Crash & Burn: Souvenirs from Runway Cycling

Aiyah, I beginner in inline skating mah. So end up like that lor. Part and parcel lah. No worries.

At A Beach Volleyball Tournament

Just shoot me

Remembered that there was an experiment quite some ago about men's aiming at the urinals. So some German (if I remember correctly) drew a fly in a set of urinals and left another set untouched. The urinals with flies experienced less "spillage". Simply, because got target to shoot at. These urinals with targets are found at Park View Plaza.

Cow in the City

A "lunchtime expedition" to Raffles Place again. This is what I saw: It's bad enough that cows are given Bovine Growth Hormones to make them produce more milk than they should. Now you bring them out to the city, an unnatural and unfamiliar surrounding as a sideshow. Not only that, the cow is put in an enclosure without any shelter and subjected to the harsh afternoon sun. It doesn't help that there is noise (read: whatever from the large screen at Caltex House) is blaring non-stop. To cool off, the animal was only sparingly sprinkled with water occasionally. And it is visibly suffering from the heat. For such a large animal, it needs much more. Hell, just because it is in Singapore doesn't mean that it should be placed in confined spaces like us humans. Animals don't adapt like humans. In short, the cow is immensely stressed. And may I mention the people surrounding the cow? It's sad to notice that there are more people fascinated by the cow than people who are concerned about the mistreatment of the cow. As much as I want to say everybody should stop drinking milk - hey, it's up to you. I only recommend not choosing Marigold when you think of milk.

The English in China

The girlfriend brought me some nice local produce from Guangzhou and I could not help but notice the label. Pignut? Hur, hur, hur...

tags technorati : engrish china english

Ordeal on the train

It's one thing to hear the story about the Romance of The Three Kingdoms, it's another thing to hear it told to an inquisitive child in a thick Mainland China accent, punctuated with over-stressed Chinese idioms. Not to mention bad storytelling and the "loud only" volume control. And it was from the east to the west and up the north. Almost went crazy.

tags technorati : mrt singapore on the road

The Evolution of Dance

Came across this video on My Name is Mandrake

Damn steady.

tags technorati : dance, evolution evolution of dance youtube video

Old School Discipline

Attempted to write another topic from memory, the cane. Yellow, Creamy and Bittersweet: Old School Discipline

Bodypainting

I wonder if bodypainting will catch on as a trend in hot and humid Singapore? I can only imagine a mess after walking from Plaza Singapura to Ngee Ann City...

Maybe one fine day some joker will decide that the whole stretch of Orchard Road should be sheltered and installed with air-conditioners... That would be a sad day.

Tech Tags: singapore bodypaint trends

How to blog

Came across this blog entry on how to blog from www.teamlook-look.com.
I'm all for point 14.
(Yes, especially you guys with those songs.
If you really want us to know, please have the courtesy of setting them to "autostart=false")

Apr 21, 2006
How to Blog
Tony P
Note: Blog posts are submitted by members of the Look-Look network and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions held by the company.

1. write every day.
   
2. if you think youre a good writer, write twice a day.
   
3. dont be afraid to do anything. infact if youre afraid of something, do it. then do it again. and again.
   
4. cuss like a sailor.
   
5. dont tell your mom, your work, your friends, the people you want to date, or the people you want to work for about your blog. if they find out and you'd rather they didnt read it, ask them nicely to grant you your privacy.
   
6. have comments. dont be upset if no one writes in your comments for a long time. eventually they'll write in there. if people start acting mean in your comments, ask them to stop, they probably will.
   
7. have an email address clearly displayed on your blog. sometimes people want to tell you that you rock in private.
   
8. dont worry very much about the design of your blog. image is a fakeout.
   
9. use Blogger. it's easy, it's free; and because they are owned by Google, your blog will get spidered better, you will show up in more search results, and more people will end up at your blog. besides, all the other blogging software & alternatives pretty much suck.
   
10. use spellcheck unless youre completely totally keeping it real. but even then you might want to use it if you think you wrote something really good.
    
11. say exactly what you want to say no matter what it looks like on the screen. then say something else. then keep going. and when youre done, re-read it, and edit it and hit publish and forget about it.
    
12. link like crazy. link anyone who links you, link your favorites, link your friends. dont be a prude. linking is what seperates bloggers from apes. and especially link if you're trying to prove a point and someone else said it first. it lends credibility even if youre full of shit.
    
13. if you havent written about sex, religion, and politics in a week youre probably playing it too safe, which means you probably fucked up on #5, in which case start a second blog and keep your big mouth shut about it this time.
    
14. remember: nobody cares which N*Sync member you are, what State you are, which Party of Five kid you are, or which Weezer song you are. the second you put one of those things on your blog you need to delete your blog and try out for the marching band. similarilly, nobody gives a shit what the weather is like in your town, nobody wants you to change their cursor into a butterfly, nobody wants to vote on whether your blog is hot or not, and nobody gives a rat ass what song youre listening to. write something Real for you, about you, every day.
    
15. dont be afraid if you think something has been said before. it has. and better. big whoop. say it anyway using your own words as honestly as you can. just let it out.
    
16. get Site Meter and make it available for everyone to see. if you're embarrassed that not a lot of people are clicking over to your page, dont be embarrassed by the number, be embarrassed that you actually give a crap about hits to your gay blog. it really is just a blog. and hits really dont mean anything. you want Site Meter, though, to see who is linking you so you can thank them and so you can link them back. similarilly, use Technorati, but dont obsess. write.
    
17. people like pictures. use them. save them to your own server. or use Blogger's free service. if you dont know how to do it, learn. also get a Buzznet account. several things will happen once you start blogging, one of them is you will learn new things. thats a good thing.
    
18. before you hit Save as Draft or Publish Post, select all and copy your masterpiece. you are using a computer and the internet, shit can happen. no need to lose a good post.
    
19. push the envelope in what youre writing about and how youre saying it. be more and more honest. get to the root of things. start at the root of things and get deeper. dig. think out loud. keep typing. keep going. eventually you'll find a little treasure chest. every time you blog this can happen if you let it.
    
20. change your style. mimic people. write beautiful lies. dream in public. kiss and tell. finger and tell. cry scream fight sing fuck and dont be afraid to be funny. the easiest thing to do is whine when you write. dont be lazy. audblog at least once a week.
    
21. write open letters. make lists. call people out on their bullshit. lead by example. invent and reinvent yourself. start by writing about what happened to you today. for example today i told a hot girl how wonderfully hot she is.
    
22. when in doubt review something. theres not enough reviews on blogs. review a movie you just saw, a tv show, a cd, a kiss you just got, a restaurant, a hike you just took, anything.
    
23. constantly write about the town that you live in.
    
24. out yourself. tell your secrets. you can always delete them later.
    
25. dont use your real name. dont write about your work unless you dont care about getting fired.
    
26. dont be afraid to come across as an asswipe. own your asswipeness.
    
27. nobody likes poems. dont put your poems on your blog. not even if theyre incredible. especially if theyre incredible. odds are theyre not incredible. bad poems are funny sometimes though, so fine, put your dumb poems on there. whatever.
    
28. tell us about your friends.
    
29. dont apologize about not blogging. nobody cares. just start blogging again.
    
30. read tons of blogs and leave nice comments.

Tech Tags: how+to+blog, look-look, blog

Pre-empt a Stroke:Signs of having a Stroke

And so I say: Make it a religious effort to do the following daily: smile while you read a motivational phrase aloud with both hands raised and stick your tongue out after everything in front of a mirror.

This is blogged for the good of mankind, so to speak. Since we can sort of say that it is just a matter of when one will get it, considering our lifestyles.

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters... My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks. Seriously... Please read: STROKE IDENTIFICATION: During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm, Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this... A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke... totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough. RECOGNIZING A STROKE Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S	*Ask the individual to SMILE.
T	*Ask the person to TALK . to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny outside today)
R	*Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
	{NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke}

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999 (Singapore) or your country's emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved. Technorati Tags: stroke signs+of+stroke first+aid

Movie Review: Mission Impossible III

GO WATCH IT because Keri Russell from Felicity playing with guns, Tom Cruise running through the streets of China spouting Mandarin, going "rang kai! rang kai!" and Maggie Q in that red dress. (wolf whistle) :)... are worth the price of the movie ticket.

Just Pictures from lunch time

The Crowds can't be Wrong

Bringing you the cheap and good.

This idea came about when decided to venture to Raffles Place. Realizing that there were food stalls that drew the queues, (because Singaporeans are very orderly people) I thought it would be something to blog about.

And so we will start off with a giant step at Golden Shoe Carpark (hur, hur, hur... what a lame pun.)

What:	Nasi Lemak
Name of Stall:	Golden Shoe Nasi Lemak
Price:	$2 onwards

Key Success Points:
They make very good chicken wings and drumsticks.
Their green nasi lemak rice.
Value for money. Very good for those people who need to scrimp and save to repay loans, invest, prepare for wedding, go for holidays, buy pointless souped-up handphones, buy car, buy petrol, buy milk powder, pay alimonies, keep mistresses happy, etc...

First, the quality brings in the queue. Second, low prices keeps the mcoming back. Don't need to take my word for it, just look at the queue. Still not convinced? Then just go try it yourself.

Botero's Bird gets cleaned

Screw Apple Store's Customer Service

That's it. I'm making this official. Apple's got a mighty fine looking flagship store right in Orchard Road. But those monkeys there can't tell me if I can code Java on a mac. Some joker had actually tried to smoke me and said no, which is untrue because mac fully integrates Java. Neither can they give a good answer about OpenGL support for the new Intel-based mac machines. And they could not answer why Diablo 2 cannot run on OpenGL.

Earlier, I had called the help desk and they gave me some encouraging answers. However, the person on the line had an Aussie accent. It was a high likelihood that the helpdesk guy was actually taking the call from Australia. They are really nice and had proper knowledge of the mac system, unlike some "look good, no substance" counterparts closer to home.

SPAM Wars: Blue Security vs Rest of SPAM Community

Some info you should know before going thru this entry: I was previously using Blue Security's Blue Frog, a spam reporting tool that integrates with Firefox browser on my old PC. Also, Blue Security has been gathering a huge database of spammers, and it has sort of become THE definitive registry of spammers.

Recently (last few days) I received many many spam emails on my gmail account. First, I got an email like this, accusing Blue Security and its software, Blue Frog:

You are being emailed because you are a user of BlueSecurity's well-known software "BlueFrog." http://www.bluesecurity.com/

Today, the BlueSecurity database became known to the worst spammers worldwide. Within 48 hours, the database will be published on the Internet, and your email address will be open to them all. After this, you will see the spam sent to your mailbox increase 10 - 20 fold.

BlueSecurity was illegally attacking email marketers, and doing so with your help. Many websites have been targeted and hit, including non-spam sites. BlueSecurity's software has been fully analyzed, and contains an abundance of malicious code. This includes: ability to send mass mail to users; the ability to attack websites with Distributed Denial of Service attack (DDoS); the ability to open hidden doors on any machine on which it is running; and a hidden auto-update code function, which can install anything on your computer and open it up to anyone.

BlueSecurity lists a USA address as their place of business, whereas their main office is in Tel Aviv. BlueSecurity is run by a few Russian-born Jews, who have previously been spamming themselves. When all is said and done, they will be able to run, hide and change their identities, leaving you to take the fall. YOU CANNOT PARTICIPATE IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES and expect to get away with it. This email ensures that you are well aware of the situation. Soon, you will be found guilty of computer crimes such as DDOS attacking of websites, conspiracy, and sending mass unsolicited bulk email messages for everything from viagra to porn, as long as you continue to run BlueFrog.

They do not take money for downloading their software, they do not take money for removing emails from their lists, and they have no visible revenue stream. What they DO have is 500,000 computers sitting there awaiting their next command. What are they doing now?

1. Using your computer to send spam ?
2. Using your computer to attack competitor websites?
3. Phishing through your files for your identity and banking information?

If you think you can merely change your email address and be safe while still running BlueFrog, you are in for a big surprise. This is just the beginning...

Then, the following days, I got loads of spam. From the spam emails, many go something like this:

Hey,

You are recieving this email because you are a member of BlueSecurity (http://www.bluesecurity.com).

You signed up because you were expecting to recieve a lesser amount of spam, unfortunately, due to the tactics used by BlueSecurity, you will end up recieving this message, or other nonsensical spams 20-40 times more than you would normally.

How do you make it stop?

Simple, in 48 hours, and every 48 hours thereafter, we will run our current list of BlueSecurity subscribers through BlueSecurity's database, if you arent there.. you wont get this again.

We have devised a method to retrieve your address from their database, so by signing up and remaining a BlueSecurity user not only are you opening yourself up for this, you are also potentially verifying your email address through them to even more spammers, and will end up getting up even more spam as an end-result.

By signing up for bluesecurity, you are doing the exact opposite of what you want, so delete your account, and you will stop recieving this.

Why are we doing this?

Its simple, we dont want to, but BlueSecurity is forcing us. We would much rather not waste our resources and send you these useless mails.

Its simple, we dont want to, but BlueSecurity is forcing us. We would much rather not waste our resources and send you these useless mails, but do not believe for one second that we will stop this tirade of emails if you choose to stay with BlueSecurity. Just remember one thing when you read this, we didnt do this to you, BlueSecurity did.

If BlueSecurity decides to play fair, we will do the same.

Just remove yourself from BlueSecurity, and make it easier on you.

It seems that this spammer has orchestrated a retaliation against Blue Security with a series of accusations.

That stated, I did a little bit of surfing/research on www.bluesecurity.com and found this announcement. I also found their forum populated with threads discussing about that same spam email, stating that the spam emails that might have been reaching your email boxes are desperate attempts to discourage the use of Blue Frog.

The latest thread on this saga reads:

As expected, one major spammer (apparently in great distress) has just started spamming our members with discouraging messages in an attempt to demoralize our community.

This spammer is using mailing lists he already owns and is now sending millions of such messages - some of which may reach your inbox.

It was clear that although most spammers listen to the voice of reason and comply with the Registry, others may choose a different type of response.

Our answer to those criminals should be one - we will not be discouraged; We will continue to exercise our right to opt-out of spam.

Make spammers hear you load and clear - report your spam and let Blue Frog fight spammers on your behalf.

Keep on the good work and let spammers know - we will prevail!

A second look at the spam email, I realize some of the "dubious traits" that you notice in spam emails, like repeating itself, typo/spelling errors, subjects that don't correlate to email content and no use of apostrophes/quotes.

Yes, the SPAM WARS has begun. And our emails are the victims of collateral damage in this war. However, we can play a part in this war against spam by reporting all these emails of discouragement to Blue Security with Blue Frog.

I am doing my part to report these spam emails. Just that I will need to download the software again.

As internet users, we have a choice to say no to spam, and we must exercise this right.

Be Inspired: Kintaro Walks Japan

Tyler MacNiven a.k.a. Kintaro took 6 months to walk from the southern tip to the northern tip of Japan.

Point 10: The girls are really good looking. :p (Just look at Ayumi... Ok, so she's part angmoh and part Japanese.)

http://www.kintarowalksjapan.com/