Wednesday, January 31, 2007  

[Something in the air...]

They say that with global warming, the world's weather patterns are going crazy. I don't know about the world, but the weather in Singapore right now is definitely kinda weird.

For the benefits of those who don't know what the climate is like here, we're in the tropics and have no two seasons. Hot like hell, or rainy like...erm...rain? On rainy days, it's cold (relatively) and the wind is cool. On hot days, if there's any wind, it's the "warm" type of wind.

The weather for the past few days has been...different. The sun is out, and it's hot. But the wind is cool. Some might even say it's cold. I've never experienced this in Singapore before, ever. I did when I was in Australia and the United States. The temperature of the water in my fish-tank (next to my window, so it's exposed to the wind) today dropped to 23.0 degrees, the lowest ever. I couldn't even achieve this in the past with the air-con on.

Personally, I love it. In fact, I *think* the air is getting drier too. My nose feels different when the air is dry. I got nose-bleeds when I was in the US because the air was too dry. But I might be wrong...It could be all the dust from the construction work going on around my neighbourhood (lift upgrading) that's messing my nose up.

I don't know if it's related...But a lot of people I know are falling sick. At last count, 4 of my friends from school and my sister were all struck down by flu or runny nose. I've been eating fruits and drinking juice like crazy for the vitamin C to boost my immune system.

I hope the weather continues to be "temperate", and for everyone who's ill to recover and enjoy it before it goes away.

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:57 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Tuesday, January 30, 2007  

[Fresh sushi]

Got this video from YQ:



Kinda sick, huh? I wonder if it's real or were there camera tricks involved.

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:48 PM. 2 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Monday, January 29, 2007  

[Kung-fu fighting!]

There's this video on askmen.com which was labelled as "sissy soccer boxing". I searched for it on YouTube, and here's a shorter version. I thought it was hilarious.



Who the hell fights like that? Swinging arms and what-not. Both of them, too. These guys should take lessons from Roy Keane. What would have made this video even funnier was if they used that cheesy "kung-fu fighting" song as the background music.

While searching for the video, I came across one of Lauren Robert. Listen to what the commentator said.

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:46 AM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Sunday, January 28, 2007  

[A different type of stress...]

This is my 5th semester in NUS. I have, in the past, claimed that the current semester was the toughest ever, blah blah blah. I was stressed, sure. But I could handle it, because the stress was from the amount of work and not from not-knowing how to get it done.

This time, it's different.

I'm stressed not because of the amount of work I have to complete, but because I don't know how to get it done. My HYP, for one, has a lot of question-marks yet to be erased. If that wasn't enough, I was assigned my last choice for my TMT module. Unlike others who have to teach a lower level module, all I had to do was to do assignment-related stuff for a networking module. I'm supposed to try out the assignment to make sure it's do-able, grade those that are rejected by the course-marker (for whatever reason), and offer consultation hours for students facing problems in their assignments.

Here's the kicker. The first assignment is out. Students were supposed to write a HTTP POST method (or something like that). Yes, it's a networking module. And no, I don't see the link. It's the same networking module that gave me a hard time in my first semester (and me, from a networking concentration in Poly), mainly because 80% of the material really had nothing to do with real-world networking. We didn't touch a single piece of networking equipment back then, and I'm sure the current students won't neither.

What has programming (or in this case, re-inventing the wheel since HTTP POST has already been written) got to do with a networking module? You tell me. So here I am, assigned to "help out" in a module I hated, and I'm supposed to be good at something I know totally nothing about. I could probably teach some of the other lower level modules with an eye closed, but instead they gave me one which wanted me to "teach" things that I knew nothing about. I got "A"s and "A-"s for some of the modules in my preferred list, but yet they assigned me one which I got a "B+" in.

So to sum it up. Problems with HYP and TMT. And also possibly problems with my IT outsourcing module. Mostly because the project 95% exactly like a HYP.

Great.

^^^ by Locksley @ 9:19 PM. 3 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Friday, January 26, 2007  

[I love to...]

Saw this on the back of the seat on the bus today.


If you're going to vandalise something, the least you could do is to get your grammar right.

^^^ by Locksley @ 9:39 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Thursday, January 25, 2007  

[I drive myself crazy...]

I've been having an irritating problem with my new 6131. Since I've only used about 800MB's worth of my 2GB memory card, I thought it'd be fun to convert some of my MTVs and videos to 3GP and watch it on my phone when I'm on the bus.

I googled the topic, and found some decent converters. Quality was good, because the converters allowed you to choose the bitrate of the video. The videos played fine on my computer.

But when I uploaded them to my phone, most of them developed an audio/video sync problem. The video would be much slower than the audio. I tried with the files on the memory card and with the files in the phone's own memory, with the same results. So it isn't a memory-card-too-slow problem.

So I guess....My phone's processor is too slow?

The only way for the videos to play fine is to use Nokia's Multimedia Player to convert the videos. What I don't like about this method is that the video output looks like crap. It's like watching ASFs. When there are too many colours on the screen, everything gets pixelated.

Bought a Bluetooth adapter today so I didn't have to borrow my sister's laptop everything I want to transfer some files. The adapter I bought, for some reason, doesn't seem to want to talk to Windows (although everything looked fine under Device Manager). Nokia's PC Suite can't talk to it, so I had to transfer files using the Bluetooth adapter's own software. Oh well, as long as it works.

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:18 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Wednesday, January 24, 2007  

[Don't dig your nose in public...]


Because it's gross.

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:46 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Tuesday, January 23, 2007  

[Air instruments...]

I bought a new phone for myself yesterday, a Nokia 6131. I've been eyeing it ever since it was released, about a year ago. It was basically an improved version of my 6170. What I liked about it was the 1.3 mega-pixel camera and that I could put in additional memory. Hence, it replaced my MP3 player.

I went down to SLS to buy a microSD card for my new phone. YQ came along as he needed to get ink for his printer. We came across two of the most irritating people I've ever met on public transport.

We were seated at the last row of the bus, on the right side. On our left were two guys. You know how irritating it is when people blast music from their phones or MP3 players on the bus? These guys took it to a whole other level.

They connected their MP3 player to a pair of powered speakers.

Okay, I'm not sure if the speakers were powered, I didn't see it, YQ did. But judging by the din it made, I'm sure it was powered. It was so loud that YQ and I had to shout to each other in order to converse.


As if the music wasn't bad enough, the guy in black decided to play a set of imaginary drums (hence the blurry hands) to the music from the speakers. He may think he was cool, but I thought he was an ass. People who play air instruments are probably the lamest people, ever.

You would think that the guy in black has done enough to make a nuisance of himself for one day. Nope, he's not done, not by a long shot. His phone rang next, and he had a lovey-dovey conversation with whom I'd assume was his girlfriend or something. He was loud, I could hear everything he said. Yes, that meant he was loud enough to drown out his speakers (maybe he turned them down, I'm not sure).

After he was done, he went back to his imaginary drums. After which, his friend in white decided that it was his turn to make a fool of himself. He started singing along to the song that was playing on his god-damned speakers. And yes, he was loud.

I honestly don't know what's wrong with these people. Were they born this way, or did their parents not teach them basic manners? And after oh-so-many people have been shamed on STOMP, they still keep on coming.

^^^ by Locksley @ 9:35 PM. 7 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Saturday, January 20, 2007  

[Surprise!]

I was alone at home this evening. My parents went out to catch some performance by some dance troop or something from China. My sister went to play volleyball with her friends. Being alone, I didn't feel like going out for dinner. So I decided to cook some noodles.

While cooking, the phone rang and it was my sister's friend. She asked me for the exact location of our flat and the car-park charges. I told her, and didn't think too much about it. I knew they were coming tomorrow (my sister's birthday was coming, and she planned a little get-together), so I figured she was just planning ahead.

I parked myself in front of my computer with my noodles and watched an old sitcom. Halfway through, I thought I heard the door-bell ring. I went into the living-room and looked through the peep-hole and saw two girls outside.

I opened the door, and there they were. Two of my sister's friends. One of whom was carrying a chocolate fondue machine.

Apparently, they decided to throw my sister a surprise party. They called and told our Dad about it. And my Dad...The genius that he was, did not tell me about it. He did tell me that my sister's friends "might be coming later". I told him no, they were coming tomorrow and he didn't say anything. So I figured he got it wrong and I just informed him. Turns out, that was his way of "telling" me.

So there they were, with party supplies standing outside, and there I was, on the other side of the door wearing an old shirt with holes, a bowl of noodles in my left hand, a pair of chop-sticks in my right hand and sauce all over my lips.

Anyway, to cut the story short, they came, they decorated, and they surprised. Actually no, my sister wasn't surprised. Due to some miscommunication between themselves, she already knew about it.

So as it turns out, the only person who was truly surprised by the whole episode was....Me.

Oh, and one more thing. Liverpool just beat Chelsea 2-0. Hopefully Man United capitalise on this tomorrow in their match against Arsenal.

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:53 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Friday, January 19, 2007  

[And so it begins...]

This is the third time I'm composing this entry. I deleted everything the other two times halfway, because I didn't know how to continue. Let's see if third time's the charm.

This is my final year in NUS, and I need to complete my HYP. A fancy name for a research project. Students from the batch after mine can choose to either do the HYP or take three level-4 modules in place of it. If I had a choice, I would rather take the three modules. I think taking more modules would be of more use (exposure) to me in the future, but whatever.

I had my first official meeting my supervisor today. It was actually a combined meeting with all of his students. Five of whom were halfway through, five of whom were just starting (including myself). And I was the only one with the insane workload of four modules each semester (without HYP).

His purpose in calling for a combined meeting was, of course, to save time. That I understand. My supervisor has an extremely tough schedule this semester, but that's a whole other issue. What he wanted also, was for the new guys to meet each other so that somewhere down the line, we could maybe "help" one another. He also wanted us to sit in and see what was going on with those who were halfway through, so that we could know what to expect.

I was kinda tickled when he said we could "help" one another. I feel that the trend in NUS is such that students on the same curve sometimes tend not to want to help each other. Personally, I would help close friends whether or not we were on the same curve but I couldn't give a shit about people I don't really know or people I don't like whether or not we were on the same curve. My supervisor said that there were about twelve IS/EC students starting their HYPs this semester. Looking at the other four students, I thought, that's almost half my competition (this was later also pointed out by one of the others, in a joking manner).

I didn't really know any of the other four, although I've seen them around. See, the thing about me is, I tend to make my impression of people I do not know based on how they look (superficial, I know), the way they conduct themselves, and the way they behave. One of them straight up, pisses me off.

That aside, I had a better understanding of the whole HYP process. After which, I talked a little to my supervisor about a topic I was interested in. Unfortunately, it turns out that it really wasn't a HYP/research-type of topic, and looks like I have to lump it. I can easily think of a safe, traditional topic, but I really wanted something a little more exciting. Well, we'll see how it goes. Truth be told, I'm starting to be concerned about the whole HYP experience...

Saw my aunt in NUS today. It was the second time I saw her. She's working as a lab technician in the Engineering faculty. The first time she was too far away for me to say hi. Today we practically ran into each other. And my sister was with me (we had a tutorial together before that). What a coincidence. Everyone's at the same place at the same time.

Bought a UV sterilizer today. I've always had problems with green water in my fish-tank, except for the time I had a bare-bottom tank. Anyhow, a UV sterilizer is supposed to kill all the free-floating algae that causes green water. I was on a budget and wasn't using a canister filter (most UV sterilizers were designed to work with a canister filter), which made selection difficult. I finally decided on one...And when I got home I realised the UV tube wasn't user serviceable (most allow you to change the tube yourself when it burnt out). When the tube burnt out, I'm supposed to buy another attachment (tube inside) to replace it. Not too sure if I could easily find the attachment for sale.

As I was composing this entry, my sister returned from yoga class, all excited at learning a new tough position. She excitedly showed us what it was, as our mother went on and on about being careful not to break snap any bones doing it.

This was the position:


It seems that my sister had trouble with it, and the instructor had to come and help her. I said it didn't look hard, and she dared me to do it.

And I did (insert smug look). She was impressed. I wasn't surprised, I've always been flexible. I remember back in secondary school, I was one of the few boys in my class who could get full marks during the NAPFA test for sit and reach.

^^^ by Locksley @ 9:32 PM. 5 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Tuesday, January 16, 2007  

[Do you believe?]

I've never really believed much in horoscopes, or fortune-telling. I thought that they always told you something very general and could easily apply to anyone. Such results were also often seen in "personality tests". After you took the "test", you read the results and thought, yeah, that could be me. But if you read all the other results as well, you'd probably also think the same thing.

But sometimes, they were right on the spot.

About an hour ago, I posted a message on the school forums seeking for another member to form a project group with. I usually prefer to find one face-to-face, but we were running out of time since consultations start next week.

I then went to read the papers. Check out my horoscope (Pisces) for today:


Well, whaddya know...

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:11 AM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Sunday, January 14, 2007  

[Hahahaha!]















^^^ by Locksley @ 12:18 PM. 2 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Thursday, January 11, 2007  

[Worst day ever...]

Today was a bad day, in more ways than one. I haven't had a day this bad for a long time. The last thing I want to do right now is type...But if I don't get this out, I'm going to explode.

Woke up at 9:30am with the sniffles. I hoped it would go away, but it didn't. I think it was due to dust. Anyway, Thursday is mopping day, so I helped my Dad mop the entire house. I thought sweating a bit would help with the sniffles. Did not. Did I get a word of thanks? Did not.

Swallowed some pills at 12:30pm for my sniffles, which has developed into a slight case of runny nose. Made my way to school for lecture at 2pm, and swallowed more pills at around 2:30pm. At this point, I've exceeded the recommended dosage. I didn't care, I just wanted to get better. Around 3:30pm, got an SMS from Subby telling me that full-time students are now liable for RT. Fantastic. As if I didn't have enough things to juggle as it is.

Left the lecture early because my next lecture was on another side of campus. Left at about 3:40pm, but still got there late. Didn't miss much though. Since this was the first week of school, lectures ended early. It was supposed to end at 6pm, but was over at 5:20pm.

From this point onwards, nothing went right.

Went to the Co-op, bought a textbook I needed. Headed for home at 5:40pm. From my experience, the bus I usually take doesn't stop at NUS' bus-stop after 6pm because it would be totally packed. I thought I had a 20-minute leeway, so things should be alright.

I was wrong. Got to the bus-stop at 5:45pm and the bus came by without stopping at 5:58pm. The retarded operators would not increase the frequency of the service even though demand exceeds supply. So I figured I'd just take the next bus that comes along, alight at Clementi and walk to take another bus home. No such luck, as when the next bus came, it started pouring. Really pouring.

If it's a small rain, I wouldn't have cared...To heck with it, and just walked/jogged in the rain. It was really coming down, so I thought I should walk back into NUS to take 96 to Clementi instead. I reached the Science bus-stop to take an internal shuttle to another part of NUS (where 96 travels along), just in time to see the bus I usually take arrive at the bus-stop outside. It was half-empty.

Fuck. This was unexpected. I've once wasted an hour seeing three of those buses go by without stopping (20-minute interval during peak hours, excellent...), and today a half-empty one came along. Call it Fate, call is God, whatever the "higher power" you believe in, it was playing a joke on me. It took me a long walk to reach the Science bus-stop (due to the rain, had to take the sheltered route), so I decided to stick with the taking-96-to-Clementi plan.

The internal shuttle took its time to arrive, probably due to the rain. I finally boarded 96 at 6:20pm. One hour after my lecture ended. And to top it off, the bus was leaking. Due to a massive traffic jam, the trip to Clementi took 50 minutes (instead of the usual 20) and I was treated to a slow shower the entire time.

Reached Clementi at 7:10pm. I was feeling very drowsy and light-headed by now. I always get this way when I have a runny nose, with or without medicine. Anyway, the pills I took were supposed to be non-drowsy. I didn't want to take a bus (that's what I would usually do) and get stuck in another traffic jam, so I took the train.

Reached home at 8pm. The entire trip took about 2 and a half hours. My trip to school took only 40 minutes. This is the reason why I get so pissed when politicians and know-nothings claim our public transport is "world-class". World-class my ass....

To top it off, had a dispute with my parents when I got home. Bad news about RT liability, coupled with a less-than-100% body made me feel like shit. And the whole thing with the bus not stopping, getting a free shower on 96 made me very cranky. Actually I was more than cranky. I was ready to kill someone. Knowing that I was coming home to a cold, 3-hour-old dinner didn't help.

Plus the thing with my parents. Damned it. I have been thought of moving out in the past, and I'm thinking about it even more than ever now. I can't afford it...Otherwise, I'm gone. I can't take it anymore. I can't live like this. Constantly fighting, arguing and what-not. We can't change our parents, but if I could, I would. I really would. When I watched the first season of Desperate Housewives, I actually identified with Andrew (not the gay parts), and didn't feel sorry for Bree.

Life isn't hard. Living is.

^^^ by Locksley @ 8:52 PM. 3 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

 

[Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]

I completed the game today. I give it 7/10. It was enjoyable, but it could have been better. There was really no need for them to use Value's Source engine if you asked me. Not a whole lot of difference in visual quality...And when it was released 2-years ago, lots of systems could not run it properly. Which was why I only played it now.

Thank God for the walk-through I downloaded, because otherwise I would have abandoned the game halfway. There were simply too many things you'd never be able to find on your own, as well as some enemies you would never know how to kill without some hints. I also had to resort to cheat codes towards the end of the game, when I was stuck in this stupid level and couldn't find my way to the next one. I also had to "generate" more ammo because I ran out after defeating Xiao Ming...More on that later.

Some screens:

Feeding on a blood doll in The Asylum, in Santa Monica. I actually took a ton of screenshots of me feeding, but it loses its appeal(?) after a while. And yes, I was playing as a female vampire. The walk-through said that only female vampires could use the seduction feature. I think it's wrong, male vampires could too I think. Whatever...I didn't use seduction much anyway, mainly for getting blood dolls.


Watching an old man pee. I needed to talk to him for storyline development.


Check out his dialogue. Yes, he's Chinese.


And yes, they totally stereotyped him, what with all the bad English and all. I laughed so hard at his "seller of sister underwear" comment. Who the hell says stuff like that?

The leader of the Chinese vampires is called Xiao Ming. And it's a female vampire. And they can't decide to call her Ming Xiao or Xiao Ming. Ming Xiao sounds wrong (in Chinese), and Xiao Ming is a classic boy's name.


Anyway, she turned into this snake thingy when I fought her.


And then proceeded to spawn another copy of herself. It was so irritating...I wasted 2 clips of ammo on the clone when I turned around and got mixed up.


I chose to take the side of the Anarchs, and it ended with some pretty fireworks. Boom!

^^^ by Locksley @ 12:54 AM. 3 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Tuesday, January 09, 2007  

[Nobody moves opens, and nobody gets hurt...]

First day of school for me today. Yeah, my week starts on a Tuesday, I haven't any classes on Monday. I wasn't entirely in the "back to school" frame of mind yet this morning, but I sure am now. Don't ask me how that happened.

Went to the Co-op to get some textbooks today. Most of our textbooks are "International Editions". It's different from the same textbook that's published in the United States. I guess the International Editions need to be marked out...


You'd think it's a bomb or something, the way they labelled it.

Went to Sim Lim Tower to get some fans and an adapter. I wanted to DIY my own fan set for my aquarium. I followed the instructions I printed out from another site sometime back, with a few modifications. I now have three 92mm fans following onto the water in my fish tank at a 45-degree angle. Water temperature right now is 25.2 degrees, which I was able to achieve previously only after a night of having the air-con on. That's wicked. I estimate that's a temperature drop of about 2-degrees. Why am I so particular about water temperature now? Because shrimps need low temperatures, or their colours would run. Hopefully their colours would improve now. I do need to get some fan grills....I completely forgot about how the thing would look when I'm done. Right now, the back of the fans are exposed and I'd probably get a nasty cut if I put my finger near it. Guess I need to make another run to SLT tomorrow.


I met this woman on the bus on my way back. Nothing unusual about her, just that her mobile phone's missing its back-plate. I don't have smart-ass comments here...Just that it's...Weird.

^^^ by Locksley @ 8:42 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Friday, January 05, 2007  

[Screwed...]

I set out to get several things done this past month, during the month-long vacation. I'm proud sad to say, I haven't done any of it. I planned to get started on my HYP, by reading some papers to see which way I should be headed. Didn't happen. I wanted to see a doctor about my back (the discomfort I feel is starting to affect my quality-of-life). Didn't happen. I wanted to get in shape and hopefully pass IPPT in my next window. Didn't happen.

What did happen:
  1. Installed Vampire, The Masquerade: Bloodlines. I got this game way back in 2004 but couldn't play it back then. I finally can, with my new rig. It's a bitching game, despite some bugs here and there.
  2. Crap...I think that's it.
School starts on Monday. Eeks. I have two days to get some readings done...Like that's gonna happen.

^^^ by Locksley @ 12:52 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Wednesday, January 03, 2007  

[We live in Singapura...]

^^^ by Locksley @ 6:25 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

 

[Nickelback - Photograph]



Look at this photograph
Every time I do it makes me laugh
How did our eyes get so red?
And what the hell is on Joey's head?

And this is where I grew up
I think the present owner fixed it up
I never knew we ever went without
The second floor is hard for sneakin' out

And this is where I went to school
Most of the time had better things to do
Criminal record says I broke in twice
I must've done it half a dozen times

I wonder if it's too late
Should I go back and try to graduate?
Life's better now than it was back then
If I was them, I wouldn't let me in
Oh oh oh
Oh god I, I

Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it
Time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it
Time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye

Goodbye

We used to listen to the radio
And sing along with every song we'd know
We said someday we'd find out how it feels
To sing to more than just the steering wheel

Kim's the first girl I kissed
I was so nervous that I nearly missed
She's had a couple of kids since then
I haven't seen her since God knows when
Oh oh oh
Oh god I, I

Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on the bedroom floor
It's hard to say it
Time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it
Time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye

I miss that town
I miss the faces
You can't erase
You can't replace it

If I could relive those days
I know the one thing that would never change

Every memory of looking out the back door
I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It's hard to say it
Time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for
It's hard to say it
Time to say it
Goodbye, goodbye

Look at this photograph
Every time I do it makes me laugh
Every time I do it makes me...

^^^ by Locksley @ 1:52 PM. 1 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

 

[Make me whole, once again...]

Received an email today in my school account that made me laugh a little...


I didn't even know I was separated into pieces.

I saw an interesting news item on a wrestling news-board. The Ultimate Warrior has done it again. Now, if all you ever knew about him was what you saw on TV, you won't be on the same wavelength as I am for the rest of this entry. If you've read what other people said about him and watched the DVD put out by the WWE, you'll see the humour in all of this.

Apparently, this lunatic was trying to sell some action figures of himself on eBay for $300 a pop.


The best part was, the same figures can be had for US$10-US$15 at brick-and-mortar or other online stores. At least that's what the author of the news item said. I didn't go check out the prices. Plus, look at the answer he gave to someone who was making fun of him:


I don't know what he's smoking...But he should pass it around.

^^^ by Locksley @ 12:29 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Tuesday, January 02, 2007  

[Down memory lane...]

Had dinner earlier at Botak Jones with a couple of my army mates. I don't really have a lot of close friends from my army days, mainly because...Let's just say, we travel in different circles. Very different, non-overlapping circles.

We waited for about 45 minutes before we got our food. This was the third time I've been to Botak Jones, and it was also the longest ever I had to wait. Anyway it gave us a good chance to catch up and talk a bit about old times. We had another ICT coming in June, and we arrived at the same conclusion: We don't understand how some people can look forward to ICT. But within 2 seconds we arrived at another conclusion: Those that do probably do not have the training requirements as we did.

I shall stop rambling about NS here. It never ends, until you "pay" your debt. Whatever. Like I give a shit. They can have my time, they can have my body, but they'll never have my mind.

Botak Jones is located further down the way from where I buy my fish supplies. Before Subby brought me to Botak Jones, I've never ventured down that way much. I had no idea there were so many aquarium shops along that stretch. One of them had the nicest planted tank, with all the plants pearling. I didn't take a picture of that, but I took a picture of this:


A marine tank setup. This shop sold nothing but marine tank equipment and lifestock. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was a wicked setup.


Saw this small lobster in the shop I usually go to. Due to the poor lighting, this was the best I could do. It's actually blue. Pretty unusual if you ask me. A bright blue lobster. Wow.

^^^ by Locksley @ 10:02 PM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

Monday, January 01, 2007  

[A new toy for the new year?]

The new year is upon us. I hope the new year would be better for me than the last, as well as for everyone else.

For the longest time, I've been thinking of getting something to replace my phone, MP3 player and old-fashioned paper organiser. I was thinking of getting a PPC like O2's Atom or Atom Exec, but was put off by the high price. Not to mention that PPCs all seem to have an issue with batteries, having to charge them everyday. You often hear complaints about the call quality as well as the MP3 playback issues.


I recently had a chance to fiddle with Nokia's 6280. Several websites I've read said it was based on the Series 40 platform. If so, bravo to Nokia. It was a huge improvement over their previous Series 40 OS, and the new Active Stand-by display was cool. When activated, the display of the phone would be similar to what you see on a Windows Mobile device (like the Atom). Their calendar function has also improved.


At the same time, I went and read some reviews of the 6131. From what I gathered, the 6131 is very similar (a lousier camera is all) in terms of usage and functions as the 6280, and is also running on the same Series 40 OS. I actually prefer a clam-shell phone over a candy-bar or a slider phone. But the screen size of the 6280 is so much bigger...


I'm torn. I'd probably get a new phone this year to replace my 6170 (which is also a clam-shell and has served me well). The new phone must also come with MP3 playback (which means it has to accept a memory card of some sort) as well as a decent calendar function. I'm thinking of either buying a second-hand 6280 or 6131 now, or waiting till the end of April when I can upgrade my phone at M1. Maybe by then, there would be newer models that I fancy? I don't know...

Anyone got a magic 8-ball?

^^^ by Locksley @ 11:14 AM. 0 comments.
[Read Comments] [Post Comments]

RSS