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.

My New Toy Arrived

Got my EPIA ME6000 VIA Motherboard today !
At least, something to keep me occupied. I can start work on my little project.



On the work front, I see more and more things for me to do, yet, I really do not know where to start. If I just follow my boss's instructions and not take initiative, then I am no better.

Ahggg ! Brain not working ! Really at my wits end, no idea how to do it... But of course, not showing it.

Hopefully my brain can wake up after New Year.


Happy Holidays !

Shell-shocked...

My job (formerly called my career).

It is just confirmed.
I had less than 24 hours to decided.

I will be redesignated.
I will be taking on a new portfolio.
I stood no chance,
I was out-smarted, and out-gunned.
My objections and feelings are irrelevant.
I was just a pawn in this game, in his big scheme of things.

I have been moved from my comfort zone into a war zone.

I have much to plan and do ahead.
Despite the holiday season, my mind will most probably not be peaceful.

So no more nice coffee breaks for me.
No more idling and blogging during office hours.


But...

*starts tune*

I will survive, I will survive !
Hey hey !

Obligatory Remarks about Death

After keeping quiet for so long, I guess I need to just speak up a little now.

I do not agree with the Death Penalty. It serves no rehabilitation purposes, and I believe it doesn't deter much.

Murders are not going to increase/decrease with or without the death penalty. Afterall, most murders took place at the heat of the moment - emotionally charged and no time to think about the death penalty. And mostly they think they can claim emotionally incapacitated by not controlling themselves.

For the premeditated ones, all precautions have been taken to avoid being caught - death or no death. I mean, if I really hate someone and wants to kill him/her, I will try all means to hide my identity - even if it is life imprisonment. Aferall, I hope to get on with my life.

For drugs, I believe many of those mules are forced into it - certain death of family member if they were to reject, or possible death by hanging if caught.

Afterall, how many of those who carry drugs drives BMWs and live in landed property ? Those who are really rich from the drugs, are enjoying themselves in large palaces with private army for security.


*~*~*~*~*

From previous famous cases in the press, it seems that in Singapore, I cannot consult legal advise until the police concludes their investigation. (Remember the recent Filipino maid charged for murder of another maid ?) [read : My opinion is that I cannot see my lawyer until I have confessed to the crimes, either by beating it out of me, or by sleep deprivation.]

I have the rights to remain silent, and I still have my rights to an attorney.. Catch is I need to choose just one.

*~*~*~*~*

And I travel via Changi airport frequently, where my lugguage is out of my supervision. What if one day, someone in the chain uses my luggage to carry the drugs, and somehow, missed a satchet in my luggage.

And then I am caught with it...

*shudder*


*~*~*~*~*

Just heard that our executioner, who was identified by Australian press recently, has been fired.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4477012.stm

Bird vs Plane

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Oh my. Wenzeled...

Charlie Wenzel. That is a name that many will remember. And he became famous for all the wrong reasons. But now, I am sure he can make some money from this notoriety.

Google "Charlie Wenzel" and I am sure you get lots of hits.

Just a quick summary of what happened there, because the original forum was closed :

(Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wenzel)

It all started on October 10th, 2005 on the Off-Roading Website Pirate4x4.com when Charlie, using the screen name "cdubzon40s", attempted to sell a set of "new" Gears he had purchased for his Chevy truck and "decided against" using. The Ad quickly drew attention from a user going by the name "MochaMike". After accepting and cashing a check for the $115 (the $100 asked for the parts and $15 for shipping) Charlie private messaged MochaMike asking for an additional $25 stating that that was what he had intended to ask. Mike Refused and asserted that since the check had been cashed, Charlie had a legal obligation to send the Parts.

On October 26th, Charlie went back to the website and changed the price of the item from $100 to $125 plus $15 shipping. At this point Mike Went public and pointed out to everyone that Charlie had changed the original post to reflect a higher price AFTER Mike had already paid for the gears. Charlie claimed that this was simply a mistake and that he had meant to charge $125.00 + Shipping, instead of the $100.00 + shipping.

In addition, he repeatedly asserted that the part was new, but was eventually cornered into admitting the part had been previously installed on his own truck. The problem is that the part is not just of a lesser value, but of questionable value entirely. People usually do not buy these gears used, due to wearing patterns being specific to the original vehicle. Therefore it turned out that the attempted fraud was actually for the total amount, not just the $25 extra he asked for.

During the whole process, when Charlie probably should have apologized, admitted his wrong doing and walked away, he instead became rude and indignant, attempting to use empty threats of physical violence and or lawsuits and jail time to get people to stop telling him he had done something wrong. He was repeatedly given chances in the first two days to right his wrong, but instead continued with his arrogance.

Soon Charlie's personal info was made available for the world to see. This included:

* His ip address/addresses
* His home address
* His place of work
* His email addresses
* His phone numbers
* His parents address
* His parents phone numbers
* His parents job descriptions and where they work
* His parents photo
* His parents email addresses
* His photo
* His High School Year Book Photos
* Baby Photos
* Various Pictures of Charlie with his truck broken down in the dunes
* His sisters photo
* His truck photos
* Through another link , his banking details
* His past history on other forums
* His ebay records
* His school history
* His true size and weight (he had said he was much larger than the actual numbers)
* His girlfriends photo

I will cut this short. Amazing what can be found on the Intenet about you.

You can also see his tribute on
http://www.wenzeled.com/

Now, excuse me, while I try to see what kind of sensitive information I can find about myself over the net, publicly.

My future road trip in this ?

Should be available early next year....



[click on the photo to see more !]

My Road Trip - In Singapore

Haha. Just spent some time this afternoon on a short road trip - but in Singapore.

Managed to see some unknown part Singapore that I haven't been to. Seems quite nice too, except for the humid air making me all sticky.

(Check out my Flickr Photos, link on the right)

KOP ! Do you recognize this place ?

Eden ! Have you been here ?

My Father Sometimes Scares Me

I was telling my father over the weekend about the events outlined here :

http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1084655


My father's comment ?

These 4 are lucky that the police didn't "plant" someone else into the crowd of 4, pretend to protest with them, and arrest all of them immediately for illegal gathering.

Did my father see it being used too often, or am I glad he is not working with the authorities.

Overhead Conversation

Heard this conversation between my colleagues during lunch today :

Background - P is renovating his house and intends to put a Jaccuzzi in his Balcony.

P : My contractor told me the weight loading of my balcony. So I have to figure out the weight of the f**king jacuzzi plus the f**cking water using the dimensions.. wah lao...

S : Oh you still have to add in your f***king weight...

I was already sniggering... Then I told my other colleague, who also heard the conversation. And his comment ?

C : Yeah, of course have to add in his "f**king" weight. You know, thrusting add on to the loading.

Me : Oh, so not just the normal weight, but literally the f**king weight lah !

Pissed...At Sheng Siong

Was at Sheng Siong (at Ten-Mile Junction) just a while ago. Was trying to see the price of some items, and taking notes of their prices on a small piece of paper.

After a while, a male staff came over to tell me that I am not allowed to copy the prices. That his manager has given instructions. That I can see, compare, but not copy. If I disagree, I will have to see the manager.

WTF !

What are they afraid of ? Competitors ? I am sure their competitors would have better ways to get their prices and more discreet.

And so what if competitors copy their prices ? Ok, so you will want to make it difficult for them to get your prices. I will outline ways (below) to get prices FASTER than one person copying it down.

Are their prices not up for scrutiny ?

I have to depend on my memory ?
Well, I have short memory and cannot remember that what I want is available at Sheng Siong. So next time, I will forget to give my consumer dollar to you and buy somewhere else.

Next time I will :

(1) speak to my buddy, via a pair of 2-way radios, discreetly via earpiece.
- What ? I cannot bring these equipment in ? You will think it is a mobile phone anyway.

(2) speak into my handphone sound recorder as I browse the shelves.
- What ? I can't have my own recording device ? I am not taking photos of your shop ! I am recording my own speech! Cannot ah ? It is not illegal what?!?!

(3) call a friend, using my mobile phone, and check out the prices and read out the prices to my friend.
- What ? I am not the one taking notes. Why ? I cannot compare with my friend now is it ? I cannot ask my friends whether your price is cheaper or not ah ? You wanna ban the use of handphones in your shop ?


Other than the above methods that the competitors can check out the prices, competitors can also deploy the following methods :

(4) get receipts from customers who bought things that I am interested in.

(5) pick up discarded receipts to compile into a list. Computer with simple OCR can do a very fast job.

(6) get someone to wear audio and video bugging devices and just walk along the shelves without even doing anything except transmitting sounds and images to someone with a recording, sitting in a nearby vehicle.


Well, at least the staff was polite and half-smiling.

Sheave ? What is a Sheave ?

What is "Kian" ?

Last night, was waiting for a couple of friends to arrive at a local Duck Rice stall for dinner. I was there first and waited for them.

I was hungry, so I ordered the food first. Duck meat, Toufu, Sambal KangKong, Egg but no Duck Spare-parts.

Then my friend SMS me for "Chicken Kian". Chicken Kian ? What the heck is a Chicken Kian ?
I looked back at the stall banner, and it says Duck Rice & Porridge.

So I messaged back : Chicken ? Are you going to the wrong stall ?

The reply : Sorry. Quack Quack Kian.

And I hesitated in ordering the duck Kian. My friend, R, went and ordered. The Kian arrived.
A few minutes later, my friends, H and P, also arrived. We ate.

I asked what is a Kian. No one could give me a definite answer. Guesses of kidney, liver, lungs, but still no conclusion. After eating it, I still didn't know what it was.

~*~*~*~*~

We finished our dinner and settled in a nearby cafe. Ordered cakes and drinks. After our food and drinks arrived, we are short of a spoon and 2 forks. So I went to the counter to get the missing crockery (no, they are not utensils, as most Singaporeans would have them.)

Me : Excuse me, can I have a spoon and 2 forks please ?

Lady : *stares at me, with mouth ajar* Huuuh ???!!!!

Me : Can I have a spooooon, and *rasies 2 fingers* 2 forrrrkk *fingers makes jabbing motion* ?

Lady : Oh. Ok.

She proceeds to get them for me.

From her stare at me, and her louder than normal "Huh" back at me, I figured she thought she heard me say some swear words at her. Or she thought I was trying to get fresh with her.

So much for speaking good English. I think next time, I will stick to the usual Singlish : "Can I have a spoon and 2 fox, please ?"

~*~*~*~*~

Soon, the conversation turned back to the unsettled Kian.

P : So, what was the Kian ah ? Nice right ?

R : Ee. I don't eat spare parts one. And he was still wondering whether to order or not.

Me : Of course lah ! I don't know what is that. Later don't have, kenna suan. So malu.

P : Huh. You also will be embarrassed one meh ?

H : Of course lah.

Me : Of course lah ! You think I so thick-skinned one meh ? First chicken Kian, then duck Kian. How I know whether duck got Kian or not ?

H : Hello. They are both ducks what...

Me : Huh ? Both are ducks ?

H : No no.. Both are fowls.

Me : Eh. Just because the are both fowls doesn't mean they have the same thing ok.

H : They have the same intestines and organs mah.

Me : Is it ?

H looks at me in a challenging manner. I think for about 20 seconds...

Me : Eh. Chicken have the *put palm vertically on head, fingers pointing up* but the duck don't have mah !

P : *shrieks* hahaha. You mean chicken that part.. the crown.. can eat one meh ?

H & R were laughing

Me : No lah. What I mean is, I don't know what Kian is mah. Maybe only chicken have, but duck don't have leh ? Or even if they have, maybe the duck one is not served as food leh. Like you eat chicken feet, but you don't eat duck feet mah.

H : But got goose webbed-feet being served what.

Me : But that is goose lah. Also, like got duck's tongue, but I don't see chicken's tongue being served. Chicken don't have tongue right ?

H, P and R all laughs loudly. I think the whole cafe is looking at us.

Me : Wait.. ok.. So chicken have tongue, but they are not served as food right ? So that is what I mean, just because duck may have Kian, doesn't mean they are served as food mah. I don't dare to ask wait kenna laughed at by people...

H, P and R continued laughing.

Me : Yeah what. You guys get my point, right ?

~*~*~*~*~

So I have made my point...I think...
And I have tasted the duck Kian, but I still have no idea what it is ...

Give me your contacts !

Hello, my friends who are reading this. If you want access to more of my private flickr photos, please create a flickr account and let me know, I will add you in.

For those that I do not know personally, I am sorry, but you will still not be able to see my face.. *evil laugh* mua ha ha ha ....

My Weekend Trip

Spent the weekend at Club Med, Bintan.

It started off with a slight scare... The Indonesian Immigration officer commented that my passport has no more empty pages ! I told her to stamp on the last 2 pages... She asked her senior at the next counter (in Bahasa) whether they are allowed to stamp there... I guess her senior told her its ok to do it... I was let in.

Time to change a new passport... even though it is supposed to expire in 2008.

It was an enjoyable trip. Lots of things to play with, lots of opportunities to learn new stuff.

Except on the 2nd day, I had a slight headache and diarrhoea, and slept the better half of the day.

Still, I managed to try my hands on archery, the trapeze, swim and had a bit of fun in badminton.
Food was good, but the free-flow of wine was not-so-good, and the entertainment was good too.

[see the photos in my flickr, link on the right]


On the way back to Singapore, I was really surprised that at TMFT, it was a 100% check. Everyone had their luggages go through the x-ray machine and then a physical search. I don't know whether it is like this after the Bali bombings, or some tip-off. But I do not remember such search last year.

Updates of My Mum

My mum has been back home since last Saturday. Seems like she is recovering well. Thanks to all for your concern.

I learnt from this episode that :

1) Blood Platelets are there to clot bleeding

2) If White Blood Cell (WBC) counts go below the normal range (4x10^9/L), it is most likely a Viral infection

3) If WBC counts go above the normal range (10x10^9/L), it is most likely a Bacterial infection
Of course, stress, therapy and trauma can change these counts as well

What the Heck is This ?

Found THIS below my HDB block, just beside the lift.
Same thing at my friend's block. I think these things are popping up all over.

Anyone has any idea what the heck those things are ?

Updated - PIctures of my visits to my Mum

My mum is still quite weak. Rashes has developed and she is feeling itchy. Pain and itch is causing her to lose sleep.

This morning, she was sent to see an eye doctor. Blur vision is an expected symptom of Dengue Fever.

I hope she doesn't suffer much and recover. Nothing much can be done as it depends entirely on her immune system.

~*~*~*~*~

When my mum first went to TTSH on Sunday (2nd October), there was a "research nurse", asking her to sign a paper to allow them to draw blood from her for research purposes.

My father was with her. I guess out of social-mindedness, my father willingly agreed. Since it is only drawing of blood and not testing of any new medication/drugs.

Then they drew 3 big syringes of blood !

And they are the bigger ones, bigger than those that TTSH use when they drew her blood for her regular blood tests.

We were told that in total, they will draw the blood 3 times ! And only after the 3rd time (read : 9 big syringes) they will give a compensation of ....

make a guess ?



*drum roll*



S$30.



What the hell !

At a time like this, when the patient needed their blood the most - for the immune system to fight the virus - they draw so much ! How the heck do they expect the patient to recover faster ??? What happened to the "First do no harm" ethic ?

Oh wait... They are a Singapore research firm. Not medical doctors. They are NOT bound by the Hippocratic Oath...

My mum has always been weak and the Dengue is making her lose appetite and sometimes throwing up. We are going to stop this donation...


And the S$30 is not enough to buy Brands Essence of Chicken or any tonic for 2 weeks (which is the time an average Dengue patient takes to recover).

~*~*~*~*~

First time I ever went to CDC and the new CDC 2. CDC 2 is a new ward. Just beside TTSH A&E Dept, and beside Ren Ci Hospital.

This is how it looks like in the day :

Main Building

Lobby


And this is how it looks like at night :

Main Building

Corridor 1

Corridor 2


Does look like some secret hospital that is researching on some scary illegal stuff..

And since CDC is a place of concentration of highly-contagious diseases, precautions not to spread into the general population is there :

(1) Visitors are required to sign in and given a mask (though it is not a N95 mask)
(2) Disinfectant before leaving the hospital

Mosquitoes...

My mum was hospitalized this afternoon for dengue fever.
She is weak as she couldn't eat a lot. Been having fever since last Thursday.

So, if all goes well, she should be recovering by next Thursday - as it usually takes about 2 weeks to recover.

Now, I don't know when, I got stung 2 times - one on my arm, another on my thigh. I do hope I am not going to get it. Ok, going for a mozzie-hunt after I finish this post.

(No, I do not live with my mum.)

~*~*~*~*~

On the work front, everything (well, almost) is smooth and going ok - at least the major stuff. Next weekend, we are having a company anniversary trip to Bintan Club Med. I heard the place is great. I will see for myself then.

Almost S$500 per person, 5-meals per day provided, free flow of wine and soft drinks during lunch and dinner. Reaching there Friday morning, leaving on Sunday afternoon. I think it is a good deal, if the meals and wines are good.

~*~*~*~*~

2005 is coming to its last quarter, and very soon, I will be doing my own end-of-year stock check. Time to review what I have achieved this year, and where am I in my overall goals, and what I can do better next year.

Or I could just pretend to be ignorant about it. Afterall, Ignorance is Bliss, isn't it ?

I am Back !

I am back !
Flight back from Medan to Jakarta and back to Singapore was uneventful.

Well, I guess it made the news already, that :

(1) The Fuel hike is a whopping 126% - sparking demonstrations and protests all over Indonesia

(2) Bali was bombed again.

~*~*~*~*~

Over the weekend, went out to JB overnight.

It was pretty enjoyable - shopping (like typical Singaporeans in Giant... buy tons of toilet rolls and toiletries) and getting drunk (well, almost).

Only thing that wasn't too enjoyable was the quality of the not-too-expensive hotel and the cold swimming pool, and a short period of bad weather. And, of course, getting occasionally lost and losing to some locals cutting queues in traffic.

Quick Triva :

What is worse that seeing local Malaysian drivers driving recklessly around Singapore vehicles ?

Ans : Facing the kiam-pah faces of some Singaporean drivers with their driving attitudes on the causeway driving back to Singapore.

I guess after all the bitching and complaining about Malaysian drivers treating Singapore cars with the "lets bully the stranger" attitude, meeting ungraceful Singaporean drivers are 10x worse off.