The truth is out there

Transport minister Raymond Lim tempered expectations that falling oil prices will translate into a similar drop in fares, saying that there is no direct correlation between the two.

Public transport companies however always state that rising oil prices were the main reason each time they applied for fare adjustment to the PTC. Below are those statements, direct from their own mouth. SBS Transit seems to be using the same template every year.

So who is telling the truth?

SMRT

2008 - For FY2008, SMRT’s energy cost increased 18% to $89.7 million due mainly to higher electricity and diesel prices. Of the $89.7 million, electricity cost accounted for $47.5 million, an increase of 19% compared to FY2007. Diesel costs for bus operations amounted to $42.2 million, 17% higher than last financial year

2007 - Electricity cost has increased by 26.3 per cent from $31.5 million in FY 2006 to $39.8 million in FY 2007. Cost pressures posed by the sustained high price of diesel is further compounded by a 3.8 per cent increase in the cost of diesel for SMRT Buses, from $34.2 million in FY 2006 to $35.5 million in FY 200

2006 - SMRT is still facing cost pressures, particularly the large and sustained increase in the price of diesel. Diesel cost has increased by 40% from $24.1 million (FY05) to $33.8 million (FY06).

2005 - During the past 3 years, SMRT's operating costs have also risen because of the increases in the statutory and operating fees, as well as high oil prices that continue to affect our electricity and diesel costs.

SBS Transit

2008 - Fuel and energy costs have, for example, increased significantly in the last year.

2007 - Due to significant cost increases, including record high fuel prices and rising manpower costs

2006 - Due to significant cost increases, led by the continuing rise in fuel costs. In the last year, energy costs have risen by over 40%, or nearly $30 million, compared to the year before. From the end of last year, we have been further required to use only ultra-low sulphur diesel which costs more. This alone will increase our fuel costs by another $2.2 million a year. At $101 million, or 18% of total operating costs, energy costs have become our largest expense after manpower costs.

2005 - Due to significant cost increases, including an unprecedented rise in fuel costs. Fuel costs for buses alone have risen from $39 million in 2002 to $55 million last year. Oil prices, which started off last year at about US$33 a barrel, have been rising strongly and is now trading in the region of US$50.

Rescuing Linksys WRT54G

Is your Linksys WRT54G power light blinking continuously and not in working order? If it is, then it simply means you most likely have been playing around with 3rd party firmware and the previous firmware was not properly flashed.

Have you tried to re flash it but problems still persist? Then the following rescue method applies if your Linksys WRT54G still respond to pings at its default IP. As long as your Linksys WRT54G is a v4 or below, then you're in luck.

Basically you will be doing the same thing, which is to re flash the firmware but this time use this particular one which you can find here. Instead of a .bin file, you will flashing a .trx file.

If you have never flash before, then you can follow these simplified steps.

1. Download the firmware from the link above.

2. Set up your system (PC or notebook) with static IP of 192.168.1.2/255.255.255.0

3. Connect your system to one of the 4 ports on the wireless router.

4. Open up a command prompt and go to the folder where the firmware you downloaded from the link above is located

5. Power up the router

6. Execute this command and wait till it is finished

tftp -i 192.168.1.1 PUT openwrt-brcm-2.4-squashfs.trx

7. If the power light stops blinking, you've have successfully recovered your router!

You can access the router's management page through your web browser at http://192.168.1.1.

If you prefer to use back Linksys official firmware, just upgrade it through the web interface.

Cable breaks

Experiencing slow Internet access? Well here's the reason

http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUKLK37775420081220

Glitch

This is not exactly a InfoTech post but it does drives the message across. If the conventional don't work, maybe this will

Starhub Triple Freedom Pack Lite

It's quite a deal if you ask me. Below are the summarised details.

Terms and conditions

1. must not have any existing TV or MaxOnline contract.
2. minimum subscription of $38.52 to TV (including 3 basic groups or more and excluding set top box rental)
3. one year contract.

Goodies

1. free HubStation rental for 3 months.
2. free MaxOnline SurfLite for one year (after which prevailing rates applies)
3. free home phone line with unlimited local calls (retain existing or get new number) as long as a subscription to TV or MaxOnline is maintained.
4. free voice enabled modem (for MaxOnline and home phone line)

Tips and tricks to get the most bang for your buck

1. If you do not need the free modem because you already have one, then you can exchange it for 3000 Starhub points. This is equivalent to 10 months of HubStation rental.
2. Choose the channels you like that are in promotion eg HBO pack which is 50% off for the first 3 months etc. After 3 months, change to other channels that are in promotion. Repeat again when promo is over. Take note that a $10.70 administrative charge applies so make sure the savings you made throughout the promo period is more than that.
3. Take the HubStation and enjoy the 3 months free rental. If you don't use any the HubStation recording function, return it after that and change your channels to include a digital channel which comes with free rental of a digital set top box.
4. After the one year contracts end, exchange your digital set top box to HubStation (if you are not already renting one), downgrade your channels to the basic 3 groups and terminate your MaxOnline. You got TV, free 1Mbps broadband on the HubStation and home phone line with unlimited local calls with the free modem, all for $34.24.

More details here

Perfect

This is a quote taken from Good Will Hunting and it's something good to remember when you are in a relationship.

"My wife use to fart when she was nervous. She also does all sorts of wonderful amazing things. She use to fart in her sleep. Sometime shit happens and it went so loud it woke the dog up. She woke up and gone like "Is that you?" I said "Ya". I didn't have the heart to tell her. She's been dead two years and that's the shit I remember. Wonderful stuff you know. Little things like that but those are the things I miss the most. All the little idiosyncrasies that only I know about. That's what made her my wife. And she had the goods on me too. She knows all my little peccadillos. People call these things imperfections. But they're not. That's the good stuff. And then we get to choose who we let in our weird little worlds"

"You're not perfect sport and let me save you the suspense: this girl you've met, she isn't perfect either but the question is whether or not you are perfect for each other. That's the whole deal. That's what intimacy is all about. Now you can know everything in the world sport but the only way you'll find out that is by giving it a shot"

Thailand and democracy

I am all for democracy which we can do more with here.

Having said all that, what the Thais are doing is simply wrong.

Protest all you want but you cannot hold someone else hostage. By crippling the airport, you practically deny someone else of their rights, whatever it may be. How can you profess to be democratic when your actions are contrary?

Democracy is not about chaos. That's is reserved for a revolution.

Jangan Pandang Belakang, in real life

Have you heard stories of ghost encounters where someone who drove or rode alone suddenly had a 'passenger' or a 'pillion' at the backseat in the form of a pontianak etc? Scary isn't it?

Well I got a story for you and this is scarier.

I was moving my movie reviews from Multiply over to this site and when it was time for the movie review of 'Jangan Pandang Belakang', I realised it did not come with a movie poster attached like all the other movie reviews I have so far.

So I went looking for one and I found something will give me nightmares for many years to come. Coincidence that I found it while looking for material for a horror movie? I think not.

Long story short, if this is were to happen to me, it would scare the crap out of me more than any pontianak can.

Think you're not afraid of anything? Then I dare you take a look at this

ps - I am not responsible for any distraught you may experience as result of this post.

Jangan Pandang Belakang

A man investigates the mysterious death of his fiancee and discover more than he bargained for.

Rose commit suicide and her boyfriend Darma as well as her twin sister Seri never believe for one second that Rose will take the easy way out. After tracing back what actually happened to Rose, they find evidences that suggest supernatural intervention.

I think I am not the only one who is sick with horror movies from the west. It is either a slasher flick or some mystery that cheats the audience in the end. Asians have loads of creepy tales that send chills down the spine, just verbally. Can you imagine how scary it can be with visual aids?

After reading mixed reviews of this movie, I guess it was worth to check it out even though I can almost immediately expect the worse. I was not wrong

This movie is way overrated, way too much. It's bad in many ways. The sequence is bad; some scenes were simply redundant or non coherent; storyline is pretty much loose and non-contiguous; bad acting. I can go on. To its credit, there are two scenes which I feel were genuinely scary. But when compiled as a whole, even that cannot save the movie.

I understand that it is not easy especially for our Malay film industry to embark on a new genre like this. With pretty much minimal expertise in the area iof special effects, it is even harder. But like I said earlier, if ghost stories from this region can scare the crap out of you just verbally, why the need for elaborate visual effects?

I feel that there are many ways this movie can be improved.

First of all, better actors please.

Next, clean up the storyline. If it is meant to be simple, then make it as it should be. Why the need for the security guard to have so many lines and giving impression of importance when in the end he was not even necessary. Why have cartoonish characters like the bus driver?

Camera angle in my opinion can and should be exploited further particularly for horror films. The thing about ghost is the fact that it scares us with thoughts of how it looks like. When shown too much of it, especially with poor makeup, it then become an object of amusement rather than one that instills fear. With the right camera angle, viewers know it's there but with just glimpse of it, the rest is left to our wild imagination.

My dissapointment stems not only from viewers who can't tell horror from comedy and gave unrealistic ratings, but more from the fact that older Malay movies were of much better quality than this. Take for example Rahsia starring Noor Kumalasari. It a freaky show and it's stamped in my mind that I can still remember it till today, even after 20 years. Then there's Pengabdi Setan and Arwah Penasaran, both Indonesian films. Those two scared the crap out of me way back then.

If it can't beat those 3 films I mentioned, especially in this day of age, with more technology at movie makers' disposal, than Jangan Pandang Belakang don't a deserve a mention, other than it was released with smart promotions.

Horror movie lovers should just forget about this movie. Like the title suggest, jangan pandang belakang. There is nothing to regret about missing it.

Using 2Wire adsl wireless router with Starhub cable

You can use it but not all of its function will be available. If you plan to use it to share your cable Internet, then it can't.

The 2Wire is a 4-in-one device comprising of adsl modem, a router, a switch and an access point. Of the 4, you can no longer use it an adsl modem as it won't work with your cable. You also can no longer use the the router function as it work between the adsl interface and the ethernet (switch) interface. Since you're not using the adsl interface, then there's no routing. That also means no NAT hence no sharing.

So what it can function now is as a switch and an access point. To share your cable, you still need a router, although need not be wireless, to share your internet. So what it should look like then is as below

cable modem <> ethernet router <> 2 wire

This way, you will have wireless networking without having to buy another wireless access point or router.

All you have to do is the turn off the DHCP function on the 2wire by setting a static IP on it as shown below.

What an ad

I was surfing through a metal website Keep It True and the thing that caught my eye was an ad right on top of it by a online Muslim marriage & matrimonial service company. Nothing wrong by right as metal music crosses all barriers but it sure reminds me of Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Ok, let's go through a short history of metal music to those who knows zilch about it.

Metal music is associated with rebellious attitude right from the attires to the way rockers walk and talk and the best icon to represent a rebel is satan himself. I don't have to explain as to why satan is considered a rebel do I? Well if I must, then read this

Anyway, that is why certain religious groups labeled metal music as satanic etc. Can't blame them as the devil or the like is often used in artworks. Reference - Iron Maiden's Eddie.

So back to the ad, right above an artwork featuring a couple of dead corpse and satanic figures, is this ad by Qiran.com, with a picture of a man and a woman in a tudung (not together of course if you know what I mean) with a tagline "Matches made in heaven". Now you see the why it reminds me of that song?

Anyway, like I said, there is nothing wrong actually only that it's weird, which brought me thinking how ads by google can go very wrong.

I experience it first hand on my own website. After I posted a review of the movie The Majestic, my website got filled with ads with the words Jesus all over the place, even on post that has nothing to do with religion. That could lead people into thinking that I promote Christianity somehow.

It's time that Google allow filtering by words.

Bagus La Mian Yong Tau Foo

Found this eatery by chance while driving aimlessly with my sayang couple of weeks back. Went back for a second time yesterday with Eddie and David as both were hungry and David curious to know where is this YTF place I rave about.

Anyway, the first time I was there, I had the Ampang Yong Tau Foo and my sayang had the Dark Soya Mee.

The first thing that I could think of when I tasted mine was how unconventional it is unlike most YTF sold elsewhere. This one comes with a seasoning sauce that is spicy and tasty and not those sweet noodle sauce that I don't like at all.

The next thing that came to mind was how fresh the stuffs were. I have had many YTF before and this without a doubt is super fresh unlike the others where choosing the pieces is like a gamble. David agrees with me so I ain't lying.

The la mian was good too. Springy and a little hard, typical of home made noodles.

The Dark Soya Mee was not fried but rather marinated well. It's like Mee Hailam only tastier. Hard for me to describe but if you like dark soya stuff, this is a must try.

They still give those standard YTF sweet and chili sauce for dips. The soup that comes with it had soya beans in them. First time I've seen YTF soup like that but it's nice so who cares.

Second time we had fried yu tiao. Worth every penny. Not too oily and crispy. Mayo spread on top really complements.

Affordable, clean and tasty. Bagus? Hell yeah!

The Pick of Destiny

Can't believe it that of all the movies, I missed this one!

The Pick of Destiny is a musical comedy starring Tenacious D, a duo made up of Jack Black and Kyle Gass, two lovers of rock music who can play and sing really well with just acoustics.

Well the main attraction for me is of course the rock songs but this also officially becomes the first musical that I can actual watch and love!

Below is the first part. The rest can be found on YouTube. Watch out for Dio!

I'm out to the store to get the DVD

What you need to know about OPC

When you considered getting an off peak car, you've definitely heard of the benefits where the two main ones are

1. $17,000 rebate off the car price
2. $800 rebate of your yearly road tax

What the above means is that if the car you like in the showroom is listed at $55,000, you only need to pay $55,000-$17,000=$38,000.

As for the road tax, if you're getting a 1.8l car whose yearly road tax is $978, you only need to pay $178. If your yearly road tax is less than $800, for example $744 for a 1.6l car, then you need to pay the minimum of $50.

Quite a good deal isn't it? Well, you must understand that when it comes to the government, nothing is free.

Of course you are restricted from using the car from 7am-7pm on weekdays and 7am-3pm on Saturdays and the eve of 5 major holidays. If you want to use your car within the restricted hours, you have to use up the $20 daily coupon.

Apart from that, here is the thing most people do not know about, which is, where does the 17k comes from?

The 17k rebate is taken off the COE and/or ARF (Additional Registration Fee) which is basically a nice word for car tax.

What this means is that, if the COE for your OPC is 17k, then you need not pay for the COE but your COE value then is $0

If your COE is more than 17k, then your COE is worth the amount after 17k is minus off. So if your COE is 18k, then your COE is worth 1k.

What if your COE is less than 17k? Then the balance of the rebate will be taken off your ARF. So if your COE is 16k and your ARF is 10k, the balance 1k will be taken off your ARF, which will then be valued at 9k.

If your COE is 7k and your ARF is 10k, then after 17k is minus off, both your COE and ARF will be $0 value.

If the total of both your COE and ARF is less than 17k, then will not get maximum 17k rebate. What you'll get is the maximum of what both your COE and ARF totals up to. So if both of them totals to 15k, that will be the maximum rebate you'll get. So if the car price is 55k, then you'll have to pay 40k instead of 38k

Why is all data important? Well because this affect the value of your car later.

If you de register (scrap) your car later, you will get rebates based on how much tax (COE and ARF) you've paid.

For COE, it is pretty straight forward. The formula is

COE rebates = (COE paid/3650) * (3650 - days car is used)

For ARF rebates, which is called Preferential ARF (PARF) rebates, the formula is

Not exceeding 5	75% of ARF paid
Above 5 but not exceeding 6	70% of ARF paid
Above 6 but not exceeding 7	65% of ARF paid
Above 7 but not exceeding 8	60% of ARF paid
Above 8 but not exceeding 9	55% of ARF paid
Above 9 but not exceeding 10	50% of ARF paid
Above 10	Nil

If both your COE and ARF is valued at $0, you will get no rebates when you de register your car. While you may not be de registering your car later on, this rebate (paper value) makes up part of the market value of the car when you plan to sell it off.

This means car A with COE and ARF is higher than car B will of course fetch a better resale value.

So remember, when it comes to the government, there is no such thing as a rebate if it is not taken from somewhere

The Majestic

A man in a state of amnesia is wrongly mistaken for a dead soldier.

Peter Appleton (Jim Carrey) is a Hollywood movie writer wrongly accused as a communist sympathiser. With his career probably to be short lived by ending up in a blacklist, he got drunk and met with an accident while driving. With his head receiving the blow, he landed in a small town of Lawson, unable to remember where he came from or who he is. Add to that, he resembles a local, a soldier who died 9 years ago in the war. Unable to shake his 'father's' conviction that he is who he say he is, he 'continues' his life as Luke Trimble, a son of a man who owns the town's theater he no longer operates, the Majestic. At the same time, he is wanted by the FBI as he was assumed to be taking flight from authorities

Will he get his memory back? And what happens when the FBI finally finds him?

The Majestic brings us back to the era where the investigation of communist infiltration into Hollywood took center stage. We were brought along to examine the life of a fictitious character whose life is affected by this dark era. It tries to show that no matter who a person is, he can be who he wants to be, even someone we want him to be. As a feel-good movie, the effect of seeing peoples' life turning for the better after a certain event can easily be felt. Luke's return revived the town again after its spirit died when many of its young men were lost in the war.

While there is nothing bad about this movie, there is nothing I find that holds me dear. Unlike Forrest Gump, where we can treat it as a fantasy we like to see happen, Majestic beckons the question - is it that simple in real life? Can we simply pick up from where we left and move on?

While the addition of a political plot in this movie gives its share of diversity, it somehow pollute the main story of a man who finally finds himself. As with any movie within this genre, a love story is a must. With it having not much of attention, none of it's sub genre is that effective. Probably the only reason I find this movie somewhat appealing is Carrey. As in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Carrey played his role of a man who is reluctant to accept who he is, effectively.

I'll probably watch it again, but maybe just once more. Watch this when you are feeling down. You'll feel good after that

Birth

If someone you do not know claims to be your beloved, able to prove it, how would you react?

Anna (Nicole Kidman) lost her husband Sean and was about to put all her past behind by getting engaged to Joseph (Danny Huston). On their engagement party, this kid (Cameron Bright) shows up and claims that he is Sean, a reincarnation of Anna's late husband. Is he or is he lying? If he's really Sean, what will Anna, who is clearly not over her dead husband yet, do about her recent engagement? If he's lying, then how did he come to know of Anna's personal details.

Intriguing as it is, which is only reason I believe why most people would want to watch this movie other than Kidman (I would watch her in any movie, any day), that is also the weak point of this movie.

The downfall of Birth is that you'll get your answer sooner than you expected. With such a thin plot, you can't help but expect other elements to ensure that it remains engaging. Great acting? Sure, it's Kidman we're talking about, but sadly, it is just simply not enough to save this movie. Instead of exploring other areas, like elaborating on the strained relationship between Anna and Joseph or how the boy's parents cope with their child insisting he is Sean, the movie prefers to cheat by trying to be arty, stretching some scenes unnecessarily. Look out for that scene in the theater. If that is not lame, I do not know what is. That was not the only instance I might add. Glazer thinks that is such a great idea, he used it on another scene!

The bathtub scene with Anna and Sean together gave this movie the exposure it did not deserve. While I find it not offensive at all (especially after finding out how they shot that scene), although suggestive, I really think that it is absolutely not necessary. Another example of how Glazer cheats the audience.

I love movies that makes you think long after the show is over and that is the only saving grace of this movie. It makes us question ourselves, what if that happens to us? How will we react?

If this was made-for-TV, it would be great, but it's not. Two stars is all it deserves

Payback

Would you risk your life for 70k?

Porter nearly got killed by his wife, a doing of his friend who wanted to screw him off his 70K share of a heist, by showing a photo of him with a hooker. A jealous wife can do anything, remember that. Badly injured, he sets himself to get back the money he rightfully earned, so to speak, and along the way, he meets all sorts of thugs, corrupted cops, all those people a guy like him would normally avoid.

This is a simple mindless action/revenge/violent movie so don't expect an award winning storyline. So is it worth watching then? Trust me, it is

Acting, surprisingly, is good, really. Porter bleeds, limps, slurs and everything a beaten-up man would, making it realistic and not like he is some superman. While this is a mafia kind of movie with all the violence in its glory, humor is planted everywhere, which makes it, sadistically, a fun movie. All the camera angles, slow motion scenes as well as the cinematography are just perfect for a movie like this. From a film-making perspective, there is nothing bad about this movie at all, other than the plot. Although trying to get oneself seriously hurt and courting death for 70K may sound a little too stupid, that is exactly what makes it fun to watch, with Porter repeating countlessly that he IS asking for only his 70K back and nothing more.

While this is not a movie to stimulate the mind, I would not mind popping it into my DVD player and enjoy watching it again.

Machinist

What if you really lack sleep? Can you still stay focused or would you most probably turn delusional?

Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) is a machinist (no surprise here) who has not slept for a year, causing him to continuously lose weight by the day, practically turning him to bones. His inability to sleep leads him to two women, Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) a prostitute and Marie (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón), a waitress he visits every night at the airport cafe.

Most of his co-workers were sceptical when he denies he is on drugs. They tried to get him to seek help but he refuse to admit his deteriorating condition. One day at work, blamed for his inability to stay focused, he caused an accident involving his co-worker Miller (Michael Ironside). Attributing his lost of attention to Ivan (John Sharian), a new co-worker that no one knew existed, everyone around him turned into a nervous lot, treating him as a liability. When he is caught in a situation where he almost got himself injured, he accused his co-workers of conspiring to purge him out, using Ivan to torment him. Not only that, even his most trusted, Stevie and Maria, seems to be part it as well. Hell, even his landlord was not spared, as he suspected her of placing mysterious stick-up notes in his apartment. Is he really starting to turn delusional, or are the people around him turning him crazy?

Christian Bale lost a lot of weight just for this role that you practically see his skeletal frame. It gets really excruciating at times seeing him in that state. Some people think it was a sick attempt to attract movie goers. Whatever the reason Bale decided to do it for, it made no difference to me. His acting was top notch regardless. Bale play Trevor, a man full of dark secrets that he keeps to himself, perfectly. If the Oscars is not political, he would have won easily.

This movie delve in the realm of what is real and what is not. Many questions were laid on the table. Why can't he sleep, who places the notes in his apartment, who is Ivan? Pace is slow at times but it was quite intended as it is not an action movie. The tension builds up as it reach the peak where all answers are answered. Most importantly, the revelation don't make you feel cheated, unlike most movies of the same genre

This movie is definitely not for those with short attention span. Even if you are not, watch this only when you are in the mood for a real drama.

Sharing Starhub digital voice

Your Starhub digital voice is working fine but only the phone in the same room can be used?

If you want all the telephone points in the house to be able to use the service, what you need to do simply place a splitter on the modem where one line goes to a phone in the same room and the other to the nearest telephone point in the room

Back to bass it

I have not gone for jamming sessions for more than a year. In other words, I stop enjoying playing music.

Last Saturday I perform at a small concert as a favor for my old band mates and it felt really good although amidst the multiple mistakes.

Seriously thinking of playing again although the reason why I stopped the last time round is still valid.

Old articles

I still have my old articles at www.azacamis.com. If anyone needs any of the pages, let me know and I will post it here

A Few Good Men

Why does a lieutenant junior grade with nine months' experience and a track record for plea bargaining get assigned a murder case? Would it be so that it never sees the inside of a courtroom?

Lt Keefe, played by Cruise, is street smart navy lawyer who tries hard not to live in his late father's shadow, a well respected navy lawyer. When he is assigned a case to defend two marines accused of causing death to a fellow marine while conducting an illegal disciplinary measure, everyone thinks that he was moving up. Moore, assigned as his supervisor, decides to be part of the defense team that includes Pollack, after she thinks that Kaffee is not taking things seriously. She believes their clients were innocent as they claimed. With evidences against them and a high profile officer, a well respected Colonel, implicated in the case, Kaffee thinks it is a lost cause. However his conscience takes the better of him and hence the battle between a meager Lt and the mighty Colonel.

The star in this movie should be Cruise as he is exceptional but in my opinion, Nicholson, acting as the hard ass Colonel Jessup steals the show. He acted his character so believably that I can't help hating and at the same time afraid of him. The rest of the cast – Sutherland, Bacon, acted really well that I really cannot find any bad acting by anyone, which is not often in the movies I have seen

This movie is complete with everything I want to look for in a movie. It is funny at times, tense on the other and it has turns and twists. Best of all, it has lots, and I mean lots, of punchlines you can use. The most famous one from this movie - 'You can't handle the truth!' have been used again and again. Watch out for that scene. You won't forget it. Few movies are this good, pun intended

Keep it personal

I always joke with my users each time their machines face problem that they should stop surfing porn.

Recently I attended to a machine that is down with virus. I said the same thing to the user but this time it's for real because there's porn everywhere up to the point I think he's needs some help.

Whatever it is, to me it's simple. What you do on your own time is your own business but keep it personal. In other words, never use company's resources and properties for stuff like this. Not only it is not professional, it violates policies even in the most liberal corporate organisation unless the business is porn.

He's given a warning and asked to report back with the violations rectified. I rather settle it at this level first but he's already in my black book.

New Mazda 3 / Axela

It's out and it's super nice lah!

http://www.netcarshow.com/mazda/2010-3_sedan/

50 First Dates

If you meet your other half who can only remember you for a day, would you still pursue on with the relationship?

I am a fan of Adam Sandler so I have watched almost all his movies. 50 First Dates is one of those on the top of the list, alongside Big Daddy and The Wedding Singer. Like it or not, Adam Sandler's comedies will be categorised as his own. He has built a reputation for himself for being the nice, funny next-door-guy and people don't seem to get tired of him. That is why I dislike it when he acts other than himself, like in Waterboy or Little Nicky

In 50 First Date, Sandler plays Henry Roth, a playboy who never thought that he will find true love. That is until he meet and later fall in love with Lucy Whitmore (Barrymore), a girl who suffers from short-term memory, a result of an accident which happened almost a year ago. She can store new memories only for a day. Once the day is over, she will wake up thinking it is the day of the accident, before it happened. That makes Henry's job harder but trade off is, Lucy's path is predictable everyday.

Sandler and Barrymore just seems to have this chemistry that makes them the perfect example of a couple who really enjoys life and most importantly each other. How Henry go to all lengths to win Lucy's heart, which he have to do over and over again everyday was funny and sweet. That is the magic of Adam Sandler when it works. It can make you relate to his character although it is a comedy.

As usual, Sandler's movie will not do without his standard antic toilet humor which is still funny though not necessary, especially in this movie. With Rob Sneider starring not just as a cameo, this is expected.

All of Sandler's romantic comedies have a happy ending, so it's no different for this one except this time though, it is totally unexpected. It's a clever ending and it makes you feel good long after the movie ends, a typical effect of Sandler's movie. Soon enough, you would want to watch it again. The ending in my opinion was an icing on the cake. It is not a typical Hollywood ending you would expect of a romantic comedy. You might need a tissue for that part, as I almost did.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

If all of us can have part of our memory erased, would we want to forget all the bad ones? Most would say yes but maybe not after watching this movie. That is what this movie tries to drive at and it hits home real hard for those who had been through failed relationships before.

Clementine (Winslet) broke up with Joel (Carrey) and it was a pretty bad breakup . Shortly after, Clementine underwent a procedure to have all of her memories of Joel removed, and that means everything and everyone related to Joel, as that is the only way to totally forget about someone. (Now, forget about technicality for the sake of this movie. Erasing memory through surgery surely makes no sense and science fiction is not what this movie is about.) Joel was not supposed to find out about it but did so in the end. He was infuriated and decides to have it done as well, mainly to get even. However, as the procedure starts erasing the newer memories first and then goes backwards, it brings Joel back to the time when their relationship was still sweet. That was when he realised that it is worthwhile to keep them, even if he cannot choose which ones. Therefore while in the middle of the 'operation', he had second thoughts, hence the race to beat the 'eraser' in his subconscious mind.

From the storyline point of view, the idea of how sometimes things happened because they were meant to be really will leave you thinking long after the movie ended. Sometimes, no matter what you do, you cannot escape from your destiny. From a technical point of view, the thing that makes this movie so wonderfully enjoyable is the way it was arranged. It may be confusing to some (so if you are going to the movies for no brain activity, this is not for you) but it is not really that difficult to follow because continuity did not suffer at all despite it going back and forth.

Although the movie is mainly about the two of them, the other characters played by Dunts, Woods and Ruffalo, are just as important even though they seems to have a minor role. As the movie progresses, everyone falls in place nicely. You get that when a movie is paced appropriately.

This is no comedy, although they are some comedic moments that will crack you up real good. The promo for this picture was a gimmick, which I really do not understand why the need to do that in the first place. Just because Carrey was in it?

Acting is top notch. Pick a character to relate to and you can easily feel for them, their happiness, sadness and disappointments. You will find the dialogs worth paying attention to.

The movie can be slow at times and with the picture quality intended as it is, it may be tiring but it was worth it.

Stranger Than Fiction

If you know how, when and why you are dying, would you simply accept it as your fate or would you find ways to cheat your death? There are two parts in this movie alternated back and forth and they are related.

Harold Crick (Ferrell) is a lonely single IRS agent who goes about his life in the most systematic way you could imagine. He wakes up on time and catches the right bus to work every morning, thanks to his cool wrist watch. He is also all about numbers, from how many stroke of the toothbrush right to how many steps to the bus stop. Ask him a mathematical sum and he'll give you the answer within seconds.

One day he heard a woman's voice, narrating what he is actually doing. He tried to brush it off as his imagination but as the narration was totally spot on in accurately describing his life, he knew it was more than that. When he heard a line mentioning his imminent death, he simply could not leave it to chance and seeks the assistance of Professor Jules Hilbert (Hoffman), a professor in literature. Meanwhile, Harold also met and fell for Ana Pascal (Gyllenhaal) during a case he was auditing. From the narration, he also knew that Ana actually do have a heart for him too. As his life turned for the better with a new found love, he refuse to submit to his so called 'fate' and decides to find a way to cheat his own death.

In the other part of the story, we were introduced to Kay Eiffel (Thompson), an author who is having a writer's block and her new assistant, Penny Escher (Latifah). Penny was sent by the publisher to help Eiffel finish her new book. Eiffel was having problem finishing the last part of her book and that is on how to kill off the main character, as with all her previous books.

In between, we were shown the life of a boy with a new bicycle and a woman who found a new job. We were left clueless as to who they were or how this two character fit in this already weird movie.

Ferrell in my opinion, although not bad overall, was not the best actor for the character of Harold. I don't find myself feeling sorry for him. Hoffman was wacky, as he was in most of his other movies that you get tired of. Latifah was practically not important at all. Gyllenhaal was charming as Ana, a girl anyone would fall for. The star of the show however definitely has to be Thompson, who played a writer driven crazy, just like anyone under pressure.

I personally love this movie because this is the kind of movie that an aspiring movie maker can attempt without a huge Hollywood budget. The idea itself is intriguing enough to come out with a storyline that can fit a standard movie length time. I also love how everyone is finally related somehow or another with many clues scattered throughout the movie, if you bother to look out for it. Finally, it is just unique, fresh and pretty weird. Forget about reality for once and delve yourself into the whatifs. Won't life be boring if no one ever what give a thought to 'What if...?'. Creativity would be dead.

Having said that, I actually do not like the ending. I can only guess that it is because this is Hollywood. I still recommend it though.

Different?

When you want something different, is it really that different?

Humans are an interesting species. We look different, we speak differently but yet at the core of it all, everyone wants the same thing. No?

Take for example religion. We may have different faith or an atheist but don't we all look for something or someone to approve us? Even those who worships nature wants mother nature, although non-existant physically or otherwise, to approve of what they do. Even satanist wants satan's approval. Yes, we do good deeds (or bad, depending on your faith and take on things) because we believe it benefits (or harms) in general but at the same time we feel good about it and subconciously, we want it to be approved or want some form of confirmation that what we did was right.

Then there is how we present ourself. Those who wear normally are telling everyone else that they don't want to be stared at. They are telling others of the existance of their personal space, their space to be left alone. Those who wear differently attract stares which also achieved the same objective, telling people that they exist and they too have their own space. Those who wear to impress yearns for a space, thinking they don't have one in the first place. Personal space.

Some prefer security while others live a dangerous life. One side wants to ensure they can survive while the other wants to live it. It's all about how you want to die. Die a miserable death or die miserably knowing you didn't live your life to the fullest.

You want a challenging job while others look for a mundane one. Aren't we all simply wanting to stick to doing something?

Some like blue, some like green or red or yellow. They're all colors, no other terms to describe it.

Demons

No, not Angels and Demons and no, not supernatural stuffs Azmi has a third eye for.

It's those skeleton in the closet, if you prefer to call it. Eveyone has it, one way or another and fear that it may come springing out that keep us on edge. After kept hidden for so long, you wonder how scary it still is.

Sometimes it is good to let it run wild, eliminating the surprise factor. Of course letting it out scaring the crap of those around you will definitely raise mountains of questions. Trying to explain why it's there in the first place can be daunting enough.

But at least let another, if not more, within the circle. They can help relate to those who have no clue of its existance, when you're unable to.

They're not that scary, when you know you're in control.

Taxi booking system

It is supposed to make getting a cab more convenient but turned into passengers' nightmare instead, and money making machine for some parties.

Put it this way. If you're a cab driver, you would do the same thing. When you know demand is high, especially during peak hours, you just need to refuse street pick-up, knowing passengers are at your mercy, and just wait or maybe don't even need to, for booking calls instead and ending up with additional money.

We passengers have no choice but to call if we desperately need one. Ever wondered why a cab can respond within few minutes after you've made a booking call but before, you waited for way more than that?

Taxi company earn part of that booking charges as profits other than to cover operating calls. 17 million calls were made to Comfort alone in 2006, and proud of it as it was record breaking. Multiply that by $2.50, the cheapest rate and you easily get $42.5M. I do not know how much each party earns but it no small sum.

If taxi companies are truthful when they say profit isn't a factor for implementing the system, then they would have no issues in doing away with it, would they? Only then you will see the same number of cabs on the road regardless if it is peak or off peak periods. However, I have taken a cab ride where the driver was grateful to the system. He admitted that cabbies do abuse the system but also mentioned that with the system, they roam aimlessly around less. I do agree in a way.

So how do we go about this issue? Obviously scrapping the system altogether do cause a certain impact. If drivers drive aimlessly, they might rather wait and that will make passengers somewhere else wait too. We need a system that allows both parties to find each other.

Fact is, we already have the system. We just need remove the money-making part of it.

1. no one should profit from the calls.
2. cost of a call should only be sufficient to cover operating cost

This way, knowing that they will not earn a single cent from the calls, drivers will know which location is currently hot with passengers to pick up instead of driving aimlessly. As for abuse of the system by passengers, any cancelled calls will result with the number banned from calling in for a certain period.

This can be done. Question, do they want to?

Dual core/processors

Everyone wants dual core and many don't even know what the hell it is other than 2 is always better than one.

Dual core is similar to having two processors or what they call dual processors, duh. The most common misconception with dual core/processors is that it equals twice the speed. In reality 2Ghz dual core or dual processors does not equal 4Ghz. That is not how it works.

Let's use the analogy of a car. A car's top speed usually depends on its engine capacity. The higher the engine capacity, the more likely its top speed increases. When it can travel faster, it can reach a destination faster too. This is why a processor keeps increasing in speed as well. The faster it is, the faster it can complete its task too.

Having dual core/processors is not like having the engine overhauled with twice the engine capacity. In fact what you get is two of the exact same cars. How does it helps in completing a task faster?

Say there are 10 of you planning to go somewhere. If you have only one car, only 5 person can travel at one time. If the journey takes 30mins, then the total time taken will be 60mins for all 10 to reach the destination (exlude the time taken for the car to travel back to pick up the other 5). Now if you have 2 cars, all 10 people can travel at the same time and hence reach the destination in 30mins. That is half the time taken as compared to if you only have one car. If you translate that passenger load into tasks a processor has to compute, then it means a dual core/processor equipped computer will take half the time to finish a task as compared to a single core/processor computer.

So sounds good doesn't it? However, there are few things you have to take note of.

Your operating system and applications must be dual core/processor aware to take advantage. That means it must know that there are two processors it can use. If they are not, then they can only detect one processor and the other one will not be used at all. When that happens, you are better off with one processor instead. This is the same as having 10 people with 2 cars but none of them realised they have a second car that they can use.

Also, dual core/processors will only be effective when the load requires more than 1 processor. In the example of the car, even if there are 2 cars but only 5 people, then effectively one of the two car is useless as only one car is required.

Now, not to confuse you but although I did mentioned that it is pointless if your applications cannot make use of dual core/processors, it still have its advantages as long as your operating system does. Having dual core/processors with an operating system that is aware of its existance means that your operating system no longer need to fight with your applications for resources. In single core/processor system, if an application sucks up all the resources a processor has, your operating system is left breathless and that is how systems hangs or slows down. An application runs on top of the operating system. If the operating system is dying, how can the application run? In a dual core/processor system, an application can suck up all the resources on one core/processor and the operating system can rely on the other to stay alive.

So yes it does speed things up (depending on the scenario above) but no, it is not all the time.

Relations

My mom always nagged me about how distance I am from my relatives, especially my cousins. She always reminds me that blood is more important than mere friends I have.

I cannot deny that my relatives (some of them) were the ones who were there for my family during times of need. They were the one who helped out in many ways when I don't even have bus fare to school. For that I am eternally grateful.

Problem is, I don't meet them except once a year during hari raya, or when there are ceremonies like weddings etc. We're like NS buddies, only to meet during in-camp trainings. Other times, we're like perfect strangers. We don't call, chat or sms like my friends and I do. We don't live like how my parents did when relatives stayed close together within the same kampung etc. In that situation, my cousins should be the obvious choice as friends. Now, I sometimes don't even know where most of them live.

Futhermore, they are all well to do and don't need any financial assistance whatsoever. I can't think of anything else I can do to repay them or show my gratitude. Will it suffice to simply show my face around and pretend that we are close?

On the other hand, I meet my friends almost everyday. We enjoy each others company. We are also more open and frank with each other. With my relatives, I show a fake facade, that everything is fine, no animosity even though I can't stand some of them. I am pretty sure they share the same opinion. How do you pour out your emotions with someone you barely meet once a year?

At the same time, I cannot deny friends will not be there forever. The status can change from buddies to someone we used to know. I experienced that before when most of them got hitched and their new family a priority. We no longer even meet for a cup of coffee, like we used to. I can understand that even though it does pisses me off. Compared that to my relatives, whom I am not even close to begin with, there is no reason to get pissed off.

Today an event happened that made me feel closer to my friends. The thought of losing any of them got me quite emotional. At the same, another event relating to one of my aunt made me feel how I must strengthen my ties with my relatives.

So the question is - who should be of more priority? friends you always meet but may become ex at some point, or relatives who you seldom meet but can never remove the link - blood? It's like married with kids - your status can turn ex wife/husband but you can never be ex-father/mother to your kids when you get separated.

Secrets

Watched an episode of Raymond last night. It is a good one, as always, with the other episodes. While hilarious as it is, it brings about a very important message.

This episode is about Amy's mother Pat who secretly smokes. Robert finds that out one night and one thing leads to another, it becomes a day of revelations for the whole family.

Pat smokes because it is hard living with Hank who is a pretty hard ass on rules

Hank goes out at times and blow up fireworks because he cannot stand Pat's timid nature.

Raymond drives around the block at times before he comes home to face Debra, while making funny faces to mock Debra.

Debra eats chocolate the whole day while waiting for Raymond to come home everytime he makes a mistake.

Amy gots so pissed off with Roberts OCD that she turns his toothbrush the other way round, opposite of what Roberts always does.

Peter hates the neighbour's cat that he goes to the backyard and barks.

Initially everyone was shocked to hear each other's relevations but later agreed that it is better to have an outlet to let go of their anger rather than letting it go at the person causing it.

That is when Marie stands up and chided everyone for doing what they do instead of talking to each other, like Frank and her do. Raymond then questions her claim that they are a good example. If you watch ELR, you'll know that Raymond is right. There can't be any other couple gone wrong other than Frank and Marie.

But Marie then says a line that makes absolute sense.

"Do we smoke? Do we blow up fireworks? Do we bark like a dog?"

So talk or keep secrets. You choose

For drivers wannabe

Below are the main things wanna be drivers need to take note of.

There are two types of driving licence in Singapore.

Class 3 - all transmission cars
Class 3A - automatic transmission cars only

Before you start your lessons either in centres or privately, it is best to have a feel of driving first. For that, you may have to treat your best friend who owns a car to Swensens or equivalent . If you are confident of handling a car, you will not waste time in re-taking a certain lesson again after you enrol.

Things you can learn through your best friend

1. What to do when entering a car.

This is important even though it don't look like it is, seriously. When a tester sees that you look like a season driver and know what you are doing, your test will tend to be a breeze. Things to do are

- put on the seat-belt and adjust it
- adjust the driver's seat
- adjust the mirrors

Do all the above adjustments even though it already fits you. The reason why is simply to show the tester that you do check for all those things before you drive which is a good and recommended habit.

2. Learn the basics of how to move a car

For auto

- both hands on steering wheel
- use right leg to step on brake pedal
- use the left hand to change to gear to D (drive). Right hand still on steering wheel
- use the left hand to release handbrake
- put left hand back on steering wheel
- release foot brake
- use right leg to step on accelerator

Unless you are a stunt driver, never use your left leg for anything when it comes to automatic cars. Using left leg to step on brake and right leg to step on accelerator is the worse if not moronic way to drive.

Putting both hands on the steering wheel before you move off is very important, trust me. Try to move off with only one hand on the steering wheel during a test and see what happens.

For manual cars,

- both hands on steering wheel
- right leg step on brake
- left leg step on clutch pedal
- use the left hand to change to gear to 1st. Right hand still on steering wheel
- use the left hand to release handbrake
- put left hand back on steering wheel
- gently release clutch pedal until you feel the engine change and hold it there
- release brake and use right leg to gently step on accelerator pedal
- release clutch pedal as step on accelerator until the car moves without stalling

3. Check car reliability

The only thing you need to check is the foot brake. Move off a little and then step on the brake to get a feel of how good or bad is the braking. This applies even when you got your driving license, especially when you drive someone else car or a rental car. Failure to do so may result in the car either skidding or the car behind banging into your car or your car banging into the car in front.

I rate the importance of this point as 10/10

4. Learn how to turn the steering wheel while making a turn

There are many ways to do this. Some *cough* can even do this with one hand. But to do this correctly and according to requirements to pass the test, the cross hand method is the only method until you get your license.

To turn right, use the right hand to turn the steering wheel while the left hand to guide the steering wheel. Once either hand reach the 2 o'clock position, release that hand from the steering wheel and grab the steering wheel at 10 o'clock position.

To turn left, it is the total opposite.

5. Learn what to do before making a turn

This is also 10/10 in terms of importance, before or after you got your licence.

- check rear view for incoming vehicles on the side of the turn you plan to make.
- check your side mirror for incoming vehicles on the side of the turn you plan to make.
- signal your intention and signal correctly!
- check blind spots on the side of the turn you plan to make.
- make the turn

6. Learn how to straighten up the car after a turn

The important thing is to keep to a lane. If you make a U-turn, your car must stay within the second lane from the right after the U-turn. Your car cannot cross over the line on the right side of that lane. For a filtering turn, the car must not cross over to the second lane from the left.

As it is illegal to learn on the roads without a qualified instructor, that is all you can learn through your best friend
For the list of Swensens, check here

Sayur Lada

This favorite lauk (dish) of mine cannot be found elsewhere (as far as I know) except home, cooked by mum. It has everything I look for in a sayur (vegetable) based lauk. It's lemak (rich in flavour), lots of ingredients and most importantly, it's hot!

Basically its ingredients are tempeh (fermented dried soya beans cake), tahu (toufu), daging (beef meat), udang (prawns) and lada hijau (green chilli) soaked in santan (coconut milk). Not only does the main ingredients resembles Sambal Goreng (fried chilli), another favorite lauk if done properly, it looks pretty much the same too, with a difference.

1. instead of being stir fried, this lauk is soaked with its base flavoring which is santan (coconut milk)

2. no kacang panjang (long beans). So what are those green things you see that looks like kacang panjang? Well, it's pointless to call this dish Sayur Lada if there are no lada right? Those green things that looks like long beans ARE lada hijau (green chilli). Lots of it. Lada hijau is not a garnish or additive. It is the main ingredient! That is why the dish is so pedas (hot).

So how does it tastes like? It'll blow you away!

What is the use of COE then?

The COE was introduced as a measure to control the number of vehicles on the roads. The ERP on the other hand was introduced to shape traffic conditions.

Both are useful tools, no doubt, but how effective are they if not in the right hands?

The purpose of the COE is simple. If the roads here can handle 200,000 vehicles and currently there are 180,000 vehicles on the roads and 10,000 more are scheduled to be de-registered by the next COE bidding exercise, then only 30,000 COE should release by then.

By this logic and with all the tools and statistics available, LTA should be able to make sound judgment whether to increase or decrease the number of vehicles on the roads by manipulating the amount of COE to be released in the next exercise. In other words, the roads here should not be congested. When that is achieved, the implementation and usage of the COE has achieved its objective.

Now, say certain stretch of roads are congested even when the above is achieved. This can happen because a large number of motorist prefer to use some stretch of roads more than the others. When the situation is as such, ERP is the right tool after no other solutions like road widening or building of additional alternative routes, could solve the congestion. By implementing the ERP on that stretch of road, it will disperse the motorist around.

Logic is simple - there are more than enough roads, don't just use this stretch. Spread out.

But what happens when ALL the roads congested? How and where else can motorist spread out to? This happens when the number of vehicles keep increasing despite the roads here unable to take in the increase as a result of improper implementation of the COE that in the end simply becomes a source of tax revenue.

With the roads unable to cope with the increase of vehicles, ERP will not help in any way whatsoever because there are no where else to spread the motorist around. So the gantries are there simply to collect payment because motorists have no other alternatives, except to not drive their vehicle.

Is the CTE still congested? Yes. Is the ERP still there? Yes. Has the increase solve the problem? No.

There are just too many vehicles on the road and this is the problem that should be tackled right from the start. That however is now much harder to do because of the flawed way the COE bidding exercise have been carried out all these while. Simply put, it is not possible, one day, to have no COE to be bid for. Too many parties now will be affected if that day comes.

When the COE system was implemented, it was meant to control the number of people buying their own private vehicles and hence free the roads up.

Then the ERP was implemented to spread motorist around and hence free up congested roads.

Now the ERP charges and the number of gantries keep increasing because more and more roads are congested.

What is the next step of action with the failure of both tools? - Not all vehicle owners can drive as and when they want.

So motorist were made to pay for the COE because that will allow the car to be driven around but now told to keep it at home.

Best sales job ever.

Just one of those days

I was driving off after the late night karaoke session and my mind was working on the route home. I settled for the CTE instead of the PIE.

As a driver, each time I got my route right, it gives a certain kind of satisfaction knowing my way well, which is an important part of driving.

It did felt that way, until I just got into the CTE, when I remembered I wanted to go Johore to pump petrol. PIE would have been a better choice.

Needed to pump some petrol before I cross over anyway (3/4 tank rule), so CTE would lead me to Shell at Upper Thomson. Not a bad decision afterall to use the CTE as I can easily join the SLE back to proceed to Woodlands checkpoint.

Along the way, I remembered that I can redeem my Shell point for $20 worth of petrol, so when I finally reached Shell, I pumped exactly that amount, which coincidentally is the exact amount of petrol I needed.

When I approached the cashier with my intention, I was told that I can't because after 5% discount, the total price is $19 and to redeem, it must be more than or equal to $20. Another blunder. Paid up and continued my journey.

Going in and out of Johore was a breeze, as it should at 2am in the morning.

While in the car, waiting to clear I/C at Singapore side, I felt hungry and I could only think of McDonals. Normally I would go this drive thru at Yishun but clever me thought it would a little out of the way home to get there, even though it is along Sembawang Road.

Kind of sure Woodlands Centre has one, I thought it would be the best choice as I can join back the BKE easily to get home. Turns out to be a bad choice as it was not open 24hrs.

The nearest outlet from there would have to be at Woodlands Civic centre so that's where I went. Another bad decision. Again, not open 24hrs.

Next nearest is at Admiralty and I am very sure it does operates 24hrs as I've been there before in the wee mornings after midnight shows. Just my luck it was closed then for God knows what reason.

Shaking my head in disbelief that I can strike out 3 times in a row, I felt like slapping myself when I remembered that I should have just went to the one at Sun Plaza the first time round. It's so near my place and I'll burn it down if it stops operating 24hrs.

Thinking my ordeal is finally coming to an end, seeing that it's open, the vision of Ronald laughing at me came flashing past as I was told that double cheese was out. I was so pissed off that I don't even bother to think of getting something else. I just want to get home and find any fuel accelerant and return back to burn the place down.

I am those who is kind of anal about getting what I want. I ever travel here and there looking for Dreyers ice cream around the same time too before. So I made up my mind that I should just go to the very first outlet that came to my mind when I first thought of MD - the drive through at Yishun.

When I made my order at the ordering booth, I can vision myself doing an Ashton Kutcher, whacking that thing silly should I hear anything else other than "Please drive forward".

It took a while for them to give me my two double cheese after which I was told that I had to wait 10 mins. I almost lost it. I felt like reversing back and stepping on the accelerator hard and ram the place down. Turns out it was a internal prank they played on one of the workers there.

Got my double cheese and I drove off, eating one along the way.

Guess no "And then?" this time round

Phishing

This is for those who are still in the dark about phishing. Phishing means a bogus site that masquerades as the real site.

Look at the screenshot below that shows a site that looks like PayPal



If it's the real PayPal, then the address bar will usually show http://www.paypal.com and not numbers (which are IP addresses) like the ones in the picture above.

However, that does not mean that you cannot use IP address to visit PayPal website but you need to make sure that the IP address you use is correctly pointing to the real PayPal website.

To do that, go to this site. There, choose LOOKUP and enter the URL, in this case www.paypal.com, in the box.

For www.paypal.com, the results are these

IP address: 66.211.168.193
Host name: www.paypal.com
66.211.168.193 is from United States(US) in region North America

Therefore, by entering http://66.211.168.193 and http://www.paypal.com in your browser should bring you to the true PayPal website.

Clearly, the IP address 213.242.251.60 in the screenshot above, which differs from official records, are fake and pointing to a machine to harvest your real account details.

The details of this fake website are as below

IP address	213.242.251.60
Location	RU, Russian Federation
City	Yekaterinburg, 71 -

Also, reputable sites like paypal will not have an unsecured login page with. Secured login page will start with https:// eg https://www.paypal.com. Sometimes even fake sites do provide a secured page, so to ensure that you are visiting the right secured page, click on the security tab, usually an icon of a lock at bottom of your browser, to verify that the certificate assigned to the site is authentic.

Keep it off the road

Recently, a friend riding with his girlfriend was involved in an accident caused by a drunk who crashed his bike into them. Although the injuries were pretty bad, it could have been worse. Thank God they both are recovering well in hospital. Can't say the same for the drunkard as last heard, one of his knee is busted.

Since insurance company don't pay for DUI related accidents, my friend is not able to make a claim against him. Only way is to make it a civil case but what's the point when the guy has nothing to claim against?

It's common that riders/drivers drink and ride/drive but when you do till you can't handle your machine, then you better stay put till you're sober or get someone else to get you home. It don't matter that you have no intention to be the cause because when it do happen, time can not and will not turn back and it make all go away. Riding/driving while drunk will make you the most dangerous rider/driver on the road.

Don't drink and ride/drive because it may cost a limb or a live - Me

Mastercard

To me, best friends are those who will not judge you even if you are at a naught with them. They will, after voicing out his/her opinions, in the end respect the choice you've made. They will help you out in anyway possible as long as it do not go against their principle. If they do, they will refuse you frankly and politely. If you've made the wrong choice, they will simply accept that it's just a bad choice and then help you out in choosing the right ones after that. If you've made a mistake, they will learn to accept that it's a mistake and help you right what went wrong

I've made a vow.

If and when I have children, my wife and I will try our best to be their best friend and do all the above, so that we will be one they will turn to for advice, for help, for them to share their joys and sorrows and whom they would rather seek to share their secrets.

Because at the end of the day, if your children decide to put you aside in things that concerns their emotional well being, then you're no better than a stranger who only gives them shelter, food, clothing and money. When they can find it elsewhere, they'll leave in an instance, especially if it comes with more than just material provisions. That is when your children starts to avoid you, rebel against you, hates you and make parents' worse nightmares come true.

Like Mastercard's ads say - "There are certain things money can't buy".

And money can't buy a true best friend.

Attention

My morning passenger was a kindergarten teacher before she is a principle of a childcare center now. She also does volunteer work with kids suffering from cancer at KK. At her age, there is little doubt that she has an abundance of experience dealing with kids.

The main thing she said that is required when dealing with kids is patience and there is no compromise. That's pretty much common knowledge which is hard to disagree with. Even though dealing with adults requires patience too, kids on the other hand are innocent. They don't have any evil plans. They're just being themselves. In that sense, patience with kids will not be returned with betrayal.

I asked her why are certain kids slower than the rest and she said, although sometimes it is caused by genetics, a lot of times, it is caused by upbringing.

She cited an example of an 18 months old kid who was reserved and spoke little when he was brought in by his parents. His father was almost to tears describing his anguish at how he is not able to invoke much response from his son.

She handled this kid personally. She had him in her office and engaged him while at the same time doing her own work; talking and playing with him. Initially he was as what his father described him; keeping to himself and did things on his own and spoke not even a single word to her.

After sometime and much perseverance, the first word she could get out of him was her own name. From then on, he was a cheerful kid.

Naturally the parents were happy with the change. However, it then turned into a problem because the kid would want to go to 'school' everyday, even on weekends and would turn into his old self when he's not at the centre.

When told by the father of this, she asked about the condition at home.

It was only then that she knew the kid stayed with the grandparents and the parents only visits him and not take him home at the end of a work day, not even on weekends.

Hearing this, it was pretty clear where the problem lies.

So those with kids, or planning to have one, hope this is good read. It may take loads of patience, but like mentioned, an innocent mind has no malice and will only adsorb what's good. That is all they need when at that age. Not TV, not PS2, not distractions from the very thing they need - attention.

How to wade off rangers when motorhoming

Quoting some guy from the internet

Just ask the rangers politely to "define camping". Not one has ever been able to tell me in ten years of motorhoming, especially when you are only sleeping in your vehicle.

One ranger in Broome got so frustrated trying to define what camping is to me. It went something like this

"What is camping?"

"Well, camping is when you light a fire"

"Not doing that!"

"Ummm camping is when you put up a tent"

"Not doing that either!"

"ah! camping is when you sleep in your car!"

"during which hours?" I asked

"well, from the time the sun goes down til it comes up again" he said

"so if I sleep all day and stay awake all night then I am not camping, right?"

At this stage he jumped in his 4x4 and roared off in despair. So know what I mean.

The other trick is to speak in a foreign language and he will back off quick. No point giving you a fine because he knows he will never get it paid. It takes practice, but it works a treat, provided you can stop the wife and kids from laughing.

Heartbreak letter

A translation of Surat Putus Cinta

A love letter similar to the stage of a tapir's pregnancy.

In the ultra violet gloom of the seventh month that shines light underneath the feet of the red skies, suddenly I recalled the nostalgic eureka of our past love that we smudged together. Your presence, together with hydrogen molecules, straightened all the mess that entangled my intestines. It also taught me the meaning of turbulent and sombre yearning.

You also taught me the meaning of love, sea lion, polar bear, penguin, mountain goat, mee rebus, chendol, corridor, pencil box, shoe lace and flower pot. Then, we were like Nobita and Sizuka or Kurt Cobain and Rafeah Buang that can never be separated. Sadly, our love that got full coverage even to the planet Ziku tempted separation ending with the whole centipede farmers in Burma disappointed. You left still as KL was preparing to host the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

In reality, the separation was caused by the massive scale of rubber trees cut down in Klang Valley. When you left, I suffered when I contracted sinus and hepatitis Q without warning. Your absence forced me to wear safety helmets all the time as a precautionary measure. I could not believe what had happened. It was as if I slipped from the earth's orbit and thrown to space, where earth's gravity had no effect on me no more, after I tripped on this love that dragged till rubber-set. My life's journey darken as if trapped in a dark cave, accompanied by needle like stag lits and stalagmite.

The condominium of love that we build from bicycle mudguards and helicopter rotors were destroyed when you had a change of heart. It was clear you were no longer you when Malaysia launched MEASAT-1 satelite to space. Since then, you always ran away when you bumped into my brother in law. In the end, I realised that I was no longer needed.

Since you're gone, I'm always by myself, conversing with the papaya tree to fill up my time. Sometimes I tie carbonated drink bottles to the house pillars to make it look nicer. I will daydream all day in the fridge thinking about you who disappeared without a trace. I tried playing badminton while eating mee hailam to forget you but it was of no use. So I burnt the washing machine and beat the crap up of 4 of my neighbours' ducks as a sign that I was not the one who was wrong.

Why? Why my love? Why did all these happened? Why, after you stole my heart, you burglarized away my love and murdered it till you're killed in a tragic love accident. I felt squashed by sacks of stones that fell on my back. The suffering you've caused is too much for me to handle, as if I had to carry 75 monitor lizards and 386 baby monkeys. And now all my hope are broken to pieces as I feel like I've fallen from the KL Towers and crushed by the Petronas Twin Towers then stuck in between the gap of the LRT track and then ran over by the Komuter train till I was shredded to pieces. Oh! So tough are these ordeals.

Now it is all over. I know who I am - just a normal human being who likes to eat instant noodles. I am not McGyver, McDonald's, Superman or Kesatria Baja Hitam. Nor am I Ultraman that you've always dreamed of. I am aware of my inadequacies and the lack of public amenities in my area. No need for regrets as rice has turned to capati and the sardine can in my grasp has it's expiry date smeared. It's all so sad and all your gifts including a submarine engine have been cut to pieces to feed the cows.

Even though everything is over, here, on top of this rubber tree, I will wait for your return. As long as I can breathe, as long as there is SOGO the shopping complex, as long as there's sandal shops in Argentina, as long as Metallica has not disbanded, I will still wait for you till the sun splits to eight. Lastly, I took a final decision to wait for the electric pole in front of my house to bear fruit. When it does, I will post them to you. Would you like that?

Reversing a stupid mistake

I never liked F1 because it is racing in the pits instead of on the tracks.

The faster the tyres got changed, the faster the fuel got pumped, the higher are the chances of the driver winning the race. And since actions in the pit are considered part of the excitement, my 1st paragraph don't sound so wrong.

Compared that to its motorcycle equivalent, MotoGP, where the race is really on the track as pitting in is a choice and not a requirement, it's a do or die situation for the racers and not the pit crews!

Nevertheless, the recent night race, although considered a stale idea as MotoGP had its first night race in March this year, hence not too much to utter the word copycat somewhere along the line, is still a good development for Singapore, I hope.

Maybe those who road hogs may finally learn to get the hell out of the way. Maybe the ah bengs and the like will realise that their cars might as well be fixed with speakers to emulate the exhaust sound of the F1 cars rather than to 'cheng' them up and in the end still go like snails.

One thing for sure, it proves that he is wrong for chasing the race out of Singapore back in the 60s and now probably swallowing his pride for saying so what if Malaysia hosts the F1 way earlier.

As for the race track itself, I believe most drivers gave politically correct answers when interviewed. Wait for later interviews and we'll know what they really thought of the track.

Personally, I think there are simply too many bends, slowing down the whole race. If it was up to me, I would not make the track turn left after Suntec Convention Centre but instead after the Civilian War Memorial resulting in longer straights down Suntec and towards the Padang. The cars will get to brake later hence reaching higher speeds than it managed to last night. Two bends less equal more speed.

I really pity those who paid to for the tickets facing the floating platform. Not only did they get to see the cars for like one second, they also missed out on the real potential of the cars - that is going fast, and not like some cars going into a garage!

So all in all, congrats for a successful event, although I am not sure how the amount of money the government poured in (reportedly $100M) to reverse the mistake, benefits the population as a whole.

As for me, going Genting then Sepang for MotoGP is still much more exciting.