Welcome...To Hell!

A little update on what's happening... Mr Chua is finally back. And I've had a few "unique" (and definitely NOT PLEASANT) experience the last few I went outing...

1) Nancy... Thunderstorm Nights... My Blanket...
2) The Longest Island Trip...
3) The "Devil" Is Back... (做错你就给我死!)

Of course... all these individual events is insignificant compared to the big things to come...

Sometimes...when things goes bad...People devise plans to make it better.

In this case, our plan is to "take more in order to receive less". We put all our power into one area in hope of lifting up the load on another area...

Now, the plan backfired. Everything been going downhill since. We're getting sandwiched on both sides. Our schedules are so tight it's killing us. Very soon the outings locations will become our "2nd home".

Haiz... no use talking about it now. I just hope our only "last remaining privilege" doesn't get taken away from us. Else...I don't know how we're going to go through this... It's the July Revolution... And August is still total unknown. Save Me...

Rest In Peace, Chris Benoit...

Wah...I was quite shocked when I saw the news...

Seems like lot of "big name" wrestlers are taking turns to...

In these few years. First Eddie, now Benoit.

Will miss many of his greatest matches he had especially the ones against Angle. And his awesome match at Wrestlemania XX.

Crippler Cross-face!

Goodbye forever!

People Sharing The Same Name...

How many different people sharing the same name have you met in your life? Regardless of the different stages in your life where you know them...

Here are some of mine...

Matthew - 2 of my secondary classmates, and in the same class some more. One is Chinese, the other is Indian. One of them is the school top student, the other "skips remedial class to eat Curry Chicken by mother". Haha. I will always remember that excuse by Matthew No.2: "Sorry I cannot attend the class. My mother cook Curry Chicken liao I have to go back eat".

Wei Hao - One of them is my primary school mate, and the other is my current camp mate... They are actually quite similar in personality... but I shall not elaborate much here.

Anthony - One is a male... the other is a "female"... LOL! Both are my camp mates. They're so different and has been the cause of a number of confusion.

For example, there's one time where someone was handed a drink with the instructions "Give this to Anthony. He told me help him buy one." In the end, handed to the wrong Anthony... drink finish liao. What to do... suck thumb.

Yi Wen - The first Yi Wen is my primary classmate for quite a long time (4 years?). The second is my Poly Schoolmate and Xin Ting's friend.

Shu Hui - Shu Hui No. 1 is my primary classmate. She's so skinny at that time that we used to call her "skeleton". I've met her once last year... still the same like before. Very talkative... Shu Hui No. 2 is my poly classmate and the cause of many affections... I think. I can't recall how many guys have had rumors with her... but oh well... nevermind. It's all in the past now.

Alvin - One of them is my BMT section mate and Poly Course Mate. He really helped me a lot during my BMT days, probably more than any single person at that time. I'm really thankful to him and he'll definitely be a great PC I believe! The other is my current camp mate and one of the more friendly seniors that I can approached. They're different in a lot of ways, especially in size. (Edit: My mistake... the camp mate is actually named "Alwin")

Zhi Wei - I've met 3 "Zhi Wei"s in my life (Just to prove how common this name is). The first one is my friend since Sec 1, and I still remember teaming up with him in the "F&N" class... The teacher always refer to him as "Ji Wai" (due to some problem with her pronunciation) so that's what I call him.

The second is one of my better Poly friend (and one of my more act cute friend). I did almost all my projects with him during my later half of the Poly years... The first one was the Audio Project I think (gay DJ)... and subsequently web programming, animation, FYP...

The last is my camp mate. Because his surname is "Goh" (Same surname as Zhi Wei No.2), We've been calling him "Ah Goh Goh" (a kind of dance). He had this nickname even before I met him. One of the taller friends I've met...1.88m. With a very very intimidating partner. No one dares to go near when his partner is around.

Hmm... that's all I can think of off the top of my head...

...

Oh wait there's one more.

I've known 2 "Ben"s. The first is my poly classmate.

The second...

is...

a dog under my care.

A dog with a 自闭症 but yet at times very KP.

One of these day I'm going to whack him.

Pretty amusing cause when I scold him it sounds like I'm scolding my friend.

Blog Restrictions...

Due to some incidents of blogging (especially a quite recent one), I've decided to stop writing any "GU" posts.

I've heard many warnings and I've seen for myself how serious it could become. Even though I am "pretty sure" I have never written anything that I'm not supposed to write, I've decided to stay on the safer side.

As of now, there are still no "guidelines" or anything that specifies what could be written and what couldn't. What could be uploaded and what couldn't.

Is writing just "what you feel" allowed if you don't mention the event at all? Don't know.

Is it okay to mention the names of certain people or living things, or where you are currently at? Don't know.

How about a picture of a group of friends? Don't know.

Is it alright to mention your working hours? Again, unknown.

As of now (and probably for a long time), this will remain as a very grey and sensitive area. And I don't want to get into trouble with all of these.

I've removed a majority of the GU posts I've written in the past, leaving only behind "very very generic" posts, or "very very vague" ones.

The real ones I'll be keeping in my own dairy for my own reading.

If you happened to come across anything you think might be inappropriate here, please inform me. Thanks.

Pit of Condemnation

Sometimes (or probably most of the time), man judge things based on emotions and not on logic.

Have you ever had the experience where, 2 persons tell you exactly the same thing but your attitude towards them is completely different? I had the "pleasure" of watching this happened to some of my friends the past few days. Haha. I can only laugh inside.

When you condemned or dislike a person, everything he do translates into bad things. Everything he says become hard to accept, sounds sarcastic and even "against you".

I believe in retribution.

Which means - I can do bad things to people all day long and assume they deserves it.

LOL!

No lah... but some of the people are falling into this "Pit of Condemnation". All one can do now is to throw a rope down to save them... but its up to themselves whether they wanted to grabbed hold onto it, and use their own strength, their own will to climb up...

Why did they fall into this pit in the first place? It's largely due to what i called "accumulated sins". When you do something bad... again and again, repeatedly, pissing people off all day long with sarcastic words, and "ultra big hole" everytime when talking with others...

Gradually you'll be distanced away, and then you'll fall into this abyss. Sometimes, the friends around you will stay with you longer than you expected... Why not make life easier for yourself and your friends?

Mr Chua Wedding...

Didn't attend... because of "the only reason I didn't get to attend". Hope he enjoys his honeymoon.

Something really really bad happened on the Wedding Day. I hope it doesn't escalates into something so serious.

It was an one of the most stressful KM day. I never knew getting a cat to eat its medicine could be so frustrating and tiring. I spent 20 minutes, using both hard and soft methods and it still refuses to eat.

What's more. There's a new cat on my official "Hatelist". One hell of a crazy bastard.

July Revolution

The recent upheaval to the old system is really taking a toil on us... 搞到人心惶惶 is all that I can say. No use worrying about it now... What will come will come. Can only pray for the best. I still have a LONG way ahead of me on this road... and we have to walk down it together.

Anyway...lots and lots of updates in just a few days...

First of all, MY BRO IS BACK! Welcome back home! After 6 months in Switzerland, he's finally back from the "Global Immersion" thing from NTU (I think), as an Intern there. Hard to believe... When he just went, I was still in the DH course. Now, I'm already a veteran in KN. Anyway, nothing has change. Everything just basically went back to old times. He only left 1 more year before he graduates from the University... and hopefully by that time it'll be my turn to go in.

Second, I'm become the "Super baiter"... crazy "xiong"... I did baiting from 8am to 11am, then 3am again. At least 3 - 4 hours add together. The next day I woke up, I was aching all over. My lower back and right shoulder were totally sore.

Third, I visit "Mount Pleasant" for the first time. It's like an "eye opener" as it's the first time I visit such an hospital... a dog hospital. Like 见见世面

I've been watching a number of extremely hilarious clips. Including Dick Lee We Are Singapore and The NS Song. This SAF Fantasy from Deviant Art is a plus if you've played FF6 (A old school RPG) before. Even if you haven't it's pretty fun to watch. If you've played more recently FF like 8, 9, 10, don't miss this Final Fantasy It's All Coming Back To Me clip... very nice video compilation.

This Fast And Furious Hokkien Drift shouldn't be missed if you understand Hokkien. Freaking hilarious and based on a popular Hokkien song. I'll do a basic translation for those who don't know.

"Touring around in car, some like speeding, some like slowly drive. Some one arm on steer wheel, one arm around girlfriend. Some look at girls, crash onto old granny. Traffic lights need to see properly, drink and drive knock into people is your lifetime mistake... Touring around must be careful, if you are stubborn, heh, retake your license again!"

If you're looking for real funny stuffs, search up "Miss Swan" on Youtube. This was introduced to me by XJ... freaking hilarious. My favourite episodes are is The Hot Phone. All are pretty funny, try the ATM, Starbucks and Airplane ones.

That's all for now!

PC Upgrade 2007 Completed!

My decision to upgrade my computer happens around October 2006. I've been using the ultra crappy computer for an extremely long time, and aside from Warcraft III, I can barely run anything at decent setting (above 800 x 600). I figure I wouldn't be able to live like this for 2 years. So in the end I finally made up my mind to do a complete switch. My temptation later led to me spending WAY WAY WAY more than I had expected, way out of budget... One thing keep leading to another. But... well, what's done is done. I love my current computer!

After following the prices for nearly 2 months, I finally made move during my block leave in December.

First thing to hoot is a power supply. After some research, I find that the 480W HEC will provide me with enough power for all the components, and room for future improvements. Damage me at $118 at that time.

Next comes the motherboard + CPU bundle, which was the hardest decision to made. AMD or Intel? In the end, I went for the "lowest of the highest end". Core 2 Duo 6300. Total damage, $566.

Next of course is the most important graphic card. Without it, the whole "upgrading computer" will be meaningless. After much research, I take up the Geforce 7900GS Sonic, the "best value for money" at that point of time. It was one of the best cards before DX10 cards came out. Burnt $309 in my pocket. And course I brought 1 GB of RAM at $167 at that point... Total damage in December was $1158.

That was it. I only planned to upgrade my computer until that point. My budget was $1200. And I was happy... But not long after that, I hoot another 1GB ram at $162 in late december, And a pair of Logitech speakers at $69 (My old one is dying)... After that I brought Audigy 2 Refurbished for $25 at the Creative Warehouse sales. Total damage in December was $1414.

That was my max i thought... Until in March, the IT Show came... Something got over my heads and I went to hoot XtremeMusic for $179... The improved in sound quality over the Audigy 2 is really by leaps and bounds, even on my cheapo speakers. It really rocked my room. Audigy 2 has been sleeping in my cupboard ever since.

Later on, I hoot another 250GB SATA drive due to lack of IDE ports in my MOBO, and I'm running out of space. $128 gone. Total damage by March, $1721. That was it. I promised NOT TO BUY ANYMORE THING. I've gone $500 over my budget...

But...ALAS!

I cannot control myself when the PC Show arrives in June. My logitech mouse is damaged. (It won't receive my right clicks, and has costed me a number of games) So I thought, what the heck. If I want to upgrade I might as well get a good one. Originally wanted to get DeathAdder, but in the end I decided to stick with the more budget Diamondback. What's more it came with a Exactmat Bundle. $69. Loved it. Drastic improvement over the old mouse.

And of course. The latest addition to the family is my Philips 22WS. It's one of my favourite item of them all. Haha. If there's one item I won't regret buying, it's this. $499.

Total Damage: $2289

$1000 over my initial budget. It took 6 months for me to do a "makeover" of my computer. I won't say I regret it. If you give me $2000 and want me to go back to using the old computer, I will not do it. Haha.

It's not just "anyhow spend" though. I've learnt so much more about computers in the past 6 months, including my first time assembling a computer from scratch. How to choose individual components - how much power you need, the different connections, how certain things is not what it seems on paper, how to read the specifications of graphic cards and LCDs and many many more. All I wouldn't have know if I had just read them from books.

When you have to spend your hard earn money, you will really be cautious. Buy 1 thing only, you'll read up so much on it, and really analyze and compare the data. Then when you get the thing, you have to fix it up yourself. Doing these is like 10 times more effective then reading from textbooks.

Finally, just want to say I love my current computer! I think I'm officially a "geek". Wee!

Chinese Kung Fu!

Cute right? Haha.

Whew...finally I got a short break of 3 days plus after doing so much OT...

My schedule is finally starting to get "free up" a bit after the "June Demo", and most importantly after completing the AMC...For the most part I've been enjoying these past 3 days. It's really a way overdue break for me.

Mostly doing a lot of "area cleaning" and "desktop cleaning" at home, and basically just letting my body have a good rest. First, I finally had the chance to look at the things around me. And when I did that, I realized my room is in a mess. My drawers is filled with receipts, draft papers and all kinds of junk. My computer desk is so dirty. My cupboard top items nearly fell onto me when I opened it. Geez... terrible.

Originally there was a Taurus gathering planned for saturday, but it was cancelled last minute due to "lack of people"... Haiz. So long never see them liao. Anyway, I spent the whole day "summer cleaning" my room.

Same for Sunday, but cleaning my computer. The "My Received Files" folder is cluttered with garbage. From 'untitled1" to some "xx1" and "xx2" and all the shit (courtesy of ZW). See liao also can feel fire building up. Spent some time watching all the videos I've downloaded so far but never had the time to see, then burning them into DVD to clear up space.

Monday... wanted to go to the pool one... only to realized when I reached there, that it's under renovation... What the hell. Come to think of it, I haven't go to the Woodlands pool for more than half a year (even since enlisting) liao. Today suddenly felt like going, but renovate! Sian... In the end went to Causeway point to walk walk... Picked up nearly $60 worth of DVDs... They will be put to good use this Saturday.

Come to think about it, I haven't been at the home-ground for a very long time. Always out at the island, the port or the gate.... so long to the extend that I hardly know what's going on there anymore. Wasn't involved in a lot of events and conflicts. Only heard them through others. But anyway, I'll be back there again for 5 full days this week.

The 3 Pillars Of K-N

Andrew, Mao Mao, Miss Anthony. One by one they've left the place. One by one the pillars collapses and very soon it'll be up to us, the new generation.

Yesterday, when I saw the 3 of them sitting together in the KM room, it reminds me of a scene that's likely to happen in about 1 year 3 months time. Kenny, Jiao Sai and SK sitting together. They'll be like the 3 "pillars" of the new generation. Haha.

All of us would be "gone" by then though. Haiz...

Anyway, best wishes to the 3 of them in all their future endeavors (They're continuing their studies at the university). The time I've spent with them is short, but some of them (Particularly Mao) has left me with such a deep impression (and deep impact) that I will never ever forget for the rest of my life.

ALL THE BEST GUYS!!!

My New 22' Widescreen!

LOVE IT TO DEATH! It's like I've brought a totally new computer. The entire experience of using the computer is different. It cannot be compared with changing the RAM, V-Card, those internal components which you can't see. You can only feel them. This one is like royalty visual. And changing the monitor finally completed my cycle of upgrading the entire PC. (which took a total of 6 months) Lots of sweat, tears, pocket burns and headaches... but it was all worth it in the end.

Picking the LCD was the hardest of them all. Why did I decide to change? I was still using a 17' CRT. Yes. Even after I've upgrade EVERY single component, I'm still using the crappiest monitor. Then came once when I read an article about how "You spend ALL your time using the computer staring at the monitor. Why not get a better screen? Why would you spend $1000 on a graphic card and save on the LCD?"

Of course I didn't spend $1000 on a graphic card, but that article made me began the hunt for LCD monitors. I think it started around April. From that time onwards, I would always keep a look out for new models, price lists, reviews, latest promotions, comments by users, etc... I finally decided 22' as the "sweet spot". It's the best value for money, and well within my budget. Another level higher and you reach 24' which cost close to $1000. Any lower and I regard them as a total joke. (20' font is too small, 19' is utter thrash)

The widescreen gaming forum plays a big part in convincing me to go widescreen but I won't go into it here. Since I've decided on the type, I began my hunt for the biggest names of them all...

Samsung 225BW - Great price at $499, with height adjustable stand, but older model. Plagued by serious light bleeding. The major factor was Samsung BAD warranty policy. 7 Dead pixels before you can exchange? Out.

Samsung 226BW - Super chio design, with $529 (UP $599) at PC Show! I was super tempted to get this, but didn't due to the issue of "S", "C" and "A" panels. It is said that they always use the S (the best panel) for display to customers, but sell the C panels (lower quality). Unscrupulous act? Or "no such bullshit" according to what the promoters said at the show? Everyone at the forum has confirmed this is true, and I don't want to go through "panel lottery". Out.

Viewsonic 22” VX2245WM - 1.3 Mega pixel Webcam with speakers. All the gimmicks doesn't justify its $599 (UP $649) price. Out.

Viewsonic 22” VX2225WM - Lots of mixed reviews, some even condemned the "3 birds". It specs isn't impressive considering it's $499 price (even though it came with a printer).

LG 22' L226WTQ - Awesome specs on the paper. But users in forums have claimed the "Q" series is plagued with ghosting problems due to overdrive. The complaints rate (everyone who brought it say they regretted) is so high that I'm eventually convinced not to get this. $585 some more.

I've also looked at a lot of others like Dell, Acer blah blah blah. None of them were anymore impressive then those above. Asus one had this pivoting function which I love to have, but its 20' alone is going at nearly $800... I might as well get 24' -_-

And finally, just days before was about to give up, I saw this model from Philips.

Philips 220WS - 5ms, 1000 Contrast Ratio, HDCP and Vista supported. The only thing it loses to Samsung is its response time and design. But only selling $499. It's a very good deal! Upon closer inspection, Philips Warranty policy really "nothing to say". You only need 2 dead pixels (in ANY combination) to exchange, with 3 years on-site warranty! I don't think ANY other brand offer such a good warranty. Add in a free $69 DVI cable, and as a bonus a cordless phone... I decided to head down SLS to take a good look on the final day of this promotion.

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I talked to the promoter at SLS, and I'm glad that they're not just random bashing the other brands. One really tried to explain the pros and cons of various brands to me. And what actually does the various specification means. Like Samsung design doesn't work well in the dark. How you don't really need features that you never used. How Samsung "3000 Dynamic contrast" is only when you're playing games, while Philips had "1000 Static contrast". How it is an 8 bit panel, and Samsung is a 6 bit. I did some "hands on" with the monitor and felt really comfortable with it. The specifications is comparable to the highest end 22' LCD, but the price is not.

The best thing is they accepted my request to test the LCD on the spot for dead pixels just in case. Tested, and absolutely no problem! At that point I made the decision~ And I happily and willing parted with half a grand to bring home my new LCD!

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And the rest...the rest is history.

The best thing is now I can include every panel I want in MediaMonkey! Everything is displayed so nicely. My desktop space increased by more than two fold. My old monitor was "barely bigger than an A4 paper" (less in height, 1.5 times in width). This monitor is more than 2 A4 paper combined. Freaking cool. Of course it's not just about playing games. In flash, I can now see up to 140 frames+ alone in the standard view. Previously I can barely see 50. Everything looks so spacious. Same for Photoshop and all the programs. Best thing is don't have to switch back and forth so often.

Try opening Microsoft Excel on your monitor and see how far the columns go to. A normal 19' LCD will probably reach around "M, N, O, P" region. A widescreen will take you all the way to "Z"! It'll display everything!

But there are some cons too. For example, it now takes a noticeably longer time to "alt tab" out of a game... I think it's due to my VCard having 256RAM only. But the pro outweighs the cons by far. I don't think I can ever go back to using that old monitor anymore.

This is what happened to my Medieval II... From this...

To This!

LONG LIVE WIDE SCREEN!

Zhi Wei's 21st Birthday Gathering

2nd June 2007...

Originally wanted to go early one...but no transportation. Anyway, I eventually decide to meet Ken and gang at Pasir Ris...

Man... what a nightmare. Once again seeing the "White Sands" shopping center. The all too familiar "Interchange to Hell"... I still remember it so vividly like it's yesterday. I almost got the "booking in" feeling... Hard to imagine that's already 6 months ago.

The scenery, the surroundings... just give me the creeps. The only thing that save me is that it doesn't fall on a Sunday. I still remember last time. When Sunday afternoon time arrives (3pm), my mood will immediately take a dive... and hit rock bottom at around 8pm.

Well...well...anyway, that's ALL IN THE PAST! And I am so relived that I'm BACK IN REALITY. And reality is I am a FREE man now. (Well, not totally...yet. But at least better than the past)

Alright...back to the birthday. We arrived just in time to sing the birthday song for Zhi Wei. Haha. Anyway, it's good to see the old friends again... even though the things we do is a little... lame.

Congrats Ben for the one year anniversary, and the "soon to come" Xuan Jie and Glenn. And of course, Xuan Jie is getting the Kit Kat soon? Let's give our hands to PC Chew! (aka PCC!) Also seen Ken, Xinting, Yiwen, Mengzhi (3 Stripe-per that sleeps everyday), Waicheng, Samantha. Some whom I totally never seen since the Poly times.

As for the things we do... we played "Card games". The first is one where everyone attempts to get a Straight by exchange cards. After that, we must subtly place our index finger above our mouth... The last one to realize it will lose. -_-

Next is a "Calculation Game". Basically, 4 cards are randomly chosen, and you have to attempt to add, minus, multiply, divide them in any order to get 24. A very interesting game, but can be a huge headache, especially when everyone else got it. But no matter how hard you try, you can't figure it out. I think there's some special technique to this game. Like to get the "factors" of 24. Or try removing a card (For example, a 10 - 5 = 5, and you get rid of the 10). Or try grouping the cards together to form 2 numbers. I think the people around us are all like "WTF is wrong with these group of strange people... sitting in a circle and staring at 4 cards".

Yah. That's basically all we did. -_-... A bit lame. They went to Cage after that but I decided not to go. Tiring activity.

PC Show 2007

A nightmarish total disaster... at least that's what I've heard, and it probably is.



1) Long traffic jam which starts all the way from Sim Lim.
2) Human traffic jam as far back as Suntec Harvey Norman.
3) A suntec elevator which requires you to press down in order to go up.
4) Escalators which are so near yet so far because of the tight space and huge crowd.
5) Exit staircases which double up as a smoker's corner and the floor littered with cigarette butts.
6) Booth passageways which is as narrow as 1.5 metres and jam packed with people squeezing. (At every corner mind you)
7) Prices which are more expensive than at Sim Lim.
8) Items which you want to buy but out of stock.
9) Doesn't help with the World Book Fair going on at the same time.

What's more, LOTS of Ah Sohs and Aunties who probably know NOTHING about computers, there to "join in the fun". Woo! Some were even "garang" enough to bring the prams with toddlers, "machiam" shopping in supermarket. Then there's those families, that probably only the father is shopping. Wife and kids tagging along. Father stop, WHOLE family stopped and block the walkway. Super terrible.

Please people. The PC Show is NOT Takashimaya... If you have no business there, then don't go there just because everyone else is going -_-.

And adding to that, there were no floor plan. As a result, I spent nearly 2 hours searching for the Razer booth. (When your movement speed is like 10m/min)

Well anyway, I managed to hoot a Razer Diamondback + ExactMat package for $69. Originally want to hoot the DeathAdder one.. but have to top up for the ExactMat, and they don't have any sample of the product to test. Anyway, I'm extremely happy with the Mat, but the Diamondback a bit too big for my hand. The scrollwheel especially too far away. But all other aspects is great (especially the clicking).

Saw Andrew at the PC Show! LOL! Didn't expect to see him again so soon. Seems like he's doing part time at the PC Show after ORD. Haha.

And finally, I am still undecided on with 22'W LCD to get. Haiz. Samsung, Dell, Asus, Viewsonic. So many different brands, mixed reviews and response. The price is also not particularly attractive (only like 5% cheaper than SLS). Some-more buy there cannot test. Ahhh... headache. Think I'll hold out a little longer, but before the GST hike in July. And I can't wait anyway.

Super shagged today cause just came back from overnight stay at "chalet"... After that straight away go to PC show liao. Then went home. Totally no mood to go to the S.H.E Exchange Album Cover thing... :(

P.S: By the way, do you know the "4 Big Events" of the Singapore IT Industry? It's the IT Show in March, PC Show in June, Comex in September and Sitex in December. Basically there's a big show every quarter. Somehow, it reminds me of Summerslam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania (Also termed as the "Big 4"), LOL!