We went down to Malacca a month or so back and my mother inl aw gave us one bottle of Apple Enzyme that she has made.  I have heard of it at that time because my boss and other colleagues were discussing the benefits and was sharing recipes.  I have not tasted it yet and that was among her first few bottles.  It has not mature yet when we first took it back.  About a week or so back, the Apple Enzyme matures, but we sort of forgot about it as it was tuck away in the kitchen cabinet.  Not only we were reminded by my mother in law that we took it out.  Yet, we didn’t want to open it yet.  Then this weekend, we open it and manage to get a liter of thick juice.  It was great, it has a tangy sweet taste to it and we have been having it morning and evening.  I didn’t pay much attention to the health benefits, I was intrigue by the taste.  And so, we set out to make a jar of our own.  I heard from my office that Dragon Fruit Enzyme taste the best, and so I got the recipe from my boss and gave it a shot. 

We bought a 5 liter bottle from Jusco, 1 kg of grapes, 10 kiwis, 2 large red dragon fruit, 200gm of dried longan and one liter of honey.  The fruits and jars were to be washed and air dried before the process can be started.  This is to prevent molding.  It was expensive, so dont ask how much.  I added the fruits in layers and drench them in honey and finally, I put about 250gm of brown sugar on top.  The enzyme is to be harvested in 15days time and we can’t wait to taste it.  Everyday, we have to open the bottle to let the gas out as the bottle was air tight.  Initially there was only one liter of honey, and almost immediately, the liquid level in the jar start to rise, and now about 3 days in, it has surpass the fruit level and all the fruits are floating up.  i fear the top layer of the fruits will be moldy.  I am now looking for a solution.  I can’t keep pressing them down because the minute I lift the plastic spatula (nothing metal must touch the enzyme – dont know why yet), it floats up again.  Nevertheless, we are truly excited and could not wait for the 2 weeks to complete.  In the mean time, we are enjoying the Apple Enzyme made by my mother in law, which taste terrific. 

Checking out Maxis iPhone deal, I can’t help but felt turn off.  Instead of Maxis bundling the phone price into the rates and long term commitment, they pass the iphone cost to the consumer and they charge you a bom for your usage.  Lets look into the details.  All prices are in reference to 16Gb model.

Maxis iValue Plans

Commitment of RM100 a month for a year, and pay RM2290 for the phone. Or Pay RM375 a month for a year and pay RM1470.  Then, if you decide not to take the iValue plan, you can just take the 6 months commitment with a minimum of Value Plus 80 and take the phone home for RM2960.  If you break this 6 months commitment, you are only penalized RM100.  This means, the phone only cost RM3060.  And for RM100, you need to be tied to a minimum of Value Plus 80 for 6 months. 

Working along the same line, lets look back to the iValue Plans.  With a 12 month contract and monthly commitment of RM100, you pay RM2290 for the phone.  Which means maxis subsidize RM770 for this plan.  For this mere RM770 Maxis investment, they get to charge you RM0.30 per minute (to all network) and if you exceed 333 minutes, they will charge you RM0.15 per minute.  An existing Value Plus 50 only charge you RM0.10 on same network and RM0.18 to other network.  They get to make 60% more from your call charges.  Isn’t this a great deal for Maxis, and a horrible deal for the consumer. 

Now lets look at our neighbors Singapore and Thailand.  In Singapore, one can take the phone home for SGD 508 from Singtel with a monthly commitment of SBD56/Month.  With an exchange rate of 2.4 (conservative), that works out to be RM1219 to take the phone home and monthly commitment of RM134.  And if you take the premium, which is the most expensive package of SGD205/month, the phone is free.  This works out to be RM492 and the phone is free.  In Malaysia, you take the most expensive package of RM375/month and you still need to pay RM1470 for the phone for a one year contract and RM250 for a two years contract.

*Pst!, I heard can get unlock iphone in singapore for SGD1000, that’s RM2400.  Jailbreak ofcourse.  

In Thailand, you can take the phone home for 28,500 Baht without commitment, that’s about RM2925 (with today’s exchange rate from Google).   You can take the phone home for 27,075 Baht with 599 Baht monthly commitment for a year or 1,599Baht (RM164) for 24months and you can get the phone home for free. 

In Malaysia, one can take home a free iPhone, but with RM 375 commitment for two years and only the 8Gb model.  In Thailand a 2 year contract with commitment of RM164, you can get a 16Gb home and in Singapore with RM492 2 year contract. 

Thailand has the best deal in terms of iPhone cost, but the call charges may differ. 

This is why I am not jumping to get iPhone from Maxis just yet.  I am currently on Value Plus 50, and for me to get the phone, I need to change to iValue RM100 to take the phone home for RM2290.  RM50 more a month, and in a years time, that is RM600, so the phone to me is RM2890 (without the premium call charges with iValue plans, note the call charges is RM0.30/minute for first 333minutes to all network vs Value Plus 50 RM0.10/minute to Maxis and RM0.18/minute to other networks).  Or, I upgrade to Value Plus 80 for 6 months and get the phone for RM2960.  Which means I pay RM30 more every month for 6 months and that total up to RM3140 (RM2960 + RM180). 

Apple is rumor to announce new models in June/July this year.  A 32Gb maybe? And maybe this time, iPhone with MMS, one of the most basic phone feature this expensive brick does not have. 

*Prices are true during time of posting.

A nice set of iPhones icons that look rather realistic created by janosch500.  It comes with the .PSD file, so that you can customize to your own. 

Link

Not so long ago, I came across this nice little iPhone clone in China, and was intrigue by it.  I took it home for a price more than half the Original phone.  This glamour phone of mine had an awfully short life.  In just about a month, I drop my Canon A95 camera on top of the phone screen, and Bam, there goes the screen.  The entire phone still functions, and the screen are still clickable.  But half the screen is blank and the other half is hazy.  The CiPhone has been reduced to a nice looking paper weight.  Fortunately, the functions still operate, so I can still receive calls and the camera still works, which is good, cause the phone makes a great web cam.  It was a cheap glamour phone, and now it has been upgraded to a very expensive paper weight and web cam.  Its interesting how karma works, you never know when you have to pay back.  It would be nice to enjoy the phone a little more, but then again, it is better to pay back now than later.  I guess this is what you get for ripping off Apple.

One of the most formidable rule of shopping is not to settle on the first price you see.  I was looking for a skin for my iPhone, and was browsing at one of the IT mall at Hua Qiang Bei.  As I was going up the escalator on the first floor, I spotted the item I wanted, it was RMB 35 for one, with a simple question,’can it be cheaper’, the price drop to RMB 30.  It was a little more than what I was willing to pay for a piece of rubber.  So I soldiered on to the 4th floor and came across another shop, with many more color choices and the price was RMB 15.  With much haggling, the price remained the same.  So I bought two, for the price that I would pay to get one on the first floor.  This is why, never settle for the first price you see.  You never, know, it might be much cheaper just a few floors up.  Oh, by the way, pink is for my wife, so don’t get any funny ideas.