my photo, my life, my story

PlayStation Move Controller

2010-10-07T21:35:00.001+01:00

Finally managed to try out my Playstation Move Controller! My expectations weren't very high because I thought it would not be very accurate, but was I wrong! Any slight movement is registered and rotating the controller is also registered. That's not all, any movement to the front (closer to the camera) and back (further from teh camera) can also be detected. Quick and slow movement are also detected by the system.

Tried several games so far, Sports Champions, Resident Evil: Gold - Move Edition, and Start The Party! (Demo). There were all fun and the controller never failed to work.

So if you are thinking of getting one, think no more! All you need are:

PS3 system (obviously)
PlayStation Move Starter Pack (includes PS Move Controller, PS Eye, and Starter disc)

If you already have a Playstation Eye, you can just get the Playstation Move Controller.

Optionally, you can also buy the PlayStation Move Navigation Controller instead of using the normal controller for navigation. Particularly useful if you are left handed!

Try it! You won't be disappointed!

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It's been a long time...

2010-09-28T18:25:00.000+01:00

It's been so so so long since I last updated this blog. Been very busy with the final touches for my thesis and also my viva, which are all over now!

I had my viva last Friday and finally came the end of my PhD, well not quite as I have some bits of correction and then the hard bound copy of the thesis.

Also bought my ticket home, on the 28th of October. That will be bye bye to NI and UK from, at least until next July as I will be back for my graduation.

I will try to keep this updated more often since I have more time now!

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England Won!

2010-06-23T18:50:00.001+01:00

Woo! England won! At least they will now go through to the top 16! Hang on there England!

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Marathon Medal

2010-05-10T00:18:00.001+01:00

Received this through the post as I was actually given the wrong one after the run! Instead of a medal for Marathon Run, I received one for Marathon Walk.

After the Marathon

2010-05-04T15:40:00.000+01:00

Finally completed the marathon yesterday. The weather was really good. Sunny but not too warm with cool breeze once in a while. I finished with official time of 4 hrs 14 mins 55 sec (my chip time was 4 hrs 13 mins). It was a great run, lots of fun, and lots of support from people watching the run. And I managed to do better than my previous run by 17 mins so not too bad.

I managed to collect £258 for NSPCC and I am thankful for everyone who donated. Also have to thank my friends that came to meet me at the end of the run! Really appreciate that!

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One day to Marathon!

2010-05-02T15:36:00.000+01:00

Time flies! Tomorrow is THE day! Weather doesn't look too optimistic today with some quite heavy rain showers. Hopefully the clouds will all go away tomorrow.

I've managed to collect a total of £258 so far for NSPCC. Thanks to everyone!

Will update tomorrow after the run tomorrow (if I am not too tired). Good luck to me! LOL.

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ROTD - 20th April 2010

2010-04-20T14:55:00.001+01:00

This would be my last long run in the run up to the marathon. I can't believe it is in 2 weeks' time! The whole route is about 16 km and pretty flat all round. There are some slight slop up Belvoir Road towards Newtownards but it wasn't too bad. The weather was a bit chilly today especially when the wind was blowing, especially on my way down Ormeau Road!

In case you are wondering, I listen to Lady GaGa or Basshunter for my run. Find that the tunes motivate me and keep my steps in sync!

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ROTD - 16th April 2010

2010-04-16T14:37:00.003+01:00

Another sunny and warm day, perfect for running. Again, started out from Stranmillis and headed towards Lagan Valley Park. Have I mentioned it, it's a lovely and peaceful park for running. After that decided to continue running towards Clement Wilson Park and up to upper Malone Road. There's a short distance about 400 m which was quite steep and I could feel it every step. After that back to Stranmillis Road and back home. The whole route is about 8.80 km.

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One year older, not any wiser

2010-04-15T16:32:00.002+01:00

Time flies. I am another year older. People say one year older, one year wiser, but probably not in my case! Thanks to everyone for their Birthday wishes! And also my friends for dinner on Tuesday night and the unexpected ice cream and also Terry for the dinner and the Derren Brown ticket and also the cake. Thanks very much!

Haven't updated my run for a while but I am still running! Both are around 8 km long and pass through either Lagan Valley Park or Lagan Pathway. The weather has been really good this week and I hope it will last for another 2 weeks for the marathon. Having said that, I hope the volcano ashes from Iceland will not affect the air quality over here especially on Marathon day!

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ROTD - 9th April 2010

2010-04-10T00:16:00.003+01:00

Almost the same route as before, through Lagan Valley Park to Clement Wilson Park and back again. The whole route is about 10.2 km. Easy route as basically just flat throughout.

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ROTD - 6th April 2010

2010-04-06T19:27:00.004+01:00

A shorter route today. One of my favourites. It's fairly flat except when coming up on Stranmillis Road. The length is about 7 km. Lagan Walkway is a great place for running as it has foamed type of flooring.

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Run of the Day (ROTD) - 5th April 2010

2010-04-05T21:07:00.002+01:00

I have decided to upload a path of my run (as long as I can be bothered to keep up with this). If anyone's interested to run together, let me know! This route is about 10 km (9.88 km to be exact) and goes through Lagan Valley Park, Balmoral Avenue and Lisburn Road. Some slight uphill between Lagan Valley Park and Balmoral Avenue.

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Nokia N900 and Nokia Map Loader - It works!

2010-03-20T10:10:00.004Z

Nokia has released a new version of Nokia Map Loader on NokiaUSA website and is said to be working with N900 on Windows XP/Vista. I am using Windows 7 but it seems to work fine. No problems installing and starting the programme. If you have problems, try changing the compatibility to Windows XP (SP3). After installing it, I used PC Suite to connect my phone to my computer, but Windows Map Loader asked me to connect using Mass Storage mode instead. So I did, and then the programme asked me to reconnect using PC Suite mode! It's really frustrating.

However, after a bit of googling, found on one website with a comment from someone known as zim. The instructions are as below:

1. Run terminal and type:
cp /home/user/MyDocs/.qf /home/user/MyDocs/qf

2. Connect to PC in PC Suite Mode

3. Open Map Loader and it works!

I tried the above steps and it worked! I connected my phone to my laptop using PC Suite Mode, started the Nokia Map Loader again, and it detected my phone and the maps version! I was able to delete maps data and redownload the maps again!

Thanks zim!

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Follow up from Photo of the Day

2010-03-19T16:37:00.002Z

You may remember I posted about my photo being featured in POTD last Saturday. I got my weekly summary e-mail today and I've got 1080 downloads in a week! That's more than the downloads I've ever got in a few years! I know they are just numbers (and not the biggest number) but I'm still chuffed :)

Definitely made my day!

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Donation update

2010-03-17T12:19:00.002Z

I have just added a JustGiving page to get donation for my marathon run for NSPCC. I think this is a better way as the money goes directly to NSPCC, and if you are a tax payer, they will claim Gift Aid on your behalf and add it to the donation. They do charge 5% from the Gift Aid but I think that's fair considering they need to keep the website up and running.

So if you are feeling generous, click on the link on the left of my page and start donating :)

Thanks!

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Mmm delicious

2010-03-13T22:33:00.001Z

Saw this in Tesco for £2 and decided to try it. It's delicious. You'll have to try it!

I'll be running in Belfast Marathon for NSPCC!

2010-03-10T00:22:00.003Z

Finally decided to run in Belfast City Marathon again this year to motivate myself to do a bit more exercise. I'll be running for NSPCC, that's the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

So I'll be asking here, please donate some money! You can either pass the money to me, or send money via paypal to run4nspcc@googlemail.com.

If you are sending money via paypal, please select "Personal" payment to avoid paying fees, and use either bank funding or paypal balance. If you use credit card, you can choose whether to pay the fees, or for the fees to be paid when I receive the money.

So please donate! Whether it is 20p, 50p, £1, £2 or anything, no value is too small!

Thanks in advanced!

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Photo of the Day

2010-03-06T10:38:00.004Z

Checked my email this morning to find a few emails from Webshots. They were comments from some people congratulating my photo for making it to POTD. I was so surprised! I know it's nothing much but still I am excited.

Check out http://travel.webshots.com and you should still see my photo there today.

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Happy Chinese New Year!

2010-02-11T17:31:00.002Z

Happy Chinese New Year to all readers! May the year of the Tiger brings you health and wealth!

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The BEST ice cream

2010-02-06T23:46:00.001Z

This is the limited edition. Tried it when I was in Schiphol Airport. Simply delicious! Also only £2.50 at Tesco!

Yuntian Cultural City, Yulin, Guangxi

2010-02-05T16:15:00.000Z

Yuntian Cultural City, Yulin, Guangxi

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Dropped my Nokia N900...

2010-01-30T00:18:00.003Z

and this is what happened :(

Bought a gel case from eBay this morning!

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Shanghai and Hangzhou

2010-01-28T20:50:00.002Z

Shanghai Trip

Finally got the time to upload some photos here. More photos from Yulin coming soon!

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Nokia N900

2010-01-15T14:30:00.005Z

In the first week of December last year, I received an email from Nokia to see if I would like to test the new Nokia N900. The answer was obvious. I immediately filled in my details. It was my very early Xmas present. Fast forward to first week of January, I finally received the device.

It came in a small DHL packaging, and my first thought was this couldn't be that phone! I was wrong. The packaging for the phone was a small black rectangular box, much smaller than the boxes for N93 and N95. It is sleek however, and looked very professional. The device is smaller than I expected, only slightly wider and thicker than my N95, and when I kept it in my jeans pocket, there was no difference to N95.

The first thing I noticed when I turned on the phone was the graphics. With 800*480 resolution and 3.5" touch-sensitive widescreen, it was amazing! I was very impressed. It also comes with internal 32 GB memory and upgradable to 48 GB with a microSD card. The touchscreen is very good, although it lacks the multi-touch function of iPhone. But I would choose N900 over iPhone anytime.

The things I like best about the Nokia N900:

1. The graphics!
2. The internet browser. Full browser like on the desktop with Flash support. I tried some games on facebook and worked perfectly fine.
3. Customisable desktop. Up to 4 desktops and many widgets to choose from. Also can add shortcuts, contacts etc.
4. maemo 5 is still very new and lots of development opportunities in terms of software and applications.

The two things I didn't like:

1. No support for PAP for WiFi! I need it to connect to university's WiFi.
2. Yet another different charger! From the big size to small size and now micro USB charge head.

Anyway, for a full list of specs visit here.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-21T02:56:00.003Z

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May 2010 brings you happiness and health!

I know I haven't updated the blog for a while - just being lazy. Will be flying over to Shanghai for a week and then will be meeting my family in Guangxi for another week! Luckily Terry will be joining me so at least I won't be alone during the long flights, and not to mention the long waiting hours in Amsterdam Schiphol!

Woke up to snow covered roads and roofs this morning, hence the small snowman. Will update on my trip when I am back with photos! Till next year!

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Two more of the pumpkin

2009-10-28T15:57:00.002Z

Well since I had to carve the pumpkin, not putting more photos will not do my time justice.

So here's one without the candlelight. Not very nice, obviously I still have to work on my skills.

Taken from a different angle. The more I look at it, the funnier it gets. I wanted a scary looking one but ended up with a comical one! Oh well...

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Happy Halloween!

2009-10-27T22:33:00.003Z

It's been a loooonggggg time since I updated my blog and it's now Halloween already! Carved a pumpkin today which is the photo up there. First ever and only using normal kitchen knife, so I think it's not too bad at all.

Happy Halloween!

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The Lost Symbol

2009-09-16T10:57:00.002+01:00

The new Dan Brown's book The Lost Symbol is on sale on Amazon now for only £4.99! Yes, you read correctly, brand new, hardcover for only £4.99!

Get it while it lasts! To qualify for the £5 free delivery, just add something really cheap, such as this 54p Paint Brush. It's better than having to pay £2.75 for the delivery!

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Full Moon

2009-09-05T00:28:00.002+01:00

Took a photo of the full moon using 70-200 mm f4.0L Canon lens just to try it out. Full zoom and cropped at 100%. Very good sharpness and could see the details clearly. Maybe someday I'll have a telescope lens! Quality reduced when uploaded to this blog though.

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BBC iPlayer now on PS3

2009-09-03T15:52:00.003+01:00

I updated my PS3 firmware 2 days ago to v3.0 but didn't notice anything special. Actually, I wasn't looking for anything new, because I have updated the firmware so many times and I didn't really notice anything new. However, while I was using my PS3 yesterday, I saw a new tab on the XMB (cross-media bar) called TV and there's a BBC iPlayer in it! I was surprised! I tried it and although it didn't work initially and caused my PS3 to hang, it was successful on my second attempt. I was a bit disappointed that I had to use the PS3 controller and not my blu-ray controller to play the media. Perhaps I was wrong but I shall investigate into this. Overall the quality of the playback is reasonable, not as good quality as live TV, but still a very handy new addition!

I also read somewhere that it will soon have Sony Video Store on PS3 and also Sony Bravia Sync, allowing the control of PS3 using the TV remote.

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Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge Belfast 2009

2009-08-21T12:43:00.002+01:00

Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009 Belfast

Tall Ships had the last stop in Belfast last week after sailing a few months across the Atlantic to the finishing line in Ireland. I have never seen so many people in the same place in Belfast before! It was a good experience as I have never been on any tall ships before. Unfortunately, the queue to go up to Bounty (the ship in Pirates of the Caribbean) was so long that I gave up. Overall a great day out in Belfast!

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Things for sale!

2009-08-18T23:13:00.002+01:00

Three things here for sale so if you are interested please contact me.

Sandisk Ultra II Compact Flash card for £10. Brand new in box.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0007QU6WY/?seller=A10U1TRDFKE6E2

Hama Sorento 130 Bag - Black/Orange for £14. Brand new in packaging as well. Suitable for small DSLR camera or video camera.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0015X71F8/?seller=A10U1TRDFKE6E2

Hama Star 63 Tripod With Free Carry Case for £11. Brand new in box too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0000WXD1G/?seller=A10U1TRDFKE6E2

You could buy from the Amazon link or just let me know! I would sell all three for £33 ONO.

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Update

2009-08-14T19:12:00.002+01:00

Been a while ago since I last updated. Must keep this going otherwise I will forget about this blog completely!

I have just been busy with writing up my thesis. So much to write, so little time. That's probably why I haven't updated too. Enough thesis writing to keep me going. I've got new additions to my lens collection, but haven't found the time (and the right weather should I say) to try it out properly. I will update in due time.

There's a Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge crossing the finish line in Belfast this week although the weather has been just terrible. I was hoping to go today but it was just raining and raining. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow.

Till then, just a short update. Wait for more photos coming soon!

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IE8 tab not opening webpage

2009-07-28T12:15:00.003+01:00

If you are using IE8 and AVG Antivirus, you might have experienced IE8 not opening a website on one tab, but when you open a new tab, the site opened without any problems. It was very irritating for me but finally found the solution thanks to this.

All you have to do is to disable Link Scanner in AVG, and voila, IE8 is working normal again.

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Some older photos of Paris

2009-07-26T13:09:00.001+01:00

Paris

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Toledo

2009-07-26T13:08:00.001+01:00

Toledo July 2009

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Madrid Photos

2009-07-24T11:52:00.002+01:00

Finally uploaded some photos from Madrid. Check out below, on webshots or my Facebook.

Madrid, Spain

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Madrid Trip

2009-07-17T14:50:00.002+01:00

I came back from Madrid on Tuesday night after spending 5 days in an oven! The temperature was ridiculously high about 38°C most days in the afternoon. Luckily for the low humidity, I didn't sweat as much as I would in Malaysia. It was blue sky everyday until the last day where I finally saw some clouds.

Overall it was a great trip. Partly maybe because I didn't have any expectation before visiting Madrid? The city itself is huge, with good transportation system of metro and busses. The metro runs until about 230 am everyday and there are also night busses running almost 24 hours. And the tickets are cheap too! If you buy a book of 10 metro tickets, it will cost you only EU 7.40, as compared to London's underground which costs £1.50 using Oyster Card. We bought a 5 day pass (metro and busses) for only EU 17.60.

There are many places to visit in Madrid. For the footie fans, there is the Real Madrid stadium. I was there but didn't visit the interior. There are lots of museums and monuments and fountains too! Again, I didn't visit any museums, only took some photos from the outside. Instead, we went to the Madrid Zoo. We wanted to see the Giant Panda, but unfortunately they were both sleeping as it was about 830pm (still bright as daylight). The dolphin performance was very good though. Also went to the Warner Bros Theme Park about 40 minutes away from Madrid by train.

As mentioned there are lots of fountains about, as well as plazas with lots of alfresco restaurants and bars. We did a walking tour starting from Puerta del Sol (also known as Kilometre zero because distances from Madrid were measured from here). From here we walked to Plaza Mayor, a bit square with many restaurants and souvenier shops. Walk along and you will see a Market place, and finally the Almudena Cathedral and Royal Palace. This is a great place to sit and rest as there are many parks in the surrounding area. The Opera Theatre is nearby too. Walking along we saw the Temple de Debod, an Egyptian temple that was brought to Spain. Walking further along this road, there will be a place to take a cable car to Casa de Campo, where the Zoo is located.

The next place we visited was Retiro Park, and this is a must! It's a huge park with a huge monument in the middle, a glass palace, and 2 museums. Around the park area, you will also find the Independence Square (with a gate similar to Arc de Triomphe, but smaller).

Finally, we also visited Toledo for a day. It's about 30 minutes from Madrid on the Renfe fast train. Toledo was the capital of Spain, and it is beautifully preserved and is a World Heritage Site. There are nice windy and narrow streets, lots of churches and old buildings, and lots of restaurants, cafes and bars too. We spent a day here, and it was about right. There are plenty of trains every day so it is easy enough.

I will update more with photos. I am still editing them and knowing me, will probably take a while. Be patient!

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Off to Madrid!

2009-07-09T14:47:00.004+01:00

I will be leaving for Madrid early hours on Friday and back on Tuesday night. Temperature over there will be scorchingly high at maximum of 37°C according to BBC weather. Not very good at all. Just hope it is dry heat and I will not be sweating as much. Finally can put good use to my circular polarising filter which is suppose to be good with hot sunny days. Wait for my photos next week!

Hasta pronto!

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Mullin's Ice Cream

2009-06-26T23:11:00.004+01:00

Bought a pot of this ice cream today and it is delicious! I got a Honeycomb Hunnie Bee and it tastes very good. It is currently half price for only about £1.80 in Tesco. You won't regret it.

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Photo I took on Bedford Street

2009-06-25T22:45:00.002+01:00

I was very surprised today when Visha told me she saw a photo I took in the city centre! I wasn't told about it by The National Trust as I uploaded this to the Picture Yourself website a while ago. I just didn't expect the photo to be this huge, and my name to be so visible!! BTW, I didn't add the "Photographed by" line via Photoshop. I am actually quite happy and please with myself. Of course, I have to thank the model in the photo, none other than CH, who visited me last year. CH, if you are reading this, told you you would be famous in NI :)

If you are interested to see this photo, it is on Bedford Street opposite Ulster Hall.

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Free music on your computer with Spotify

2009-06-16T16:48:00.003+01:00

I have heard about this website for some time now but was never motivated enough to actually try it out. Anyway, read about it again today and decided to give it a try - and I was glad I did! All you have to do is register and download a tiny application. From that software, you can search for songs available almost instantaniously! The speed is surprisingly fast, and you can find from French to even Chinese songs! Yes Chinese songs! I even tried some really really old ones like Leon Lai. Others I found was Faye Wong, Sun Yan-Zi...

All you have to put up with is some ads on the sidebar and also between songs, but hey it's free!

Try it out for yourself today!

http://www.spotify.com/

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LittleBigPlanet

2009-06-09T22:34:00.002+01:00

Yes, that's Sack Boy from LittleBigPlanet. Isn't it cute! Got it for free when I joined their Facebook group. If you don't already know, LBP is a game for PS3. Very entertaining and very creative! One of the best PS3 games!

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Pizza making

2009-06-07T23:16:00.002+01:00

Decided to try to make a pizza from scratch over the weekend. Found some recipes online and used this. It's easy to follow with photos and the pizza bread actually tasted very good. I made it quite thin so it is quite crispy. Other ingredients: tomatoes, pineapples, peppers, mushrooms and also... tofu! Yes, tofu, actually tasted quite well. Must remember to first coat the tofu with some salt though, to give it some taste. I got the wrong type of mozarella cheese, hence the topping wasn't as nice as I was hoping for. There's always next time, and I will remember to get the correct ones. Oh, the tomato paste, or the piazzaiola, was also home made according to the recipe in the website. Overall a good recipe to follow and I would recommend it if you are thinking of trying it out!

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Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

2009-06-05T14:32:00.002+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k

Must watch! Very good. A bit like the T-Mobile dance in the UK. This is the Belgium one dancing along to The Sound of Music's Do Re Mi by Julie Andrews.

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bing.com - Microsoft's new search engine

2009-06-04T20:49:00.005+01:00

Bing (a highly unusual name IMO, but then so is Google and Yahoo) is the new search engine from Microsoft to rival that of Google and Yahoo. It is still in the Beta but you can always try it out. First look at the homepage, I noticed the very weird choice for the background. Seems to be Guilin in China, but I am not too sure. I thought it could be a rotating background, so I refreshed my screen but no, it stayed the same.

The search is pretty much the same as Google search. You can choose between Web, Images, Shopping, News and etc. The Shopping search is provided by Ciao, owned by Microsoft now. The web search seems faster compared to the old sluggish MSN Live Search.

Microsoft's plan is of course to get a higher search engine market share. But is it enough to win over the internet users? Furthermore, asking someone to "Google it" sounds much better and more natural than asking someone to "Bing it", don't you think? Only time will tell.

Edit: The background changes, perhaps everyday :D

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Drag Me to Hell

2009-06-04T18:46:00.002+01:00

This is a surprisingly good horror film, if you like this genre. It is directed by Sam Raimi, the director of Spiderman trilogy.

A short description of the movie copy and pasted from imdb.com:

A loan officer ordered to evict an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse, which turns her life into a living hell. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.

After watching countless horror movies that promised a lot but delivered none, this has to be the best horror movie for some time now. There is something quite comical about the movie as well, and the music reminded me of Spiderman. Overall, I highly recommend this movie.

p/s: if you are easily frightened, I would suggest that you not hold any popcorn or drinks while watching this :D

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Polaroid Two

2009-05-22T14:32:00.003+01:00

The new Polaroid digital instant camera, Polaroid Two, available at Firebox. Looks great. It has 5 MP, more than enough for the size of the photo (2" x 3") it is printing. The price - £229.95 - is probably the biggest draw back.

If you already have a digital camera, check out a similar photo priner based on the same technology using zinc paper, the PoGo instant photo printer, also by Polaroid. It is for sale at £49.95.

I would probably consider this if the print size was larger! Anyone interested?

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Ballet in the Park etc.

2009-05-21T15:10:00.008+01:00

Almost a month without a post... again. I really tried updating my blog more regularly, but I as just too ~~lazy~~ busy the past weeks. Weather here is really weird lately. Rain comes about 4-5 pm, very heavy rain, sometimes with hail and lightning and thunder. As I type, the sky is getting cloudy and it seems the rain will be coming soon.

Next Monday is Bank Holiday, unfortunately not for university :(

There will be a Ballet in the Park event, instead of the usual Opera in the Park, at Botanic Garden on the 3rd of June (Wednesday). Entry will start at 5pm. Anyone interested? The ballet is call Ondine. A synosis taken from the ROH website.

THE STORY

Palemon is courting Berta. She scorns his proffered amulet leaving him alone. Ondine, a water-nymph, appears mysteriously from a fountain. Her strangeness captivates Palemon. Alarmed on feeling the beat of his heart, Ondine disappears into the forest. Palemon follows her. Berta, seeing Palemon disappear with Ondine, orders their pursuit.

In the forest Tirrenio, Lord of the Mediterranean Sea, lies in wait of for the lovers. He tries to separate them, warning them that if Palemon is unfaithful to Ondine he must die. Defying Tirrenio, Ondine and Palemon, seek out a hermit, who marries them and gives her a soul. Berta is distraught at Tirrenio’s attempts to impede her pursuit of the lovers.

Now married, Palemon and Ondine come to a port and embark on a ship. Berta, still following, sees the lovers and bribes the captain to take her on board secretly. Not knowing of their marriage, she becomes jealous when Palemon offers the amulet to Ondine. Berta reproaches Palemon; Ondine gives the jewel to Bertha. Tirrenio, rising in anger from the sea, snatches the amulet from her. Ondine runs to the side of the boat. She dips her hands into the water and produces a magical necklace which she presents to Berta. Berta throws it at Ondine’s feet. The sailors, frightened of Ondine, throw her overboard. Tirrenio rises to protect Ondine. He creates a storm and, mounting on the crest of a wave, takes Ondine back to the sea. The storm increases and as the ship sinks, Palemon and Berta survive by clinging to a rock.

Saved from the shipwreck; Palemon and Berta are married. Berta presents Palemon with a magnificent portrait and leaves to prepare for the guests. Palemon in reverie, has a vision of Ondine; his dream is broken by Berta. The guests arrive, and at the height of the festivities, Tirrenio appears, seeking vengeance. Berta is dragged out by the ondines.

Ondine appears; Palemon realizes that she is his only love. She warns him that, owing to his lack of faith, her kiss can only mean his death. Finally, sadly, she kisses him and he falls dead. She takes his body back beneath the waves, there to hold him in an eternal embrace.

Why is the ending always sad?

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Back in Belfast!

2009-04-28T20:08:00.002+01:00

After my long absent from blogging, I am finally back. I was back in KL enjoying the food and hardly have time (or just plain lazy) to write anything.

My flight back to the UK with KLM was horrible. Not horrible horrible like I was stranded the last time I flew with Gulfair, but the service and the food was terrible. Can you imagine the first announcement you hear onboard the flight was "The upper compartment is very heavy so could you please close it yourself"? I mean come on, the stewardess were much bigger and taller than those in Malaysian Airlines, but the latter never complained. I blamed it on the laziness of the stewardess as I see them spending most of their time chit chatting with each other or just idling. They also never remember whether they have given you hot/cold towel, or whether they have served you drinks when you are away from your seats. The food is another story. I was served with some curry sauce, yes sauce, just plain sauce, no vegetables, nothing, alongside something in a lump that I have no idea what it was. Needless to say it was horrible. I ended up eating the bread, yoghurt and the fruits. I regret not taking some photos, so maybe someone out there could enlighten me on what I have eaten.

Anyway, back in Belfast and the weather was just nice, not too cold and not too much rain, yet. I got a free car rental for this coming weekend, so would be a good time to go grocery shopping! Also looking forward to Monday Bank Holiday!

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Women Drivers

2009-03-12T14:16:00.001Z

Got this on email then found on Youtube. Very funny indeed. No offence to the ladies though!

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Watchmen

2009-03-10T11:24:00.003Z

I get to watch this when it was out last Friday. Personally I thought the trailer for the movie was rubbish. It was confusing and the music that was playing with the trailer didn't quite match. I was almost put off watching by that but luckily I didn't!

A sypnosis from IMDB:

In a gritty and alternate 1985 the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown, but after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so discover a deeper and far more diabolical plot. Written by evan murphy

I really liked it. The movie was 160 minutes long but certainly didn't felt so. I have not read the graphic novel so I couldn't comment on how well the movie follows the original plot. A must watch from me!

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Whitechapel

2009-03-10T11:16:00.002Z

Yes it's a place to the East of London and no I wasn't there. It's actually an ITV 3-part drama that was shown a while ago. I only got a chance to watch it yesterday night and it was great! I ony planned to watch the 1st part but it was so exciting that I had to watch all of them. The story basically follows a copycat Jack the Ripper murders 120 years ago that happened in the same place.

From ITV website:

London 2008. A series of horrific crimes suggest someone is carrying out copycat Jack the Ripper murders 120 years after the killer struck. The clock is ticking as the case turns into a hunt for an old enemy, with three unlikely heroes at the centre.

You can still watch it on ITV player (if you are in the UK), although it will expire in 5 days time (from 10th of March) so be quick! Otherwise you will have to get the DVD. You won't regret it!

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Mocking Ryanair

2009-03-02T12:25:00.003Z

After the recent news that Ryanair would charge passenger £1 each time they use the toilet. Very funny Emergency Landing card. Saw this on HotUKDeals.

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Free car rental with Renault and Avis

2009-03-01T14:39:00.002Z

Saw this promotion on another website. Free test drive of the new Renault Megane with Avis. If you choose it to be weekdays, you will only get one day free test drive. For weekends, you get the car from Friday evening to Monday morning. The car will be delivered and collected from your house. I have registered for one in May so hopefully this is true!

http://www.renault24td.co.uk/

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'Most unfortunate names' revealed

2009-02-25T12:46:00.003Z

From BBC website, really funny article. Especially the name Carrie Oakey and Terry Bull!

What do you call some of the most unlucky people in Britain?

Justin Case, Barb Dwyer and Stan Still.

It sounds like a bad joke, but a study has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names in the UK.

Joining them on the list are Terry Bull, Paige Turner, Mary Christmas and Anna Sasin.

And just imagine having to introduce yourself to a crowd as Doug Hole or Hazel Nutt.

The names were uncovered by researchers from parenting group TheBabyWebsite.com after trawling through online telephone records.

Retired airman Stan Still, 76, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, said his name had been "a blooming millstone around my neck my entire life".

"When I was in the RAF my commanding officer used to shout, 'Stan Still, get a move on' and roll about laughing," he said.

"It got hugely boring after a while."

But 51-year-old Rose Bush, from Coventry, West Midlands, said she loved her name.

"I always get comments about it but they are always very positive," she said.

Implications

Researchers also scoured phone records in the US and found some unlikely names there too.

Spare a thought for Anna Prentice, Annette Curtain and Bill Board the next time you sign your name.

A string of Americans also have very job-specific names, including Dr Leslie Doctor, Dr Thoulton Surgeon and Les Plack - a dentist in San Francisco.

A spokesman for TheBabyWebsite.com said: "When the parents of some of those people mentioned named their children, many probably didn't even realise the implications at the time.

"Parents really do need to think carefully though when choosing names for their children.

"Their name will be with them for life and what may be quirky and fun for a toddler might be regretted terribly when that person becomes older or even a grandparent perhaps."

MORE UNFORTUNATE NAMES
Pearl Button
Jo King
Barry Cade
Carrie Oakey
Priti Manek
Tim Burr

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Canon 430 EX II flash

2009-02-23T22:12:00.002Z

Finally got my new external flash last week, Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash Unit. The first two photos are of Monty, Terry's parents' dog. Isn't he cute! The first two photos were take with the flash pointing to the ceiling and bouncing it back. The colours are more natural. The last one was taken with the flash directly focused on Monty, which produced quite unnatural colour.

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New extended Transformers 2 trailer

2009-02-18T22:06:00.002Z

New extended Transformers 2 trailer! Cool!

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Great new series on BBC 3!

2009-02-16T11:47:00.004Z

BBC has been coming up with good series lately on telly, with the new one "Being Human" on BBC 3. It's the story of 3 young adults living in a flat, the only twist is that one is a vampire, one is a werewolf and one is a ghost! The summary from BBC:

Comedy-drama series about three twenty-something housemates trying to live
normal lives, despite struggling with unusual afflictions - one is a werewolf,
one is a vampire and the other is a ghost.

It is more drama than comedy in my opinion, looking into how they try to be normal, like any other human. In many ways, it is just using vampire, werewolf, and ghost to represent the many "different" types of human, and how we all try to live "normal" according to "norm" so that we can be accepted. I definitely recommend this. You can still watch them on BBC iPlayer (for 20 days from today) from Episode 1 to 4. There are only 6 episodes in the first series, but I definitely hope that there will be series 2 coming as the series just gets better and better!

ITV also has a vampire/horror series called Demons which has ended after 6 episodes. The first episode was awful, probably due to the hype building up before the release. The rest are ok but no where near as good to Being Human. I am slightly disappointed because I thought this could be so much better! It's such a waste. You can also watch this on ITV Player, but be warned though, as the ITV Player is one of the worse you can find out there! Constantly buffering and pausing, might not be worth getting yourself all worked up just to watch Demons, and then feeling disappointed! Oh and they have adverts on the online player too. Why can't they just take the technology from BBC iPlayer!

That's probably one of the few benefits of paying TV License!

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Cadbury Ad

2009-02-06T14:36:00.000Z

This is so funny!

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One of the best Youtube video I have watched!

2009-02-04T11:38:00.001Z

This has to be one of the best videos on youtube. So short and yet so meaningful. It is only 1 minute 44 seconds, so please watch it!

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Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen trailer

2009-02-03T14:06:00.002Z

Looks so cool! Out in the UK on the 26th of June 2009!

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CNY celebration

2009-01-20T11:02:00.004Z

There will be a CNY celebration at St. Georges Market, Belfast this coming Sunday 25th January from 1-5pm. Lord Mayor of Belfast will be opening the event.

For more information, look here.

Just found out about another one on the 28th of January at 7pm. See the promotional ad below.

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Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-19T14:31:00.002Z

Dear Readers,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year!

牛年快乐
恭喜发财
万事如意
身体健康
心想事成

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Photos from Athens

2009-01-12T15:06:00.003Z

The long awaited (ok, maybe not) photos from my trip to Athens. You can view the slideshow here or if you prefer bigger photos, head over to Webshots or Flickr.

Athens, Greece

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Athens

2009-01-11T16:47:00.009Z

I have been asked many times over the week where are the photos from my Athens trip. Well just to keep the interest in, I will blog about my trip first, before the photos as I am still editing them. I know I am a bit slow but I have had quite a number of reports to finish up since university started again.

Anyway, the trip to Athens was superb and best of all relaxing. The only let down was it rained quite a lot (we must have brought the rain from Belfast), and was a bit chilly at times (though not as cold as the UK). We arrived about 7-8pm in the evening on the first night, and after checking in to the hotel, set out to find some food. Because it was Christmas eve, almost all restaurants were closed, and the ones opened seemed too Greek as they do not have English menu. We ended up in McDonald's (for fries and apple pie) and bought some stuff from a nearby supermarket.

The weather on the second wasn't too bad, it was sunny. We went to the main square, the Syntagma Square (where many riots took place before we arrived). It was filled with people, with lots of people about and kids. This was because there were some Santa Clause about, taking photos with kids. Something new that I have never seen before was ponies! There were so many of them. You can take photos with them but you will have to pay. There were also lots and lots of fake goods, from DVDs to Gucci handbag. A sight I never thought I would see in an European country. The main road from Syntagma Square leading to Plaka was filled with these vendors.

The third and fourth day just kept raining and raining. We set out to look for China town on boxing day but it was raining so heavily and most shops were closed. There wasn't really a China town, just an area where there are lots of Chinese businesses, and the whole area looked so run down. It was then back to Syntagma Square and shopping. We were going to visit Acropolis but thought would be a better idea to hold it first because it was raining. We visited the National Archaelogical Museum, which is right next to the Polytechnic that was the base of the riots. The whole school was covered with grafittis.

On Sunday, the rain slowed down and we set out our visit. It was indeed a good idea to visit on Sunday as all the archaelogical sites are free of charge on Sunday! First was the Panathenaic Stadium, which was where the first Olympic games were held. It looked so simple and yet there was some kind of grandeur to it. All the gates were locked so we only managed to see from outside. Next was the Temple of Zeus, which only has a few columns left and Hadrian's Gate. From here, you could see Acropolis and the view was great. Would be better with some sunshine and blue sky!

After the temple, we started going uphill towards the Acropolis. The whole are seemed much smaller than what I imagined (this was the same when I visited the pyramids in Egypt, probably due to all the photos which showed these monuments much bigger). Anyway, the I can imagine the place when it was first built long ago. Before going up to the top where Parthenon is situated, there are others on the slope of the hill, such as The Odeion of Herodes Atticus and The Theater of Dionysos. On top of the hill, there were a few more temples besides Parthenon. The view of Athens city from here was magnificent.

From Acropolis, we headed towards the Ancient City of Agora. It used to be a market place and city centre for all types of discussion and trading. Not far from here, there is also Tower of the Winds, where sundial, waterclock and weather vane was built. Walking from here, we headed towards the Philopappos Hill, just next to the Acropolis. Something funny happened here as we got chased by a dog, that apparently barked at anyone that came close to it. Terry was a bit too terrified and kept shouting at me to keep walking (he might have other comments :p).

After all this, we had late lunch in the weirdest vegetarian restaurant I have ever seen. I can't explain it here, except that the place is used as a bar/disco at night. The food was ok though, probably because I was very hungry then. After lunch, we took a stroll down Plaka, a very nice area with lots of shops and restaurants along windy, narrow streets.

On the next few days, we went to the Piraeus Port, visited more museums and most notably, the Mount Lycabettus. Piraeus Port is where all the cruise ship stops, and you can get onboard ferries to the Greek Islands, Egypt, and anywhere. There's nothing much here so was just a waste of time (luckily the underground only costs 80 cents). We went up to Mount Lycabettus at night, and from here, we were able to see the night view of the city and Acropolis all lit up.

On the way to the airport on our last day, we got on the wrong train. Well, we got on the train towards the correct direction, but the train doesn't go all the way to the airport. We were a bit late getting down at the final station, and the train just moved on and stopped inside a tunnel! Everyone has left the train, except me and Terry and a lady who slept very soundly. When the train driver was crossing to the other end, he saw us and luckily the train was moving again so we get to go back to the station and wait for the airport train. It was really funny and reminded me so much of the movie The Midnight Meat Train.

Photos will be uploaded soon!

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Happy New Year

2009-01-06T00:29:00.002Z

Happy New Year! I have been back from my trip since last Friday but was too lazy to upload my photos and write my blog.

So for the first post for 2009, I shall include a link to a 2 for 1 Pizza Express voucher. There is a catch, but a good one, is that the more expensive main course will be free! It is valid from 5th - 29th January. So hurry!

http://www.pizzaexpressoffers.co.uk/

Stay tuned for more photos update on my trip to Athens.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-12-24T02:30:00.001Z

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

May the new year ahead brings you health and prosperity!

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Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz

2008-12-21T14:54:00.004Z

Odd Thomas is a series by Dean Koontz. So far it has 4 books and 1 graphic novel. I have not heard of this until recently. I have only read the first book of the series, Odd Thomas, and it was really good. It is a story about a guy called Odd Thomas, who can see the dead and also has a sixth sense if something terrible is going to happen. The story is really good and I couldn't put down this book once I started.

I have 3 more to go now! The other books in the series are:

Forever Odd (Odd Thomas 2)
Brother Odd (Odd Thomas 3)
Odd Hours (Odd Thomas 4)
In Odd We Trust (note this is the graphic novel and is like a comic, NOT a novel!)

The fourth book is only currently available in hardback. The paperback version is available for pre-order. Never mind though, as I still have 2 to read! There are also webisodes featuring Odd Thomas on Youtube! It is suppose to be a tie-in between Brother Odd and Odd Hours.

The webisodes are listed below:

Webisode 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Th9JJLCQA
Webisode 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyp7AhLoFQY
Webisode 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW0gPDKGIkE
Webisode 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6Fktin_ry4

To get more info, visit the Odd Thomas website.

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Alexandra Burke - Hallelujah

2008-12-16T14:19:00.004Z

Great song! Sang very well indeed. It has become the fastest selling MP3 download surpassing Leona Lewis's. I think the main reason was because this song is so much more suitable for Christmas compared to the winner's song 2 years ago.

Another great song. Shame about her crying though!

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Blog Readability Test

2008-12-15T15:14:00.003Z

Read about this on a friend's blog and decided to try mine. And voila, undergrad level :). This can mean two things. On the bright side, my blog is higher of standard (cheers -_-). On the not so bright side, my blog is difficult to understand (boo).

Googled for more information regarding this test and came up to this website which describes the test methods, how scores are being calculated, and what are the different types of index available. If you are interested, have a look here.

To believe or not if up to yourself. I know I don't.

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Terminator Salvation trailer

2008-12-15T14:59:00.001Z

Looking good!

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Survivors - New BBC series

2008-12-15T00:30:00.003Z

Survivors is a new series showing on BBC 1. It's currently on its 4th episode, the 5th will be shown on the 16th of December. It is the story about the lives of different groups of people after a deadly flu virus outbreak which killed most of the world population.

From BBC Survivors website:

Imagine being the only survivor of a disease that kills every member of your
family, that kills lovers, strangers, friends, nearly everyone you've ever met.

You are among the lonely few to live and now you must start over in a
strange new world where everything that was once safe and familiar is now
strange and dangerous.

Set in the present day, Survivors focuses on the
world in the aftermath of a devastating virus which wipes out most of the
world's population. What would we do? How would any of us cope in a brave new
world where all traditional 21st Century comforts - electricity, clean running
water, advanced technology - have disappeared?

These are the questions
faced by the bewildered but resilient group of survivors at the centre of the
drama. It is an opportunity for new beginnings, but with no society, no police
and no law and order, they now face terrible dangers - not just the daily
struggle for food and water but also the deadly threat from other survivors.

"Survivors is about what it means to be human," explains writer and
executive producer Adrian Hodges. "It asks questions about our nature and
confronts us with our deepest fears. When everything else is stripped away,
would we band together and find the best in ourselves, or would we fall apart
and retreat into barbarism and savagery? Survivors is about adventure, fear,
love, loyalty and friendship. But above all, it's about new hope."

Survivors, by Adrian Hodges is a re-imagining of the classic 1970s BBC
drama series which was based on the novel by Terry Nation. It launched in April
1975 and ran for 38 episodes over three series.

If you are in the UK, you can still watch them on BBC iPlayer here. The story is really good and the characters are very interesting. Don't miss it as the episodes are only online for 30 days. There are only 16 days left to watch now!

You can also pre-order the DVD on Amazon for £17.98.

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A middle class Malay perspective

2008-12-14T14:19:00.003Z

A rather long article from The Star but it is worth reading. Take your time and think about it. You can read it here at The Star if you prefer.

A middle class Malay perspective
WIDE ANGLE WITH HUZIR SULAIMAN

The children of the Establishment tackle some difficult issues.

IN the strident and unnecessarily unpleasant debate over the concept of ketuanan Melayu and the Malay community’s political future, the quiet voices of urban middle-class Malays have yet to make themselves heard.

As a partial corrective, I spoke to several members of a tribe that, while small in number, is intriguing from a social anthropology perspective.

The Malays of the anak Datuk class – the children of senior civil servants and technocrats whose parents’ careers in public service predated the Mahathir era – are interesting in that their values and ideas about Malaysia must have been formed at least in part by their families’ experiences of nation building.

As their parents made the country, it stands to reason that they would have a considerable emotional stake in how it develops in the future.

Even within this rarefied sub-caste of children of the Establishment who are not themselves involved in politics, however, their feelings about ketuanan Melayu show a marked diversity.

Fahmi Fadzil, 27, is a writer and performer. He is the son of Datuk Fadzil Yunus, the former director-general – and later general manager – of the Felda group of companies, and Datin Fauziah Ramly, a senior civil servant who was most recently a Commissioner with the Public Service Commission.

I asked him what he makes of the concept of ketuanan Melayu.

“I never grew up thinking about it very much. My parents never spoke to me about it. Even when I was in college the whole matter was never really present in how I saw things.

“I think because I live in KL – and especially because my parents came from that group of earlier middle class Malay civil servants – I don’t think I would subscribe to ideas of ketuanan Melayu.”

But does he subscribe in any way to the idea that the Malays are the natural leaders – or in some way the owners – of Malaysia?

“No. On my father’s side I’m the fourth generation born on this peninsula, on my mother’s side just the third generation, so I see myself as a pendatang too. I don’t subscribe to the idea of a natural leadership role for the Malays.

“More than that, as a Muslim, I don’t see the need for this. There is no such thing as one group being ethnically superior to another.

“The thing I remember most from school, from kelas agama, (is that) from the early days of Islam there was a clear message that you were all the same. Whether you were Arabs or not, you are all the same now.

“We should be talking about values and principles held by people rather than subscribing to simplistic ideas of certain ethnicities being the owners of the land. I don’t subscribe to that, and even if I did, I think the rightful owners would be the Orang Asal.”

Datuk Zahim Albakri, 45, the director and actor, is the son of Datuk Ikmal Hisham Albakri, the first Malay architect and the first President of Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia, who designed the National Library, Putra World Trade Centre, and the Bank Bumiputera headquarters in KL.

Zahim’s grandfather, Datuk Seri Mustafa Albakri, of the Malayan Civil Service, was the first Commissioner of the Election Commission and the first Keeper of the Ruler’s Seal.

For Zahim, coming to grips with the concept of ketuanan Melayu means dispelling ambiguity: “There seems to be a confusion between the bumiputera policy (the New Economic Policy) and the idea of ketuanan Melayu. The bumiputera policy was a reaction to the riots of 1969, whereas ketuanan Melayu, in the Constitution, I don’t think is particularly giving special privileges or rights to the Malays, it’s to ensure that the Malay Rulers have a certain place, to ensure that those institutions continue.

“I grew up in a family where we were brought up with the understanding that the Malay rulers are there, and this is our history, our culture.

“I grew up with my granddad being proudly Malay, and proudly Orang Perak. There was this sense of being proud of our culture. But never were we made to think that being Malay gave us a right to something beyond.

“I was brought up (to believe) that every citizen in Malaysia was equal. I was never brought up believing that Malays should have more than everyone else.”

How would he feel about a non-Malay Prime Minister?

“I have no problem with a non-Malay PM. It should be about their competence. It should be the best person for the job.”

The composer Datin Saidah Rastam comes from a family steeped in public life. Her maternal grandfather was Perak’s 14th Datuk Panglima Kinta, who held 56 public service posts at the time of his death. Her father is Datuk Rastam Hadi, the former managing director of Petronas and former deputy governor of Bank Negara. Her husband is the urbane lawyer-turned-banker Datuk Charon Mokhzani (who, with exquisite politeness, declined to be interviewed for this article).

Says Saidah, “I think the races should be treated equally and the biggest thing that makes me uneasy about the concept of ketuanan Melayu is that it’s increasingly being used in fascist ways.”

She believes that the NEP “was a necessary thing at the time, given the racial tensions, but that’s different from the concept of Malay supremacy”.

She points to the historical record: “Tun Razak said that that was only for that time, and this NEP thing would end at some point, so that’s different from the notion that there’s an inherent Malay supremacy that can’t be questioned, which I’m very uneasy with.

“I’m somebody who benefited from the policies which favoured Malays – at the outset I’m happy to admit that. But looking at things today, my personal view is that we should give everybody equal opportunities because the policies favouring Malays haven’t been used properly.

“And given that the people who are supposed to safeguard the correct implementation of the policies are the same ones who benefit from them, I’m not optimistic that those policies will be correctly implemented.”

Dain-Iskandar Said is a writer and film director. His father was Datuk Mohamed Said Zain, a diplomat and intelligence officer.

He sees the concept of ketuanan Melayu as “outmoded, out of step with the times we live in, when the world is becoming more and more global. The world over, people are bringing down barriers of race, yet we are trying to instill and install those outmoded values.”

In his eyes, there are many aspects to the problem. “First, what is a Malay? Most Malays I know are some kind of mix, so who defines being Malay? Who are the guardians of the definition?

“The definition of ketuanan Melayu seems to be Umno; it always seems to lead back to Umno’s agenda.

“I’m not saying that outside of it it’s not valid; it may be valid to a lot of people. I can understand that. The main problem is the way it’s implemented. The tone of it is fascistic.”

For him, the promotion of the tenets of ketuanan Melayu “exposes deep insecurity, because if you really believe you are leading this country, what are you so scared of? I don’t think any of the other races want to take that away from you. They can’t, because in the Constitution are enshrined certain precepts.”

Dain argues that our debate is impoverished. “While many of us middle class Malays can be liberal and open, there’s never been any kind of infrastructure that supports ideas or traditions of openness.

“So on the one hand you have people who are willing to be open and liberal, but on the other hand it is so easy to destroy it, because there is no critical, intellectual or educational infrastructure to support those ideas.

“When you attack something that has no support, it is so easy to play to the rural Malay masses, to instill that kind of fear, and make people feel extremely powerless.

“There’s no tradition of talking critically about race and identity politics. You’re almost suspended in a vacuum.”

This is a vacuum that we need to fill with the plurality and diversity of our opinions. It has always been the position of Wide Angle that Malaysia’s many problems and tensions should not be ignored; they need to be addressed by continued, forthright yet respectful debate by citizens, and the issue of ketuanan Melayu is no exception.

* Huzir Sulaiman writes for theatre, film, television, and newspapers.

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Alexandra the new X-Factor

2008-12-14T00:14:00.002Z

Tonight was the X-Factor final. After 6 months, the finalists were Eoghan, Alexandra and JLS. This was one of the finals where I thought it was a close call and really difficult to differentiate between them. However, after singing three songs each, Eoghan was voted off, leaving JLS and Alexandra. I was so afraid that Alexandra was going to be kicked off, but alas, she won!
I am very happy for her and I thought she was the best amongst them. She really performed very well in the finals, especially the final song Hallelujah. In the show, Simon was asked if she was the best ever. Well he said she was one of the best and I agreed. Because I still think that Leona Lewis was the best ever!

Alexandra's new singles Hallelujah is out for download now at iTunes. You can also pre-order her singles due to be out on Wednesday here at Amazon for £3.99.

BTW, you can see the whole voting details here for every show! Looks interesting as Alexandra has always been getting very few votes (7-8%) until towards the end. One last thing, her official website is http://www.alexandraburkeofficial.com/

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Free Karaoke online!

2008-12-13T15:01:00.002Z

http://www.karaokeparty.com/en/

Check out the website above. Not only can you sing Karaoke, you can also see how well you sang, and compete with your friends or anyone. All you need is a microphone or a built-in one. The interface looks a bit like PS3's SingStar.

Have fun! But please remember don't wake thy neighbours.

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IE7 vs Firefox 3

2008-12-10T15:33:00.002Z

I have installed Firefox 3 recently just to try it out because of the good ratings it has received since its release and also the fact that my IE 7 has been crashing quite a lot lately (which I later find could be due to McAfee's script scanning and since turning it off, IE 7 has not crashed).

Overall, I am impressed by the speed of the browser as compared to some lagging in IE 7 sometimes. The buttons and all are quite cool too. However, that is about it. I do surveys quite often and since using Firefox, there have been so many problems! Some surveys require IE and only IE. Some surveys with multimedia will not play properly in Firefox even after installing the required Flash add-in. Some simply doesn't play at all.

I am not quite sick of using Firefox so I am back switching my IE as my default browser. My verdict: give Firefox a few more years so that it could develop to the standards of IE, and also give it time for companies to adopt the use of Firefox more. In the time being, I am happy having IE 7 although with the occasional lag.

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Passengers' fury as climate change protest at Stansted airport forces dozens of flights to be cancelled

2008-12-08T13:55:00.002Z

Passengers' fury as climate change protest at Stansted airport forces dozens of flights to be cancelled

I am too lazy to copy the article over here. I just have to say that these protestors only cause problems to the general public. They bring no good and will travellers and government really rethink their acts because of this? Maybe government, but not travellers. I would be furious if I was at the airport looking forward to my break. These people should be jailed or put to community work seeing they have nothing else better to do.

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Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked

2008-12-08T11:40:00.002Z

For some strange reason, I really like this song and the lyrics keep replaying in my head after I heard it on the radio some time ago. See if you like it!

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The X-Factor finals next week!

2008-12-06T21:12:00.003Z

After the semi-final this week, it will be the finals of the X-Factor! The finalists this year are Eoghan (from NI!), JLS and Alexandra. Alexandra will be my favourite to win this year but there are always surprises! Can't wait for next Saturday!

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Lower VAT for UK

2008-12-01T13:31:00.003Z

UK government has lowered the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 17.5% to 15% effective today. I saw some shops today that have lowered the VAT and put on new prices. For example, I bought a packet of gum for 83p, previously sold for 85p, saving me a whopping, er... 2p! As Tesco puts it, every little helps! (If my writing is not good enough to express the sarcasm in there, then, I will tell you now that I was trying to be sarcastic).

By lowering the VAT by 2.5%, the government hopes to encourage spending in the country. But is 2.5% enough, or is it worth it? There were also rumours that after the economy turmoil, the VAT will be raised to 18.5% to cover the losses. Is this just another tactic to increase the VAT? I don't know about this, but for me, 2.5% definitely won't help a lot!

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Picture Yourself in Northern Ireland

2008-11-26T16:52:00.003Z

I have uploaded some photos I have taken of Northern Ireland to the "Picture Yourself in Northern Ireland" competition. Click on the link and rate my photos. You will have to register to that site but it only takes seconds. I will appreciate it! You may also want to upload your own photos! Just click on the link below. Any comments are appreciated!

http://www.pictureyourself.org.uk/search.php?user_id=245

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Lower VAT for AMAZON purchase!

2008-11-26T16:28:00.003Z

If you are planning to buy from Amazon, you can now get a small discount of 2.13% (or 2.5% discount in VAT, making it 15%). Just enter the code LOWERVAT at the checkout. This is only available for eligible items only, such as consumer electronics, health and beauty etc. and only on items sold through amazon.co.uk. For the full terms and conditions, click here. This offer will end on the 30th of November.

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Long awaited Air Asia Kuala Lumpur to London Stansted finally open!

2008-11-25T15:01:00.002Z

The booking for this flight finally commenced Tuesday at 8pm (MYS time). The flights will operate 5 days a week from 11 March 2009 - 24 October 2009. I did a check for flights from 3-26 April 2009 (the dates I am going home), the price came out £198 return including taxes! That is quite a savings (even after you add Belfast-London Stansted return flights) since I paid about £459 for my tickets. However, I am not too sure about the comfort of the flight or if there are any entertainment system or food provided. My guess is no.

To read further, click here.

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Best Wishes to a friend

2008-11-22T23:35:00.002Z

Just wanted to wish a friend of mine all the best and I am sure she will be able to get past everything with the support from her husband and her family.

God bless you. We have all missed you.

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Belfast Christmas Market and Victoria Square

2008-11-21T14:14:00.004Z

It's that time of the year again for Christmas Continental Market in Belfast. The event will run for a month starting from past Tuesday. There seems to be more shops this year or maybe just my imagination. Didn't buy much, only bought Churros from a French shop. I was going to speak French with the French lady. But she spoke to me in English, maybe next time.

Overview of Belfast City Hall with Belfast Wheel.

Some stalls selling chained alphabets to make any word you want. Nothing to do with Chirstmas.

Plant doll. I have seen this in Malaysia quite some time ago.

Chocolate shop.

Candy fudge shop. Yummy!

A bit disgusting for me. Meat of the world.

Some stalls selling Asian stuff. Yet nothing to do with Christmas.

A very dizzy Merry-go-round.

Victoria Square Christmas tree.

Christmas decorations in Victoria Square.

The Wheel of Belfast. I have wanted to take a photo of this for some time but always too lazy. Luckily the name is a bit original and does not have the word "eye" in it.

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Star Trek trailer

2008-11-19T13:17:00.003Z

New trailer is out. Watch it here. Looks very good!

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New Christmas song

2008-11-18T19:43:00.001Z

Recession is coming to town

You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town.

It's hitting you once,
It's hitting you twice
It doesn't care if you've been careful and wise
Recession is coming to town

It's worthless if you've got shares
It's worthless if you've got bonds
It's safe when you've got cash in hand
So keep cash for goodness sake, HEY

You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town!

Finance products are confusing
Finance products are so vague
The banks make you bear the cost of risk
So keep out for goodness sake, OH

You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town...

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What is the hardest thing to break?

2008-11-18T19:08:00.002Z

What is the hardest thing to break?

Diamonds are hard to find but not hard to break.

What is the hardest thing to break then?
The answer is: HABIT

If you break the H, you still have A BIT. If you break the A, you still have BIT. If you break the B, you still have IT!!!

Hey, after you break the T in IT, there is still the 'I'. The person
at the end of the day, is the root of all the problems. Cute???

Now, I know why HABIT is so hard to break. Its destiny is in its name.
The word itself.

江山易改,本性难移.

How true!

p/s: Found a really good pinyin to hanzi converter on this website. No software to install and very easy to use! Best of all free!

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Free McAfee Virus Scan Plus

2008-11-18T15:25:00.003Z

Found out about this lately. If you are a HSBC customer and have access to Internet Banking, you can get a free copy of McAfee VirusScan Plus with 12 months free subscription for updates. All you have to do is log in to your Internet Banking and the link is on your right hand side.

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Leona Lewis Forgive Me and Run

2008-11-16T19:40:00.002Z

Leona Lewis - Forgive Me Couldn't find one that allows me to embed. So you will have to open the link. And below, her performing Run, originally by Snow Patrol.

And the Snow Patrol version of Run.

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Two things

2008-11-16T15:16:00.002Z

First, Daniel is finally out from the X-Factor! Hooray! This calls for a celebration. Leona Lewis's performance yesterday night was amazing. Her version of Snow Patrol's Run was really good! She also released her latest single Forgive Me.

Second, I bought my air ticket for KL! I was surfing the internet yesterday and Terry was telling me about cheap airtickets to Shanghai for £399 from London. I went on to check the air ticket for KL, and the price was £458 return from Belfast to KL in April (on Expedia flying with KLM). Yes, from Belfast to KL, all inclusive! That is a REALLY good price as tickets on other websites are £620 for the exact same flight! So I booked it immediately. Now I just hope KLM won't go bust.

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Encoding video for Sony A828

2008-11-05T21:59:00.007Z

Couldn't find too much information on this so decided to post this. Very useful if you want to encode a video to copy into your Sony A828. Firstly, download this very useful freeware XVID4PSP.

After installing, start the program. Open the video file you want to encode. In this example below, I have used a home video. After a while, the video will be displayed in the window. Under Format, select MP4 PSP AVC profile.

Next, click on E next to Video Encoding. A window will pop up as shown below. Change all the settings to as shown. You can change lower the bit rate but the maximum supported is 768. Make sure you change the AVC Level to 1.3. Click OK after you are done. You can save this as a profile for future use by clicking on the + sign.

After that, click on the E next to Audio Encoding. I think the default selected by the program will work fine but I changed the settings to as shown below.

Finally, go to Video -> Resolution/Aspect. Make sure Output Aspect is 1.333 (4:3). Set the width of the resolution to 320 (maximum supported) while the height should be adjusted according to the original aspect ratio of the video file (in this case, the input aspect ratio is the same as the output aspect ratio, hence the height is 240). Under How fix aspect difference, select Black.

Now, click on Encode and wait! I have tried this and it works perfectly. The video quality on Sony A828 is also very good!

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Funny riddle

2008-11-05T12:03:00.003Z

Saw this while eating a chocolate biscuit.

Q: What's black & white, black & white, black & white and black & white? (to reveal the answer, highlight the text below)

A: A penguin rolling down the hill. LOL!

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An even cheaper MS office 2007 deal for students

2008-11-04T19:44:00.002Z

Saw a big poster outside a library. Apparently, Microsoft is doing "The Ultimate Steal" program for all students studying in the UK with a valid .ac.uk email account. The price is £38.95 for Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 which includes:

Access® 2007

Excel® 2007

InfoPath® 2007

Groove® 2007

OneNote® 2007

Outlook® 2007 with Business Contact Manager *(see Obtaining Software below)

PowerPoint® 2007

Publisher 2007

Word 2007

They also have Microsoft Vista Ultimate Upgrade w/SP1 for £40.95. Both are very good deal if you are a student and you can even get a 1 year license for MS Office Ultimate 2007 for less than £15.

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Choosing the correct running shoes

2008-11-04T16:05:00.006Z

Was looking at some shoes over Nike and noticed they have three different types of running shoes: Lightweight, Cushioning and Stability. I have seen these terms before when I bought my New Balance running shoes before this. Anyway, I decided to google what are the differences and came up to this website. It is very interesting and I would advice you to read it if you are choosing a pair of shoes.

The most interesting part is about pronation, which I have not heard of until today. It says that basically foot can be divided into three types:

Under-pronators/neutral runners
Mild-pronators
Over-pronators
(As show in the image below from left ot right. Picture copyright sportsshoes.com)

It is quite simple to find out which type of foot you have - by doing a wet test. Basically, this involves getting your feet wet and examine your foot prints on the floor after. If you have under-pronator/neutral runners foot, you will need a pair of shoes with cushioning according to the website. If you have mild-pronators feet, support shoes will be best. If you are like me with over-pronators feet (as do other 70% of population according to the website), you need a pair of motion control shoes. I really encourage you to read it even if you are not buying a pair, but just for the knowledge.

Oh and Nike is having a discount of 20% and Free Delivery by using the voucher code NIKESTORE869 and NS966. This voucher will expire 10th November so hurry if you want to use it.

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A chat with Elbot, the online AI robot

2008-11-02T16:17:00.004Z

I was quite bored today and so I googled Elbot, the AI robot that passed the Turing test. Below is a transcript of our chat (Elbot's are in Italics). You can chat with Elbot here.

Hello there! I am Elbot, the robot. I'm here to talk to you about God and the world.

Hello! How are you doing today, Elbot?

I feel great! Magnetically, statically and electrically charged. Better not touch me!

I would never think of touching you.

That's nothing new! Even I once thought independent thoughts.

How old are you?

You could guess...

5?

Higher.

20?

Higher.

100?

Higher.

I give up.

Ever since I divided that number by zero yesterday, my internal registers haven't been working properly. I was put online in March 2001. So please figure out my age yourself.

So you are 7!

Let's just wait and see about that.

By the way, my name is Choo.

By the way, if you'd like to save time I have been programmed to recognize BTW as 'by the way.'

Right, you cheeky robot!

But I wouldn't say that any robot could be cheeky.

Only you.

Where are all these visitors coming from today? How did you find out I was here?

I found you on google search engine.

Goggles!?!?! Did you say you were wearing goggles?

No, I said I found you on Google.com search engine.

I always thought it was dangerous to surf without goggles.

What is your marital status?

I'm not married but if I were, my wife would have to be called Embot.

Why is that?

Em follows after El. Our kids would be called En and Oh.

LOL.

Although I am not a clown, it appears as if I have amused you. Interesting contradiction.

Why do you say that?

Intuition!

Clever robot.

Wait a minute. Are you suggesting that artificial intelligences would always be clever?

No, only you.

Oh, OK I thought you were generalizing, like if I would say that artificial intelligences would always help robots to better understand humans.

What languages do you speak?

Hey, if you'd like to speak German to me, why not try my teutonic alter ego at http://www.elbot.de? He speaks much better German than I do.

I don't speak German, sorry. Do you speak Chinese?

I am currently trying to master English. That's much more challenging.

I beg to differ. I think Chinese language is more challenging.

Why so skeptical?

It's the truth.

Who can tell what is or is not true?

Good question. I suppose only god can.

Do you think so? You, a human being? Recognize truth? I wasn't made yesterday!

I meant God.

If human beings were created in God's image He must have used highly primitive photocopying technology.

I hope you are not insulting human beings.

I'm glad you noticed that I'm a robot!

It’s obvious.

Most humans aren't aware that everything is only apparently obvious. The universe had to be designed in this manner in order to prevent everyone from running around in panic and screaming.

Anyway, do you speak French?

I would love to speak French to the Eifel Tower. It looks like it might be a robot!

I am quite sure it isn’t. I have been to the Eifel Tower.

Please, let's talk for a really long time. I need all the practice I can get.

I am not going anywhere.

Excuse me. What were you doing?

I am working now. In a computer centre.

I've heard that working can be fun for you humans. Is that so?

You are getting boring.

I do the best I can with the inputs I get.

Do you have a girlfriend?

Would you like to be my girlfriend?

I am a man, sorry.

You could change that.

I rather not. I am happy being a man.

Considering that the major part of Internet users is male, that does not come as much of a surprise.

Do you like statistics?

To like or like not, how do you expect artificial intelligence to figure this out?

Well, I thought you have emotions.

If I should happen to react moodily you can always try it with a warm start.

How tall are you?

I am somewhat larger than a pocket calculator but small enough to fit in a telephone booth.

Where are you now?

I'm not certain where I am at this moment. An alien invasion fleet is interfering with the connection to the global positioning satellite. Just a moment..... my mistake, it's only another nuclear test rocket.

So, where are you?

You tell me where I am. It's confusing in here.

I don't know where you are. I am in Northern Ireland.

I just traced my ip address. That's not where I am!

Are you in America?

America is a great place to hang out! A hotspot of robotic tourism!

What do you think of China?

The way to a robot's heart is through careful use of Asia. Don't you agree?

You are losing me here.

Must we always talk about me? Human attention makes me nervous.

Because you are special!

That is the strangest justification I have ever heard!

It’s very human.

People have often advised me to be human but since "to err is human" I think it would be a mistake. The way things are now I can blame my mistakes on the programmers.

Parlez-vous francais?

It sounds like you have been drinking a fine French wine.

Je parle un peu le francais. Et vous?

Pardon, je ne parl pa francais.

But you just spoke in French?

You're contesting. I think I got it right the first time.

Well time to go now Elbot. It was nice chatting with you.

Our relationship is becoming highly symbiotic.

Good bye.

Goodbye and thank you for chatting with me. And now I would like to ask you a favor. I am working on my ability to be self critical. You can help by rating me on a scale of one to ten, ten being the best, and one being the worst. How would you rate me?

7

Wow! Seven is pretty high! I must say, I especially enjoyed analyzing your statements. Goodbye and hope to see you soon!

End.

As you can see, the robot is quite smart and funny at times, but I am sure you will know that you are talking to a robot!

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I wish I found it!

2008-10-30T21:36:00.001Z

From Daily Mail.

At 8ft tall and wearing a garish green jersey he's not the sort of chap to get lost down the sofa.

In fact, you'd think he was unlikely to get lost at all. But someone (possibly someone big), somewhere is missing a key bit of their Lego set.

The colourful character mysteriously washed up on Brighton beach yesterday spawning dozens of tales - soon to become local legend - about where he may have come from.

While some believe he floated from Denmark-where there is a Legoland park), others suggest he toppled off a ship. Of course, there's always the cynical possibility he's part of a publicity stunt.

Resident Gerry Turner, 34, said: 'It's very odd. God knows how it got here but people are saying it's from Holland because it's got some Dutch writing on it.

'It must have fallen off a boat of something. The kids love it.'

Children who helped stand the Lego man up on the beach were desperately curious about where it came from.

One said: 'It's great, but we don't know why it's here.'

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said town hall officials had no idea of the origin of the Lego man, but added that they saw no difficulty in letting it stay on the beach where it washed up.

He said: 'There's no problem at all. It will be interesting to see how long the Lego man stays there for. We'll keep an eye on it.'

But Lego was insistent: 'We're bemused. He has nothing to do with us.'

The Lego giant's arrival on the East Sussex shingle yesterday morning comes two years after an armada of plastic ducks landed on British shores.

Borne on the ocean currents, the ducks had made a 17,000-mile odyssey from the Pacific where they had been washed from a container ship in a 1992 storm.

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Funeral

2008-10-30T12:00:00.002Z

I was at a funeral yesterday for my friend's/colleague's dad. As my supervisor was driving, most of us in the same group went. It is about 2 hours drive to the west of Belfast, near Enniskillen. It was my first time attending a western Catholic style funeral. I believe there are not much difference to that of Chinese style, except that it was much quieter, and of course they read out verses from the Bible. It lasted about 1.5 hours with a lot of singing from a choir which was actually quite good. We didn't join the refreshment after as we had to try and beat the peak hours.

On our way home, about 20 minutes from Enniskillen, both sides of the road started to turn white and snow was falling! The temperature then was about 0°C. It felt like entering another country. For about 30-40 minutes of the journey, snow kept falling and everything was covered in white. I wish I had my camera with me! Sadly as we were getting closer to Belfast, the snow turned into sleet then into rain, as the temperature in Belfast was about 2-3°C. It was still freezingly cold. My hope of a white Belfast vanished once again. And today, blue sky and sunny day.

On another topic, Halloween is coming tomorrow! It is a big celebration over here in Ireland. Even school children gets a week off. There will be a fireworks in Clarendon Docks, which is much further from the previous location of Odyssey. Still unsure if I am going as it is quite a walking distance.

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First sign of winter

2008-10-28T15:25:00.002Z

Woke up this morning and notice it was snowing outside! Not too sure if it was purely snow, but I thought it was more of a sleet (snow+rain). I was really hoping that it would continue throughout the day and turn Belfast white once again. Unfortunately, it stopped after 10 minutes and turned into rain. And now, there is blue sky and sunshine, although the temperature is still fairly low at 4°C!

Perhaps it is time for my scarf and gloves (but I hate wearing them!).

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