First Post from a Mac

The macbook has been good so far (2 days and counting:P). Sharp screen, nice keyboard touch. The magnetic power adapter isn't as flimsy as reported. The click sound it makes when it's attached to the macbook sounds satisfying. The magnetic (why is Apple suddenly so obsessed with everything magnetic? Must be Job's North Pole suddenly sending out gravitational signals) lid closure seems ok as well so far. Of course, I must mention again. The iSight camera and Photobooth software is pretty entertaining. Don believe me? Check out the fun i've been having with taking self-portraits:))

First try at Redbox sunway. Kaku a bit


With better lighting in Starbucks, I'm happy:P

Then I got home and went berserk with the effects:))

I'm a mean bull-boar

Just another typical music album cover:)

Do I have the X-factor or Do I have the X-factor?

Did some space-traveling as well

and landed in planet Tree-face

Went back to planet Earth and tried to pick a fight with myself

Realised suddenly I wasnt wearing a shirt. So I quickly slipped back in decency:P

And I managed to look pretty decent for a while, in a dreamy-way

But I spoke too soon. My dream had become a color nightmare!

As my vision became blurred...

Then bang! I was suddenly turned into a llama:))

The end!

A celebration of White

I've changed my blog to reflect a few changes in my life lately. In view of God's provision of such an amazing scholarship for my masters, I've decided not to cheapen my website (thanks to the brilliant suggestion by Casey Liew) by putting all those ads. From now on, it should be used to reflect my thoughts on my passions and nothing else.

I've also changed the theme of the blog to white cause white is a cool colour. It's also the color of my sparkling new Macbook:) It has finally arrived! I've collected it on Saturday before going for a karaoke lunch session with colleagues. Love everything about it, especially the iSight camera and Photobooth. Photobooth is a software that uses the built-in iSight camera on the Mac to take your own photos or photos with friends/family, well, just like what a typical photobooth does:). Having a lot of fun with it. The Macbook is just so irresistibly cool. Do I regret not getting a black one? Well for extra RM700??? I don think so. I love white;) from now onwards:P

Fairytale (Tong Hua) - Road Trip Version

Just went to Pulau Perhentian last weekend with 5 other crazy dudes/dudettes. We've even gotten ourselves group t-shirts and group theme song. It was none other than Michael Wong (Guang Liang)'s very very very over-famous song, Fairytale (Tong Hua). If you wanna see our version of this song, complete with music video (don worry people, no one dies in this version), please click Play:)

Mak Buku, Oh Mak Buku, mana Engkau? (Macbook, Oh Macbook, where art thou?)

I've placed an advanced booking for a White Macbook with the 2.0GHz Core Duo processor on May 27th. It has not arrived as of today, 11th June. I've called Gallant IT where I did my booking and they've told me it's still pending Sirim's approval. Now, who can tell me, in the name of all that is right and holy, whether Sirim can do a better job than Apple itself in assessing a product's electrical/electronics reliablity. We cannot even replace a bridge connecting our neighbouring country and yet we think that the local "FCC" can do a better job than Apple, a billion-dollar company that has been making amazing products since the 70s. Heck, we still cant even build a proper car despite being a car-making country for 20 odd years. Pfft!

Find out what's your personality DNA

Was influenced by a Considerate Leader to take this interesting personality test and found out I'm a Benovalent Leader with such personality DNA profile (mouse over to see traits):



Agree with everything except the high femininity part:P

Erasmus Mundus Scholarship

After 4 years of anticipation and looking towards the Lord, I'm gonna get the chance to do my masters! Thanks to the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship program. More importantly, thanks to the many many prayers that I've been getting from my friends! By God's grace, I'll be leaving this September and will be spending 2 years in Europe studying Net-Centric Informatics.

The Journey

I first heard of this Erasmus Mundus program when it came out in newspapers August 2005, I think. What really caught my eye was that it was gonna offer at least 40 places to Malaysians in 2006. And so with great anticipation, I went to the Erasmus website for Malaysia. I was not disappointed. They outlined very clearly how much they were gonna spend in 2006 and years to come. This program is really amazing. Every year each student will be given €21,000 as living and traveling fees besides the opportunity to really experience the European education system thoroughly.

They have several courses available. The application is sent directly the respective instituitions and I chose to apply for the European Masters in Informatics (EuMI) program, which was being driven by 3 very prestigious universities, University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Aachen University in Germany and University of Truento, Italy. Since it's a two year program, I get to choose 2 universities out of the 3 to study in. I chose Edinburgh as my main university as I've always wanted to take up my masters in the UK and Aachen as the partnering university (because I've heard great things about this university from an engineer from Sun Microsystems who came to Malaysia few months before and also because the opportunity to try out the Autobahn:P).

Everything was done online. I had to scan my certs and upload them to the server and sent hard copies via post later on. I've also applied for the British Council Chevening Scholarship as well but I guess competition for that was just too great and I didnt make the cut. But no matter, because in April 2006, I got news from EuMI that I've been tentatively selected for the program and my fundings are pending approval from the European Commission.
And finally on May 30th, I received this short email from EuMI:

Subject: European Commission - decision (they don even wanna give you any hint as you first open your email)

Dear Students,

this e-mail is to inform you that the European Commission has approved your names for the scholarships for attending the Erasmus Mundus Master Course in informatics. In the next days we will contact you in order to give you more information about the program (mobility plan, curricular, information about the visa procedures and ecc.).

Best regards EuMi school

Less than 50 words and yet it meant the world of difference to so many people. And so, I'll be going to Europe with 65 other Malaysians (65 because out of the 85 places mentioned in the article, 20 were for last year and the rest for this year. I know because I immediately emailed the EC delegate to Malaysia for clarification after reading that article:P) to pursue our dreams in various fields. I know at least one more Malaysian who is going on the same program as me. And so another phase of my life journey begins September 2006. I must admit that I have mixed feelings now. On 1 hand, I feel very elated at the opportunity of experiencing the European education system. On the other hand, I cant bear leaving my parents, family, friends, church members, colleagues in Shell (whom I've just begun to build up strong relationships) ,old colleagues from Open Source Systems and the work I'm currently doing in Shell.

But I do know I will be leaving with all my loved ones' blessings in my heart and that for me, is such an amazing feeling!

[update] Just received an email with finally some details. It came attached with an acceptance letter which I am supposed to sign and fax back to EuMI. Excerpts from the letter:

"accepts the Erasmus-Mundus scholarship for the Academic Year 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. The beneficiary is aware of the fact that the Erasmus Mundus scholarship consists of 16.000,00 € (a monthly instalment of 1600,00 € will be transferred for a period of 10 months), plus 5000,00 € as partial reimbursement of travel expenses and fees, for a total of 21.000,00 € per each academic year (total amount for two academic years is 42.000,00 €)."

Most important statement, without which, everything would come undone:)

"accepts the curriculum in: Net-Centric/Media Informatics
and the mobility scheme which foresees period in:
University of Edinburgh (September 2006 – May 2007)
RWTH (June 2007 – July 2008) <-- (Aachen, Germany)
University of Edinburgh (August 2008 – September 2008"

Oh cool, I thought I was going to Germany first since in the previous email, they put the mobility as Germany and Scotland. Or maybe they've just changed their minds. No matter:)

"The beneficiary is also aware of the fact that the tuition fees for the Master’s Programme are 6000,00 € for the first year; the amount for the second year could be increased in relation to the current inflation rate." Reminding me not to spend all my allowances and keep 600€ a month for fees:P

[End of update]

KL International Motorshow 2006 (KLIMS06)

Went to KLIMS06 on Tuesday with Farul, my ex-manager and soon to be colleague again at Shell. Had to wake up at 6.00am to start work at 7.00am and skipped lunch to finish work at 3.00pm for the show. Borrowed an Olympus 10x from a church member to take some photos. The rechargeable batteries finished their by the 10th picture. Had to pay exorbitant price for batteries at the counter. Lost the camera bag and had to buy a replacement one. So the experience? Worth it! Would do the same thing again if given another chance! Especially since I also received my scholarship results that same night! But enough about me. The photos:

First, concept cars:

Honda's FCX Concept Car... 4-door Lambo-wannabe?

Volvo's 3CC - 3-seater Coupe with very cool wing doors

Nissan's Sports Car Concept - Nothing special really

Our very own Proton/Lotus APX - it'll probably the only car that Proton wont sell locally:P

Cars you dont see on the road everyday or most likely none at all:P

I'm a very ugly Frog 430 but I can go from 0-100km/h in 4.0sec

I drove this before ...err in a game. Love the speed and handling. It's a bit scary even in a game:P

Lamborghini Gallardo - My 2nd car ... err in the same game. Fantastic handling! Love it!

I've confirmed scientifically that a 6-footer will not be able to sit properly at the back of a Mercedes CLS. At least not without bumping his/her head at every pothole. No worries. Most Malaysians are 4-feet tall anyway:P

Black Mclaren SLR - sleek and silky. Sigh!

Bentley Continental GT - The cabriolet version has already been sold out for a year even before entering production. There are that many rich people who can afford a RM2million car in this world. Double sigh!

Something a bit more realistic - The Ford Focus ST, £17k and comes with a turbo-charged 2.5L engine. Very desirable except for the name (ST could possibly stand for Sanitary Towel:P)

Pagani Zonda - If you buy one of these, you'll get a personal delivery from Mr Zonda himself, who had dedicately handcrafted this car for you;)

Ferrari F60, or more normally known as the Enz0. It's a legalized F1 road car actually:P

Speaking of F1, if you buy one of these ...

... it comes with its own personal bridgestone "tyres":))

Since we're on the topic of "tires", check out the usual car babes. Not really my focus that day, just took a few for my Shell friends:P

Volvo babes

Toyota babe

Nissan's sales lady - I kid you not:P

Last but not least, check out the Volvo C70's amazing roof that goes down/comes up in 25secs.

Not much space for a golf bag if you "let your roof down". The FCUK model was purely unintentional:P

Almost forgot, more photos at Flickr.

The Accidental Swimmer

Shell IT is currently having its Inter-Departmental competitions with events such as karting, ping-pong and athletics going on these few months. I'm having a ball of a time cause it's really a great opportunity for some de-stressing and networking with the rest of 1400 staff around. This weekend, we had a swimming competition at the National Aquatic Centre at the National White Elephant stadium, Bukit Jalil.

I went there to cheer for my housemate but lo and behold, the moment I reached there, I was greeted with some anxious-looking faces cause one of the team swimmer, who was unfortunately in my actual working department (Global Linux/Unix, we're hiring Linux/Unix System Administrators, btw) had Fong-Fei-Kei-ed (cantonese for renegading on a deal/promise, it's acronym, FFK, is also used pretty often in conversations). If there's not enough swimmers in the team, we would be losing quite a few points due to non-participation. So, no choice lor, I was volunteered (this is gramatically correct:P). But honestly speaking, I had quite a lot of fun and there wasnt much pressure cause I was in 2 relay races and everytime it was my turn to swim, the opponents were already like 10-20 seconds ahead. Of course I still gave my all lah. I think the spirit of participation and teamwork really shined through during the competition, so in the end, it was more my honour and privilege to be part of such a special occasion than me saving the day or whatsoever (no unexpected heroic victories here:P my housemate did win one of the relays and he was the anchorman. So i did get some 2nd-hand glory. No complains there:)). And this did prove, ahem, that my current twice-weekly gym sessions seem to be bearing fruits.

As a treat to reading this boring article let me share an interesting-looking picture, which i took from my loyal camera-phone while I was exploring the Aquatic Centre:


If there's any gauge of the typical Malaysian maturity, this poor door-sign says it all. This was a sign at the Doping Control room. The Malay translation "Kawalan Dadah" has been reworked and now says "Awalan Dada", which means Early Boobs (we're not even witty in our vandalism, that's even sadder:P). Considering that this is a National Sports Centre, used for an international sporting event 8 years ago (Commonwealth 98) and is still being used for "occasional" international swimming events, you would expect better maintenance. Of course, one could argue that the probability of a foreigner understanding Bahasa Malaysia is lower than the moon going off its axis and striking the earth, landing at the White House or Pentagon (especially if its a Hollywood movie). Well, nuff said! All the best to Visit Malaysia 2007. Hopefully I'll be some-place else by then:))

Photos of the event:

Immigrants who have just came on-shore and are being registered:P

Orange is the flavour of the day;)

The Weekend Where Schumacher Lost and Regained His Reputation

The Michael Schumacher of mid-90s reared his ugly head on Saturday's Monaco GP qualifying session again. Sensing that Alonso maybe quicker than him in the final qualifying lap, he decided to let his car do its own thinking abit and let it went out of control. He controlled it just enough so that he could park his car near a corner and spoilt Alonso's lap. Probably partly accidental and partly intentional. The Stewards though were not as stupid they used to be as Schumacher realised. They were able to analyze his car data, videos and concluded that he did indeed do it on purpose and took away Schumacher's pole position and demoted him to the back of the grid, letting Alonso win the GP quite easily on Sunday.

Having been called a cheat and having the Schumo-Schumi (crafty one) tag back on his name from the German dailies, he could have easily decided not to turn up for the race on Sunday. The racer in him didnt allow him to do it though. And Schumacher showed once again why is he such a special one. He provided the most entertainment in the closing laps, unlaping himself from race leader Alonso, set the fastest lap and did some cool overtaking moves. Which kinda makes you wonder why he need to do his "accident" on Saturday. Guess old habits die hard but something dies even harder, that is the racing spirit in him! The talent and willpower is just so amazing for someone who has been doing it for 17 years, having won everything that is to win in Formula 1, claiming all possible records. And for that, I respect him so so tremendously.

The Day When Soul Won over Pheever

Yes!!! The Soul Patrolman has triumphed over McPheever (more like McFaker actually). For the first time in American Idol's 5-year history, a white guy is allowed to win (beating the conspiracy theory that when you put a white guy in a final vs any minority (female, Hispanic), the white guy gotta lose due to political correctness:P). Of course, this aint no normal white guy. He was the underdog when American Idol 5 began with Simon Cowell blatantly saying that Taylor Hicks will never make it to the final audition. Well, he won over the crowd using his own style of singing and the fantastic tendency to dance it out. And what daya known. Simon Cowell was the one who finally affirmed Taylor as the American Idol before even the votes started coming in. Now, that's show business! There is without a doubt that there's market for soul music as seen by the votes garnered by Hicks Once again, kudos to Grey-Hair!

Hope it's Hicks

The American Idol Grand Finale was finally over. Now it's left to America to vote. Results will be out 12.00am GMT (25th May 2006). Based on last night's performance, it has to be Taylor Hicks. I really hope so. For 2 seasons when it's a guy vs girl final, the girl has always won ( Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood). This time must be different because really don't wanna see a fake Idol put on the pedestal. Looks like even Katherine McPhee has gotten a bit tired of herself as well with the way she sang last night. Really love the singing style of Taylor Hicks. Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol! Grey-hair rulez!

Zhng My Car[update]

Found this very interesting site through Casey. Mr Brown's got a radio show called Zhng My Car ala MTV's Pimp My Ride but singaporized:))
Here are direct links to the 8 episodes so far:
1. Episode 1
2. Episode 2
3. Episode 3
4. Episode 4
5. Episode 5
6. Episode 6
7. Episode 7
8. Episode 8 (new one)

For more shows go to mrbrownshow.blogspot.com...

Da Vinci Code: Beneath That Smile

Shirley had a great post on separating the facts from fictions in the Da Vinci Code. Great job, girl!

Google Analytics

I've been using Google Analytics (G-Anal for short:P) to track my blog for quite a while. It's a extremely well made piece of software, as you would expect from Google. The amount of information that can be collected is quite amazing. But what's even more amazing is the simple and effective manner these information are presented. The following images show some of the stuff G-Anal can do, the ones where I can understand at least. They have various summaries (called dashboards) for different types of roles involved in a website (executive for the CEO/Managers, webmasters and marketeer for the marketing people). So far, the elligibility to use the software is by invitation. You just need to go to the website and register your interest. After that? Just wait:) After 1-2 months, you'll get an invitation:)

Main dashboard, (clockwise from top left) showing visits/pageviews, new vs returning visitors, referrals and geogrphical overlay of visitors

Webmasters would like to know which pages are more popular

Looks like a bit of promoting at Project Petaling Street helped my website quite a bit:)

How to pack a bomb's raw materials in a box:P

Because a mutual friend was coming back to Malaysia for a holiday, I helped my fellow geeks in UK to get quite a bit of USB gadgets. These stuff are pretty expensive in UK. The breakdown include:

• USB Mug Warmer/Hub (as you can see in the link, it's £12.95. I got it for 1/2 the price at Unicgift, found through Google:)) - 2 units (I bought one myself to keep my daily dose of Milo warm)
• USB 2.0 Hub - 2 units
• USB Light - 2 units
  
• USB-to-Serial converter - 1 unit
• RJ45 Cross Converter - 1 unit
  
• RJ45 Cross Cable - 1 unit

Don ask geeks why they need all these, they just do:))

All, in all when you put them all together, they look like raw materials to make a bomb.

USB Hub (top) and Mug-Warmer/Hub (below)
Clockwise from left: USB Light, Cross Converter, USB-to-Serial Converter, USB Hubs and RJ45 Cross Cable

After packing in a DVD burner box, they do look quite dangerous. Hope my friend will have a safe trip through the British Customs:))

Sealed, To Be Signed and To Be Delivered:)

Are You Not Impressed with American Idol?

While waiting for the new season of Top Gear, I was absolutely bored with "Internet TV":P. And so for the first time, I started watching American Idol. Pretty surprising that it took me five years to discover what others have been raving about but I guess, it's all ok in my own bubble world:))

Kellie-mania is still in vogue!

Gotta admit the main reason I got hooked was because of country girl Kellie Pickler, who illicits as much love and adoration as disgust and contempt amongst AI fans. She's a really sweet girl who just loves music and have had quite a tough time growing up. But she is for sure, the most likeable contestant in Season 5 (Don't believe me, try Google's very cool Google Trends, which tells you what is more trendy when you compare two search terms. See Kellie vs Katherine). She has a wonderful voice but lacks the polished training/talent that some of the others had but she did makee it to the top 6 and that's as high as she has thoroughly deserved. Whether she is really that innocent or as Simon calls her, "naughty little minx". Or she's just putting up an act, dishing out country pronunciation of calamari and what not, she's still the most interesting:) But who am I to judge, I'm biased anyway:)

Soul Patrol! Soul Patrol!
Alan: White is cool! White is cool!

So, the final is next week and it's between Soul Patrol man, Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPheever. I gotta say, I simply admire Taylor Hicks. He has proved two important things in my opinion,
1. That in Hollywood, people do love you because of your talent and personality. And as America has voted, they like what they see in Taylor. Amazing voice and the tendency to dance it out has given a breast of fresh ass, a breath of fresh air to entertainment.
2. Most of important of all, Taylor shows that white hair can be cool!!!! And that won him my vote already:))

The only time Katherine looks more human than giant:P

Now, Katherine McPhee has an amzing voice as well but I think she has a personality problem. I thin if anyone bothers to watch back the Hollywood audition episodes, she was kinda bitchy then. When the top 24 started, she suddenly turned into sweet girl-next-door. Now, that's what I call a FAKE American Idol but no disrespect, she is as talented as Taylor.

And so, on to the finals on May 23. I cant wait for it to come. May the best performer of the night win!

For once, the white guy with the white hair gets the girl!!:))

New Macbook is out

The ibook replacement, now called the Macbook is finally out!!!!!! The specs are not so surprising with a 1.83GHz Core Duo White ($1099), a 2.0GHz Core Duo White ($1299) and check this out, a 2.0GHz Core Duo Black ($1499) as seen in the pics. How cool is that?? The other specs are standard. The only grouse is of course, the choice of using the Intel Integrated Graphics. Having had such bad experience with it long time ago, I don fancy you can do much graphics stuff with it. Hope I'm wrong. definitely getting the black one!!

Classic Formula1 season ahead

Ferrari vs Renault
Red vs Blue
Bridgestone vs Michelin
Best of all, Former World Champion vs Current World Champion

There is just so much similarity between Schumacher and Alonso, it's almost scary. They have both won their driver's championship by age 25 with the same team (Renault/Bennetton) under the same manager (Flavio Briatore). Both are superfast, not just fast but meticulously and intelligently fast. They're always thinking of their championship strategy and then race strategy. The Spanish GP really set them apart from their team mates who are just plain ordinary F1 drivers. Alonso of course deserves all respect from all fans from the manner he has taken over the mantle from Schumacher. Would be nice to have them both in the same car but that is totally impossible with Alonso going to Mclaren and Schummi possibly staying in Ferrari.

But Alonso is quite a character with his victory celebration antics. Last year he had a habit of counting his number of victories thus far with his fingers while in the car. This year, he has decided to go animal. In Bahrain, he imitated the grinch as seen below. The animal rights people claimed he was imitating a bullfighter. In Australia, he imitated a kangaroo, putting his fingers to his head and wiggling them while bowing (cant get a photo of that, pity). In Spain where he had just become the first Spaniard to win his home GP, he imitated a bear/ape walking. Hahahaha. He's a great guy. Better than Schumacher knocking people out of races (think Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve) when he was young himself.

Take That Back for Good

Wow, the most successful boy band in the 90s after Beatles are Back For Good. Yup, all Take That fans take note. After having a successful reunion concert sans Robbie Williams, the men (cant call them boys anymore) have just signed a £3 million recording contract. If you liked Take That without Robbie Williams, then this will be good news:) Even "greater" news was that Robbie Williams had also made-up with the other four lesser members as well:P

Gmail Pictures

New feature in Gmail. Associating pictures to your contacts. Called Gmail Pictures, it's a bit like the Avatar in Yahoo Messenger. But of course, anything Google does will always be cooler:P If you don't like the picture that your friend is using, you can even suggest one:))

Song to Share

Sang this song a few years back at Multimedia University. It was for a chinese song composing concert. The song is called Bian Xin (Changed Heart). Now that I've experienced the receiving end of a failed relationship, I actually could identify with the song unlike the time when I sang it:P I still remember the special guest (some song composer) who commented when I sang this song, I wasnt serious enough and giving all the wrong emotions:))

Hope you like it. File's shared at Multiply.