There's f*cked up & there's F*CKED UP

Well, the week was going along so smoothly until the freakin' equipment blew up in our face. And so the true process of comissioning begins. Working against the clock with limited resources to fix someone else's f*ck up. It's a times like this that I feel so alone, being the only rep for the company here. But then I thank my lucky stars that I'm insignificant enough not to be held responsible for mistakes.

Oh well, as my mentor says, there are good problems and bad problems. Good problems are not yours and bad problems are. That was a good problem for me but a bad problem was that I dinged my camera. Yeap, MoronsVille population: ME. ARGH.

But in the end, that's not as fucked up as this ad from craigslist.

I don't know which pis more loserish, the people who completed the transaction, or the people who made fun of them.

And finally, for those who follow the Dallas Mavericks. This is a hilarious video.
Some classics from that video include:
1. Why did Cinderella get kicked off the basketball team? Cos she ran from the ball.
2. What do you call a pig who plays basketball? A ball hog.

Also, for Starcraft fans, this is awesome.

Hosed by (Mis)Reading...Again...

Or rather, by a lack of research. Although I don't know how much research could have told me that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7 DOES NOT HAVE SPEAKERS. I googled the camera and went around to a couple of review sites but did not manage to pick up that bit of information. So now when I have videos recorded, I need to play them back on a PC for sound... What a drag...

Oh well, at least for a point & shoot camera, it doesn't look half bad. But I haven't really tried to do anything with it yet. Maybe I can get a return on it... That's not too much to ask for is it?

Would You Like Cheese With That?

Justs some thought that I had this week. In reverse chronological order.
1. Word of the day - Sombong. It means aloof/arrogant in Indo. Perhaps a more colloquial translation would be "dao".

2. Getting an engineering degree from a (relatively) presitigous university: Approximately USD55,000 per year

Getting a job with said degree: Having the best starting pay (so far) amongst your buddies back home

Getting paid to clean spray nozzles as part of OJT due to OTHER PEOPLE'S INCOMPETENCE: A very WTF feeling.

Translating all the experiences I have had on the job site into my own Knowledge: Priceless. (Also awfully hard to do)

3. Travelling so often has it's drawbacks, but food is definitely not one of them. I think I've eaten Waaaaaaay more luxuriously in the last 2 weeks than I've had in the last 2 months. The joys of dining with older collegues who appreciate fine wine and food...

最近比较烦?

Before I get into the post proper, I'd just like to point out that there's such a thing as Gummi Bears overdose (you have been warned). And you know who you are, you spastic dreamer =D.

Okie, to the post proper.

最近比较烦,比较烦,比较烦,总觉得日子过得有一些极端

So I've graduated and have started working. My friends are scattered all over the world. I'm stuck (till August at least) in a hole-in-the-ground place and the work just keeps getting harder and harder. I've definitely reached a different stage of life that's radically different from the last 15 years or so. And I guess naturally, during this transition, there's bound to be some trials and tribulations. I just never figured they'd come so fast. And so frequent.

最近比较烦,比较烦,比较烦,我看那前方怎么也看不到岸

It increasingly looks like I'm gonna be the designated test-site engineer for the company. And that involves a ton of travel to different job sites when we are starting up our equipment. In the next 4 months or so, I expect to be away from home for at least 8 weeks, or more, depending on how smooth a start-up goes. 8 weeks out in 4 months means that I can probably find someone to sublet my house for summer... That's a very depressing thought. Not only will I not see the comforts of home, but that kind of schedule just f*cks up your social life. Trust me, no one ever builds a ehtanol plant on the hip side of town. In fact, I'd be surprised if an ethanol plant was ever built NEAR a town... Man, travelling it this sucks.

不烦,我不烦,只有一点烦

Well at least that was how I felt. And in fact, I still do now (a little at least). But thanks to an email from a good friend, I feel better. Because no matter how bad the situation is, at least you know that you can always talk to your friends and there are people there who have worse situations than you =D. Like being called to travel to the other side of the world with only 3 weeks notice. (As opposed to 3 months). Thanks. And please don't kill me.

So I guess, in the end, this is a rather exciting transitional period. And I hope to emerge from this phase of life smarter, more well travelled and have a more complete resume. And thanks once again to all the listening ears out there. Cheers.

终于明白笑里藏刀的意识。。。

这个世界上能信谁呢？好友，家人，除此以外，其他人都得争取你的信赖。不能凭表面而说能信不信。由此是在工作方面的人。

这次不算什么大事，可是，某某人的真面目已经被漏出来了。。。

下次要谨慎一点。

P.S. 爸妈，不用担心。当我能用自己的电脑时，我会寄email给您们的。

How Unembaressing Is This?

Before you actually click the video, be forewarned that some of you might find it very OMG-ish. But if anything, I guess u have to admire their guts to be able to do something like that. No matter how small the stage nor what the setting, to do such a thing would entail a 100x critical strike on your dignity I think.

So enjoy?


P.S. I'm not gay.

The Many Faces of the Same Anime Theme...

The original.


The Action Figure version.


My current favourite, the MEGAMAN version.


The MEGAMAN version had me in stitches for quite some time. So I hope you guys enjoy the vids as well.

Appearances can be deceiving...

I'm going to show you a video of an ad. Before the ad is over, try to guess which company it's trying to promote. I'm pretty sure that unless unless you've seen it before, you'll not get it right.

Surprising eh. Even the name of the bank is misleading. When I first heard it, I thought its origins were from Asia. But it's not. (Woah, two examples of "its" and "it's")

Another thing that might be misleading is the concept that the government cares for you. Apparently, to certain government related individuals, the people who pay taxes to the government, but vote for the opposition, do not deserve the government's attention nor care. That's really f*cked up. I'd post the link, but I don't want to get tracked back. So I'll just copy and paste from the Young PAP Blog (www.youngpapblog.blogspot.com).

The self-intro:

I’m an activist in the PAP – Hougang Branch since 2002.

His point of view:

The residents in Hougang appreciate what the ruling party or the government has done all these years since independence. However, they felt that the ruling party did not show sympathy and empathy towards the feelings of the residents in Hougang. Many still bear grudges against the ruling party for its decision to relocate the farmers in Hougang/Punggol back in the 70’s/80’s. Hence, votes were given to the Workers’ Party (WP) all these years as Mr Low Thia Khiang, in their opinion, has shown that he empathized with them.

The kicker (emphasis mine):

This, to me, has to be put to an end. Politics is not a game. There is a price to pay for a decision to choose a political candidate and party. One cannot claim that he is a taxpayer and should benefit from the likes of those in a PAP constituency when he voted for the opposition. Have we taken our efficient and incorruptible system and political stability for granted? Can WP garner its own support and resources to benefit the residents of Hougang instead of whining and complaining that the government is not doing enough?

Holy shit. I'd like to say more, but that's neither here nor there. I leave to the reader to draw your own interpretation of the future of the country if people like that ever make it as a *cough*leader*cough*. I think I'd better start researching about that green card thingymajig.

影のように忍び寄り、霧のように消え失せる。。。

That damn cool quote has almost nothing to do with the post proper but I found it irresistible and had to stick it in somewhere. It came from last week's edition of Shounen Sunday and I must say, the Japanese version panders to a much different audience than the English version. For those who can afford to take a stab at the Japanese one, give it a go. It has far more variety I think.

Anyways, I'm gonna be leaving the house yet again. E.B.O.F. might travel far and wide, but I stay on a site for weeks on end. Since the plant is (finally) going to start up, I'll be heading down to (hopefully) learn as much as this college-adled mind can absorb... Cos someday, I'll have to do this stuff solo. And hopefully the notes I take now won't fade/get eaten by some random animal/get lost in a office reshuffle. But I won't be at home for the better part of next month. Just a heads up.

And finally, a big welcome back to Bleach_Deathgod, previously circa 2006. His presence invokes memories of younger, simpler times, when all you had to do was score well and try to get enough sleep while doing a project... The good old days eh. Also, if you have no time/are lazy to load your WC3, have a go at Desktop Tower Defense. It might be worth your time.

Edit - I just finished the game on Normal mode with a score of 5151. That means 39299 other people have had my score. See if you can do better.

Update

昨天，我下面谈的人已经被炒鱿鱼。真的很突然的一件事。他照样来上班可是9点就突然说声“好吧，我要去钓鱼了。大家保重。”而走了。起初我还以为他在搞笑但过后大老板寄一封email给公司，说他辞职了。

收到email之后，我想每一个新的人都有一点害怕。被开除的事实是很sobering。昨天，公司很冷。也很安静。。。

洋人和我的差别

我想先说好我不是看不起老外.单单只想highligh他们被上士司谴责的时候的反应。我想我一百年之后还是不能像他们一样。

让我先给一些background.在我公司，除了我之外，还有多一个新的化学工程士师。他和我一样，是普渡同一届的毕业生。他最近转换到我的部门，和我一起做projects.他最近的project犯了一个超大的错误，当上士叫他把公司想要bid的project的经济算术(hmm, not sure about this translation here)时，他忘了数一个equipment.如果上士没好好查他的数字的话，公司就会损失超过USD500,000.而且，他犯了错之后，就去旅行。不能联络到他。

那昨天，我们和上士开会时，上士为了这件事而大骂他一顿。他的回应是“我很了解我自己犯的错有多大。从此以后，不会有这种事发生了。“可是上士还不满而说“我相信你是不真真正了解你的错有多大。会害公司损这么大的一笔钱不是一件小事。如果你不加把竟劲的话。。。“

到了这种地步，如果被骂的人是我,我就会安静得点点头，再声说“对不起”。可是我的同事，他却说“我明白。我不会再犯这种错。”好像没什么内疚的样子。这就是洋人和我的差别吧。是好是坏，我不知道。只知道，如果是我，我不会那么有“balls"...

And a brief review of the DS-X for the interested. The DS-X is a brilliant piece of equipment that basically transforms the DS into anything you want it to be. A PDA, a game machine, a psychedelic MP3 player... Nothing is out of it's scope. And the best part is, it's just 1 piece of equipment. So no transfer is required between equipment before stuff gets onto the DS. In fact, I'm going to have a quick go at Robot Wars Taisen now. =D

Edit - Did some 改正。

More Melancholy (of Karate Ka)

This brings back memories... I never did manage to complete that game.

Early Morning Post

Because I was supposed to do this last night but was too tired...

Recently, I was asked by a supervisor a question about how gas flow changes with pressure. He just popped by my desk and said (and this is verbatim),"Process engineer extraordinaire, help me with this." I had 2 immediate reactions to that. The first was "Huh?" and the second was "Oh F*ck"... In the end, we googled that problem together and decided that DBoyle's Law (P1V1=P2V2) could be used to approximate the solution. But that sequence of events got me thinking about how far I've come in the last 6 months or so.

When I first started work, there wasn't any office space or cubicle for me. So I had to work on the conference table in the middle of my division. I also didn't have a phone, so when I needed to call people (vendors, colleagues) I had to "hijack" someone else's equipment. I was in that situation for about 3 months. In all fairness, I was given a laptop straight from the getgo. So I didn't have to deal with moving any desktop equipment. Then I was assigned my own desk in the division as spaces had opened up due to a office space re-shuffle. Shortly after that, I was given my own phone. So I could plead for help/information from colleagues/vendors at my own desk. And then, I even managed to "appropriate" an LCD screen from a colleague. So I was the only new guy with dual screens. Which is damn convenient when you want to compare spreadsheets. And now, I've been asked to help out in questions. So I guess my position is starting to get firmly established. That's kinda nice but I hope that I can still remember my stuff when I get called upon again the next time...

And now, I have a series of videos to show. The first is by someone from Muar, Malaysia (like you Bang). It's a pretty cool homemade piece of rap. Not very SFW as there's foul language (of the dialect sort).


The next video is DEFINITELY NSFW. It's by Dj Ozma, a japanese group that performed at the NHK 2007 New Year's special. Very very controversial performance. But I'm sure more than 1/2 my readers will enjoy it. In some form or another.


And finally, this is the same song, but done to an Anime theme. It was just hilarious to me. And I don't even know what anime this is either.

Enjoy.

Edit - Correct that error in Pa-jiaoness. Kudos to Ah Seng.

Before I get accused of Neglect...

Thankfully, it's the holiday/exam period for most of my readers now. So I don't think they're too pre-occupied with my lack of updates recently. But for the rest of you guys...

How much do I miss home already? Let me count the ways.

1. The family
2. The friends
3. The attempted hook-up
4. The food
5. The feeling of knowing all the jokes and local lingo

Still, I guess that not being home means that I get to enjoy cool weather 6 months a year, get to scold people in whatever dialect I choose with impunity and perhaps most important try to get into position to go home, but with an expat's pay.

Anyways, spring is finally around the corner. The day is noticeable longer now and daylight savings has kicked in. 3 weeks earlier than normal... So I have been robbed of an hour of my life 3 weeks earlier than normal. Not that I really care, since it signifies the start of nice weather (for awhile at least). Unfortunately, I am no longer living near a university campus. Hence I predict a distinct lack of females in short skirts... What a drag...

Oh well, maybe when I moved closer to downtown Chicago, I may be able to regal you, my dear readers, of my exploits. Or then again, maybe not. But all I can say is, "It's Spring Time for Hitler, and Germany!!!" Oh noes, aryanic references!!

It's Been...

Wow. A month since my last post. Well since I have to go to bed soon, I'll just say vacation was great. And I went to Atlanta, Georgia after I came back, so I really missed the brunt of the late Midwest winters. But enough talk. Pics are up. So enjoy. More commentary later.

Superbowl Afterthoughts

I was going to do a Superbowl Ad recap, but E.B.O.F. has done an admirable job already. My personal favourite was the Garmin Ultra-Man spoof. That's cos I hope to discover my Garmin holds the key to unlocking my ability to run around in Silver Tights and flash beams from somewhere near my crotch...Or not. But it was hilarious nevertheless. Anyways for the people who were not so fortunate to have been able to catch the game on TV (a far better preposition than to soak the 10+ inches of rain that fell in Miami that night), here's my recap of the game. Done Dota Style.

Manning: Okie, so this is for the nuts. -SB game. No leavers kk. GLHF all.
GAME STARTED...

About 1 second into the game...
Dungy: Vinatieri, wat u doing? Dun be so garang (brave)! No need to agro(aggressively aggravate) their special teams.
FIRST BLOOD(+50% Morale Boost)! DEVIN HESTER has just pawned the Colts Special Team for 7 points.
Dungy:... Nub (Newbie).

Apparently the Bears used that mojo they got from that kickoff return to power up their defense cos the Manning threw an interception on the very first Colts offensive series. However...

Manning: The plan is the bait them with Dallas Clark and Marvin Harrison, then when they engage us, Reggis Wayne will be sneaky and backstab their secondary.
Ball Snaps, Manning darts left and right...
WindWalk (Grants Invisibility) Activation Noise...
Bears Secondary: WTF, where did he come from?!?
Manning connects with a Wide Open Reggie Wayne to put 6 points on the board for the Colts.

For the extra point conversion,
Hunter Smith: Aiyah, I misclick. Instead of (G)ood Placement, I press (F)umble. Pai Seh (sorry) Vinatieri .
Manning:... OMG!! Potential ban...

So with the Bears leading 7-6 in the first, they attempt to run the ball (as they don't really ask that much from Grossman).

Thomas Jones: I got MoM (Grants increased speed). Just gimme the ball and watch me run.
Ball Snaps, Grossman hands Jones the ball and gets the hell out of the way. The Bear's offensive line parts a gap for Jones and then...
"OHHHHHHHH"(MoM's Activation Noise)...
Colts Linebackers & Secondary: Eh Jones, your -ms (checks movespeed) how much??!?!
Jones: -ms
Jones: 488 (fastest move speed is 512 522)

Jones would then run for 52 yards. Grossman made a 14 yard touchdown pass for another 7 points. The Bears would lead 14-6 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the momentum would start to swing towards the Colts as the Colts defense started to tighten up and the offense cranked it up to a higher gear. Vinatieri would kick a field goal and the Colts would run for another touchdown to bring the half-time score to 16-14 Colts. The half-time show of Prince was substituted for the Puppy Bowl (a television event that lasted for 3 hours) so I cannot really comment on the Artiste who has an Identity Crisis. In the third quarter, the Colts would make two more field goals, and the Bears would answer with one of their own to bring the score to 22-17 Colts into the fourth. Down 22-17, Grossman tries to play the hero...

Lovie Smith: Grossman, dun cross river alone. No need to try to hero. Sure will kenna (receive) gank (gang kill, i.e. outnumbered and killed by the enemy).

Grossman pays no heed and tries the high risk , high reward long play down the field. If the receiver catches the ball, the Bears would have gained about 30 yards and be in excellent field position to attack. Unfortunately...

Grossman: Okie, I will throw the ball down field to the right. Everyone come. We push into their territory.

Grossman's pass appears to be underthrown and the Colts secondary manages to get in between the intended receiver( Muhammad) and the ball. The result? An interception. Muhammad tries to tackle the interceptor (Hayden) out of bounds but Hayden activates his BKB (Grants immunity to most spells) and with a "KAZ MODAN!" breaks free of the tackle JUST before he steps out of bounds. The interception is returned 56 yards for a touchdown and the Colts lead 29-17. After the interception, the Bears were visibly deflated and the Colts were firmly in the driving seat.

(Allies)Manning:GG (Good Game) all.

At this point in time, the Bears get the ball back with about 10 minutes to play in the game. I have 100 dollars riding on a 29-23 final score. So I'm praying for divine intervention that the Bears can somehow score 6 more points. Alas, it was not to be. The combination of an inept Bears offense and a steady Colts offense ensure that 29-17 remained the final score. It was an exciting game in the first half and fairly entertaining for the 8 screaming guys gathered around the TV yesterday. So that ends my recap of Superbowl XLI. RM anyone?

SUPER BOWL XLI

It's SuperBowl weekend. Do you know where your 40 inch plasma Hi-Def TV is? Unfortunately, I don't. But still, nothing beats watching grown men smash themselves together over a pigskin ball together with some friends. And you guys have about 6 hours to make it so. So Just Do It.GO COLTS!

How Anal Can You Get?

Let's do a test. What does this picture remind you of?

A. A series of lights
B. An array of electronics that resemble an Adult Cartoon
C. A Bomb

If you choose A, you're probably not very familiar with American late night cartoons. If you choose B, you've probably watched the Milkshake, French Fry and Tomato Meatball (Kudos to E.B.O.F.) and uttered to yourself "WTF is up with that neighbour?" If you choose C, you've probably 1. A paranoid ignoramus who is culturally isolated from today's media 2. The Boston Attorney General. (You can probably guess which option I'd choose.)

Someone in that office apparently decided that the blinking lights were characteristic of a bomb and mobilized the entire city's police to defuse them. However, they failed to consider that said devices had adorned the city for at least a few days already and that other major cities had the same thing as well. Although in their defence, this appears to be a form of viral marketing, so not much information would have been available anyways.

And now, the AG is talking about suing the company behind Adult Swim (Turner) for restitution. That's right, I'm suing you for my stupidity (*Biatches* optional). Oh joy. The people who are supposed to serve the American public are just so atarded. It's a wonder that America is a superpower...

Totally unrelated but I WANT!! Who can resist rocket tits?

Bits of Nostalgia (Amongst other things)...

Well whaddya know, it turns out that one of the series that I want to actually follow up on (金田一 Kindaichi) was actually screened back home, like waaaaaay long ago. Back when the television station was still named Channel 8. That's a nice surprise.

Anyways, how much would you pay to go accompany this girl to the Superbowl (on your tickets)? She's a Chicago Bears fan and was trying to sell the chance to provide Superbowl tickets to her on Ebay.The going bid was 1.8K USD before the bids got ridiculous. And in the end, she got tickets from Axe (the deodorant company) and there's a now competition to see who gets to go WITH her (flight, accoms and food not provided). Shows you what kind of reversal of fortunes a cute face and a great body can get you... Now if only...

Edit: Re-sized the image to a (hopefully) more manageable size.

What Time is it?

In times past, the proper answer to the titular question would be "Tiger Time!" and the appropriate amount of hip wriggling and bad "ah-beng"-ish clothing. However, we shall not ponder on yesteryear's bad jingles that I bet are ringing in your head right now, but consider a new answer to the posed question.

I present : ADVENTURE TIME!! ALGEBRAIC!! And if you didn't understand that, just take a look at this video. Everything will be come clear (kinda).



Very mathematical right?

パっンク

The following clip is from the Japanese TV equivalent of Gotcha or something. The way the mob just overruns the poor saps is quite hilarious, especially the very first prank they attempt, where they completely missed the dude. In the last prank, the crowd yells "Danger!!" before squatting. Just so the non-Japanese inclined can get a little more understanding. =D

Laundry Power Rants...

Bears-Colts Superbowl!! I don't know who to root for, but I do suspect my neighbours might have been freaked out by the random cheering and hoots from a certain apartment in the estate when the Colts (FINALLY) made Bill Belichick suffer the "Disgusted & Stunned" syndrome when they rallied from 18 points down (21-3) to top the Patriots 34-38. Awesome game. But I can only confess to watching the 4th quarter only as I had semi-given up on Manning & Co when I saw the depressing 21-6 halftime score...

Now that I've gotten the good things out of the way, it's time to indulge in the title rant. The one really super thing about having a private washer/dryer in your apartment is that laundry NEVER goes missing. That sock that you thought got chewed up by the machines will turn up in the next load, you can probably afford a couple Mcdonald's Happy Meals with the loseloose change you can find during the once a month "check-the-washer/dryer" inspection. I had that luxury during my last year in college and I can honestly say that I really miss those good times...

On the flip side, now that I rent an apartment that has a common laundry facility, according to Murphy's Law, the rate of disappearing laundry is proportional to frequency of washing to the power of some yet to be determined constant... As a result, the MIA list of my laundry has been creeping at a more or less steady pace. However, today, when I did my laundry, those monsters consumed 2 socks (from 2 different matching pairs!). AT ONE SHOT!! I believe I will have to re-evaluate the constant in that equation. It seems to be a moving value, but I have insufficient data to make a concrete analysis.

What I do know is that I have to go and get more socks. Which really sucks on a day both teams you root for make the Superbowl... Argh...

もうすぐ怒りそう。。。

なんで返事しなかった？出来るか、出来ないかどっちでもぼくに返事してくれよ。もし出来なかったらぼくは怒らないよ。でも今長く返事しないことこれまで返事しないと、ぼくゼッタイ怒るよ。だからオネガイ、ぼくに返事してください。。。

Quick Puns

I really should be in bed by now, but I figured I'd finish these 3 jokes I've heard during my time in the office. The jokes may be embellished a little but are all true. I heard them all from friends and colleagues. They are all puns so you have been warned. Let the groaning commence.

1. Q: What did one Jap rocker say to the other?
A: Konnichiwassup

2. Q: How do you call an elevator in Portuguese?
A: Press the button

3. After an abysmal season, the Miami Dolphins have just hired a new coach from China.
What was his name? Win Wan Sun.

Okie with that, I bid you good night.

Rhythm is a Dancer

DDR, Donkey Konga, Guitar Hero. All these are games that aren't really in the Super Mario genre or the Doom first person shooter games but are nevertheless awesomely fun when you get down to it. Today, I present a few other ZOMG fast fingers in 2 other rhythm games.


Beatmania, which is a DJ kind of game with a faux disc that you can "spin".


Pop 'n Music, which is kinda like the Japanese version of Beatmania, but it looks like it was designed for people with really big or really fast hands.

Lastly, here's a link to travel tips from Yahoo. You can go check it out if you're interested. It might be of some help.

Birthday Alert!

Happy Birthday to ZhenZ. I hope that as you turn 24 25, that others can more easily understand the mysterious workings of your mind such that there will be less situations where I have to respond with a "Huh?". Other than that, I'm pretty sure turning 24 can only bring you much better stuff than what happened as 23 24 ended. Cheers mate!

Edit: Doh. Messed up the age. So 2006...

2006 in Review

Well I have to send my bro back home tomorrow so I'll try to make this brief.

For me, 2006 was a year of ups and downs. I'll try to recap the highs and lows here so we can laugh together at the good times and laugh at my bad times.

1. The Shanghai Girl thing didn't work out. I guess the 默契 just wasn't there. Next...
2. Realizing that having 9 credit hours in a semester meant a lot of slacking time. And time for a lot of video games.
3. Become a semi-pariah due to said semester workload.
4. Trying to cherish the last few months with friends that I might not ever see again in my life. Although I believe that in the end, 有缘相见, we will met again.
5. Rushed and jumbled through my final semester as a semi-lazy bum. Nearly died due to a lot of bad luck and misjudgment on my research. Which has taught me to always do your best. 做事要认真.
6. GRADUATION. Finally, after approximately 100K USD, 3 years, 20kg of caffeine, countless brain cells and about 2 solid months spent in the library lounge, I was pushed into the world. Kicking and screaming about how I didn't want to leave my friends and school. But if there's anything I learnt from previous graduations, it's that good friends tend to stick around. And I get the chance to get bragging rights to be the first to earn USD amongst the Fubar gang. Haha.
7. The frantic summer time search for gainful employment. I didn't have the foresight and doggedness of some of my classmates and I paid for it during summer. 20 applications a week for a total of around 100 netted me 4 interviews (phone & physical) which landed me 1 job offer. All in all, I consider myself lucky that I could land a nice job on such long odds. And now I had the bragging rights in the bag.
8. First job jitters. I went to work so nervous I forgot to remove the size sticker on my brand new khakis. (I'm sure Ebof will find that story familiar, haha). When I first started out, I was working from the conference table in the middle of the office. Now I have my own desk! And I have a monitor and keyboard to go with my laptop! Definitely moving up in the world... To top it off, I got my own phone! That means I don't have to hijack my colleagues' anymore.
9. First plant trip. The sights!! The smells!! And I think the smell is what will remain with you, even longer than the sights... The smells!!

And that was 2006 for me. I wonder what 2007 will bring but I'm pretty confident that I'll have more good than bad. How was 2006 for you guys?

I'll post my 07 resolutions another night. I need to hit the sack. Cheers!

Xmas Decadence...

So I hope everyone is enjoying/enjoyed their Xmas vacation. A couple of people I know are/were vacationing in rather exotic locations like Hawai and Kenya. A few others managed to get steals to vacation hot spots like New York and LA. As for me, since I have nobody to spend the money on but me, and nowhere to go but here, I decided to go on a shopping spree. And a makeover of my computer accessories.

So I have a new Garmin 350 Nuvi on the way. Hopefully this will cut down (significantly) all the desperate "Hello, do you have internet access?" calls some of my friends will be getting.

Also, now I've installed a wireless router in my house so that my bro (who lazes around the house all day long since he can't even drive...) can enjoy the internet without disturbing my surfing/gaming sessions. Setting the whole thing up was a lot easier than I imagined. And I just needed to make only 2 tech support calls in total. And Zee, I can now play Mario Kart DS on the Wifi. What's your friend code?

Lastly, I revamped my internet security since my Norton Suite, which was included in my Lenovo, expires in 2 days. I tried to purchase another year's license but the procedure was so confusing, I gave up and went hunting for freebies online instead. What I came up was the Comodo Firewall (free means free) and AVG Free Anti-Virus. The reviews look good and I'll update if they work okie or not.

So all in all, it wasn't a fantastically meaningful holiday but I'm not complaining. Any chance to rest while getting paid is a good time in my books.

May your New Year's Party be more happening than Christmas'. Party safe people!!

Happy Holidays!!

So, it's the weekend before Christmas and to me, it signals the end of the working year. WooTz. Cos my boss decided to let the whole office off till next year, it means that I have a full week of vacation that just appeared out of nowhere. Truly an awesome welfare move.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful year. Personally, the year represented a major shift in focus and life for me and I'm still treading very gingerly into the new year. But I'm pretty sure with hard work and some luck, things can only go up from here. May the new year bring more joy and happiness and moolah to all my readers.

Honestly, I wanted to work in 1 more post about drivers and noobs on Battlenet, but my blood pressure rose too much for me everytime I started thinking about it. Instead, I present a post about what Japanese kids want for Christmas, taken from Japanprobe.com. Enjoy and Happy Holidays Peeps!

Ironic

It's like raaiiinnnn.... On your wedding day
It's the freetixstoWicked when you've alreadymadeplanstogohomeforCNY....

Ah, the delicious irony of freebies when you've already have plans. The best laid plans indeed do often go astray. But anyways, at least I still have the dinner near Wicked that I won along with the tickets at the Christmas party last week. That was an awesome party. It was the first time I saw a salad that had descriptions 4 lines long. High class stuff indeed. The parking was already 41 dollars per night... In any case, a memo to my peers - during parties with people who are your elders, it pays to know retro (mambo) music since thats what they know. The music selection last Friday was very WednesdayNight@Zouk-ish. With hits like "Staying Alive", multiple songs by Belinda Carlisle and the occasional Ricky Martin tune. Unfortunately, no "Square Rooms".

Oh well, at least the weekend was kind enough to give me a free dinner coupon, the goodwill of a fellow colleague, and a treat from a graduate(d) friend. That would be a good weekend in anyone's books I should think.

To end it all, check out this flash animation. Me and my bro couldn't stop laughing for quite awhile after watching it. Unfortunately, I think non-Singaporeans won't fully understand its concepts but its still a good parody.

Wiisome!!

Why the Wii is awesome? Let me show you 3 videos. If they can make more games like these, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a winner. Raving Rabbids For The Win!! I especially like the 3rd video, smacking crazy rabbits. Everyone should dig smacking rabbits.







Also, there's another video for Warioware. The player has to imitate all the motions with the Wiimote (the white coloured thing) and the game has the irresistible appeal of smacking, not rabbits this time, but your butt in time with the music. Brilliant!!



そして、きみさいきんげんき？なんであうときあまりげんきがしなかったん？いまなにがこまってるか？もしメンドウやふあんなことがあったら、ぜひぼくとはなしてよ。だまっていてはだめだよ。しているだろ。”きみ”というのはいったいだれだ。じゃ、もしネートであえないなら、ぼくにメイールしてよ。

B4 Pple KB Mii Again...

So it's coming to the end of the exam period, hope everyone did reasonably well for finals. Just a FYI kinda update tonight.

1st up, is this post from Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, talking about his view about success and how to fight your battles. He's always an interesting read and this is doubly so as he's imparting lessons to the readers.

2nd thing is, new (as in, never before posted) pics are up. They can be found here,here and here.

Lastly, enjoy the Christmas parties people!! And try to stay sober... Tell next time.

LENOVO (IBM)'S DUBIOUS BUSINESS PRACTICES PART II

So I called Lenovo regarding a problem I have with my CMD prompt. Everytime I type any command in the RUN prompt, the DOS window opens and then immediately closes. Anyone has any tips/hints?

But anyways, as I was chatting with the service rep, they tell me that my warranty expires next year, 2007. I was shocked as I thought that when I purchased my laptop in Sept, that I paid extra for a warranty extension option. But apparently, I read wrongly again... I had purchased a warranty service upgrade, but no extension of service. WTF... I guess my next laptop isn't gonna be a Lenovo. As if I needed further persuading after that previous fiasco...

Making People Famous I

Well, with the proliferation of websites like Youtube, Google Video and Toudou, the self-made household superstar has hit it big. It has never been easier, nor cheaper to do an original production and attempt to promote it to the masses. However, what I am doing today, is not that. I have no ritzy self-promotion video to show you, but instead, would like to show others at their (questionable) best.

First up, please watch the koteh in the backrow, 3rd from the right. Notice his deadpan expression and distinct lack of displacement that so brings out activity of the rest of the band. After that, you can look at all the Asian mei mei's, if you're so inclined. They are the TrebleMakers, NU's only Chinese ACapella group. The song is “听妈妈的话“

It's a nice song, unfortunately, my camera can't record indefinitely, so it kinda gets cut off at the end. Here are the lyrics.

小朋友是否有很多问号
为什么别人在那看漫画
我却在学画画
对着钢琴说话别人在玩游戏
我却靠在墙壁背我的abc
我说我要一架大大的飞机
我却得到一只旧旧螺旋机
为什么要听妈妈的话
长大后你就会开始懂得这段话
长大后我开始明白
为什么我跑得比别人快
飞得比别人高
将来大家看的都是我画的漫画
大家唱的都是我写的歌
妈妈的辛苦不让你看见
温暖的事都在她心里面
有空就得多握握她的手
把手牵着一起梦游
听妈妈的话别让她受伤
想快快长大才能保护她
美丽的白发幸福中发芽
天使的魔法温暖中慈祥
在你的未来音乐是你的王牌
王牌谈个恋爱
而我不想把你教坏
还是听妈妈的话吧
晚年再恋爱吧
我知道你未来的路
干嘛比我更清楚
你因为太多学习的同学在这块写东写西
但我建议最好听妈妈我会用功读书
用功读书怎么会从我嘴巴说出
不想你输所以要叫你用功读书
妈妈交给你的毛笔你要好好的收着
因为不知道是我要告诉她我还留着
对了我会遇到我(周润发?)
所以你对跟同学炫耀赌神未来是你爸爸
我找不到你写的情书
你喜欢的要承认因为我会了解你会在操场上牵她
你会开始喜欢唱流行歌
因为张学友开始准备唱吻别
听妈妈的话别让她受伤
想快快长大才能保护她
美丽的白发幸福总发芽
天使的魔法温暖中慈祥
听妈妈的话别让她受伤
想快快长大才能保护她
长大后我开始明白为什么我
跑得比别人快飞得比别人高
将来大家看的都是我画的漫画
大家唱的都是我写的歌
妈妈的辛苦不让你看见
温暖的事都在她心里面
有空就得多握握她的手
把手牵着一起梦游
听妈妈的话别让她受伤
想快快长大才能保护她
美丽的白发幸福中发芽
天使的魔法温暖中慈祥

So Many Things, So Little Purchasing Power...

So it's finally December. That means that it's the festive season and sales abound. That also means it's the season for many impulse buys, cos there are so many things to buy... But I can't, not really, since I'm saving my moolah to go back and spend time with friends and family. And to have fun with friends in Japan along the way as well.

Yeap, I just got the tickets today. Feb 11 Japan, Feb 16th Home!! Now I gotta get me's a countdown timer or something... Maybe I'll kop (steal) one from my 学妹...

The Mac & the Sexy

After watching this, I have the inexplicable urge to randomly burst out in "Big Mac... Big Mac..." But it's a pretty cool thing to try. Perhaps someone could come up with a local version?


And as promised, the sexy. And if you didn't find that sexy, you're either gay (but definitely not lesbian) or a eunuch...

Holiday Consumerism

So, I changed to the beta version of Blogger and I can't see any difference at all in the service. Can anyone out there enlighten me of the new tricks one can do with Blogger Beta?

Anyways, before I start the post proper, I would like to say a "banyat (typo?) terma kasih" to Abang for the postcard I just received today. Hope everything's going well for you in Egypt! And use more English/Chinese in your blog!! Banyat tak faham!!

Okie, so the last post was before the Thanksgiving holidays and I know some of my readers have been getting on my ass about not updating (You know who you are...). Hence, I will talk about my Thanksgiving break.

So there was a pleasant surprise on Wednesday, the company's office hours were till 15:30 only. However, if the boss doesn't leave, a rookie can't have thick enough skin to leave either right? So I stayed till around 16:15 before leaving, hoping to beat the Chicago traffic, for my bro's place. Maybe it's cos I'm still new to the area, but every time I think I have the timing for Chicago traffic down, it screws me all over again. This time, I entered Chicago very very smoothly. Normally, it takes about 40-50 minutes for me to hit downtown Chicago from my workplace, but I made that journey in like 25 last Wednesday. Unfortunately, that means I was trying to leave Chicago, on Thanksgiving Eve, during the "5 o'clock everyone clusterf*cking on the expressway" jam. Normally,i.e. on a normal Friday evening, it takes me about 1.5 hours to reach my bro's place from work. Last Wednesday, I reached his place at like 18:30, even after I shaved 15-25 minutes off the going into Chicago route. Traffic was horrible.

Anyways, so we had dinner and then celebrated Thanksgiving by sleeping and playing WC3/Dota. On Friday, I woke up early (2:30) to get ready to go to the post-Thanksgiving sales at Aurora. I went there with a friend and I think we certainly did our part to stimulate the American economy. I got a pair of deerskin gloves from Timberland and a leather jacket from CK. My friend... well, let's say I still don't get female fascinations with shoes... and bags...

Oh well, I guess she wasn't the only one to go home feeling broke. Ah Seng has to starve till he goes back home and I think Bob has to start pimping on the streets again.

So that was my Thanksgiving story. Anyone has their story to share?

P.S. I just realised that it's only been 8 days since my last post. Talk about impatient readers... Haha.

P.P.S. Also, new pics are up. These are some of the pics from the Singapore Associations Winter Formal. There are more, but I don't have them...

Princess Leia!! In a Bikini!! Dancing!! ZOMG!!

And I just can't stop laughing at this video. Lolxorz!!

And as a side note, I believe this comic very succinctly sums up the Wii (Last Sunday) & the PS3 (Last Friday) launches.



Hmm... Seems like there are technical difficulties with embedding the video. But here's the direct link.

Birthday Alert!

Happy (Slightly) Belated B'dae to Zee!!
Score 1 for Otaku-ism, may your japanese improve by leaps and bounds. And I DID maintain that DS was FTW. Haha.

The Way Things Should Be

I know I should be doing my laundry and catching up on my bills on this lazy Sunday afternoon, but before I proceed to do the mundane stuff in life, I want to post this video about how the way things should be. Girls + Gaming = Best Buy!!

And even if you're not interested in the gaming/girl (your choice) part, you still have the other one to fall back on!! So without further ado, the Dota Song, by BassHunters.


To end it all, a Zu31G Public Service Announcement: Next week is Thanksgiving, have you made your post-Thanksgiving sales plans yet? As they say in Battletech, "Information is Ammunition". And now you know.

Traffic Regulations

As a driver, I find that once you're behind the wheel, you adopt a totally different idiocy tolerance threshold. Things like people taking 5 minutes to overtake cars on a 2 lane highway really really grate on you. And there's a tendency to travel faster than the regulated speed limit and scorn the slowpokes as you zoom by, but perhaps that's not the best thing to do in the world, as evidenced by this song. Kudos to Ah Seng for showing me this.



For a more real-life example, check out what happens when you hit a traffic speed hump at really really high speeds.

The JetSetters

Might have been a better name instead of Champions of Excellence... Considering that the graduates from my batch can be found in Belgium and Egypt. Hopefully, I won't be adding to my frequent flyer miles anytime soon.

Here are some videos to entertain you guys while I try to gather up some of the most recent pics...

1. Cool animation. Reminiscent of Pixar's opening animations.

2. As some might know, it was the midterm elections in the United States last week. If you missed the results, here they are, in a nutshell (or rather, a youtube video clip).

Sexual Innuendo Ahoy!

I can't believe how this got past the censors. Must have been some really magic the producers of this particular episode conjured up. I know it's been around for awhile, but for those who don't go ebaumsworld, this might be new.

Name that Word!

This is a lunch post so I gotta be quick. I was reading a article about FCC's ruling about a "vulgarity" but they never mentioned it so I'm opening it up to my readers.

It's apparently OK to say the S-word on TV — as long as it's on a program that the Federal Communications Commission says even faintly resembles a news show.

The FCC reversed itself Tuesday and deemed acceptable a Survivor contestant's use of the obscenity during an interview on a December 2004 episode of The Early Show on CBS. The contestant used a vulgar term for "smooth talker" to describe a fellow contestant on Survivor: Vanuatu.

So NAME THAT WORD!!

Edit- Turns out that article was misleading. The word in question was "bullshitter". Kudos to E.B.O.F. for that tip off.

Transitional Pains

So I finally weaned myself off that old hunk of junk Toshiba and am using my new IBM fulltime now. The most obvious thing I notice is that there is no incessant whirring noises anymore. That's a real relief. And now, I load my Dota like 2304809825 times faster as well. W00TZ!

But in the meantime, I'm having issues with the longer screen. I've been fiddling with the DPI and resolutions trying to make my stuff look normal on this extended screen but it's not quite working yet. Maybe I need to look something up.

ワァ。。。ここまできたはちょうメンドウ！！なんかぼくのIMEはくるってったから。。。でももう大丈夫。ぼくは”本当にありがとう”と言いたい。送りものをもらったので。いろいろおいしそう食べ物があるんだ！もう一回アリガトウ。

Lolxorz !1On3One1Ne

Why am I so jubliant? Well because I get to go home 1 day earlier than expected!! AWESOME. The plant was up and running today and everything went smoothly so the operators decided that we weren't needed anymore. That means I have 1 morning to enjoy the sights and sounds of town.

A few more things I've learnt (and I'm sure 99.9999999% of my readers will not understand this):

1. Explosion proof glass is a good training window, but that means your temperatures cannot rise above 250 degrees C.

2. I kinda know how 70& DS feels like already. Like damp sand. And 90% DS is dry sand.

3. Even if your VFD is of the right size, often times the ramp rate has to be damped to ensure the motor doesn't short itself out trying to draw too much power.

4. The hallmark of a good system is the ability to regulate the temperature and pressure without wild fluctuation.

5. Always factor in the obvious (i.e. accidental pressing of switches) during the planning of alarms and interlocks.

6. Ensure that equipment is assembled such that there is an easy cleaning method that preferably doesn't involve dismantling the whole damn thing.

7. There are air filters (when fully opened) the size of my comforter...

And so I shall leave you guys off with this singing commentator. Perhaps Kakak (if you come anymore) can leave a translation of what the guy is singing. But it's still hilarious as hell regardless of your understanding of spanish.

回家的感觉真爽！！！

Sooo many things...

Well, so I didn't update the whole of last week cos for the most of the week, I was trying to setup a pilot plant dryer. That meant standing outdoors in 10 degree (celsius) weather and rain for 3 of 4 days. On the fourth day (Thursday), I was originally slated to return to the Windy City but unfortunately, the dryer had more problems than expected and my return was rescheduled to Saturday. It's a real challenge to extend your wardrobe which was packed for a 3 day trip and make it last for 6... I won't go into gross details but I thank whatever gave me the inspiration to pack extra underwear...

Just for my own future references and for any engineers out there, the sequence I did on the pilot dryer was as follows (Warning technical stuff ahead):
-START TECHNICAL STUFF-
1. Check the electrical connections for the control panel
2. Check the alarms and interlocks of system
3. Fix all mechanical/electrical problems

Issues I faced were:

1. VFDs mis-wired. The VFD for the mixer was wired to the feeder screw.
2. Faulty explosion panel on cyclone.
3. Wrong burner DPS.
4. Missing potentiometer on burner motor.
5. Lots of miswiring in the Control Panel.
6. Stupid control panel display.
-END TECHNICAL STUFF-

So because we didn't managed to resolve all the issues by Saturday afternoon last week, here I am, back in the plant to iron out all the kinks. Luckily, most of the problems have been solved in the last two days and basically when I arrived today, I just got to play around with the dryer and saw what corrections were made.

But even on my return to the plant, there were problems. I had a 735am flight so I left my home at 530am, figuring that since O'hare was only about 50 miles away, I had plenty of time in the morning. Unfortunately, it seems that a journey of 264000 feet takes 2 hours in the pre-dawn Chicago trafficc. That works out to be slightly below 30 miles per hour. No chance of me getting a ticket at those speeds. Needless to say, I had to take the next flight which was at 11am. The good news is that I completed about 25% of Mario & Luigi:Partners in Time while waiting.

So that was my week in a nutshell. I'll try to post pics sometime soon. And here's some insight into the game of Dota for the uninitiated. Cheers.

P.S. Go BULLS!!Beat Miami!! (Halftime score:59-30 Bulls)

Light Hearted Stuff

I'm goin to Loudon, TN tomorrow and so before I leave, I'm here to leave you guys a couple of cool/funny vidz. The first up is this Pen Spinning Vid. I always knew Asian kids could do this kinda of things, but these guys are really really pros. I can't even imagine how'd they do it, but I guess that's something else for me to do at the workplace during lunch!
Incidentally, Americans have never ever seen this sort of things in their lives before. I was doing the normal pen spin in school once and people were just staring and going like "Woah". And again at work, someone asked me, "Were/Are you a batonist?". Talk about different ways to spend time in exams...

Okie the next vid is in Chinese. It's a parody of Zhang Yi Mou's latest film, 满城尽带黄金甲 (Autumn Remebrance) that's slated for a 2007 release (I believe). It's NSFW and contains boobies. And it's long, but it's funny as hell. What better way to improve your chinese by watching South Park characters talk about boobies? Enjoy.

Okie that's it from me for now. Maybe I'll post in TN, who knows.

Nothing Much to write about

People have asked me if I intend to stay in the States. I have always answered, yes, but only to gain job experience. After all, America is the land of opportunities and from what I hear, home still has a "look oustide for talent" kind of mentality entrenched in the work force. Perhaps this will change as the old guard steps down and people like me step up to become future important people, but I cannot help but feel as if the whole world is fucked up every I look. In the States, you have this (8 minute video about how Bush has authorised near tortue and is basically a lying douchebag):
At home, you have the person who keep creating political posts for himself (because we are not ready to take over). And all around us, we see war in the Middle East, religious tensions in Europe, genocide and massacres in Sudan.

It's all very WTF. I guess I really can't say that living here is worse than living anywhere else. I'd just settle for living with friends and family. They are the most important parts of your life, not any state nor country that you reside in.

Quick Updates

Warning, the following link will only interest you if you are 1. A JiGoPek (Dirty Old Man) or 2. Have a potential to become 1 and/or 3. Like School Uniforms (on Girls, Jap girls). If you do NOT fall under any of the above mentioned categories, this Short Treatise might not be to your tastes. Having said that, I wonder how many of my readers will bookmark that website I just linked to... I can think of at least 3.

I've been dissing Lenovo for the last couple of posts but I'll give credit when it's due. The tech support was blazing fast(!) in returning my laptop to me. I sent them my laptop, along with the network card via DHL last Tuesday. It got returned to me, all fixed up, on Friday. Wow. 3 day support. That's a rare rare sight indeed. Albeit it was only a 5 minute installation at the most (if you could unpry the goddamn rest pad), judging from the pictures in the Lenovo manual.

Lastly, I'm going to TN next week to observe the installation of a pilot dryer. The boss told me very explicitly to NOT blow anything up. Hopefully, achieving that goal will take 0 effort on my part. I'm kinda busy this week as we have a deadline to meet on Friday so this might be the last post till the weekend.

10W97WY

I am case #:10W97WY. My frustration has been numbered and duly noted in the Lenovo system. A mere alpha-numeric designation cannot even begin to describe the agonizing process of getting my laptop to be wireless enabled. Such a freaking pain. I just hope they can get the laptop back to me by next week before I fly to Knoxsville.

With this, I (feverently) hope that my Lenovo will come back to me all fixed and ready to go and I can put this whole saga behind me.

In other news, step 1 of my plan has been completed. Unfortunate but predicted obstacles have been revealed. I wonder how this is going to pan out.

Tech News

So Google bought Youtube and as the article says, reactions to the deal are very varied. It'll be interesting to see how Google actually makes money off of Youtube, although I doubt that even if Youtube/Google is sued into closure, the legacy of viewing media online will end.

Well, my Lenovo (IBM) saga is still continuing. I bought a wireless adaptor card of the laptop but no matter what I tried, I couldn't get the laptop dismantled to instal the card. Calling tech support was of no benefit. All they could do was read the instructions off the online manual and tell me,"If you can take off the keyboard sir, the wireless card panel is right underneath." And Lenovo pays people to say this? A simple automated voice message that says "ALL YOUR BASES ARE BELONG TO US" would do the job equally well. So now, instead of being able to setup my laptop like 2 weeks ago, I have to send it to Lenovo to install the damn adaptor for me and then wait for them to send it back. WTF is that all about?!

Oh well, at least if I do it soon, the laptop should be back by the end of the month. Then I can retire this Toshiba for good.

Phonetically Speaking...

I'm sure some of it is right. But if I were to play the game, I think I would have to physically force my face to remain straight. Unfortunately, those people who don't enough foul language of hokkien origins will not be able to get the following clip, but for those who do, it's hilarious. Enjoy. Kudos to Ah Seng for pointing this gem out to me.

メイタンテイコ-ナン！！柯南名侦探

Wow, I love Detective Conan and now there's a Detective Conan Drama coming out? That's too good to be true. Especially with it's bevy of babes. Here's the trailer. Enjoy.

Many Musings

The first and perhaps most important, BE VERY VERY CAREFUL when you order a Lenovo (IBM's former laptop/desktop business to you out of date cretins). The website is very deceptive. Apparently, the laptop I just (as in 1 month ago) bought doesn't come with an integrated wireless network card as a standard package. Why is Lenovo so stone-aged I don't know, but if you go to their website, and try to order a Z61M, you'll have to read very closely to even understand if they are bundling the network card with your laptop. In fact, even after reading it like 4 times, I still don't understand if it was a miss on their part or misleading advertising. But still, I think it's irresponsible for Lenovo to use such confusing options on their website.

But let's move on from a company that, despite their huge business, has a lousy setup to an up and coming start-up. It might still only be restricted to sales in Singapore at the moment, but you have to dream big and aim far andFleamarket!has all the makings of a sleeper hit site. So go and check it out!!

Well, speaking of Singapore, when I first came to the States, I was intent on getting a job here after graduating and then work a bit for experience before returning home. Nothing beats friends and family and local food. However, after taking a look at the recent turn of events, home has just turned a shade more worrisome. Since this blog is not political, I'll leave it as that, but I'm sure that what's been reported is just the start of something much bigger. Paradigm shifts can occur instanteously, let's see how this whole thing plays out.

最後は僕のりょうしんだ。最近はかれらから”仕事を勤めてるから、かのじょを探しなさい”の感じだ。僕のりょうしんはとてもとてもいい人だけど、これでやりすぎるよ。僕のみらい、僕のあいぼうはじぶんでさがす。ほかのひとはじゃましないでよ！ハイ。。。

When I work a little bit more, I will post a comparisons type of post. Till then, I leave you with a piece of advice, Sukeban Deka is absolutely discontinous and illogical. Watch it only if you like Japanese babes (who also happen to be part of the Hello Project).

Line Rider

Well, I'm begining to learn that lunch is all about 2 things. The first is food (naturally) and the second is FLASH GAMES!!! And this little gem of a game is really deceptively addictive and unnaturally hard. But if you're able to master it's intricacies, you can come up with masterpieces like this:



Enjoy.

And for the interested, MORE KATAMARI!!

Internet as Media

So, Warner Music has made a deal with Youtube. I wonder how that will affect the popularity and business model of the growing, yet potentially sue-able Youtube.Mark Cuban,the multi-million technopreneur says this marks the beginning of the end. So people agree, others don't. Personally, I hope that Youtube survives cos it's a place to see stupid videos when you're bored. So here's a cheer to Youtube, without it, my blog will have a lot of blank white spaces...

Also, there's a new spin off of Youtube called Toodou. It's a Chinese site and so as of now, is relatively unknown in the west. If you need your fix of asian babes however, go there and check it out. It's also proof that silliness comes in many different languages... As proof of that, check out this cute asian girl making spoofing that Numa Numa song.

Just Because I Felt Like It

After teaming up with nooblets against a veteran battle-tested team (well, 3 of 5 players know each other) and flaming out at a glorious 7-4, I wanted to watch this Zelda ad for some murky, base reason. And since this is my blog, it will display this window into my psyche. Just because I damn well feel like it.



P.S - B-Dash!!

Ramblings of an Insomniac

Well, not exactly, but it's 1240am and I can't sleep yet. So I'm here to note down some of the more interesting things that happened over the weekend.

1st off, here's a reminder, just in case some of you didn't notice - I'M WORKING ALREADY. This means no idle chitchat online 8-5, Mondays to Fridays. I say this because I had the following conversation last friday, at around 3pm...

Blur Cock：dota?
Me:WTF？

Yeah... So please, no more such requests. Although I have to admit, it was pretty amusing.

The 2nd thing was the traffic in Chicago. I went up to visit my brother over the weekend and traffic was truly murder. According to Google Maps, we're only 45 miles apart. Traveling at an average of 50 miles an hour, that's about 60-70 minutes of travel (give or take 10 mins or so). In reality, I took 90-100 minutes to travel that distance. The main culprits were the I-94 expressway (where for some insane reason, they shut down the "express" lanes so a 5 lane highway turned into a 2 lane 30mph zone) and Lake Shore Drive by Lake Michigan (there was a Celtic fest there and I travelled maybe 800 metres in 10 minutes). I hate Chicago traffic...

And the last event was on my way back home from Chicago, on that stretch of highway between Chicago and Northern Indiana, my dashboard indicated I was out of gas. It was the most nervewrecking 20 minute drive of my life. From the time I saw that indicator and the time I spotted a gas station sign. I had nightmares of being stranded in the middle of nowhere and having to call for friends to bring gas... Luckily, I had enough to make it to the nearest big town (Calmut City) and fill 'er up.

And so that concludes all the interesting things that happened this weekend. I'm going to try to sleep again...

P.S.
Happy Belated Birthday BSK!! May you get a job soon!!

P.P.S - Kudos to Kwong for pointing out my typo.

A Tale of 3 Posts (Or How I'm Too Lazy To Split 3 Posts)

Okie, since I've blatantly stated the obvious in the title, without further ado, here's post #1.

Happy (Quite) Belated Birthday to #2. Sorry for the uber lag, I was quite caught up in other things. I belanjar you this weekend lah, when you come back.

Post #2: (It would have been fitting for #2's birthday to be this post, but I was late and... I digress) Had my first working lunch today. ZOMG. Started work as usual at 8 in the morning and around 10am, my immediate superior said,"We are having a meeting to discuss a client's work. Wanna come?" Whenever a superior says that, you know you're going to go to that said meeting. What choice did I have? Little did I know that that 10am meeting would only conclude at 3pm and my lunch time was spent in a conference room snacking on a corn beef sandwich. It was long to say the least and I doubt I even said more than 3 minutes worth of anything. On the plus side, I got a look at contractor-fabricator (or sub-contractor) negotiations and learnt a little more about the system I'm working with. Oh well, growing pains I guess.

Post #3: The (Thai) movie Tom Yum Goong is concentrate Uber Awesomenesstic ZOMG Juice. Go and see it if you've ever liked a Gong Fu flick at all. You will NOT Regret it. I remember watching martial arts movies when I was little and feeling the anguish of the protagonist of losing his wife/family/national treasure/honour and relishing every moment of the bad guy(s) suffering(s). I felt that same kind of feeling again watching this movie. And as a guy with a broken knee, I must say I kinda felt like learning martial arts again just to be as cool as him, although I suspect I need some kind of time machine to actually achieve said coolness. So in short, my movie review of Tom Yum Goong (The Protector in the US) is: GO WATCH IT. NOW. IF YOU EVER HAD TESTOSTERONE. SERIOUSLY. GO.


And those are the 3 posts of the day.

有福同享...

有难同当. And the good news is I don't have any sorrows right now so it's just the good things. And what can get better than 7 lovely ladies having a dance battle? Enjoy. I know Zhenz will... Haha.

First Day

So today was the first day at work and it was rather tamer than what I expected. So here's a rough chronological narrative of my day.

6:30 Alarm rang, was supposed to wake up to exercise.
7:00 Realized I turned the alarm off unwittingly. Jolted out of bed. Rapid teeth brushing and instant face washing ensues.
7:15 The most important meal of the day consisted of 1x Honey White bread and 1x plum.
7:30 Started the journey to work. I allowed 10 minutes of extra traffic time.
7:50 Realised that I needed every minute of that extra time as there was some road work along the way. I noticed that the road dividers here are shallow and broad (~ 2inches) and pose no barrier for people who want to turn left or right. Thank god for advanced planning.
8:00 First step into the office. Meekly looked around, practically radiated "newbness". Made myself very easy to pick out from the crowd. Was herded to the relevant division. Settled down and went to see my boss.
8:05 Got first assignment. Reformat data sheets. Boss briefed me and told me who to seek help from.
8:30 Got notice that I would be taking part in a 9am meeting. "Oh My God"-ed.
9:00 Went to meeting. Sat down and shut up and listened. It was a sales meeting chaired by the President. It was interesting to see how the high level people interact and what they discuss.
11:30 Meeting adjourned. Went for Subway lunch.
12:50 Started on the spreadsheet.
13:10 Learnt how to freeze and unfreeze panes in Excel.
13:30 Learnt how to wrap text in a cell.
16:30 Listened to the project managers discuss golfing and how they suck/pwn.
16:50 Started searching for VBA for Excel to Word conversions. Anyone can help me?
17:10 Gave up and went home. Stopped by the toilet and laughed maniacally.

What a day. Waiting for my new laptop to come. Ships 9/21. I can start counting down liao. Haha.

Edit: If you found that boring reading then perhaps this would be more interesting. For guys, and for girls.

WARNING : Controversial Subject Ahead

Fair warning has been given. I wasn't planning to post anything originally but I came across this quote from Stephen Roberts that I found really interesting. Most people who know me well enough probably know that I am non-religious and generally don't like evangelism or any insistence that I must believe in a certain God to save myself from eternal damnation. So I found this following quote simulating. Without further ado here it is.

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."

Please discuss. It's a new concept that I've never thought about before.

Sick Plus Moving

Equals a distinct lack of updates. But I must take some time off from my relentless gulping of fluids to acknowledge all the wishes for my birthday.

Thanks to everyone who remembered (sooner or later) and cared. =) You guys are great. My Fubar Friends (alliteration!), the Champions of Excellence, the friends of the the Champions and especially to my gracious hosts, JX and Mini. Thank you all so much.

I will be posting what pics I had soon. Er when I get better and have internet access up at my new place in IL.

Till then, take care folks. And keep on coming back. I'm not dead! Yet! I Hope. (Unless EBOF makes good her threat...)

Pass My Time

So here I am, on the 2nd day of school, typing out my blog entry. The whole campus sizzles with a mixture of freshmen-enthusiasm and people-getting-lost-frenzies. Yet for me, all of those things are in the past. It's relatively idyllic just settling my housing and getting ready to move up (and on) with life. Now I know why all those people said to treasure your college days and I guess I coulda spent them better if I had a chance, but I don't have any real regrets. I've made good friends throughout my life, tried hard in education, maybe slacked a bit in other aspects and had a generally fun filled existence. But I guess all that is in my past already.

I'm moving tomorrow and it's such a hassle. But at least it's better now that I know the route there much better. Last week, when I went up to confirm the apartment, I got sooo lost. The first time I got lost was when I chose to exit 80/94 on exit 2 which is highway 41 South. I was supposed to go highway 41 North (exit 1) but because of traffic on 80/94 I thought I would save time by going south a bit and turning around. Well, it turned out that the next exit on 41 South was 20 minutes south. So I had to travel 20 minutes south, another 5 minutes west and then 20 minutes north to reach exit 1 on 80/94. Boom 1 hour gone just like that... Oh well, maybe it's time i switched to American Express and have as much success as Andy Roddick.

ViDz

Here are just a couple of vids to while your time away. The first one is about cosplaying, some of these guys (and gals) really take this thing very seriously. Listen to what they say about their characters.



The second is a Coke ad that parodies the walking controversy that is Grand Theft Auto. I think it's pretty cool that someone could take such a "bad" thing and make it into a really nift commercial. Enjoy.

PS3 vs Nintendo Wii. NO CONTEST!!

And here's some people cosplaying as tentacles (from Day of the Tentacles) cosplaying as Zelda. As seen on bits & bytes & pixels & sprites.

An Intro to the Rest Of Your Life...

Well, that's a wrap then. 3 years of college have come and gone and I have a pretty little piece of paper to show for it. And with that piece of paper, I have managed to secure my exit from Unemploymentsville (population: Not Me). That journey started sometime the past Monday, when I made the 100 mile trip to my new work place for an interview. Having arrived 40 minutes early, I parked in the open air car park and reviewed my notes in the car. It was like 32 degrees outside and I was sweating as I put on my tie and suit.

Having spent 20 minutes getting ready, I proceeded into the air-conditioned building to freshen up and announce my arrival. The company was located on the 3rd story and as I exited the elevator, I noticed that the reception was kinda spartan and they had a book about germanic art. My interview would be with the company president, VP and the sales manager. They were all very friendly people and the interview went very smoothly. At the end of the whole process, the president made me an offer and asked if I wanted to wait for about 20 minutes for him to type it up. Right there and then, I wanted to burst out in song and dance, but of course, I calmly said I would wait. So back I went to the reception. The problem was, I had that walking on air kind of feeling that makes your toes feel very light, and I was struggling to control my facial expressions as I wasthiscloseto bursting out in laughter at the reception. I managed to control my impulses and I started flipping through that book about art. The whole book was written in German so I didn't have to spend much time reading the words, but as the cliche goes "A picture is a worth a thousand words", some of the oil works looked very very realistic and it was a good way to while the time away. However, the interview ended around 4:10 pm and when 4:30 came and left, I started to get anxious. That jump for joy feeling became mixed with a "OMG, they changed their minds" sensation that made my stomach knot up. After 4:40, I became acutely aware of each passing moment, alternately trying to keep myself from laughing out for joy and telling myself not to worry. FINALLY, at 4:50pm, the president comes out with this HUGE stack of paper and said that they had printer problems. I got my offer letter, thanked him and walked straight to my car. There, I locked the door and started screaming and yelling for 5 minutes straight. And then I started calling everyone.

So there you have it, my intro to the rest of my life involved an extremely excruciating 15 minute delay. But at least I have started moving on.

It's been awhile

Yeap, it's been awhile since my last post. I just finished a poster session today that involved staying in school till 11pm last night to get *someone's* poster printed and done... But thanks to another pair of people, I managed to get my poster printed out at the last minute without any hassle.

Anyways, something light today. Although the Middle-East situation looks grimmer and grimmer everyday, we can always fallback on a couple things. The first are anecdotes about lawyers and the conversations they have. Taken from the book "Disorder in the American Courts". Pay close attention o lawyer (to-be) friends of mine, and please don't follow in their footsteps.

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
________________________

ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
____________________________________

ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
___________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty.
________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh....
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS! : He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him!
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Kudos to E.B.O.F. for unearthing that treasure.

Also, as many people know, websites like MySpace, Friendster and Facebook have been proliferating over the last few years. Many of these sites are mere excuses for people to post good looking pics of themselves and flirt or indugle in sometime even more. However, the sobering reality is that what people post online might not be what they are in real life. Here's a quick guide to interpreting MySpace account photos. Enjoy and learn. My apologies if it's too small. Kudos to drunkreport.com for that pic.