If you believe in what you wish for

But wishing does not make things turn into reality la...
~

Putting the best foot forward

After a month or two, of favouring my right knee whenever I navigate stairs, I could walk properly most of the time now.
The trick is, to walk "normally".

When I favour one side, I take to take a slow excruciating step with my left foot, then land heavily on right foot.  Pain will strike at random, despite the care I took.
Now, with some recovery and knowing the limits between acceptable discomfort and actual pain, I could try to walk without favouring one side.  By doing so, each step is kept quick and light.
So haste trumps caution, some of the time.

Blog Maintenance - FY10

+seen
+read
-commentary

JW: all my post are my comments, so why do I need a tag for commentary?
~

A mini food run

ST caught some video segments on razor, introducing food around Jalan Besar; so I proposed having it for tea-dinner.
link: http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/lifestyle/46714.html

1st stop - Vinegar Pork Knuckles
Street: Beatty Lane, or 24 Foch Road
Coffeeshop: ??
Stall: Cheng Mun Chee Kee Pig Organ Soup

JW: Vinegar was fragrant, meat was soft.  However, the taste didn't quite soak through yet.  Still, one of the better Vinegar Pork Knuckles commercially available (home-cooked is still the best).

2nd stop - Hakka Beef Ball Bee Hoon
Street: 45-48, Syed Alwi Road
Coffeeshop: San Lee Eating House
Stall: The Beef House

JW: Soup was surprising light and fragrant.  Much as I hate parsley, I had to admit that it contributed to much of the fragrance.  The other flavours in the soup seemed to be beef and salt.  The bee hoon soaked up the soup well.  However, the beef balls are tougher than the usual deal.  On closer examination, they taste more beefy than the rest, so it might be an acquired taste?
~

Binge Drinking

Kinda dumb..
~

Micro sleep

I was holding a bowl of soup in my hands and...
Time to go to sleep!

Non-Newtonian fluid

Maybe I'm stubborn, but perhaps if you just ask, or maybe just grumble, I would have have done it for you. Since you chose to do it the Singaporean way, then meet corn starch.

Tu na

ST brought me to a Chinese physician yesterday. My knee had pains after a gym injury a few months back, so she was a bit insistent on it. His skills were fine, but he could improve on his compassion for pain.
Eg:
"This leg where got painful? The right leg should hurt more"
Massages right leg, while someone howled in pain.
"Correct, right? That's cause the right leg had to take over the weight bearing. So it hurts more even though it's not the injured leg..."
~

The Pacific - Episode 3: Leckie-Stella romance

Sheesh, it isn't real...

In real life, Leckie never had a great romance with a Greek-Australian girl and her family (he mostly spent his time Down Under having affairs with a variety of women), and you can kind of tell. (I suspected it was fictionalized even before I started reading up on Leckie.) There's a difference between compressing events (or assigning moments one character had in real life to another character in the film) and inventing things out of whole cloth, and it sticks out in the middle of a production that's largely so committed to fidelity. 

source: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/03/the_pacific_part_three_medals.html
~

The best laid plans..

..were dashed by a late call last evening.  It was a bug report and I spent the next 2.5 hours dealing with.  It looks set to upset my plans on Monday as well.
I have been hitting my targets for this week till this happened.  So... more buffer zones, doing "nothing" ?
~

(2007) Girl who blogged about fatigue and breathlessness, died 3 days later

This happened in 2007.  Kinda sad.  Then there are those people who think we can simply walk away from our worklist.  He rightly deserved to be flamed.
http://pinkmayflower.multiply.com/journal
~

Protest vote

The argument is sound, in fact.
"Let one MP fall, so that the ruling party shall know fear".

Most people who read the "alternative news" would probably agree with this.
Problem is, do you want *your* district to bite the bullet?  To vote in the jokers they call the opposition?
~

Anti-Social behaviour Part 1: Damaging books

Was sitting in Starbucks today with ST and I was reading Discovery Channel magazines.  I was interested in one of the feature articles and jumped directly to it. 

"Hmm.. it's at page 71".
Flip, Flip.
"Page 60.  A pinch of pages shall do it."
Pinch.
"Page 80?  Ok, I'll go back."
Pinch.
"Page 60?  What the?..."

On examination, I found out someone tore out pages 70-79.  Okay, so you like the article, but the magazine isn't yours!  Ownership issues aside, I wouldn't destroy a publication like that.

Over the years, I noted that browsers in bookstops tend to take very little care of books.  They flip the pages without care; they load another heavy book on top of the one they had just opened up to read.  Are these book lovers?

In libraries, books suffer from being deliberately dog-eared, highlighted, noted on, cut out, torn out.  It puzzles me; it upsets me.  Lack of morals?  Or a lack of appreciation of books?
~


What knowledge and skills are worthwhile learning? What are the goals of education? - An old teaching.
~

Genuises

The minds of past genuises, like Maxwell and Pascal, are astonishing.
~

Fun with figures

How things can look rosier or gloomier with the manipulation of scales.
Pictures are stolen from.. elsewhere.

Govt figures:

1999 - things look good

2000 - still ok..

2001 - not so rosy

2006 - things are turning for the worse

 

July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike

On 12 July 2007,  2 US Apaches fired on a group that they claimed were insurgents, killing 2 Reuters reporters.  Later, Wikileaks posted a video online and caused international interests.

From the video, it looked that the US Army had mis-identified the cameras as weapons and opened fire.  The footage contains people being killed by the M230 Chain Gun.  If this discomforts you, please do not watch the video.

Site hosting the video: http://www.collateralmurder.org/
Wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_12,_2007_Baghdad_airstrike
What is Wikileaks?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikileaks
What is a M230 Chain Gun?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M230_Chain_Gun

Doubts about the video: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/07/military-raises-questions-credibility-leaked-iraq-shooting-video/


~

Soldier Story US Army FCS ACU Version Preview

Soldier Story 1/6 scale 12-inch US Army Future Combat Systems soldier.
http://toyhaven.blogspot.com/2009/09/soldier-story-us-army-fcs-acu-version.html

~

Unit testing

I lost it a little by sending a terse email to the vendors today.  Reason being they perform little or no zero unit testing.  Crap.

Another hit and run doctor..

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_506151.html

[excerpt]
ONE of two cyclists knocked down in Clementi on Sunday night by a suspected drink-driver died in hospital on Wednesday from head injuries.
Freelance writer Benjamin Mok Chee Kong, 35, never regained consciousness after the accident.
The 62-year-old suspect, a general practitioner, could be facing more trouble as he is under investigation for a hit-and-run offence.
[/excerpt]

Emo. Targets slipped.

Why do I fail my deadlines?
I don't know. I just feel I have endless things to do.

Three kinds of lies

Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review

source: http://www.twainquotes.com/Statistics.html

Replacement of camera

Time to replace my fujifilm f60fd.  (see old blog post)

I've more or less settled on Canon S90, based on this review - http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s90.htm

While the review was glowing, when compared to my f60fd, it doesn't seem that impressive.
Canon S90 spec
Fujifilm f60fd spec

It has a lower megapixel count (10 compared to 12) and a lower shutter speed (1/1600 compared to 1/2000).  It has a pop-up flash which I dislike.

However, I'm most likely to give it a try, on the merits of its control rings and a higher optical zoom.

Updates coming soon.






pictures from: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0908/09081906canons90handson.asp

Got a wrong number...

12:46am

[rings]
JW: "Hello"
Rude: "blah blah blah"
JW: "Hello?"
[pause]
[disconnect]
JW: (sms) "No manners to say sorry?"
JW: (sms) "Still no reply.. Guess you have no upbringing after all. Night.."

---

I'll probably get a lot of nuisance calls over the next few nights, but hitting back at these people is worth it

---

Usual blues

Feel unappreciated. haiz.

Summer Wars

JW: The colours were clean.  The scenes were detailed. The background was beautifully painted with pastel colours.  The fluid animation of the characters gave rise to realistic motion and a chatty body language.
Good use of story telling techniques with a good contrast, trying to tell 3 stories concurrently.  I felt that this was too ambitious; somehow, it managed to stay afloat.
Recommended.

Alternative news

I know that the mainstream papers are at best - too timid to write negative about the government; at worst, government bootlickers.  Still, I generally accept whatever statistics they throw out.
Till some logical fallacies challenged my faith in the accuracy of official propaganda.
1: HDB flats are affordable
2. Foreigners are not the cause of rising COV prices.

It appears that HDB reviewed the median salary range of applicants and found that the prices were affordable.  The fallacy is that those who apply, are the very people who can afford them.
HDB then threw out statistics to show that PRs pay the same COV as residents; so they were not to be blamed.  However, doesn't their participation increase demand?  Wouldn't citizens have to match the amount offered by PRs?

What kind of crap analysts do we have on the government payroll?  With that, I'm finally swayed to seek alternative news sources.  Take these with a huge pinch of salt though.  As a friend pointed out, these are non professionals, so their writings are far from desirable.

Stargate Studios' Virtual Backlot Reel 2009. Music: "Lion Heart" by Emancipator

The amount of green/blue screen usage.  Madness! O_o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clnozSXyF4k

Love; Friendship.

Love is an emotion; it makes you say, "I'll love you forever".
Friendship is an attraction; it makes you say, "I'll be your friend forever".

Love is a pact; you expect that the other will love only you in return.
Friendship is an understanding, you expect the other will never betray you.

Love is a companionship; you say, "Let's go for a walk", and be happy at that.
Friendship is a companionship; you say, "Let's go for a beer", and be happy at that.

Opposition grows to gay sex ruling

Excerpt:

NEW DELHI - A LANDMARK court ruling that decriminalised gay sex between consenting adults in the Indian capital Delhi is facing fresh opposition with new groups joining religious leaders, a lawyer said on Sunday.
.
.
.
The July verdict led to a volley of protests from Hindu, Muslim and Christian religious leaders who jointly denounced gay and lesbian sex as 'against God and creation.

read more: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_493097.html

JW: I guess some age old taboos are more unifying than world peace...

Toxocariasis

What can crawl on your eyes n brains..
http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Toxocariasis.htm

The wedding litany

1900: Cocktail party
1930: Guests invited to sit
2000: JW fumed at the lateness of the other guests
2015: Photos of the couple were shown
2025: Couple march in
2030: Food paraded in

First comes the cold dish.
Next comes shark fins' soup.
Third comes the fish.
Fourth the poultry.
Fifth comes the veg.
Next comes the prawns.
Seventh is the mee.
Last is the yam.

By the second dish, the couple disappears.
By the third dish, they reappear and the toasting ceremony begins.
By the fifth dish, they start photo taking.
By the seventh dish, guests start disappearing.

How dreary.

Winter Wonderfest 2010: Limited edition Macross and Mospeada items

http://www.collectiondx.com/news_item/02082010/winter_wonderfest_2010_t_rex

It's time to say goodbye, after 13 long years.

It's time to say goodbye, after 13 long years, as all things must come to an end. Goodbye, my lecture notes. Goodbye, my textbooks. T_T

Running debate: Bare or in shoes?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Study: Runners with shoes experience collision two to three times their body weight
• The study has sparked buzz amongst runners -- both praise and skepticism
• Podiatrist and scientist: Ease into barefoot running or risk injury
• Another study suggest walking heel-to-toe is most efficient

read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/12/barefoot.running/index.html?hpt=C2

Pinhole glasses

Sold in Guardian - Singapore, these glasses claim to improve vision over time, citing the application of Bates method.








JW: The Bates method has little scientific proof of its successes and some principles are perhaps harmful, IMO.
The Pinhole glasses works one of the two principles, depending on who you believe:
1. by reducing the light, forcing you to squint your eyes, thereby improving the image.  The belief is that long time usage will strengthen the ciliary muscles which will improve vision in the long term.
source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-truth-about-pinhole-glasses-1253113.html
2. the beams of lights reduces the circles of confusions and improve the depth of field.  This is optical principle.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinhole_glasses

The molest video

I finally watched it.

The girl in the video was trying to get away.  So much for her enjoying it, huh?
And why are all the pple standing around, video-taping the incident with glee?  Too afraid to act, huh?

link: http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/41872.html

Spineless coward

I understand we might never be able to punish the lying, irresponsible driver overseas but I want an admission of guilt at least.  Spineless coward.

Workaholic JW

Why do people think that people who OT have a choice? Do they think we enjoy hitting 60 hrs work-weeks?

Have some trust, please

Without trust, who can you bond with?

“Ahpunehneh” is not a proper word

A frustrated SG Indian rant about the attitudes of locals.
http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?t=17396

Yummy saturday

23 Jan 2010, Saturday.

[Lunch]
Just had lunch at Suju Japanese Restaurnt @ Mandarin Gallery. They were having a soft lunch so the options were limited to 2 sets, 2 bentos and 2 desserts. I ordered the most expensive item - a premium set $68. It consisted of 4 appetisers, a sashimi set, a teriyaki sauce grilled black cod, rice, miso soup and a dessert.
I liked one of the appetisers - medium rare beef with mashed potato, served cold. The sashimi had pretty good tasting tuna. The scallop had a soft texture but was too tasted too "fishy" for me. The cod fish and rice were decently good and enjoyable. The dessert was a tiny slice of ice cream cake coated with toasted caramel on top, accompanied with strawberry, mango and pineapple.
Overall a nice surprise though I wondered if I'll get the same quality if I ordered a "normal set". As other netizens pointed out, the current standards can largely be due to the Japanese chefs they currently have on board. I hope they can retain it in time to come.

[Dinner]
Dinner was at T.G.I.Friday @ Heren. I ordered a black-Angus New York Strip at $39.90 while ST ordered a Chicken Fajitas. Food was pretty slow in arriving, about 30 minutes or so. Upon arrival, the staff asked me to cut my steak into half; I verified that the done-ness was on the mark. The wild mushroom sauce, combined with the fats from the steak made a good sinful combination. The meat was soft was tasty and I made a note to ask for medium-rare in future.
ST's chicken was tastefully grilled. However, the wraps provided tasted like over-thick cooked flour. That's as unflattering as I could go as they certainly killed any enjoyment by sticking to the roof of my mouth. If you're eating Fajitas, please go for Cafe Iguana.
I lost the toss to ST, so she paid for dinner. Thanks dear. =)

Congratulations to Yuna

Congratulations on your safe delivery =]

Getting a bf/gf

Thought I should save this down since I spent 20 minutes composing my answer.

Facebook status.
Eula asks... which would u choose, a life with gf/bf, and not get to do all the things u want to do or buy, or no gf/bf, and be able to do or buy almost everything u want?

Comments.
Raca depends on individual's needs & wants in life.

for me, i'll choose a life with bf yet cant do everything i want. (of coz mostly are those things one SHOULDN'T do when he/she is taken).
having to meet the love of my life and having my own family is one of those dreams that will complete my life.
so i definitely wont choose to have no bf and do everything i want. kinda meaningless in life, in a way.

JW a gf shouldn't be seen as a shackle to your freedom and a drain on your finances. you should be together with one, because of the way she makes you feel.

for every door that was close; another one opens. some things you do alone. some things you do together with friends. some things can only be done as a couple.

if you feel that the benefits are not worth the sacrifices, then don't get attached. There's no right or wrong here. people can be happy, as long they have their loved ones with them. be it a guy, a girl, family, a pet, faith, or perhaps money.... See More

If you do find someone, simply ask yourself, "Is she more important than anything else?" If you answer yes, then we'll give u a virtual beer here on facebook, a pat on the back and a knowing smirk on our faces.

Congratulations to Gnel

Congrats.  Finally =)
It was also good to finally meet some ex colleagues too.

After the wedding, we had to run off.  More on that later.

Thick headed

There are some people who refused to believe that climate warming is a fact.

There are some people who refused to believe that itis a problem to get a flat in this country.

Dream on 10 Jan 2009

Had a series of unrelated dreams in the morning of 10 Jan 2009. One particular one was memorable because it woke me up at 7am.

[dream]
My maternal grandmother was alive and my dream self did not know she had passed away. She gave me a kiss. Then something happened and she had difficulty breathing and the extended family was gathered away her and giving her a kiss. I took my turn.

The crowd disappeared and I was alone with her. Told her I was going to marry ST. She in her kid like moment, gave me a kiss.

Scene suddenly switched and I was in some video game competition with 2 other teammates. A nagging thought was that I should return quickly.

Went back and I found.. -[scene deleted for private reasons]-. Mother walked in and casually told me she's dead. She also said the body doesn't matter anymore. Dream self gave a horrible wail.
[/dream]

Woke. Did my parents hear me? They were already up and awake in the kitchen. My face was dry.

This was a dream most grounded in reality and therefore saddening. 13 months. I guess late is better than never.

Intolerance

Recently, some alleged molestation sparked off little wars in blogs and forums.  Most called for banning for a certain ethnic group from future public events.  Few pointed fingers at those who took delight in video-taping the incident.
Not far away, a court of law decreed that one of the names of God could be used by other faiths. The next day, there were attacks on places of worships of these other faiths.
These events showed how scary such bigotry can be.  Scary because someone who is polite, gentle and mild-tempered could be one.  They frighten us with their intolerance.  To oppose them is to show intolerance.  Such events are hugely divisive.
Yet how can we stop them?  By nipping them in the bud, they'll only fester in the hatred.  We had 40 years of nation building and what we had to show will be classic lines like this. (taken from Gaga's blog)

Status update:
[Dneirf]
can’t believe his luck is so down that he had to be stuck in a transit flight chock full of blackie peasants, wailing black babies and an incredibly fat black guy who kept eating on one side and another grumpy gramps sitting on the other! NO MORE COLOMBO FLIGHTS FOR ME EVER AGAIN! :(

Comment:
[tano]
I can fully understand yr plight! It’s like putting u in e same train cabin packed wif no one else but all e stinky banglas! Hopefully u’ll nv experience it ever again! Cheer up!

[agag]
omigod … cannot be so racist la! how come all my friends becoming so intolerant.

[agag]
btw tano.., those ’stinky banglas’ probably sweated so much building the house you are living in or laying that cable so you can surf your FB. have some gratitude.

[tano]
I guess some ppl just can’t seemed to relate to e analogy I’m creating! Being tolerant is one thing, putting urself in an uncomfortable situation is another! I guess I’m tolerant, otherwise I’ll be kicking their ass whenever I see one! Unless some people enjoy being in e comfort of being uncomfortable, then all e best! And I wouldn’t mind admitting being racist against them for all e good reasons n bad influence they have brought along to Singapore when ur so call their contribution to our society! I would rather they keep those values to themselves n not start polluting my area either with physical rubbish or mental torture!


-(taken from Gaga's blog)

Crows...

are visible along Geylang again.

Top Ten Astronomy Pictures of 2009

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/12/15/top-ten-astronomy-pictures-of-2009/2/

Adjusting; Stress management

Got over the emo period but the workload is still as heavy.  Stress management talks?  Bah!  They advocate prioritisation, which is just a nicer way of saying do-the-most-important-stuffs-first.  The doesn't mean the less important stuffs don't need doing.  All tasks grow in importance.  They'll explode in your face when you least expect them.
Ops and CRs take out 70% of my time during daylight hours.  TL expects me to spend 70% of my time on CRs only.  MGR expects me to spend 70% of my time on my project.  What can a poor IT Worker do?   Put on blinders and charge ahead!  :p

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
  Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
  Rode the six hundred.

-the charge of the light brigade

Night Cycling #2

Had an enjoyable night cycling trip on 2 Jan. The event was organised by Ian, one of ST's "gang".
We started from Tampinese, through the park connecters, along Chagni Airport, back via ECP-Macdonalds, Bedok and back to Tampinese.
Thanks for the experience, everyone.

Lame bombings

It seems that there's a bombing every other day and someone gets killed.  The favourite toy of those who see themselves as underdogs.  Since ancient times, men had learnt the concept of Total War.  Yet when used on bystanders of other countries, sometimes on humanitarian missions, what grounds do you have?

New Year's countdown

Why does an event need to be in the crowd?
What matters is who is there with you.

Back from a short trip

Penang--KL trip
18 Dec 2009 to 21 Dec 2009.

I don't know what's a trip without misadventures.

We weren't given transfer tickets by the Singapore branch.  We won't have a bus fetching us the next day.  The hotel gave our rooms away and it was fully booked.  Shops closed before 6pm in Penang and we missed out the chance to try a local restaurant.  The driver was no where in sight after 15 minutes and we had to resort to getting a taxi at a cut-throat rate of RM$35 for a 5 minutes drive.
In KL, the traffic was horrible, rendering the exorbitant taxis useless.  I encountered a pickpocket who opened my sling bag without my knowledge.  KLCC viewing was closed on Mondays.  The hotel de-activated our pass card despite having requested for a late check-out.

Fortunately, most of the things were simply hiccups.  The hotel somehow coughed up a room in 30 minutes, hastily made.  The driver agreed to fetch us.  We had a panic attack when he didn't turn up as our coach was to depart soon.  Luckily, he was simply late and we did not have to pay for a ride that might be 1400% over-priced.
I didn't lose anything from the pickpocket attempt.  He wasn't too interested in tissue papers and water bottles.  However, discovering the attempt was a kinda kill-joy.

Otherwise, we enjoyed our trip.  Our random tasting of food in Penang was good, even to the hotel dine-in service.  The shopping in KL was an eye-opener, with Times Square and KLCC being very large and comprehensive malls.  We look forward to giving these cities more time in future.

Diner Dash?

Is moving diners in and out of your restaurants in the most efficient way, the direction we should go?

Case 1:
We made a booking for 10 for 7pm.
6.30pm.  Some of us has arrived.  Waitress would not release table as not everyone has arrived.
6.45pm.  8/10 arrived.  Table cannot be released yet as not everyone has arrived.
6.55pm.  All arrived.  Told that it's full house.  Please hold.
7.20pm.  JW was furious, kept suggesting to go Fisherman's Wharf instead.  Group wanted to wait it out.
7.30pm. Manager explained that a particular table was designated for us.  A group had arrived at 6pm and they had not left yet.  Hence we have no tables.
7.31pm.  The group that supposedly held our tables sang "Happy Birthday".
8.00pm.  They collected 10 places for us, as providence provided us with 2 groups departing at the same time.

Case 2:
7.30pm.  3/7 arrived.  Manager would not give seats.
8.00pm.  Still 3/7.  Manager would not give seats.
8.30pm.  5/7.  Manager would not give seats.
8.45pm.  7/7.  Manager had no seats for us.  Told to step out of the queue.  We would be informed if there's a table for our group.
9.00pm.  Ate at Fish n Co instead.

Sianz...

totally no mood at work today.  hope tomorrow will be better.

cos i really love to work

The Princess and the frog

Liked it. Funny and a light moral-of-the-story.

Star Wars - R2-D2 Deluxe Statue

link: http://eshop.tfh.com.sg/product_details.php?prod_id=859

Spiral UFO puts Norway in a spin

[excerpt]
A MYSTERIOUS giant spiral of light that dominated the sky over Norway this morning has stunned experts — who believe the space spectacle is an entirely new astral phenomenon.
[/excerpt]
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2764647/Spiral-UFO-puts-Norway-in-a-spin.html#ixzz0ZL4dhGRd

[update]
Russia admits missile caused UFO lights
[/update]
read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34362960/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Winter Bells

Guide the rabbit skywards by jumping on a stream of falling winter bells.

play: http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/bells.htm

All recovered..

but tired tired.
in 2 weeks I shall have a little trip.
yay!

Arctic Mosquitoes

http://www.athropolis.com/arctic-facts/fact-mosquito.htm

Opportunist

When you see cash lying around, do you take it?
When you see a handphone left behind, do you keep it for yourself?

Recovery

Foot recovered.
Now for that frickin cold...

Nov 2009

As Nov ticks down, what has gone past in the meantime?

I just injured my foot, from badminton, nonetheless. Paintball is safer than badminton.

At work, I now putting in OT 2.5 days every week. Nothing new but a drain on my energies. Work-life balance is a lie. That the team is behind you is but a management hogwash. We perserve because we can.

I'm now looking for a flat together with ST. If the government is going to grumble about the low birth rates, they should take at good look at the HDB application process. They sit too long on a case; they don't use brains. Lucky I'm not in Government.

Sick

Haiz...
Hopes my defenses kick in fast.

There's no cure for the common flu, even in the 24th century.

Clash Of The Titans (2010)

Woah, a remake of one of my favourite fantasy movies of my youth. The other being Willow, I think.

read more: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43026

Ronza's Blue Satchel of Surprise...

You open your Ronza's Blue Satchel of Surprise...
...and receive 1 Ronzaburger with Cheese!
...and receive 5 Maki Cheese!
...and receive 30 Swiss Cheese!
...and receive 10 SUPER|brie+ Cheese!
...and receive 10 SUPER|brie+ Cheese!
...and receive 1 Ronzaburger with Cheese!
...and receive 30 Swiss Cheese!
...and receive 1 Satchel of Gold (10000 gold)!
...and receive 2 Gnarled Cheese Curd Potion!
...and receive 1 Ronzaburger with Cheese!
...and receive 30 Swiss Cheese!
...and receive 15 Brie Cheese!
...and receive 15 Brie Cheese!

FREEDOM!!

Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while.
And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take...
OUR FREEDOM!

-BraveHeart movie
source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/quotes

Too much...

Grabbing everything at once.
Tasting everything at once.
How come I don't feel fulfilled?

Sweep the blues away

A lovely face. 
2 little kisses.
Swept the blues away.

Cannot post private things

Enough said.

Pustule Gamma and Delta under attack by a Black Hole

Meant to post for Oct 26

At first, there was Pustule Alpha; burning brightly in her sojourn through the Milky Way.  After an attack from the Evil Lords of Digitus, Pustule Alpha fragmented and gave birth to Pustule Beta, Gamma and Delta.
Then a Singularity was created in the vicinity of Pustule Alpha and a Black Hole was born.  Pustule Alpha and Pustule Beta went nova.  Followed by Pustule Gamma and Delta the following day.


references:
1. http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=33356
2. http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands_split.jsp?pg=/ppdocs/us/common/dorlands/dorland/seven/000088739.htm#000088739
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_letters_used_in_mathematics,_science,_and_engineering

MS secretly pushed out FFox plugins

My er... friend Joran posted up a warning for Firefox users. Microsoft has been secretly pushing out plugins into our Firefox. This plugin will enable them to install stuffs without permission.

read here: http://joranatplay.blogspot.com/2009/10/firefox-more-secure-than-ie-but.html

Doing a check on my own Firefox, I found tons of plugins I have no memory of authorising. Bloody hell...

No life at the moment

RT-OT-RT-OT.
*sigh*

but Friday will not fall to them =]

You better buck up...

edited to hide original message. mwhaha.

It sucks when..
you're slaving at the gym and you're told to shape up.

It sucks when..
you're doing OT and you're told to buck up.

It sucks when..
you're doing your part in getting results from colleagues but was told you're too slow.

Work-life balance is?

Prioritising your tasks at work?

Maybe that can help you work faster but I fail to see how that can help one cope with excessive work? Do people think we actually are so engrossed with work that we return on weekends?

Why would anyone wanna drink hot fudge?

Ordered a Iced Chocolate from Coffee Club. The bottom of the glass was filled with hot fudge. I was quite absent minded and drank it instead of the drink more than once. The frustration of drinking hot fudge led me to think why anyone would want to drink to. As soon as that thought surfaced, a very strong memory of me enjoying a simply chocolate hot fudge covered soft ice cream from MacDonalds, bought by my grandfather. It was so near that I could taste it; it was so far that I looked upon myself as a kid. Morosely, I filed the memory away.

I'll be coming to your house soon. - Zombie

Reporter invites kids to his place for an interview on their talents.  Never would they know they would be attacked by a zombie!



view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jSnPaRmD6g

10 Solid Tips to Safeguard Your Facebook Privacy

JW: If you're concerned about Facebook privacy, this bears reading even if you think you know them already.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-complete-guide-to-facebook-privacy/

Orchard library back by 2013

[Excerpt]
The library will now be re-opened by 2013 in a new spot in Specialists' Shopping Centre along Orchard Road, near the Somerset MRT station.
[/Excerpt]

read more: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_379810.html

I dare you

On Monday, I could have broke a leg.
While I was crossing the entrance of a carpark, a on-coming black car swerved in with the exact same speed that it used while it was traversing on the road. I had to take 2 quick steps back for there was no room for I-dare-you games. The driver didn't even bother to look at me; just straight ahead as his car plowed towards its destination...

No turning signals.. Pedestrian (me) was already halfway across.. Didn't bother to slow down..
A pity I was too concerned with glaring rather than noting the car plate number.

No point playing I-dare-you with these drivers. The ultimate loser is you, even with compensation. Can always get even later.

CPF Online Services Error

Error:

Sorry, this service you have just requested is temporarily unavailable. Please try again.

JW: grrr

6 Facebook Easter Eggs & Tips to Show Off

JW: Though the title of the link says "6 Facebook Hack Codes", the author admitted that he did it to grab attention.  So "Easter Eggs & Tips" are a more appropiate description of the contents.
Have fun.

link: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-facebook-hack-codes-and-tips-to-show-off-your-geeky-skills/

Dilbert: Procedures (September 27, 2009)

Click to expand.

Why settle for a shadow?

Regarding food, I have long wondered why people would settle for poorer versions when they could afford the real thing?  Are dried oysters and dried Shiitake mushrooms anything like the real thing?  Are dried durians anything close to the real stuff?  It can be close.  It can be very close.  But it will never be the same.

Were people too poor to afford it in the past?  Were they too used to the flavours and now has a liking for it?  Or perhaps a mere hint of the taste can give them comfort and they can fill in the gaps themselves?

Meetings was one of the evils hiding in Pandora's box, wasn't it?

image source: http://bohemianweasel.deviantart.com/art/Pandora-s-Jar-131430685

Fear...

is paralysing.
It prevents you from taking actions.

Did I see something illegal?

On my way home, I saw a cyclist slowed down and peered at the glass of a park lorry.  I thought he was trying to be a peeping tom but later I realised that he was looking *through* the glass.
There's about 6 men near a parked van.  A tall lady who looked china born was on the floor.  She sounded like she was sobbing.  4 of them lifted her off the road and carried her into the van, closed the door and boarded.
Just like that.
This did not escape the attentions of the patrons of the nearby coffeeshop who were all trying to watch discreetly.  So it looked like an abduction to everyone but no one wanted to get into trouble.  I took a look at the plate - PA 2248 (?)
Is that a local car plate?

9 (2009 film)

9 (2009 film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_%282009_film%29

9 (2005 film) - the original short film that inspired the current one
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_%282005_film%29

Zzz

Tired phase again...
coming this weekend, I will be playing Polonium and Paintball :)
~

Powerpuff Gals meeting this Friday

Powerpuff!
Powerpuff!

Blossom, Commander and the leader
Bubbles, She is the joy and the laughter
Buttercup, 'N' She's the toughest fighter

Powerpuffs save the day
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,

The Powerpuff Girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the powerpuff girls

Oh no, it's the mad Fuzzy Lumpkins
Watch out, it's the repulsive Roach Coach
Get him, it's evil Mojo jojo

Chasing evil, it won't stop.

Powerpuffs save the day
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,

The Powerpuff Girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the powerpuff girls

And they'll be
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,

The Powerpuff Girls
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time, the powerpuff girls

Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time,
The Powerpuff Girls

POWERPUFF!

from: http://www.lyricstime.com/bis-powerpuff-girls-closing-theme-lyrics.html

'9' Trailer 2 HD

by Tim Burton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDH0e73_j8M

In my 10th month at this job

Been very tired this week.  Recently recovered from flu, I had to work doubly hard due to missing a day of work.  If not for national emergencies like SARS and H1N1, who would you compassionate towards you for being sick?  Sick doesn't mean your work goes away.  Sick means you got double the work on monday.  Is it so strange to understand why people go to work, sick?

Then there's the mounting frustration over being trapped in a cycle of doing administrative work and yet expected to deliver on project work anyway.  If I don't, I won't appear to have done "work". 

So, I'm very busy doing "nothing" and getting frustrated and drained in the process.  It didn't help that there's ad-hoc requests from management to report on our work.  Report on what?  Report on me doing "nothing"?

This needs a rethink.  Whether I want to move vertically or horizontally.

Are we too slow?

Why is my team putting more hours than others?

Bomb...

Bomb - Anger
Tofu - Happy

Dream: Chalets?

Dreams as they go don't make sense. I just thought that it's amusing to log them and read at a future date. Readers might want to skip this entry.

[dream: act 1]
At my dreamworld's Pasir Ris again. This version always had a very remote bus interchange that's always bustling with life and shop. Tonight, we had booked a chalet - a 2 storey apartment unit. What baffled me at the moment was how the swimming pool complex was smack in front of it's doorsteps. Talk about overcrowding!
My family was there and I explained this little quirk has always been this way. In a nod to modernisation, there's a Sakae Sushi restaurant opened in the swimming complex, facing our apartment unit.
[/dream: act 1]

dream2 fled my memory

[dream: act 3]
A family. A stray dog. A family that took in a stray dog. A little girl. A family that gave up the stray dog. The stray dog adopted by a shop owner. On a lease outside the shop. Walked too close. Growled at. Growled back.
In the same setting, I explored the area. Familiar. Streets joined at angles to each other. Little traffic. A lady with her 2 daughters had a makeshift stall in one of the alleys, selling Nonya goodies. Caught the fragrance of steamed cupcakes. Started browsing. Recalled food I had bought earlier and left to waste. "Oh Shit" and knocked over straws and a packet of food. A very wizened old lady said not to mind. Noticed for the first time and realised it's a family of 3 generations tending the stall. Looked at the food again and ordered the steamed cupcakes, explicitly requesting for coconut flesh and coconut sugar. The mother held only coconut sugar in her hands. Noted Otah and was tempted to buy. Thought of ST still sleeping, at this noon hour and intended this to be her breakfast.
[/dream: act 3]

Woke.
Ah Shit. Didn't deliver the food.
Dozed.

End of the day

Things would have gone ahead if you had put a cap on your childishness.

The snatch theft

Ok, here's the long awaited post. 1/2 of the reasons why I moved this blog. And I declare that this post will be uncommentable. Why? I don't want to hear comments like, "It's your fault for being careless". Nobody asked to be targeted; I didn't. So here goes.

I had a paintball competition on 26 Sep - SX 3 on 3 tournament. I wanted ST to accompany me and to allow both of us to get sufficient rest, I decided to book a budget hotel in JB. The cost was only RM$60.

To cut to the chase, we had dinner at Denga Mall and left the building at 8pm. Our hotel was only 10 minutes walk away. We exited into a large open space carpark. Part of me observed that the 2 guys who were washing cars had long knocked off from work. I also noted the sentry post was not manned.

As we were exiting the carpark, I felt increasing discomfort on my neck-shoulder joint. In a daze, I then noted 2 guys on a bike, on my front and right, with the pillion rider grabbing hold of my sling bag. Before I could recover, the strap broke and they started riding away towards the highway. Passport, camera, cash. These items came up in my mind as I uttered an expletive. My legs acted on the quick calculation that I could catch them on foot. Yet, I hardly took a step before I had to turn back towards ST to take the load off my hands. That moment of indecision was enough; I couldn't leave her alone. I watched as they entered the high way.

A Malay lady almost appeared immediately and asked if we're ok. She then offered to take us to the nearby police station. We hardly took a few steps before a white car pulled up beside us. The Chinese couple inside claimed the tried to chase down the thieves but lost them. They offered to give us a ride. I gave the excuse that I need to see ST safely back into the hotel first and declined. Looking ahead, the Malay lady had gone on without us. We proceeded to walk back to the hotel.

Along the way, we avoided proximity with any vehicles and people. As we entered the road that leads to the hotel, we grumbled about the lack of police presence. Just then, a car passed us. Once we realised that it could be a police car, it was to late to stop it. We entered our hotel and asked for help. The staff was sympathetic enough and one of them offered to escort us to the station. We took a 5-10 minutes cab ride for RM$2++, which he paid for the fare. We noted that the pattern of the police car parked that matches the one that passed us as we were walking back to the hotel.

The policeman on duty was professional enough. We gave our statement that we were robbed by 2 young lean looking Chinese men on a motorbike. Not exactly a lot of details to go on. We then had to wait for half an hour to see a lady inspector. After giving us a police report, she assured us that I could cross the borders with that document. All through the 1 hr at the station, our escort was with us. We gave him RM$10 for his troubles.

My hassle of crossing the border was already mentioned in another post. On hindsight, I guess I should have mentioned the Malay lady and the Chinese couple. It's probably "evil" of me to think badly of them when they were trying to be good Samaritans but who knows? I *was* worried about them. First grab the bag. Then offer them a ride and rob them at knife point. Many people have also said I did the right thing in not giving chase. My personal logic then and now also acknowledge that even in my misplaced confidence in my sprinting abilities, they could have simply turned their throttle up and leave me sucking gas.

My damage from the incident was:
My Passport - detailing every trip from my young adult life till now
My Fujifilm camera - damn it
RM$400
Perfume from ST
Important Keys
Nail clipper from Doris
Other minor items like playing cards, insect repellent, Toy R'Us membership card
I also got a cut on my right forearm as the sling broke - no blood drawn though
$30 incurred from roaming calls and SMSs
$70 from replacement of passport

Many people have given their support and assistance in this episode. Even though most of them won't read this, I thank you for your help.

When push come to shove

A typical morning with the train typically packed, I stood in the train, unable to hold on to handrails as I was carrying stuffs.  I was facing the handrail that was between the doors, my back to the boarding side.

Two stops later, 2 passengers boarded the train.  There wasn't enough standing room for them both so 1 of them start to push in, butt first, past the people blocking the doors and managed to reach me.  As mentioned, there wasn't enough room in the first place, so he pushed some more, butting me off balance and tipping me forward.

Pissed, I braced myself and used my back to shove him towards the direction of door.  As it was packed, I only managed to jam him against his friend.  He took a look at me and didn't push back.  Really, what some people would do if you don't stand up to them.