Death of the CD?

Poll: Does my blog load really slowly? Please post your opinion in the chatbox =)

After a night of scouring the Internet for new music (Japanese indie bands ftw!), I realised that I would never have known all this should CDs be the traditional choice for music distribution. Online music is blazing a path forward, bridging cultures and connecting musicians to fans all over the world! Heck, your neighbour could be a fan of a Ukranian punk band, who knows?

Saw this in the Jpop news:


Yes, that is a USB thumbdrive, uploaded with Ayumi Hamasaki's soon-to-be-released 10th album, [Next Level]. It will be the first album sold in Japan to take this format. Debunk the ugly rectangular stick of memory perception - that thumbdrive looks absolutely gorgeous. Does it signal the beginning of the end for the humble CD?

The signs are showing:

1) People are downloading more music online than ever before (legally or not)
2) CD sales are slipping down
3) When was the last time you saw a Discman?
4) When was the last time you saw an Ipod? (it probably sits on your table right now)
5) Sandisk is pushing for albums to be sold on SD memory cards
6) Artistes are releasing albums for download (remember Radiohead?)
7) Flash memory prices are dropping

It all points to a near future of downloadable releases and memory sticks filled to the brim with songs.

Still, I can't bear to see the CD die off just like that.

- Wonderfully designed CD covers and lyrics booklets!
- The feeling you get from ripping open the plastic wrapping
- Superior sound quality
- The sheer physicality of it (ever felt proud of your CD collection)
- Browsing in CD stores (and the free gifts like posters and stuff)
- Indie musicians still rely on the trusty old CD to earn the cash

Will the CD go the way of the prehistoric record? VHS and LDs are already extinct, VCDs are endangered while DVDs are threatened. What will the future entail? Music being confined to megabytes of data flying around cyberspace and residing in flash drives? Or Blu-Ray HD music cum video albums, anyone?

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Random nugget of information:

Did you know that bush fires can actually be good? In some temperate forests a fire can provide fertile material for the next generation of vegetation to grow, while eliminating the problem of insufficient sunlight reaching the forest floor. In such cases fire is actually essential for the forest to regenerate!

Still, don't go out there and start one. Fire = bad.

Me, the default lorry driver.

I think I've driven more in these 2 weeks than the past 6 months since I got my license. Its fun though, going to far flung and familiar places all at one go and trying out crazy stunts, all guided by a street directory.

Anyway, its been some time since I last made a decent post.

Valentine's day - We decided to do something different and went to the Science Centre! Both to catch an Omni-Theatre show and to see what's new there. I think the last time I went was 3 years ago, bringing a group of kids around for CIP or something. And so we embarked on a Journey to the West. Nothing much has changed, except that whole new areas have sprouted up (I noticed a new Climate Change and Alternative Energy section, yay!). The old exhibits were rotting though, with pieces falling apart and some not even working. One exhibit which went missing was the immensely fun mirror maze; I remember the crazy times I spent running around and getting lost. And who could forget the number counting wheel? I once had an ambition to stand there turning the wheel non-stop until the number reached 9999 or something XD

Then we roamed around the West and went to Jurong Hilltop restaurant next to Birdpark. The Japanese teppanyaki was not bad, but the fumes (some would say fragrances) were overpowering. Not much of an atmosphere either, with the whole place packed with families. The view was nice though, even if we could only see Jurong Island and lots of containers. Headed out to West Coast Park for a walk (surprisingly it was rather crowded, like the ECP of the West. Hmm.) and watched the container ships go about their businesses.

So ended our Journey to the West.

I think I'm getting the hang of things in the west side of Singapore. Anyway it'll probably be my new hangout place once I step into NTU. I'm still proud to be an Eastie (my friend coined the word) though, we've got more places with nice food =) And the roads aren't filled with container trucks. I've been dodging them everyday.

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Scholes and Giggs are phenomenal. They should be thinking of taking off their boots and relaxing at home now, not spraying 30m long passes, slamming home 25m volleys, curling crosses, dribbling past defenders and flicking through balls over defences.

Respect.

http://www.ubuntupocketguide.com/download2.html

This is a really useful guide if you're new to Linux and Ubuntu, even I'm discovering new stuff by reading it =)

So if you've just installed Ubuntu, wanted to install Ubuntu but don't know how, secretly wanting to install Ubuntu but not daring to take the plunge, been using Ubuntu for some time or just someone intrigued by something different from Windows and OSX, download it! It makes quite an interesting read =)

Credits to Ubuntu Geek for this.

de de de de de de de de de de de de de

And so my first week as an intern has ended.

In case you're wondering, I'm currently interning at Alpha Biofuels in Jurong (horrors!). Yes its a stand-all-the-way trip Journey to the West every morning and back. Feet killer, our MRT system is. Especially when you're past Tanjong Pagar and you realise the guy in front of you sleeping peacefully is probably going all the way to Boon Lay. I guess thats the only downside to this job, apart from the delicious peanut butter allowance and the prompt bang kang timing of 6pm + service charge + GST, no less.

Seems like a dream job eh? So why in the world did I decide to take it up? For one its related to my course of study (Enviro Engi), and secondly its an SME, which means I'll get to learn much more than if I were to join say XXXMobile or seaShell. Who knows, I might draw on this when setting up my own company in the future. Plus its producing renewable energy!

And so far, it seems that my decision has been justified. In a span of a week I've been involved in marketing, project trials, delivery, collection, DIY furnishing and retailing. Stained jeans, oily hands, slicky shoes, all deja vu from the past 1 year. I can't say I've been looking forward to work everyday, but just by being there beats sitting in an office the whole day chatting on MSN and Facebooking. And for the first time I drove a lorry! Through the roads of NUS and Singapore Poly no less.

Not to mention the friendly atmosphere there - thanks to the 5 other interns running the show. As a colleague mentioned, we're all peons there. "hurh? Yes warchief... work work..."

Money vs experience?

Hong Yi has gained a level! *cue FF victory chime*

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Random nugget of information - Did you know that the MRT door closing chime has 13 beeps?

25 thingies u may not know about me.

Sigh. Its hard to avoid being arrowed even after ORD. Anyway this will be rather random and lighthearted =) since this blog is linked to Facebook, I hope you're satisfied.

1) I have powerful eyes. i.e 1000 megawatts of eye power. Cyclops would pale in comparison.

2) I woke up in the middle of the night to satisfy a craving for Warcraft III once.

3) I got spooked by my own battery operated Lego set.

4) I haven't had a single memorable dream ever since Primary school. My brain is already jaded with reality.

5) I have a large collection of Pokemon cards and figurines, Star Wars cards, Lego sets and other figments of my childhood.

6) I was fat. My sister says I still am. By her standards, a skeleton would be ideal.

7) I'm afraid of bees, wasps and any flying thing that stings.

8) I find moths cute. And I used to be crazy about creepy crawlies.

9) I'm really a nature lover. Too bad I love the great indoors.

10) My very first computer ran primarily on DOS and Monopoly was the only decent game installed.

11) I spoilt my own SEGA machine because I was too excited and pulled the controller, console and all. It crashed spectacularly.

12) I've been wearing contacts since Pri 4.

13) And spectacles since Pri 1.

14) I sleep with 3 bolsters every night - 1 big, 2 small. The latter because the cases were sewn by my late grandma.

15) I hate vegetables. I am unstrictly carnivorous.

16) Oranges, apples and bananas are the fruit I usually (i.e almost always) eat.

17) I love porridge.

18) I had a crush on a girl for 6 years.

19) I have an English name, though rarely used. Ken/Kenneth is just a name my parents call me at home.

20) I was a rabid fan of Ayumi Hamasaki. Was. Is still. But no more rabid. More languid.

21) I joined the Chinese Orchestra really because I wanted to get out of NCC Land. And I originally wanted to play the ruan.

22) I have a fear of tuning my liuqin.

23) The reason why I learnt the guitar was because of Yoshio, Ayumi's guitarist. Yes, that was back when I was rabid.

24) I fall sick easily. No its got nothing to do with point 15. The weather affects me.

25) I always thought that boys doing NS was fair because all girls have to go through pregnancy. Until I discovered the existence of contraception.

hello world, i'm back

and so it ends here.

Feels like being airlifted from the rooftop of Mercy Hospital while a horde of zombies rush towards you, outstretched claws barely inches from your face.

Feels like the end of the last exam paper of the A levels, when the invigilator tells you to put down your pens, no more writing.

Feels like when the tester ticks and writes the word "pass" on your driving test slip.

Feels like scoring the winning goal against an imba team during soccer.

Feels like... nothing special really.

7 weeks of fear, awkwardness, fatigue, fun, brotherhood and comradeship.

3 months of learning, friendship, expression and laughter.

2 months of unfamiliarity, mistakes and relearning.

14 months of work, routine, boredom and the occasional lighthearted moment.

2 weeks of India.

1 month of adrenaline rushes, satisfaction and happiness.

1 month of relaxation, waiting and anticipation.

1 day of mixed feelings.

ORD lo!

tomorrow, I shall walk away a free man.

double O

Remember this?

http://not-so-geeky.blogspot.com/2008/03/olivia-ong-esplanade.html

That was about 10 months ago.

Since then, she's got a best album in addition to her 3 mini-albums and 4 full albums (those crazy Japanese labels!), been travelling all over Singapore doing mini-concerts and lives, and of course the highlight of 2008 - doing the theme song for the crazily popular "The Little Nonya" . Even though I didn't catch the show, I sure did take notice of the theme song. I can safely argue that it was this song "Ru Yan" that catapulted her into the radar of many Singaporeans.

Wanna bet her albums are flying off the shelves?

I think she recently signed with HIM records, the same record company as S.H.E. I suppose we can expect more mandarin songs? Still, I find her chinese pronunciation kinda awkward, but we can't fault her for that can we? If you've been living in Japan for the past 6 years saying "ohayo gosaimasu" instead of "zhao an", you'll find it tough too.

Saying all that, I hope she does an album filled with jazzy, self-penned tunes. That would take the cake!

Not sure if you can get it here in Singapore, so here: Yesasia.com

Olivia Ong, the next Stefanie Sun? Maybe she'll even get invited to sing during National Day LOL

"Don't worry, I'll protect you"

When the opening screen shows blue with a huge Totoro and the words "Studio Ghibli" written on it, you know you're in for a visual treat.

Yup, I just watched "Ponyo on the cliff by the sea" yesterday. I've been a fan of Hayao Miyazaki's works ever since I watched "Spirited Away" so I was rather excited when Ponyo was released. My first reactions when I saw the trailer was: "Wa, so cute, sure alot of girls wanna watch". Incidentally, the cinema hall in which I watched the show was nearly 80% filled with girls =.=

Anyway back to the movie. Right from the start of the movie I was captivated by the stunning visuals and artwork. And the details! The opening scene showing Ponyo's daddy standing on his submarine was one of the most memorable ones, showing the ocean's best, what with crabs of all kinds and sizes, technicolour fish zipping around, menacing looking eels, bouncing jellyfish, octopuses and squids, all wonderfully drawn and animated. You know the old type of anime, where only 1 or 2 actions are being animated in the foreground at any one time? Well in this underwater scene, EVERYTHING was moving in its own natural way.

Amazing once you realise everything is fully hand-drawn!

Even the quaint seaside town and the sea was beautifully rendered. Check this out:



Looks familiar? Miyazaki-san based the town on this little Japanese port town Tomonoura. I can almost imagine Lisa's tiny pink car zooming along the coastal roads.

Like XJ said after the movie, it all seemed a little strange to be watching the 2D film. In this age of CG technology and 3D movies, its charming to see one of the best animators of all time sticking to his traditional hand-drawn medium, film after film. Another reason why the next generation of kids should watch Ponyo (if they haven't already). We grew up with 2D, and we only have Miyazaki-san to thank for keeping it alive with brilliance.

Although the storyline wasn't too deep (its meant for the kids really), you can spot some subtle references to themes that are prevalent in Miyazaki's works. The scene where a trawler dregs up muck from the ocean floor gently reminds us of our environmental impact, and it hammers home the message when Ponyo gets stuck in a discarded jar. Later in the movie when the sea turns a violent rage, it references to old Japanese folklore as well as their obsession with the ocean and its power. Imagination is the key here, with waves turning into giant fish slapping against the shore, a submarine powered by flapping flippers, sorcery and sea godesses, and a flood which submerges the world into prehistoric waters.

In the eyes of a child, the world is filled with endless possibilities.

For 2 hours last evening, I was a child once again.

happy new year (the irony)

The first week of 2009!

And from the looks of it, pretty lousy too.
Been a pretty uppy and downy few days...

Hit with a fever on New Year's eve (boo!), before meeting the XJ for Bedtime Stories, Brewerkz and fireworks watching (cheer!).

Fever gone on New Year's day (yay!), but in comes a sore throat (aww)

Back to camp on Friday (sian) with a sore throat (double sian), but went out with the guys for ramen and supper (cool!) but the ramen tasted bland because of a blocked nose (damn!).

Played soccer on Saturday (whee!) but too many people turned up (dang).

Slacked on Sunday (ahhh~) but then came a killer cough (cough cough cough ><)

Finally, my voice gave way on Monday. Now I sound like a demented killer.

Hoping to land my "dream" job for these 6 months after ORD.

The Top Five List of Top 10 Lists of 2008

Its that time of the year where top ten lists of 2008 start appearing in magazines, newspapers, on television yadayada. So I thought I'd do a lil' half spoof of it =)

Why 5? Because 10 would entail much mindless scrolling down.

Well as you can fathom from the title this is going to be one loooong and quite pointless post, but I'll just go ahead for the heck of it.

Note: All lists are purely of my personal opinion.

Top Ten Geeky Things That Happened to me

1) Deciding to take the plunge into Linux (Ubuntu) and discovering a brand new world
2) Trying to learn how to use the terminal to improve my Linux experience (and failing)
3) Zhnging my Compaq laptop so it dual-boots with Mac OS X and Ubuntu. Which is really Windows XP zhnged to look like Mac OS X.
4) Upgrading my Compaq laptop to 2 GB RAM with a cheaply bought used 1GB RAM module
5) Upgrading my monitor to a 22 inch LG one
6) Researching for days for a new printer and ended up buying one totally different from the initial selection
7) Starting this blog afresh
8) Ordering DVDs online from Amazon.jp and Yesasia.com
9) Printed T-shirts for an online forum
10) Eagerly devouring Digital Life (the newspaper add-on) every Wednesday
11) Surviving 2 weeks without touching a computer in India

Top Ten Green Things That Happened to me

1) Sleeping without air-conditioning since who-knows-when
2) Cycling at every possible opportunity as long as destination is within 5km.
3) Walking home from the MRT station in the wee hours of the morning just for fun
4) Turning of power socket switches at home with rabid obsession
5) Constantly adjusting office air-conditioning temperature higher, even as others turn it down
6) Recycling and sorting garbage if bins are in sight and trash is at hand
7) Declining plastic bags whenever possible. Even returning them
8) Tried to reduce toilet paper used when attempting bombing runs and found it to be near impossible
9) Starting this blog afresh
10) Watching "An Inconvenient Truth" at home instead of a movie theatre
11) Getting my license to drive

Top Ten Video Games that I've played

1) Far Cry 2
2) Fallout 3
3) Team Fortress 2
4) Portal
5) Red Alert 3
6) Crysis Warhead
7) Fifa 09
8) GTA San Andreas
9) The Frozen Throne (Battlenet)
10) Assassin's Creed
11) Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, 3

Top Ten Artistes (Albums/Singles) that I've heard
I've discovered lots of Japanese artistes this year, so lots of unfamiliar names =)

1) Chatmonchy (Miminari + Seimeiryoku + Somaru Yo)
2) Asian Kung-Fu Generation (World World World + Mada Minu Ashita Ni)
3) Tokyo Jihen (Kyouiku + Adult + Variety)
4) YUI (I Loved Yesterday + My Short Stories)
5) FREENOTE (Shuuden Master + Introducing the popline + Otonoha Triangle)
6) Mika Nakashima (Voice)
7) Ayumi Hamasaki (Guilty + Mirrorcle World + Days/Green)
8) Kimura Kaela (+1, SCRATCH)
9) Olivia Ong (A Girl Meets Bossanova + AGMB 2 + Fall in Love With)
10) Coldplay (Viva La Vida)
11) Money No Enough 2 Soundtrack

Top Ten Things That Happened that affected me in a big way

1) QUIS
2) Barack Obama = President
3) Overseas Exercise in India + Mumbai Bombings
4) The economic meltdown
5) Japan trip in April
6) Beijing Olympics 2008 (In particular, Team Singapore)
7) Manchester United being crowned Champions in England and Europe
8) Facebook
9) Passing my driving test
10) AHM
11) ORDDDD!!!

Goodbye 2008, a year of top tens

AHM (A "Hiong" Marathon)

And so I completed my first ever (and probably last) marathon. Oh all right it was a HALF marathon, if u wanna be picky. It was one hell of a marathon. And it wasn't because of the impeccable timing of the date (doors closing soon!).

I reached Padang on a wonderful Sunday morning with a lil' drizzle, around 5.30AM. Wonderful if you're still in bed, snug and comfortable with the blanket drawn over your heads. My first step into Padang was welcomed with a very satisfying *splat*.

That's right, the Padang had turned into Pa-dung overnight. Great way to start a Sunday eh? It was pretty dark (it WAS 5.30am) so I wandered around like a lost child before I finally found a bunch of people wearing the same singlet as mine. Met Ben and JH, before we started to hunt for a place to dump our bags. Funnily enough, all the bag deposits refused to let us deposit our bags (even the paying ones!). After running around like a bunch of confused chickens, we found some familiar faces and put all our bags together.

Thereafter was the start of the 21km run, which yours truly took part in. The run itself wasn't that bad. Hmm. Typo. The run wasn't that bad until I crossed the halfway 10km point. Up till then I was still sane, listening to my mp3 player, mouthing lyrics, looking at all the interesting people running past me, overtaking the slackers who were walking even before the first water point, and in general feeling rather good.

Once I turned the 10km corner in ECP, my left ankle screamed out "dude! this is the furthest I'll go!". My brain failed to heed its warning and told my legs to keep running. After awhile the pain dissolved into plain numbness, as I tried to concentrate on the music. Then around the 12km mark civilisation turned into wilderness as we wound through the forested area that is Marina Bay. Suddenly marathon wasn't an approprate term for the run anymore, x-country more likely. Mud! Uneven tracks! More mud! Potholes! Everyone slowed down during this segment. I think I went crazy and just overtook as many people as I could. Maybe it was the fresh air coming from the forest.

After crossing the Marina Barrage (around 15km), my knees started to complain. 16km. Thump thump thump. 17km. First sign of cramping. Ok, slow down, chill, don't use the calf muscles. 18km. ARGHHAGFHG where the hell is 19. 19km. OMFG finally 2km more. CRAMP. Ouch wtf. Ok lets walk then. walk walk walk. damn everyone is overtaking me. 20km. oooh yeah. F*** it just run. Run run run. 20.9km. AHA I CAN SEE THE FINISH LINE! *drools rabidly*. Run run run. 20.98km. CRAMP CRAMP CRAMP. Why are my legs dragging? wtf not now. hobble hobble hobble. Beep. Hmm I crossed the line? cool. am I supposed to feel euphoric?

That sums up the run. And I'm still having chui legs, ankles and knees.

ping and pong.

I haven't been blogging a lot, have I? I've had to dust away several dead spiders and their webs before I could find the "NEW POST" button.

Ok suddenly global warming stopped for a second.

Anyway! Today our born-in-China-play-for-Singapore table tennis mercenaries will fight for their own personal glory, and ours, for the flag that goes up has white instead of yellow stars. If you ask me I'll say it'll be easier for the 3 of them since the burden of winning for the team and our first medal has been lifted.

People have been playing down the significance of the silver they won last Sunday mostly based on their birthplace. But hey, weren't we all from the same 'ol China (if you're Chinese, that is)? Sure, Chinese Chinese talk like machine guns (or rather, we're the ones who maul the language), but deep down inside, the blood, the DNA, the roots, the culture, its all the same. Its the same phenomenon that happened way back after a certain ang moh spoke cheem English to our Tunku, made him sign some dodgy documents and declared that Singapore was open. And in rushed all those kiasu (mostly Chinese) immigrants, our great great great grandparents, queueing up since the previous morning, wanting to grab the best bargains of the Singapore Dream.

Its the same thing, only faster (LOTS faster). We go where the money is. We're all Boba Fett at heart. Boss pays good, we do it. And if we do that something really well to make Boss really happy, why not?

So erase that niggling thought (yes I know you have it nestled in your brain cells somewhere) that the efforts of Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei (even Tao Li) will be lesser than if they were to be replaced by "pure" Singaporeans.

The medals are for all of us.

NDP weekend!

Singapore celebrated her 43rd birthday last Saturday (damn!)
somehow this year feels like the previous year's one, with all that water stunts, floating balloons and stuff.

Anyway, me and XJ celebrated our 3rd year together with Singapore. 3 years seems long huh? Time flies real quickly...

Somehow I managed to get hold of cheap SG Flyer tickets, only to find out they could only be used before 6pm. There went the chance of catch the fireworks.
Once there (in some ulu part of marina bay, on a plot of land obscured by ECP), I was reminded of the purpose of the Flyer as a tourist magnet (money changer, check. expensive souvenier store, check. luxury stores, check). Nice atmosphere though, with live music and a tropical garden. The viewing deck was crowded with people waiting to watch the fireworks (it was only 6pm!).

We got into the same cabin as a bunch of tourists (Bangla, Japanese, Ang Moh, Indo, maybe Chinese). I felt like a tourist in my own country.



We could see the parachute segment, tiny dots spiralling down to the floating platform, the water performance segment, followed by the 25 pounder guns lined up below (the guns kept in my camp garage!) and the gunners from Charlie (the battery I'm attached to!). Never saw NDP upclose before until now (unless u count P5).

Then we headed off to Lau Pa Sat for some zhi char BBQ seafood! yum yum. Standard hotplate tofu, cereal prawns and pepper crabs!



not bad at all! though the crabs were kinda messy, my brand new shirt kena black splats. We missed the fireworks though, and had to make do with distorted reflections off the glass surfaced buildings and lots of booms.

Caught a late night movie after that. Our plan was to catch the 9pm Mummy show, but we missed it so we "sneaked" in at 9.40 with legit tickets (only wrong time LOL) to make the most of the 8 bucks. In the end had to settle for Money no enough 2 front row seats.

Good show! Cheesy laughs at the beginning, serious heartwarming and teary stuff near the end. Predictable plot, good acting (from the Ah Ma), usual jibes at the government, and issues close to our hearts.

Feeling rather lazy today. Bummed around the house sweating it out in this crazy hot weather (another sign of global warming!! al gore +1)

Just realised my last post was 2 weeks ago, which is quite pathetic. Since then I've done lots of stuff (which probably explains my neglected blog lol)

1) Watched the Dark Knight

Really good, dark movie. The Joker (I know, all that hype surrounding him) was portrayed really well, considering the skeptical view I took while watching the movie. Sadistic, insane, cunning, ugly. Now the phrase "Why so serious?" is popping up everywhere, even on my TF2 games. Looks like everyone feels the same way. Too bad Two-Face died though, I was expecting him to be the baddie in Batman 3 or something. I couldn't understand some parts probably due to the twisted storyline, involving Batman vs Mafia, then Joker vs Mafia, then Joker + Mafia vs Batman, then everyone vs Batman. The ferry scene was the best IMO, I would have been terrified to be in those people's shoes.

2) Stayed over in camp

Can't say much about it, except it involved a really cold night. Brrr. And some noisy rats/lizards.

3) Got burnt by ash

Friday was the first day of the Chinese Seventh Month and so we burnt some incense in camp for safety and protection. I had hot ash fall repeatedly on my finger while trying to stick the incense into the pot, which hurt like hell (pardon the pun). I hope it didn't mean anything else.

4) Ate Muthu's Curry for the second time + Bought a new pair of ear phones

Went with XJ to eat Muthu's at Suntec on Saturday. The naan and briyani were delicious, though the main courses were so-so. The mutton curry in particular didn't agree with my stomach, I felt uncomfortable the whole day. Pappadums! *crackle*

We both went to Creative and got a pair of in-ear earphones each. I've been wanting to get one for ages, and I aimed for Audio Technica, until I learnt of their prices. My Creative one cost only $45 (ok, 45 may seem abit expensive, but its the real deal). It works like a charm - I couldn't hear a thing outside while plugged in (except baby screeches which I don't think even the best ear plugs could block). I even fell asleep on the bus without noticing it. And it keeps sounding better and better the longer I use it. No wonder my recently failed Hyundai mp3 player earphones sound sooooo good despite being 4 years old. Quite sad to throw it away T.T

1 week to NDP! And boom (7% GST!) boom (so many ERP!) boom (Public transport fee increase!)

Whew.

After 1 and a half weeks of tinkering, configuration and troubleshooting, I've finally enabled a near-perfect Ubuntu cum Windows XP dual boot on my laptop. Lots of problems cropped up initially - No wireless, no sound (which was took the longest to solve), no youtube, no video, songs with screwed up ID tags.

Now its complete! The only buggy thing left is the viewing of certain videos with dodgy encoding. I was surprised that I could almost do the same things I normally do in XP, from using MSN to viewing Guitar Pro tabs, even more. The only thing I haven't tried is installing the games which reside on the XP half of my hard drive. At the very least I'll boot XP if I ever feel the urge to play Sonic or Starcraft =)

On the downside, I think I lost many hours of gaming time while trying to solve the linux problems. Its time to catch up LOL.

In other news -

I've passed my driving practical test! Finally I've got that coveted license-to-pollute-and-contribute-to-global-warming. I'll stick to my personal preference of driving only when absolutely necessary. I still relish the feeling of sitting comfortably (if I get a seat) on a bus or MRT with my Zen plugged in and just dozing off, waking up just before I arrive at my stop.

Now do that in a car and I'll prolly wake up in CGH, or even Mandai Crematorium. Touchwood.

Ubuntu for fun!

Weekends fly by so quickly, they barely even registered on my calendar before they're gone. Well I suppose I can attribute this to a well-spent weekend?

Saturday was spent in usual fashion, playing soccer in the morning (albeit with still-aching legs from the weekly dose of 10km runs at East Coast). Then I came home, intending to chill in front of the computer when Kheng Yong popped up with an offer of free tickets to Hellboy II. Hell, who can resist an offer like that? So I headed down with Wenyang and KY to Suntec for the movie. Free popcorns and drinks to boot lol. The movie was average, not as much action as I would have expected, but it was compensated for by the free-ness of it all LOL.

Then we headed to Marina Sq food court for dinner where we saw the fireworks for the NDP rehearsals. With each explosion goes our higher ERP charges. When the actual day comes our transport fares will probably end up having the same fate, as well as any surplus from that 7% GST.

Milled around the place before I went to meet XJ at her Yoguru workplace in Raffles City. We had supper/dinner at Brewerkz in Kallang (nice ribs man! tender, juicy and bbqy!). Then we sat along the Kallang river and had a nice long chat. Really nice place to hang out, away from all the noise and crowds of the city.

And when I woke up late on Sunday morning, I suddenly had this urge to either fix up my spoilt PC or condemn it to the scrap heap. So I stripped it up, randomly plugged components in and out until I reached a conclusion - the motherboard's fried. Then I had another urge - to install Linux in the old 20gig hard drive!

So I slotted in the otherwise-condemned hard drive into my other not-so-old Compaq PC.

After several hours of backing up and research and configuration and troubleshooting and installation, here I am, typing this post on Ubuntu Linux!



Cool right? Only problem is, its not compatible with a whole host of (Windows) programmes. The font is also kinda woozy (they don't support any "commercial fonts" like Arial). Right now I'm contemplating converting my laptop to Ubuntu, which would be a drastic move. Maybe once I've gotten the hang of Linux.

But damn, its so cool! With this I have reached another level of geekdom. *cue Final Fantasy Fanfare*

I. Have. Hydraulic. Oil. In. My. Hair.

And I can't get it to wash off completely even after 5 shampoos. ARGH. Just another non-typical day at work.

Oh well, guess I'll have to make do with perma-wax for the next 2 days. Hey, at least my hair looks spiky now.

the fat green pipe is getting clogged

Torrent + TF2 + video streaming + peak hour

and you get this - 900ms ping on Team Fortress 2.

I die a second before I actually see it. Doors take 1 second to open. My screen flies everywhere during intense battles. I can actually miss a pointblank because the guy already moved when I clicked.

12mbps? more like 12microbytespersecond.

Too many greenies in my block man.

I've just ran 10km at East Coast today as part of AHM (army half marathon) training. In slightly more than an hour, which is not too bad considering I've never ran any distance more than 6km, much less 10km.

Strangely running at ECP seems to take away muscle fatigue or something, I felt as if I could just go on and on (yes, my pace was rather slow, so it could be that). Maybe its the wind, the fresh air, the change of scenery (compared to boring army camps), and maybe another kind of scenery for some LOL.

Anyways my legs feel like agar agar right now.

These past few days were spent discovering some great new (and not so new) funky music from Japan! After much delay I finally decided to listen to Tokyo Jihen and Kimura Kaela, 2 very different and talented artistes with distinct styles of music. Jazzfunkrock for TJ, quirkyrockpop for KK. Can't get TJ's "Ringo no uta" and "OSCA", and Kaela's "Yellow" out of my mind for the whole of today.

At the same time thanks to some good people at a chatmonchy forum I unearthed some pretty solid indie J-rock bands and other musicians who didn't make it commercially, but really sound good! Bugy Craxone, FREENOTE and lots lots more.

"get over myself, so get over myself, so get over myself, so 1, 2, 3, 4"