Fooman's Fandango

Happy 25th Birthday Macintosh Part 1

2009-01-29T18:55:00.018+08:00

Yeap, amazing as it seems, Apple's Macintosh computer has been around for 25 years. That's like a million years in computer age.

I first encountered the Mac, the lowly 128k, 8Mhz Motorola 68000 Macintosh. (There was only one model back then) in Singapore. I was on holiday there after my form 5 exams in 1985 and I encountered a couple of Macintosh computers on display in a mall. I think it was some sort of promo for kids to 'Draw your Christmas present for Santa' with the Mac. Ok, no big deal these days, but this was 25 years ago.

The counter was empty, so I asked for permission to muck around with it. The screen was only black and white, 9 inches across and 512x342 pixles. But as soon as I put my hand on the mouse, and clicked on MacPaint, suddenly everything made sense. In a world of green characters with the fake apple II's, PCs with DOS, and sinclairs connected to TVs, and DOS, it was an epiphany, a moment of crystalisation. I just knew right then, that this was the future of computers. Of course the PC crowd denied this for another decade until Windows 95. No wonder, I generally disdained those who clung on to PCs and DOS. No revelation.

After that brief encounter, I met up with the Macintosh again in college later that year. Yes, computer class was on DEC PCs running DOS, but there were a couple of 512K Macs in the student center with dot matrix printers attached which I could use. Imagine, multiple fonts on the same page. Different sizes even. Stuff we take for granted today was very revolutionary with MacWrite back then.

Later, the computer center got its first Apple LaserWriter. Again, this was 20 years ago. A laser printer was a very, very big deal, and it cost something like USD8000 before the education discount. Not that any of us could actually afford it. But suddenly, Desktop Publishing became very real. Anyone could create professional looking documents with integrated pictures and graphics that didn't have the jagged edges of a dot matrix printer. This was the first desktop revolution. What previously required big printing presses and very expensive facilities could now be done at your desk.

Around the same time, saw the introduction of the Mac Plus, which still ran at 8 Mhz, but RAM was now an amazing 1 Megabyte and the floppy drives now held 800kbytes and it had a SCSI port in the back which allowed you to attache the 20 Megabyte Hard Disk. Yes 20 Megabytes. I think my friend Bill paid something like USD800 for 20 Megabytes of storage. Yesterday, I bought a 8Gigabyte thumbdrive for MYR49.50. which is like USD15.

Nonetheless, it was amazing tech for its day.

The following year saw the Macintosh SE and my very first computer. I think my parents made huge sacrifices for me to get my first computer. So, thanks are in order.

The Macintosh SE I had had two floppy drives. One for the system and apps, and another for data. Pretty amazing for its day. Hahah. I eventually swapped one of the floppy drives for a 40 Megabyte hard disk. I also upgraded the RAM to 4 Megabytes. Cost me like USD250.

Around that time, my friend Ken got a Macintosh II computer. This was a very big deal. It was a separate modular computer as opposed to the all-in-ones, ran at 16 Mhz Motorola 68020, had colour (haha) and if you could afford it, could support 2 monitors at once. This was followed on by the Macintosh IIx (16Mhz 68030) and IIfx which was described as being 'wicked fast' with its 40Mhz Motorola 68030 CPU. It also cost something like USD$12,000.

Apple later updated the SE with a 16 Mhz 68030 which should have resulted in it being called the Macintosh SEx, but for obvious reasons, it was the called the SE/30. And yes, it was fast. I remember it launching Microsoft Word in 4 seconds. And how long does MS Word take to launch now? Sheesh.

The dorm I was living in was also the first dorm on campus to have a computer network. Appletalk/PhoneNet required an adapter that plugged into one of the Mac's ports but amazingly it used normal phone wire. It only ran at 230.4 bps, but it was enough to send messages, print, chat and to play Maze Wars, which was probably the first network game for the Mac. The graphics were simple and it only supported 4 players but could actually play against other human beings. It was probably the first, first person shooter.

Of course the network was also used for things like running SPSS/X statistical regressions off the College's VAX 11/750 Minicomputer names Watson and Holmes.

The summer after I graduated, the regional NeXT education rep stopped by our campus to demo's Steve Jobs' new project the NeXT Cube. It was again, expensive, but it was even cooler than the Macs back then. It had a 25Mhz 60830, and 8 Megabytes of RAM. The CPU was a very cool black Magnesium alloy cube, it had a Magneto Optical Drive, the monitor was connected to the CPU by a single cable and the keyboard, mouse and audio plugged into the monitor. It also ran a graphical interface over Unix. If that sounds like OS X, well OS X is based on the NeXT Step Operating System. That's not the only reason its historically significant. Tim Berners-Lee of CERN created the first web browser and web server on a NeXT Cube and John Carmack also built Wolfenstein 3D and the original Doom game on one.

In 1989, I moved to Los Angeles and started working there as the MIS Manager/trouble shooting/desktop publishing/warehouse manager/forklift driver. I managed to wrangle a Macintosh IIcx for myself. It was also a modular Mac, but it came in a much smaller form factor than the Mac II. It had a 16Mhz 68030, 3 NuBus slots, and was assembled with no screws. I also got a sweet Apple Portrait Display. I don't know why they don't make Portrait oriented monitors anymore. When you consider the written page and most websites are designed vertically, a widescreen laptop monitor doesn't make sense unless you're super Excel geek or only use your laptop to watch movies.

I also attended my first MacWorld Conference in San Francisco. Steve had been fired from the company at that time, so I've never heard him speak live. Going to MacWorld is something everyone Mac fan needs to do. Its just amazing to be surrounded by amazing people, great products, and people who agree with you. hehe. I remember a product demo by Mitch Kapor who founded Lotus which was famous for Lotus 1,2,3, a spreadsheet before Excel. He demoed a product from his new company On Technology. On Location was a search engine which quickly found stuff on your computer's hard disk. Again, a big deal back then. Then again, XP still couldn't find squat on my office PC. Vista sorta finds stuff. If you use a Mac, you know its no big deal. Hasn't been for a long time.

I sold off the SE before I returned to Malaysia, so I was Mac-less for a while. :( More on my post US Macintosh experience tomorrow, or whenever I get around to it.

(pics are off wikipedia)

Hmmm

2009-01-13T01:02:00.002+08:00

Haven't posted in a while. I used to say I only blog when I'm bored or something's really bugging me and I need to vent.

So, I haven't been bored and nothings bugging me?

Plenty has happened in the past few months. I decided to stay where I'm at, produced the Christmas concert, played paintball alot more often.

Hmm, maybe that's how I'm chilling...

I gotta admit, I don't really like the direction that paintball has taken with speedball and guns that can shoot an insane amount of paintballs per second. Thats not how I remember the game when I first started playing. Rate of fire back then was measured with an hourglass. You really had to take your time, get into position, aim and hope you hit your opponent before he saw you and hit you. Nowadays, its accuracy by volume.

I think the trend over the past of squeezing paintball into small arenas and making the game way faster has taken it to another level. But its also made it less accessible to many.

I remember my first game. It was in the woods in Norco, California. I was a super noob with no one to guide me or give advice. I remember persuading my friend Keith to go with me. I think I lasted maybe 5 minutes out of a 40 minute game. Nowadays, entire games take 5 minutes if it even lasts that long.

I think I can see why some people who try it for the first time don't enjoy it. Its a little intimidating when pellets are raining all around you and there's not a lot of place to move.

Yes, my marker has a high ROF, but I've turned it down and I only play in semi mode. I still long for the days of single shot stock guns.

Efficacy

2008-08-26T14:50:00.001+08:00

In management, Efficiency is doing things right, and Effectiveness is doing the right things.

Leadership EFFICACY is “doing the right thing at the right time in the right way with the right motive to produce the right result”.

2 Corinthians 4

2008-08-25T15:17:00.001+08:00

2 Corinthians 4 (The Message)

1-2Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we're not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.

3-4If our Message is obscure to anyone, it's not because we're holding back in any way. No, it's because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won't have to bother believing a Truth they can't see. They're stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we'll ever get.

5-6Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

7-12If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus' sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best!

13-15We're not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, "I believed it, so I said it," we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

16-18So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

Chewbacca Mouse

2008-08-11T11:39:00.001+08:00

Its Chewbacca. Its a Mouse. What's there not to love?

Villagers kill 2 Taliban to defend aid workers

2008-07-11T17:11:00.002+08:00

KABUL, July 11 — A group of villagers in northwestern Afghanistan used a machine gun, sticks and stones to kill two Taliban militants and chase 10 others away, a provincial police chief said.

The militants had tried to abduct local aid workers who were building a well in the Qayar district of Faryab province, the police chief, Khalil Andarabi, said yesterday.

The villagers confronted the militants, and after a brief altercation, shot at them, killing two and forcing the rest to flee, he said.

"According to our culture, when the people invited the aid workers to dig a well they cannot allow the Taliban to kidnap and behead them," Andarabi said. "They were guests, and we never give up our guests."

------------------------------------------------
In the middle of all the madness, some people will still do what is right, even it its going to cost them.

On the recent ruckus

2008-07-11T17:07:00.002+08:00

Who in his right mind, invites a underground punk band to perform at a political rally?

Who the heck is running the country?

2008-07-11T17:02:00.003+08:00

We had the general elections on March 8. 2 weeks campaigning before that and who knows how long in preparation. Its now mid July, the cabinet ministers are pretty much all still campaigning to stay in power within their respective parties.
Hello! Its July already, the election is over. In case you haven't noticed the economy is crap right now.

I know you're sore because the opposition made gains, but in case you didn't notice, you freaking WON the election. So get back to work.

Facebook blocked at work!

2008-07-09T14:04:00.001+08:00

It had to happen sooner or later I suppose.
No more FB stalking people at work.
Now, back to work!

In this time of turmoil and uncertainty.....

2008-07-02T00:36:00.000+08:00

Yesuslah Tuhan yang layak ditinggikan
Layak disembah oleh suku-suku bangsa
Dengan darah-Mu,
kau telah tebus dosaku
Genapi Tuhan firman-Mu atas neg’riku

Hatiku rindu melihat kemuliaan-Mu
Hatiku rindu melihat curahan kuasa-Mu
Di tanah tercinta neg’riku Malaysia
Ku berdoa
Malaysia penuh kemuliaan-Mu
Malaysia bagi kemuliaan-Mu

Ya Allahku nyatakan kemuliaan-Mu
Ya Allahku nyatakan curahan kuasa-Mu
Di tanah tercinta neg’riku Malaysia
Kuberdoa
Malaysia penuh kemuliaan-Mu
Malaysia bagi kemuliaan-Mu

Fuel price jumps up!

2008-06-05T10:31:00.003+08:00

Effective 00:00hr June 5, petrol price will go up by 78 sen, or by 40.6%, jumping from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70.
Concurrently, the price of diesel will increase by a whopping 63.3%, from RM1.58 per litre to RM2.58.

I can hear the guy in my condo who drives the only Prius in Sabah laughing his ass off.

Here In My Home - Malaysian Artistes For Unity

2008-05-17T23:52:00.003+08:00

http://www.malaysianartistesforunity.info/

HERE IN MY HOME

Verse 1:
Hold on brother [won’t you] hold on
The road’s long. We’re on stony ground
But I’m strong. You ain’t heavy

Verse 2:
Oh there’s a misspoken truth that lies
Colors don’t bind, oh no.
What do they know? They speak falsely.

Chorus:
Here in my home
I’ll tell you what its all about
There’s just one hope here in my heart
One Love undivided
That’s what it’s all about
Please won’t you fall in one by one by one with me?

Verse 3:
Push back sister [won’t you] push back?
Love won’t wait. Just keep pushing on.
Yes I’m strong. You ain’t heavy.

Verse 4:
Oh don’t you worry about that...
What we have the shadows can’t deny
Don’t you know it’s now or never?

Bridge:

Doo Doo... etc

- Words & Music Pete Teo 2008 – All Rights Reserved

Yasmin Ahmad's "Tan Hong Ming in Love" ad wins international awards and accolades

2008-05-06T10:08:00.004+08:00

Yasmin Ahmad's ad for Petrona's Merdeka series which was shown last year, has been winning international awards world wide.

View it here

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/6/nation/21159830&sec=nation
http://yasminthestoryteller.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-media-spikes-thought-of-tan-hong.html
http://yasminthestoryteller.blogspot.com/2008/03/tan-hong-ming-voted-best-in-asia.html
http://yasminthestoryteller.blogspot.com/2008/05/petronas-hong-ming-and-commercials-win.html

The 90 second ad is a short about a Chinese school boy, Hong Ming who has a crush on his Malay schoolmate and best friend Umi.

Who those who are having trouble interpreting the results of the recent general elections, maybe you should watch the ad again. We are ALL Malaysians. :)

"All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" by Robert Fulgham

2008-04-18T10:48:00.001+08:00

"All I Ever Really Needed to Know
I Learned in Kindergarten"
Robert Fulgham

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned..

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life.

Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.
The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.
Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

More Wilson

2008-04-11T14:25:00.004+08:00

Looks like Wilson is pretty popular, so here are more, too cute Wilson pics.
Wilson at dailypuppy.com

Wilson's mom says: Wilson loves children, playing, eating, and recharging his batteries with multiple power naps. Our puppy gets much exercise in and around our house, but he falls asleep within moments of chasing a favorite toy. He gets no shortage of attention. This Japanese Spitz scouts out favorite patches of snow to rest on and taste with an ever-busy chewing habit. Find a half-propped leaf and our white pup will have it in his mouth long enough until another leaf blows nearby. Yes, the snow is melting, but so are the hearts of anyone that spends time with Wilson.

Wilson, the Japanese Spitz

2008-04-04T10:51:00.002+08:00

From http://dailypuppy.com

Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson dies at 89

2008-03-27T10:55:00.001+08:00

Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson dies at 89
John Hayes / Associated Press
Herb Peterson, the creator of the Egg McMuffin, shows off his invention in this April 1997 file photo, at one of his McDonald's franchises in Santa Barbara, Calif.
From the Associated Press
6:45 PM PDT, March 26, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- Herb Peterson, inventor of the Egg McMuffin, has died, a Southern California official of McDonald's restaurants said Wednesday. He was 89.

Peterson died peacefully at his Santa Barbara home on Tuesday, said Monte Fraker, vice president of operations for McDonald's restaurants in that city.

Peterson came up with idea for the signature McDonald's breakfast item in 1972.

He began his career with McDonald's as vice president of the company's advertising firm, D'Arcy Advertising, in Chicago. He wrote McDonald's first national advertising slogan, "Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day."

Peterson eventually became a franchisee and was currently co-owner and operator of six McDonald's restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta, Fraker said.

Peterson created the Egg McMuffin as a way to introduce breakfast to McDonald's, Fraker said.

"Peterson was very partial to eggs Benedict," Fraker said, and worked on creating something similar.

The egg sandwich consisted of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, topped with a slice of cheese and grilled Canadian bacon. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin.,

The Egg McMuffin made its debut at a restaurant in Santa Barbara that Peterson co-owned with his son, David Peterson.

Fraker said that, although semiretired, Peterson still visited all six stores in the Santa Barbara area until last year when his health began to deteriorate. "He would talk to the customers, visit with the employees, he loved McDonald's," Fraker said.

Fraker, who said he's worked with Peterson for 30 years, said "he was amazing as far as giving back to the community."

"He embraced the community and the community embraced him," Fraker said. "We loved the man."

Peterson is survived by his wife, son and three daughters.

A public memorial service will be held April 23 at All Saints by the Sea church in Montecito.

You sold me this expensive camera and it doesn't work!

2008-03-26T17:20:00.003+08:00

From Failblog

Oneupmanship

2008-03-24T11:38:00.003+08:00

I know that oneupmanship is common in politics, but this is kinda rediculous.

LKS was roundly lambasted for protesting the Sultan's choice for Menteri Besar of Perak and threatening to boycott the proceedings. He later retracted and apologised after being trashed by various parties.

Meanwhile in Trengganu, 22 elected assemblymen staged a protest outside the Istana Tetamu as Datuk Ahmad Said received his letter of appointment from the Sultan's representative. Ruling component parties as well as National leadership from KL have also opposed the move by the Sultan to reject their choice for Menteri Besar.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/24/nation/20733575&sec=nation
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/24/nation/20733338&sec=nation
There have been subsequent calls to sack Datuk Ahmad Said the Menteri Besar Designate from his party for accepting the Sultan's appointment.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/24/nation/20733508&sec=nation

Now, mind you the Sultan of Terengganu is not only the Sultan of Terengganu, but also the current Yang Dipertuan Agung and King of Malaysia. Now, that's oneupmanship for you.

This reminds me of a Malaysia I knew a long time ago.

2008-03-19T11:04:00.005+08:00

Malaysia: Perak MB-designate Wows Chinese Crowd

IPOH, MALAYSIA: Perak Menteri Besar-designate Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin of PAS turned up at the ”What's Coming Next” political forum held in Ipoh Sunday (16 Mar) and immediately stunned the Chinese crowd by speaking in Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Tamil, then in English and Malay.

The audience was speechless then gave the PAS leader a rousing applause. The forum was organized by Guang Ming Daily, Sin Chew Daily, Eye Asia and Sin Chew-i an dheld at Dewan Dou Mu in Ipoh at 2pm and attracted 3000 people. Speakers included PKR national vice-president Dr Lee Boon Chye, Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham, Wangsa Maju Member of Parliament Wee Choo Keong and Sin Chew's Deputy Chief Editor Tay Tian Yan.

Mohammad Nizar, an accomplished enginneer, was not a speaker but was invited to the forum by Ngeh. (Sin Chew Daily)

Director Anthony Minghella Dies at 54

2008-03-19T08:51:00.001+08:00

Flim Maker Anthony Minghella passed away after surgery. He was best known for movies like The English Patient, Cold Mountain, & The Talented Mr Ripley.

Arthur C. Clarke 1917-2008

2008-03-19T08:31:00.002+08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, sci-fi writer & futurist passed away in Sri Lanka. He was best know for his novel and film 2001: A space oddessy and for propogating the idea of geostationary satellites, the basis of much of todays' communication networks.

Oh yeah, I'm a certified Independent Film Producer, Director and Line Producer

2008-03-17T23:41:00.003+08:00

Now if only the postal service didn't 'kiam chai' my certificates. :(

Wall-E

2008-03-14T10:34:00.002+08:00

Enough about politics for a while.

Pixar is going to rock again this year with their latest feature, Wall-E.

Wall E Full Trailer

On calls for the PM to resign

2008-03-10T16:41:00.003+08:00

Hello, old man, the last time I checked, BN won the national election and controlled most of the country. That means that many people voted FOR him to be PM.

So shaddup willya.

You really should consider retiring to Lake Geneva and leave us alone, thank you. Or go sit in your bakery and have some tea. I'll drop by some time and we'll talk over coffee. Oh sorry, Langkawi is now controlled by the opposition. Awwww.

Oh sorry, that crashing sound was the sound of your iron fisted legacy falling to the ground. Oops.

The death of traditional media

2008-03-10T08:24:00.001+08:00

Traditional media like TV, radio, and newspapers became increasingly irrelevant on Saturday night by trailing internet news sites by at least 3 hours. A population desperate for news turned to alternatives when their normal sources were slow or silent. Expect ad revenues to shift accordingly.

A new day

2008-03-09T09:37:00.002+08:00

Malaysia woke up to a new day this morning. After 50 years, we've just started to learn what it means to be free. We may just be a democracy after all.
Pak Lah for all his faults, is the man who set things into motion that made Malaysians wake up and realise the reality of the oppression foisted on us by the previous administration. Four years ago, he was given a huge mandate to bring change to Malaysia.
And he finally did.
That's the irony of it. If we were happy with his administration, we would have continued with business as usual and continued to suffer the injustice foisted upon us as our leaders believed that they were invincible.
Unfortunately the man who saved Malaysia will pay a very heavy price at his party's next elections. Pray for him.

Johor, Sabah and Sarawak have provided most of the seats to collectively save the government's butt. Will this translate to more influence?

If Tan Sri Khalid can run PNB and Guthrie, he can run Selangor. Local councillors in PJ, Klang and Ampang Jaya area learning what happens to cockroaches when the lights get turned on.

Hopefully the police were able to stop people in local councils from all night shredding sessions.

Penang.
Well, Penangites you've finally done what you've been complaining about all these years. So don't be kiasu. Go all out to make the government you elected successful. You've given a fitting end for Kit Siang and Karpal for all the years they struggled on your behalf. Thank you for being grateful. You give hope to those wondering if they should do this.

Oh yeah. Happy birthday samy. How appropriate.

So, BN. Like we said. We don't mind you running the country. We just didn't want you taking us for granted. So no 2/3 majority. Its not personal. Don't get all pissy on us, ok? You're still in charge.

Simplicity

2008-03-05T17:57:00.003+08:00

Berkshire Hathaway is one of the world's most successful holding companies and Warren Buffet was at one time the world's richest man. The website is at
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/
It doesn't get any simpler than that folks. Makes you wonder how much value all the fancy flash stuff with music, animation, graphics actually adds to your organisation.

They just don't get it

2008-03-04T16:16:00.002+08:00

Gomen is offering 'peace', 'stability' and 'prosperity' if you vote them in. If not, they're going to get medieval and do a may 13 on you. Hello, don't the local gangsters offer the same when they come and collect their monthly 'subscriptions'.

The old man should just shut up. We're in deep doo-doo because of all the things he put in his place during his way too long reign. Maybe the whole country should just collectively decide that he's the national scape goat, then he can retire to Lake Geneva or something and leave us alone. Or just sit in his bakery and be the grumpy old man that he is.

PKR wants to lower petrol prices if they are put into power. Morons. The global oil price has been going up, or haven't you noticed. Just because morons run the country doesn't mean I want them replaced by other morons.

Oh yeah, if the former DPM by a very long shot becomes PM, I'm packing up and leaving. Again, the crap we're suffering from was put into place when he was Education Minister, Finance Minister and DPM. Even wondered why our education system is so incompetent, broken, inept, exclusionist, revisonist and racist? Duh...

Look, BN, you can continue to run the country, but we're kinda fedup of you taking us for granted. We're Malaysian, dammit! Don't tell us or make us feel otherwise. We're sick of your screwups. So, we're going to make sure that you don't have free run of the place.
That's all.
Don't take it personally and get all pissy on us. We're doing this for everyone's one good. Really.

And the opposition. Guys, we're not exactly hot on you either, but we need someone to keep watch on the watch dog. Ok? Don't get any illusions of grandeur and expect to be top dog. You're guarding the guard dog. Get used to it. At least until the time there's a generation of competent people in your ranks. I.e. see the moron comment above.

What's going to happen? I think Penang people have it right. We'll send our favorite opposition candidate to parliament to stir things up and to prevent the 'constitiution amendment of the day' and this time they'll be enough of you so you don't get simply shouted down. Locally, it'll be the poor BN sap who will have to take care of our roads, schools, take out our trash, etc.
That works for me.

Oh yeah, Sabahans. What you have in this amazing land is incredible and there are people who are determined to steal it from you. This is the most and maybe only muhibbah place left in Malaysia. I know your leaders in the past have been short sighted, greedy, stupid, drunk, incompetent, corrupt, gambling, womanising paedophiles, but don't give up.

In 1995, you were promised new Sabah. You now have the most people living below the poverty line, while you're being systematically replaced by outsiders who will gladly vote govt in exchange for a Mycard. If you can't see it, may you consider that you've gotten a raw deal since then.
You now have been promised the Sabah Development Corridor. Which promises 900,000 new jobs. Guess who's filling those positions if it ever comes about. Not your sons and daughters.

Don't let them steal your birthright.

Yes, your birthright.

Since we're on the subject of toilets and other nasty stuff...

2008-03-04T16:05:00.003+08:00

This is what BN candidates are up to.
Mind you this is a WOMAN candidate implying her opponent is a hussy. Can't expect the male MPs to behave any better then. Sigh.Country going down toilet..... Crocodiles on both sides of the bridge.

God save Malaysia.

Toilet Sign

2008-03-04T15:47:00.002+08:00

They should put these up all over Malaysia

MacPro

2008-02-15T14:56:00.001+08:00

I don't think I ever got around to posting pics of Skyline's Final Cut NLE running on a Mac Pro, but here you go:

Help page for opening the Windows Vista Box

2008-02-02T02:48:00.000+08:00

I've always thought windows to be unnecessarily complicated which is why I use a Mac, but in Vista, they even have a help page to explain to people how to open the box!
How to open Vista Box

If you've ever opened an Apple product box you know how rediculous this seems.

300 as recreated by apples

2008-01-26T03:45:00.000+08:00

New Mac Stuff-8Core Mac Pro

2008-01-09T09:06:00.000+08:00

WIth a week to go before the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Apple has announced new replacements for their High End Mac Pro and X Serve.

They now come standard with dual Intel Quad Core 'Harpertown' Xeon processors up to 3.2Ghz for a total of 8 cores.. And in case you're thinking, I'm still very happy with the 4 core 3Ghz MacPro at the Media dept which we bought in October. For the first time, I didn't have to sleep on the sofa in the nursery while waiting for stuff to render.

Early bencmarks indicate that the new basic configuration 2.8Ghz 8 core runs neck to neck with the old high end configuration 3Ghz 8 core. This is great stuff as the 3Ghz 4 core is already very fast especially for apps which can make use of multiple processors. The basic video card in the old Mac Pro was pretty lame for such an expensive machine, so an upgrade to the X1900XT is something you'd want to do if you can. I'm not sure about the performance of the Radeon HD2600XT in the new basic configuration, but the mid level upgrade video card, the Nvidia GeForce 8800GT, looks to be a solid performer, so squeeze out some extra cash from somewhere.

Steve must have quite a show planned next week, if he needs to get their fastest machines announced and out of the way, a week before. I'm thinking the return of the Apple subnotebook with a blow your mind docking station. A category they invented some 15 years ago.

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T02:39:00.000+08:00

Hi all, Happy New Year. May you have an awesome year ahead and may God pour His blessings on every area of your life.

I know its way past Christmas, but this is too cool to wait till next year.
This is Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale doing Little Drummer Boy.

Celtic Woman-O Holy Night.

2007-12-26T14:24:00.000+08:00

I know its boxing day already, but its still Christmas in Hawaii.

Its just so lovely......

Everything-The Movie

2007-12-25T04:11:00.000+08:00

Well, the Everything project is done. This is a short film based on the Lifehouse Everything skit by The Mission. Probably the most performed skit among US youth groups these days. I've uploaded to YouTube and GodTube, but I'm not happy with the encoding. A lot of artefacts and sound synch issues. I'll try and sort it out. In the mean time, I hope you're blessed. Merry Christmas everyone.

On YouTube

On GodTube

Update: Higher quality 22mb mpeg4 version at:
my .mac site

Merry Christmas All!

2007-12-24T09:26:00.000+08:00

Its done

2007-12-22T08:22:00.000+08:00

The Everything project is done.

I still have to master the DVD, but I think I'm done editing it. Took me a while to cram in the verse at the beginning. Hopefully it works. Or I'll end up fixing it some more today. Or not.

Have invited people for Christmas service. Hopefully they'll show up.

Wonder if I'll be able to go Christmas shopping.

I'll put up the link for the video after Christmas.

Have a good one everybody.

God bless.

Its almost Christmas

2007-12-19T16:01:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

Haven't posted much lately. As most of you know, I'm working on the Christmas movie for church and its almost done. I should be working on the final cut tonight. Need to trim 30secs from Act 2. That might not seem like a lot, but thats 750 frames. I'm also not entirely happy with how the jesus character is glowing. But climax is done. For the most part anyway. I'll put it up next week. Its based on the Lifehouse Everything Skit by The Mission Baltimore. I've extended it and changed some of the story elements, but the overall message which is pretty powerful is there. In the mean time, here's the orginal skit:

More WTD

2007-12-13T02:25:00.000+08:00

Habakkuk 3:17-19

2007-12-08T12:03:00.000+08:00

17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 1:5

2007-12-07T17:02:00.001+08:00

5 "Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.

Habakkuk 1

2007-12-02T00:43:00.000+08:00

1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.

2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, "Violence!"
but you do not save?

3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.

4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.

Movie shot. Now to edit

2007-11-21T00:43:00.000+08:00

Thanks to everyone who gave it their all. Also thanks to Faith and Patrick for logging and capturing the footage. Now to edit. One more month to go.

Making Movies

2007-11-06T01:35:00.000+08:00

Shooting next movie this weekend.
Busy
Lots to do
Need sleep
Need grace
Need to give grace
Need to be set apart

Leopard and the passing of an era.

2007-10-25T00:55:00.000+08:00

One more day to Mac OSX 10.5!

Even as the Macintosh world celebrates something new, I mark the passing of an era, my almost 6 year old 800Mhz iMac G4 is not supported in Leopard. :(

Had to happen sooner or later. Maybe now I can consider modding it like this:

I still think this particular iMac has the most personality of all. Check it out below:

This is what we have now. Sleeker? Yes. More power? Yes. Personality? I don't think so.

And one last time, take a bow, Mac. :)

People shouldn't use Macs because they only have very small market share.

2007-10-05T15:00:00.000+08:00

Every once in a while, I'll meet someone who'll sprout off the FUD line from MS in the title. Along with all time favorites: Macs are not compatible, Macs are expensive, and Mac don't have software. I'll address those lies another time.

http://duggmirror.com/apple/Look_at_them_apples/
From the Missouri School of Jornalism

If you've ever wondered why the Apple Logo on the Mac/Powerbooks light up. Now you know.

LAGC Live! 'Loose' Canon

2007-10-05T10:59:00.000+08:00

The LA Guitar Quartet shows that there is way more than one way to play of my favorite classical pieces.

September 24

2007-09-24T08:52:00.000+08:00

Season 2 Begins

Priceless.

2007-09-18T10:34:00.000+08:00

The best gorilla movie, ever.

2007-09-09T19:45:00.000+08:00

Mac Pro Observations Part 1

2007-09-06T15:51:00.000+08:00

Haven't taken any pics yet. Its sitting on the table in the media room. I haven't evicted the old iMac from its spot just yet, but I've been rearranging, putting away stuff and making space.

I've transferred the settings and files from the old mac. Must remember to delete some of the user accounts. So far everything seems to have moved over effortlessly, apart from taking about 4 and a half hours. A couple of weird things though. The apps in the dock had '?' in the icon, but clicking on it restored the icon and launched the app. I guess there's some sort of automatic re-linking of the alias or short cut. I need to check the admin account privilages and make sure its not too accesible.

I installed Final Cut Studio 2, which took about 2 hours and 8 DVDs. The box of manuals would kill someone if you dropped it on them. The Mac Pro comes with the new iLife 07 which was released a few weeks ago. MS Office and iWork are only trial versions. :( This is a CTO machine as I custom ordered it with an ATI X1900XT video card instead of the standard GeForce 7300GT. Apple really needs to get around to shipping the latest video cards a lot sooner! RAM and monitors are 3rd party as its much, much cheaper. No, they haven't arrived yet. The RAM just transited Alaska. The monitors are probably still in Penang/China.

Performance
I haven't edited any video on the new machine yet, so I decided to try encoding some videos to mpeg2 for DVD which took forever on the 1.8Ghz G5 iMac. An hour long video took hours to encode and burn. I had some pending videos which I've not gotten around to mastering to DVD. I tried using Compressor and selected the 120min fast setting. It finished converting a 60min DV video to mpeg2 DVD in a about 14 mins. The computer only has 1 Gig of RAM and this point and I could see Compressor using all 4 cores at about 69% total processor utilisation rate. I tried playing videos and doing other stuff while this was going and and didn't notice any slowdown. It converted all 5 hour long videos in about the time the iMac takes to do an hour long video. The video was sitting on an external RAID 0 dual drive casing connected by Firewire 800.

I'm looking forward to seeing how much real time performance I can get out of Final Cut.

The other app which I sometimes run is C&C. Hehe. :) Its my stress relief. So shoot me.

On the iMac on lowest graphics setting its fairly sluggish with more the 3 computer opponents.
I tried turning on all the graphic options. (now i know what the game is supposed to look like) The gameplay was going much faster than normal even at the same speed settting. Wonder what it'll be like with 7 computer opponents? Hmmm.....

I should be doing some real work with this thing soon.

The cooler on the X1900XT video card is fairly loud. More so because the MacPro is very quiet for such a large machine. The fans do kick in for a couple of seconds at startup, but then throttle down to near silence. Then I can hear the video card's fan. On the upside, third party coolers aren't expensive.

Just when I thought I'd just have to put up with noise from the external drives, I turned on the new 2kVA UPS after it was charged and this rather loud fan kicks in! Sheesh. Can't win them all. I suppose I could go look for a quiet fan for it too. Now I know why the 3rd party silent cooler market for PCs is so huge.

Update

2007-09-04T13:46:00.000+08:00

Spent most of merdeka weekend working on a video. Still tired. Sigh. Recovery from all nighters takes a lot longer these days.

Will be visiting the Timbua church this weekend. The foomobile V2 will see some dirt. Hehe.

The Mac Pro is here! Can't pick it up until the cheque is ready. Besides the RAM and monitors aren't here yet. Stay tuned for the unboxing.

Have a good week all.

Update:
Picked up the Mac Pro last night. Plugged it into a old 15" CRT monitor. Good thing Apple includes a DVI-VGA adapter in the box. Ran migration assistant to move stuff off the iMac and then went home. Will take a look at lunch time.

Skyline 6th Anniversary

2007-08-05T04:53:00.000+08:00

Happy 6th Anniversary Skyline!

More of Day 2 in Hong Kong

2007-07-27T16:45:00.000+08:00

I had decided early on that this trip would be more of a foodie rather than shopping trip. Why? Gadgets are expensive.

Here we are in Agave, LKF, before dinner.

For dinner, I suggested my favorite restaurant in Hong Kong, the Nepal Restaurant, located on Staunton Street, Mid Levels. As you come up the mid level escalator, turn right as you hit Staunton street.

Bhim, the manager is still there and he looks more 'prosperous' these days. The dinner party was Kerry, John, Herman, and I. Kim just finished at the gym and would join up later.

I ordered the following:
Starter
BHENTA TAREKO
Fried Eggplant marinated with fresh Nepali Herbs

ALOO CHOP
Nepali Potato Pancake marinated in fresh Nepalese Herbs and fried

Mains
PANEER LALI GURASH
Home-Made Cottage Cheese cubes cooked in Butter, fresh Tomato sauce, Honey,
Cream and garnished with fresh Coriander

ALOO KAULI
A dry preparation of Cauliflower & Potato cooked with chopped Onion,
Tomato and fresh ground Spices, garnished with Coriander

ROYAL KHASI
Boneless Lamb slices cooked in Almond based Gravy

KUKHURA-KO SEKUWA
Barbecued Boneless Chicken marinated in fresh light Nepalese Herbs & Spices

I don't know if this is what people really eat in Nepal, but we ate well. The food here is still excellent. The others have never eaten here before and they were suitably impressed. John was raving about the flavour in the veggie dish.

After dinner, someone mentioned that there was a Krispy Kreme donut shop nearby.

There has been a fair amount of hype about these donuts and since they're not available in Malaysia, the dessert pocket of my stomach made a little more space and we headed there for donuts.
Yeah, they're good donuts. :)
Only regret was that we weren't there as they were coming out hot off the machine.

Here's a shot of us in the store.

Lil' Formers

2007-07-24T14:25:00.001+08:00

Just got caught in the rain walking back to work after lunch. Ugh.

Anyways, as a distrations, check out Lil' Formers
In the words of its createor Matt Moylan
"WHAT THE HECK IS LIL FORMERS?
Lil Formers is a parody comic strip created, written, drawn, inked and coloured by me, Matt Moylan. It’s based on and pokes fun at Hasbro’s Transformers mega-property (with the occasional guest star from outside the TF universe). While most of the strips revolve around the original 1980s TF toy line and cartoon, any aspect of the franchise is fair game. So expect jabs at the Tranformers from every angle - the upcoming TF movie, any toy line, and TV show, any comic, and maybe even those crazy TF fans! "

If cute looking tranformers appeals to you, check it out.

Hong Kong Day 2

2007-07-20T10:19:00.000+08:00

Woke up late Saturday morning. I had plenty of sleep to catch up on and I also forgot how Hong Kong is never dark with all the lights and kept on waking up at night.

Another hot day, but I thought it'd be a great time to go have Wanton Mee at Stanley Street. I still don't know the name of the shop, but its after the Camera Shops and Luk Yu Tea house. I took a taxi there with MC, Shirley and their daughter Anabel, who's now in school. Last time I saw her she was just a baby. After a little confusion on the location of the shop, Kerry and Herman joined us for lunch as well.

The noodles were springy, had a snap to them and were delicious. The wontons which are the size of golf balls were chock full of prawns and very good. Ahhh.
The weather is still hot. I was very grateful for the shop's air conditioning.

After lunch we wandered around the Page One book store, headed over the Pacific Place for Starbucks. I had to have my caramel macchiato. They only opened in HK in 2000, but they're everywhere now.

I took the MTR over to Causeway Bay to check out the Computer mall in Windsor House. I didn't buy anything, but saw an iPhone selling for HKD9000! After that I swung by Toys R' Us and UML to check out the Transformers toys. The movie rocked, but I wasn't that impressed with the toys.

Coming back down to street level in Causeway Bay, I realised I had forgotten how crowded Hong Kong can get. I ducked into Sogo department store and into more people. I wandered around the supermarket looking for the toilet and realised they have a huge amount of imported Japanese foods.

More later...........

Hong Kong and Macau Day 1

2007-07-19T14:52:00.000+08:00

I was in Hong Kong last weekend for a few days. I'll blog about stuff as it comes to mind.

I travelled via Macau by Air Asia as it was much cheaper. It was my first time in Macau, which is surprising since I live in Hong Kong for 5 years, but never mind.
Macau has seen a huge jump in development over the past several years. The casinos are seeing a new boom with the entry of Vegas developers and punters from the mainland. Chinese and gambling just seems to go together. If you sit on the right side of the plane, you should get a pretty good view of the place as you land.

I still can't find my camera, so most of this will be pictureless.

Anyways, I landed in Macau airport about an hour late and I had planned to take the express link service which bypasses immigration in Macau and takes you straight to the ferry terminal. However at 5pm I was told that the next 'express' service was scheduled for the 9pm ferry. I was supposed to meet my friends in Hong Kong at 7:45, so time for plan B. I had the airport staff take me back down the the arrival area, go through immigration then I took a taxi to the Macau-Hong Kong ferry terminal to catch a TurboJet Ferry to Hong Kong. The catamarans run regularly and are fast and comfortable. I had hoped to ride a Hydrofoil, which I have never done before, but it wasn't on my scheduled trip.

Oh yeah, the weather is hot.

I finally make it to Hong Kong and the sights, sounds and smells of Hong Kong seem suddenly so familiar.

I walk from the HK-Macau Ferry Terminal at Shun Tak Centre to Wellington street to the Yung Kee Restaurant where I'm meeting my friends for dinner. This first culinary stop is famous for its roast goose.

I meet up with Gary, Skye, Iggy, Addie, Kim, Shirley and Rose. Kerry shows up later with a couple of her friends. The restaurant is packed as usual, but the food arrives fairly quickly and the roast goose doesn't disappoint. Its been about 6 years since I've seen everyone, and everyone still looks the same. Except they have kids now.
After dinner, I head off with MC and Shirley, as they've kindly let me stay at their place at Pok Fu Lam.

End of Day 1. Yeah, its hot.

Transformers Movie Review

2007-06-29T01:15:00.000+08:00

Just watched it just now and I can't really review it without giving away spoilers, so lets just say that the movie R O C K S!

All the fanboys who were up in arms over how Bumblebee, Optimus Prime and Megatron are being portrayed, really don't have much to be concerned about, IMHO. Besides, in the original show, Megatron transformed into a gun that needed his mah chye to use him. What sort of transformation is that?

You've never seen the Transformers like this. The transformation effects very elaborate and detailed.

This is basically a guy's movie, but it has enough going on that most people will enjoy it. Its a veritable hardware fest, from cars, computers, and an obscene amount of military hardware.

I'll write more once most people have seen the movie

Transformers

2007-06-27T15:57:00.000+08:00

Robots in disguise.
The 80s are back! Heheh.

Got tickets for 7pm tomorrow.

In the mean time, here are a couple of 'bots that didn't quite make the cut.

Back in KK

2007-06-26T00:13:00.000+08:00

I'm back in good ole Kota Kinabalu after an extended weekend in KL and Port Dickson. I had a pretty good time at the sibkl young adult retreat at Port Dickson. I also picked up the Foomobile V2 from the dealer and drove in down to Port Dickson.
Its pretty quiet and comfortable for a small truck. The cabin is roomier than the old hilux, especially in the back seat. They've changed the storage area from behind the seat to under the seat. I kinda suspect that this gives up storage space, but we'll see.

It handles highway speeds pretty well, but I felt the front suspension a little too soft and floaty at above 110kmh. I guess a new pair of coilovers would take care of that. The canopy, front bumper and side steps have added some weight, but it feels pretty sluggish for its 1860kg kerb weight. The 2.5liter turbo diesel lacks power and torque. They just haven't seen it fit to equip the Malaysian Hilux with the 3.0L turbo diesel intercooled model like the Thai and Australian versions.

The engine speed sensitive power steering works well, making it very easy to handle. We'll see if its still the same with 33" tires. Hehe.

The milage seems to be very good. The tank was just above E when I got it, took RM102 to fill it up. I was over 350km and it was way above the halfway mark. I guess reports of the 700km/tank range are true. Yeah, I know the Isuzus go further, but they also tend to have larger tanks, which is a good thing really.

The CD player plays MP3 CDs as well, but sound quality is kinda meh. Factory stereo. Sigh.

Nope, no pics. Didn't take a camera along.

For those of you who've always wanted to learn, here's how you moon walk.

I'm off again

2007-06-21T01:23:00.000+08:00

I'm leaving for KL tomorrow night. I'll be picking up the new Foomobile V2 on Friday then hopefully drive it down to Port Dickson for SIBKL's young adult camp. Behave while I'm gone, 'k?

And the winner is.............

2007-06-09T03:54:00.000+08:00

Well, the paperwork isn't done yet, but here you go.
The Foomobile Version2
2005 Toyota Hilux 2.5TD. Got the rear canopy, front bullbar and sidesteps as part of the deal.

Ta daa! A bit too much chrome up front. But I'll live.

Alpha Canopy Cover. Still too much chrome on the back.

3/4 Beauty Shot

The interior. Note the car style handbrake lever, and the wood trim kit. Hahaha.

What's going on at Starbucks?

2007-06-08T19:55:00.001+08:00

First of all, they've been out of caramel = no caramel macchiato. :-(

Now they're promoting this:

Hello? What would posses someone to think that Red Bean goes with coffee? Yes, don't let the Azuki bean thing fool you. Its Red bean, the 'ang tau' that's so familiar. The stuff some places put into ABC. Ugh...

In case you're wondering, no I haven't tried it. Don't intend to. Just waiting for my caramel macchiato.

Foomobile V2 update

2007-06-08T16:48:00.000+08:00

Another candidate has entered the race:

2005 Toyota Hilux 2.5TD Current model. Yeah, I know that Toyota advertises it as being 'urban', but with enough work and MONEY, it can look like this:

Wasn't considering this, but my brother just found one at a great price, even if its in KL. Stay tuned.

Mystery Plane

2007-06-06T09:50:00.000+08:00

I was checking on local landmarks in Google Earth, when I came across this, off the coast of KK.

It appears to be a Boeing 747-400. However, I'm not aware of any regular 747 flights in and out of KK.

Here's a pic of the plane off the coast of KK. Sutera Harbour is to the right, Tuanku Abdul Rahman Marine Park to the left. KK airport to the lower right. The plane's position is consistent with the flight path after take off.

Here's a pic of the plane that I think it is:

The DigitalGlobe pics of the area are from 2002, so the plane has been long gone. The Sultan was known to have made trips around the neighbourhood in his personal 747. Must be nice....

Necessity......

2007-06-06T08:59:00.000+08:00

Ever been stuck in the office with a cold muffin with no microwave in sight?
Just put the muffin in a plastic bag, loosely tie the top of the bag.
Pour hot water in to a bowl. Stick plastic bag into bowl and cover.
It takes a while to heat up but, but its better than a cold muffin.

Foomobile V2

2007-06-02T01:07:00.000+08:00

The search is on!
Candidates are: (Pictures are only representative of type)

Landcruiser 80 VX (The uncle 4x4)

Mitsubishi Storm 2.5TD (The Ah Beng truck, but cheaper than a Hilux used.)

Toyota Hilux 166 2.8 (IFS. Boo hiss. But its still a Hilux)

Isuzu Trooper 3.1 (Yes you can look like you work for the gahmen)

Nissan Frontier (I still don't know what to make of this truck, but they're cheaper than Hilux's used)

Wild Cards
Mercedes G230 (Awesome! But not many in Malaysia and all old)

Hilux LN106 (Solid Axel. Yay! Foomobile Version 1)

Classic Range Rover (Luxurious, dirt cheap used. Spends all day thinking up new ways to break your heart, and wallet)

Ultimate Star Wars Personality Test

2007-05-09T09:56:00.000+08:00

From the Ultimate Star Wars Personality Test
Well, I've gotta admit I'm not too surprised....

Penang Mali

2007-05-07T09:43:00.000+08:00

Just got back from Penang for Nikki and Tatsu's wedding. Its been a few years since I've been back. Its a bit strange, how foreign Penang feels to me considering I grew up there. I guess that's what a couple of decades or so away, does to you.

Ate a lot.....

Pictures to follow...

Maggi Contest Results

2007-04-24T17:29:00.000+08:00

Well, the Maggi ad judging is done and we won 3rd prize!

Thanks all for your support and votes. Thanks to Alice and Kelvin too!

View the vids at:http://www.maggi.com.my/salutesContest/main.htm

My friend Audrey won the 1st prize. Congratulations Auds!

Twitter

2007-04-18T17:10:00.000+08:00

As some of you have noticed, I've incorporated Twitter into my blog. Its on the right side. Twitter is a free micro blogging service. Also works through sms, but i think it'd be kinda expensive to do that over here.

Haven't been blogging much either. Hmm, is twitter becoming a blog substitute for me?

Shift Happens

2007-04-10T10:50:00.000+08:00

The world is changing. Fast.
Are our kids being given more and more subjects to memorise so they can score A's in double the subjects of 20 years ago?
Or
Are they being taught to think?

From Glumbert.com

glumbert.com - Shift Happens

Please vote for my Maggi Mee video

2007-03-20T23:42:00.000+08:00

Maggi is running a video contest for the Biggest Maggi mee fan.

Here's a video I did with some friends. Please click on the link below and vote. There are few other entries which are pretty good too and deserve your vote, like Ninja, Maggi Romance and Nothing Like Maggi.

But please vote for Kelvin Loves Maggi

Grey Hair

2007-03-19T14:37:00.000+08:00

Found one yesterday.

Darn.

Had to happen sooner or later.

Sigh.

Back in KK

2007-03-13T16:58:00.000+08:00

Got back in last night. Thankfully AirAsia was on time.
Had a great time at the Charge up! Conference in KL. Mainly catching up with friends, meeting people, sharing time with like minded people and kindred spirits. Thanks to all who put in so much effort to making it happen. See you all in August.

The Chargeup! Prayer

2007-03-05T23:08:00.000+08:00

We pray that you’ll have strength to stick it out over the long haul - not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory strength God gives.

It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over to joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright & beautiful that He has for us.

(Colossians 1:11&12, The Message)

February, the month of reunions

2007-02-28T15:24:00.000+08:00

Sort of anyway.

This has been an interesting month. After all the events chronicled in the earlier post this month, I have been 'reunited' with 3 people I've not seen in a very long time.

Geoff
Room mate from college and good buddy.
I've not seen or heard from Geoff since college which would have been 18 years ago. He's managed to stay below the internet radar all this while or just never had email or a website. I finally found someone with his name and profile and it turned out to be him. He's a Presbyterian minister in New Jersey.

Cindy
Cousin I've not seen since Grandma passed away when I was 12. Ok, this was super long ago. A friend of mine knows her family told me she'll be in Selangor next week just when I'm in KL. Won't be able to see her, but I'll give her a call.

Sally*
Friend from Penang whom I had a crush on in high school. We met up again, after I returned to Penang from the US. We lost touch after I moved to KL in 1991, which is about 16 years ago. She calls me up yesterday after getting my number from a friend of hers who knows my brother. She see's her friend's phone ring with my brother's name, so gets the friend to ask the caller if he knows her. Turns out to be my brother after all. Small world, KL.
* not her real name.

Web 2.0

2007-02-21T15:18:00.000+08:00

Web 2.0 refers to the 2nd generation of web services such as social networking sites, wikis, blogs, etc, that emphasises collaboration and sharing . Wikipedia Link
Yeah, I know, some of you are too young to know that there was a Web 1.0. Trust me, it exists.

Anyway, this little video by Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University explains Web 2.0 in under 5 minutes.

February

2007-02-19T23:52:00.000+08:00

Well, much has been going on this month and its not even over yet.

Its Chinese New Year, obviously. Kong Hei Fatt Choy to all!

I've been sick for the past few weeks. Hacking my lungs out and I don't even smoke. Cheh.

Doctor says its bronchitis. Could be worse. Could be TB or pneumonia.

It sucks though. Spending the long weekend sick. Same thing happened over New Year too. Bleh.

Spent the past few days as down time to recover. Continued on some way overdue video work. Hopefully I can clear all this my month's end.

New antibiotics seem to be working. Found out that Moxiclav makes my stomach bloat with gas. Several days later, I'm still clearing the gaseous effects.

Oh yeah, dad celebrated his 70th birthday. Which makes him 30 years older than me. At the rate I'm going, I'll be more than 40 years older than my first child.

We had a great birthday dinner for dad. It was supposed to be a surprise, but he found out. We had 19 tables with his friends and associates, some of whom flew in from KL, Singapore, Penang and Brunei.

Thanks to the Sutera banqueting staff for a job well done and to Mahatir Lokman who was the MC.

There was a lot of singing that night. Dad sang, the MC sang, dad's friends sang, I sang. Big props to Roger Wang who came to play his guitar. Harry and Crew did sound and lights.

It went very well. Dad's happy. I'm happy. :)

I didn't take any pics myself. Will have to look for people who did.

I'll post the tribute video I did later. My aging iMac takes too long to down convert the video. Sigh. Anybody wants to buy me a new Mac Pro?

My former housemate and good friend, Angie was also in KK during that time for work and ended up extending her visit for several days as a holiday. It was good to catch up.

I also went diving for the first time in well over a year. Its true, its like riding a bicycle, you don't forget!

Next month (9-11 March) will be the 2nd Livewire Chargeup! conference in KL.
My buddy Louis is running the Photography workshop. I'm on the media workshop panel.

and after that will the Skyline SIB Youth Unquenched conference on the 16th of March
I'll be speaking at the afternoon workshop on Media in the church.

New Videos

2007-01-27T03:27:00.000+08:00

Its been a while since I posted any new videos online. Just been busy. Here are 3 video we produced over December.

Skyline 2006 year in review. By Joshua Ng.

Skylight Studios 2nd Anniversary. By Ow Choong Kit.
Yes, its been two years since we started the video department in Skyline. Here's a fond look back.

The Loaf Story 2006. By Sharon Chong.
We went out on the loaf story again. This time a much larger group was involved in taking bread and food to feed the needy in Kota Kinabalu.

The main movie index

2007-01-16T01:39:00.000+08:00

My good buddy Louis Pang mentioned me recently on his blog in an article about a wedding we shot together. I remarked I rarely blog about the videos I do for some reason. For those of you who clicked on the link, you can find some of the work I've done here.

I haven't put up some of the latest videos. I've just been busy and the recent asian internet outage didn't help. I'll put 'em up soon.

10 years of Tech

2007-01-11T11:17:00.000+08:00

1997
The Apple Newton MessagePad 2000/2100. The final Newton and pretty much state of the art portable technology.

2007
The Apple iPhone
www.apple.com/iphone
I guess sometimes you don't have to come up with lame stuff year after year, just to do something amazing. Check out the link. The User Interface is amazing.

So now we know what 10 years of technology buys you.

The big Four Oh

2007-01-11T09:44:00.000+08:00

Well, I turn 40 today. Today I embark on the 41st year of my life.
That's it. Half way point. No more 30 something. Officially 'uncle' age. No more 'young' adult. Is this what being a full fledged adult feels like? Somedays I wonder when I'll actually grow up.

I have been very melancholic/mildly depressed for the past few weeks about this whole 40 something thing. Mid life crisis without the Porsche Carrera convertible. Maybe find a young girlfriend. Heheh.

I've been thinking about where I've been. What I've done and accomplished, which are not necessarily the same thing. I've been thinking about decisions, choices, sacrifices, selfish impulses, wisdom, foolishness and stuff in between. Regrets? Probably not. But some things I could have done better or being wiser at doing it.

I don't see many monuments from the past 40 years, but I do see plenty of milestones.

I think I've done plenty and travelled a fair bit. I've yet to visit continental Europe or South America. I did the diving thing which I've wanted to do since young after watching Jacque Cousteau. I've made movies which I never thought I'd ever day. I didn't manage to get to broadcast last year. Maybe this year.

People have been telling me that life begins at 40. I'm not so sure of that. Nevertheless, Momofuko Ando, founder of Nissin Noodles, invented Instant Noodles at age 48 in 1958. The cup noodle didn't come along until 1971. He passed away last week at 96 years of age. I guess instant noodles can' t be all that bad for you. Heheh.

Visit Malaysia Year 2007

2006-12-20T11:24:00.000+08:00

So, here you have the tourism ministry and industry trying to get the world to visit us next year.

In the mean time, most of our public toilets have no toilet paper, no soap and no paper towels.

And that's for a 'clean' toilet, that's not smelly, not wet, no footprints on the toilet seat, assuming the seat isn't broken or missing in the first place, no fecal matter all over the place, etc.

Come on people! Get with the program. You have 11 more days!

The 12 Days of Christmas

2006-11-29T09:41:00.000+08:00

For those of you contemplating the gift list from the song, this is how much it costs these days:

-One partridge in a pear tree: $145, up 38 percent from $105; (The partridge is still 15 bucks, the pear tree is up 44%)

-Two turtle doves: $40, unchanged;

-Three French hens: $45, unchanged;

-Four calling birds: $480, up 20 percent from $400;

-Five gold rings: $325, unchanged;

-Six geese-a-laying: $300, unchanged;

-Seven swans-a-swimming: $4,200, unchanged;

-Eight maids-a-milking: $41, unchanged;

-Nine ladies dancing: $4,759, up 4 percent from $4,576;

-10 Lords-a-leaping: $4,160, up 3 percent from $4,039;

-11 pipers piping: $2,124, up 3.4 percent from $2,053; and,

-12 drummers drumming: $2,301, up 3.4 percent from $2,224.

Total cost $18,920.

From Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601093&sid=antOzoRQzTS0&refer=home

Thanksgiving Thought.

2006-11-28T11:47:00.000+08:00

Here's something Mark Batterson blogged about, this Thanksgiving. This is something I really need to learn how to do. Stop griping about what I don't have and be thankful for what I have.

From: http://www.evotional.com

Thanksgiving Thought

All four gospels record the story of Jesus multiplying the five loaves and two fish. And all four gospels say that Jesus gave thanks! Read the story. It doesn't say that Jesus asked for what he wanted. It says that Jesus gave thanks for what he had.

Scripture is kaleidoscopic.

On one level, this is a story about the mathematics of faith. When you have faith, 5 + 2 = 5000 R12. But it is also a story about thanksgiving. Jesus gave thanks for what little he had and the Father multipled what little he had so it was more than enough. A little thanksgiving was the difference between being 4,993 meals short and having 12 baskets of leftovers!

I think there is a profound spiritual truth in this story: if you keep giving thanks God will keep multiplying blessings! I think the natural tendency is to focus on what we don't have. And if we focus on the 5000, we won't be grateful for the 5 loaves and 2 fish. But if we keep giving thanks for the 5 loaves and 2 fish, God will keep feeding the 5000! The key to multiplication is thanksgiving!

If we keep giving thanks for the little stuff then God will keep doing the big stuff.

posted by Mark Batterson @ 9:35 AM

Microsoft Zune player overtakes iPod sales!

2006-11-28T08:41:00.000+08:00

Well, the iPod's power adapter anyway...

Microsoft's much vaunted iPod killer has gained some traction in the market according the internet retail giant Amazon.com's Electronic Bestsellers list.

I just checked this morning, the Zune is now No 63, finally over taking Apple's iPod USB Power Adapter at No 69.

Ouch! that's gotta hurt.

At least that's better than yesterday where the Power Adapter was outselling the Zune.

Four out of the top 5 on Amazon's Electronics best seller list are iPods.

Out of the top 25? 10 iPods.

Oh, you don't know what a Zune is? Its ok. Apparently most people haven't heard of it either.

Drunk Before Dawn the Musical

2006-11-21T20:42:00.000+08:00

Well, the second season's performance of Drunk Before Dawn the Musical is almost here.

Inspired by a true account, Drunk Before Dawn brings to life Shirley Lee's book of the same title. It is a musical that will take you into the heart of Borneo, back to the time of the early missionaries. It bears witness to the lives of a tribe of people stricken by disease, drunkenness and despair. The musical intricately weaves song, wit and drama into a moving story of love, faith and hope in the midst of darkness.

Drunk Before Dawn - The Musical | Season II is a groundbreaking work featuring the collaborative efforts of several rising talents in Malaysia's performing arts circle. The show will feature an ensemble of 30 vibrant Cast & Choruses, an 18-piece Orchestra and a Choir group of over 50. Including the production crew, this musical involves over 100 individuals, both back and front stage. Enjoy the vibrant colours, the unforgettable songs and the beautifully designed set that will surely culminate into a night to remember.

A musical inspired by a true story.

DEC 15, 8pm | DEC 16, 3pm & 8pm | DEC 17, 3pm & 8pm
MAIN AUDITORIUM, SIB KL | 5TH FLOOR, BANGUNAN LIM CHAI YIN
NO 7, SECTION 16/11, JALAN DAMANSARA, 46350, PETALING JAYA
www.sibkl.org.my/dbd.htm

DEC 21 2PM AND 7:30PM
YAYASAN SABAH AUDITORIUM
KOTA KINABALU
http://www.dbd.d-gap.org/
SABAH

Updates

2006-11-20T19:44:00.000+08:00

Well, its been a while. The 5 Days project is no more. Not feasible at this time. We'll revisit it next year.
Been sick with the flu or something for the past week and a half. KO'ed yesterday and today. Didn't got to work today. Early night tonight.

Starbucks in KK

2006-10-27T11:45:00.000+08:00

Ahhh... Ice Caramel Macchiatto, Hot Hazelnut Chocolate.

Life in KK just got more livable

Shooting starts

2006-10-13T10:27:00.000+08:00

Well, its time. Pricipal shooting on the "5 days" project starts tonight with a briefing, cast rehearsals and tech preparation.

Much of the cast and crew are still new and things are coming together rather slowly. Lots of holes to be filled. We haven't even started and I'm tired already. Bleh....

Windows blows!

2006-09-29T15:27:00.000+08:00

That's it. Its official. I H A T E windows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You'd think a company that can hire 50,000 of the brightest, most intelligent, talented programmers on the planet can come up with something better that this.

Oh yeah. Just got a brand new computer at work. 1.83 ghz HP core duo laptop.
Just your normal average business laptop.

It actually doesn't as crash often as the previous ME machine. So I've finally gotten the opportunity to savor the entire windows experience.

1. Why does this state of the art machine take longer to startup, go to sleep, and wake up from sleep than my 5 year old 800 mhz iMac?

2. Popups! There are freaking popup screens everywhere! And I'm not talking about browser popup ads. The system popups and tells you stuff that you don't need to know like RIGHT NOW. Run a program. Splash screen cover the middle of the screen and blots out everything else. Can't make it go away until its done.
Popup telling, me that there's no wireless network available. Hello, I just push the button that turns off the wireless network. The blue light turned off. I KNOW there's no wireless network.

3. Plug and play. In windows, this is only implied. Its not a promise.

4. Making sure that youre security software is uptodate to the very minute, or else! Kena'd first virus a few days ago. There goes a few hours of my life spent cleaning it up.

5. Did I mention popups! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

6. Why do I need to click on the Start button to turn off my computer?

7. Calculator. Its the same freaking calculator from windows95.

Islands in the sun

2006-09-26T12:06:00.000+08:00

Or, 3 days of running around only in a sarong.

Hey all,

Just got back from a 3day/2night solo camping trip on Mamutik Island, just off the coast of KK. Nothing fancy, just a quick getaway and a personal retreat for some rest and personal time.

I brought along a 1 man tent, 5 gallons of water and a cooler with juice, milk, coke and ice. Yeah, its a camping trip, but a few luxuries won't hurt.

Here's the island, relative to KK.

Closeup of my campsite

View from the Jetty

My campsite!

Reverse view with KK in the background

On Saturday evening, I could hear thuder and see lighting in the distance over Papar on the mainland, I figure, that would be a good time to pitch the tent and button down for the evening.
The storm continued to move up the coast and eventually passed over KK. Quite a spectecular lightning show. Somehow the bulk of the storm missed the island which is amazing considering how close it was.

The next morning it started raining heavily at about 630am and continued through the morning. This is when i realised that my job of sealing the seams on the old tent was less than thorough. There were a few spots that i missed which resulted in about 3 leaky spots. I made use of a few plastic bags, towel and tshirt to take care of the drips and went back to sleep.

At about noon, the sun came out so I took the opportunity to dry out stuff and cook lunch.

I spent the next couple of days, vegging, sleeping, contemplating, staring at the coastline, and reading Romans 8 and Malachi 4. Not much else to do except for Bob the Biawak to keep me company.

Also found this interesting looking flower/weed.

I also decided to patch the tent fly with some duct tape to fix the leaks, which was a good idea since it rained heavily monday morning as well.

The boat was supposed to come get me at 5pm, but i decided to call it in early as I saw more rain clouds on the horizon, so I left the island at about 3pm.

The next movie

2006-09-21T13:51:00.000+08:00

Story: Check
Cast: Check
Crew: Check
Makeup: Check
Costumes: Check
Screenplay: Not yet
Rehearsals: Not yet
Locations: Not yet
Shooting Schedule: Not yet
Shooting starts: 13th October

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I'm finally going away this weekend. 3 days camping. I could check my email and take calls while I'm there. But I'm not going to.

E06 Exist Conference

2006-08-25T00:23:00.000+08:00

Well, its day 4 or 5 or 6? of the E06 conference. I can't remember. Been sleeping late nights doing video-y stuff. But nonetheless, the conference is going well. God has been very present and very good. Showed me a few things. Hopefully they'll be a few more revelations before the week is up.

I also hope the rest of the bunch who's here will also meet God in a very real way. We all need it. Since we're children of God and all. Even though we often don't act like it.

I came into it physically and spiritually tired. Now I'm just physically tired. Hopefully that'll be fixed next weekend when I go camping.

Someone commented that I've fit back right into church here in KL. In some ways, it feels like I've never really left. Just got a fair bit of catching up to do since I know so many people. :)

I think its only been this week, that the new church building feels more comfortable and familiar. The first time I visited about a month ago, it actually felt quite distant, alien and cold even. This week it feels like I've been here forever, even if the place is only 2 months old. Maybe its because i was lying on the carpet at that time. :)

Reasons for not blogging

2006-08-15T10:27:00.000+08:00

1. Not bored

2. Busy with work

3. Busy doing video stuff

4. Haven't watched movie lately
I did watch Click on Sunday, but don't feel the need to blog about.

5. Not so stressed that I need to blog about it

6. Nothing interesting happened lately

7. No news on YB who wanted to buy a mercedes from customs.
Actually, now anyone can buy a mercedes from customs. Not just YBs. I can just see it now, at the next YB gathering. "What lah you! Make so much noise. Now Ah Chong Muthu and Ahmad also can buy cheap Benz. Spoil our chance only."

I am flying off to KL this weekend to attend the E06 conference organised by SIBKL. I'm supposed to speak for 10 mins at the media workshop on Monday. Lets see... Amazed is 8 minutes long, so speak for 2.

After that I'm going camping on Mamutik Island. Yeah, I know its only 15 mins away by boat and I have a clear view of town. But I need to get away and I its been a while since the last lepak camping trip.

I also did an inventory. I own way too much camping equipment for 1 person.

Captain Belinda

2006-08-07T00:13:00.000+08:00

I was on Air Asia as usual today, returning from KL, when this distinctly Aussie female voice came over the PA. Thanks for the safe flight Captain Belinda. Must be a first for a Malaysian airline.