First astronomy lesson
After the TV, I went to lock the outer gate. The sky was clear and I could see the full moon and many stars. I saw the brightest star twinkling on the lower left corner not far away from the moon. I guessed it was Jupiter. Jupiter is the largest planet and one of the four outer gas giants or Jovians in our solar system. To be sure, I checked with Stellarium on my Mac and confirmed it was Jupiter.
Then I called the boys and mom to gaze at the sky and told them it was Jupiter the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in our solar system. I told them that Jupiter would take about 11 years to orbit the Sun compare to one year for our planet earth. The two older boys responded with a big “Wow!” Nik was rather excited and very vocal.
We could also see some other stars and Ara, Triangulum Australe, Libra and Virgo constellation. They were magnificent.
The kids had their first astronomy lesson and so did I. I learned that Pluto is no longer the ninth planet in our solar system. Instead, the International Astronomical Union or IAU has reclassified Pluto as one of the four dwarf planets together with Ceres, Makemake and Eris.
I will reconsider to acquire a telescope soon. I almost invested in a Meade’s ETX-90PE in 1998 but for some reason I did not. I will consider a larger model, ETX-125PE.
I became interested in astronomy when I was first introduced by two persons. One was Dr. Ghaffar and Khoo. Dr. Ghaffar is a nuclear physicist and Khoo is my ex-classmate and a mechanical engineer. Both of them were very involved in star gazing. Khoo had even built his own 12″ diameter Newtonian Reflective Telescope.
I almost invested into one as mentioned earlier but I didn’t. At some point, I became very interested in astrophysics. Writing software to model celestial body can be interestingly challenging. Perhaps I should go get a Ph.D. and become an astrophysicist. Or, perhaps, one of the boys will become a renown astrophysicist.
One great Sunday out
We have planned to go to a temple at Muar for weeks and finally the day came. We went to pick up grandma at 1030, bought some fruits in the town and heading to Muar around 1130. The journey took around half an hour thanks to the new express way.
We went to Muar to find that temple with Richard some time in April. Being the agnostic me, I haven’t been to such temples in years. Being curious, I went with some hope. But I guess the effect will not come so soon. Those Chinese friends who believe in such “Gods” will understand what I am talking about.
There were many people at the temple and we finished our business around 1445 or 1500. Then we headed to Muar town center for lunch. After our late lunch, we visited an aunt there. Grandma chatted with her sister for a while then home we went.
When we arrived Melaka, we stopped over at Jusco to buy some more fruits and a few shirts. Then we all had our dinner at KFC. Reached home around 2030. We were so exhausted and went to bed quite early.
What a Sunday!
Durian, durian, durian
It is durian season. Last night when we were at grandma’s place, she and grandpa asked D if he liked to eat durian. We had been talking about durian feast since couple of weeks ago. So, tonight we decided to buy some durian to give grandma and kids a treat.
We drove to Bukit Baru to source for durian. Finally found a Malay stall opposite SRJK Kek Seng. Bought 9kg of durian and proceeded to grandma’s. The kids had not been to grandma’s place for months. The kids were really enjoying at grandma’s place. We stayed until 2330. The kids will definitely wake up late in the morning. They usually sleep early but once a while we allow them to sleep during weekends so that they can adjust to adults’ timing. They must be sleeping soundly by now.
A great Sunday morning
Yesterday, we took two bicycles to the town for repair. I hadn’t been using the bicycle carrier since 2006. In the evening, we took the bicycles to the park. After dinner, we went home and the weather seemed like to rain. Actually, I thought of taking the kids and the bikes to the park again the next morning. But it started to rain before midnight. We changed the plan, no bike but jogging at the park.
This morning, the weather was so cool because after the rain and was perfect to go fill up the gas tank. So, we all woke up early and went to the petrol station to fill up the tank. After that we went to the park followed by breakfast.
We went to the old part of Melaka China town near by the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple for dim sum. This restaurant is Melaka most famous and oldest dim sum restaurant and one of the very few pioneer. My dad used to bought us buns and glutinous rice in lotus leaf. They were delicious 30 years ago as I could remember. That was one of the bad dim sum we ever had. Actually, the taste not too bad at all but certainly was not a good one. The service was very bad and not really kids- or baby- friendly. We quickly had some and left. When checking the bill, it was quite expensive. I will definitely not recommend that dim sum restaurant.
Forget about the bad experience at breakfast. Anyway, we all enjoyed very much today. At night we watched movies at home.
Dmitry is slowly becoming independent
We have been co-sleeping for years. When Dominik arrived, I have to move out of our room to make space for him. Last year, it was time for Dmitry to sleep in his own bedroom. We bought a double decker for him and Richie but it had not been used for a while until recently. Read more
Dmitry doing dishes
After the lunch, Dmitry offered to take my dishes to the sink and started doing dishes. Read more
Best Wishes to Michal and Monika
Today, my best pal from Poland, Michal got married with Monika. We received their invitation to their wedding party on a plane flying from Poznan to Kornik. We regretted that we couldn’t join their ceremony and party. Here is our best wishes to Michal and Monika.
Congratulations!
Fast Food vs. Slow Food
Last night was raining heavily for some hours. This morning was a great time to fill up the car’s tank becuase the low temperature would make the gasoline denser, causing it more worth the money. After filling up the tank, we went to the town for breakfast. Then we hang around at grandma’s for a while till late morning.
On our way home, I asked mom what’s for lunch. Dmitry was quick to answer, “I like to have KFC.” No KFC I told him. “Then, I want McDonald”, he quickly suggested another option. “No fast food dear.”, I said. “I don’t like slow food!”, acclaimed Dmitry in disappointment.
Slow food? Yes. He knows the opposite of fast is slow and he invented the term, “slow food”.
He suggested to have noodle but we had noodle for lunch yesterday together with grandma after going to the temple to visit aunt Angie. So it went on and not too long after that, mom suggested Indian rice. Yippee! Indian rice. We went to Paya Ikan to buy a packet of Indian rice to share. Yes, 5 of us sharing a big packet of Indian rice with curry and chicken with chili!
Dmitry’s 6th birthday party
Finally, the party hour came. This is the day Dmitry has been waiting for: presents, birthday cake and guests. Mommy ordered a Spiderman birthday cake. I had no time to collect it from the bakery so we asked uncle BS to pick it up for us
Yummy bread!
LA baked another loaf of bread this morning to make garlic bread for Dmitry’s birthday party tonight. This is the second loaf of bread she baked since our Princess’s bread maker is back last Friday. LA baked a milk bread. The house was full of fresh bread aroma.
Beetle
This afternoon, when I was ready to go to customer’s place, Dmitry spotted a beetle on the ground at the car porch area. It was actually under the car and thank God I did not crush it. We became excited as it was not dead. I swiftly picked it up and put it on a brush and told Dmitry to hold it. And I dashed into the house to get my camera. Here are some photos I took. I put the beetle into a plant pot so that it would not dehydrate. I didn’t check if it was still alive. I hoped it would be still alive. I don’t know its name but I will find out later.
Nice bread!
Finally, our Princess bread maker was back last Friday. The authorized service center, Pensonic, had its service man to deliver to our home. Read about the stories here and here.
Today, we woke up with a loaf of fresh and hot wholemeal bread.
Dead twice!
Our Princess bread maker came back yesterday from Pensonic service center after almost 4 weeks of warranty claim. Read about the first warranty claim here. According to the service center, they had baked a cake to test if it was working. So, I went home with the bread maker happily. But when I was coaching half way through, LA called to let me know that it was not working. The kneading blades were not turning at all. Another waste of ingredients.
This morning I switched on the bread maker without any ingredients in it. It was not working. I left it turned on for almost an hour and it was not working. So I called the Pensonic service center and one of the lady told me immediately that their headquarters called them to get the unit back to have the circuit board replaced. They offered to collect from my house. Hmm… otherwise I would have the chance to shoot them.
Anyway, Pensonic service vehicle came to collect after noon. Next time when it comes back, it better works. Otherwise, I am going to take this to consumer court and have them to reimburse the material wasted.
If you are planning to buy a bread maker, don’t buy Princess bread maker! I hope Princess will be reading this blog. Beef up your quality, Princess!
Our Princess Bread Maker is dead!
WTF! It is only about one month old and LA had only baked 3 loafs of bread and the spinners was dead! She got it on February 11. Read here. She discovered that this morning when she was trying to bake a loaf of bread for her mother and all of us.
We chose Princess among other brands like Kenwood and Sharp. We chose Princess because it was better (solid) built (and look nicer) and the pan was bigger. But it is so fragile and of low quality. It is dead for just one month and baked 3 loafs!
I will send the unit back for warranty claim this afternoon. I will demand a new unit swap. No repair is acceptable by my standard.
Our Princess Bread Maker
LA has got her Princess bread maker on February 11. She had made a few breads and they all tasted very good. Today she made another one after she managed to buy some special ingredients for bread making. She made a wholemeal bread with the wholemeal flour she bought from PJ. Here is the photo of the Princess bread maker and the delicious fresh hot wholemeal bread.
CNY visiting
There was nothing to do over the week end so I decided to take everyone to PJ to visit my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. The plan was also to visit a few friends including Benji and also window shopping at 1U if time permitted.
We started our journey early. Traffic was smooth and we arrived at Sungai Besi in 1.5 hours. Unfortunately, the traffic built up heavily before the Sg. Besi toll. We were stuck there for many minutes and I decided to turn back and to take another alternative judging the heavy traffic would be delaying our journey by at least an hour or more. I took the UPM-Puchong (LDP) way and again another traffic congestion at LDP’s Sunway toll. The traffic there was not as heavy as Sg. Besi but it delayed our journey quite a bit. A 2-hour journey became 4-hour journey!
While driving on the E way, I realized I did not have Benji’s numbers on another phone. I had no way to contact Benji until he contacted me. According to SIL, all shopping malls were heavily congested by cars and people. On our way to PJ, we saw heavy congestion at Sunway Pyramid. So we decided to hang around at BIL’s house.
We went to some bakery supplies shops to buy some ingredients for making bread. On the way, Benji called. Thanked God! We would meet after 8.
Finally, we met up at Benji’s around 8. We drove back to Malacca and arrived safely. We called it a day!
Dinos are down with flu
Oh dear! Three dinos are down with flu again. CNY is just around the corner. This is what LA and I fear about. I took them to the clinic nearby to get some flu medicine then took them for a spin at downtown. In the car while waiting for the light to turn green, I taught Richie the word “downtown” and “uptown”.
We went to the town to see some CNY decoration. The decoration is not as beautiful as 20 years ago. Partly the reason is lack of sponsorship. Shops are not willing to sponsor as the local government does not care to participate in the CNY decoration.
I hope I will have some time this weekend to go downtown for photo shooting. I always wanted to do it but did not find time for it. I hope this year I can find some time for it.
Family Delivery Team
We all went to Subang Jaya to deliver hampers order yesterday. Our plan was to go to 1U for shopping after the delivery. But the car AC and the front brake were giving problem. When we arrived at Subang Jaya, the AC began to blow hot air instead of nice cool air. After the delivery, the AC wasn’t functioning properly yet and the front brake started making some noises. According to my driving experience, I decided to take the car in for a examination by my brother-in-law’s friend. His workshop was in Damansara Utama.
It was a long way from USJ1 to DU and the roads were quite jam packed. When we finally arrived at the workshop, poor R and N were sweating. They had rosy cheeks and sweat wet shirts! What a mobile sauna.
I changed the brake pad mid last year and it was finished in less than a year. So much of the Honda’s spare parts quality!
And the AC, the magnetic clutch of the compressor became faulty and needed to be replaced. The repair would take about 2 hours so we took 3 dinos to Starbucks to cool down with ice blended drinks while waiting for my sister-in-law’s husband to come to take them to her house.
The car was ready around 6PM and I went to my SIL’s house to meet them. We proceeded to 1U in the evening for a quick shopping. LA did not find any shoes she likes. We went to FCUK and nothing eye catching except the price tags. We had dinner at 1U and hang around until almost 10:30PM.
We arrived home around 1AM. When we arrived, we suddenly realized we forgot to attend our neighbor’s grandchild full moon party. The next morning, our neighbor came to our house to deliver some cakes and red eggs and we apologized to her for not attending. What a day!
A holiday out
What a day out! We were at Seleria (a food court in Mahkota Parade) for lunch. There were many people although it had already passed the lunch hour. 3 dinos and the two papa mama dinos were hungry. After I bought the food, I tried to find a baby chair for Nik. I saw 3 were taken and could not find any more. I asked the cashier where I could find baby chair. She told me there were only 3. Only 3? Was she joking? So, I asked her why such a big food court (I think not less than 10,000 square feet) had only 3 baby chairs. She replied, “people steels it away. They just push out…” I shook my head and gave a sinister look and sarcastically replied, “then get more chairs and have a security guard at the door! Damn!”
We went home around 4:30. Rested, took a shower and out we went to buy satay (barbecue chicken in stick with peanut chili sauce) and noodles for dinner.
What a day out for this holiday. The 3 dinos were really tired out. They are now in their dino wonderlands…
Holiday
Today is public holiday. D has no school and I am on an easy schedule. We’ve decided to go down town and to shop for some materials for LA’s business and also to survey some market prices for goods for the hampers and gift packs. The kids are very excited but too bad I have to write some posts because there are some high value opportunities available. Sorry guys, gotta wait for a moment. Be patient.
I expect the town to be jam packed especially around the China town and Mahkota Parade area. But, who knows…
Trolling
I trolled while driving just now. Yeah… it was dangerous, I admit that and I shouldn’t do it. But something that sparked my mind was so irresistible to stop wandering about. Actually, it was nothing. Just about Dmitry’s grown up behavior that stunted me this morning.
I kind of like his new kindergarten which is nearer to our home. The teachers there are nice and take care of the children’s safety. Like this morning, Dmitry’s teacher came to our car to receive him when we arrived in front of the kindergarten. When I picked him up just now, I saw all the kids are allowed to come out to the playground and play. The teachers were busy looking after them. When I arrived, the teacher sent Dmitry out to the car. She reaffirmed that I was Dmitry’s father before letting him out.
D told me he did not play but he sat with his friend and talked about his DVD collections. He really maked a good friend with his friend. Our boy is starting to socializing well with his new peers at the new school. He must have enjoy it very much.
Dmitry grown up
This morning when I sent Dmitry to school, I was surprised that he told me, “Dad! You let me down in front of the school, you don’t have to go down. You stay with Richie and Nicky.” I asked why. He replied, “I am grown up. I can walk in myself.”
Both R and N were tacking along. When we arrived in front of his school, he opened the door, and got off the car. His teacher came to receive him by the car and took him in. Very responsible teacher unlike D’s previous kindergarten. So, D walked in, chest up with backpack on his back, walking talk. Boy! He has grown up!
Snake!
I like snake but I never touch one before. Today, I came to a close encounter with a snake. My telephone and DSL fritz again. I could not make a call from my house telephone so I went to mom’s house to report a faulty line to Telekom. When I arrived there slightly before noon, I saw a snake sliding on the electrical cable on the wall of the neighbor’s house. I saw its tail moving and sliding into the crevice between the wall and electric cable. At first glance, the color of the snake was black. It could be the venomous cobra. I could estimate it was about 3 to 4 feet long!
Without further delay, I called the Bomba (Fire Department) to help capture the snake. I waited at the front of mom’s house to keep an eye on the snake while waiting for the Bomba to arrive. After some minutes, they came in a fire engine.
They checked the crevice but could not find any sign of a snake. I told them that I really saw its tail about 2 feet long and that could not be a lizard’s tail. One of the guy inspected further under the crevice and he saw something and confirmed a snake was hiding in the crevice. He used a thick cable to reach into the crevice and the snake fell out.
I was right! It was about 4 feet long. Black but with some green and black cross hatching. They said it was “ular daun” (literally translated leaf snake).
The photo (click for larger view) is not so clear to confirm the species of the snake. But it could be Chrysopelea ornata or Chrysopelea paradisi (paradise tree snake). This tree snake could fly and often called flying snake or flying tree snake. Watch the movies how the snake “fly” here. This is a website of Jake Socha, a hepatologist from The University of Chicago. Very interesting.
Back to the snake. We thought it was dead or passed out because it was not moving. That’s why I went closer (but not too close) to take the photo. After a while, it became lively again and moved swiftly under my car. The Bomba men were trying to surround it but it moved too quickly and finally it found an exit and disappeared into the bushes in front of mom’s house. I saw it moving swiftly into the bush and I was closest to it. I could have picked up its tail but I did not have the gut to do it. Not like my karate grand master who is so quick that he can catch an Okinawan Habu snake with his bare hand. The Okinawan Habu snake is a very venomous snake on Okinawa.
The incident also brought two schoolmates to meet again. One of the Bomba guy, asked me if I was from St David just before they left. We exchanged some information and he appeared to be Khalid from 5A2, same year as me. What a happy ending. The snake did not die, two ex-schoolmate met again. Really happy ending.
Christmas Carol
Here is the video for the Christmas Carol at doukoukai on Friday December 21, 2007. For more story, visit here.
Merry Christmas to all.
客家百家姓——贺
我找到一则有关客家贺姓的文章。我从《梅州网》转载在此分享。
一、姓氏源流
贺（Hè 賀）姓源出有二：
1、出自姜姓，为东汉汝阴令庆仪曾孙庆纯之后，避安帝父之讳由庆姓改为贺姓。据《姓纂》则记载说：“齐公族庆公之后。”又据《古今姓氏书辨证》、《姓氏考略》等所载，出自姜姓，齐桓公支庶齐庆父之后皆以庆为氏，至东汉汝阴令庆仪，其曾孙庆纯官拜侍中，为避安帝父孝德皇帝（庙号庆宗）之讳，改名贺纯，其后代相传姓贺，史称贺姓正宗，是为江苏贺姓。
2、出自他族改姓而来和小数民族中有贺姓：
➀ 据《魏书·官氏志》所载，北魏孝文帝汉化改革，将鲜卑复姓贺兰氏、贺赖氏、贺敦氏等均改单姓贺。
➁ 苗族吉学氏，汉姓为贺、杨。
➂ 土族贺尔加氏、贺尔基氏、苏贺氏等汉姓均为贺。
➃ 裕固族呼郎嘎特氏，汉姓为贺。
➄ 新疆锡伯族何叶尔氏，汉姓为贺。
➅ 辽宁沈阳锡伯族贺在尔氏，汉姓为贺。
➆ 今布依、撒拉、傈僳、满、蒙古、俄罗斯、东乡、回等民族均有贺姓。
得姓始祖：贺纯。贺姓出自姜姓，是一个出现较晚的姓氏。春秋时齐桓公有孙名公孙庆克，其子庆封（史称庆父）以父名命氏，称为庆氏。庆封在齐灵公时任大夫，在庄公时为上卿，执掌国政，后因故逃往吴国。东汉时，有后裔庆仪为汝阴令，其曾孙庆纯官拜侍中，为避汉安帝之父刘庆的名讳，将庆改为同义的贺字，庆纯改为贺纯。其后子孙以贺为姓，他们尊贺纯为贺姓的得姓始祖。
二、迁徙分布
综上所述，贺姓得姓是在今浙江绍兴一带，他从一开始起就成为当地一大望族。故族人自改姓为贺以后，就以会稽为其堂号、郡望。贺纯有孙名贺齐，为三国时吴国大将军齐之孙贺邵任中书令，邵之子贺修在西晋任太子太傅，由于仕宦周迁等原因，贺姓开始在江浙一带缓慢迁徙。会稽贺姓在汉魏六朝时期，他们与同郡的虞、魏、孔三姓并称为“会稽四姓”。魏晋南北朝时期，因北方兵连祸接，各民族不断大举南迁，使得南方的贺姓家族分布更广。出自鲜卑的贺姓，也很快繁衍壮大，后与从江南北上的贺姓不断地融合发展，逐渐在北方形成两大郡望，即河南郡、广平郡。唐朝时，贺修的十二世孙贺德仁为唐太子中书舍人，德仁的侄孙贺默为彭州（今江苏省徐州）刺史，德仁的侄曾孙贺知章任唐玄宗秘书监，可见此期世居会稽之贺姓已呈大批北上之势。宋代词人贺铸为贺知章之后，生于今河南汲县，晚年退居苏、常。唐宋之际，贺姓已分布于我国东部广大地区，其中在北方，是以今河南、河北、山西、山东、陕西分布最为集中。此期又形成山阴（隋时贺德基之族所在）、青州（宋时贺恂之族所在）、忻州（宋时易州刺史贺惟忠之族所在）、陈留（宋时右千牛卫大将军贺率景之族所在）、蔡州（宋时中散大夫贺应诚之族所在）、济南（宋时秉议郎贺适中之族所在）、齐州（宋时光禄卿贺志诚之族所在）、密州（宋时贺宽之族所在）等郡望。明初，贺姓作为洪洞大槐树迁民姓氏之一，被分迁于江苏、河南、山东、湖北、河北等地。明清以后，贺姓遍及全国各地，并有远播海外者。如今，贺姓分布甚广，尤以湖南、山西两省多此姓，两省贺姓约占全国汉族贺姓人口的百分之三十一。贺姓是当今中国姓氏排行第九十七位的大姓，人口较多，约占全国汉族人口的百分之零点一八。
三、历史名人
贺 纯：东汉时官拜侍中。原姓庆，名纯，为齐桓公支庶庆公的后代。据《姓氏考略》指出：“后汉庆纯，避安帝父孝德皇帝讳改为贺氏，望出会稽、河南。”他既然在朝为官，就不得不对皇室的名号有所避讳，而把自己原来的姓氏改掉了。这位贺纯也是当时十分有名望的人物，他博极群书，曾经屡次向朝廷奏请数十事，多被接纳，后来并做到江夏太守。为贺氏的得姓始祖。
贺 循：会稽山阴（今浙江省绍兴）人，晋代时官至光禄大夫，为支持司马睿的江南士族领袖之一。其博览群书，善写文章，为当世儒宗。
贺 铸：卫州共城（今河南省汲县）人，北宋著名诗人、词人，号庆湖遗老。其词善于锤炼字句，因《青玉案》中有：“一川烟草，满城风絮，梅子黄时雨”之句，人称贺梅子。有词集《东山词》、诗集《庆湖遗老集》传世。
贺 岳：海盐（今属浙江省）人，明代著名医学家，有《明医会要》、《医经大旨》、《药性准绳》等传世。
贺 懋：清代临清人（今属山东省），官至贵州道监察御史，宽舒公明，清慎仁爱，民称为“贺青天”。
贺 昌：山西省离石人，中共早期重要领导人之一，曾参加“八·一”南昌起义，后任中央苏区红军总政治部副主任。1935年在江西会昌牺牲，卒年29岁。
贺 龙：湖南省桑植人，中国无产阶级革命家、军事家、中国人民解放军的创始人之一，十大元帅之一，为中华人民共和国的建立立下了不朽的功勋，文革中惨遭非人待遇，于1969年被迫害致死。
贺狄干：北魏时鲜卑人，魏道武帝将领，因功赐爵襄武侯，通《论语》、《尚书》诸经，有儒者风度。
贺若弼：字辅伯，洛阳（今属河南省）人，隋朝大将。博涉书史、善骑射，因会文精武，得北周齐王宇文宪器重，用为记室。随上柱国大将军韦孝宽攻陈，屡献计谋，克数十城，遂任寿州刺史。因战功卓著而被封为宋国公，官至右武侯大将军。炀帝时因议论朝政得失，被加以诽谤朝政的罪名杀害（与下同姓同名者有别）。
贺若弼：隋代民间琴师，对于他的演奏艺术，苏轼曾有诗云：“琴里若能知贺若，诗中定会爱陶潜。”说明他演奏的乐曲意境与陶潜的诗境类似。贺若弼创作了宫声十小调：《石博金》、《不换玉》、《汪峡吟》、《楚溪吟》、《越江吟》、《孤愤吟》、《清夜吟》、《叶下闻蝉》、《三清》，还有一首佚失传，其中《清夜吟》见于明代的《西麓堂琴统》。宋太宗喜爱古琴，也爱附弄风雅，据《续湘山野录》所载：宋太宗嫌这些小调的名称不够“雅”，就把《古博金》改名为《楚泽涵秋》，把《不换玉》改名为《塞门积雪》。
贺知章：越州永兴（今浙江省萧山）人，唐代著名诗人，官至秘书监。后还乡为道士，号四明狂客，擅长草隶书，好饮酒，与李白友善，为“吴中四士”一，其诗仅存二十首。
贺逢圣：江夏（今湖北省云梦）人，明代大臣、学者。因学问渊博，才华过人，官至礼部尚书，兼文渊阁大学士。
贺隆锡：曲沃（今属山西省）人，清代著名画家。侨居江宁，善画山水、人物、兰竹、兼工诗词小楷。
贺长龄：湖南省善化（今长沙市）人，清代大臣，道光时历任贵州巡抚、云南总督等职，主张查禁私种罂粟和吸食鸦片，惠政颇多。著有《耐庵诗文集》。
贺炳炎：湖北松滋人，1955年被中央军委授予上将军衔，解放后，历任四川省军区司令员、成都军区司令员等职。
贺敬之：山东峄县（今枣庄市）人，当代著名诗人，其诗善于及时捕捉和表现现实生活中的重大政治命题，有强烈的政治化倾向。主要作品有《放歌集》、《放声歌唱》、《雷锋之歌》、《贺敬之诗选》等。
贺锡德：音乐编辑家。湖北省武汉市人。1945年即创建汉口上智中学军乐队，任队长，师从著名管乐家马艺汀（马谦受）学吹小号及乐队配器。1948年春，先后就读于南京金陵大学先修班及北平辅仁大学经济系，参加辅仁大学轻音乐队，清华大学军乐队及管弦乐队，曾随队参加“欢迎解放军入城式”及“中华人民共和国‘开国大典’”等多项重大活动。1950年12月，响应政府“抗美援朝”号召，参加军政干校曾任华北空军政治文化部干事，后调华北空政文工团。向罗忠镕学习和声，并自学音乐理论，配器法及对位法。1952年，随着朝鲜战争深入，该团部分人员编为中国人民志愿军九七部文工团入朝，在前沿阵地上为中朝部队进行慰问演出，直到1953年朝鲜停战后回国。1995年调军委空政文工团任乐队队员。1958年转业到中央人民广播电台，先后任外国音乐编辑、中国音乐编辑、音响导演、外国音乐组组长等职。1981年参加中国音乐家协会，并任美国音乐研究会会员。
贺亦然：生于1917年，毕业于延安抗日军政大学，1932年加入中国共产党，1940年任军分区副政委，1943年任地委副书记，1947年任二野十纵三十旅副政委、政委，1948年任174师政委，1950年来广西剿匪兼任宜山地委第一书记，1950年任玉林地委第一书记、容县地委书记。历任广西省委常委、宣传部长、文教委员会主任、广西区党委常委、人民政府副主席。1985年离休。
四、郡望堂号
1、郡望
据《姓氏考略》载：“后汉庆纯，避安帝父孝德皇帝讳改为贺氏，望出会稽、河南。”
会稽郡：秦始皇二十五年（公元前222年）于原吴、越地置郡，治所在吴县（今江苏省苏州市）。顺帝时置山阴。此之贺氏，其开基始祖为汉庆纯。
河南郡：汉高帝二年（公元前205年）改秦三川郡置郡，治所在雒阳（今河南省洛阳市东北）。此之贺氏，其开基始祖为后魏贺兰氏、贺赖氏改为贺氏之后裔。
广平郡：汉景帝中元六年（公元前149年）分邯郸郡置郡，治所在广平（今河北省鸡泽东南）。此之贺氏，其开基始祖有二说：其一，为汉庆纯之后；其二，为后魏贺兰氏、贺赖氏改为贺氏之后裔。
青 州：汉武帝置十三刺史部之一。辖今山东省东北部、河北一小部，治所在今山东省益都。东汉治临萏。东晋以后治今益都辖境缩小。隋唐为青州北海郡。宋青州。元为益都路。明改青州府。民国废府。
忻 州：隋以秀容（今山西省忻县）置忻州，治所在今山西省忻州市。民国废。
陈留郡：秦代置郡，在今河南省开封东南陈留城。历代均置。1957年并入开封县。又西汉陈留郡，治陈留县。北魏时治浚仪，隋唐为汴州陈留郡。
蔡 州：隋改溱州置，治所隋名上蔡，唐名汝阴，即今河南省汝南。北朝也曾置蔡州，治蔡阳，在今湖北枣阳西南。
密 州：隋改胶州为密州，治所在今山东省诸城。明废。
济南郡：汉有济南国。楚七国乱后为郡，治东平陵（今山东省章丘西）。晋移治历城（今山东省济南）。北魏为齐州。宋政和中升济南府。元为路。明清为府。民国废府。
2、堂号
四明堂：唐朝时光禄大夫贺知章，诗作得最好，书法也漂亮。醉后作诗填词写字，毫不费力就成了卷轴。他自号“四明狂客”。
此外，贺姓的主要堂号还有：“会稽堂”、“广平堂”、“百岁堂”、“赐曲堂”、“诗文堂”等。
五、宗族特征
1、贺姓是一个比较年轻的姓氏，他们得姓于东汉的安帝年间，只有一千八百余年的历史。
2、字行辈份排列有序。如浙江嘉兴贺姓一支字行为：“启泰铉愚王召晟尚，开庆锡宸玉绍德。”
A Joyful Night
Last night, after giving the grading test to three students at the doukoukai, a group (20+) from Bukit Beruang Methodist Church came to carol at the doukoukai. All, including my kids were having fun. For the first time, my kids saw a large group singing Christmas carols. Dominik, especially, was in “shocked” seeing so many strangers with Santa’s hat!
More pictures and story here.
We wish all our friends and family a Merry Christmas, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy New Year and best of health.
Ganbatte kudasai!
贺姓是个年轻姓氏?
《贺》姓在马来西亚华人当中算是少数姓氏。据我所知《贺》姓户在马六甲更是廖若晨星。在搜集了一些网上和书籍里的资料，才发现原来《贺》姓是那么的古老和大有来头。
在具有5000年悠久历史的中华民族当中，贺是一个比较年轻的姓氏。他们得姓于东汉的安帝年间，算起来虽然只有1800多年的历史，自然也不会跟我国那些古老的姓氏一样，是“以国为氏”或“因地命姓”。那么他们的姓氏又是从何而来的呢？关于这个问题，《通志氏族略》上提供了十分详尽的答案说：“贺氏，即庆氏也，姜姓，齐恒公之支庶也；汉时避安帝父讳改为贺氏。”另外，《姓氏考略》也指出：“后汉庆纯，避安帝父孝德皇帝讳改为贺氏，望出会稽、河南”；《姓纂》则记载说：“齐公族庆公之后。”
从以上这些考据资料，对于贺氏的来龙去脉，就一目了然了——贺姓是从庆氏改过来的，改姓的缘故，是为了避帝王的名讳。而庆氏，原来是周朝齐国的公族，是曾经称霸春秋的齐桓公的后代，而齐国的始祖又是那位辅佐文王定天下有大功的姜子牙，则后世的贺姓人士，自然也是姜太公的后裔了。
实际上，贺姓的渊源，尚不仅止于姜太公，还可以进一步追溯到比黄帝更早的神农氏，因为姜太公是神农氏的后代，神农氏居于姜水，他的后裔就以姜为姓，而《左传》上也说：“炎帝神农氏，姜姓之祖。”象这样一步步地推溯上去，则贺氏的历史怎会年轻？他们不但不年轻，而且悠久古老得很呢！
贺氏是东汉时从庆氏改过来的，是齐桓公支庶庆公的后代，那么，这位贺氏的始祖庆公，又是怎样的一个人呢？关于庆公这个人，相信只要是读过《史记》的人士，必然都知道指的是春秋时代的大夫庆封，因为在当时的齐国，庆封曾经是一位翻云覆雨的重要人物。
至于那位头一个把自己的姓氏改为“贺”的庆纯，根据史载，是东汉安帝时的侍中，他既然在朝为官，就不得不对皇室的名号有所避讳，而把自己原来的姓氏改掉了。这位贺纯也是当时十分有名望的人物，他博极群书，曾经屡次向朝廷奏请数十事，多被接纳，后来并做到江夏太守。
- 姓氏来源
- 出自姜姓，是为避帝王名讳所改的姓氏。春秋时，齐桓公（姜姓）有个孙子叫公孙庆克，他的儿子庆封以父名命氏，称为庆氏。庆封在齐灵公时任大夫，在庄公时与崔杼曾为上卿，执掌国政。后两人再升为左右相国。因崔杼家内发生内乱，庆封以弑君罪灭掉崔氏，独霸朝政。于是庆封把政事交给儿子庆舍处理，自己只管吃喝玩乐，引起了朝上朝下对庆氏的不满，后庆封的亲信卢蒲癸和王何，趁庆封外出之机，杀死了庆舍，庆封见势不妙，便逃到了吴国。吴王噶朱方封给庆封，庆氏宗族闻讯赶来相聚，从此，庆氏比在齐国时还要富裕。至西汉末，子孙徙会稽山阴，东汉时传至庆仪为汝阴令，其曾孙庆纯官拜侍中，为避汉安帝的父亲刘庆的名讳，”庆”字改为同义的”贺”字。庆纯改为贺纯。史称贺姓正宗，是为江苏贺氏。
- 出自少数民族改姓。据《魏书.官氏志》等所载，南北朝时后魏孝文帝迁都洛阳后，实行汉化，将鲜卑族复姓贺兰氏、贺拔氏、贺狄氏、贺赖氏、贺敦氏皆改为汉姓贺氏。是为河南贺氏。
- 迁徙分布 中国贺氏播迁各地，主要是在汉代之后，分布地区广泛，郡族门望较多。 据《元和姓篡》记载，庆质的孙子叫贺齐，为三国时吴国大将军，齐的孙子贺邵任中书令，邵的儿子贺修在西晋任太子太傅，修的12世孙贺德仁为唐太子中书舍人，德仁的侄孙贺默为彭州刺史，德仁的侄曾孙就是唐玄宗时秘书监贺知章。又据《古今姓氏书辩证》记载，南北朝时，后燕有清河太守贺耕，南凉都乐都(今属青海）有将军贺连，宋朝时有忻州定襄（今属山西）贺氏、易州（今属河北）贺氏、开封陈留（今属河南）贺氏、蔡州（今河南汝南）贺氏、洛州（今河南洛阳）贺氏、济南（今属山东）贺氏、会稽（今浙江绍兴）贺氏、齐州临邑（今属山东）贺氏，密州（今山东诸城）贺氏等。其中，会稽贺氏和河南（今洛阳市）贺氏族大人众，所以贺氏以会稽、河南为郡号。洛阳的贺氏以鲜卑族居多。 除了上述贺氏之外，宋代以后各朝代贺姓人散居各地者仍多，不胜枚举。清代江西贺氏，因躲避官事，千里迁徙至陕西榆林府，今天已经是名门望族。
- 郡望堂号 【堂号】 “四明堂”：唐朝时光禄大夫贺知章，诗作得最好，书法也漂亮。醉后作诗填词写字，毫不费力就成了卷轴。他自号”四明狂客”。 【郡望】 会稽郡：秦始皇二十五年（公元前222年）于原吴、越地置郡，治所在吴县（今江苏苏州市）。顺帝时置山阴。此之贺氏，其开基始祖为汉庆纯。 河南郡：汉高帝二年（公元前205年）改秦三川郡置郡，治所在雒阳（今河南洛阳市东北）。此之贺氏，其开基始祖为后魏贺兰氏、贺赖氏改为贺氏之后裔。 广平郡：汉景帝中元六年（公元前149年）分邯郸郡置郡，治所在广平（今河北鸡泽东南）。此之贺氏，其开基始祖有二说：其一，为汉庆纯之后；其二，为后魏贺兰氏、贺赖氏改为贺氏之后裔。
- 历史名人 贺 循：会稽山阴人（今浙江绍兴）。晋代时官至光禄大夫，他与顾荣同为支持司马睿得江南士族领袖。善属文，博览群籍，尤精《礼》传。朝廷疑滞皆咨之，辄依经礼而对，为当世儒宗。 贺知章：字季真（659─744），越州永兴人（今浙江萧山县），唐代著名诗人。证圣元年进士，历任国子四门博士、太常博士、礼部侍郎、加集贤院学士、太子宾客兼秘书监。天宝三年因不满奸相李林甫专权而返乡为道士，隐居镜湖。一生风流倜傥，豪放不羁，好饮酒，与李白、张旭等关系密切，时称”醉中八仙”。能诗，又工书法，尤善草隶，其诗今存20首，其《回乡偶书》传诵颇广。他高寿85岁，为贺氏名人中得寿星者。 贺狄干：代人（今河北北郭一带），鲜卑族，魏道武帝将领，因功赐爵襄武侯。他曾在长安习读史书，通《论语》、《尚书》诸经，尤儒将风度。 贺 岳：海盐人（今属浙江），明代著名医学家，著有《明医会要》、《医经大旨》、《药性准绳》等。贺自镜：河南南召人，明万历进士，历任参议、按察副使、右参政，五省监军、七省经略使，封天官。贺康年：河南南召人，自镜公长子也，明崇祯年间湖广道台，骏马。贺 懋：临清人（今属山东），大清贵州道监察御史，宽舒公明，清慎仁爱，民称为”贺青天”。 贺长龄：湖南善化人（今长沙），道光时历任江苏、福建、直隶等省布政使、贵州巡抚、云贵总督等职，主张查禁私种罂粟和吸食鸦片，重视经世致用之学，惠政颇多。 贺 龙：红军创始人之一。
Shocked!
We went to Pak Putra for dinner last night. It was dinner time and there were too many people at the restaurant. The restaurant was very busy and in a chaos. We waited for some time for our drinks to arrive. Then another some time for our foods to arrive. The kids were getting a little inpatient. Finally, we got all the foods to fill our empty stomachs. Our foods came, some were not exactly the same as what we ordered. Our Tandoori chicken was not baked thoroughly and etc…
We are regular customer there. The boss, his wife, his brothers and some of their old staff know us and we are very much like friends. After the food, when I settled the bill, I made a feedback to one of the boss’ brother about the service. He assured me and told me to make our orders through him next time we come.
About leaving, another brother of the boss approached us and apologized for the chaos and the service. We gladly accepted his apology and that’s what I call “Service”! We had a short chat and LA asked about the lady, his sister-in-law. We used to see her sitting at the counter. We have not been seeing her since this January/February. So, out of curiosity, LA asked him.
He told us that she has lung cancer! What a shock we had. She was so healthy and a non-smoker. He told us her condition is getting better but needs a lot of rest. We wish her best of health and a speedy recovery.
We encountered many people, friends, relatives and acquaintance who suddenly have been diagnosed of cancer or suddenly died of cancer. My sister, Angie, died of cancer 2 years ago.
That’s life. What can we do?
LA and I decided to donate RM1 to Hospice for every bouquet sold. This is the least we can do to spread our love to those unfortunate but brave cancer victors to fight the horrible cancer. So, let’s reach out this Christmas and share your love.
A great news and a great start
What a great news LA brings home. She makes her first sales to two neighbors. Good saleswoman she is! I am really happy for her to have a great start today.
Today is a happy day for me. She got a great start and I received a great lesson from Gandalf.
Thanks, Gandalf!
New Coffee Bean Membership Card
LA, Rich, Nik and I went to Jusco to shop for some products and we went to Coffee Bean for a cuppa and to buy D some surprise. At the Coffee Bean, I saw the new membership card with Christmas theme. It was very nice and I asked my friend Umi who worked there if I could change my card. Unfortunately no, she said. I still had to pay RM25 for the card! I decided not to.
After our drink, we went up to Jusco to see some electrical appliances. Umi called and told me to come to Coffee Bean and she had something for us. When I went there, she presented the card to me as a gift. Thanks Umi! It is a nice Christmas gift.
