Gadgets Aplenty

Its not really like I don't want to make a blog post but I was somewhat busy with work and when I am not occupied with work, I just feel like resting and not typing more stuff which basically is half of my work. So with that being said, replying emails would be some of things which I type most and unfortunately for me, my boss felt that my colleagues and I are not really replying fast enough and the consequence is that we are now given with Blackberries :(



The first thing which I found out about it was that I now have a heavy phone to be carried around again ... My current phone weighs just over 100g :p With that being said, when I walked to office (because I take the train ) on the first day of carrying this from home, my pants almost fell off despite it being held up by a belt.

A Blackberry requires constant Internet connection so I now have quite a high quota ^_^ Since they did not uninstall the pre-installed programs, I have access to my IMs courtesy of my company and I can Facebook too >_< Now I get to make free calls without always needing to use my office phone XD

After my first week of using it, I realized that my company actually have many very hardworking people. These people I know they do not have remote access or use online emails which means if they send email, it shows that they are still office. The latest email I received so far is 10.30pm. Other Blackberry users sends email at 4am =_=|||

That's enough of my Blackberry. I have been searching for a wireless bluetooth headset for quite some time but have been put off by the prices of supposed better brands. Recently there was a sale and I took a look at one of those brands but it was quite disappointing perhaps due to my budget constraint, it was really not as good as when I first thought of it. In the end, I had to settle for a cheaper alternative but still does the job, Nokia BH503.



My colleague also uses this :( BUT I got it for less than half of what he paid for it >_< I don't really know how to check if this is a knock off but for me, I just want to listen to 15 minutes of music while I commute to work and IF I go on travel, I can also use this to kill time.

For anyone using an Android device, you would have become aware that its battery is somewhat of a letdown because if you use it often enough, it would most likely not last you a day, you'd be thankful that it lasts until the end of your working time. Realizing this, I had to get a portable charger so that I can be on the move and not be tied down to a power socket. Being the lazy me and thinking of more long term, I decided to get the biggest portable charger there is and hey presto, Yoobao 11200mAh seems to fit the bill.


I can even charge my Ipad if Im on the go or when I travel long distance where my parents will be looking to kill some time. However, I just recently found out that it cannot charge my Blackberry :( RIM you are the seed of your own destruction!!! Im not too worried about my Blackberry because it can last about 1.5 days for now. Not too many people know of my number just yet =D

The requirement for Unifi to be installed is that it should be near to a television so that the HyppTV box can output to it. This means that my PC is now about 5 meters away from it so a LAN cable to connect it would be in the way for a pathway. Since my PC crashed some time ago and some investment needs to be put into it so I decided to get a USB wifi adapter for my PC. Fixing a PC without knowing what is exactly wrong with it was really a huge challenge but I got it sorted out over the weekend. Installing this wifi adapter however was more of a challenge.


In XP, it cannot be detected and with my PC's dvdroms acting up, it made the task even more frustrating. Somehow this stupid adapter is rejecting my legitimate network password. Although it was quite a complex password BUT I know the damned thing and even checked it a few times to make sure I did not remember it wrongly. Almost on the brink of giving up, I tried the last option which was to play around with the Unifi's router settings. Lo and behold, it was that stupid router which was causing me havoc. Turn off "Wifi Protected Setup"!!! I missed 2 Hernandez goal because of this stupid settings mlm mlm

I think that makes quite a post after being absent for quite some time :p

The real Little Mermaid

Little kids or people who like happy endings should end your reading here.

I am not sure how many of you guys know that the adaptation of Disney's The Little Mermaid is actually a major deviation from the real story. I was really curious when a couple of drama series that I watched all made sad references to this story of which in memory ended happily.

When I searched for more information, initially trying to search for perhaps a localization of the story but when I read the wiki, the original story was very harsh and it had to be toned down to better suit children reading.

Disney changed the ending to be like how we know fairy tales would end ie happily ever after. The real story is that the little mermaid actually dies ... Interesting way to make sure that little kids be good.

If you are interested, here is the link to a more original version of the story. There I have some people not happy about the sad ending but its the truth and I prefer to the truth.

First day at school AGAIN ...

My son was going to a new school again today. But it was thankfully the school which we wanted him to go to in terms of distance. I remember going to the school 3 years ago early in the morning and I was actually the first 50 to register but was not placed there.

Unbeknownst to everyone what kind of selection method was used to place kids to schools which are very far from their home. Initially my son was posted to a school 10km away and it was in a jungle next to a graveyard =_=". After finding out the location, I immediately appealed for him to be placed to a school nearer to my home and of course the first choice would be the school which I tried to registered him.

After 6 months of waiting, I got a nearer school but still it was far away but the next appeal would be when the school opens. In the first week itself, I tried to appeal for another change of place. Unfortunately the ministry is not open to appeals until the third week of school opening and I went back there on the Monday of the third week and was told to wait a week for results.

As the following week was a big holiday, I gave them 2 weeks but thankfully and finally I got the result which I craved for since the beginning. Thus, after much effort, travelling to and fro to school and the ministry I finally got a good news.

The second school's timetable was quite crazy, a first year student will need to spend almost 8 hours in school and 12 hours out of home. 8 hours of studying and activities and 4 hours for travelling. Wake up about 5am come back home at about 5pm. I can't even stand 8 hours in office but I have to work almost 12 hours a day and it makes me want to puke. So imagine what a year of 12 hours would do to a first year student???

In summary for those who might be going through the same pain :
1) Register your kid when they are 4 years old at your desired school, some open as early as April
2) Appeal at the school you are wrongly placed at when you get the placement letter
3) There is an appeal form at the second appealed school which you need to make 6 copies with other attachments + approval from the headmaster. Send 4 copies to the education ministry and wait ... Call them up to ask when the last appeal can be made so you can save your travel.

Cheers and good luck

Cross year post

Can't really say that I do not have the time to post because Im on leave now but perhaps unlike before Im not able to focus on a topic and just shoot like usual. The strange thing is that I now actually have the fastest Internet connection money can buy for normal consumers. 2011 flew by like it was just a month although there many things that happened but it all seemed to be squeezed into a very small timeframe.

The year ended on a very low note for me because I was quite depressed which was compounded by Manchester United's last home game lost to Blackburn =_=" Many things made me down, but perhaps to best summarize it would be that I was hit like a nail on my head when my friend advised me that Im a just sitting on my problems. To be honest, I know I am sitting on it not really because I like to sit on it but its more like I dunno what to do ... However, I think I have gave it more thoughts and there is no other way, I think I have the decision and once I can get it across, it should not be delayed anymore.

On the good side however, I was given the opportunity to travel (for free) to 2 countries :p Bangkok, Thailand and Chengdu, China. I loved both places although both places I would wanted to have stayed longer and do more things or rather complete the things which I wanted to do. 2011 really did not felt like much time to me, every month payday would come so fast as if the last one was just last week. Perhaps work has buried me into a blackhole and my time are spent without me really realizing it. Almost everyday, I put in about 12 hours of work hours but some are really poorly spent because of those useless project managers running them ... Sigh, I don't get to do my work until its after the end of the day for others and the sad part about that is I would require to deal with those matters with those people who go back on time ...

Although it may seem that my efforts should account to a good appraisal but deep down in me, its not really worthwhile stuff that Im doing to be put up as a case for promotion. Most of the things that I do cannot be smart and sometimes I feel that its so dumb that I really curse out loud in office in front of all my colleagues. My colleague who sits in front of me hears me rant the most although from time to time she does join me in ranting out loud :p Its more discouraging when you get to hear that others who gets promoted but their work are like simple things. Pfft, either Im really poor at selling myself or my headhunters suck. I know that there are quite a few people who have quit before are now back at least 1 rank up. ZZZ

So it seems that I have failed to complete any of my resolutions for 2011. I need to be serious about it else its just for show. Some of them have been there for ages.

Sadly though, I think my depression was carried over to the new year. I tried to get some good feelings but it seems to have backfired and actually made me more down. There really some things which I cannot get out of my mind and to make matters worse, I have to dream about them on a frequent basis. Im being haunted not just during my waking hours but also when Im supposed to be resting. I get even more frustrated and depressed.

I sure hope that there is something to look forward to in this new 2012 year. According to supposed zodiac predictions, mine should be best this year and my wish of course would be to strike the lottery so that I can really go around the world before it may end as some have predicted. I somewhat believe in this because the people who made it were really great although they were supposed to be not so high tech or knowledgeable. However, we are also talking about the same people who could accurately calculate eclipses, tracking seasonal changes, position of stars and planets long before the supposedly more knowledgeable scientists or scholars and also their invention to peer into deep space.

Car broke down in the middle of the road =[

I have long suspected that my car was having problems and I was delaying the service. The most notable reason would be to prepare for CNY. The week before, my car did stall in the middle of the road and thankfully there was no car behind me at that time. It managed to start again but I just let it be again thinking that I would do my service this week.

I was heading to Sunway Lagoon for an event and fortunately/unfornately my car stalled permanently just before Guinness Ancher Berhad factory. Since I am not too into cars so I cannot really comprehend what went wrong but I did suspect the battery is flat because my car alarm went cuckoo.

I managed to get a foreman to come check out the problem and at the same time called for my insurance's auto assist for towing services. Initially I thought I would just send it back to my place and get a mechanic which I went to before to hopefully fix it but not really knowing if the shop is still open. When the foreman came, he said he could fix it at his shop in Shah Alam so I asked the tow truck to send it to his place.

It was hard to find because its NOT really a workshop for normal cars! It was a workshop for expensive cars namely Rolls Royce. Before he got down to do his work, he showed me around his place knowing quite well that not many people would drop by not to mention want/going to hang around this place. I was quite awestruck by his collection of cars. I think there were around 10 Rolls Royces, a couple of old Mercedes and some beat up Cadillacs. These are the cars which on TV shows, those people who are into these cars would drool all over the place for.

One would normally see this car used for weddings

I wonder how it feels like to drive it

The steering is not really that well maintained

The signal is not on, my flash must be too great

I wonder why the owner does not paint it metallic

The hats shows that this car is really only used for leisure

Nice plates btw

More RRs collecting dust

New plates on old car

Different part manufacturers

Not too shabby insides

The famous logo

The owner claims that Dr M used this

Very old plates

Most likely these guys only go out on parade a few times per year

More familiar models which we see in HK movies/dramas

Better looking colors IMHO

Another good shade, 2 toned

Jumbled post

Been quite busy with work and I sure as hell need a break IF I can get it. The projects are just rolling in and gets more and more complicated that it takes up so much time and my other work will have to be pushed until after office hours. Other than that I have to go the datacenter and most of the time, I am only permitted entry after 9pm. By the time I finish, its late night if not almost dawn.

I recently met up with my old boss and he seems to be doing pretty well. I hope he does do well so that he may offer me a better paying job and perhaps ride high again like we used to. In one of our topics he did plummet me into deep thought and depresssion on a personal matter which had been left pending for ages. In a way, he is right and oddly enough it seems to be what I want but then again I don't really know what I really want. Not making much sense there huh?

I am supposed to have get a training in Hong Kong. I wished that I could go in November but its been dragging and now its mid December already zzz. My friend there is telling me that there is a sale now going on BUT I am still left with no clue when I might be headed there for my training and a MUCH needed break albeit free flight and a few days of accomodation.

My colleagues tell me that I do not need many days in Hong Kong for sightseeing, something like 3-4 days would cover many areas. But when I fire up a trip planner, I can't get too all the places which I am interested in even if I had a week ... Perhaps I am overambitious, then again I do not know much about which places are worth to visit. I would definately want to visit Disneyland, shop for IT stuff, visit the famous places and surrounding islands, shop for some clothing.

I think that I have changed a fair bit but it still feels like I am still miles away from how I want to be seen. Is it because I am not putting enough effort into it? I am not trying hard enough? Maybe I did not do anything at all ... Status quo, like the many work updates which I get.

Not that I want to blame the weather but it is kind of a depressing feeling now is lingering inside me. 了解我的人呢？在哪里？If only ...

As you can see, I do not have the luxury of time nor energy like I used to focus on a topic and pen a long post. SIGH ... I am getting too old for this shit ...

A date with Gary Pallister and the Premier League trophy

Today, there was a launching event. I thought I was late for it when I got out of my meeting but to my surprise, I saw a couple of my colleagues linimg up before the time is up. However there was too much commotion for it to be just a line and then I saw them! Gary Pallister and the Premier League trophy!!!

Not long after I got in line, the queue was closed. WOOT! I am the lucky few who will be honored to shake hands with the great man and of course have pictures with him and the BPL trophy. The line moved quite fast and halfway to my destination, a crowd started singing "Glory glory Man Utd" and I joined in of course and cheered loudly.

The trophy from afar

Still quite far

Fred acting dumb, standing behind the table and not really allowing us to take pictures with him =_="

Just 2.5 meters away from it, so close yet so far

The temporary setup for Gary to offer his signature

Get on then, NEXT!

Less than 10 people ahead of me now ...

Thanks very much Gary Pallister!

I is the CHAMP19N!!!

NO ONE WAS TO TOUCH THE TROPHY!

Some genius decided to take advantage of taking pictures from another angle and at the same time not disturbing the line

The banner behind Gary Pallister after he left

Rooney is at the side, I find this very quiet strange ...

Giggsy with Ronaldo behind

Becks and Giggsy

Cantona pointing the way forward

Man Utd's Holy Trinity

Each fan was also given a Man Utd metal badge. Im a certified Devil now :p