The Kuya Club

Awesome technique

2009-11-30T10:21:00.001+13:45

It's Ken Lee all over again

2009-10-03T13:35:00.000+13:45

Iron Man 2 - Who's the Black Widow?

2009-07-20T23:33:00.010+12:45

the San Diego Comic Con 09 announced who will be The Black Widow in RDJ's Iron Man 2... Scarlett Johansson! Not my choice, but here is the first shot of the character.

personally, Milla Jovovich is my preference to play Natasha Romanoff. what do you think?

Aubrey Miles in FHM

2009-07-19T00:42:00.003+12:45

When I grow up, I want to be a mud hand print assistant.

Woohoo...exciting!!!

2009-06-24T19:15:00.001+12:45

Like a boss

2009-06-10T07:35:00.000+12:45

Jizz in my pants

2009-06-10T07:34:00.000+12:45

What were they thinking?

2009-05-28T01:33:00.000+12:45

Can't decide?

2009-05-26T07:32:00.000+12:45

It can't be any clearer!

Nintendo Shii

2009-05-14T21:59:00.003+12:45

Thanks to Erns

Chicken a la carte

2009-04-18T15:24:00.000+12:45

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Set your phasers to stun

2009-04-07T09:32:00.000+12:45

American Idol S8

2009-03-14T21:13:00.004+13:45

i've been hooked by the season 8 of American Idol on Fox 8 so far this year. they have a new extravagant stage, and the mix of contestants is flavourful and very likeable, that even Simon Cowell is seen smiling more often than his actual reputation.

i'm placing my bet on Danny Gokey, but Adam Lambert is an obvious contender. the first week's elimination round is already out, but it's still saved in the IQ HD. i'll have to finish that episode of The Mentalist first.

Oh, Casey the Campus Girls model below? She didn't make it past the top 40.

Zatanna in Smallville

2009-03-14T19:44:00.006+13:45

"serinda" is apparently tibetan (a musical instrument to be exact), but she is certainly appropriately cast (in the visual department) as Zatanna (a spellcaster who recites her incantations sdrawkcab) in the latest season of Smallville.

she is also apparently the face of Absolute Poker (only heard of WPT and PPT myself), and several TV commercials in the States. maybe she can try being the Scarlet Witch when the Avengers movie come out in 2012?

she's joined by regular cast members (above), as she weaves her charm in the episode, Hex, as per the original character (below). as with a gazillion other tv shows, i have yet to review this episode.

The Joker & The Academy

2009-02-24T00:16:00.002+13:45

congrats, Heath!

11 incidents that made me hate AA

2009-02-23T17:54:00.000+13:45

Spent the weekend in NY recently and flew via American Airlines. If
there is one thing I hate, that's bad service.

The flight back to LHR was extra, extra special because I didn't only
get one bad service, I got 11 of them:

1. Liars - For the return flight I was booked on a connecting flight
via North Carolina. When it was time to board I found out my flight
was delayed. I went to the counter and asked why and the lady said the
departure will be delayed due to bad weather conditions. Five minutes
later it was announced thru the P.A. The flight was delayed because
the plane hasn't arrived yet.

2. Don't care attitude - while one lady (the liar) was trying to find
me another flight, another was giving other passengers the brushing
off attitude. She sent this guy back and forth between two counters!

3. Lack of brains - I found out that I'll miss my connecting flight in
Raleigh-Durham and there was no other flight to london until the
following morning. The only option I have is to get on the next direct
flight to london. But the AA lady said the only place I could to that
is back outside the ticketing office. After walking all the way back
out, the ticketing lady said "they could have issued youthis boarding
pass inside! Why did they tell you to come out?"

4. Airline security - I understand their paranoia ever since the 9/11
incident but going thru security twice in 2.5 hours is too much.

5. More delays - apparently there was some faulty fuse that affects
the instruments. One hour later they found out it was a clogged air
filter. But it is situated in front of the cargo hold and to change it
they needed to take out all the cargo. That's an additional two hour
delay. I've now spent more than eight hours at the airport!

6. More no. 2 - the attendants showed more no care attitude by
spending two hours at the back of the plane chatting. They didn't even
offer peanuts or snacks. Two of them did offer some water to
passengers but the next incident cancels this good deed.

7. Smart ass - while this blonde attendant was pouring drink for
passengers, one passenger asked what was wrong with the plane. The
blonde flight attendant said "if I knew that I wouldn't be a flight
attendant! I'll be an financial investor"...WTF??

8. PA interruptions - everytime they use the PA, they video screen
pauses and it interrupts the movie. The problem here is the normal
staff-to-staff comms us happening over the public PA and it's causing
more interruptions than it is suppose to.

9. Bad entertainment program - not only were there not enough movies
and shows to watch, whoever programmed the system is dumb. I'd be
watching a movie while we wait for take off then after take off the
system resets and says "welcome to American airlines! You can now use
the in flight entertainment system." uhm, helloo! Like I was already
using it!

10. Bad practice - finally we were off and they started serving
drinks. But they are so lazy that they only served the drinks from one
aisle side forcing passengers to reach out and help serve drinks to
other passengers. Not only that, they take your tray even if there is
still food on it.

11. Low quality food - not only quality but presentation is terrible.
It's like those microwave oven meals you get from the supermarket. One
good thing though, they ask if you want drinks many times.

So, I think it is safe to say that I'll be avoiding AA in the future.

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Pogz Unplugged

Legend Of Chun Li

2009-02-21T15:10:00.006+13:45

coming out soon at a theatre near you! Kristin Kreuk stars in the latest take on the StreetFighter mythos. this is akin to Wolverine: Origins, and i'm hoping for a warm reception from fans. the film also stars Michael Clarke Duncan, Taboo from BEP fame, and that choir boy from American Pie. meanwhile, stand by for scenes from the film!

fight!!

Summer of...

2009-02-07T12:32:00.003+13:45

...might-as-well-be-69!

Today is likely to be among the hottest on record in Victoria, and the effects of the heatwave are adding up across the state. The weather bureau tells Lou Bennett it's 44 degrees. But he trusts better his own thermometer, rigged up on the back verandah. It says 52.

stay indoor, folks. those dragonflies will be screaming to get in as well.

UPDATE as of 3pm...

Daaaaa

2009-02-02T12:51:00.001+13:45

...shing through the snow. In a one-horse open sleigh ...

Here's something Yahoo! doesn't normally show in the iPhone weather report (at least not in the London reports)...the snow has settled on top of the box.

Halo Wars Incoming: The Flaming Warthog

2009-01-17T00:55:00.001+13:45

should i or should i not? that is the question!

Weather Board: Melbourne

2009-01-13T23:31:00.004+13:45

in keeping up with the London weather forecast of late, here's Melbourne's forecast for tomorrow:

... oh, and it's going to be 39 as well.

New Images for the New Year: Spider-Obama, Sideswipe, Halo Wars

2009-01-13T22:13:00.007+13:45

everyone must've heard of this by now, that not only will Obama be known as a champion for the Blackberry (i'm still in the honeymoon period with my Storm), but he was also an avid collector of Spider-Man comics during his formative years. thumbs up for class indeed!

oh lookee here! a replacement for Jazz? could it be Sideswipe for Transformers 2? :D this image was found somewhere in China (it's the new Cybertron, didn't you know?). checkout the new poster here as well. ROLL OUT!!
and now that i've just finished Halo 3 (yeah, so I'm a late bloomer, go sue me!), i'm so looking forward to Halo Wars! Finally, a replacement in my book for Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge (told you so). go get those Scarab legs, they might just taste like chicken!

Frrrreeeezzziinnnggg

2009-01-06T01:44:00.000+13:45

It's freezing in londontown. Snowed slightly this morning.

HNY to all!

2009-01-01T16:06:00.003+13:45

The correct way to hold a knife

2008-12-31T09:01:00.001+13:45

I was in a restaurant earlier this afternoon and got into the
discussion of how to correctly hold a knife on the table. I am
referring to ordinary steak or bread knives. As I looked around the
restaurant, different people hold knives in different ways.

There are three ways that I can think of:

1) Joystick grip - with blade pointing down.

2) Sword grip - with blade pointing up.

3) Pen grip

I hold mine like no 2 using my index finger to apply pressure on the
blade and control my steak cutting. I also believe this provides the
best control and is the universal method of holding a knife.

As for no 1, no one would hold a knife like that unless they want to
stab something or someone. This leaves us no 3 and surprisingly I
found a couple of people using this method. One was a child. Frankly I
don't think this is an effective method. Not only do you look like a
sissy holding your knife this way but you'll never get enough force on
your blade if you are cutting anything tougher then gelo.

So how do you hold yours?

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Pogz Unplugged

Seadragon screenshots compared to Photosynth player (Web)

2008-12-30T16:12:00.002+13:45

My Test Synths

2008-12-30T15:29:00.002+13:45

I've heard of Microsoft's Photosynth a while back but since it is still in lab stage, I haven't bothered to play with it until recently when Microsoft release the new 'Seadragon' app for the iPhone two weeks ago. The Seadragon allows you to view synths on your iPhone. The effects are actually quite cool. It is like creating a panoramic stitching of related photos so it is a new way of showing your photo album. I'm sure there will be other ways to use the technology - e.g. communal or public photo album. My first synth is below. This is is about 34% 'synthy' or connected. I've uploaded a second set below and it is up around 78% synthy. My next holiday trip is in 1.5 weeks and I'm quite excited. I'll be sure to take a lot of photos for experimenting on the Photosynth.

Did Philip Do It?

2008-12-29T02:14:00.001+13:45

Merry Xmas to all Kuyas and your pamilyas

2008-12-25T12:42:00.000+13:45

R.I.P. Bettie Page

2008-12-13T14:20:00.000+13:45

at least i got to meet you in King's Comics in Sydney. ;)

Hungry Jacks's Tender Crisp Chicken

2008-12-03T01:07:00.001+13:45

my current indulgence... (insert drooling Homer here) dare i say it's better than the McChicken and reminiscent of my old fave from Burger King, the chicken sandwich (just don't mix it up with the SPICY tender crisp).

Errrr...

2008-11-18T22:26:00.002+13:45

...I'll let the pic speak for itself.

Presenting: President-Elect Obama

2008-11-05T18:34:00.000+13:45

Obama is now Captain America!

Top Gear Live - Earl's Court, London

2008-11-02T11:18:00.001+13:45

London Motor Show 2008

2008-11-02T10:48:00.001+13:45

Greens eggs part 2

2008-11-01T23:00:00.000+13:45

For part two of this egg tryout, I decided to half-boil the eggs - simple and just add salt.

Same observations as the last review, the brown egg's yolk looked and tasted at lot richer. The green egg tasted almost washed out. Not bad but just not as rich.

Boiling the egg allows you to taste more of the egg flavour and it does not get masked by fried smells.

I also found this little micro-balut. The red dot is the embryo I think. I would say it is only a day or two old. To the left there is the shrimp-like crescent on the white. This is the cord. Having a fertilised egg at this early stage doesn't seem to have affected the yolk taste.

All The Rage: Wonder Woman's Almuranas!

2008-10-28T01:53:00.000+13:45

'nuff said!

Wassup 2008

2008-10-28T00:23:00.002+13:45

Green eggs but no ham

2008-10-27T00:52:00.001+13:45

Honk honk?

2008-10-19T06:48:00.001+13:45

Open to comments...

Windows 7 Editions

2008-10-17T03:34:00.000+13:45

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/10/14/microsoft-announces-1.html

Need....more...protein...

2008-10-11T23:38:00.001+13:45

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Pogz Unplugged

I've always wanted to know what makes a gummibear tick!

2008-10-11T23:37:00.002+13:45

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Pogz Unplugged

Smallville

2008-10-11T23:35:00.002+13:45

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Pogz Unplugged

Weekend with celebs

2008-10-06T07:16:00.001+13:45

Got invited to a Stevie Wonder concert so took the train and spent the weekend in Birmingham. It's not that far...about 1.5 hrs by train from London.

Got there early saturday unforunately the weather wasn't good so spent most of the time indoors in the Bullring mall.

Just after lunch we discovered that Geri Halliwell was coming to Bullring mall's Selfridges. She was there for signing of her latest children's book series called "uGenia Lavander". Most of the people waited a long time to see her but not because of the book. There are hardly any children in the crowd. I was on level 2 looking down on level 1 where she was sitting. Geri was 45 minutes late and some people in the crowd got fed up with the waiting and left. I overheard one person even complained how rude Geri was for not acknowledging she is going to be late.

Anyway, the concert was due to start at 8pm so I quickly checked into the hotel late afternoon to freshen up then head off to get some food. The rain got worse and due to the concert, all the restaurants in the surrounding area were fully booked. In the end we opted for some fried chicken wings from one of the pretend KFC places - which turned out quite yummy.

Here are some shots from the concert:

Stevie Wonder Live

2008-10-05T09:46:00.002+13:45

More soon...

The Amazing Race Asia 3 Racers Revealed Part 3

2008-10-04T05:25:00.002+13:45

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2au_mpxiEo

Here we go again. I've been watching ARA 3 for 3 weeks (episodes) now.
I'm a bit disappointed to see that there is only one Pinoy team in
this season but hopefully they will last for a while if not up till
the finished line.

The Pinoy team is made up of Geoff, who is actually a New Zealander -
a model, and Tish, a Canadian pinay and a pretty hot looking cougar.

So far they've been finishing up in the middle, unlike the last pinoy
team from season two who's always been first except the very last leg.

Regardless, I shall enjoy the ARA episodes as always.

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Pogz Unplugged

All the Best for Rob Guest

2008-10-01T23:01:00.000+13:45

theatre star Rob Guest is gravely ill in Melbourne hospital after suffering from a major stroke last night. get well soon, Rob. you were great as the Wizard in Wicked.

RIP Paul Newman

2008-09-28T16:54:00.000+13:45

buy Newman's Own, profits are donated to charity

Gardening can be Hazardous to your Health

2008-09-27T00:34:00.000+12:45

i knew it!

AN elderly woman was killed when a car crashed through her fence and ran over her while she was gardening today. Police said the woman was gardening at her home in Stonehaven Cres, Hampton East, when a driver, who was attempting to complete a u-turn in a nearby driveway, crashed through her brick fence and “literally ran her over”. The woman was killed instantly and was still trapped under the car at 4pm today. Senior constable Adam West said it is believed the driver’s foot accidently slipped off the car’s accelerator, causing it to smash through the fence at 2.15pm. Paramedics were unable to offer the woman any assistance when they arrived at the scene as she was already dead. Police said investigations are ongoing as they speak to witnesses and the driver of the car about the incident. HERALD SUN

Avoid The White Rabbit

2008-09-26T01:08:00.000+12:45

recalled lollies still on sale

Auckland man hospitalised

call for White Rabbit lollies recall

Feeling hungry but in a rush?

2008-09-23T08:17:00.002+12:45

The drive-thru for non-drivers.
I'm pretty sure this is not unique to McD's but it is the first time
I've seen a human drive-thru and I thought it was funny. :)

The city of Niños - part 3

2008-09-23T07:42:00.001+12:45

You get to ride the buses for free.

The city of Niños - part 2

2008-09-23T07:41:00.002+12:45

You'll have a whole floor to yourself in shops.

The city of Niños - part 1

2008-09-23T07:39:00.002+12:45

You will have movies named after you.

Weekend of festivals

2008-09-15T05:15:00.002+12:45

This weekend for me is one of the more productive ones. Even though I did not have two full days of activities, I was still able to visit two festivals, have a short river cruise, revisited the observatory, and do my week's groceries.

We decided to go back to see the Prime Meridian but this time we didn't take the train. We took the a short river cruise to Greenwich. It only took 30 minutes but there are many things you can see from the river. It is also this weekend that the mayor's Thames Festival is taking place around the south bank of the River Thames. The festival wasn't going to start until noon so we decided to go to our stuff in Greenwich then come bakc for the Thames Festival.

It was a good day in Greenwich. The air is noticably clearer although you can still hear a lot of the echoing traffic hum from the city...

After Greenwich, we took the second to the last boat back to Tower Hill. On the way back, the river festival has already started and is in full steam. One of the activities was a row boat race on the river and our boat passed many forms of rowing boats - from 4 man boats to full team dragon boats with drums. The festival is not only on water but it is spread out on the south bank of the river from Tower Hill to Westminster. It is here I witnessed the Tower Bridge raised for a passing boat. I'm sur eit happens all the time but as I am seldom by the river bank, it is a special site for me.

As with any festival I go to, I look out for food and there were plenty of food around. Unfortunately I couldn't try them all....if only a have 5 stomachs. Dusk approaches and we reached the half way point of the festival area where we noticed there is a river bank/beach party going on under the Millenium Bridge. So we decided to go down...it is not often yo are allowed to go down by the river bank I think so we took this chance.

There's the Millenium Bridge. When it was first opened to the public, an architectural flaw caused the bridge to sway uncontrollably and it was shut down for 2 months for repairs...

The river bank is full of shiny pieces of 'rocks' but upon closer look you will see glass and assorted river pebbles. The water is very murky. I was on a constant look out for bones as back in the medieval days, bodies were thrown into these waters...

The following day...i.e. Sunday...The plan was to go to the 24th Barrio Fiesta in London...The location is about 50 mitnues from central London and I wasn't even sure if it was happening. I first found out about it when I walked passed this 'Beauty Parlour' owned by a pinoy...I saw a bunch of pinoy community papers, very much like the ones we have in Auckland, and took some home. One of the ads is the fiesta but it didn't state a time...

So I decided to go in time for lunch...The fiesta is not much different from what we have in Auckland except you have more people, bigger place, and much more and better tasting food. Oscar Catoto's food is no match of course.

The place is called Lampton Park and is very close to the airport...

Lots of yummy food. At first I do not know what to get...there were just so many and I want to try them all...

In the end I opted for Dinuguan and Bopis...not enough rice though...The stall I visited was makuripot sa kanin.
I didn't try this but I thought El Nino would like this photo very much.

I also had a serving of Chicharon Bulaklak, incorrectly named Deep fried Pig's fat. Correct me if I'm wrong but chicharon bulaklak is deep fried pork intestine sinew. Yummy but a bit stale and not enough vinegar...

Next weekend is a whole new story...

Crack up Spore Video

2008-09-11T14:57:00.000+12:45

Dedicated to the pillowbiters Jigs and Kit

Star Trek: Young Spock

2008-09-10T02:00:00.000+12:45

perfect casting: Zachary Quinto as the younger Spock

Pammy Jackson?

2008-09-03T23:33:00.000+12:45

what's not to like!!

A whole new level of stupidity.

2008-08-21T09:27:00.002+12:45

Gender-biased choc

2008-08-16T10:43:00.002+12:45

Necessities

2008-08-13T19:58:00.001+12:45

I've recently learnt that I can survive a day/week/month without two
things - television and a microwave oven!

After moving to my new flat two months ago, amongst other things I
have tv and microwave in my mind.
The first to pass the time and catch up on my fave shows which
includes documentaries, and the second, to heat up food since I
usually cook in bulk.

I thought about them for the first couple of weeks and the next thing
I knew is that it's been 2.5 months and that I've adapted.

I don't get to watch tv a lot to begin with due to other chores but
when I do I watch tv online through the BBC iPlayer or Rove online.
I've also started downloading video podcasts but funny enough I don't
watch them on my pod.

Food also started tasting better as now I heat them up on the stove
other directly or by steaming. They end up being hotter too unlike the
uneven heated food you get from micros.

So moving to London changed a couple of things (among many I bet).

What will be next? Let's see...since I don't have a tv, I don't have
any consoles either. No dvd player and surround sound system. I don't
have a coffee table. I don't have a car and haven't driven in four
months... No garden but I don't completely miss it.

Actually I haven't thought about any of them until just now.

There is one thing for sure I can do without and that's the Internet.

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Pogz Unplugged

Hypocrisy or Redemption?

2008-08-13T15:00:00.000+12:45

Safety & the Environment

2008-08-13T14:08:00.000+12:45

Alienware

2008-08-02T00:36:00.002+12:45

Just arrived at my hotel in brussels ... But my room wasn't ready so
first order of business for a digital child is to find a computer/
Internet .

Found a free one I'm the lobby so logged in and started typing my
email but like some kind of weird dream, the wrong words are appearing
on screen.

Look at the keyboard and the keys are shuffled all over the place.

Are you ready for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince?

2008-07-31T18:12:00.001+12:45

Random mobile photos

2008-07-28T12:10:00.002+12:45

Would be a shame if these photos go to waste. Here are some random photos from my faithful old Sony Ericsson.

A chocolate snack. The stilts in black beside the rubbish bin is Lesley-Ann's (colleague) who, unlike the chocolate snack, is a Filipina. The guys were teasing her with the chocolate..

Fat content comparison between Human, Cow's, and Whale's milk.

Shisha pipe I smoked a few weeks ago.

Spider Cow - completely random. Just saw this through a window one night on the way home from work. I had a few so I took this photo to make sure I am seeing what I'm seeing.

iPhone apps 3/3

2008-07-28T11:56:00.002+12:45

This is my useless but fun apps page. I think it is compulsory to have
one.

Scratch - while you are playing your music, run this to do your own
scratch effects.

iPint - Virtual pint of beer. Need I say more?

8 ball - For making life changing decisions like moving to London.

PhoneSaber - choose your saber colour, wave your phone around and may
the force be with you.

The other two are kinds boring. They may not last long on this page.

iPhone apps 2/3

2008-07-28T11:49:00.002+12:45

This is my games page. Taptap is like guitar hero. I'll give you one
guess what Bubblewrap is for...

I'm waiting for a free Texas hold'em.

iPhone apps 1/3

2008-07-28T11:45:00.001+12:45

My first home page is now full. There wasn't much space to begin with.
Palringo is among the latest I've downloaded from the app store. It
allows you to combine several IM accounts into one single one. It
supports MSN, ICQ, AOL, Google Talk, and Jabber.

Mobile blogging attempt no 2

2008-07-27T08:15:00.002+12:45

There we go. I had to attach an image first...saw this 'revolutionary'
jewellery at a Selfridges store today. The lengths some people will go thru...

Mobile blogging

2008-07-27T08:12:00.002+12:45

Tried making a post using my iPhone Safari browser but the browser
cannot detect the body text field.

So now I'm trying the mail to blog option :)

Hmm can't attach an image. Maybe I need to choose the image from the
beginning.

Brb!

Sent from my iPhone

Protection

2008-07-14T09:40:00.000+12:45

Went to the Tower of London today to get my mind off the iPhone but it didn't really work.

I found the Tower of London kinda boring. But I did find this exhibit there.

This will protect your future in two different levels.

iPhone 3G Disappointment

2008-07-13T17:22:00.000+12:45

After weeks of waiting for the iPhone 3G, the week was finally here. I was excited to hear the news that the only two store chains selling the iPhone 3G opened their doors online to allow pre-orders. This was different from the pre-registrations a month ago which the Carphone Warehouse and O2 used to gauge public demand.

So I attempted to pre-order last monday (9th July) but due to high demand, the Carphone Warehouse and o2 Web site crashed a few times. I decided to phone Carphone Warehouse and the lady behind the phone was kind enough to process my pre-order via phone. BUT, they want three years of UK address history and as I've only been here since April, I cannot give her what she needed to process my pre-order.

Somehow it didn't matter that I'm already an O2 customer so surely this requirement can be bypassed.

As I was at work, I decided to wait until I got home. Unfortunately all online stocks were sold out by the time I got home. The sites instructed visitors to come back on or after July 10th, with 11th being the big day.

Three days ago I went back on the Carphone Warehouse site and YES! there it was the pre-ordering is back online. This time I didn't take any chances and ordered online. I received confirmation in the mail that my order was submitted successfully. So I am happy and more relaxed now. The email instructions said my order will be ready for pick the following day if it was ordered before 3pm. My order went through around 3.30pm so I thought saturday was ok for me as long as my order went through. Come friday morning...the big launch day....on my way to work I swung by the Carphone Warehouse store closest to my work. There was a queue of about 2 dozen people. I thought about waiting in line but since I have a lot to do at work I decided to trust the pre-ordering system.

Around mid-morning, I received the terrible news the my pre-order was cancelled! I was furious! I called them up straight away but no one at Carphone Warehouse knew the reason. There is nothing much I can do that day as I am busy at work.

Saturday...hoping....by friday midday all iPhone 3G 16 GB stocks have sold out. But I was hoping that I can walk into a Carphone Warehouse or O2 store and get one yesterday. All bad news except for Carphone Warehouse the 8GB version is still available. I spent the whole day yesterday very tempted to just settle for the 8GB but since I'm getting into an 18 month contract and that 16GB is only 60% more in price, I kept pulling myself back. Today I wake up still considring it.

VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!

What I don't understand is why they don't allow current O2 customers to order an upgrade online. I understand there is no stock but at least they can take the order and upgrade orders can be fullfilled as the products get delivered from Apple. All I want to is order mine so I do not have to physically go to a store and queue. We are in a digital world and gone should be the days where we physically queue up! Ok, they have security checks and in-store activation....fine but at least allow online ordering for upgrades and when the time comes I'll go to a store and pick them up! The least O2 can do is take care of existing customers. But then again this is London where you get charged 10% for non-existent service.

I'm still waiting to get my hands on an iPhone! Arrrgghh...

I wonder what Whale's Milk taste like

2008-06-23T06:51:00.000+12:45

Movie Cars

2008-06-22T22:10:00.000+12:45

Went to Leicester Square yesterday. I'm missing out on quite a few premieres now that I'm working full time. There is one next week which I was hoping to go to and it is for Kung Fu Panda. Although I doubt it, I was hoping Angelina Jolie will be there. But as it turns out I have a company meeting on Thursday night and I cannot go to Leicester afterall.

Three days ago was the premiere for Hancock and Will Smith was here...

Anyway, yesterday there was a festival promoting the West End and there were performers, booths, people in costumes (Batman, Ghostbusters), and movie cars - see below.

Finally connected!

2008-06-22T20:59:00.000+12:45

After 3 months of having no internet connection at home and having to live in internet cafes, I'm finally connected back to the digital world. It's been hard and I cannot imagine how we all did it before the digital age.

I would have been connected a month ago if only BT (British Telecom) have done their job efficiently. Those two words together makes the whole thing worse.

Initially I couldn't get and internet connection because the flat I'm living in doesn't have a phone line. I was told that I'm able to get fibre optic connection in my street so I went to Virgin Media to get connected. After waiting 10 days, I still have not heard anything back so I decided to go to a Virgin shop to ask about it. The man behind the counter told me, and this is his exact words, "If you have not heard back from Virgin Media for 10 days then I would say it is most probably not possible to get connected to Virgin Media at your flat." WTF?! Aren't you at least going to call me and tell me that it is not possible so I don't have to keep on waiting? But being British...it seems to be the culture here let's put it that way.

So I have no choice but to go for an ADSL line with BT (and like Telecom their kinda like a monopoly and everyone hate but need them). So I ordered a new BT line on 25th May. I got confirmations straight away so I thought it was good. They've scheduled engineers to come out here to install the line on June 11 only to find out a day before that they "moved" it to the 26th! So I complained obviously...the operator said the order was somehow cancelled. I said fine cancel that and open a new one. I ended up with two accounts with them which I'm still trying to sort out even after talking to 3 phone reps.

Last wednesday the engineer finally came to install the line (you were 1.5 hours late BTW and you left your amplifier!) and last thursday I ordered my ADSL. My ISP is O2 and they are great 90% of the time (only 90% because they keep on barring my mobile phone without good reason but that's another story). A day after ordering I got my wireless router and another day later I'm connected! WOOHOO!

I'm still testing speed. I took out the Ultimate plan which is up to 20 meg speed but the max speed I got to date was 9.7 meg download so I may lower my plan and save GBP5. We'll see how it goes.

Back to normal

2008-06-17T21:14:00.001+12:45

Started my new job last week...

First week was hell for a person who prefers to know where things are and how they work. Being a big company, there are strict responsibility boundaries and it will take a bit of getting used to.

My office is in Baker St, not far from the fictional address of Sherlock Homes.

The tube to work is not bad. Only 3 stops and it is not as crowded as the Central line - the line I used to get to my previous work in Clerkenwell. For that you literally become a human sardine.

It is second week now and things a getting to normal levels (I think). I have now moved to a new desk - my permanent one and I'm glad I sit beside a window.

I had a couple of training sessions so far and I have one in about 20 minutes to use a system for time logging or something...

I've met several staff members and my brain overloaded by the end of last week. But most of them are interesting and seem to be good people.

Da police in London

2008-06-05T21:51:00.000+12:45

The range of police equipment here in UK seem to be a lot more interesting. They have many types of police cars and are not limited to the Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores.

So far I've seen BMWs, Fiats, Renaults, Subarus and other rally cars, and horse transporters.

My secret business in London

2008-06-05T21:48:00.000+12:45

What's the proof of being in-love?

2008-06-05T21:38:00.000+12:45

I saw this in the train the other day...
I thought it was funny. Sufficed to say that there are terms and conditions like a period within which you can claim back your money. Another company had something similar and the period was for 6 months. Is 6 months really enough? What if you break up after that?

Banana protector

2008-06-05T21:27:00.000+12:45

Remember this? I've seen them doing the rounds on email until the other when I saw them in a department store!

I suppose I can understand its need. You can get pretty squashed in the tube!

Neither East nor West

2008-06-03T06:48:00.000+12:45

After my usual emails and phone calls this morning, I spent some time further out of London (well not that far really...).

I found myself standing on the Prime Meridian with my left foot on the west side and the right foot on the east side.

Horse Shit

2008-05-31T20:17:00.000+12:45

After arriving 2 months ago…we finally made the time to visit one of the more recognisable structures in London – The Buckingham Palace. We missed witnessing the changing of the guards but they did have some kind of rehearsal going on or parade…

I saw a Pinoy couple together with their son trying to take photos of the palace. I offered to help take the three of them forgetting that there is an old superstition with having three people in photos. Obviously they declined to have the three of them taken together but I did take the son’s photo. I think they got scared why a weirdo like me would offer to help as they ran off immediately after.

Anyway, I don’t really know what is going on at the palace today to be honest but are some pictures. The flag’s up which means there is a Royal in the house.

The only question is, once all the marching is done who will clean up all the poos.

Night Scenes

2008-05-30T20:10:00.000+12:45

Went for an impromptu stroll last night…forgot the camera but I did have my phone camera. Images are obviously not perfect but they look nice all the same…

This one is the White Tower outside the Tower of London

The Tower Bridge all lit up...

The London Bridge

Towels for the rich (and stupid?)

2008-05-20T20:07:00.000+12:45

Spotted the other day at Harrods – towels with jewels (fake ones) stuck on them. I picked it up straight away and felt it. The towel is soft but the jewels – accident waiting to happen.

Picture this, you’re in the bathroom and sprayed something into your eye or face and you quickly reach out for the towel and *slash*. Ahh um…sorry Nicky, I can’t come to the photo shoot tomorrow.

Château de Versailles

2008-05-15T08:50:00.001+12:45

Went on a day tour today to the Versailles Palace and grounds and what’s different with this tour is we didn’t do it on foot but did it on bikes.

It was a bit uncomfortable at first since I have not been on a push bike for maybe a decade. But as the saying goes, you never forget these things. So after a bit of adventurous riding through the streets and traffic of Paris, we got on a train to Versailles and once there, we’re off! It is a place for bike tours not only because of the scenery but also because the place is HUGE, you will never finish it in a day if you are not on a bike or some fast moving vehicle. In fact you can hire Segways and golf carts to go around as well. But the tour we paid for is guided and we were led by an American guy nicknamed “Curly Top” (only because I couldn’t remember his name) who is quite passionate about the history of France and Versailles. He is also very pro-Marie Antoinette.

It was just outside Marie Antoinette’s living area (above) where “Curly “ told us a little about Versailles’ history and he summed it up in a single sentence which I think will stick with me for a while. He said “Louis XIV built it all, Louis XV enjoyed it all, and Louis XIV paid for it all (with his life)”. He also defended Marie Antoinette as she is often seen by historians as an unkind and selfish person (watch the movie Marie Antoinette starring Kirsten Dunst).

After a short picnic lunch, we rode to the front of the grounds to the palace. Man my legs were burning after two uphill stretches. The hills weren’t very steep but my legs weren’t used to it. Our group was lucky because the palace wasn’t very crowded.

If you think the outside of the palace looks amazing, the inside is even better. Louis XIV sure knows how to build them. There are paintings and sculptures everywhere - on the ceiling and big ones on the walls.

The best room in the whole palace is the Hall of Mirrors built for big parties. In fact apart from the bed rooms, all the other rooms were built for parties of different sizes.

Below is the bedroom of Marie Antoinette. The bed is a bit high I thought but that’s the way they like it. Every detail of the paintings, design and sculpture around the bed has some sort of meaning. Too much to absorb I’m afraid…I’ll just wiki it later…

Outside the palace you have the gardens and the view of the canal (where we had our picnic earlier). The only thing we missed is seeing the fountains working.

Roller Bladers @ Hyde Park

2008-05-14T18:07:00.000+12:45

My debut at the Bal du Moulin Rouge

2008-05-14T12:26:00.001+12:45

Just got back from dinner at Bal du Moulin Rouge. Great night. Expensive, but a must-do when you visit Paris. The current show is called Féerie. Have a look at the link above and you'll see some screenshots. It is a topless dance show (yes both men and women but mostly women).

The outside of the theatre only becomes impressive at night. The neighbourhood is not exactly great...well at least the immediate surroundings.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got there then the server lead us to our table which is literally beside the stage. So close that costumes of the performers dancing close to the edge of the stage are constantly brushing against my hair. From this location, you can clearly see everything.
Of course it wouldn't be a Moulin Rouge in Paris without the French CanCan.

I really enjoyed the show. The show is a mixture of cabaret style shows and entertainment shows like juggling, comedy/magic, and ventriloquism. The dancing is high-energy and entertaining with great costumes. In one of the acts, I stupidly "participated" when ask where members of the audience were from. Being the first one to answer "New Zealand", the ventriloquist quickly came to me and ask me to go on stage. Me and about 3 other people went on stage and ended up being live puppets. Upon squeezing our arms, we must open our mouths and pretend to talk. This we all followed but I decided to add a bit of attitude to it and it looks like the crowd loved it.

After the show, I had many smiles and compliments from the leaving diners on the way out. Met a fellow Kiwi who is also from Auckland on their Contiki tour. I even had an American (could be Canadian) compliment me by saying he thought I was part of the act... :)

Not boasting....just expressing the fun I had (under the influence)...

Anyway, if you are in Paris, you must see the Moulin Rouge show. The food is actually average...so you can bypass the food and go for the show only...audience participation is optional.

Tour Eiffel

2008-05-14T12:09:00.001+12:45

After checking in, first order of business was to go straight to the Eiffell Tower.

Bought a 3-day pass for the Metro/Bus so we can go anywhere if we get the time.

First glimpse of the tower was amazing...although it wasn't as high as I imagined, it is still very impressive. It was even more impressive as we walked closer and stand under the tower.

Had to queue to buy tickets to go up the tower. There are two main ways up...walking or lifts... After walking up St Paul's Cathedral, guess which one I chose. :) The queue was long but this died down as it got closer to lunch time.

Once up there, the view of the city is magnificent. the city looks flatish from that high up (third and top floor) and the difference between Paris buildings and London buildings is that Paris buildings are mostly light in colour. i.e. not as many bricks used like they do in London.

This is the Seine - the river that crosses the city of Paris.

To the Northwest is the Palais de Chaillot. We didn't actually go there as we were running of time.
To the Southeast is the Champ de Mars and I think it is a park in front of a military school.

Lots of people there walking around and sun-bathing in their bikini tops. Sadly the park is not clean...lots of broken glass, cigarette butts, and all sorts of rubbish (below).

But in general, the Eiffel Tower is a must-do and -see. The experience was great.

On the Eurostar

2008-05-14T12:00:00.000+12:45

Woke up early this morning to go to Paris; this is the first time I used rail for long distance travel. First impressions were: convenient, less stressful, and quick. Our current home is only two tube stops away from St Pancras International which is where the international trains depart from. Kings Cross train station (beside St Pancras) is where the local trains depart from. We bought e-tickets so when we got there; we simply went on vending machines to get our boarding tickets. Once we have our boarding tickets, we queued up to check in through immigration. All this took less than 30 minutes. We waited a while for platform 9 (NOT 9 ¾) to open then boarded the train.

The trip to Paris took just under 3 hours including a quick stopover at Ashton to pick up more passengers.

As the train moved really fast and half the time we were in tunnels, there wasn’t much to see. The French countryside we did see weren’t much different from the English countryside.

The Eurostar is more comfortable than a plane. The seats are wider, there’s more leg room and it is quieter than a plane. There was this slightly irritating pressure build up every time you go through a tunnel that affects you ears. But a simple equalising of the ears fixes the problem.

Considering the convenience, absence of airport check-in hassles, and potentially cheaper fares, I’m looking forward to more train travelling to, from and around Europe in the near future.

Anyway just to give you an idea how fast the Eurostar goes (Wikipedia says around 300km/h)...the photos below shows the front of the train. Those dots are bug splatters and you imagine how hard it will be to clean them out. The next train shows a red patch. That WAS a bird. You can see the feathers stuck to the paint just under the grill.

Where’s the ball?

2008-05-05T07:01:00.000+12:45

You see these swindlers all the time in movies. I’ve never seen them in person and you’d think you’d find them close to dark alleys late at night. I found three the other day in Chinatown in broad daylight.

These ones are European, probably eastern euros. They have that look in there faces of “I’m not to be trusted”. But they gathered big crowds as they play these tricks that will make you wanna play. They make it look easy for you to win. Two of them used 3 thin, round rubbery foams and under one foam will be a white sticker or paper. The man would shuffle the pieces around and will make you guess where the paper is. Anyone can play for 20 quid. If you get it right, you get 1:1. The guy above (in the photo) uses three coke caps with a small piece of foam shaped like a ball. Same game rules…I stood there for at least 30 mins watching all three of them swindle people. Sometimes when you are sure which one it is, one turn away to get your money then WHAM, the man rotates the whole board 180 degrees and you lose. Or sometimes you if you think you are very sure, the man will say 40 quid to play and you are most likely to lose then mainly because the mark is not in any of the three. This latter trick is easier to do with the cap and ball because the ball can easily be squeezed and hidden away in between your fingers. If you want to win, you have to be aggressive and hold the cap down while you get your money out to bet. In fact, why not hold the money in your hand to begin with and that way you do not have to turn around and be a victim of the old switcharoo…

Eventually, I noticed that there seem to be only three people who are very active in winning (and losing) and I had the suspicion then if I was to run a scam like this, I would have dummy players to encourage activity then swindle someone in the crowd. So later that day just before I left, the pictured man above moved to another spot and bingo, the three active players I saw before are with the man in the above photo! Don’t they look normal? You have lady who you probably would suspect as being in on it. Then you have the tall guy who seem to be just walking past (he kept walking off and back), then you have the senior citizen (with the hat) who seem to be just another part of the crowd and so fixated on the game.

Unless they hook someone dumb into betting a lot of money, I watched them for a while and I don’t think you can make a lot of money this way.

It’s getting warm

2008-05-04T06:56:00.000+12:45

It is amazing that only a month ago it was snowing here in London. We were experiencing temperatures around the freezing point and when walking around shopping places, we’d enjoy going into shops because they are all heated.

It’s suddenly quite warm in the last couple of days and based on the weather forecast, it looks like we will experience Auckland-like temperatures.

So decided to go to a park today called Hyde Park – quite a nice place to relax and unwind. There weren’t many people to the point of overcrowding. There is a lake or river in the middle of the park called the “Serpertine” or maybe that is the name of the body of water…anyway we went on a pedal boat for half an hour and chased families of ducks and goose.

There are plenty of tulips in bloom and the park’s wildlife are out and about.

Squirrels are fun to look at because they hop along on top of the grass like waves of water. These ones are not that afraid of people either. Actually I’m not sure if we are suppose to approach them as I haven’t seen any signs but if you carry peanuts in your pockets, these squirrels are your best friends. They’ll come to you and you can hand feed them. Sometimes they’ll bury the nuts into the ground straight away and come back for some more.

The pigeon above has a pattern I’ve never seen before but I think there is nothing like the Kereru when it comes to impressive colour pattern on pigeons.

Hyde Park is also the park where the Princess Diana Memorial fountain was erected. All around the park you will see these “The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk” medallions on the path but sadly we weren’t able to find the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.

Just before we left I thought we spotted it from a distance however the area is fenced off on one side. Another odd thing is that none of the park maps labelled both the memorial walk and the memorial fountain. We all know the mysteries and conspiracy surrounding the Princess’ death…could this be part of it?

Bad England in England

2008-05-03T06:53:00.000+12:45

I think it was the second day that I found this but when I was in Tottenham Court the other day, I decided to take a photo. Before crossing the road at every intersection, you’ll see instructions on where to look for oncoming traffic.

It looked like they couldn’t be bothered correcting it; perhaps for several reasons including costs.
One time I witness road works in progress. I’ve witness road works many times but you’ll notice in that London (and perhaps even the whole of the UK), they’re quite big on building structures using long lasting materials. For example, almost every house or apartment I’ve seen is made of bricks/concrete while in NZ, we use things like weatherboards. I’m not saying weatherboards will not last long but just look at the buildings here in London and a lot of them are very very old and they are still standing.

So going back to the road works, I saw the guys painting the road after laying down some asphalt. The paint used here for road signs are not spray painted like they are in NZ. They use some kind of hard plastic like material cut into strips and which are then exposed to flame torches. The melted product sticks to the road and I don’t think they ever come off. Which would explain why the incorrectly spelt road label above was never corrected. Motorcyclists in NZ often talk about the dangers of riding on the painted strips (i.e. they are slippery and dangerous), I can only imagine how slippery these ones are. There are some roads where the labels are made of several layers. Maybe they don’t resurface roads here in London town.

Station to Hogwarts

2008-05-02T06:51:00.000+12:45

One of the first few places I found.

Would you like some Godiva?

2008-04-30T04:00:00.002+12:45

BTW, what is your cashflow PIN?

http://www.infosec.co.uk/page.cfm/T=m/Action=Press/PressID=1071

Go Speed Racer!

2008-04-30T03:19:00.002+12:45

http://www.speedracerchaser.com/

Go Speed Racer go!

Does anyone have a pedometer?

2008-04-26T22:11:00.000+12:45

After we left the office today, we decided to go to St Paul’s Cathedral. An ex-colleague/work friend of mine strongly suggested visiting St Paul’s Cathedral as it was the most beautiful place she’s ever seen.

I was already tired as I’ve been walking around with my laptop and no matter how far technology advances and make electronic devices smaller, there will always be new technology to be squeezed into computers and the weight of laptops pretty much remain the same.

We took the tube to get to St Paul’s (around 3-4 stops plus one change) and the cathedral grounds is pretty much directly behind the tube exit. Walking to the right hand side I saw the “Temple Bar”.

The Temple Bar is the only surviving gateway into the City of London. It was erected by King Charles II to replace a previous timber structure. Where it stands now is actually not its original location. It was moved there as it was blocking traffic.

Directly opposite the Temple Bar is the right side of the cathedral where you’ll see the dome.

We’re not allowed to take photos inside but the ceiling of the cathedral, including the dome, is covered in beautiful paintings and art work. There are no words that good describe it except….PHWAOR!

The structure standing today is actually the fifth church on this site and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren to replace the previous Gothic cathedral destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Anyway, originally a spire on the old church, the dome consists of a bigger dome covering a smaller dome. Wren designed it this way to make it look impressive from the inside as well as the outside. People can actually go up the dome (434 steps in total). The first stop is the “Whispering Gallery”, after 163 steps. Somewhere in the middle of the dome structure you’ll see a fence-like structure. This is the “Stone Gallery” and that is 282 steps up. Above the grey part of the dome is the “Golden Gallery” and that is 434 steps up. Really cool…inside the walls of the cathedral are tunnels and stairs and this is how you get to the top. In between stair cases sometimes there are resting seats. The tunnels are very tight. With my laptop bag, I had to walk slightly sideways in some parts.

Once you get to the Stone Gallery, you get breath-taking views (if you have any left that is) of the city like the ones below showing the Millennium Bridge and London Eye.

The steps are spiral and are very tightly wound. You can never plant your feet flat and have to tip toe all the way up. When you reach the Golden Gallery, guess what we saw…

Hahaha! Anyway I think they meant no jumping…..

If you think that’s it, you are very wrong. We went in the afternoon. Got there around 3pm and got to the Golden Gallery around 3.50pm. We were rushing back down because another part of the cathedral is “The Crypt”, the cathedral’s burial chamber and it closes 4pm. We didn’t make it in time but we did see the tomb’s of Lord Nelson and Florence Nightingale. So the rest of the cathedral will be part 2 then…10 quid to enter to I’ll have to work to get some money first.

Iron Man UK Charity Premiere

2008-04-25T21:53:00.002+12:45

After the last blog entry, we decided to go to the National Gallery to have another look at the artwork. When we had enough, we came out for a bit of fresh air but instead of making our way home, we decided to go on a detour towards Leicester Square where the Iron Man premiere was going to take place. Around this time, a long white limo drives by slowly beside us on the right. I thought…hmmm. I wonder if the stars are starting to arrive…

So we started standing with the crowd beside the iron fences (no pun intended). 45 minutes later the first celeb was driven in and it was Hayley Westenra! I said “hey look! Is that Hayley?” The kids in front of us said “who?” I said “Hayley Westenra. She is a New Zealander. A singer…” They all went quiet for a sec but since the kids were there with their autograph books, they probably thought what the hell…the three started yelling “HAYLEY!!!” But she never came to our side. All I got was this…

A couple of other Limos came with “unknown people” – i.e. not known to me…Then came Robert Downey Jr. He playd Tony Stark / Iron Man of course.

But the bastard wouldn’t come to our side of the crowd so all I got are shots of his back. These are is the clearest ones.

Then this guy came. Jon Favreau - the director; I know his face from other movies but never knew his name. Jon walked right in front of us and signed a few autographs.

Here’s a nice surprise! Gwyneth is here! I didn’t recognise her at first…but she’s got really long legs and her long legs are pretty much the only thing you’ll notice while she’s posing in front of the photographers…

Here’s her just out of the car…

And her as she walked toward us

But she started walking the other way!!! Arggghhh!!!

After her was Terence Howard (Jim Rhodes)…Again he walked to our side of the crowd. In fact he was the only guy who went around the whole crowd…

Anyway, all-in-all it was a good experience. I now know where to stand when there are world premieres in Leicester Square…the only question is how long will I be standing there.

This time round we stood there for 1.5 hrs and my legs almost gave in.

More photos from photographers

A Blissful Year for PopCulture Fans!

2008-04-25T03:16:00.001+12:45