atp masters series monte carlo 07 - part 4

I really hate Star Sports for not continuing to show the live match between Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych at the Masters Series Monte Carlo. But as usual it's Saturday and it's football day and I have no choice but to wait for the delay telecast.

The first semifinal match between Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero was shown earlier on with a predictable victory for Fedex. Fererro did not fight like what he did in the quarterfinal match against Richard Gasquet.

Now that Fedex is guaranteed a place in the final tomorrow, I can't wait for Nadal's win to setup a Battle of the Year between the two top tennis players in the world. It's a crucial game for Fedex in his quest to win the one and only Grand Slam that he hasn't achieve yet, French Open at Roland Garros.

While I'm writing this blog, I'm actually following the live score on the Masters Series Monte Carlo's official website.

Nadal started off with a fierce and convincing play. He punished Berdych 6-0 in the first set in less than 30 minutes! For your information, Berdych has beaten Nadal three times in their previous four meetings.

The second set was a tight race with Nadal trailing Berdych from behind. However, Nadal managed to control his game and won the semifinal match with the result 7-5.

Hopefully Star Sports will be screening the final battle between Federer and Nadal LIVE tomorrow. Gosh, I can't wait to see it!

atp masters series monte carlo 07 - part 3

After defeated Kristof Vliegen 6-1, 6-1 in the third round, and Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinal moment ago, Rafael Nadal continues his winning streak to on clay court to a massive 65 matches!

His next competitor in the semifinal is Tomas Berdych, who had to fought in three sets after dropping the first set to Robin Soderling.

Based on the match, it seems that Nadal is going to have a great chance to move into the final and setup a meeting with Roger Federer whom I believe have no problem in overcoming Juan Carlos Ferrero. But again Ferrero is not easy to beat on clay court.

Oh, by the way, Federer just recorded his 500th career win. What a magnificent record by a great living legend!

atp masters series monte carlo 07 - part 2

Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay, sends strong warning to his rivals at the Monte Carlo Open. He only conceded 4 games in the second round against Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela.

The 6-3, 6-1 victory will definitely boost Nadal's confidence and hopefully his winning streak which increases to 63 matches will continue to rise until he wins this Masters Series title!

Watch out Federer! Nadal is not going to let you dominate tennis games. Definitely not in clay court.

By the way, Star Sports is not showing the live telecast of this match. I hate the fact that they don't prioritise tennis sports. They showed Federer in the morning but not Nadal in the evening. Idiot!

atp masters series monte carlo 07 - part 1

Oh my! Nadal is going to play later in the second round at ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo and it's all up to him to continue his record of 62-match winning streak on clay court.

His competitor is going to be Argentinian, Juan Ignacio Chela, currently no 22 in the ATP ranking. He's considered a veteran player. So I don't think Nadal will have any problem continuing his domination in clay court tennis.

Besides, I think Nadal is going to be very confident because Federer has a tough time on his debut this morning against Andreas Seppi.

Vamos Rafa!

Disclaimer:This series of posts will only focus on Rafael Nadal games. If you are interested in the full coverage of the Masters Series Monte Carlo Championships, please go to the official site.

nokia N95 wireless adventure

Probably you have heard of Nokia N95 Wireless Adventure on TV recently. It's like a treasure hunt ala the Amazing Race with a twist.

Through the Nokia N95, your team which comprise of you, your team mate, a local celebrity and a media dude will work through a given list of 8 clues over the course of 2 days! The clues will lead you to different locations with specific tasks to carry out.

During the course of carrying out the tasks, you will navigate the city (using Nokia N95) and capture specific urban elements that make it unique. Interesting, right?

In the end you will unearth the Soul of the City (which I do not know what it is) as well as to unveil the grad prize which is a jeng jeng jeng... all paid expenses to Europe and Nokia N95!

I think there will be interviews for selected participants. I've already submitted my application last night. Just try my luck lar. Anyone interested to join too? Let me know. Maybe we can form an alliance later if we get selected.

how to bind your own soft cover book

I'm not sure if you are going to agree with me. Many bloggers (whether local or international) are writer wannabes. I mean they want to be a writer in a conventional way. Not just publishing their writing in the blogosphere but also getting their manuscripts published.

Hence, self publishing business is booming outside of Malaysia. Inside of Malaysia, this concept is nothing new to us but somehow the industry here is way slower.

Try asking for the printing cost from local printers who provide Print On Demand (POD), you are expected to pay about RM15-25 per book (let's say a 120 pages, B&W, A4 size specification). And you have not paid for illustration, typesetting, editing, proofreading, etc yet. So in the end, how much profit are you going to make from your book? Most importantly who's going to buy your book if the retail price of your book is so high?

Am I discouraging you from self publish your book? Not really. What I'm trying to suggest to you is why not print the book and bind it yourself to save cost? If your intention is to publish the books and sell it to your friends and family and a small number of customers, then I suggest you to engage with a reliable photostat shop who does B&W and colour printing and you do the binding yourself.

The cost for professional binding is not cheap. I've once asked a photostat shop and it costs RM5 per book for perfect binding.



I came across a great youtube video on book binding. It's quite easy and straight forward and absolutely suitable for soft cover book. If you have a manuscript, why not get the typesetting done yourself, then print it out and bind it yourself over the weekend. If you are a handy person, you might have a neat result.

The copy of the book is definitely suitable to be submitted to publishers along with your book proposal. Who knows you might get a deal soon.

in the dark

So I'm in the dark right right now.

There's no electricity in SS2 and my friend staying in Damansara Jaya is facing the same problem too. But luckily it's not a national crisis.

I tried to call Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) 15454 to report the matter but it seems that I'm not able to get through even after many tries.

I thought this is the common thing that happen during the 80s but it seems that even in the 21st century we often having this kind of problem. I had couple of similar experience last year.

So what TNB has to say about it?

Updates: I didn't charge my battery earlier so I couldn't online. So basically I'm doing nothing but trying to get a nap and fed the mosquitoes at the same time.

I had been calling TNB's Customer Care Line only to find myself in the 30th and 40th caller in queues. Thank god the electricity is back at 1 a.m.