WWF's "Take a Stand for Turtles TODAY; with just One Signature"

Title says it all, do your part and fax in your signatures, NO PAYMENT REQUIRED so what you lose is actually your pen's ink, paper and cost to fax, also a wee bit of your time :).

Click the pic to get an enlarged version, print then fax to 03-78035157.

Swimming again

After many years of being away from the pool, today at long last i begin my some form of exercise. I don't really like to run that is why i have always shied away from my running friends' activities. I don't have a running shoe and im a person who is not built for long distance runnings, tried that in school ran 800m and i could see the stars as clear as the Hubble Telescope.

There won't be any pool pics as i won't be risking my camera which is not water resistant to be near water :p So instead i will show off my new gear :D My Speedo Goggles ^_^

The packaging

Unpackaged

An extra goodie, a carrying case for the goggles

In you go to your new home :p

Entrance fee have increased but isn't that an unmistakable trend? Rm2 for weekdays

A sad and unfortunate event, the car parked next to me was broken into

After spending close to 1 hour in the pool and maybe 500m of swimming with long rests in between laps of course. I went to my car and wanted to leave before it gets dark, as suspected, the place is really not safe and from the picture above you can see that the Mercedes Benz had its front passenger side window broken into and the glove compartment searched through. Not sure what the thief got but im guessing sunglasses, Touch N' Go + Smart Tag and whatever valuebles would be gone. This fella is either new here or have no other car, driving a Benz at times like this is just asking for trouble if you ask me, leaving it in a an area like this, the owner should be quite thankful that he/she will still have his/her ride after their fun in the pool.

My shoulders are so damned sore because i have not used them so vigorously for a very long time. Since i did not use much leg power to do kicking, they are in better shape, if i got cramp then i might have problem driving so i had to not use so much leg power for the time being. Thinking back, i had to swim at least 1km as warm and the next day i don't have any sores unless i get cramps. I wonder how long it would take before i am able to do 1km again :p

For the time being, i think i may have to apply Yoko-Yoko, i can't really fully raise my arms now :p Sigh, old age sure has its way of telling you :(

Panasonic Lumix TZ7 ^_^

My order for the newly released Lumix TZ7 finally reached my possession yesterday. I have been doing alot of research to find a good camera and had earlier set my sight on TZ15 or FZ28 but since this is gonna be a family camera so i had to opt for the PnS (Point and Shoot) type ie TZ15 eventhough both are around the same price.

I purposely went to Sunway Pyramid for the Panasonic fair. Delighted that i may finally get the camera which i have aimed for so long but was disappointed to learn that TZ15 is being phased out and the replacement model is not yet released in Malaysia, ie the TZ7. The new model like all new things is of course more expensive than its older model so it became a bit out of reach :(

Asking around in LYN, i got a quote which was much cheaper than the RRP (recommended retail price) and remembered that i have a friend who have a Panasonic dealer friend, so i decided to get a quote from him as well just to compare or see if he can give a better one. Luck as it may seem is by my side and he was able to give me the same price BUT with all the free gifts which were given at the fair ^_^

Can't take the camera's pic with itself so i had to grab this from Panasonic's website :p

The box with its full content =D

Everything in the package, cloth bag included :p

Manual + CDs, Warranty card, the extra 4GB SDHC Memory Card :p Battery Protector, TV Cable and Plastic Lumix Landyard

6GB Memory Card (standard package), Lumix SDHC Card Holder

Battery Charger, 2 hours of charging for 2 hours of use =_=

The Synthetic Leather Case

With Panasonic's iA technology, i now have no more troubles having to flip from normal mode to macro mode. Though this may be a new standard for all brands of PnS, but this is the first time i really test it out. I can see my palm clearly at less than 5cm away :p Superb optical zoom (12x) will not be useful if there is no stabilizer technology, so i did try out the max zoom and my shaky hands were very noticeable but Mega O.I.S. kicked in and i got a good shot of my target ^_^

Its first real test would be my sister's trip to Bali. 10GB of memory should be able to accomodate them for their very short journey. Looking forward to enjoying the beautiful scenery captured when they come back =D

p/s : Uploading the pics here was really a pain, all the pics are almost 6mb in size EACH *sweat*

P1's Wimax review

Yes, i did wake up VERY early this morning BUT not to watch football. I woke up long before it was time and i decided to check on my torrents, they were done again, YIPPIE! Refreshed livescore.com again and again and really forcing myself not to watch the Porto vs MU game as to not jinx the team. Seems like it worked and we are now in the semis to go against ARSEnal. Ok, enough with the crap talk, obviously this post is not about the game nor about me not being able to sleep again after knowing the result, not really because we have progressed but it really could not fall asleep again.

My sister have been giving it a go since the beginning of the week. To her, it was great because for her game when compared to being played using Streamyx was what gamers would call lag free. I guess she did use it alot since its her study week and she is just lingering at home and not really doing any studying.

So this morning i decided to give it a go, boot up of the router was similar to Streamyx, have to wait for quite a while before it is able to connect. I got a full bar signal (green light) in my room and that made me smile from ear to ear. So i was thinking, what and how do i test the connection? You can't torrent as the port is blocked. My mind was filled up with how we won so i tried to search for youtube but none have been uploaded, so i had to settle for the next best thing, the full time report. After i had my fill from my favourite football sites, my mind came back to my initial question, how to test Wimax?

Then i noticed that i had several files which i have not completed downloads from Megaupload and Rapidshare. Though excited i wasn't hoping much BUT boy was i wrong. I did the normal procedures of being a cheapskate and chose the non-premium aka free users and my downloads started. At first the symptoms of slow downloads was quite evident as the download was slow to start and i almost looked away in anticipation of disappointment but then at the corner of my eye, the download speed began to show and it surprised me to say the least, 100+kb sometimes but most of the time remains higher than 50kb ^_^

What amazed me even more was that right after a file finished i tried to continue my next file and therein my next surprise, i could do another download without having the warning of "you have downloaded so and so size therefore you cannot use our service for 'X' minutes more", this was for Megaupload and i only had 1 incident of waiting for 11 minutes before i was allowed to get the next file on Rapidshare. All in all, i got 5 files of 100mb in less than 2 hours WOW!

To my great delight, i now have another Korean movie to enjoice ^_^

The nice cube design with P1's logo.

Everything working fine with full bar signal

To my great despair, my testing time for Wimax is coming to an end, time for another friend to test it out before he considers signing up.

Food for thought on my test :

1) These speeds may only be achieveable in the wee hours of the morning? Yet to be tested during waking hours.
2) Seems to me the auto-update of IP for the router works great for leechers like me on sites like Megaupload and Rapidshare.
3) Although not perfect in packet sending but the almost lag free is really impressive.

I would like to thank my friend for allowing me to test out Wimax. For the time being, im giving it 1.5 thumbs up :p Yet to know what would happen is more and more users subscribe to its service.

Half awake from a deep slumber

This is not about me waking up too early today. That would be the post above ^. I have got confirmation on something which i had suspected since Saturday. Things did not worked out as planned as im tied up with many other matters but in a way, im glad that this happened this way. It could have been worse and i may have lost a good friend.

If you can see me now, you will be able to know that im unhappy from my facial expression, im not known to be good at hiding how i feel. How i feel is generally shown on my face so depending on how 'black' it is, i would generally advise you to not test my patience because i believe it would have been reduced to zero or a bomb waiting to explode. However, depending on what it is, if you ask, i may share it if its not something which i do not want people to know.

I noticed that i have been in a deep slumber with a fantasizing dream which i did not wish to wake up from. A dream is a dream and reality it must face when i am awakened. I have actually scripted what might happen without taking into account of third party which may interfere, so what really happened now is just like what life can throw at you, surprises just when you least expect it.

In my script, i can see 2 endings where neither have a happy end, the way i see it. I have however factored in a unknown variable which have caused me some sleepless nights before. Since its unknown and very necessary, therefore there are infinite number of possibilities of how things might go. Since its a dream of course i would want the happier ending of the 2 to happen, knowing too well that its the least likely. But this unpredictable person have thrown up many surprises so the possibility no matter how remote it may seem may happen because she sometimes think very differently from other people.

I have changed my script very much factoring in more reality based variables. Perhaps i have underestimated a bit of the third party factor and too immersed into my fantasy that when things happened it just blew me away like what happened now. It doesn't matter because this is for the better, more for her and though less for me but i truly do wish her good luck as i have no confidence that i can come close to what she would have wanted. Many a time during her past relationships i have wanted to help but the green-eyed monster in me prevented me to do so.

After getting this out of the way, i can now hopefully concentrate on more pressing matters. My financials, "Say Goodbye", my job and what is left of my family. How funny is this, as i chatted with her, i talked about my other dream which now im striving towards is to provide for my family and try to shoulder more burden which my parents have been carrying for so long. With the heavy big stones which im carrying now, i must add-on more rocks and pebbles so that i can hopefully achieve that dream. There is still a long long way to go, next year's trouble is already in sight and nearer to now would be next month, 2 huge hurdles and i may have to go back into negatives to achieve what is asked of me.

Why is it half awake you may wonder? There is a small part of me that have not given up yet or to be more precise, is unwilling to surrender until i have got the answer told to me face to face or at least in a form which is concrete and will break this worthless piece of shit in me.

*Heaves a huge sigh of frustration!*

Ryu - My Memory (OST of Winter Sonata)

My Memory moh doo gee uhk hae yoh geuh soon gahn
Noon eul gahm euh myun ah joo jahk eun eel doh boh ee neh yoh
You're far away dah deul soo up neun goh seh
Sa rang hahn dah neun mahl doh gee dah leen dah neun mahl doh ha jee moht ha goh

Jung mahl mohl laht joh geuh dehl ee luht geh dah shee mahn nahl jool eun sehng gahk joh cha moht het suht joh

Ah jik nuhl sa rang hae ee jeh lah doh neh geh goh behk hahl kkeh
I want to love you forever
Neut jee ahn aht dah myun ee luht geh nah wah hahm kkeh young won hee

Oh leht dohng ahn geuh dehn nah ae gah seum ae mahn eun shee gahn heul luh doh
Ah joo muhl lee ee juh doh sahl ah eet sut joh

Jung mahl mohl laht joh geuh dehl ee luht geh dah shee mahn nahl jool eun sehng gahk joh cha moht het suht joh

Ah jik nuhl sa rang hae ee jeh lah doh neh geh goh behk hahl kkeh
I want to love you forever
Neut jee ahn aht dah myun ee luht geh nah wah hahm kkeh young won hee

English Translation

My Memory At that moment I remembered it all
When I see those memories they seem so small..
You're far away in a place that I can't reach
I can't wait for these words of love to be said

I really was to blame
Will I ever get to meet you again?
I can't even imagine that
I still love you and now I'll confess that to you
I wanna love you forever
It's not too late
Be with me forever

For a long time you've been in my heart
Much time passes and still you're far away, but I will stay alive

I really was to blame
Will I ever get to meet you again?
I can't even imagine that
I still love you and now I'll confess that to you
I wanna love you forever
It's not too late
Be with me forever

One big stone on top of another

Now im beginning to understand the full extent of the warning i got from my colleague who helped me secure this position. My team does not seem to be understaffed but more like they are overworked. I got to know that ALL of them are handling like at least 10 concurrent projects and their calender are full of appointments. Sometimes they don't even have time for lunch @_@"

In a way i have been honeymooning until last week by doing clerical work or sometimes even secretarial work (not to the extent of making coffee, thank god). Since Monday my calender too have been starting to fill up. Attending meetings is fine with me since i got no authority to make any decisions for my department. Now that im picking up speed to be overworked, i first got a big stone, to sextify satisfy external auditors and fulfill all their demands whenever possible. Simple demands at first, no problemo! Starting Monday, i have to breathe down the necks of senior managers to get their reply to answer auditor questions, many of them of course are too 'busy' and delegate the work to the supposedly 'more knowledgeable' staff.

If you worked in a GLC or dealt with a GLC, you will know how they mentality is and the trouble of getting these people to work. '4方木, 踢一次, 动一次'. Actually some are even worse, to make that already worse matter ever more worse is that that manager is now in charge of the biggest application in the company and is one of the most elusive, hardest to reach/contact person in the whole company. Seems to be more busy than the CEO (FYI, my CEO is a known workaholic). After many attempts to contact him, i managed to force him to assign a manager to hopefully get the information i require to sextify satisfy the auditor, which is about 2 days later and at the end of day 2 im still left with this application's information not updated so that i can get the auditor off my back to do my other mounting tasks.

Yesterday, another big stone was dropped upon my shoulders. Since my department got a makeover due to the re-structuring, we have to handle aonther big task. This task is of course delegated to the seemingly most free staff ie your's truly. Again, i will have to deal with senior managers and chase them for more things which they do not want to do =_=" To make matters worse, i have to set goals for them achieve, failing which they must come up with plans to mitigate the risks, this of course is another thing which they do not want to do and your's truly will have to chase them to ensure that they have that plan before my due date to submit the report. I just received a big stack (>1 feet tall ^_^") of documents which my boss gave me 2 weeks to digest and come up with an executive summary for him to enjoy.

One of my task when doing clerical/secretarial work was to summarize a big ring file of documents into 10 pages of presentation to be easily digested by everyone in my sector (ie all of IT, starting with the managers). I have done this in about a week and since this is related to another big task which is again delegated to me making it big stone 3.

All these things will require reports, monthly, quarterly, half yearly, yearly and adhoc or as and when required. GREAT!!! One report after another, sextifying satisfying the auditors, attend meetings + all the secretarial/clerical work which will be thrown to me from time to time. Since some of my colleagues will be moving away due re-structuring, i MUST take this opportunity to move further away from my boss and definately try to get out of the secretary's cubicle. He doesn't like to have secretaries therefore there has been none since his arrival in to the company.

Hmmm since im the 'junior', i think future activities of going to the vendor's office will be delegated to me too. Oh yeah, these fine overworked people do not like to claim overtime, WOOT! I guess this is how they welcome new people into the department. I sure as hell hope there will be a new junior soon. So that i can delegate some work to him/her too :p

Acer X203H Happy then SAD ...

I have finally managed to buy a LCD monitor, not my first choice nor preference but beggars can't be choosers. Best bang for buck, the Acer X203H a 20" widescreen LCD with DVI, speakers, 16:9 and 10000:1 contrast ratio. With some help from a friend's friend, i managed to lower the price shown for retail. Friendly and knowledgeable guy, if in future i have any PC related things to buy, i will be sure to seek him.





Never liked Acer since it existed but in this case i really have no choice, with my wallet filled with only 8 pieces of Rm50, that is the max i can fork out for a LCD. The speaker is at the back so not gonna expect much sound from it. One down side to this purchase is that it has a dead pixel, i was told that it must have 15 dead pixels then only its eligible to claim for warranty? :(

Sometimes i really think im cursed, as soon i as i have setup and configured the PC with relevant softwares, the HDD died!!! I fucking flipped out!!! NIAMA CCB, just when i just settled down to enjoy a long dormant PC, it just fucking stopped working. To make matters worse, that was my biggest HDD, really KNNCCB!!! Fortunately though, i did not have much data on it, unfornately though i have just lost a 120GB HDD. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Although the prices of storage are crashing worse than the global stock market, i still can't see where i can squeeze enough money to buy another new HDD. This coupled with my lazyness to reinstall everything again. Maybe, just maybe if and when i have shifted to my new house, i might want to upgrade this machine and install it with Vista Ultimate SP1, which i got from a Microsoft event quite some time ago.

After struggling the whole Sunday evening to find another HDD to replace the dead one and the tedious work of reinstalling ALL the things which i had configured nicely JUST THE DAY BEFORE, here i am typing in this entry. Fingers crossed that this HDD will last me until i can move into my new house.