"When the Masters of Evil unite, it’s time to form an Ultimate Alliance." wotta geek!
Nick, i've done my duties as a True Believer, and pre-ordered for the Xbox in time for the Nov 2 release in Oz. Spider-sense tingling!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
MUA: The wait is over!
"When the Masters of Evil unite, it’s time to form an Ultimate Alliance." wotta geek!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Monday, October 23, 2006
NBA: Ultimate Fantasy
this is the Commissioner Gimli's Cup!
Ian's lineup:
below is the el kobe lineup (my team!), and appropriately enough, i got kobe himself in this virtual league that was organised by Godzilla! i'm still not all too sure about the mechanics of this ultimate fantasy NBA, but it's all about the stat points that each real life NBA player generates in the upcoming season. i haven't been able to watch that much games in the 2006 season, but i got my mythical five granted to me by sheer luck (yeah, i wish it was lotto instead): Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Manu Ginobili, Steve Nash, and Tracey McGrady (special mention to Melburnian Andrew Bogut of course).
I've noted below the other lineups for other teams, which I think have got a colourful mix as well.
Ian's lineup:
Stewie's lineup:
Team Rav's lineup:
Henson's lineup:
Rennan's lineup:
And the new NBA conference starts at the end of the month!
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Food Review: Anatolian (Broadmeadows)
the Anatolian at the Broady Town Centre along Pascoe Vale Road was a surprise treat over dinner not so long ago for myself and the family. it's my nephew's first month, and coincidentally, the first year that i've been engaged to my lovely fiancee. but i digress.
we came in on time, and the service at the counter was very professional and courteous. we were given the choice of staying on the ground floor because of the pram, but we opted for the balcony setting upstairs in the new Broadmeadows Mall extension.
the table was already set for a massive party of 10, and the first to grace our palates was this salad setting. i'm not sure how early those were placed on the table, but noticing some of the other guests who came in later, it would have been just a couple of minutes before they sat down. it's nice to see how meticulous they were with their booking system.
it was a couple of minutes wait before the soup came in. this looked like some vege-soup because of what seemed like seeds. when we finally dug in, they felt like pasta or really soft rice! definitely a surprise appetiser in terms of texture and (un)expectation. although it didn't really taste much for me, the experience was enough to pique my interest on what else was to come. the waitress tried to explain that the soup didn't have an english translation, but it's called something like "shekaia"?the turkish bread and various dips were so intoxicating that i thought that's what really made me too full by the end of the night. a vegetarian and several meat-lover dishes were served shortly, and they were prepared really well that even the lamb-haters in the party didn't mind the kebabs! the course was finalised with a noodle-covered baklava, which is just that: different. all in all, the meal was scrumptuous and the service equally admirable and appreciated.
4 out of 5 stars for this one.
Karima as Lara
yet another Lara Croft? Karima Adebibe was apparently plucked from a sales job in England. and what about that neck! p.s. she's only 20 years old.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Happy 1st Birthday, Binky!!!
What am I doing here? What are you doing with that camera? Oh it's my birthday!!!
Now what?
What is this? I get to eat a cake? I'm scared of that yellow thing...
Shouldn't the cake be down there so I can eat it?
yey! It smells pretty good...
Now what?
What is this? I get to eat a cake? I'm scared of that yellow thing...Shouldn't the cake be down there so I can eat it?
yey! It smells pretty good...
hmm...It tastes good, too!! I like the cream!!!
HMMM Yum!!!
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Refreshing!
I tried my very first ever Mello Yello today.
BS! What? I hear some of you say. Honestly, I've never heard of Mello Yello until a couple of weeks ago when I heard it in a radio ad. Apparently it is a 80's drink. Back then I was a sprite/7up drinker. Probably because I "obey my thirst" and liked Fido Dido.
So I went to Pak n Save today and saw Mello Yello and decided to get a bottle. But before I tasted it, I was drinking Mountain Dew.
First impressions were....yuck...I think it was because I just had Mountain Dew and MD is a very sweet drink. But after a while, Mello Yello started tasting better. Almost like Mountain Dew.
So conclusions...I like Mello Yello. Just as much as I like or prefer Fanta Orange and Purple and Mountain Dew.
BS! What? I hear some of you say. Honestly, I've never heard of Mello Yello until a couple of weeks ago when I heard it in a radio ad. Apparently it is a 80's drink. Back then I was a sprite/7up drinker. Probably because I "obey my thirst" and liked Fido Dido.
So I went to Pak n Save today and saw Mello Yello and decided to get a bottle. But before I tasted it, I was drinking Mountain Dew.
First impressions were....yuck...I think it was because I just had Mountain Dew and MD is a very sweet drink. But after a while, Mello Yello started tasting better. Almost like Mountain Dew.
So conclusions...I like Mello Yello. Just as much as I like or prefer Fanta Orange and Purple and Mountain Dew.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Tech too fast
Darn it! Just bought a LCD TV and here comes the next one.
Laser TVs are said to be launched in a couple of years time. And here we are calculating the lifetime of the flat screens we just bought...yeah it should lastat least 5 years...10 years even...
bloody hell.
Oh well. Thanks Rennanimal.
Laser TVs are said to be launched in a couple of years time. And here we are calculating the lifetime of the flat screens we just bought...yeah it should lastat least 5 years...10 years even...
bloody hell.
Oh well. Thanks Rennanimal.
Movies and Mobile Phones
Check this out.
I was was watching the opening scenes of the movie Bad Company, right?...
In the opening scene, Chirs Rock introduces Anthony Hopkins to the bad guy who is selling a device in a suit case. I think it was abomb or something. Anyway, Hopkins showed the money/deposit of $1 million and asks the bad guy when he will see the device. The bad guy answers, "...10 days" then one of his goons hands over a Nokia 9000 series mobile phone. Product placement? Most likely. This is pretty common in the movies, right? Not just product placement but the bad guy handing over a phone and saying hold on to this and we will call you when we are ready.
Here is my question. 10 days! Will the phone last that long on stand by? How long has the phone been on? Are you sure it will last 10 days? What if by the time they call the phone's on "low batt" and as soon as the bad guy calls, the phone dies. What if this was a kidnapping case? The bad guy would think the good guy hung up on him and will end up killing the hostage!
Let's say the good guy is smart (which they never are in the movies) and decides to save power by switching off the power. The bad guys never say..."Oh by the way, the PIN number is #### in ase the phone gets switched off"
You don't see the bad guys giving the good guy the charger either! Will the good guy go to a mobile accesory shop and by a charger for that particular phone? They never do.
So how is it the the phone lasts that long?
I was was watching the opening scenes of the movie Bad Company, right?...
In the opening scene, Chirs Rock introduces Anthony Hopkins to the bad guy who is selling a device in a suit case. I think it was abomb or something. Anyway, Hopkins showed the money/deposit of $1 million and asks the bad guy when he will see the device. The bad guy answers, "...10 days" then one of his goons hands over a Nokia 9000 series mobile phone. Product placement? Most likely. This is pretty common in the movies, right? Not just product placement but the bad guy handing over a phone and saying hold on to this and we will call you when we are ready.
Here is my question. 10 days! Will the phone last that long on stand by? How long has the phone been on? Are you sure it will last 10 days? What if by the time they call the phone's on "low batt" and as soon as the bad guy calls, the phone dies. What if this was a kidnapping case? The bad guy would think the good guy hung up on him and will end up killing the hostage!
Let's say the good guy is smart (which they never are in the movies) and decides to save power by switching off the power. The bad guys never say..."Oh by the way, the PIN number is #### in ase the phone gets switched off"
You don't see the bad guys giving the good guy the charger either! Will the good guy go to a mobile accesory shop and by a charger for that particular phone? They never do.
So how is it the the phone lasts that long?
Monday, October 09, 2006
A cool toy?
Just found this really "cool" thing...
An ice cube tray!!
(LINK) Problem is, what if a kid is playing with these ice cubes (sucking on ice) and somehow the kid decided to do the same to the "real" lego brick?
Potential choker!!
An ice cube tray!!
(LINK) Problem is, what if a kid is playing with these ice cubes (sucking on ice) and somehow the kid decided to do the same to the "real" lego brick?
Potential choker!!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Salary Reviews and human behaviour
We recently had a salary review at work. Or what the company prefer to call it, "Performance Reviews".
Nothing wrong with this term however, this is an excuse so the company do not have to give the employees a raise. i.e. They will simply say "We never told you we were reviewing your salary!"
Since the economic forecast does not look very good, the company is a bit tight on giving pay rises (in addition to cutting down on budgets). Some people got their raise though but you can never expect much from an annual pay rise. What is a good annual pay rise? I believe companies should at least increase pay equal to the economic inflation to cover extra costs like petrol price increases, parking, food, etc. On top of that will be the performance reward. Inflation this year is about 4% so the minimum pay rise should be 6%-8%.
Anyway, one annoying thing also happens during thess periods - People at work asking whether you got a pay rise or how much you earn. It is as simple as answering yes or no for the first question but you can see it in their eyes that they are wanting to know more by the look in their eyes and their weird grin. Some people will have no issues disclosing their salary to you but to most, like myself, it is a topic I do not find easy (or more accurately do not wish) to discuss and I'll tell you why...
First of all I am curious to know what other people get paid but I do not and have never, ever, gone and ask a person how much their salary is. Two main reasons: first one is that I do not intend of disclosing mine and it will not be fair if I ask and not share. Second, sharing this information at work will have the potential to put you, and/or your manager, in an awkward situation. Whoever finds out may go and use this knowledge as a negotiating tool and hold your manager at ransom.
Occasionally we, the kuyas, talk about pay in our email chats. The discussion does not go anywhere really. No one will disclose figures and it is really no one's business even if we are all close friends. I suppose it is slightly different with friends but it is still an issue of privacy. It is always a silly thing we play teasing each other who earns more... but you can somewhat tell anyway (and this is a slightly different topic)
Either close friend or colleague, we all wonder how much another person gets paid. We are simply very curious. If we do find out, we will probably think of one of two things: The pay is too low for that person or that person is earning way too much for not doing anything....that $%&^$%& bastard!
I do would like to point out that there is nothing wrong if you happen to find out by accident. :) Or if someone found out and tells you.
Anyway, so now that you know how much other people earn. What now? What do you do with this information? Are you happier? Does it affect you?
The answer to these questions will depend on whether you respect that individual and his job and whether you accept the situation. For example, there is this guy at work, who shall remain nameless, and he is said to be the highest paid sub editor in the company. I do not know if this is true but if it is then it is unacceptable because for one thing he is only responsible for one magazine. Half the time he watches youtube, read news, and play card games. There are others in the company whose time is split between 2-3 different departments and earn less. How unfair is that?
Here's another situation, let's say you know how much the other person earns but he does not have the exact responsibilities as you do. So you cannot and should not compare your pay to theirs. You are in a different skill area.
Regardless of all of these, there is one thing I think we can all agree on. You can never earn enough. Sad but true.
Nothing wrong with this term however, this is an excuse so the company do not have to give the employees a raise. i.e. They will simply say "We never told you we were reviewing your salary!"
Since the economic forecast does not look very good, the company is a bit tight on giving pay rises (in addition to cutting down on budgets). Some people got their raise though but you can never expect much from an annual pay rise. What is a good annual pay rise? I believe companies should at least increase pay equal to the economic inflation to cover extra costs like petrol price increases, parking, food, etc. On top of that will be the performance reward. Inflation this year is about 4% so the minimum pay rise should be 6%-8%.
Anyway, one annoying thing also happens during thess periods - People at work asking whether you got a pay rise or how much you earn. It is as simple as answering yes or no for the first question but you can see it in their eyes that they are wanting to know more by the look in their eyes and their weird grin. Some people will have no issues disclosing their salary to you but to most, like myself, it is a topic I do not find easy (or more accurately do not wish) to discuss and I'll tell you why...
First of all I am curious to know what other people get paid but I do not and have never, ever, gone and ask a person how much their salary is. Two main reasons: first one is that I do not intend of disclosing mine and it will not be fair if I ask and not share. Second, sharing this information at work will have the potential to put you, and/or your manager, in an awkward situation. Whoever finds out may go and use this knowledge as a negotiating tool and hold your manager at ransom.
Occasionally we, the kuyas, talk about pay in our email chats. The discussion does not go anywhere really. No one will disclose figures and it is really no one's business even if we are all close friends. I suppose it is slightly different with friends but it is still an issue of privacy. It is always a silly thing we play teasing each other who earns more... but you can somewhat tell anyway (and this is a slightly different topic)
Either close friend or colleague, we all wonder how much another person gets paid. We are simply very curious. If we do find out, we will probably think of one of two things: The pay is too low for that person or that person is earning way too much for not doing anything....that $%&^$%& bastard!
I do would like to point out that there is nothing wrong if you happen to find out by accident. :) Or if someone found out and tells you.
Anyway, so now that you know how much other people earn. What now? What do you do with this information? Are you happier? Does it affect you?
The answer to these questions will depend on whether you respect that individual and his job and whether you accept the situation. For example, there is this guy at work, who shall remain nameless, and he is said to be the highest paid sub editor in the company. I do not know if this is true but if it is then it is unacceptable because for one thing he is only responsible for one magazine. Half the time he watches youtube, read news, and play card games. There are others in the company whose time is split between 2-3 different departments and earn less. How unfair is that?
Here's another situation, let's say you know how much the other person earns but he does not have the exact responsibilities as you do. So you cannot and should not compare your pay to theirs. You are in a different skill area.
Regardless of all of these, there is one thing I think we can all agree on. You can never earn enough. Sad but true.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Ghost Rider Site
Check out the Ghost Rider site and trailers!! Not bad so far! I wonder how Cage would've looked like if he had done Superman Returns?
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Secret to staying young
No, I did not find the fountain of youth.
But I found something that will turn any source of water into a "fountain of youth"
But I found something that will turn any source of water into a "fountain of youth"
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Conversation between a Mac and a PC
http://www.examforce.com/customer/ct_newsarticle.php?f=view_ind&id=241
MAC
Hi, I'm a Mac--
PC
--and I'm a PC.
MAC
You know, we really do share a lot of things in common.
PC
That's true.
MAC
For instance, we both have a web browser, email program, and media player bundled with our operating systems.
PC
Of course, in your case it's a value-add for users, and in my case it's a monopolistic practice deserving of billions of dollars in fines.
MAC
Well, you know, you kind of make it difficult for people to use an alternative.
PC
Yes, I see, sort of like offering a music player that only works with one online music store, and with only one software application--
MAC
But you're doing that now too. With that Zool player--
PC
Zune. It's called Zune. Like "dune," except with a zee. Or if you're Canadian, a zed.
MAC
Whatever. You know, let's not argue. What I was getting at is that we're both good at doing certain types of things.
PC
Such as?
MAC
Well, like, you're really good at doing spreadsheets, and I'm really good at doing creative things, like making movies and music and things that actually nurture the soul rather than dragging it down into a corporate morass of humiliating emasculation and crushing spiritual defeat.
PC
I... you know... I can play Hearts.
MAC
Really? That's... wow.
PC
And Freecell. I can play Freecell right out of the box.
MAC
After you've been service packed, that is--
PC
No, I can play Freecell without a service pack. And Spider Solitaire.
MAC
That's cool.
PC
And, you know... anyway, I heard what you said about people having to remove all of the trial versions of software I have, but you come with trial
versions of Office and iWork.
MAC
Well, that's a value add for users.
PC
You see? Whenever you do something that I do....
MAC
Like catch a virus? Except oh, wait, I don't.
PC
Yes, well, if I only made up 3% of the population, I probably wouldn't be walking around with a target on my back larger than Dick Cheney's secret bank accounts.
MAC
Hey, there's more people switching to me than ever before.
PC
You see, that's interesting. Because, normally the business market isn't too quick to pay twice as much for a workstation that doesn't run 90% of the software ever written.
MAC
It's not twice as much.
PC
Oh, well, you know--
MAC
It's not twice as much. That's just crazy talk.
PC
Whatever. Hey, we said we wouldn't argue.
MAC
Well when you insist on spreading these lies--
PC
Oh, you mean like you saying how you never freeze up, or need to restart?
MAC
I DON'T freeze up.
PC
Oh, okay my bad. Hey, what's that beach ball doing spinning over your head?
MAC
Hey, that's almost funny. Like the thought of you having a soul. That's funny too.
PC
Yeah, well this soulless dude could buy and sell your ass tomorrow, buddy. I've got over $30 billion in the bank. Those aren't just--
MAC
Have you ever kissed a girl?
PC
I... what does that have to do with anything?!
MAC
I was just wondering, you know. If you had ever. Because I don't see it, honestly.
PC
Are you insinuating something? You? With your androgynous color scheme and your "intuitive" nature? Oh, please. You wouldn't know what a dick was if it slapped you in the face. Oh wait, I guess maybe you DO know.
MAC
Okay, well at least I'm getting some, Mister "I still live in my parent's basement."
PC
Oh, I'm getting some all right. You should see some of the stuff I have archived in my memory. If you think the DOJ has a problem with my professional life... you have no idea what goes on behind password-protected windows, my queer little slacker emo friend.
MAC
That's disgusting. And you know what? Chicks dig creative guys. In fact, I get more ass than a toilet seat. Musicians, artists, they--
PC
No, chicks dig guys with over $30 billion in the bank. They may flirt with the three-day-stubble, latte sipping, Bravo watching, limp-wristed bohemians during pointless moments while standing in line at Starbucks, but in the end, the ladies always come home with the guy who can wrap them in furs from some endangered species, pay for their annual elective surgeries when they get older, and who are willing to turn a blind eye when the slack-faced "artist" pool boy gives her a cheap thrill while I'm busy crushing competitors and filling my pockets with cash. So go ahead and make your little art films and post them on You Tube, oh empowered auteur. Record your angst-ridden, anti-establishment tunes and put them up on your .Mac site. Play your little free spirit reindeer games, and while you're doing that, me and a few select others will take care of running the world. And, if every so often I have to stand in front of the camera and let you belittle and mock me while I look confused and ineffective in order to keep the unwashed stupid masses happy and content, well, that's a pretty reasonable price tag for the biggest stick in the playground.
(long pause)
MAC
Oh my god, you're really, really creepy.
PC
I'm sorry, did I say something? I'm kind of feverish... I have that new virus that's going around.
MAC
I've seen the true face of evil. Don't even try to cover up.
PC
Oh, I think I have to restart...
MAC
I am SO blogging about this. People will listen to me. You'll see.
PC
I'm sorry? What were we talking about?
MAC
Hi, I'm a Mac--
PC
--and I'm a PC.
MAC
You know, we really do share a lot of things in common.
PC
That's true.
MAC
For instance, we both have a web browser, email program, and media player bundled with our operating systems.
PC
Of course, in your case it's a value-add for users, and in my case it's a monopolistic practice deserving of billions of dollars in fines.
MAC
Well, you know, you kind of make it difficult for people to use an alternative.
PC
Yes, I see, sort of like offering a music player that only works with one online music store, and with only one software application--
MAC
But you're doing that now too. With that Zool player--
PC
Zune. It's called Zune. Like "dune," except with a zee. Or if you're Canadian, a zed.
MAC
Whatever. You know, let's not argue. What I was getting at is that we're both good at doing certain types of things.
PC
Such as?
MAC
Well, like, you're really good at doing spreadsheets, and I'm really good at doing creative things, like making movies and music and things that actually nurture the soul rather than dragging it down into a corporate morass of humiliating emasculation and crushing spiritual defeat.
PC
I... you know... I can play Hearts.
MAC
Really? That's... wow.
PC
And Freecell. I can play Freecell right out of the box.
MAC
After you've been service packed, that is--
PC
No, I can play Freecell without a service pack. And Spider Solitaire.
MAC
That's cool.
PC
And, you know... anyway, I heard what you said about people having to remove all of the trial versions of software I have, but you come with trial
versions of Office and iWork.
MAC
Well, that's a value add for users.
PC
You see? Whenever you do something that I do....
MAC
Like catch a virus? Except oh, wait, I don't.
PC
Yes, well, if I only made up 3% of the population, I probably wouldn't be walking around with a target on my back larger than Dick Cheney's secret bank accounts.
MAC
Hey, there's more people switching to me than ever before.
PC
You see, that's interesting. Because, normally the business market isn't too quick to pay twice as much for a workstation that doesn't run 90% of the software ever written.
MAC
It's not twice as much.
PC
Oh, well, you know--
MAC
It's not twice as much. That's just crazy talk.
PC
Whatever. Hey, we said we wouldn't argue.
MAC
Well when you insist on spreading these lies--
PC
Oh, you mean like you saying how you never freeze up, or need to restart?
MAC
I DON'T freeze up.
PC
Oh, okay my bad. Hey, what's that beach ball doing spinning over your head?
MAC
Hey, that's almost funny. Like the thought of you having a soul. That's funny too.
PC
Yeah, well this soulless dude could buy and sell your ass tomorrow, buddy. I've got over $30 billion in the bank. Those aren't just--
MAC
Have you ever kissed a girl?
PC
I... what does that have to do with anything?!
MAC
I was just wondering, you know. If you had ever. Because I don't see it, honestly.
PC
Are you insinuating something? You? With your androgynous color scheme and your "intuitive" nature? Oh, please. You wouldn't know what a dick was if it slapped you in the face. Oh wait, I guess maybe you DO know.
MAC
Okay, well at least I'm getting some, Mister "I still live in my parent's basement."
PC
Oh, I'm getting some all right. You should see some of the stuff I have archived in my memory. If you think the DOJ has a problem with my professional life... you have no idea what goes on behind password-protected windows, my queer little slacker emo friend.
MAC
That's disgusting. And you know what? Chicks dig creative guys. In fact, I get more ass than a toilet seat. Musicians, artists, they--
PC
No, chicks dig guys with over $30 billion in the bank. They may flirt with the three-day-stubble, latte sipping, Bravo watching, limp-wristed bohemians during pointless moments while standing in line at Starbucks, but in the end, the ladies always come home with the guy who can wrap them in furs from some endangered species, pay for their annual elective surgeries when they get older, and who are willing to turn a blind eye when the slack-faced "artist" pool boy gives her a cheap thrill while I'm busy crushing competitors and filling my pockets with cash. So go ahead and make your little art films and post them on You Tube, oh empowered auteur. Record your angst-ridden, anti-establishment tunes and put them up on your .Mac site. Play your little free spirit reindeer games, and while you're doing that, me and a few select others will take care of running the world. And, if every so often I have to stand in front of the camera and let you belittle and mock me while I look confused and ineffective in order to keep the unwashed stupid masses happy and content, well, that's a pretty reasonable price tag for the biggest stick in the playground.
(long pause)
MAC
Oh my god, you're really, really creepy.
PC
I'm sorry, did I say something? I'm kind of feverish... I have that new virus that's going around.
MAC
I've seen the true face of evil. Don't even try to cover up.
PC
Oh, I think I have to restart...
MAC
I am SO blogging about this. People will listen to me. You'll see.
PC
I'm sorry? What were we talking about?
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Friends and weddings
After last weekend, I was contacted by another old friend. This time it was an old friend back in my uni days. Amilia use to be in my class, mostly science papers. When was the first time I met her?...hmm. I think it was in my second or third yr. We were introduced by this malaysian dude Kai.
I remembered back then she was always smiling and joking around. Very very seldom you can have a serious conversation with her. Not in a bad way though. I mean the conversations are always happy and not sad.
She is now getting married in 6 days! Come Oct 7 she will tie the knot. I've been chatting with her for the past couple of days. She's panicking like any bride-to-be would. About the event, about the clothes, about shoes, etc. But I'm sure when the time comes, on the day, everything will be fine. Somehow there is this calmness on the day and so far I've never seen a bride who is not calm on their wedding day.
I did give her some advice and told her that usually these arrangements etc are carried out by the bridal party. That is why they are there. They are not there just to pose you know. That's traditionally anyway. Nowadays, the bridal party don't do much. They do help out a little but the true responsibilities of the bridemaids and groomsmen (hint in the name) have somehow been lost in time.
That's ok. Couples today hire or assign wedding managers! This can be a friend, someone at the function centre, or a relative like a brother or uncle, auntie, whoever...
There are two kuyas getting married soon. I wonder how they are doing with plans...Ever since the announcement a year ago, I haven't heard much about it. It is true that getting engaged and getting married are two different things. As I understand, no two siblings can get married within the same year. I do not know why so don't ask. This means one of the kuyas will get married in 07 and one in 08?
I have a brother getting married in Melbourne soon too. I do not know the date yet but I think it may be early 07. Actually their situation have changed and I'm not sure if they are still getting married in Melbourne.
My sister is getting married in November. Now this occasion will be interesting. First of all she invited some of my cousins back in the Philippines. If the email distribution list is an indication of who is coming, then I'll be seeing at least 3 cousins from pinas whom I have not seen in a very long time. So far I'have not seen Debbie, Dorothy, and Jacobb. We don't hang out very often with these cousins. Debbie was really small back then. So she is pretty much a stranger to me. Dorothy and Jacobb are siblings and both doctors. It was their father's dream for both of them including their third sibling to all have the title "Dr". In fact he extended this dream to me and my sister. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not one. Although I'm very good at Doctoring things from images to emails so I suppose I might as well be one. But My brother managed to accomplish this so in a way I've passed the buck on him.
In addition to my cousins, she invited a couple of her old firends from pinas one of whom lives in San Fran and the other happens to be my ex-gf. She is now married with children though. So yes, like I said...it would be interesting.
I remembered back then she was always smiling and joking around. Very very seldom you can have a serious conversation with her. Not in a bad way though. I mean the conversations are always happy and not sad.
She is now getting married in 6 days! Come Oct 7 she will tie the knot. I've been chatting with her for the past couple of days. She's panicking like any bride-to-be would. About the event, about the clothes, about shoes, etc. But I'm sure when the time comes, on the day, everything will be fine. Somehow there is this calmness on the day and so far I've never seen a bride who is not calm on their wedding day.
I did give her some advice and told her that usually these arrangements etc are carried out by the bridal party. That is why they are there. They are not there just to pose you know. That's traditionally anyway. Nowadays, the bridal party don't do much. They do help out a little but the true responsibilities of the bridemaids and groomsmen (hint in the name) have somehow been lost in time.
That's ok. Couples today hire or assign wedding managers! This can be a friend, someone at the function centre, or a relative like a brother or uncle, auntie, whoever...
There are two kuyas getting married soon. I wonder how they are doing with plans...Ever since the announcement a year ago, I haven't heard much about it. It is true that getting engaged and getting married are two different things. As I understand, no two siblings can get married within the same year. I do not know why so don't ask. This means one of the kuyas will get married in 07 and one in 08?
I have a brother getting married in Melbourne soon too. I do not know the date yet but I think it may be early 07. Actually their situation have changed and I'm not sure if they are still getting married in Melbourne.
My sister is getting married in November. Now this occasion will be interesting. First of all she invited some of my cousins back in the Philippines. If the email distribution list is an indication of who is coming, then I'll be seeing at least 3 cousins from pinas whom I have not seen in a very long time. So far I'have not seen Debbie, Dorothy, and Jacobb. We don't hang out very often with these cousins. Debbie was really small back then. So she is pretty much a stranger to me. Dorothy and Jacobb are siblings and both doctors. It was their father's dream for both of them including their third sibling to all have the title "Dr". In fact he extended this dream to me and my sister. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not one. Although I'm very good at Doctoring things from images to emails so I suppose I might as well be one. But My brother managed to accomplish this so in a way I've passed the buck on him.
In addition to my cousins, she invited a couple of her old firends from pinas one of whom lives in San Fran and the other happens to be my ex-gf. She is now married with children though. So yes, like I said...it would be interesting.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Almost summer
It was a nice day today. Summer is almost here. For the first time in ages, I went out today without any jacket or sweatshirt. The sun was shining.
Got the chance to finally catch up on some gardening this weekend. My herb patch is overgrown, thanks to the Vietnamese mint plant given to me by a work friend, Shane. This thing grows like a weed. The snails have been busy. There seem to be so many of them so I decided to spread some poison pellets for them to feast on. Sounds barbaric but they are pests after all. I'm also glad to see my chilli plant is starting to sprout some new leaves again - chemical damage....a different story. Oh yes, since it is spring, my garden is in bloom for a few weeks now. It started off with the cherry blossom trees then the roses are now full of buds which should all open in the next week. The weeping maple tree we bought a few weeks ago is also sprouting new leaves.
...
What else happened today...? Oh yes... I got email messages from two old friends from school back from wehn I was still in the Philippines. This is pretty much a continuation of my friendster post a few weeks ago. I contacted some people, added them to my friends list, some replied and accepted while others whom you expect to reply didn't quite. An old friend added me to his list. I didn't realise he was on it in fact. His name is Steinberg Tan. I new him back in elementary school. He use to live 3 blocks from my house. I use to go to his place (huge house), bring my fighting cock and we would "sabong" he fighter with his. That's the only thing I remember about him back then. When we were in grade 3 his family moved to Perth Australia and he's been living there ever since. I occasionally receive emails from him however, our interests have changed so much and I have not spoken to him in a while. After moving to Australia he became a guitar enthusiast. Much more I would say. He loves playing the guitar. He's got several. I think he and his siblings formed a family band of some kind. Anyway more info about himj on his site.
I sent him a message back and am waiting for his email reply.
The other person who contacted me was Roselle Teodosio. At least that was her name back then. She's now married to a guy named Kelvin Chan so she's changed her name to Roselle Chan. She's a mother of three now, 2 boys and a girl. She's been helping out in Kelvin's family business (Petron) and she just started her own with a business partner. It's a hotel. She opened up a hotel called Phoenix Suites in Makati last december. Her brother, also was an old friend, is in charge as manager. His name is Richardson Teodosio.
Now Roselle and Richardson were both my classmates. Roselle is younger by around 11 months or something. Richie was born in Jan and Sel was born in december. If I'm not mistaken I think The exact dates were Jan 19 and December 23.
Anyway, Sel and I hang out quite a bit in high school especially just before coming here to NZ. We were really close buddies. Her brother didn't quite like it though but we were still friends. I think it was also this reason that Sel stopped talking to just before I came to NZ. Richie was among the last people I saw and said good bye to before I came here. I still have the photo of that last day.
In our email conversations, I reminded Sel that I remembered the times when she used to pick my white hair. She would kneel on the sofa beside me and go through my hair. There were several things I remember. I went snorkling with them once. Them and there uncle. We went to Zambales. It is unforgettable not only because we had a lot of fun but it was also the time someone almost died. I've told this story quite a few times and I don't even remember to whom. Basically while we were snorkling we saw this beautiful white coral. It was a tall coral about a metre in height. For some reason we were trying to reach it. I think we wanted to take it home with us (of course at the time i didn't know anything much about caring for the reef). I don;t think Sel was there. Richie and his uncle was though. So the three of us took turns taking deep breaths and diving down. His uncle was the last person to go down and he was a few inches away from it when he felt he needed to get up for air. So he flipped up and headed towards the surface. Unfortunately in doing so, his snorkel snapped around the mouthpiece so as soon as he surfaced, the silicon mouthpiece of the snorkel was facing down and acted like a straw. He must have sucked half a glass of seawater. He started panicking. Richie and I was beside him. He grabbed both of us out of panic and we were both pushed down. Richie got away and signalled the boat to come get us. Fortunately for me, I was able to stay afloat just enough for my snorkel to stay above water. I clamly stayed under as his support.
Richie and I were gonna take up a PADI course and sit our PADI open water licence when we get back to Manila but Richie's mum heard of this news and disapproved and we never got to do our open water course. One day I will but not now..too cold here in NZ. Perhaps when Shakoo is emperor and he grants me some pacific island territories.
Got the chance to finally catch up on some gardening this weekend. My herb patch is overgrown, thanks to the Vietnamese mint plant given to me by a work friend, Shane. This thing grows like a weed. The snails have been busy. There seem to be so many of them so I decided to spread some poison pellets for them to feast on. Sounds barbaric but they are pests after all. I'm also glad to see my chilli plant is starting to sprout some new leaves again - chemical damage....a different story. Oh yes, since it is spring, my garden is in bloom for a few weeks now. It started off with the cherry blossom trees then the roses are now full of buds which should all open in the next week. The weeping maple tree we bought a few weeks ago is also sprouting new leaves.
...
What else happened today...? Oh yes... I got email messages from two old friends from school back from wehn I was still in the Philippines. This is pretty much a continuation of my friendster post a few weeks ago. I contacted some people, added them to my friends list, some replied and accepted while others whom you expect to reply didn't quite. An old friend added me to his list. I didn't realise he was on it in fact. His name is Steinberg Tan. I new him back in elementary school. He use to live 3 blocks from my house. I use to go to his place (huge house), bring my fighting cock and we would "sabong" he fighter with his. That's the only thing I remember about him back then. When we were in grade 3 his family moved to Perth Australia and he's been living there ever since. I occasionally receive emails from him however, our interests have changed so much and I have not spoken to him in a while. After moving to Australia he became a guitar enthusiast. Much more I would say. He loves playing the guitar. He's got several. I think he and his siblings formed a family band of some kind. Anyway more info about himj on his site.
I sent him a message back and am waiting for his email reply.
The other person who contacted me was Roselle Teodosio. At least that was her name back then. She's now married to a guy named Kelvin Chan so she's changed her name to Roselle Chan. She's a mother of three now, 2 boys and a girl. She's been helping out in Kelvin's family business (Petron) and she just started her own with a business partner. It's a hotel. She opened up a hotel called Phoenix Suites in Makati last december. Her brother, also was an old friend, is in charge as manager. His name is Richardson Teodosio.
Now Roselle and Richardson were both my classmates. Roselle is younger by around 11 months or something. Richie was born in Jan and Sel was born in december. If I'm not mistaken I think The exact dates were Jan 19 and December 23.
Anyway, Sel and I hang out quite a bit in high school especially just before coming here to NZ. We were really close buddies. Her brother didn't quite like it though but we were still friends. I think it was also this reason that Sel stopped talking to just before I came to NZ. Richie was among the last people I saw and said good bye to before I came here. I still have the photo of that last day.
In our email conversations, I reminded Sel that I remembered the times when she used to pick my white hair. She would kneel on the sofa beside me and go through my hair. There were several things I remember. I went snorkling with them once. Them and there uncle. We went to Zambales. It is unforgettable not only because we had a lot of fun but it was also the time someone almost died. I've told this story quite a few times and I don't even remember to whom. Basically while we were snorkling we saw this beautiful white coral. It was a tall coral about a metre in height. For some reason we were trying to reach it. I think we wanted to take it home with us (of course at the time i didn't know anything much about caring for the reef). I don;t think Sel was there. Richie and his uncle was though. So the three of us took turns taking deep breaths and diving down. His uncle was the last person to go down and he was a few inches away from it when he felt he needed to get up for air. So he flipped up and headed towards the surface. Unfortunately in doing so, his snorkel snapped around the mouthpiece so as soon as he surfaced, the silicon mouthpiece of the snorkel was facing down and acted like a straw. He must have sucked half a glass of seawater. He started panicking. Richie and I was beside him. He grabbed both of us out of panic and we were both pushed down. Richie got away and signalled the boat to come get us. Fortunately for me, I was able to stay afloat just enough for my snorkel to stay above water. I clamly stayed under as his support.
Richie and I were gonna take up a PADI course and sit our PADI open water licence when we get back to Manila but Richie's mum heard of this news and disapproved and we never got to do our open water course. One day I will but not now..too cold here in NZ. Perhaps when Shakoo is emperor and he grants me some pacific island territories.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Food Review: The Pancake Parlour (Bourke Street Mall)
we normally love eating at the Pancake Parlour in Melbourne. The Jam Factory branch is brilliant with the service and menu. But when we ate at the one in Bourke Street Mall in central Melbourne, we were greatly disappointed.
wheely rubbish bins were carted right in front of us from the (dirty) kitchen to the front of the shop and they weren't even presentable, if that's a word to describe rubbish bins. The service took longer than usual... there were dozens of people behind the counter, but no one was ready to welcome incoming guests.
when the food got served, the bacons were missing from the Canadian Pancake meal, and the pancakes themselves were mini-me's of how we used to remember them. the ham steak was still good and tasty. skinny latte was terrible. the diet coke was watered down. oooh, did we mention the fruit flies that were flying all around when tables weren't cleaned up after patrons have left? all 5 tables within sight, tsk, tsk.
this one's definitely a big disappointment for us, right from the trip down the escalator, past the funny mirror, to the giant chess board within the restaurant.
we're not going back again. 1 out of 5 stars.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Friday, September 15, 2006
ALT TV and Nicky Watson
Ever since I had my tv aerial moved to the top of my roof, I was able to receive UHF signals and watch channels like Prime, Juice TV, and ALT TV.
I don't normally watch ALT TV because I don't think the music they play are that good compared to C4 or maybe Juice TV. Well I listen to all types of music but more pop, hip hop, and RnB.
However, last night I was flicking channels and accidentally flicked over to ALT TV and saw Nicky Watson. She didn't really look like herself for some reason...hmm..she looked older...maybe due to the lack of photoshop polishing magazines normally do and she does have that oversized boobs (which help identify her.
She was hosting this show/segment called "Let there be rock" and boy did she sucked! I ended up watching her for a few minutes. I don't know if something was wrong but she seemed absent minded...she was trying to introduce the next video right...then she forgot something - "Shit...I'm suppose to do something..." flicked over her sweater/whatever that was beside her and held up this clipboard. "I'm suppose to do these ad libs" she says..."that's what you call them in tv land..."
She carried on reading the "news item"...or that's right it was an announcment about a Peter Brock convoy that was suppose to run through Queen street then to pukekohe.
Her inexperience and absent mindedness was showing really bad. She was trying to be a cool rock chick showing the devil hand gesture which didnt really suit her.
She then struggled her way to introduce the next rock music video. She mentioned "I like the lead singer of this group. I have her in my bedroom wall...I have a collage of everything good on my bedroom wall and it is like 5 metres high" - hmmm.. a 5 metre high bedroom...funded by Eric Watson? or Matthew Ridge? or perhaps she doesn't know the difference between feet and metres.
I've seen her in person. She came into our office a couple of times. She's about 5'7" maybe...I wonder if she tells people that she's 5.7 metres tall.
Anyway...there was a time when I thought that blonde girl in C4 sucked really bad and nicky sucked even more.
I don't normally watch ALT TV because I don't think the music they play are that good compared to C4 or maybe Juice TV. Well I listen to all types of music but more pop, hip hop, and RnB.
However, last night I was flicking channels and accidentally flicked over to ALT TV and saw Nicky Watson. She didn't really look like herself for some reason...hmm..she looked older...maybe due to the lack of photoshop polishing magazines normally do and she does have that oversized boobs (which help identify her.
She was hosting this show/segment called "Let there be rock" and boy did she sucked! I ended up watching her for a few minutes. I don't know if something was wrong but she seemed absent minded...she was trying to introduce the next video right...then she forgot something - "Shit...I'm suppose to do something..." flicked over her sweater/whatever that was beside her and held up this clipboard. "I'm suppose to do these ad libs" she says..."that's what you call them in tv land..."
She carried on reading the "news item"...or that's right it was an announcment about a Peter Brock convoy that was suppose to run through Queen street then to pukekohe.
Her inexperience and absent mindedness was showing really bad. She was trying to be a cool rock chick showing the devil hand gesture which didnt really suit her.
She then struggled her way to introduce the next rock music video. She mentioned "I like the lead singer of this group. I have her in my bedroom wall...I have a collage of everything good on my bedroom wall and it is like 5 metres high" - hmmm.. a 5 metre high bedroom...funded by Eric Watson? or Matthew Ridge? or perhaps she doesn't know the difference between feet and metres.
I've seen her in person. She came into our office a couple of times. She's about 5'7" maybe...I wonder if she tells people that she's 5.7 metres tall.
Anyway...there was a time when I thought that blonde girl in C4 sucked really bad and nicky sucked even more.
OBEEE1: King of the road
On my journey to work today, I encountered OBEEE1 with Kim and Corbett in the morning. There I was driving and out of the blue this truck drove pass beside me on the Lincoln road on ramp. I got a wave from Corby (waved back Hello Corby!). It caught me by surprise actually and for a few seconds there, I almost hit OBEEE1!
I was already listening to 91.8 then but since I just turned on the radio, I didn't know they were on the Northwestern motorway!
I followed them for a while. Traffic was slowing down as we reach the tail end of the rush hour traffic towards the city. I decided to take a photo of OBEEE1 with Kim and Corbett facing out the back window. Took several tries but in the end, the traffic stopped and I was a couple of metres away.
Kim and Corbett (and Hilary) if you are reading this, I'd like to say that me and the wife love your show in the mornings. I wish I can listen to you more but I normally ride a motorbike and obviously it does not have a radio. This morning I was driving my wife's car (red rav 4) when I took your photo.
We love listening to "Battle of the Sexes". I'd like to point out that Hilary can be quite mean with her questions sometimes. But it's all good. The men can tackle it. Kim and Corbett, sometimes your questions can be too easy. :)
By the way, where can I get those Hilary Barry springy heads?
I was already listening to 91.8 then but since I just turned on the radio, I didn't know they were on the Northwestern motorway!
I followed them for a while. Traffic was slowing down as we reach the tail end of the rush hour traffic towards the city. I decided to take a photo of OBEEE1 with Kim and Corbett facing out the back window. Took several tries but in the end, the traffic stopped and I was a couple of metres away.
There's Kim waving at me :)
Kim and Corbett (and Hilary) if you are reading this, I'd like to say that me and the wife love your show in the mornings. I wish I can listen to you more but I normally ride a motorbike and obviously it does not have a radio. This morning I was driving my wife's car (red rav 4) when I took your photo.
We love listening to "Battle of the Sexes". I'd like to point out that Hilary can be quite mean with her questions sometimes. But it's all good. The men can tackle it. Kim and Corbett, sometimes your questions can be too easy. :)
By the way, where can I get those Hilary Barry springy heads?
Thursday, September 14, 2006
The Kuya Club
Subject: FW: A good way to save the airlines
Dump the male flight attendants. No one wanted them in the first place. Replace all the female flight attendants with good-looking strippers! What the hell -- they don't even serve food anymore, so what's the loss? The strippers would at least triple the alcohol sales and get a "party atmosphere" going in the cabin. And, of course, every businessman in this country would start flying again, hoping to see naked women. Because of the tips, female flight attendants wouldn't need a salary, thus saving even more money. I suspect tips would be so good that we could charge the women for working the plane and have them kick back 20% of the tips, including lap dances and "special services." Muslims would be afraid to get on the planes for fear of seeing naked women. Hijackings would come to a screeching halt, and the airline industry would see record revenues. This is definitely a win-winsituation if we handle it right -- a golden opportunity to turn a liability into an asset.
Why didn't Bush think of this?! Why do I still have to do everything myself?!
Sincerely,
Bill Clinton
Dump the male flight attendants. No one wanted them in the first place. Replace all the female flight attendants with good-looking strippers! What the hell -- they don't even serve food anymore, so what's the loss? The strippers would at least triple the alcohol sales and get a "party atmosphere" going in the cabin. And, of course, every businessman in this country would start flying again, hoping to see naked women. Because of the tips, female flight attendants wouldn't need a salary, thus saving even more money. I suspect tips would be so good that we could charge the women for working the plane and have them kick back 20% of the tips, including lap dances and "special services." Muslims would be afraid to get on the planes for fear of seeing naked women. Hijackings would come to a screeching halt, and the airline industry would see record revenues. This is definitely a win-winsituation if we handle it right -- a golden opportunity to turn a liability into an asset.
Why didn't Bush think of this?! Why do I still have to do everything myself?!
Sincerely,
Bill Clinton
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
The new money clip music player
Apple unveiled the the new iPod range today which includes an 80GB iPod, a new set of iPod nanos, and the latest and smallest mp3 player thus far - the iPod Shuffle (above) with a 2GB capacity.Awesome little toy. It can double as a tie clip, too.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Kava - the secret remedy?
League: Kava may be secret remedy for Asotasi
The link above goes to a news article regarding the medicinal properties of kava, and how professional rugby league players swear by it's curative properties
I remember the first time that I heard about kava - we were still living in Thames, and we had a school trip to the big smoke ^_^ basically, we went to St. Joseph's school in Otara, and were billeted with a family for one night :-) now back in the day, there were no polynesians in Thames, hell we were the only asian kids in town (not counting the young half-casts of course)... as a project in preparation of going to Otara to submerse ourselves in polynesian culture, we were given topics to research in groups... my group of three had to do a presentation on kava... so off we went to the library and of course the encyclopedia britannica... thinking back on it now, it makes me wonder how the class we had to present to didn't crack up at our interpretation of what was in the text...
Now, when did i first drink myself legless? probably shortly after i started working we had an afternoon tea for something or other and one of the fijians that i worked with brought kava to celebrate the occasion... so we did the whole sitting on the ground around the kava bowl thing, drinking out of a coconut shell, the whole clap thing before and after receiving and drinking kava...
Started off with tingling lips (the taste leaves much to be desired) and after a few rounds, ended up with nearly all of us not being to get up off the ground due to how relaxed our muscles had become... a rather interesting alternative to going out on the piss, that's for sure :-)
The link above goes to a news article regarding the medicinal properties of kava, and how professional rugby league players swear by it's curative properties
I remember the first time that I heard about kava - we were still living in Thames, and we had a school trip to the big smoke ^_^ basically, we went to St. Joseph's school in Otara, and were billeted with a family for one night :-) now back in the day, there were no polynesians in Thames, hell we were the only asian kids in town (not counting the young half-casts of course)... as a project in preparation of going to Otara to submerse ourselves in polynesian culture, we were given topics to research in groups... my group of three had to do a presentation on kava... so off we went to the library and of course the encyclopedia britannica... thinking back on it now, it makes me wonder how the class we had to present to didn't crack up at our interpretation of what was in the text...
Now, when did i first drink myself legless? probably shortly after i started working we had an afternoon tea for something or other and one of the fijians that i worked with brought kava to celebrate the occasion... so we did the whole sitting on the ground around the kava bowl thing, drinking out of a coconut shell, the whole clap thing before and after receiving and drinking kava...
Started off with tingling lips (the taste leaves much to be desired) and after a few rounds, ended up with nearly all of us not being to get up off the ground due to how relaxed our muscles had become... a rather interesting alternative to going out on the piss, that's for sure :-)
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Binky's Xrays
I got Binky's xrays today. It will better illustrate Binky's condition, why she was in pain and why she needed surgery. Originally the vet thoguht it was a problem with her knee cap (sliding to the side) So the specialist vet took an xray (below) and it clearly shows her leg bones are straight and that the knee cap is not sliding. The knee cap is the egg shaped bone just above the knee.
The problem lies with the head of the femur(FH), the ball shaped portion of the thigh bone that connects to the hip bone. As you can see above, the FH of the right leg does not fit snuggly to the hip sockets like it does o the left leg. During movement, this causes pain on the joint. Sort of like rubbing sandpaper on your skin all the time.
The problem lies with the head of the femur(FH), the ball shaped portion of the thigh bone that connects to the hip bone. As you can see above, the FH of the right leg does not fit snuggly to the hip sockets like it does o the left leg. During movement, this causes pain on the joint. Sort of like rubbing sandpaper on your skin all the time.
Above is a slightly different view. The legs are spread open to show the extent of the malformed FH. According to the vet, this was most likely caused by an injury approximately 8 weeks before this xray was taken (i.e. around june). We suspect it could have been thetime when we took Binky to puppy classes. What happens is an injury stops the bloodflow to this area of the body. The FH stops growing due to lack of oxygen and nutrients. W while later, the bone starts growing again after the injury fixes itself. But y this time it is too late, this bone is already behind development and will always remain that way. I forgot the medical term for this and it happens to humans as well, more commonly among boys.
Here's a side view of Binky's right leg to illustrate that her knee cap is on the right place. In fact, if it wasn't for this FH injury, her legs are very straight and perfectly normal.
The surgery, as I'v mentioned in a previous post, is called Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) and the procedure involves removal of the FH (the ball). See above the thigh bone without the FH.
I had some questions about this procedure and one of them was.."What happens after you remove this bone, will the leg be able to support the dog?" The answer to this was that by removing the bone, the body will adapt by forming a false joint with limited flexibility. This false joint is enough to support a dog like Binky who only ways approx 3kgs. For bigger dogs, this may not be recommended due to their weight and a hip replacement therapy (HRT) is preferred.
HRT was one of Binky's optins too but the smallest stainless steel hip replacement you can get is for a border collie, about 2-3 times Binky's bone size.
Binky is now recovering. She's started to put some weight on her right leg and getting back to her self. Hopefully she will have almost full use of her right leg in a few more months.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Instant weight lost!
They say the camera adds ten pounds. Here's a new camera from HP that will do the reverse!
They are called HP Digital Cameras with Slimming Effect. How cool is that. I wonder how many times you can apply this 'slimming effect' once the photo is taken...
BMW went up in flames
Just on the corner of Beaumont and Fanshawe St outside my work. Happened around 1.25pm today (7th Sept 2006)
Guy was driving down towards motorway on ramp, stopped at traffic light and the engine caught on fire.
5 minutes later...
Caught some of the fumes and water spray...burning rubber stinks!
Guy was driving down towards motorway on ramp, stopped at traffic light and the engine caught on fire.
5 minutes later...
Caught some of the fumes and water spray...burning rubber stinks!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Croc Hunter is dead
This news is so sad!
I just got out of a meeting and found out that the croc hunter died this morning. He was killed by a stingray barb that went through the left side of his chest.
In one article, they said that Terry (his American wife) doesn't even know about it yet (that was around 2pm NZ time) because she was trekking in Tasmania or someplace like that.
I always thought Steve would have lived a very long life. He'll be like Sir Edmund Hillary. But he's always been cavalier and sometimes reckless in his videos but he knows what he's doing. It would be very interesting to know exactly what happened while he was shooting this documentary near Port Douglas.
The whole world will miss him.
I just got out of a meeting and found out that the croc hunter died this morning. He was killed by a stingray barb that went through the left side of his chest.
In one article, they said that Terry (his American wife) doesn't even know about it yet (that was around 2pm NZ time) because she was trekking in Tasmania or someplace like that.
I always thought Steve would have lived a very long life. He'll be like Sir Edmund Hillary. But he's always been cavalier and sometimes reckless in his videos but he knows what he's doing. It would be very interesting to know exactly what happened while he was shooting this documentary near Port Douglas.The whole world will miss him.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Binky - post surgery
Binky had her surgery last tuesday. It went fine. She stayed in the vet hospital overnight and I picked her up on wednesday afternoon. They shaved binky's leg and it looked really weird. She looks like some kind of rodent.
Her right fron paw was also shaved. This is where the drip was injected I believe.
Today, my instructions from the vet were to remove the bandage. At first she was licking around the wound and picking on the sutures. I had to tell her off. She's stopped now.
Over the next several weeks, Binky will need physiotherapy. Basically no running and jumping for her in the next 2 weeks. Then the sutures will come out in 1.5 weeks. I'll post some photos then.
I'm also giving her warm compresses over the wound and muscle and just like a miracle, she started using the right leg a little this morning. A good sign that she'll have the use of her right hind leg.
Her right fron paw was also shaved. This is where the drip was injected I believe.
Today, my instructions from the vet were to remove the bandage. At first she was licking around the wound and picking on the sutures. I had to tell her off. She's stopped now.Over the next several weeks, Binky will need physiotherapy. Basically no running and jumping for her in the next 2 weeks. Then the sutures will come out in 1.5 weeks. I'll post some photos then.I'm also giving her warm compresses over the wound and muscle and just like a miracle, she started using the right leg a little this morning. A good sign that she'll have the use of her right hind leg.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Interesting new way of browsing
This is called "Swarm" (www.swarmthe.com/go/swarm).
Basically it creates a preview of each site and arranges them around this blob like still satellites.
I've been looking at the sites shown and so far they look repetitive. Clicking on the preview thumbnail will open a new window. There is also an adult on/off switch.
Intersting idea but kinda limited and a pain to navigate.
Basically it creates a preview of each site and arranges them around this blob like still satellites.
I've been looking at the sites shown and so far they look repetitive. Clicking on the preview thumbnail will open a new window. There is also an adult on/off switch.
Intersting idea but kinda limited and a pain to navigate.
Pre-order your PS3
www.sony.co.nz/products/news.asp?article=1977
Out November 17, 2006
Too dear for my wallet...perhaps I'll wait for the PS3 Slim...
Out November 17, 2006
Too dear for my wallet...perhaps I'll wait for the PS3 Slim...
Boobs on bikes
Yesterday's Boobs on bikes parade sure stirred a lot of attention publicity. An estimated 100,000 turned up to get a glimpse of the porn stars on this topless parade. Mayor Dick Hubbard cleverly used this event to divert the public's attention away from the controversial rates rise in Auckland.
Among the protesters were people carrying a placard "Sleeze brings disease..." (incorrectly spelt - hahaha)... Personally, these placards should be shown during the Hero parades on ponsonby and K' Road - but that's another matter. By showing up protesting, they are there to look too! Boycotting such an event would be a more effective message I think.
Among the protesters were people carrying a placard "Sleeze brings disease..." (incorrectly spelt - hahaha)... Personally, these placards should be shown during the Hero parades on ponsonby and K' Road - but that's another matter. By showing up protesting, they are there to look too! Boycotting such an event would be a more effective message I think.
Anyway, here are some photos courtesy of our agent on Queen - B0log3r...ahem I mean courtesy of Stuff.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
For the next TVNZ Fishing trip
Can't wait for the next annual TVNZ Fishing trip organised by B0log3r. Based on the last time, I will only get squid and a little pilchard as bait. Squid seem to last the longest.
I am also looking at using a special bait. See image below.
This bait is worth $1 million. Here are some more info:
I am also looking at using a special bait. See image below.
This bait is worth $1 million. Here are some more info:
- Approximately 100 cts. Diamonds and Rubies (4,753 stones)
- Over 3 pounds of platinum, 14-k and 18-k gold
- Over 12 inches in length
Friday, August 18, 2006
Surgery for Binky
I’ll be taking Binky in for Surgery next Tuesday. I forgot what the condition is called but here’s the long version.
A couple of months ago Binky started limping on her right leg. In the beginning it was on and off. I took her to the vet and they reckon it was a sliding knee cap. It is especially common for small dogs because their legs are bowed outwards and the knee cap has the tendency to slide inwards. When this happens the joint will hurt and the dog cannot use it. Apparently there are 4 stages or levels for this condition. Stage 1 is when the knee cap is very loose but it is not exactly sliding out of place. For this stage you observe the leg to make sure it doesn’t develop to anything more. Stage 2 is when the knee cap slides in and out (initial diagnosis for Binky). At this stage, the knee cap can slide out and the joint may or may not hurt. You actually have to force the knee cap in or out. Stage 3 is when the knee-cap is sliding in and out on its own. i.e. slightly worse than stage 2. Stage 4 is when it is out all of the time and the dog permanently has to carry the leg.
The problem is no x-rays were taken during that time. The vet prescribed some anti-inflammatory in the hope it will heal itself. The vet did suggest surgery as the solution but I thought I’d wait as surgery is a bit drastic and not to mention money!
Two months later, Binky seem to have started carrying her leg more and more so I decided to contact the vet and schedule for surgery. Initially the estimate was $900-$1500 for the operation and I have the option of going to a vet or going to a specialist. The specialist will of course cost more around $1500-$1800. So I thought well if the normal vet can do the same job then why not go for the cheaper option. Binky was scheduled for surgery last Monday. However, in the weekend I spoke to the vet and I was told that the normal vet have increased the price to the same as the specialist. That is when I was convinced to go to the specialist instead. Difference of course is the specialists do these things everyday while the vet is like a GP and probably do not have a lot of surgery experience.
So went to the vet on Tuesday and took x-rays. Later that afternoon I found out that Binky doesn’t have a sliding knee cap. In fact her legs are perfectly straight and the knee cap is smacked right in the middle of the knee. The problem is the bone on the right femur stopped growing about 2 months ago possibly due to an injury and loss of blood supply. It has since recovered but due to that incident, the “ball” that normally fits on the hip socket is smaller and is not as mobile as the normal bone.
Normally this is remedied by HRT or hip replacement therapy but the smallest hip replacement they make are for Border Collies. So the only solution for Binky is FHO or femoral head ostectomy.
I had several questions including will she be able to walk again and the answer is yes. Apparently a Jack Russell this specialist operated on started chasing rats after 6 months.
Binky will need bed rest for a minimum of 2 months with no running and jumping in the first 2 weeks. The rest of the time we’ll try to make her use the right leg again.
A couple of months ago Binky started limping on her right leg. In the beginning it was on and off. I took her to the vet and they reckon it was a sliding knee cap. It is especially common for small dogs because their legs are bowed outwards and the knee cap has the tendency to slide inwards. When this happens the joint will hurt and the dog cannot use it. Apparently there are 4 stages or levels for this condition. Stage 1 is when the knee cap is very loose but it is not exactly sliding out of place. For this stage you observe the leg to make sure it doesn’t develop to anything more. Stage 2 is when the knee cap slides in and out (initial diagnosis for Binky). At this stage, the knee cap can slide out and the joint may or may not hurt. You actually have to force the knee cap in or out. Stage 3 is when the knee-cap is sliding in and out on its own. i.e. slightly worse than stage 2. Stage 4 is when it is out all of the time and the dog permanently has to carry the leg.
The problem is no x-rays were taken during that time. The vet prescribed some anti-inflammatory in the hope it will heal itself. The vet did suggest surgery as the solution but I thought I’d wait as surgery is a bit drastic and not to mention money!
Two months later, Binky seem to have started carrying her leg more and more so I decided to contact the vet and schedule for surgery. Initially the estimate was $900-$1500 for the operation and I have the option of going to a vet or going to a specialist. The specialist will of course cost more around $1500-$1800. So I thought well if the normal vet can do the same job then why not go for the cheaper option. Binky was scheduled for surgery last Monday. However, in the weekend I spoke to the vet and I was told that the normal vet have increased the price to the same as the specialist. That is when I was convinced to go to the specialist instead. Difference of course is the specialists do these things everyday while the vet is like a GP and probably do not have a lot of surgery experience.
So went to the vet on Tuesday and took x-rays. Later that afternoon I found out that Binky doesn’t have a sliding knee cap. In fact her legs are perfectly straight and the knee cap is smacked right in the middle of the knee. The problem is the bone on the right femur stopped growing about 2 months ago possibly due to an injury and loss of blood supply. It has since recovered but due to that incident, the “ball” that normally fits on the hip socket is smaller and is not as mobile as the normal bone.
Normally this is remedied by HRT or hip replacement therapy but the smallest hip replacement they make are for Border Collies. So the only solution for Binky is FHO or femoral head ostectomy.
I had several questions including will she be able to walk again and the answer is yes. Apparently a Jack Russell this specialist operated on started chasing rats after 6 months.
Binky will need bed rest for a minimum of 2 months with no running and jumping in the first 2 weeks. The rest of the time we’ll try to make her use the right leg again.
Friday, August 11, 2006
a degree of cringe-cross-your-legs-in-sympathetic-pain factor
now remember kiddies, don't sunbathe in places where things might get stuck...
Monday, August 07, 2006
Friday, August 04, 2006
Spam me silly!
Once in a while you get arseholes emailing you and demand, complain, criticise, etc like they own the world. There is only one thing I want for these folks…
Bots, please come and harvest the following emails and spam them like hell:
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Friendster
I've registered with friendster a few years ago but I haven't relaly been using it until a few days ago.
It all started when I joined a yahoo group called "Grace Christian Scouts" This was my old school and group when I was still in pinas. Late last week I got a Yahoo group announcement from someone who use to be my troop leader, Ross William Tan. His brother and I hang out when we were in the scouts. In fact, his brother Randy was one of the last people whom I said good bye to before coming here in 1992.
So I sent an email, said hello, and eventually I was chatting with Randy. He is now a dad and operate a barbershop and a bar and restaurant in Subic. He showed me some photos of his family and asked me to visit his Friendster accounts. So I did. He said why don't you join? There are heaps of Graceans there.
So I logged in my ancient account, saw a message left to me by El Nino 2 yrs ago...hehe..and true enough a lot of my old friends and classmates were there. So I started updating my profile, started viewing other people's profiles and added a lot of people as friends. I got a few replies back and some of them I wasn't expecting or the person wasn't who I expected them to be.
For example, one of them was Erns. I didn't realise he is really a cute Jap Girl. All these years of knowing him, he is really a she...?
I got a reply from Debbie Jane Ruste who is someone from my batch. We weren't really classmates but her cousins I do know. One was named Dennis who was a scout and the other was in my class and her name was Marilou Dyogi. Dyogi was one of a dozen girls (henceforth called the "Pretty Dozen") in my class whom I always thought were the prettiest girls in my school/batch. They were the ones always nililigawan ng mga school jocks/varsity players, etc...Dyogi did end up marrying one of them and here she is with her baby Lance.
Let's see who else is there? We have Jean who is the smallest person in our class and in the batch but she is the smartest. I think she was like Valedictorian or something.
Calina Prieto, another one of the pretty dozen, Calina is physically the opposite of Jean. She is the tallest girl and perhaps taller than 99% of the boys in school. There was this guy who had this huge crush on her and he was from a different class. But any chance he gets, he hangs around our class almost as if like he was part of our class.
Lyn Florence; I was only in the same class as her for a year I think. I'm surprised she even remembers me. I was quite below the radar I thought and wasn't part of the "in" crowd. Not to mention some students hated me.
Carren; we were never in the same class. But an old friend of mine had a huge crush on her and I often be his support when he would go mangliligaw... That was how I knew her. Been to her house a couple of times.
Fanny Marie; she was in my class and perhaps was one of the happiest people there. She always seem so carefree. She is neutral with everyone I thought.
Susan Lopez; now this person disappeared off the face of the earth before I came here to NZ. We use to hang out at her place working on group assignments. I have one thing associated with her and that is Bananarama - her fav band at the time.
Roselle (Uy); hmm....perhaps one of Lyn's best mates. I remember she was a very nice person...I've always had a soft spot for her. We use to hang out quite a bit in freshman year when we were in the same class.
Roselle (Teodosio); One of my best friends in school. We were quite close and her brother was also a very good friend of mine. He wasn't happy about it...heheh..
There were quite a few of them I saw. I saw my old high school crush, Rhea. The whole class knew I had a big crush on her but I was as torpe as I can be and it went no where.
Here are some of my quiet class mates: Tiffany, Michelle, and Cherry are among a few.
By now you must be wondering why all the ones here are girls? well, some of them I knew since I was in elementary school but in my school, the high school classrooms are arrange differently. Each year was divided to around 10 classrooms. One of these classrooms was called the "star class" if I remember correctly. The 40 or so students here are kinda like the top of the year level and it is composed of mainly girls. There were only 10 of us boys. I remember in Filipino and English subjects we use to have plays like Shakespeare and Noli Me Tangere...it was difficult for us to divide into groups because of the shortage of boys.
When I was freshman high school student, I was in section 7 or something. But for the last two years of high school in pinas, I managed to get into the star classes. I'm not sure how it works though because there are other really smart people in other classes which I feel should have been in my places...hmmm..dunno...
Also in our class was the Principal's grand daughter Rachel. One of her wedding photo is here.
Also in the photo are some I already covered above...plus Maureen Yu (bottom right with bouquet) and Jacqueline Ching (red dress), both are in the "Pretty Dozen". Maureen Yu is the daughter of the famous Manila architect "Willie C Yu". The girl in blue is probably the most tomboy girl of our batch and her name is Kevin...no shit.
Will see if I can get more "friends" added to my list. As I said, I was pretty low under the radar and most of the guys in my class hated me...so...
It all started when I joined a yahoo group called "Grace Christian Scouts" This was my old school and group when I was still in pinas. Late last week I got a Yahoo group announcement from someone who use to be my troop leader, Ross William Tan. His brother and I hang out when we were in the scouts. In fact, his brother Randy was one of the last people whom I said good bye to before coming here in 1992.
So I sent an email, said hello, and eventually I was chatting with Randy. He is now a dad and operate a barbershop and a bar and restaurant in Subic. He showed me some photos of his family and asked me to visit his Friendster accounts. So I did. He said why don't you join? There are heaps of Graceans there.
So I logged in my ancient account, saw a message left to me by El Nino 2 yrs ago...hehe..and true enough a lot of my old friends and classmates were there. So I started updating my profile, started viewing other people's profiles and added a lot of people as friends. I got a few replies back and some of them I wasn't expecting or the person wasn't who I expected them to be.
For example, one of them was Erns. I didn't realise he is really a cute Jap Girl. All these years of knowing him, he is really a she...?I got a reply from Debbie Jane Ruste who is someone from my batch. We weren't really classmates but her cousins I do know. One was named Dennis who was a scout and the other was in my class and her name was Marilou Dyogi. Dyogi was one of a dozen girls (henceforth called the "Pretty Dozen") in my class whom I always thought were the prettiest girls in my school/batch. They were the ones always nililigawan ng mga school jocks/varsity players, etc...Dyogi did end up marrying one of them and here she is with her baby Lance.
Let's see who else is there? We have Jean who is the smallest person in our class and in the batch but she is the smartest. I think she was like Valedictorian or something.
Calina Prieto, another one of the pretty dozen, Calina is physically the opposite of Jean. She is the tallest girl and perhaps taller than 99% of the boys in school. There was this guy who had this huge crush on her and he was from a different class. But any chance he gets, he hangs around our class almost as if like he was part of our class.
Lyn Florence; I was only in the same class as her for a year I think. I'm surprised she even remembers me. I was quite below the radar I thought and wasn't part of the "in" crowd. Not to mention some students hated me.
Carren; we were never in the same class. But an old friend of mine had a huge crush on her and I often be his support when he would go mangliligaw... That was how I knew her. Been to her house a couple of times.
Fanny Marie; she was in my class and perhaps was one of the happiest people there. She always seem so carefree. She is neutral with everyone I thought.
Susan Lopez; now this person disappeared off the face of the earth before I came here to NZ. We use to hang out at her place working on group assignments. I have one thing associated with her and that is Bananarama - her fav band at the time.
Roselle (Uy); hmm....perhaps one of Lyn's best mates. I remember she was a very nice person...I've always had a soft spot for her. We use to hang out quite a bit in freshman year when we were in the same class.
Roselle (Teodosio); One of my best friends in school. We were quite close and her brother was also a very good friend of mine. He wasn't happy about it...heheh..
There were quite a few of them I saw. I saw my old high school crush, Rhea. The whole class knew I had a big crush on her but I was as torpe as I can be and it went no where.
Here are some of my quiet class mates: Tiffany, Michelle, and Cherry are among a few.
By now you must be wondering why all the ones here are girls? well, some of them I knew since I was in elementary school but in my school, the high school classrooms are arrange differently. Each year was divided to around 10 classrooms. One of these classrooms was called the "star class" if I remember correctly. The 40 or so students here are kinda like the top of the year level and it is composed of mainly girls. There were only 10 of us boys. I remember in Filipino and English subjects we use to have plays like Shakespeare and Noli Me Tangere...it was difficult for us to divide into groups because of the shortage of boys.
When I was freshman high school student, I was in section 7 or something. But for the last two years of high school in pinas, I managed to get into the star classes. I'm not sure how it works though because there are other really smart people in other classes which I feel should have been in my places...hmmm..dunno...
Also in our class was the Principal's grand daughter Rachel. One of her wedding photo is here.
Also in the photo are some I already covered above...plus Maureen Yu (bottom right with bouquet) and Jacqueline Ching (red dress), both are in the "Pretty Dozen". Maureen Yu is the daughter of the famous Manila architect "Willie C Yu". The girl in blue is probably the most tomboy girl of our batch and her name is Kevin...no shit.
Will see if I can get more "friends" added to my list. As I said, I was pretty low under the radar and most of the guys in my class hated me...so...
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
Movie Review: Superman Returns
ok. i saw this film a couple of weeks back, and I would still give it 3 stars out of 5.
i enjoyed the 2-hour long film, and a much awaited one at that, since the last couple of Superman films ever to grace our screens are mediocre or ridiculous at best. maybe that's why former X-Men director Singer said something along the lines of "'Returns' comes after Superman 2", and decided not to credit 3 and 4 (i warn you all not to kill a million brain cells by subjecting yourselves to Superman 3!).
the 2006 script is good, and there comes at least a couple of engaging moments where i felt like the movie hit the stop for most movie-goers - lois lane's secret (?!) and Superman's first rescue since his return.
i reckon Perry White was a bit more clued in as to the coincidental re-appearances of the Man Of Steel and mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent. and Marsden's role in this film really didn't make much impact, and imo, he should've stayed with the X-Men franchise. He could've had a bigger role as Cyclops. but i digress....
routh is often seen to be making a great impersonation of Christopher Reeve, but i mean that as a compliment.
time for my usual gripes: 1) what kind of security does the Fortress Of Solitude really have? 2) was Spacey channeling Gene Hackman there? 3) they still could've done much better with the flying (although I heard that watching the sequences in 3D is a different experience all together).
oh... and 4) i'm expecting clobbering times in the sequels. please.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Cop with second job
So how does it go in the movies?
Potential Customer: Hey babe!
Call girl: Hey honey wassup?
Potential Customer: Yes. How much?
Call girl: Are you a cop?
Potential Customer: No.
Call girl: Good. But I am…
I suppose they are gathering revenue one way or another.
One question that must be asked though. Should cops have a second job? If a cop is trying to solve a crime, will he/she look at the clock at the end of shift saying "I'll do this some other time. I late for my other job." Is this why crimes don't get solved in NZ?
I think most people will be worried that if a law enforcer has a second job, it may compromise his/her effectiveness on the primary job.
Potential Customer: Hey babe!
Call girl: Hey honey wassup?
Potential Customer: Yes. How much?
Call girl: Are you a cop?
Potential Customer: No.
Call girl: Good. But I am…
I suppose they are gathering revenue one way or another.
One question that must be asked though. Should cops have a second job? If a cop is trying to solve a crime, will he/she look at the clock at the end of shift saying "I'll do this some other time. I late for my other job." Is this why crimes don't get solved in NZ?
I think most people will be worried that if a law enforcer has a second job, it may compromise his/her effectiveness on the primary job.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Mailroom Etiquette
Went to the mailroom this morning to get our mail. So this "Little" guy was there sifting through a mail drawer. This guy is an editor of a men's mag and because his department/mag is small, he shares the drawer of 2 other departments.
What appalls me is that he was looking for his mail and left all others behind. The least he could do is grab a handful of mails and give it to the editorial assisstant on his way to his desk (which is on the way). At least the editorial assistant will not have to make multiple trips to get all the mail.
I know of other editors who are not too proud to help. Perhaps it is his nature. I once heard that he is a real arsehole...so up himself...?
Is it too much to expect such kindness/manners?
What appalls me is that he was looking for his mail and left all others behind. The least he could do is grab a handful of mails and give it to the editorial assisstant on his way to his desk (which is on the way). At least the editorial assistant will not have to make multiple trips to get all the mail.
I know of other editors who are not too proud to help. Perhaps it is his nature. I once heard that he is a real arsehole...so up himself...?
Is it too much to expect such kindness/manners?
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
I want one: Hyanide personal tank
Do you want to have a motorcycle, a dirt bike, and a snow mobile? You can have all three without spending for all three with the Hyanide concept vehicle!
Read more about it here.
Now if only they can combine it with a quadski...
Monday, July 17, 2006
R.I.P. Yvonne Tan Part 2
Cont... from previous post.
This piece was shown on Sunday 16th July 2006 in two programs; Asia Down-under and Sunday.
This piece was shown on Sunday 16th July 2006 in two programs; Asia Down-under and Sunday.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Wanted: Real judges for NZ Idol
I find it interesting to watch reality shows and in this instance it is the NZ Idol. Not because I want to laugh at some terrible hopefuls (like the Oh no girl, The prison break dude, and diet Rick Astley) but because there are some fairly good ones. Of course NZ is always short of good singing talent when it comes to idols (compared to Australia and of course USA) but there are still some.
But that is not what I'm writing about today. I am writing about the terrible judges (except Frankie Stevens) such as Paul Ellis, Fiona Macdonald, Jackie Clarke, and now Iain Stables and Megan Alatini. I've made antry about this before and after seeing the first episode of NZ Idol, I feel I need to vent some disappointment again. In my first entry I complained mainly about Megan Alatini who was a member of the group "True Bliss" - a product of a similar "popstar" competition format that made the Spice Girls. But True Bliss didn't last that long which was my argument against Megan as a choice for NZ Idol judge. I felt she does not have the right to be there. I thought Carly Binding (another True Bliss ex-member) was the better choice. But today, I'm willing to give her the chance.
Iain Stables on the other hand is a radio man who don't even like pop music so what the hjell is he doing in a pop music competition??? The whole episode Frankie was apologising for Iain Stables' negative comments to some contestants saying Iain doesn't really like R&B or Iaian is not into pop...he clearly is a rock person. Were the organisers of NZ idol so desperate to find a nasty judge?
Let's see the next few episodes and hopefully it becomes better. Just remember judges, I do not want to here "You made it your own!" comments.
But that is not what I'm writing about today. I am writing about the terrible judges (except Frankie Stevens) such as Paul Ellis, Fiona Macdonald, Jackie Clarke, and now Iain Stables and Megan Alatini. I've made antry about this before and after seeing the first episode of NZ Idol, I feel I need to vent some disappointment again. In my first entry I complained mainly about Megan Alatini who was a member of the group "True Bliss" - a product of a similar "popstar" competition format that made the Spice Girls. But True Bliss didn't last that long which was my argument against Megan as a choice for NZ Idol judge. I felt she does not have the right to be there. I thought Carly Binding (another True Bliss ex-member) was the better choice. But today, I'm willing to give her the chance.
Iain Stables on the other hand is a radio man who don't even like pop music so what the hjell is he doing in a pop music competition??? The whole episode Frankie was apologising for Iain Stables' negative comments to some contestants saying Iain doesn't really like R&B or Iaian is not into pop...he clearly is a rock person. Were the organisers of NZ idol so desperate to find a nasty judge?
Let's see the next few episodes and hopefully it becomes better. Just remember judges, I do not want to here "You made it your own!" comments.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Today's interesting news
A couple of interesting news articles I read today. The first one is about a teenage girl inviting a stranger she met in Bebo.com to her house, while her parents are away, to have sex. Parents should really try to control this at home and schools should have these sites filtered. For budding parents like B0log3r, there is a software called Net Nanny which is quite good. I’ve had good feedback from our readers about it.
Second article: Police say severed foot not suspiciousSHOCK HORROR!!! It was like…
While walking along beachPoliceman 1: Hey look! A severed foot.
Policeman 2: Yeah…cool.
Policeman 1: Yeah…let’s issue some more speeding tickets.
I mean what is wrong with these people?
Second article: Police say severed foot not suspiciousSHOCK HORROR!!! It was like…
While walking along beachPoliceman 1: Hey look! A severed foot.
Policeman 2: Yeah…cool.
Policeman 1: Yeah…let’s issue some more speeding tickets.
I mean what is wrong with these people?
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Great new idea for the police
The Police Commissioner Howard Broad found it offensive that the poilice have a quota system. Here’s a quote from him:
"I have a fundamental opposition to that because quotas, to me, suggest that we are somehow a beneficiary of what it is that we do, that we are collecting the revenue, that we are somehow punching the ticket along the way, that officers are somehow benefiting from this,"
My question is, Aren’t you? Doesn’t this help buy your toilet paper in the stations because you are all shit?
Here’s another one:
"That's just not the case. We're not a bunch of bounty hunters who are out there ticketing for ticketing's sake."
I have a great new idea. How about solving crime for solving crime’s sake! There are lots of unsolved crimes on your desks so how about this great idea…How about a crime solving quota!?
Hey what you think of that? It doesn’t have to be a daily quota. It can be a weekly or monthly quota. You can start with say solving 7 crimes a week each. If you feel lucky, solve 10. Hey by the end of the year you would have solved all the crimes!
"I have a fundamental opposition to that because quotas, to me, suggest that we are somehow a beneficiary of what it is that we do, that we are collecting the revenue, that we are somehow punching the ticket along the way, that officers are somehow benefiting from this,"
My question is, Aren’t you? Doesn’t this help buy your toilet paper in the stations because you are all shit?
Here’s another one:
"That's just not the case. We're not a bunch of bounty hunters who are out there ticketing for ticketing's sake."
I have a great new idea. How about solving crime for solving crime’s sake! There are lots of unsolved crimes on your desks so how about this great idea…How about a crime solving quota!?
Hey what you think of that? It doesn’t have to be a daily quota. It can be a weekly or monthly quota. You can start with say solving 7 crimes a week each. If you feel lucky, solve 10. Hey by the end of the year you would have solved all the crimes!
Monday, July 03, 2006
Police - traffic quota system
The leaked internal memo exposed by National's law and order spokesman, Simon Power, confirmed what most of us believe, for a very long time, that the Police operate on a traffic ticket quota system.
Basically most people (people I’ve spoken to who are not related to a police-person) believe that the police have a daily target/quota similar to what parking wardens have. This means, just to reach the target $$, the police will stop anyone they feel like picking on.
This brings up a few questions as well:
Who do they normally pick? I police can be quite racist and pick on any dark skinned fella with a hoodie.
Also, shouldn’t they be solving crimes? There are plenty of cases left unsolved. In a way the police are not public servants anymore. They are a business. The do not solve crimes because it is not profitable.
Can you feel my anger?
Basically most people (people I’ve spoken to who are not related to a police-person) believe that the police have a daily target/quota similar to what parking wardens have. This means, just to reach the target $$, the police will stop anyone they feel like picking on.
This brings up a few questions as well:
Who do they normally pick? I police can be quite racist and pick on any dark skinned fella with a hoodie.
Also, shouldn’t they be solving crimes? There are plenty of cases left unsolved. In a way the police are not public servants anymore. They are a business. The do not solve crimes because it is not profitable.
Can you feel my anger?
Saturday, July 01, 2006
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