Bleagh The Food!!!

Today was much about walking. My parents and I decided to make our way down to Singapore Expo for the Halal 2009 expo. I thought to myself, "Why not? Building closer and stronger rapport for my community!" Anyway, I knew getting a parking space would be a disaster but my Dad displayed faith. Geez.

Of course, his faith was that he parked at a bend. Which is illegal at any case. I kinda showed him the "C'mon Dad" face but hey, there's another car in front doing the same thing. In the same boat we are!

Wouldn't it be a surprise if most of the demographic that attended was the Malay community. But they were some Chinese who came by. Either the organizers devised an aggressive marketting campaign or the prime weakness of Singaporeans where the sight of a huge crowd is the presence of a bargain. Hey, anything to ease the tough economy.

Outside, a group of cars lined up to please the eyes. A white SUV caught my eye. At first glance, I thought it was another imitation but OMG, it was a Hummer. MAN, that's rare! I didn't get the chance to snap a picture. But it kinda look like this:

NIce? YEAH.

The expo, summed up in a sentence, is like an indoor pasar malam. Rows of food booths cover the pathways. The smells adore me as we jostle our way through. It seems there's a celebration at the back. Wedding decorators, antiques, education and even ear candling booths! And I thought the Halal 2009 expo was only about food! I guess it's my prejudice of the Malay community that seems to like food a lot. That's evidenced by the high percentage of obesed malays. Yuck. [I'm not a black sheep. I'm fat too. Haha.] There are quite a number of booths here set up by our neighbours across the highwat. There was one selling pau and another selling ice cream. Another piece of evidence from my community's love for food.

Donut Empire, a donut shop, set up a booth there. The 'new' Pastamania that had recently been given the Halal status. Yay! And one antique shop that featured goods from Africa. In fact, the booth owners ARE from Africa! Haha! Guess it's not all Malay here! I was certainly eyeing at the antique booths. My slums need a boost of 'foreign taste' to complete its transformation. Well, it's only a sixth in. Haha.

The expo, which ran its last day today, was graced by many familiar Suria stars. (Sorry guys. No Jennette Aw or Britney Spears here.) Though, I didn't know all their names. Bleagh. I can't belief I don't support local Malay arts. But anyway, it was kinda nice to see an expo about the Malay community. I think they need more overseas products like the ice cream and pau from Malaysia. Their marketting too has to expand to attract not only Malays but other communities as well. They should market it as a gateway to increasing understanding between different communities. Haha. Do I sound political to you? On a serious note, the expo seems like a launching pad for new food businesses like Pastamania to introduce themselves their Halal certification and open up a new area of foods available for the Muslim community. Dang, we need more French food!

At the end of the day, it's cool. : )

Sleepy Head by Passion Pit

This is stop motion at its best.

Hawker Centre ≠ Restaurant

[Edit: Video's in. Was just because of a misplaced spacing. Sigh.]



In the light of the recent mishap of a group of American tourists being charged nearly $500 for a meal at Newton Food Centre, Stomp's Point Blank hooked up a spy camera whilst ordering a meal at Newton Food Centre. Call it intrusive but if you managed to stomach the horrendous 'interview' from the reporter, eye in from 13 minutes where the executive director of Consumers Assosiation Of Singapore, or CASE, describes how both parties are at fault here.

As a consumer, you have the right to know the details of the product/item. As a shop owner, you have the right to answer any queries consumers have towards your products. HOWEVER, it's not really mandatory to bring consumers into light about how important for example, the weighing process, is and how things can change when such an area is not supervised. A consumer could just be told about it but in a chaotic and buzzy environment of a food centre, he might not really give much thought. Many shop owners play the 'Never ask lor' game. It includes of pushing the blame to the consumers because they fail to query anything questionable. Of course this is malpractice since the shop owners have the obligation to notify them about the minor details. But what details shall CASE decide that we should be know about? And if CASE decides that it should supervise business practices, won't we all exploit this? And who will supervise CASE? Who will supervise CASE's supervisor? But also remember, consumers too have the responsibility to ask.

I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding. The American consumers failed to query about the weighing process and the shop owners failed to shed light on that process. Both parties are at equal fault since no one wants to be responsible. So what CASE should, and preferably do, is to reinstate the rights of a consumer and shop owner. This is because it's hard to point fingers to blame the downfall of social values in our society where many couldn't care less, especially, for being responsible?

That's what makes human minds so captivating. No machine will replicate us. We live in deep mind dynamics that no matter how many processors you put in a super computer, a human is best. (And also at worst.) Our 'engineering' capability supersedes any computer.

Get everybody to remind themselves that there's no foolproof way of solving this. There's a responsibility in everyone. That is what makes a good person. My only advice, ALWAYS ASK ABOUT EVERYTHING as there's a fine line of what's right and wrong.

H00ts List.... FINALISED

I kill too many trees this past few days. The collection from the IT Show.

At any rate.

I've been dying to test my new laptop's graphical power. Graphical as in graphics. So don't think of X/Y-axes! At first, I wanted to download a demo of the much hyped FPS game called Battlefield 2142. After 20 minutes, the 1GB file was ready for my entertainmaent. Oh yeah.

After a quick install, I launched it. Only to face by a dialog box saying that I need DirectX 9. It's a driver of some sorts that supplements the graphics card. Not really sure on how it works but I do know that I didn't have that. Bummer.

I've checked my system and I know it has DX10. Hey, since I've the latest one, why can't I run an old game based on an older driver? A quick Googling and I found that DX10 is not backwards compatible like DX9 is to DX8. Also, my long love for headshots and rockets will end since BF 2142 can't run on DX10.

Though, some have pointed out that they could still run the game but their OS was Vista Ultimate. Maybe that matters?

My troubles don't just end there. I had trouble learning the new keyboard since I've spent almost 3 years on my Mac. On the first note, the keyboard is spacious with big buttons. Responsiveness seems quick but lacks the deep satisfying push of a Mac and its uniformed feedback. Some might find those Mac buttons hard to type on but I like that. So, when I 'felt' I didn't register a key, I would press that button again only to see I've misspelled. And hey, that's a pretty small touch pad when the sensitive is relly low at max!!!

With a Mac keyboard, the Control key is conviently placed so that my pinky could use it. BUT, on a Windows keyboard it's placed at the lower left. Bleagh. My thumb-index finger combo won't really work now. Closing tabs, creating new ones and skipping words in a Word document will be a chore now! On the same note, there's a row of Home/End/Page Up/Down keys acting as 2nd function controls for media playback. That's nice but it removes the purpose when the touch sensetive buttons for media playback are just beside.

Using a big keyboard is nice and comfortable but if you're like me who has been spending far too long on a cramped keyboard, you'll take some time getting used to it. Especially when you have muscle memorised your previous keyboardas mistyping seems to get on your nerves. But time will get you in the bandwagon!


Overall, it's a nice piece of hardware. Regarding the game, my good friend Turtle has stopped playing it. So maybe I get a copy of it and test out the installation before I get a new copy that will set me back about $60. Other games? Well there's Left 4 Dead, Company Of Heroes, Counter Strike. I'm not really into much games as I primarily use them to pass time, not fight for a spot at the World Cyber Games. Haha.

Can someone tell me how to use the 6-in-1 memory card slot?










But will that matter with my new printer? WOOTS!!! It can print pretty good pictures anddocuments. It's not really a good bargain but I can sit this printer living it up to it's price. Blah.... $300 is a lot for a printer.

But hey, all those stuff will help increase my productivity. (Except the inclusion of games though)

Unreal Acer, The Rant

It has been eventful for the past few days. So be aware that my content may step on my grammatical prowess. ; P

Saying, "It's what inside that matters, not the outside." is the same as, "It's software, not hardware".

On Sat, I purchased my school laptop for polytechnic studies. It was kinda a good bargain. At 1.7k, you're getting an mid-range processor, HD capabilities such as 720p video and a HDMI output, a decent graphics card, 500GB of storage, 4GB of RAM and 3 years of complete warranty!!! W00ts! BUT of course, there is always the black sheep of the pack, Vista.

At first, I wasn't complaining. After all, we grow accustomed to democratic equality and so it seems no place for being single-OS centric. As you know, my Acer graced upon a problem, rendering my new laptop inaccessible. An e-mail later, I was told to bring it down on Monday for a restore.

Still full with energy and hype from Vista, I happily made my way to Ngee Ann. The thing about this 'emotion' is that it overwhelmed me. So much so that I thought independantly from my common sense. I guess my cerebral cortex decided to take a break and adore the in-campus babes. YIKES. And so, young Zul wondered into block 5, the main IT helpdesk. I don't know what made me to ignore specific instructions from the email to bring the laptop down to NP's Acer booth.

Imagine me all sweaty from my trek, blame it on global warming, going to block 5 and was told by the staff there to go to block 56. WHAT? But can't blame him on that. And again, I wander my way to block 56. Many familiar faces appear. I'm sure they are wondering why I'm there again. A lecturer addressed my problem and after a quick demo of my peril, he suggested that I should get a reset from Acer since it's a software issue.

Now I remember! I thought that the problem was caused by someone meddling into my config which apparently was when the Software Top-Up dudes installed the programs. Remember the anti-virus glitch? Yuck.

You know me, I without fail carried my tired flesh and bones to the Acer booth. I guess there was some desire in me that disguises my rage. I've been with Mac for almost 3 years now and I guess it's that sense of nostalgia that I long that I want rekindle. Thus, I was really hoping to get my laptop fixed. Up the Acer booth, the 'sales men' directed me to the Acer makeshift storage-cum-cash-counter. -_- Mind you, I'm still carring a 2.5 Kg laptop on my back and still sweating!!!

And I thought it was over as I stepped into that room! Passed my lappie to some dude to what I thought was just a simple reset. Nooooo. Minutes later, he called me and said that I needed to make my way down to Acer's Service Centre at International Business Park to get a reet there. MAN, I guess my sweat tickling down my temples and my shortness of breath did not chance upon the slightest indication that I might be tired. RAHHHHH.

I really wanted the laptop to be fixed pronto! I want to immerse myself into Windows and be caught in an OS paradox. GEEZ.

Ok, long story short. I received some help from them on boarding which busses to go there. Though it would be better if they helped more but hey, that's how wide their job scope is. Thanks to Keith and Kok Ming, I was able to cut the waiting line and get my laptop reset in no time. And thanks to Dad too for giving me a lift. Phew!

After which, I made my way to NP again for the Software Top Up just to be told the only available slots start from 3:30pm, a lenghty 2 hours since I returned from the Acer Service Centre. A call later and a pair of wet shoes, damn rain, I was on my way home. And today, after a morning trip to NP,'s Software Top Up, I'm all done! YEAH.

I'm tired now. Bleagh.

Bending the rules

Just finished my software top up... All seems fine. And suddenly, I got the nerve to bend the rules...
NICE.

1 Day Left...

Here we go. On Thursday, I peaked into NP for a little hands on with the laptops they offer. I was definitely eyeing for an Acer. Something tells me that an Acer was much value add than the other brands. Fujitsu, Lenovo and Apple to graced that event but a 3rd party company were selling them. I wasn't really particular fussy about that fact but knowing that my product comes from the company itself is much 'easier'.

I wasn't surprised when the presence of loud pumping music and even an emcee came from the Apple booth. After all, it's Apple. I guess they are the only booth that are employed real tech gurus not like those from the other booths that just seem to read off the specs list. But hey, I don't expect 20 year olds to be in the tech market. Just part timers...

Eventually, my 2 former classmates decided to buy the Acer laptop I've been eyeing since their brochures landed in my mailbox. Is it a good buy? Yeap. But what was the stir about Acer in the recent years? It was regarding Acer's chassis, the body of the computer. Some say it had poor heat management. Thus, overheating after a few hours of work. But citing from the 'sales man', the chassis has been revamped with the new Gemstone line up. Am I buying that? Well yeah and literary too. Yesterday, I brought home an Acer.

Since Mr Ho is using a Gemstone too and has been using it for 2 years, it goes without saying the stability of hardware. But of course, it's based on professional results under professional usage.

; )

I'm only worried about the stability of software. That's all. And the undesired became true.

The first hiccup came when I was to install additional software for my course. The wireless system did not detect any wireless networks even though the router was just behind me. Fortunately, a simple reboot solved it. Several installs later, it kept on saying to update my anti-virus. Obviously being handled by Windows n00bs, they decided to reinstall the anti-virus program. Bleagh, it was to no avail. And there I was, sitting there dumbfounded for almost 4 hours. Sigh. If you're reading this Asril, sorry mate! I know you wanted me to accompany you to the IT Show! In the end, it was just simply a error I could forgo. Saying something about Vista Home Premium being unable to 'see'. From my perspective that is.

But the worst has yet to come. Upon reaching home, I turned on my Acer machine to embrace it. Don't get me wrong, I like how Microsoft is able make Vista into a beautiful OS. It is just not as reliable as Mac program wise. And to further drive my point, I got this message upon log in.

I was fuming. Even the sacrifice of time won't allow a Windows machine to survive. Ok, maybe only Vista. Damn you Vista. But for now, I can only wait to Monday and bring it back for servicing. Anyway, At least I have a new pair of pants.