I had Krispy Kreme

I finally made a contribution to the company's bottom-line after I had purchased the company shares months back.

A kind friend of mine was willing to bring back a dozen of assorted KK donuts from Sydney, 2 days ago.

I forgot to take photos of it, but you can see it here.

Yummy !

GPS with me in Langkawi

Brought my GPS down to Langkawi during the weekend. Quite useful and the maps were pretty accurate (except a new road that I went only while I missed a turn.)

More Pictures of my GPS :

Just boarded the plane at Changi Airport :


Taxiing towards the runway :


At the start of the runway, ready to take off :


Going faster :


And we have LIFT OFF :


And this is the max speed, at cruising altitude :


On my way back, I actually forgot to turn off my mobile phone while on the plane. It took off from Langkawi and I fell asleep. Just before touching down, I received an SMS and it woke me up. I just wondered how far out I was to get such strong signal :



And here is the GPS tracking our landing :


Almost touching down :


And landed :

I had acute gastritis in Taiwan

Woke up this morning feeling ok. After breakfast in hotel, needed to go toilet.

At first, it was like the usual food-related problem. But after about 2 hours and 2 bowel evacuations later, I developed some strange pain in my abdomen, just below the ribs.

It comes in 3 or 4 cramps every 5 or 10 minutes, punctuated with a few more emergency bowel evacuations.

Tried to rest and sleep, but woken up every time the pain comes back. It felt like there was a pulling cramp right behind my stomach/gastric area, not the intestines. Every pain was sharp and pulled me into a curl on bed.

Hotel staff told me doctors do no come on house calls and sent someone to escort me to the nearest hospital.

There I had a shot, and 2 x-rays - one of my chest and one of my intestines.
Doctor suspected either Gastric ulcers or Acute Gastritis. Turns out, no ulcers.

Feeling better now, and I am flying back tomorrow afternoon...

The NEED for me to SPEED !

Ok. We all like speeding... so after I had my new toy, I have been trying to test at what speed will I confuse or make my GPS receiver knock out. (Am I crazy ?).

All the screen captures from my Nuvi. Here goes :



247km/h. Wooo.. That was sure fast. But satellite tracking was still good... I need to go faster...



Is this for real ?

At 500km/h, error rate is getting higher and I am losing a bit of satellite signals. More.. More !



898km/h ?!!!!

Something must be wrong here. How can I go so fast ? And normally, 2 satellite locks is insufficient to compute location information.


So where is this place that I can get to test my Nuvi at such high speeds ? Some secret research place ? Some place where the police are sleeping ? Well, no, cos this is where I was :



Actually, the max speed that was recorded was about 900+ km/h before all signals were lost.

So this GPS unit is definitely not used to guide missiles... Or maybe I just didn't stick my GPS near the window enough. (I wasn't seated at a window seat.)

Cos all these were taken when I was sitting near the window seat on my recent trip from Bangkok.


In Bangkok, where there are less buildings and more sky, I can get these good signals in a taxi :

I am in Bangkok again...

This time it is for work...

Time flies. Had been very busy the last few weeks. But that is not the reason why I have dropped in my blogging.

Call it blog fatique. Or just lack of ramblings. I don't know what to say anymore. And writing about what I do want to say doesn't give me any more satisfaction.

Anyway, fun to see that my GPS toy works fine in Bangkok, and I have the whole detailed map of Thailand. Pretty accurate too.

Unfortunately, the map is non-routable. That means I can only see where I am, and find places, just like a normal paper map. It doesn't tell me HOW to get from one place to another.

Routable maps cost a couple of hundred bucks. Not worth it.

Too bad then...

I am going Bangkok

I know about the military coup, but I am not going to waste all my money if it has no hint of violence.

Unfortunate timing ! And I hope nothing turns bad this weekend while I am there.

*~*~*~*~*

I wanted to write something about the IMF but I guess I am just too disillusioned and know too well that anything I write will make any difference.

I have stopped thinking that I can/will make any difference. And reading "patriotic" forum letters on the media and statements made by our esteemed leaders just makes me think that I can actually see the end of the world.

*~*~*~*~*

No, I shall not even remotely link what is happening in BKK to Singapore...

A Light Moment.

Taken off the Internet.. somewhere ...

New Zealand Police
Nga Piurihimana O Aotearoa

Ref: ******

15 June 2005

*****
AUCKLAND

Dear Sir/Madam

Records indicate that you are the owner of Holden registration number
******.

On Friday, 10 June 2005 your vehicle was seen exceeding the speed
limit at the junction of Shortland Street and Fields Lane, Auckland.
Evasive action taken by pedestrians. This incident took place at about
1:15 PM and has been reported to the police by way of the Community
Roadwatch program.

You may not have been the driver at the time and even if you were you
may feel that the driving was not in any way risky. However another
person was sufficiently alarmed by the driving to report the matter to
the Police. The other person's perception was that the way your
vehicle was driven at that time was not safe.

If you were not the driver at the time, we would ask that you bring
this matter to the driver's attention.

Yours sincerely,

Inspector Matt Fitzsimons
Officer in Charge: Police Infringement Bureau

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

21st June 2005

Officer in Charge
Police Infringement Bureau
New Zealand Police
PO Box 9147 Wellington

Attention : Inspector Matt Fitzsimons

Dear Sir.

RE: Police advice Ref ******

Thank you for your recent letter dated June 15th, 2005.

I appreciate that you are only following up on a report from a member
of the public but I feel the need to set the record straight as I have
been driving for the past 25 years all over the world without incident
and class myself as generally a good driver. Yes, I have had a few
speeding tickets during this time, but that doesn't necessarily
detract from a person's driving abilities.

I was indeed the driver of this Holden. I clearly remember this
incident because it happened on the eve of my 40th birthday and I
remember thinking that it was a miracle that I had made it to this
milestone despite there being numerous stupid people out there.

My car is an HSV Avalanche, which is a two tonne 300KW 5.7L V8 4WD
Holden station wagon with a performance braking package fitted to it.
Whenever this car is driven, the minimum forward lighting on it is the
halogen driving lights that sit below the front grill - this being
necessary because of the large number of dickhead drivers on the
Auckland motorway system.

On the afternoon of June 10th, my wife and I were on our way to
Auckland International airport to pick up some friends who had flown
over for my 40th birthday party that was being held the next day. We
were making a quick detour to my company offices when the incident
occurred.

I was already in the process of turning my car right into Fields Lane
from the western side of Shortland Street (Queen Street end) when I
was first introduced to Dumb Ass A and Dumb Ass B who both simply
stepped off the footpath to cross Fields Lane right in front of me.

At this particular point in time we now had said two tonne car, with
it's lights and right hand indicator on, having complete right of way
after giving way to the appropriate vehicle traffic.

We also now had two clowns who were happily chatting to each other,
completely ignorant of their surroundings, walking down Shortland
Street (south side) and when they reached the kurb they simply kept on
walking right into my path without even looking for traffic.

Note that this is not a pedestrian crossing of any kind.

The chances of these two being able to beat a car that was already
committed to turning were about that of Auckland being able to beat
Waikato in an NPC rugby match - slim to none.

As soon as I realised that Dumb Ass A and Dumb Ass B had a deathwish,
I hit the car horn and the brakes at the same time.

The three air horns which are located on the front left side of the
car (the very solid, pointy corner closest to Dumb Ass A and Dumb Ass
B) hit a single, beautiful note at about 100 decibels. Now 100
decibels is about 20 decibels louder than the Sprint Cars cars that
were deemed "too loud" for the Western Springs raceway, thereby
causing it to close because in Auckland at the moment we seem to have
an anti-motorsport, politically correct, left leaning, tree hugging,
land-rights-for-gay-whales City Council - but I digress.

Anyway, Dumb Ass A and Dumb Ass B now looked to the source of the
100dB noise and in doing so started to realise that stepping out in
front of two tonnes of General Motors metal that was bearing down on
them at about 30kmph with a set of 200W halogen spot lights now
burning their retinas and making the metal on metal sound of a Bosch
5.3 ABS system kicking in onto a set of 336 x 32mm AP Racing
ventilated and grooved front discs with HSV-embossed twin piston
Corvette front calipers (in HRT red) and 315 x 18mm ventilated and
grooved rear discs was perhaps not the smartest move they have either
individually or collectively ever made.

Put simply, they **** themselves & back-pedalled faster than an eight
year old at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch, I pulled the car up in
time, wound the window down and let loose with some brilliant swear
words that one can only learn after serving at least 10 years in the
Army, and we all went on our merry way.

I can understand why the guy behind me had a heart murmur because an
HSV Avalanche can come to a complete stop from 100KM/H in about 6.3
seconds. We were both lucky that he didn't hit me as I braked because
Dumb Ass A and Dumb Ass B might have got run over after all.

In order for my car to have supposedly exceeded the 50kmph speed limit
that prevails within our fair city as I was making a complete 90
degree right-handed turn, both the car and my wife and I would have
been subjected to lateral G Forces of around .92 Gs.

I can assure you that had I actually attempted to carry out such a
manoeuvre as your letter suggests, my wife would have given me a
rather significant slap up side of my head followed by a
not-insignificant lecture and I would have had to spend the rest of
the weekend on the couch.

If you get a chance to talk to whichever one of Dumb Ass A or Dumb Ass
B who had the perception "that the way my vehicle was being driven was
not safe", could you ask them if they would much rather have had the
number plate of the car embedded in their skull due to being mowed
down as a result of their own stupidity.

You may also wish to point out to this person that just because the
City Council also killed any chance of an Auckland City street race,
that decision didn't also suddenly give pedestrians super-human powers
to simply ignore any of the existing rules in the Road Code.

The fact that Dumb Ass A and Dumb Ass B were able to lodge a complaint
with your office is both a testament to the quality of Holden HSV
braking systems and my own lightning quick reflexes. I would therefore
like to be rewarded for this outstanding display of driving skills
with lower petrol prices and a better corporate tax rate. Can you see
what you could do for me here and please get back to me.

This incident does prove one thing though - in order to have smart
people in this world, you need to have dumb asses by which to gauge
them.

Thank you for your time and I am happy to discuss further

Regards,

*****

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Zealand Police
Nga Pirihimana O Aotearoa
29 June 2005

*****
Auckland

Dear *****

RE: Roadwatch Report ******

Thank you for your letter dated the 21st June 2005, concerning the
driving matter on the 10th June 2005 in Auckland,

I certainly appreciate what you have written, I note the points in
your letter (not the descriptions), there are always two sides to one
story, we are not to know that until like in this situation, you have
brought in another side of the story.

I have attached your letter to our file.

Any further enquiries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

LW ADAMS-REID
Senior Constable E319
Roadwatch, Wellington.
(Ph 04 381 0046)
Safer Communities Together

Am I Disillusioned ? Part 2

http://www.littlespeck.com/content/people/CTrendsPeople-060909.htm

Am I Disillusioned ?

I have been very cranky and fault-finding lately, but one issue remained a mystery to me.

I have always been "concerned" (being politically sensitive here) about the sheer volume of foreigners in Singapore (and I am definitely not talking about tourists). Nothing personal, just that I think it is the effects of our policies.

Many a times, when walking along the streets, I feel that I had been mysteriously transported to another country. What's worse is that it happens not in Chinatown, nor Little India, but right at local coffee shops in the heartlands.

And then I took a serious look at myself. Am I being discriminating ? I tried to think back at the times that I had encounters with foreigners.

Malaysians ? I can tell, but not much resentment or other feelings. Probably I think Malaysian and Singaporeans are not much different and we have been moving around freely.

Thais, Filipinos, Indonesians ? Other than students, most are low-wage workers. I don't feel much. I don't feel that they are invading. I don't feel much, actually.

Indians ? Can't tell FTs from local Indians. Other than the obvious labourers. The only time I discrimate them is when there are enough of them around me that reeks of unwashed sweating bodies. And come to think of it, it is not their race that I am against, just the odour. I would feel the same if the odour were to come from a bunch of Chinese construction workers (be they Singaporeans or Malaysians).

MLC (Main Land Chinese) ? Yes ! These are the people that irritates me the most. I can't give an exact reason. Is it their LOUD presence ? Is it their INTRUSIVE behavour ? I really do not know. Or am I just a nationalist (as opposed to a racist), that I dislike all MLCs ? What is it that they did to me that I dislike ? This is something I want to find out.

Someone told me it is their loudness, and their way of imposing their culture onto us. A little bit of truth in it, just like how I would hate to sit in a bus along Little India when all the Indian workers decided to re-enact a scene from a bus in Bangalore by squeezing beyond the laws of physics.

But that can't be the whole thing. I still do not automatically dislike all Indian workers, just during those irritating moments.

But for the MLCs, they have hit my nerves so much, that the moment they open their mouths, I feel irritated. Or maybe, it is true that I hate their loud, obnoxious way of speaking ?

Something for me to ponder over...

I am no longer a teen....

You are about 20 years old

The teen repellent will no longer foil you, but you can still hear some pretty high tones. The highest pitched ultrasonic mosquito ringtone that I can hear is 16.7kHz

Find out which ringtones you can hear!

Ok. This, officially, shall be my aging test from now on. Lets see when I will turn officially deaf.

I took security for granted...

... and I was lucky.

This has been nagging in my mind for a few days already, but I couldn't figure out until this morning during my shower. I don't know why I can think of it while still sleepy. Power of sub-conscious mind.

Few days ago, I parked at Harbourfront centre for a meeting. After the meeting, when I just sat in my car and started the engine and fiddling with my Nuvi, a white van stopped in front of me, with the driver looking at me saying something. But I can't hear.

So I opened my door, stepped out and the driver repeated, asking me if I want to buy a cheap home entertainment system.

Now, I have read about these scams on forums, as well as in the newspapers. I know they are out to cheap money with their not-so-great systems. I just shook my head and hopped back into my car.

Simple steps. Nothing happened to me, of course but I was still not satisfied with the way I handled the whole affair. No, not that I should have reported to the authority or something... I have always believed in handling matters myself (but of course, not taking the laws into my own hands.)

Firstly, I should have suspected about the scam, since I have heard of it. Instead, I thought it was a driver who was asking for directions.

Secondly (and more seriously), I didn't check my surroundings before I stepped out of the car. What if it was not the scam, but someone trying to rob me ? (Although my not locking the car door is another point altogether.)

It is one thing that Singapore is safe. It is another, than when an already suspicious character was around, I didn't "raise my alert level" and take necessary precautions, like looking to see if someone was lurking behind me, waiting to club me on the head when I stepped out or popped my head out.

This was the one thing that bugged me. After sitting back into my car, I KNOW I missed out on something. This was it. I hope I don't need to be robbed to drill this into my mind - That I should not be complacent. If I do not practise this, I will forget when I go overseas and to places that are of higher crime rates.

Taking my mind off...

I think my passion is coming back... or is it ?




Anyway, I have recently purchased a new toy from Australia :


This is the first time I have experienced buying something from Australia, especially IT products. It is well known that IT stuff in Australia is more expensive. But I have justified to myself the following :

(1) Nuvi 310 in Singapore doesn't have TTS feature. This one has.
(2) Cheapest Nuvi 310 in Singapore (without TTS) is S$655. Nuvi 360 (with Europe Map preloaded that I will not use) with TTS feature is more than S$1,200
(3) Australia City Navigator maps sold in Singapore costs S$600+
(4) I need the official, more detailed Australia Map (for whatever reasons... hee hee)
=> If I buy the cheapest in Singapore + Australia Navigator, it will cost me S$1,200+ and still doesn't have TTS feature !

I bought this for A$900 excluding shipping.
I figure I had a bargain. Just for my unique requirements of the Australian Map.

Here is how it would look like, in action :


Ok. So now you roughly know where I am. Hahaha.

Cool eh ! Now I am never lost !

And this is much better than any human navigator. It will not scold me, or call me an idiot. No many how many wrong turns, it will faithfully guide me to my destination in an even tone.

Probably the only funny thing is that it pronounces some names with Australian accent that sounded very different from the actual way it is supposed to be pronounced. Mostly due to Malay/Chinese origins of our local road names. I will consider that free entertainment. Hahaha

Work Banes...

My boss trying to get me. And worst thing is, he doesn't like to talk directly. It is always beating around the bush... Pass hidden messages.... Pretend to scold person A but actually scolding person B...

And my big boss today, after away for about a month, saw me and said something like "Oh. You are still alive ?" in a half-joking manner in Mandarin.

I mean, what the !@#$ ... I work in a place full of sickening people...

Oh, so my boss is demanding "passion" from us... Rather, he actually means me, while saying "you all" in front of everyone.

Let me see if I can cultivate some...

Its a little late, but ...

Go Read.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0009/S00207.htm

I love the few below :

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)
A: Depends on how much beer you've consumed ...

Q: Which direction should I drive - Perth to Darwin or Darwin to Perth - to avoid driving with the sun in my eyes? (Germany)
A: Excellent question, considering that the Olympics are being held in Sydney.

Q: Do you have perfume in Australia? (France)
A: No. Everybody stinks.

Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia? (UK)
A: This HAS to have been asked by a blonde...

Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes. Gay nightclubs.

Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)
A: Face North and you should be about right.

Another Relaxing Spot in Singapore

Over the last weekend, went to another spot that is quiet. Well, not exactly that deserted, but quiet nonetheless :

Upper Pierce Reservoir from the Reservoir Park




View of the Lower Pierce




And why does such a nicely equipped park have to close so early ?




And can anyone remember this logo ?



And for those who find the monkeys around there cute and feel like feeding them :



This is the result :


(Photos taken off http://budak.blogs.com/the_annotated_budak/2006/07/monkeys.html

Now for the Recovery.

Finally I am back in Singapore. From the lack of updates, I guess most people would've guessed that I made it to Perth.

Miracles do happen. On Monday afternoon, we received a call that someone has seen 2 empty seats on the midnight flight to Perth and very quickly booked 2 of us on the seats before its taken. (Thanks to the blessed soul who must have been constantly refreshing the computer screen.)

And the remaining 2 of our friends managed to get 2 allocations at the last minute on the midnight flight !

So we all made it to Perth, just in time for KOP's funeral.

I will leave out the personal details, but I will say that KOP should be happy with all the funeral arrangements that D and family has so patiently worked out.

He is in the place that he so gladly called home.

Came back on Friday night and Saturday morning was the service in Singapore. All went smoothly.

*~*~*~*~*

Thanks also to all online friends. Your words of encouragements have been seen by D and she is touched.

I think KOP would also want everyone to remember his voyage, his ordeals, and his words of wisdom. And finally, never give up on your dreams.

Updates...

A few close friends and myself have been camping at Changi Airport days and nights since Friday evening, desperately trying to get onto flights into Perth that were, since weeks ago, been fully booked.

And as we sit through our stand-by lists at the ticket counter flight after flight, it became more apparent that all flights into Australia were way overbooked. (In airline terms, overbooked = more people holding confirmed tickets than actual seats.)

For 3 times a day since Friday mid-night, we have been telling staff after staff, officer after officer, about us trying to get onto flights into Perth, to see KOP for the last time.

For the last 7 flights, we have not had any success, and everytime it seems the list is growing longer.

2 more flights to go in order to make it in time to his funeral. We are hoping to get at least some of us there.

It seems to be the best that we can do at such times, after exhausting all direct and indirect flights/trains/cars/helicopter/hot-air ballon routes. It is extremely tiring for us as we are no longer teenagers staying overnight at airport for fun. But we just have to it for KOP.

I am afraid I will not be at liberty to reveal too much personal information about him, as he has always wanted to keep his privacy and identity closely guarded, especially online.

For those who had personal contacts with him via the blogosphere, you will be one of the very rare few people he felt comfortable to meet up with, or to open up to.

I have to respect his wishes, and I have no choice but to remove ange bern's comment on my previous blog about when the service in Singapore will be.

No doubt, relatives and friends would already have been informed. I hope everyone else will respect KOP's wish to keep his cyber and real lives apart and clearly delineated, whatever you put about him on your blogs.

I would probably not know much about the details of his passing, except after meeting up with D and making sure she is alright. Talking to her about such things over the phone at this time seems very inappropriate.

In the mean time, all of you can keep him in your heart and remember him in your own ways. I am sure KOP will know about it, wherever he is.

KOP will always be remembered.

Bad News... and a Tribute to a Friend

Monday (17th July 2006), I received news in the afternoon that one of my very good friend, KOP, has passed away suddenly, in Australia.

His housemates has found him on Monday morning.

No news yet of any causes for now, as it is too soon for any conclusions, I guess.

His funeral will be in Perth on 25th July 2006. This is according to his wishes of remaining in Australia.

His family has gotten flights over, but a few of us close friends are still trying all means to secure tickets.

*~*~*~*~*

I was at a loss, total loss for a while.

All that came to my mind were flash backs of our crazy uni days in NTU, road trips in Malaysia, road trips in Australia, and days of getting drunk at home. Not forgetting our intellectual discussions on life, finances, philosophies, work and the world in general.

I started calling all of our mutual friends, those that I have numbers of. It was hard to repeat it over and over again. Each time I do that, it brings me new experience, new flash backs.

Here is a friend, who seemingly have nothing going smoothly his way while he was in Singapore. Experiencing retrenchments one after another (through no fault of his. Just too many mergers and acquisitions and down-sizing).

Here is a friend, who has the intelligence to see through almost every plot and every system there is, and able to find loopholes. However, his intelligence was not tuned towards academic results.

Here is a friend, who has similar thoughts and analysis of many things as I, but he has always managed to put thoughts into actions faster than I do. (And perhaps, like he always said, we have just found evidence in each other to reinforce our beliefs.)

Here is a friend, who has been a great inspiration to me, but I guess he never knew it, because I never actually told him so.

Here is a friend, who has overcome many many obstacles in his life, that I secretly envy his courage and strength, never sure whether I would be able to take the same kind of blows as he did.

Here is a friend, who finally got out of the crippling system and has tried his best to establish a new life for himself and D.

Here is a friend, who had to live 1 year alone without D, and seems to have put everything in place for D's arrival early next year.

Here is a friend, who finally seemed to be so much happier, so much more free time, so much more to look forward to, and so much more going his way.

Here is a friend, who introduced me to Babylon 5, Futurama, and having fun with flames in liquor bottles that we have just emptied, and other interesting things in life.

Now, just when I was about to tease him to fulfil one of our ancient never-got-around-it task - to pay money for someone to tell us that we are stupid (take the Mensa IQ test), I will never know what his score will be.

Now, just when his encouragement and taunts has removed my procrastination, I will no longer be able to fulfil my dream of living in Australia, together.

I have suddenly lost one of the rare few guiding lights that I have in my life.

Life doesn't seem to be very fair to him. He led a hard life, taking everything that life has thrown him. Worked his way to get what he wanted, and just when things are finally turning out for the better, he is no longer able to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

I really hope KOP managed to get a taste of absinthe as he so desired, one year ago. (See blog comments section)

I also hope that he has managed to find Kolo Mee in Perth (See blog comments section)

May his soul rest in peace.

Good News, for a change...

I passed by IPPT today ! And will be getting $100 incentive.
At least some monetary rewards. Probably will take it again in a few weeks time, so that I can skip IPPT again for the next 2 years (almost).

I failed my IPPT again...

After a few days of jogging, I took the IPPT again yesterday.

Failed 2.4km run by 19 seconds.

Damn ! I have another 2 weeks to pass it ! Erg ! More training.
Otherwise, the irritating RT is going to make me sad, real sad.
Never had RT before, don't intend to give in to it !

My Encounter with Public Transport, After 2 Years.

Ok. I do not consider taxi as a 'public transport', though legally it is.
I am referring to the MRT and LRT that many not-so-well-to-do people use.

So I had decided to leave my car at the service centre overnight (as told in my previous blog entry.) Time to go home like most Singaporeans.

I had 2 choices to go home :

(1) I can take a bus from the bus-stop in front of my office, and change another bus to reach home, or

(2) I can take MRT and then the LRT back home.

I chose the 2nd option.

First, I walked from my office to the MRT with my colleague. (Complaining about our boss, as usual.) It's a 10 minutes walk.

Reached the MRT station with loads of people, took the escalator up. Found the right platform. Waited for train to arrive.

3 mintues later, one arrived. I can see people having some difficulty squeezing off the train. I squeezed in after most have boarded, and I am left standing near the doorway, while a few more people squeezed into the train behind me.

Now, under any other situations, I am sure I can charge the lady for molesting me and pressing against my behind. But I think this is normal for peak-hour train ride, so I kept quiet.

And I have nothing to hold on to. As the train moves, I have to depend on my well-trained acrobatic balancing skills to deflect all the forces from the train AND other passengers tryng to make me a siamese-twin with the hairy guy in front of me.

I was cautiously fishing out my mobile phone from my belt when an SMS arrived. I did not want to be misunderstood as trying to get fresh with the hairy guy.

As I looked around while the train traveled 3 stations, I could hear 2 guys chatting about their work. Another guy was standing behind me leaning against a glass and reading the newspaper.

Another lady was seated and reading papers as well.

I then remembered a colleague of mine who once told me how he (being tall) was used as a newspaper support for a guy reading papers.

Then I reached the station to change to the LRT. Squeezing out and walking with a big group of people down and up stairs to reach the LRT platform. I am already perspiring.

(I then remembered how I gained weight the couple of months immediately after I bought my car.)

Then the LRT came. At first, people were standing around sparsely, probably leaving some space for passengers to alight. But when the train arrived, everyone squeezed forward, forcing the alighting passengers to have to fight their way out of the train, lest they get pushed back and be brought back to their originating station. Hahaha. It seems funny now, but I am sure they weren't laughing then. I wasn't too.

After people alighted, I squeezed forward trying to find a space in. Suddenly, the door started closing. I stopped. The door opened again, and a few more desparate passengers squeezed in before the door shuts again.

When the door was closed, the whole carriage looked like a can of sardines. with the people flattened against the doors.

The next train arrived, I rushed in and found a seat. By now, I am desparate to go home. In comes everyone else and the carriage was jammed full of people.

I think back to the time that I was stuck in my car in the traffic jam. I was comfortably seated listening to the radio and probably eating some snacks. I wished I had taken the time, trouble and money to pick up the car, even if it were just for the night.

I reached home 45 minutes later. Not too bad considering my usual drive home takes about 25 minutes at the evening peak hour. But I was reminded, yet again, why I am a willing hostage to the expensive car price, the COE, the ERP, the rising petrol prices and the expensive parking.

40K Servicing

Sent my car a little earlier for its 40K servicing yesterday.

Emphasized on my complaint on the noisy suspension. Test drove around the area with the head mechanic. He can hear all the creaking and clapping noises.

Complaint about the occassionally leaking air-con in the front passenger legroom space.
And told them to do a wheel alignment for me.

By the end of yesterday, they called to say most are done, but after changing some parts of the suspension, they still hear noise and thus can't complete it. Asked me whether I need the car back or can I leave it there another day.

I don't want the hassle of picking it up and sending it in again, so I told them to keep another day, but make sure it can be solved the following day.

So I went home via public transport (and I shall blog about my experience in the next entry).

Today, I got it back, and wow. I turned off the radio, and turned the air-con at the lowest so that I have minimal cabin noise. Wow. They finally solved the issue, and my ride is as quiet as when it was newly delivered.

When I got home, these are some of the used items they have returned to me (other parts are obviously disposed, like used engine oil, oil filter, suspension parts, etc) :



Driving my car is a joy again !

And you think shoot bird very addictive

Damn !

http://www.aeonity.com/ab/games/shooters/defend-your-base.php

Cool....

I thought it was cool actually. I couldn't imagine what it would look like before I saw the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YD9uhmP5Oo

I am going home.

Damn, I just have to say something good, and bad things happen to me.

4 person at the doctor's ahead of me. Usually less than 2.

Took 1 day MC.
Back to office, my boss is back !

Ok, so time to go home now, as there is nothing to enjoy anymore.

Terrible Day...

Last night, I couldn't sleep again.
This morning, I woke up with diarrhoea, and I actually had to stay in toilet twice before I had the energy to shower and come to office.

Why not see a doctor, I can hear you ask.

I am a workaholic. A little diarrhoea is not going to stop me from performing my office duties. At least, even if I suddenly cannot control my bowel movements, I am driving now and will not be embarrassed like The Last Time.

At least, it will just be a tough job getting smelly stains out of my leather seats. No need to rob people of their toilets.

Yeah, right.

Actually, the reason is that I do not want to see the doctor nearby. As I know it will be crowded in the mornings with everyone trying to take MCs.

Secondly, I always preferred the doctor at my office. And I always visit after lunch. Hardly any queue. And anyway, I do have pills for diarrhoea on my own. Nothing the doctor can do to make me well instantaneously.

Thirdly, once I arrived in office, I realized that my boss is not in, and probably will not be in in the afternoon, so I better enjoy another day without my boss on my back.

Fourthly, I have such wonderful colleagues that keeps me happy and uplifted, that I will have separation anxiety if I take one day's MC.

Hahahaha...

Oh dear, need to go release more water again...

The Name of the Game.

The game is : http://www.mofunzone.com/online_games/damn_birds.shtml

And no, I am not having difficulty sleeping because of this game.



Today, I failed my IPPT, again. 23 seconds in my 2.4km run.
I have one more month to pass it. I can try and try until I pass, or pass away.

Unable to sleep , again !

I am not able to get to sleep again.
I do not know why...

This is tiring.

I had steak last night...

It looked like the map of Singapore.
With Sentosa and Airport Runway. (Click on the photo to see the notes)

Flustered

I don't know why, but I have been feeling flustered these few days.
No mood to work. I even feel restless at home.

A colleague of mine recently pointed out that I hadn't taken a long break this year, compared to my previous years. Probably I need some time to relax and re-charge ?

At that time, I thought nothing of it, dismissed the idea. But today, I think I really need some time off.

Or am I just pressurizing myself too much, trying to do all that I set for myself to do within the next few months ?

Or am I just sick and tired of the environment here with some of my colleagues and bosses, that I just don't have the motivation to work anymore ?

Probably I still have to learn how to idle and not set too high expectations for myself.

Update of my friend who has gone to USA

Read this to remind yourself.

Just got an update that he is drafted to serve in the US Army. They will be shipping him to Iraq in a few weeks time.

Probably will be jacking up his pay and allowance.
Wow.

Just hope he will be back safe and sound.

Banyan Tree - Finished

Ok. So my President's plane seat having no TV was a mistake. It was just faulty.

After my previous entry, I headed down for the official opening dinner. In our pre-dinner entertainment, there was fortune telling.

I had my fortune told. I will put it here, so that next time I can check if he is accurate. Hahaha.
It was by Tarot cards.

I remembered my first card was The Devil. 2nd card was The Fool (About my wealth, he told me.)

Now I can't remember all the cards, but essentially, he said I have no problems with making money, but I need to watch my budget, as my money is "easy come easy go". He probably saw through this with the Bvlgari ring I had on my finger, and an expensive looking Seiko watch on my wrist ?

I will make good career in the entertainment industry (like being an actor or something). Me ? Gosh. When he asked what job I am doing, I told him IT. He said then I should be doing more outbound, travelling kind rather than desk-bound, to progress in my career.

Told me that my career is good, good promotion in 2 years time if I am not already at senior or management level.

That I will get a sum of money around December. (Its the year-end bonus that he's referring to , I guess.)

That my love life will have a slight down-turn in February 2007.
And that my "girlfriend or wife" has some "manly" characteristics, (I think he is referring to stubborness, or just want to make decisions) and that may cause me to quarrel.

That my health is ok, but I should watch out for my liver.

Hahaha.

The dinner was nice and funny, with of course, my guests having a fun time trying to decide which were real girls dancing, and which were girls with adam's apple.

*~*~*~*~*

Next day, again conference in the morning and all the entertainment in the afternoon. Again, I tried to rest and didn't join any activity. Dinner was fun with "Pajamas party" theme at the restaurnant on the 59th floor. I think everyone enjoyed it, with sexy dancers and magician going around the tables.

*~*~*~*~*

Friday's conference was my turn to present, a short 15 minutes. Things were going smoothly. After the conference, I joined in the golf game. It was terrible, but that's not news.

Got dead drunk last night out partying after the dinner. This morning, woke up to a call in my suite (yes, after my CEO left, I took over his upgrade Premier Suite).

A voice told me that I am supposed to check out and meet at the lobby at 8am.
I said ok.
She said "It is now already 8am."
I said "Ok. Coming down."

I jumped up, washed up and showered, THREW everything into my luggage back, put on some clothes, and went down to check out. 8.20am.
All with a throbbing headache. Argh ! Hang over !

Aww man ! I haven't gotten this drunk since a similar conference 5 years ago. That time, I slept through all the alarm clocks and phone calls. Someone came to my door and BANGED at it real hard and loud for 5 minutes before I woke up.

Had I been that state in this morning, I am sure I will not be able to hear the doors banging. (Yes, that is how big the suite is.) They will have to break the doors down. (Noticed I used the word "doors", because the entrance is w-i-d-e.)

I think overall, it was quite successful, and everyone is happy, I think. Have yet to hear any major complaints.

Ok. Time to recover, probably more admin work to settle, and the beginning of a new set of challenges.

Updates from Banyan Tree

*sigh*

Finally can have a short sigh of relief for a while.

Yesterday has been hectic, but luckily I had outsourced most of the hard work. I have people flying in from morning all the way till past mid-night :

1. Ensuring everyone gets on their proper transport,
2. Ensuring everyone checks into their rooms,
3. Ensuring everyone has their customized welcome package with T-shirts and name-tags in their rooms,
4. Hearing about how my President's economy seat is the only one on the place that has NO TV set (is that even possible ?)
5. How he has to be the lucky one to get that seat, if it is indeed true.
6. How my President changed his room because it faced the main road and he is afraid of noise, (And how my CTO stays just 1 level above, but he said the room is quiet).
7. How my President is anxious that his boss (my CEO) arrives nicely and well taken care of, try to book a masseur for him, etc,
8. Still chasing some presenters for their slides,
9. Touching up their slides to ensure readability in large conference room,
10. Ensuring that more food is prepared as many feedback (including from my CEO) that fingerfood, though free flow, is not filling,
11. Ensuring that the Thai delegates (who didn't have visa from their wifes to stay in hotel) gets their packages before they leave the welcome cocktail,
12. Putting up seating arrangements for 96 seats,
13. Ensuring a spare notebook with all the slides updated and ready to replace the primary notebook in case of failures,
    
14. Very glad that I was asleep when my organizers were welcoming 21 guests at 2am and changing T-shirt sizes of those who couldn't fit into their XXL.

And today, I think the opening of the conference ran ok, except my President was sitting beside me and asking me lots of questions that he would have the answers to, if he bothered to read our painstakenly-produced guidebooklet for all.

The conference overshot by 45 minutes, had to rush the golfers off to their course. Now, I am just hoping that they can make it back in time for dinner plans (at 8pm). But I guess, with the traffic, and the late start, I am asking for too much. I just hope they are not too late in joining us for the offical opening dinner.

Re-arranged the seating arrangements for tomorrow, ensuring everyone has opportunities to sit with their respective sales people (and it has to be fair, because some customers are easily jealous of competitors being the "favoured") and ensuring everyone alternates between sitting near the screen and far away from the screen.

Now I am in my room (finally !) a couple of hours of breather, hopefully I can catch a nap, while I hope tonight's events turns out well.

2 and a half more days to go...
A hundred and one things can go wrong...

I still have yet to memorize and rehearse my slides for my presentation on Friday...
2 more presenters on that day have yet to give me their slides...

My Official Banyan Tree Trip

Ok.. After my recce trip a month back, tomorrow I am setting out for the actual conference.

Already, stress level of big boss is quite high, with some being passed down.

Then a colleague had to be an ass and assume many things, and just because the conference happen to be in Thailand, he can just invite anyone he wants, from Thailand, without even checking with the organizers (that's my department, in case you still do not know).

Still had the cheek to say that we didn't make it clear who we are NOT inviting. I mean, come on. If I didn't invite them, it means I didn't invite them. If you want to invite them, please check with me first. Don't assume that the seating capacity will be enough, and only tell me today that I didn't make it clear that they are not invited.

I will wait till he gives a house warming, and then I will invite some people that I think he ought to have invited. Then tell him, he didn't tell me NOT to invite those people he didn't invite.

But then, don't think a parsimonious like him will hold any house warming party, anyway.

Still have many things to do : seating arrangements for 2nd day is not done up. I still haven't gotten the slides of all the presenters. Still have to buy wine when I reach BKK. And I hope nothing crops up, nor any of the guests have any complaints.

*sigh*

Wish me luck. Mission starts in 12 hours.

The day I was stuck in the toilet for 3 hours

Was relieving myself in a public toilet, and was there for 3 hours, after reading this sign :

My Daily Dose of Cheerfulness

Looking at this in my rear view mirror always brightens me up.

No matter how upset I get, looking at this fella every 10 seconds or so, while on the road, really keeps me cheerful.

Especially when it seems like this fella is waving at me, or doing some dance.

Now, that is what I call Driving Pleasure.

Fierce Lights

Haha. Today I just noticed that my car lights projected a fierce image, with its 2 front signal lamps.

Doesn't it look like a pair of eyes with very distinct eyebrows ? And a nose ?

Wasn't easy to take this shot, as the lights were the blinking hazard lights.

Photos of my Banyan Tree trip

Ok. Some photos from my free Banyan Tree trip.

This was my room :




This is the restaurant that we are having a function in :

Day Views -





Night Views -






Another Restaurant at Roof Top :

Day View -



Night Views -





Cocktail Place :

As Vertigo is too expensive, this is the alternative -

Snippets of Updates II

Changed my tyres to Dunlop Direzza DZ101. Looks good, though I thought it was a little quieter, I think it is just me.

Didn't want to waste money on the rims though, cos the current one is still good. Not sure that spending money on the new lighter rims will save much on petrol. Anyway, I ahve a long time to find out. Next change of tyres, I will probably change rims. Typical engineer mentality - change one factor at a time. See of tyres and Nitrogen makes a different.

(Ok. So some of you may say I a naive to believe that Nitrogen-filled tyres is going to make a lot of difference, but hey, comes "free" with the tyres, free top-ups of Nitrogen, free tyre rotation every 10kkm, free puncture repair, up to 5 times. Just take it and see if it really affects my FC.)

So problem solved.

*~*~*~*~*

Tomorrow, I will be going to Banyan Tree, Bangkok. Sort of business + leisure trip. So I will be enjoying myself the next few days. Ha !

Car Vibrations

For the whole of last week, I had to endure excessive vibrations in my car. Noticable at speeds of 50km/h and my car becomes a massage chair at > 70km/h.

Sent it for servicing today. Found out the cause : Bad Tyre at the rear left.
(Click on the photo to see details)



Am thinking of whether ot change my rims at the same time. Lightweight, probably look better and save a bit on my fuel consumption.. Petrol very expensive now.. Just went up by another 10cents per litre.

Hmmm. Rims + Tyres probably will cost me another S$1k or so. *sigh*

On the other hand, they changed for me my 2 front suspension stabilizer links. Now the knocking sounds when I go over humps and pot-holes have gone down by 90%. The remaining is either acceptable noise from high-speed-over-relatively-big-holes types, or the rear is starting to show similar symptoms.

Will get them to change it for free the next servicing. Afterall, that is what warranty is about...hahahaha.

EnerNorth

Right. Ok. I am not the first to find out or post about this.
Just interested to see what the verdict is :

Here

Wedding Concepts

My brother has just returned me the money that I had given him last year for his wedding.

When I asked him, his reply is that he feels wedding should be "parents give", not "brother give". My response was simple : It is a family gift. Elder brothers also got give ang pao one ma.


What is with "youngsters" nowadays ?

It is MY wedding. I decide who I want to marry. I want the things to go MY way. But money has to come from parents. Especially the parents of the groom.

What with the reason that "traditionally", Chinese wedding is paid for by the groom's parents.


Oh yeah, talk about tradition ? Traditionally, groom's parents DECIDES who their boy marries and who is good enough for their boy, why don't you follow this tradition as well ? Traditionally, the new family live with the parents and follow the male family rules. What about that ?

You want independence, you want to be modern, what with freedom of love and all. Totally against arranged marriage, believing that it doesn't work. Why not be independent all the way ?

So many couples I know of, they pay for their own wedding, including the dinner. What parents give are just gifts, bonus, extra cash. Yes, they may make concessions to parents when parents give money. But isn't organizing any large event the same ? Make compromises and try to make everyone happy (wedding couple themselves included).

They don't PLAN their wedding based on how much their parents are giving them, nor do they feel that their parents owe them for their own wedding decisions.

Wake up ! Don't expect the world to owe you everything. Want to be traditional, be traditional all the way. Want to be new age, be new age all the way. Don't be half-assed ! Don't choose things that are in your favour only and when you don't get it, blame others !

Some Updates

Work :
Getting rather tired. Don't feel motivated at all. I don't know why. I need to strike TOTO !

Family :
Brother still got married. Without our family's participation though.

Personal :
Feeling lethargic most of the time.

Hobby :
I think I found a suitable casing for my Car-Cam project. Lets see how things go.

New Words Learnt

I learnt a new word today : eproctophiles

That is all I am ever going to say on this topic. Don't ask me anything.

*~*~*~*~*

Another word : Vorarephilia

There is soft vore, and hard vore... hahahaha.

*~*~*~*~*

Troubled Nights

Been having trouble sleeping on and off.

Again it is family issues.

Work, I can handle. No matter how irritating, or how absurd, I can bitch, but it never caused me trouble at night.

Used to, but not now...

I think I should be about having almost my lifetime's worth of sleeplessness in these few weeks. It hurts me to see that my parents are hurting and feeling sad. And this hurt and sadness comes from someone else in the family, and someone else that is almost into the family...

Maybe all these personal pressure is causing me to be more blunt and more daring at work, ticking off anyone who doesn't use their brains to think...

Time to get working on my toy again

Got my PCI riser card, and my M2-ATX power supply recently.

This is where my father's "junkyard" comes in handy. Managed to find a 12V 25A DC power supply. Now I can test my M2-ATX as well as the board. Now if only I can simulate an engine crank here.. hahaha..



And with the PCI riser card, I am able to make the entire thing low profile. I was hoping it would fit into the casing of a 24-port switch :



With a small space that can fit the M2-ATX, I was delighted...






Until I realized, I still need space for the HDD !!!! ARG !!!!

Emotional Baggage

I realized recently that I can deal with depression and sadness better than dealing with apprehension.

I realized that I can handle my own emotional well-being better than my family's emotional state. Somehow, after years of trying to be distant from family and trying to "bo chap", I realized I can't. Just can't ignore.

Somehow, telling myself that whatever happens, it is not my doing, it is not my fault, and nothing I can do about it. But at the back of my mind, it is always "Is that enough ? Can't I do more ?".

I am too responsible for my own good. I cannot be the bo chap , cool , unaffected guy that I want to be.

I wanna buy me one of these...

with all the options too !

http://www.forceprotection.net/models/cougar/

Snippets of Updates

At work

I guess nowadays, work saps most of my energy. It is not the physical work that is tiring. I mean, how tiring can it be, clicking on the mouse the whole day.

It is the thinking part. The part where I have to think about how to train the new guy ; How to do new things that will make my department treasured and valued ; How to bring new concepts to life ; How to deliver stunning results ; How to right what is wrong....

But I am thinking too far ahead. I have to first think of how to get everything organized and have proper tracking. Things in the company is just too messy at the moment. And everyone is just too busy clearing work, there is not time to think and brainstorm.

The only time I can do that, is in the shower.

At Home

Things are going on as usual. My brother's wedding is drawing near, and things are still not that settled. Well, not my problem.

My father is finally going to take up the citizenship, after decades of being a Singapore PR. Digging through old documents, I found out that my maternal grandmother's citizenship was considered "British Subject" when my mum was born.

My Hobby

I needed to buy some stuff off the Internet and out of Singapore. This is where I get to know how famous Singapore has become. I give Singapore another hub-status award. Fraud Hub of Asia. We are among the few countries that are blacklisted together with countries such as Indonesia and Nigeria.

What an accomplishment !

Guess Where ?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calamariforthought/

I Failed !!!!!

Am now in reservist, which started yesterday and will last till mid of next week.

Getting by without air-con is a bitch, I can tell you that. And our bunks are on the top floor - Level 4. Imagine walking those stairs up and down no less than 10 times per day. By the end of the first day, I already can feel my leg muscles screaming.

This morning, I just took my IPPT. I failed my 2.4km run, by a whopping 30 seconds ! (Damn !)

Bought a new pair of Gore-Tex boots. They are very comfortable compared to the regular leather boots. And it looks good enough to wear for hiking or any other outdoor trip.

Hmm... considering that I am already bitching about the 4-storey building, I don't think I will be mountain-climbing anytime soon..

And when my friend saw me carrying my "robinson-sale" purchases back to the room, he said "Oh, you bought the Gore-Tex...". And my reply was "Yeah, having mensus.."

My Brother's Wedding Convesation - 2

Yesterday, was at home to witness the conversation of my brother's wedding preparation again.

Some parts of the conversation that I wanted to highlight :

D=My Father
B= My Brother
M=My Mother
[Note] = My comments, in italics.

(1) About the timetable for the day :

M : So what is the program for the day, April 15th, right ?

B : Yes. The ROM will be at 12.30. Then will be the buffet.

D : Buffet until what time ?

B : They need to re-arrange the place for the wedding dinner at 5pm.

M : So buffet is about 1 to 3 lah.

B : Yeah. Still need to book the registrar. [Note : They wanted the ROM Ceremony to be on location, instead of at the ROM]

M : Haven't confirmed yet, ah ?

B : Not yet [Note : Huh ? Haven't book ? Wait not free, then change everything lah ?]

M : Then morning ? The timing for the ceremony

[Note : My brother was thinking for a full 20 seconds before answering]

B : By 11.30am have to leave the house.

M : How about the morning ?

B : 1 hour for tea ceremony enough ?


[Note : Hmm.. Wonder what has been planned, and what hasn't been ? Does he know which are the "critical paths" and need to book first ? ]



(2) About the Wedding Dinner Tables :

B : Ten table for you all enough ?

D : If you can only give then, then I will adjust my guest list. This one after New Year can think one.

B : I reserve 2 tables for my helpers, the girl's side need 14 table, so 10 for you. If you don't need so many, the remainder will give to the girl's side.

M : You pay for the girl's side ah ?

B : YES. We paying for the whole dinner ourselves.

D : Usually, when giving tables, give the girl's side same or less than the boy's side...

B : My girlfriend already ask her parents to reduce the number of guests. They are big family, what to do ?

D : It is not about the number of guests they have. They are big family, or they have big business, it is their own side to settle. But you do not have to give so many.

B : They actually ask for higher, but we negotiated lower.

M : Also, usually, the girl's side ask for tables, they don't ask for "gifts".

D : Yes, they want higher, but do they have the right to demand for it ? You should know how to talk to them. Normally if you give them what you can, if they want more, can, they just pay for the rest. You just have to help them book the tables.

B : (loudly) YEAH ! IF DON'T GIVE, THEN THEY DON'T MARRY THEIR DAUGHTER TO YOU LAH !

D : If want to say that, then nothing to discuss lor. If it were me, I would have already thought of how to reason with them. What is the point of making their children suffer in debt for the wedding, then no money for house and children ? Is this the way to love their daughter ? Why you never think before hand, how to talk and how to approach ? If it were me, I will have ways to get them to agree to my terms.

B : YEAH LAH ! YOU VERY SMART LAH ! I VERY STUPID LAH !

[Note : And he proceeds to pack his things to leave the house. Say need to go somewhere. It is raining cats and dogs at that time.]

After he left, my parents were then talking to each other.

Commenting that he must have been the girl's side wanted everything and he just agreed. Like he had no choice. Boss's niece lah ! Cannot think for himself one ?

And that why he do or say things, never thought about parents' feelings ah. They demand, must give ? Never consult with own parents ? Must approve one meh ? Both parents can don't agree, then ownself go and elope lah ! Never say that to him only.

Tell him how to deal with people, for his own good, get scolding from him. Happy event like this must turn out this way. Everything give in to the other side. Give suggestions, thinking it is discussion, he blame us for making things difficult for him. Shouting at us everytime.

Then might as well just inform us what to do, don't bother to discuss. But then, himself cannot settle all the things and cannot plan properly. Leave it to him lah.

Long time no see

My work looks to be an uphill tasks. Just got some negative comments from bosses about my past year's work.

Nevertheless, I shall look forward and learn from this episode. Afterall, what is the worst that can happen ? I become bo-chap, and get fired ?

These 2 weeks has been very turbulent for me. Helping my boss take care of a colleague who is "politically" weak. I have almost become a logistic cum warehouse manager.

~*~*~*~*~

My new toy hasn't been giving me a smooth time either. Just realized, stupidly, that my Video capture card doesn't include hardware encoder. So I will have to depend on CPU power to do video compression.

Encoding one channel to mpeg4 using most available codecs occupies the CPU at almost 100% already. And quite a lot of lost frames as well. What more of 4 channels ?

However, there was one that did the job at about 30% CPU utilization and no lost frames - Pegasus. But I will have to pay... (anyone can give me a registered copy for free ?)

Am very tempted to use batch files, and use AmCap to do the capture. Simplest solution of all, and able to capture 4 channels simultaneously. Problem is, it is not able to use any other codecs, and the output is huge AVI files.

Well, maybe just buy a big HDD and just clear out the data every few days of driving.

And now, to find get a casing that can fit under my seat, and a good power supply.

Oh and the PCI riser card is ridiculously expensive !!!!!

My Toy - Updated

My Video Capture Card Arrived !



It now sits on my EPIA :



And I am connecting this to one camera first. This is my first cam :



It can fit into a 1x1x1-inch box. I think it will fit nicely behind my rear-view-mirror.

And now, the most important part is to get the software working. Currently looking for freeware/shareware where I can :
- configure up to 4-views per screen,
- superimpose date/time and other data,
- allows me to configure it for unattended recording


After this is the power supply issue in my car.
Hmm... Ok, baby steps, baby steps.

Me at Work with my New Toy

Ok. So I have gotten my new toy. What do I want to do with it ?





My first requirement is to make it a multi-channel DVR for my car.
I guess this will explain why I want it much smaller than a normal PC. And also why I want a fanless board - to reduce noise.

Still waiting for my Video Capture Card from the supplier.

Will attempt to make the whole thing work on WinXP first. If performance is not good, then I will attempt Linux. Afterall, I am no Linux expert ; Do the easy one first.




Initially, booting up without any software installed takes about 45-50 seconds.
POST - 9 seconds (include auto-detect IDE for CD-ROM. Will be out in actual deployment)
WinXP Splash screen - 10-15 seconds.
Starting of OS till desktop available - 25 seconds.

Not a very good speed for embedded system.

But I am running it off 128MB for now, and have just disabled all useless services. I think upgrading to 512MB will make it load faster.