sounded like trumpet or whatever, for I was not big into jazz in those days (I was more metal inclined). But the music etched its place in my mind forever.


Fast forward to 1986. I was in Melbourne Australia, and I finally found out (can't remember how) that the instrumental track I have heard 5 years earlier is actually Chuck Mangione's "Feel So Good", from his 1978 album of the same name. It wasn't trumpet that he was playing, but the flugelhorn.

I then bought the vinyl LP, and the whole album is real magic. It is more jazz-pop than deeeep jazz.

The YouTube video below was probably taped during 1979, when Feels So Good was nominated for zillions of award. The version Chuck played in this video is the fast paced version, which did no do the original track justice. The track on the album started real slow and quiet and slowly built up a real loud ending, and it was more than 9 minutes long.

Feels So Good is 29 years old this year, and like all good things in life, it never ages.

New toy

Those who read my gadgets posting last year will remember me listing all the mobile phones I have ever used, right down to the two that I was using at that time. They were the Sony Ericsson K700i and the Motorola V3i:




Well, I have replaced the SE-K700i in April this year with the SE-K800i, as the keys and joystick on the K700i were causing me a lot of grief. Anyway, the K700i has served me faithfully for 2 years which is about the normal lifespan of a cellphone that suffers a lot of usage and abuse.

The K800i is a tremendous improvement on the K700i. Being a 3.2 MP CyberShot camera phone, needless to say it takes really good photos. Construction is robust and the keys can withstand abuse from my fingers (I do a lot of text messages).


The K800i has now even been superseded by the K810i and K850i but I can live with it. I have outgrown that "Must have the latest model of phone" mania so I think the K800i will serve me for at least 2 years more.

As for the 1 1/2 year old Motorola V3i, I have no choice but to replace it because it simply cannot last a day on normal usage when it used to last 3 days when brand new. I have changed the battery but problem remained. Was told that the phone's electronics is consuming too much power as it ages.

So yesterday I junked it and bought the Sony Ericsson S500i. As I was using the Moto V3i mainly for business calls, I don't need Walkman functions, high tech cameras and other bells and whistles normally associated with the latest cellphones. All I wanted is a phone that looks cool, long battery life, clear reception and does not break the bank, and it has to be a slider. I have never owned a slider phone.


The S500i suits me just fine. It is a slider, 2MP camera, BT etc. It is 14 mm thick, same as the Moto V3i, and thinness is also my requirement since I keep this phone in my shirt's pocket.

Hopefully this one will last another 2 years too.