A Quote to Remember

"You don't want to do these work, so don't complain about others doing them for you"

A Quote To Remember

"You can't expect everyone to know everything. We ain't Google. We ain't updated"

Coming Out of Gaming Retirement

I am coming out of self imposed gaming retirement. I have not play games for a long time, for work and family commitment. But with the release of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the 21st century remake of one of the, if not THE best game I ever played, I die die must play this. The original is a classic to me. I still remember playing the original, spending hours and hours in front of the PC, trying to unravel the alien mystery, applying the tactical skills I learn during my National Service and making sure my soldiers don't die. This game is so open and there are no restrictions on how you achieve your goals. The ability to rename your soldiers to your family and friends or even give them nicknames will create a bond between you and the soldiers. You WILL mourn if they are killed in combat. This is what makes it so great - an openness and replay-ability. There is always something new every time you replay the game. 

When I heard about the remake of this classic, I am so damn excited. I have been following its progress and so far from previews and reviews, it looks like a great hit. After so many failed tries to remake this classic game, finally I found a worthy successor. Just like the original, the game is official released today but I won't get to play it yet. I have pre-ordered it and it is on its way. Watching all the gameplay videos really give me gaming orgasm... :P

P.S.: Damn! The game only runs on Vista or Win7. No hope for my machine running WinXP. Need to make my rig into a duo-boot. 

Humble Pie for The Red Devils?

So, one more game to go before the end of the EPL season. The title is more or less in Man City hands. The way United lose the lead is laughable. Frankly, I feel we shouldn't win the title. The lost should wake up the thinking and complancy we shown this season. It should also prove to the management that spending on quality players is needed. No more no value in market excuse. 

On the other hand, my heart wish a miracle happens and we win the title (which Utd fan doesn't) but that will show to the owners that no big spending is needed as the team is still good enough. 

Overall, we have ourselves to blame for this. 8 points ahead and we threw it away, especially in the Everton game. We are force to eat the humble pie after the way some fans start planning how to win the title at Man City and having them give us a guard of honour. And dun forget the "Why Always We?" banners. Now whose laughing now? Hiaz... It's a good lesson for us. Bring the young players down to earth. Teach to talk less and perform more.

Help Find The Killers!

What kind of animals would do this to these 3 poor Shih Tzus? And what kind of system that allows dogs can be micro-chiped but not registered?

SINGAPORE: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said three dogs which were apparently abandoned at Pasir Ris have died. It is appealing for information on the dogs that were found by a member of the public at an open field in the Lorong Halus Road/Pasir Ris Farmway area. Despite a weekend of intravenous feeding, the two female and one male Shih Tzus died on Monday. SPCA said that the dogs were weak and had heavily-matted fur and long nails when they were brought in on December 2. They were also suffering from cataract or glaucoma. SPCA said evidence suggests they were breeding dogs that were microchipped but not registered in any of the three main databases in Singapore: the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, SPCA and PET-CALL. The micro-chip numbers are: 981 098 101 093 394, 702 033 330 000 634 and 458 098 500 068 445. Those with information can call SPCA at 6287-5355 extension 9 or email to inspector@spca.org.sg

DBS New Secuirty Token

Why can't DBS just use the phone for receiving the security pin rather than make us carry that secuirty token around? ANd to make matter worse, they have now increase the size of that token. Now I have to find a bigger space to carry this chunk of thing around. Hiaz....

SINGAPORE: Banks in Singapore are getting added security for online banking. DBS will replace its existing security tokens for online banking with a new device which is more secure. The new device comes in the form of a keypad. Pressing the bottom right button on the keypad will initiate a security function similar to the current token. But, come the third quarter next year, new capabilities will be activated. For high-risk transactions like transferring large amounts of money, users will key in the account numbers on the device. That improves security, because the device receives the numbers and not the computer as it is now. The device, though more secure, is more complicated in some ways. Sandeep Lal, managing director and head of Consumer Banking Group eBusiness at DBS Bank, said: "Right now, there are several steps that users will have to take...if you do a third party payee addition, you have to wait for the SMS, you have to register your SMS, etc. "In some ways, this (new device) is easier. It's one device, you put it in and you get a one-time password (OTP), which is linked to the third party payee addition... You do need to press different buttons, but we will be educating customers on that and making sure that it is very intuitive." DBS will issue the new device to nearly 1.7 million users this month. Currently, DBS has 165,000 logins and half a million Internet banking transactions every day. Its mobile banking now has nearly 380,000 users after being launched 20 months ago. DBS said the cost of creating the infrastructure is "into the millions." Despite the price, technology analysts said going online is more cost-effective for banks. Walter Lee, CEO of e-Cop Group, said: "It's actually very economical from the perspective of saving costs for the bank. Every time someone goes to the bank, they take up 10-15 minutes of the bank teller's time, which is cost to the bank. As more customers go to the physical bank office and bank branches, their cost goes up dramatically." Other local banks UOB and OCBC said they will implement transaction signing by next year in line with MAS requirements.

Cats In The Cradle

This song was played on the radio on my way home from late night work. I heard the song before but never bother with the lyrics until that night. It connected with me as I feel I'm in the same situation as the singer. Due to my work commitments, I have spent very little time with Dylan n Aiden. It just scares me that they may be getting further from me as they grow up. I believe this is situation with most parents in Singapore. our work eat up most of the time and whatever is left is shared between our children n tending to life issues, which is also one of the reasons for the lack of update on here. Those so called gurus always say just managed and plan your time. Hell yeah, it is always easier said than done. Well I have said enough, if you don't mind, I like to go and spend some time with my boys now.

Finally Got My Gingerbread

Finally manage to upgrade my Galaxy Ace to Gingerbread 2.3.4. For all of Samsung's boasting of the ability to upgrade their phones with their Kies PC suite, turns out it only works for phones bought from Singtel (Another reason to consider switching to the red umbrella). Made a big complaint to Samsung and their answer is ask me to go down to their service centre to do the upgrade. Huh... Siow, waste of time.

Luckily, some dudes over at HardwareZone forum found a trick to switch the phone from M1 or Starhub to Singtel, allowing the upgrade to happen. Only downside is the process will factory default the phone. So I did that and got my Gingerbread, lost quite a few data (Dammit) and have to reconfigure everything again (Shit...). The phone looks more responsive now, but will monitor the battery usage for any improvements. 

I don't know about Singtel phones, but according to those who did upgrading through the service centre, their M1 or Starhub phones are factory default. Feels like it's a way to turn off users from getting new firmware. I hope this is the first and last time I am upgrading this phone. Restoring and re-configuring it can be a drag. 

Things I Learn Today: Watch Before You Sit

Check the toilet bowl cover before sitting on it. A cracked toilet bowl cover can be a real pain in the ass.

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

RIP: Steve Jobs

It came as both shocking and surprised when news of Steve Jobs passing away was announced, especially one day after the announcement of the iPhone 4GS. When I first saw the news, I thought is this some kind of sick joke. Then the news start flowing in... I believe the internet will be flooded by tributes about the man by now, so I shall try not to add anymore to that statistic and keep my thoughts about him simple here.

Hate him or love him, you got to agree that this guy more or less recreate how the way we live. Never an inventor, more like someone who take other's ideas, improving and simplifying it and making it user friendly. Removing all the geeky or technical stuff, so that anyone who is clueless in tech stuff can pick up the gadgets and use it without much problem. "We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas," Jobs said in an interview for the 1996 PBS series "Triumph of the Nerds." Most important of all for me, he make it look cool to own an Apple product. 

Recent events have indicate Steve's health has been detoriating. Stepping down as CEO of Apple and handling of the role to Tim Cook, as his choosen successor, is the most obvious hint. But the world never expect it to come this fast. There is a suspicion in me that the release of the iPhone 4GS is sort of a parting gift to Apple charismatic leader. A dedication to the person who transform the company into the today's  leading brand. As my colleague put it, iPhone 4GS stands for iPhone 4(for) Steve. 

How Apple will march on from now is unknown, but the world will miss the "one more thing" phrase from the annual Apple MacWorld Conference. You can find out about Jobs from his Stanford commencement speech from 2005 here.

Where is the iPhone 5?

 

Where is my iPhone 5?

Update: Wake up this morning and found out that Apple visionary founder, Steve Jobs, have just passed away. How irony that he passed away right after iPhone 4GS was announced.

So much for the long wait. After all the speculations and delays, we more or less got back the same thing. If you still don't get what am I hinting at, I am talking about the release of the iPhone 5 iPhone 4GS. Yes, there is no iPhone 5, just 4GS. Looks the same externally without minor upgrades internally, making many to feel that the S in 4GS might stand for Same. Oh... Siri too. Are we that brainless that we need a phone to advice us what to do? 

The new iPhone makes me wonder, has Apple start to slacken? Are they moving down the usual path? The path where once a company becomes too successful, they start to be less innovative and make minor upgrades to keep the business going? Just look at Motorola, they once riding on the waves of their successful Razr phones. But their lack of effort to come out with better products, concentrating on little changes in every new releases, led to their downfall. Motorola is still around, but no longer the No. 2 mobile phones maker in the world. Just making phones using OTHER people's platform. 

I say for all the secrecy Apple like to have on their new products, this time it backfires on them. Nevertheless, the iPhone 4GS will still be a hot seller. As for me, I'm at a crossroad of whether should I upgrade to iPhone 4GS when my contract ends next March or wait for iPhone 5, if it will ever come out, and continue to use my Galaxy Ace. 

Showing Their Musical Side

My One Week Trip of HK

Just came back from a trip to Hong Kong with my side of the family. Yes, it’s a trip rather than a vacation or holiday for me. A tiring trip if you ask me. The weather is hot there, even worse than in Singapore in my opinion. And who say it's cooling in Hong Kong this time of the year?

Carrying two boys, weighing 8kg each, around is no joke. On top of that, we still have to backpack their milk and diapers. Not that we did not bring a stroller. But the stroller unfriendliness of the Hong Kong MTR and environment make the stroller almost redundant. In the end, the stroller acts more like a trolley for our backpacks.

As for the trip itself, it is a roller-coaster ride. We hop to Macau and Zhuhai in between. In Macau, we visited the famous St Ruins to take some been there done that photos, buy some almond biscuits and egg tarts and that's it. After all, it's a gamblers' paradise, nothing much for non-gamblers like us. We have lunch at an authentic Cantonese restaurant that serves steam egg with fish intestine, a dish where Mum used to cook for Dad and me. Nice memory for the father and son ;)

We hop over Zhuhai from Macau for a one day trip. Nothing exciting to talk about from me. I can see Angie obviously enjoy the shopping there at the famous underground shopping center. Much better than Shenzhen I say. Not so sleazy and much cleaner. They also don't smoke in the shopping center, making the air more breathable. Oh, the seafood feast at the end of day trip is really worth it. $150 RMB and the dishes kept coming in till we can't take it anymore. Really worth it.

Back at Hong Kong, we did not go to Disneyland or Ocean Park. Sons too young to appreciate it. We took the cable car to Lantau Island to visit the Big Buddha statue. Shop a bit at the famous Woman's Street night market. Best moment is the breakfast at 妹记 porridge. The porridge is solid and the fish skin dish is really a nice surprise.

Overall, there are not a lot of enjoyable moments for me. It's a good experience and nice opportunity for my side of the family to be close to the boys. One final note, must better estimate the amount of milk powder to bring in a kiasu way.

Who Will I Vote For President?

A simple analysis by my sister-in-law, which I agree.

1. Dr Tony Tan: Too PAP extreme
2. Tan Jee Say: Too Opposition extreme
3. Tan Kin Lian: Too suspicious :P

That will leave with? On second thought, I might throw in a blank vote. 6 more days to decide.

IBM Reveal First Generation of Skynet

IBM today reveal a CPU that mimics the human brain. First we have the BigDog, now this. Life mimics friction? When the CPU gets self-aware, will it be the beginning of the end of mankind? Or the next evolution?

Pain In My Ace

Unless you are planning to buy their top end flagship mobile phones, don't ever consider Samsung brand. Their low and mid-tier product totally sucks big time. Build is crap and support is total non-existent. I recently a Samsun Galaxy Ace as my iPhone 3G is slowing to a halt due to IOS4 (Thanks Steve Jobs, great idea of forcing iPhone 3G owners to buy your new iPhones). Turns out it's a totally different set of nightmare, maybe slightly worse. The battery life of the Galaxy Ace is downright horrible. X-p

Imagine this, I went home at 7pm with my phone fully charged. Once I got home, I left it on my desk until next morning. In the morning, it shows battery level is less than1 20%! WTF! What is it doing at night? Share its idle power over the internet to do folding calculations? A check on the net shows that I'm not the only one experiencing this. And damn Samsung don't even bother to look into it Android Gingerbread has been out for so long and there is no update of the Ace to it. So far, only Samsung Galaxy S phones have this upgrade.

This is not the first time I have experience poorly design phones from Samsung. My father-in-law used to own one that SMS to the wrong people even though the input contact name is correct. -_-" And when I brought the phone back for service, they don't have a software fix for it. Major FUBAR! This is my last time getting a Samsung phone. Once iPhone 5 is out and my bloody M1 contract is up (that's another pain), I am switching to Singtel and back to become Steve Job's bitch.

Moments That They Really Brighten Our Day

The Little Things We Have To Give Up

No more lazy afternoon naps
No more quiet meal times
No more waking up at 11am on a Sunday morning
No more dashing out for late nite supper or movies

These are some of the little things we have to let go from our lives. Gone are the days when we can go ahead and do whatever we like. Now whatever we do, we have to put the two of them into the equation. Not that I'm complaining, somehow every now and then we do yearn for such things. But then again, when you look at them, you know everything is worth it

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Learning to Throw Rubbish

The boys are learning more and more day by day. Came back from work today and they show me that they know how to throw rubbish and understand the meaning when their mother told them so. Ok, it may not be a big deal for some but it's a milestone for us. Arm with this new skill, we will no doubt have more things to watch out and take note of, like checking the rubbish bin when we clear it to make sure there are no "invalid" items in it. ^_^

Too Small Also No Good

Whoever the creators/designers are, why do they want to create the Micro-USB connector? It is so damn difficult to connect to a Micro-USB port. I recently changed to the Samsung Galaxy Ace Android phone after my patience ran out on my iPhone 3G (yes the one without the S) sluggish performance with IOS4. The problem now is Samsung handphone uses the Micro-USB connectors which is damn difficult to plug in. I always end up trying to figure the orientation and alignment. Yeah, I am that stupid. Yes, it's small and slim but at least they should make it in such that there is a clear distinguish between either side mah. I am so afraid that one day I will damage the connector.