arnoldho.com

Iron Man Collection

2009-01-01T00:59:00.001+08:00

Iron Man
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

My Iron Man collection. I still have some on the way but here's a quick shot with my 350D.

A Wedding of Old Friends

2008-12-21T05:10:00.003+08:00

I attended my secondary school friend Zhiguang's wedding. We were never that close and I remembered him mostly for sitting diagonally left in front of me, his unusual antics and his squeaky voice.

Maybe it's because I am getting older and missing the days gone by, I wanted to attend the wedding and offer my best wishes. Would you believe that he and his wife has knew each other since they were toddlers? Like a fairy tale.

At the wedding, a small group of us from different classes, were scattered about the same ballroom after so many years. We hadn't seen each other for years so it took some time to warm up to each other again. Despite the slow start, one by one, everyone began to draw towards the same table, just like when we streamed into the same classrooms.

That night, our table was the last to disperse. We went back to our familiar lives, until something else brings us together again.

I had just finished watching Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and came across a great song by Regina Spektor, The Call, that perfectly compliments the night.

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word

And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry

I'll come back
When you call me
No need to say goodbye

Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never
Been this way before

All you can do is try to know
Who your friends are
As you head off to the war

Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light

You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye

You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye

Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and now one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes

You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye

You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye

McDelivery

2008-12-05T02:34:00.002+08:00

I just called up for a McSpicy and McNuggets meal on McDelivery. The operator asked for my number and listed my address as Nanyang Crescent (that's my hostel address back when I was in University). This made me realised I hadn't ordered McDelivery for more than 2 years.

I am currently in the most terrible state as far as I know. I have exhausted all of my personal leave to study. However I am down with allergies and itching all over. On medication. The medication is sedating so I sleep 14hrs a day and remained dazed when awake. Having just began revising for an exam 3 days away.

Thus the requirement for a late night snack. McDelivery.

Oh how my life sucks. It's funny how life makes the arrival of McDelivery a shining moment. Excuse me whilst I weep buckets.

I HATE ALLERGIES.

Pineapple Express

2008-12-02T03:38:00.004+08:00

Pineapple Express is awesome! I had no idea what to expect when I started the movie but things got rollin' from the moment Dale starts getting his weed from Saul.

Saul: Just sit back and get ready to enjoy some of the rarest weed known to mankind.
[he lights a joint and inhales]
Dale Denton: It's really that rare?
Saul: [exhales] It's, like, the rarest.
[he examines the joint]
Saul: It's almost a shame to smoke it. It's like killing a unicorn... with, like, a bomb.

Take a ride! On the Express!

Ailing's Pledge The Sequel

2008-11-29T22:43:00.002+08:00

Another term has passed and off we go towards a new semester. I quoted what Ai Ling had to say for the upcoming term. By the way, here's what she said previously that we would do this term. No points for guessing how hard we worked.

[22:41:39] wishin' & hopin' says:
heard u got into grp 1 yayy
[22:41:46] .arnoldho.com [DESCTOM]: And it's done. Bruce Wayne, The Batman, is dead. says:
yeah
[22:41:58] .arnoldho.com [DESCTOM]: And it's done. Bruce Wayne, The Batman, is dead. says:
next time u all can help me mark attendance
[22:42:02] .arnoldho.com [DESCTOM]: And it's done. Bruce Wayne, The Batman, is dead. says:
hee hee
[22:42:26] wishin' & hopin' says:
cannot!!
[22:42:30] wishin' & hopin' says:
we must mug hard next sem!
[22:42:33] wishin' & hopin' says:
study everyday!!
[22:42:34] wishin' & hopin' says:
lol
[22:43:00] .arnoldho.com [DESCTOM]: And it's done. Bruce Wayne, The Batman, is dead. says:
i shall blog this again.
[22:43:03] .arnoldho.com [DESCTOM]: And it's done. Bruce Wayne, The Batman, is dead. says:
hang on.

Venom vs. Carnage

2008-11-11T12:28:00.001+08:00

Venom vs. Carnage
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

My new collectibles. I should be studying for the exam due in 6 hrs but I just couldn't resist taking some shots!

Terminator 800 1:1 Scale

2008-11-10T15:33:00.001+08:00

Terminator 800 1:1 Scale
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

My new Terminator Series 800 1:1 scale head, fresh from Cyberdyne!!!

I placed a huge order, ~$500USD worth I think, steep, but given this baby is just one of the many others that came along, Terminator, Venom, Carnage, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Catwoman, Guyvers 12" models, that arrived in a humongous box today (couldn't put my arms around it), I say it's totally worth it.

More photos of the others after my exams. I managed to get a few shots of the Metal though. Check it out!

Haven't been posting recently. I am trying to make at least one post per month though. Studying whilst working pretty much sucks. Nights out are reduced to like less than 3 times/month. This one is for November I guess.

Guyver Custom Vinyl Models

2008-10-16T21:22:00.001+08:00

Guyver
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Custom-painted vinyl models. Worth every penny.

The two in the background are the movie versions of the Zoanoid and Guyver I. The two in the foreground are anime versions of Guyver I and III.

The photos do not do them justice. It was taken with my k810i. My friend lent me her precious camera (so I can finally take some decent shots) but I guess I would have to wait till I have got time to put together a DIY Macro Photo Studio before getting down and dirty.

Ailing's Pledge

2008-09-05T00:19:00.002+08:00

Ailing aka Peggy said this. Next semester, we shall see. Hehe.

[00:12:32] wishin' & hopin' says:
next semester
[00:12:36] wishin' & hopin' says:
wah i tell u everyday study man!!
[00:12:39] wishin' & hopin' says:
confirm everyday
[00:12:43] wishin' & hopin' says:
onz ah next semester

Color Quiz

2008-07-09T01:04:00.002+08:00

I am, by default, highly skeptical about online quizzes. However, I was browsing through Ruiqi's journal and saw the results generated by Colorquiz about her. I was pretty surprised that the results were quite well-aligned despite the test only requiring users to choose colors.

Curious, I gave it a whirl and I must admit, it is wildly amazing they managed to choose such an appropriate set of "general statements" about me, just like they did for Ruiqi.

My results

Your Existing Situation
Readily participates in things that provide excitement or stimulation. Wants to feel exhilarated.

Your Stress Sources
Wants to overcome a feeling of emptiness and of separation from others. Believes that life still has far more to offer and that he may miss his share of experiences if he fails to make the best use of every opportunity. He therefore pursues his objectives with a fierce intensity and commits himself deeply and readily. Feels himself to be completely competent in any field in which he engages, and can sometimes be considered by others to be interfering or meddlesome.

Your Restrained Characteristics
Believes that he is not receiving his share--that he is neither properly understood or adequately appreciated. Feels that he is being compelled to conform, and close relationships leave him without any sense of emotional involvement.

Circumstances force him to compromise and to forgo some pleasures for the time being. Capable of achieving physical satisfaction from sexual activity.

Your Desired Objective
His need to feel more causative and to have a wider sphere of influence makes him restless and he is driven by his desires and hopes. May try to spread his activities over too wide a field.

Your Actual Problem
The fear that he may be prevented from achieving the things he wants leads him into a relentless search for satisfaction in the pursuit of illusory or meaningless activities.

Your Actual Problem #2
Feels restricted and prevented from progressing; seeking a solution which will remove these limitations.

So Close

2008-07-02T21:21:00.004+08:00

So close to reaching that famous happy end...

Jon McLaughlin - So Close

You’re in my arms
And all the world is calm
The music playing on for only two
So close together
And when I’m with you
So close to feeling alive

A life goes by
Romantic dreams will stop
So I bid mine goodbye and never knew
So close was waiting, waiting here with you
And now forever I know
All that I wanted to hold you
So close

So close to reaching that famous happy end
Almost believing this was not pretend
And now you’re beside me and look how far we’ve come
So far we are so close

How could I face the faceless days
If I should lose you now?
We’re so close
To reaching that famous happy end
And almost believing this was not pretend
Let’s go on dreaming for we know we are
So close
So close
And still so far

Yonex Ultimum RQ Ti-1500

2008-06-24T00:26:00.001+08:00

Tennis
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Yonex Ultimum RQ Ti-1500. My spare tennis racket. Used by Anna Kournikova back in the days. Wonderful racquet. Every few months, I need it's specifications but either can't remember or am uncertain. I am documenting it here for future reference.

Technical Specifications
Length 27.5 inches 70 centimeters
Head Size 105 square inches 677 square centimeters
Weight 11 ounces 312 grams
Balance Point 13 inches 33 centimeters 6pts Head Light
Shaft Width 23-26mm Taper Beam
Composition High Modulus Graphite & Ultimum Ti Fibers

Babolat RDC Ratings
Score Grade
Flex Rating 61 Range: 0-100
Swing Weight 314 Range: 200-400
Manueverability 75 A

Yonex Ultimum RQ Ti-1500 Tennis Racquet Review
Have you ever wondered how a professional tennis player ends up playing with a particular racquet? Me either, but we're going to tell you one player's story because the player we're talking about is Anna Kournikova, and you can't really love(infatuation) or hate(envy) her without knowing all there is to know about her search for the perfect racquet. Plus, you may discover that your search for the perfect racquet isn't much different from hers.

According to Yonex's Pro Player Liason, Jun Hirasawa, it was Natasha Zvereva who unkowingly introduced Anna to Yonex [racquets] in Russia. For many years, Natasha has requested Yonex save any discontinued or leftover racquets for her, so she could donate them to the Russian Tennis Federation's junior development programs. In the mid-late '80s, Anna was a member of this program and received an RQ-180 through Natasha's donation.

After being discovered and moving to Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy, she switched to the RQ-380, which she used until she was around 12 years old. She then picked up the SRQ-500 and honed her game to a level that would bring her to the WTA Tour at age 14. After using the SRQ 500 for about 3 years, Anna told Yonex she needed more control and spin. After playtesting several models, she chose the Pro RD-70 Long 105, the same racquet Martina Hingis was using at the time.

In 1998, Yonex developed the SRQ Ti-600 Long specifically for Anna. However, she could never quite get used to this racquet, and after a terrible early-round loss at the 1999 Italian Open, she went back to the Pro RD-70 Long. In the Autumn of 1999, Anna felt she needed a little more power in her shots and asked Yonex to send her all their available racquets to playtest. She switched back to the SRQ-500, the racquet she used as a WTA Tour debutante, just prior to the Chase Championships in November. Not wanting one of their marquee players using a discontinued model, Yonex developed the Ultimum RQ Ti-1500 Long for Anna and she's been been using it since the 2000 Australian Open.

While most of us didn't grow up in Russia, didn't attend Bollettieri's Tennis Academy or play our first pro tournament at age 14, we do have one thing in common with Anna. We want a racquet that will help us play our best. The Yonex Ultimum RQ Ti-1500 Long, whether Anna plays with it or not, is going to help many players achieve that goal.
Ultimum RQ Ti-1500 Long

The Ultimum 1500 effectively replaces the SRQ-500 (and SRQ-500 Long), one of Yonex's most popular racquets. It's quite similar to the SRQ-500, offering the same 105 square-inch headsize, similar beam width, same Isometric Head Shape, Oval Pressed Shaft, basic weight, balance and stiffness, as well as the same string pattern. So what is different about the Ultimum 1500? Besides the addition of Ultimum Titanium fibers and an extra 1/2 inch of length, not much. According to Yonex, this was intentional and designed to fill a void created when the SRQ-500 was discontinued (the SRQ Ti-400 Long was their initial attempt).

From the first groundstroke it's clear that the 1500 caters to a variety of playing styles. Granville begins, "the racquet feels good when you pick it up and even better when you smack the ball with it. The 105 headsize contributes to a generous sweetspot power level. If balls started to go a little long, adding more topspin was a cinch. The extra power allowed me to relax my stroke a bit and still retain good power and depth. One of the most enjoyable almost-oversize racquets I've playtested." Mark adds, "I was able to take a full swing on my topspin forehand and backhand and still keep the ball in the court. I could hit with heavy spin or flatten my shots out and hit with pace. The racquet is light enough to maneuver when hitting defensive shots but has enough mass to keep the ball deep, even when I was pulled wide and couldn't step into my shot. Loved the slice backhands!"

Our harder hitting play testers had to rely on more spin to harness the power of the 1500. Says Drew, "I had my best results hitting groundstrokes with extra spin. I found it hard to control the depth of flat shots and the quick racquet head speed lends itself to topspin. Slice shots had plenty of underspin but tended to float rather than bite for me." Dan comments, "the 1500 was a little too powerful for my long stroke style, so spin capability was critical for control from the baseline. The good thing is I could generate the spin required to keep my shots in. Overall, a great racquet for players of higher ability who need a little extra juice and a little extra sweetspot offered by the larger head." Don concludes, "good combination of comfort, power, control and maneuverability. The 1500 fit well with my medium-long swing and provided great spin potential. It's reminiscent of the SRQ 500 but a little more refined."

The Ultimum 1500's headsize, lighter weight and head-light balance all combine to make it a fun and effective racquet at net. As Granville says, "volleying with the 1500 is a delight. It's easy to move the racquet from side to side and it has a seemingly huge sweetspot. Due to the power level, more aggressive volleyers will need to shorten their strokes for best results." Ron comments, "I enjoyed volleying with the 1500. My forehand and backhand volleys had good power, control and placement." Dan adds, "I was able to manipulate spin and touch angles to a much greater degree than originally anticipated. The open string pattern helps with bite and control. Short, compact volley strokes will benefit best at net. My overheads had more than enough power and the racquet's maneuverability made getting into position an easy task." Mark especially liked volleying with the 1500, saying, "it's maneuverable enough to get to most balls and has enough mass to retain its stability. I could finesse low and half-volleys or put away the high volleys. Even mis-hits were very easy on my wrist and elbow." Drew opines, "the racquet is highly maneuverable and certainly has adequate power to put away volleys. I had good directional control of volleys but depth wasn't quite as precise. Overall, I'd consider it a very good volleying racquet. It was easy to set up for volleys, and they could be hit with good placement and power."

Serving with the 1500 is similar to hitting other shots - good maneuverability, power and, of course, spin. Dan says, "the 1500 unloads like a cannon on serves. If you have the capability for big first serves, this racquet will bring out your best. However, second serves were equally impressive. I was able to generate at least 20-30% more kick and spin that with most other racquets of similar weight and balance. Clay courters may find this particularly useful in harassing opponents on serve." Mark concurs, adding, "my kick serve really had a lot of movement. The power/spin combination of the 1500 is ideal for hitting the big kicker." Don continues, "even if my flat first serve didn't go in, I had increased confidence on my second serve and was winning a higher percentage of points.. This racquet also makes it easy to throw in the change-up on first serves - slice into the body or out wide."

The 1500's maneuverability also makes it possible to be aggressive on serve returns. Drew offers, "on returns, the racquet is quick enough to take a fairly robust stroke. I had my best results when I stayed aggressive on returns. Blocked or slice returns either stayed too high or sailed long. Similar to groundstrokes, I felt I was rewarded for going after my returns." Mark had a different opinion, saying, "it was easy to slice the ball deep with good control when I just wanted to keep the ball in play and on returns. I could also be more aggressive and attack the net behind a hard, low, slice approach shot and/or return. You don't have to take a big swing to generate power and spin. However, it's not necessary to baby the ball either.. A smooth, moderate swing was all it took." Dan adds, "returns felt crisp and powerful, even with a tight stringbed. The 1500 will benefit those who play against fast servers. Short, compact swings get the ball to its target against a big serve. Against slow or wide serves, the ability to generate massive topspin was there, allowing for a full swing without fear of flying."

Miscellaneous (touch, out-of-position) shots were another area where the 1500 excelled for most players. Ron comments, "I experienced the greatest degree of control, placement, touch and feel with lobs, drop shots and slice backhand returns." Dan adds, "feel was outstanding, especially the more I was able to hit with the racquet. Once I realized its boundaries and limitations, the results in 'touchy' situations were beyond expectation." Don concludes, "what impressed me was the racquet's stability, despite it's relatively light weight. I could pick up a return blasted at my feet, hitting a solid half-volley deep in the court or retrieve one of Dan's wide slice serves, completely out of position, and hit an effective return." Drew was a little less impressed, saying, "defense isn't this racquet's strong suit. When stretched wide, the power and maneuverability allow for a decent shot, but it's difficult to hit winners when out of position."

The Ultimum RQ Ti-1500 Long is an easy racquet for many players to use. Those who will find it most appealing are probably 4.0-5.0 all-court players with medium to medium-fast swings, although there will be plenty of pure baseliners and serve and volleyers who are also going to like this racquet. The 1500 offers a little more power and stability than most 'tweener racquets, including the Ultimum RQ Ti 1700 MP & OS, but still provides enough control to keep it from being considered a game improvement racquet. Players seeking slightly more power than control, good spin potential, maneuverability and comfort in a larger-than-midplus headsize will be hard pressed to find a better racquet than the Ultimum RQ Ti-1500 Long. Just ask Anna.
Yonex Ultimum RQ Ti-1500 Long Technical & Statistical Data

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Playtester Profiles
Granville 5.5 all-court player currently using a Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 85
Dan 5.5 all-court player currently using a Gamma Tradition 18 Midplus.
Mark 5.5 serve & volleyer currently using a Prince Thunder Ultralite Titanium Oversize.
Don 4.5-5.0 all-court player currently using a Yonex Ultimum RQ Ti-1700 Midplus.
Drew 4.5-5.0 baseliner currently using a Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 85.
Ron 4.0 baseliner currently using a Wilson Hyper Hammer 6.3 Oversize.

BMW GINA

2008-06-15T04:09:00.006+08:00

This car is gonna be so light and stable. And it can change its form. The headlights? They work like our eyelids. Very interesting concept by BMW. Don't like the creasing on the doors but it should be easily fixed.

Isaac Shepard's Before Dawn

2008-06-09T00:09:00.002+08:00

This is a wonderful piece.

You are quietly reflecting upon the past, where everything you did right or wrong, when you were calm, angry or spiteful, oddly all the dilemmas and frustration feel insignificant at this point because despite all that, you did all right. Really.

And suddenly you realise it's time to move on again, wondering what's in store for you when this dawn breaks.

Audi R8

2008-06-05T00:24:00.002+08:00

Gosh, that drive around the circuit sure looks fun. Slipping and sliding but always in control. One of the best toys ever!

Batman The Dark Knight ArtFX

2008-06-01T00:56:00.001+08:00

Batman ArtFX
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Wow. Just wow. I think this could be one of the best ever. Definitely gonna get this. More pictures here.

Ironman Fine Art

2008-06-01T00:48:00.003+08:00

Ironman Fine Art
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I am so gonna get this. More pictures here.

Emergency Party Button

2008-05-26T01:23:00.004+08:00

OMG OMG! I gotta do this once I get the chance! Imagine the parties!

The Emergency Party Button began as a novelty idea that has become the focus of every event that goes on in our home. A big red button is, by human nature, an object of compulsion. If you see it, you are overcome with the desire to push it. But what happens when you do?

Golf Bummer

2008-05-18T16:42:00.002+08:00

Golf
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I missed my golf lesson. I was so occupied with other stuff that I thought my lesson was on an entirely different day. Bummer.

I guess this is how golf screws with your life. Other than the usual ways Robin Williams told me. Watch the video.

Iron Man Speed Painting

2008-04-27T14:46:00.002+08:00

Iron Man The Movie is finally coming to cinemas in a few days time. Check out the Iron Man speedpainting done by various artists online.

The rock music you hear in the trailers and in this speedpainting is Iron Man by Black Sabbath.

The story behind the song is about a person who travels through time for the benefit of mankind's future. On his way back, he is transformed to steel with "boots of lead" when he passes through a "magnetic field."

Because of his new form, people reject him despite his efforts for the benefit of mankind. As revenge he tries to kill them. It turns out that the terrible event he tried to warn people of was him.

Xbox 360 on a HD Projector

2008-04-21T01:46:00.001+08:00

Xbox 360 on a HD Projector
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Connected my Xbox 360 to my iMac. By the way, the song The War is Over by Trust Company is really great. Recommended.

There isn't a official music video but here's a pretty good one to the darker Spiderman 3.

Rick Astley Still Smashing

2008-04-05T12:31:00.003+08:00

Rick Astley's hit songs were crowd favourites at Zouk on Mambo Night a few years back (is it still popular? is there still a Mambo night? i haven't been back in ages).

The man is still smashing at this live 2005 concert. The voice still hasn't changed a single bit but the style has changed slightly to keep up with modern times. Watch the video. The warm-up ends and the fun starts 0:45 into the video so be patient.

Soundproofing My Room

2008-03-23T13:02:00.001+08:00

My Bedroom
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

That's my mattress you see there butting out the door.

You see, I have finally gotten around to setting up my screen and projector. I am finally able to screen movies in my room to a small crowd.

However, there's the snag of keeping the volume and woofer down to preserve the sanity of my parents and neighbours.

But like they say in the movies, an EXPLOSION has gotta SOUND like an explosion and an explosion has gotta FEEL like an explosion right!?

Solution? I needed to soundproof my room. I did some simple research and finally settled on getting weatherproofing foam tape to fill up the gaps in my door and hammered a door sealant to the bottom of my door.

It worked really well. By turning up the Iron Man trailer and making sure the explosions SOUNDED and FELT like EXPLOSIONS, I walked outta my room, closed the door and stood right outside the door.

Results? Like someone was watching TV with the volume a little bit too soft for liking.

If I walked into my parents room directly next door and closed the door? I could hear the swishing of the fan blades and felt barely noticable vibrations through the concrete. A 97% silence rating and a 100% sleepabilty rating. Success!

If you are wondering what the mattress is for, well, I don't have a bedframe and my mattress is always placed against the wall when I am not sleeping. I just figured it could do its teeny part in keeping the noise down and by the way, it does help a little actually.

That Won't Do

2008-03-23T00:34:00.000+08:00

I don't wish to settle for this.

Travelling Salesman Problem

2008-03-22T20:27:00.001+08:00

travelling_salesman_problem
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

The modern solution to the Travelling Salesman Problem.

I never laugh out loud to stuff online. But I did chuckle out loud. This means it's really funny.

Fire And Motion

2008-03-02T01:17:00.002+08:00

Joel has got an interesting article on getting things done. I think I can apply it for my own use.

I have always had a problem getting things done. My main problem, like Joel, is getting the momentum going.

There's like this malicious trojan inside of me, constantly bypassing my conservative Multi-level Feedback Queue schedule to a heavily distorted Just In Time process that hangs me by a thread over a cliff constantly.

Imagine a 6 carriage train regularly packed with passengers. Someone jams the brakes and all the passengers get all crammed into the first carriage. When it's time to get off, every passenger struggles to squeeze through the heavily packed carriage to get out before the door closes on them. That's how I operate and it totally sucks.

This isn't helped by the fact that I have got something very unpredictable to worry about. A property that I cannot control and at best, struggle to understand.

Fire and Motion. Fire and Motion. Gotta keep that in mind.

PS. I have archived the article here in case it gets lost.

By Joel Spolsky
Sunday, January 06, 2002

Sometimes I just can't get anything done.

Sure, I come into the office, putter around, check my email every ten seconds, read the web, even do a few brainless tasks like paying the American Express bill. But getting back into the flow of writing code just doesn't happen.

These bouts of unproductiveness usually last for a day or two. But there have been times in my career as a developer when I went for weeks at a time without being able to get anything done. As they say, I'm not in flow. I'm not in the zone. I'm not anywhere.

Everybody has mood swings; for some people they are mild, for others, they can be more pronounced or even dysfunctional. And the unproductive periods do seem to correlate somewhat with gloomier moods.

It makes me think of those researchers who say that basically people can't control what they eat, so any attempt to diet is bound to be short term and they will always yoyo back to their natural weight. Maybe as a software developer I really can't control when I'm productive, and I just have to take the slow times with the fast times and hope that they average out to enough lines of code to make me employable.

What drives me crazy is that ever since my first job I've realized that as a developer, I usually average about two or three hours a day of productive coding. When I had a summer internship at Microsoft, a fellow intern told me he was actually only going into work from 12 to 5 every day. Five hours, minus lunch, and his team loved him because he still managed to get a lot more done than average. I've found the same thing to be true. I feel a little bit guilty when I see how hard everybody else seems to be working, and I get about two or three quality hours in a day, and still I've always been one of the most productive members of the team. That's probably why when Peopleware and XP insist on eliminating overtime and working strictly 40 hour weeks, they do so secure in the knowledge that this won't reduce a team's output.

But it's not the days when I "only" get two hours of work done that worry me. It's the days when I can't do anything.

I've thought about this a lot. I tried to remember the time when I got the most work done in my career. It was probably when Microsoft moved me into a beautiful, plush new office with large picture windows overlooking a pretty stone courtyard full of cherry trees in bloom. Everything was clicking. For months I worked nonstop grinding out the detailed specification for Excel Basic -- a monumental ream of paper going into incredible detail covering a gigantic object model and programming environment. I literally never stopped. When I had to go to Boston for MacWorld I took a laptop with me, and documented the Window class sitting on a pleasant terrace at HBS.

Once you get into flow it's not too hard to keep going. Many of my days go like this: (1) get into work (2) check email, read the web, etc. (3) decide that I might as well have lunch before getting to work (4) get back from lunch (5) check email, read the web, etc. (6) finally decide that I've got to get started (7) check email, read the web, etc. (8) decide again that I really have to get started (9) launch the damn editor and (10) write code nonstop until I don't realize that it's already 7:30 pm.

Somewhere between step 8 and step 9 there seems to be a bug, because I can't always make it across that chasm.For me, just getting started is the only hard thing. An object at rest tends to remain at rest. There's something incredible heavy in my brain that is extremely hard to get up to speed, but once it's rolling at full speed, it takes no effort to keep it going. Like a bicycle decked out for a cross-country, self-supported bike trip -- when you first start riding a bike with all that gear, it's hard to believe how much work it takes to get rolling, but once you are rolling, it feels just as easy as riding a bike without any gear.

Maybe this is the key to productivity: just getting started. Maybe when pair programming works it works because when you schedule a pair programming session with your buddy, you force each other to get started.

When I was an Israeli paratrooper a general stopped by to give us a little speech about strategy. In infantry battles, he told us, there is only one strategy: Fire and Motion. You move towards the enemy while firing your weapon. The firing forces him to keep his head down so he can't fire at you. (That's what the soldiers mean when they shout "cover me." It means, "fire at our enemy so he has to duck and can't fire at me while I run across this street, here." It works.) The motion allows you to conquer territory and get closer to your enemy, where your shots are much more likely to hit their target. If you're not moving, the enemy gets to decide what happens, which is not a good thing. If you're not firing, the enemy will fire at you, pinning you down.

I remembered this for a long time. I noticed how almost every kind of military strategy, from air force dogfights to large scale naval maneuvers, is based on the idea of Fire and Motion. It took me another fifteen years to realize that the principle of Fire and Motion is how you get things done in life. You have to move forward a little bit, every day. It doesn't matter if your code is lame and buggy and nobody wants it. If you are moving forward, writing code and fixing bugs constantly, time is on your side. Watch out when your competition fires at you. Do they just want to force you to keep busy reacting to their volleys, so you can't move forward?

Think of the history of data access strategies to come out of Microsoft. ODBC, RDO, DAO, ADO, OLEDB, now ADO.NET - All New! Are these technological imperatives? The result of an incompetent design group that needs to reinvent data access every goddamn year? (That's probably it, actually.) But the end result is just cover fire. The competition has no choice but to spend all their time porting and keeping up, time that they can't spend writing new features. Look closely at the software landscape. The companies that do well are the ones who rely least on big companies and don't have to spend all their cycles catching up and reimplementing and fixing bugs that crop up only on Windows XP. The companies who stumble are the ones who spend too much time reading tea leaves to figure out the future direction of Microsoft. People get worried about .NET and decide to rewrite their whole architecture for .NET because they think they have to. Microsoft is shooting at you, and it's just cover fire so that they can move forward and you can't, because this is how the game is played, Bubby. Are you going to support Hailstorm? SOAP? RDF? Are you supporting it because your customers need it, or because someone is firing at you and you feel like you have to respond? The sales teams of the big companies understand cover fire. They go into their customers and say, "OK, you don't have to buy from us. Buy from the best vendor. But make sure that you get a product that supports (XML / SOAP / CDE / J2EE) because otherwise you'll be Locked In The Trunk." Then when the little companies try to sell into that account, all they hear is obedient CTOs parrotting "Do you have J2EE?" And they have to waste all their time building in J2EE even if it doesn't really make any sales, and gives them no opportunity to distinguish themselves. It's a checkbox feature -- you do it because you need the checkbox saying you have it, but nobody will use it or needs it. And it's cover fire.

Fire and Motion, for small companies like mine, means two things. You have to have time on your side, and you have to move forward every day. Sooner or later you will win. All I managed to do yesterday is improve the color scheme in FogBUGZ just a little bit. That's OK. It's getting better all the time. Every day our software is better and better and we have more and more customers and that's all that matters. Until we're a company the size of Oracle, we don't have to think about grand strategies. We just have to come in every morning and somehow, launch the editor.

Evolution Of Dance

2008-03-01T13:53:00.002+08:00

Wow. The following videos make me really wanna hit the clubs again.

My Room Wall

2008-02-26T00:51:00.001+08:00

My Room Wall
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Some of you may recall me ranting about a room design concept whereby my entire floor is visible and accessible.

Well, here's a preview of the concept in real life.

In other news, my projector has arrived but I haven't had time to set up the screen and test it out. Gah.

Raw For 30 Days

2008-02-23T20:41:00.003+08:00

Raw For 30 Days is an independent documentary film that chronicles six McDonald's-munching Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting entirely of vegan, organic, live, raw foods in order to reverse diabetes naturally. The six participants are challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, packaged food, and even cooked food – as well as go without their loved ones and many of their creature comforts – for 30 days.

Can foods heal? Can diabetes be reversed or cured through diet? Read more and see the trailer. PS. I came across this website whilst doing some other research. I don't have diabetes. Nor does anyone close to me.

Can a diabetic thrive without insulin and other drugs? Can people subsisting on a Standard American Diet (SAD) give up their favorite foods and favorite vices for 30 days? Can six strangers of diverse ages, races, and backgrounds support and nurture each other through this life-altering challenge?

"Raw For 30 Days" shows each participant's remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, emotional and spiritual transformations brought on by this radical diet and lifestyle change. Participants were supervised by Gabriel Cousens, M.D., M.D. (H) and Helen Ross, M.D. at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona.

The feature film "Raw For 30 Days" is in post production and is expected to be shown at film festivals in Spring 2008, with a release in theaters to follow. We've also produced an A-Z encyclopedia on raw foods, called "Raw For Life," consisting of interviews with experts plus raw food preparation demos with top chefs, which is available for online purchase.

St. Elmo's Fire

2008-02-20T02:01:00.003+08:00

If you like the song and video, check out the movie which starred Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe and Demi Moore.

Climatology of Singapore

2008-02-18T02:47:00.003+08:00

Doing some personal research. Feel free to ignore or read on for some interesting facts on Singapore.

Singapore lies just north of the Equator near Lat 1.5 deg N and Long 104 deg E. Because of its geographical location and maritime exposure, its climate is characterised by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall. The climate of Singapore can be divided into two main seasons, the Northeast Monsoon and the Southwest Monsoon season, separated by two relatively short inter-monsoon periods.

SEASONS:

North-East Monsoon Season - December to early March
Northeast winds prevail, sometimes reaching 20 km/h. Cloudy conditions in December and January with frequent afternoon showers. Spells of widespread moderate to heavy rain occur lasting from 1 to 3 days at a stretch. Relatively drier in February till early March. Also generally windy with wind speeds sometimes reaching 30 to 40 km/h in the months of January and February.

Pre South-West Monsoon - late March to May
Light and variable winds with afternoon and early evening showers often with thunder.

South-West Monsoon Season - June to September
Southeast/Southwest Winds. Isolated to scattered late morning and early afternoon showers. Early morning 'Sumatra' line squalls are common. Hazy periods.

Pre North-East Monsoon - October to November
Light and variable winds. Sea breezes in afternoon. Scattered showers with thunder in the late afternoon and early evening.

TEMPERATURE: Diurnal range: Minimum 23 to 26 deg C and Maximum 31 to 34 deg C
Extremes: Minimum of 19.4 deg C and Maximum of 35.8 deg C

PRESSURE: Diurnal pressure variation of 4hPa. Maximum pressure usually occurring at 1100 and 2400 Local Time and minimum pressure occurring at 0500 and 1700 Local Time. Extreme pressures recorded are 1016.9 hPa and 1002.0 hPa.

RELATIVE HUMIDITY: Diurnal range in the high 90's in the early morning to around 60 % in the mid-afternoon. Mean value is 84%, During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100 %.
RAINFALL: No distinct wet or dry season. Rainfall maximum occur in December and April. The drier months are usually in February and July.

Bought A Projector

2008-02-17T03:19:00.001+08:00

Dell
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I sunk S$1049 on a projector for my evil genius plan.

6.45538462 work days down the drain. Would have been worse if it wasn't for the steep S$550 discount!

OMG OMG Indy Is Back

2008-02-15T03:03:00.001+08:00

Indiana Jones
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Indy is coming back for one more wild ride in Indiana Jones - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. OMG OMG OMG.

The trailer is at the official site and get ready to be greeted by the familiar Indy tune that we love. Da da da daaaa da da daaaaa... And then there's use of his trusty old bull whip. Ahhh... brings back old childhood memories when I would sit in front the TV watching the reruns, and it never gets old.

It's official. Once I am done setting up my home theater, I am gonna run the first 3 movies in line up to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Bring food and get your PSPs ready people cause Indy's back!!!

Wallpaper Change

2008-02-12T05:51:00.001+08:00

Wallpaper Change
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

What title said. :)

Kristen Bell Movie

2008-02-11T00:49:00.001+08:00

Kristen Bell
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Kristen Bell's upcoming movie "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (from the producers of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up") will be in theatres April 18th. Part romantic comedy, part disaster film. Woohoo.

As usual, she looks gorgeous. The official movie site and trailer here.

Yep. I've been a fan since Veronica Mars.

From the producers of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" comes a comic look at one guy's arduous quest to grow up and get over the heartbreak of being dumped -- if he can only make himself start "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Struggling musician Peter Bretter (Jason Segel, "How I Met Your Mother") has spent six years idolizing his girlfriend, television star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell, "Veronica Mars"). He's the guy left holding her purse in paparazzi photos and accidentally omitted from acceptance award speeches. But his world is rocked when she dumps him and Peter finds himself alone. After an unsuccessful bout of womanizing and an on-the-job nervous breakdown, he sees that not having Sarah may just ruin his life.

To clear his head, Peter takes an impulsive trip to Oahu, where he is confronted by his worst nightmare: his ex and her tragically hip new British-rocker boyfriend, Aldous (Russell Brand), are sharing his hotel. But as he torments himself with the reality of Sarah's new life, he finds relief in a flirtation with Rachel (Mila Kunis), a beautiful resort employee whose laid-back approach tempts him to rejoin the world. He also finds relief in several hundred embarrassing, fruity cocktails.

For anyone who has ever had their heart ripped out and cut into a billion pieces comes a hilarious, heartfelt look at relationships -- featuring Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader and Jack McBrayer. Part romantic comedy, part disaster film, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is the world's first romantic disaster comedy.

Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles

2008-02-08T21:00:00.000+08:00

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

This show rocks just like the originals. There is that same dark and gritty feel of the first two films. And it stars Summer Glau from Serenity and she's one hell of a babe in the show.

Watch the video.

Delicious Library

2008-02-07T16:59:00.001+08:00

Delicious Library
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I came across this Mac application called Delicious Library.

Basically it allows you to build a virtual catalogue resembling a bookshelf of your books.

Adding books is almost instantaneous, I had either entered the ISBN number or the book title and Delicious Library fetched the graphic and your "book" shows up as a hardcover or paperback accordingly.

You can also search for a book by scanning your book's barcode using iSight. Very cool.

I added whatever books that popped to mind until I got bored. From the list, there's Tom Swift (technological whiz-kid version of Hardy Boys, who would have guessed?), Body Language, Last Action Hero moviebook, The Further Adventures of Superman, Precision Pool (1st Edition), Operating Systems Concepts, Linux Device Drivers, GMAT Official Review and finally, Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets.

So there. Every normal person's readling list from Hell. Hehe.

Scene Release Tags

2008-02-07T13:16:00.000+08:00

I am having a hard time remembering the less popular scene release tags and find myself constantly checking back so I have pasted them here instead.

Tags

The tag is the name of the release. These releasenames give you information about the release instantly. More detailed information is written in the nfo file. Often these tags contain a lot of words and definitions which you may not understand. Below you can find definitions of tags.

First possible sources for movies / dvd's. They are ordered according to which is released first:
CAM (Camera):
A cam is a theater rip usually done with a digital video camera. A mini tripod is sometimes used, but often this won't be possible, so the camera may shake. Also seating placement isn't always ideal, and it might be filmed from an angle. If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless there's text on the screen, but a lot of times these are left with triangular borders on the top and bottom of the screen. Sound is taken from the onboard microphone of the camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard during the film. Due to these factors picture and sound quality are usually quite poor, but sometimes we're lucky, and the theater will be fairly empty and a fairly clear signal will be heard.

TS (Telesync):
A telesync has the same specs as a CAM, except it uses an external audio source (most likely an audio jack in the chair for hard of hearing people). A direct audio source does not ensure a good quality audio source, as a lot of background noise can interfere. A lot of the times a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema or from the projection booth with a professional camera, giving a better picture quality. Quality ranges drastically, check the sample before downloading the full release. A high percentage of Telesyncs are CAMs that have been mislabeled.

TC (Telecine):
A telecine machine copies the film digitally from the reels. Sound and picture should be quite good, but due to the equipment involved and cost telecines are fairly uncommon. Generally the film will be in correct aspect ratio, although 4:3 telecines have existed. TC should not be confused with TimeCode , which is a visible counter on screen throughout the film. Click here to read more about telecine.

SCR (Screener):
A pre VHS tape, sent to rental stores, and various other places for promotional use. A screener is supplied on a VHS tape, and is usually in a 4:3 (full screen) a/r, although letterboxed screeners are sometimes found. The main draw back is a "ticker" (a message that scrolls past at the bottom of the screen, with the copyright and anti-copy telephone number). Also, if the tape contains any serial numbers, or any other markings that could lead to the source of the tape, these will have to be blocked, usually with a black mark over the section. This is sometimes only for a few seconds, but unfortunately on some copies this will last for the entire film, and some can be quite big. Depending on the equipment used, screener quality can range from excellent if done from a MASTER copy, to very poor if done on an old VHS recorder thru poor capture equipment on a copied tape. Most screeners are transferred to VCD, but a few attempts at SVCD have occurred, some looking better than others.

DVDSCR (DVD Screener):
Same premise as a screener, but transferred off a DVD. Usually letterboxed , but without the extras that a DVD retail would contain. The ticker is not usually in the black bars, and will disrupt the viewing. If the ripper has any skill, a DVDscr should be very good. Usually transferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD.

WP (Workprint):
A workprint is a copy of a film which has not been finished yet. There can be missing scenes, music, and quality can range from excellent to very poor. Some WPs are very different from the final print (Men In Black is missing all the aliens, and has actors in their places) and others can contain extra scenes (Jay and Silent Bob). WP's can be nice additions to the collection once a good quality final has been obtained.

Retail DVD:
DVD's which are available in shops.

PAL / NTSC:
PAL and NTSC are two different video standards, the former being European, and the latter being American. PAL has a slightly taller screen (256 lines non-interlaced, non-overscanned) as opposed to NTSC (200 lines), so if you see the bottom portion of a program's screen getting cut off on your American machine, chances are the program was written for PAL, and is running on your shorter NTSC screen. PAL and NTSC differences are somewhat less important to European users; since their machines default to PAL, running an NTSC program is no more than a minor annoyance having the screen only appear in the top portion of the display.

Other important tags for movies / dvd's:

COMPLETE:
A release is COMPLETE when it's a DVD5. When a dvd is COMPLETE, it didn't need any adjustments and the video is therefore untouched.
Most dvd's though are DVD9, so they need to be compressed to DVD5. DVD5 is much more wanted since all dvd players can read these dvd's, and almost every dvd burner can burn them. DVD9 discs are less popular, they are more expensive and not many people can burn a DVD9.

LiMiTED:
A movie is LiMiTED when it has a limited theater run. Generally smaller films (such as art house films) are released as limited. The scene considers a movie limited when it has a generally opening in less than 300 UK theaters, or in less than 500 USA theaters. In the scene jargon, it's usually called 300 UK screens, or 500 USA screens. Officially, it's not the opening weekend's number of theaters that counts, but the peak of the number of theaters. For example; when a movie has 275 UK screens in the opening weekend, and 1 week later it has 325 screens, it's not limited.

STV:
STV stands for Straight To Video. These movies were never released in theaters, instead, they were immediately released on video/dvd. Therefore, a lot of sites do not allow these movies.

FESTiVAL:
This is a variation of STV/LiMiTED. A FESTiVAL is a movie which hasn't been shown in a public theater, but does has been shown on a filmfestival (such as Cannes Film Festival). An example of a FESTiVAL movie is Hot Tamale (imdb), which has not been in a public theater, but it was shown on the Newport Beach Film Festival.

iNTERNAL:
An internal release is done for several reasons. The most common reason is because it has already been released before, and with iNTERNAL in title, the release won't be nuked. iNTERNAL's are quite common. Also lower quality theater rips are done iNTERNAL so it doesn't lower the reputation of the group. An iNTERNAL release is available as normal on the groups affiliate sites, but they can't be traded to other sites without request from the site ops. Although a release is iNTERNAL, it still can be very popular. For mp3's the interla-tag is different. For mp3 releases it's releasetitle-year-Group_iNT. That way the internal release won't be calculated into the group's stats. This avoids mp3 groups from doing a lot of internal releases, since they would just do that to get better stats. Some groups rename iNTERNAL to iNT, since this much shorter.

Subbed:
If a release is subbed, it usually means it has hard encoded subtitles burned throughout the movie. These are generally in malaysian/chinese/thai etc, and sometimes there are two different languages, which can take up quite a large amount of the screen. SVCD and DVD support switchable subtitles, so some DVDRips and most DVD's are released with switchable subs.

Unsubbed:
When a movie has been release subbed before, an unsubbed release may be released.

Custom.Subbed:
A release can also be custom subbed. Movies often are released earlier in the USA than in Europe. These movies mostly contain a few subtitles, the ones that are spoken in the USA. European groups can create custom subtitles and add these to the dvd(rip). For example, when Dutch subtitles were added to a NTSC DVDr: Madagascar.2005.Custom.NL.Subbed.NTSC.DVDr-Group. Off course, it's not just European, also Japaneese movies can be subbed english for example.

Dubbed:
If a film is dubbed, it is a special version where the actors' voices are in another language. Dubbed versions of English-language films are for people who don't understand English very well. In some countries, dubbing is very common, for example Germany.

SE:
SE stands for Special Edition. Like the name says, it's a special dvd edition of a movie. Often special editions contain extra material like deleted scenes, interviews, or a making-of.

DC:
DC stands for Director's Cut. A director's cut is a specially edited version of a movie that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit of the movie. It is often released some time after the original release of the film, where the original release was released in a version different from the director's approved edit. 'Cut' is synonymous with 'edit' in this context.

DL:
DL stands for Dual-Language, meaning the dvd contains more than one language. Synonym: ML.

FS / WS (Aspect Ratio Tags):
These are FS for FullScreen and WS for WideScreen (letterbox).

Language Codes:
The language of the movie and the language of the subtitles can also be mentioned in the release name. Sometimes the language is fully mentioned in the release name, such as DUTCH, NORDiC, GERMAN and iTALiAN. Sometimes it's shortened, then the ISO standard country abbreviations are used. These are the same as the abbreviations which are used for www-domains, for example: NL (Dutch), NO (Nordic), DE (Germany), IT (Italian). For the full list of country abbreviations, click here. When there are multiple languages or subtitles, MULTi or MULTiSUBS is mentioned. In general, when the language is fully mentioned in the releasename, this is the movie language. The abbrivation usually means the subtitle(s). So DUTCH will mean that the language is Dutch, and NL will mean that the menu/subtitle is Dutch.

Extended:
Sometimes movies are released again on DVD because now the movie is extended. They have put back deleted scenes. For example, E.T. was produced first in 1982 and years later it was brought on DVD again, but now digitally remastered and extended.

Digitally Remastered:
Digitally remastered means that an older not-digital movie has been re-editted, remastered and is released on DVD. Some really old movies look very bad compared to the new digital movies. Then they remaster it to make it look better, edit & recolor the video, etcetera. Remastering generally implies some sort of upgrade to a previous existing product, frequently designed to encourage people to buy a new version of something they already own.

Rated/Unrated:
Rated means a movie is censored, unrated logically means uncensored.

Recode:
A recode is a previously released version of a movie, usually filtered through TMPGenc to remove subtitles, fix color etc. Whilst they can look better, its not looked upon highly as groups are expected to obtain their own sources.

R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6 (Region Code):
A dvd is released in a certain geographical area, or region and it's not viewable on a dvd player outside of that region. This was designed to stop people buying American dvd's and watching them earlier in other countries, or for older films where world distribution is handled by different companies. A lot of players can either be hacked with a chip, or via a remote to disable this. The regions are:
Region 1 - U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
Region 2 - Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
Region 3 - Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
Region 4 - Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
Region 5 - Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
Region 6 - Peoples Republic of China

More general important tags:

PROPER:
Due to scene rules, whoever releases a certain release the first, has won that race. For example, when a group releases the CAM version of Titanic the first. If there is something "wrong" with the release (poor quality, out-of-sync, audio errors etc.) and another group has a better/correct version, it can release it and add PROPER to the release title to avoid being nuked. However, the source must be the same as the original release. For example: A poor quality CAM release by group A and group B releases their CAM release PROPER. A Telesync release doesn't PROPER a CAM release, because the source is different. PROPER is the most subjective tag in the scene, and a lot of people will generally argue whether the PROPER is better than the original release. The reason for the PROPER should always be mentioned in the NFO.

REPACK:
If a group releases a bad rip, they can release a Repack. A Repack is a fixed version of the original release. It's similar to PROPER but then done by the same group. Note that a Repack is different from a fix. A Fix will repair the original release whilst a repack is a new release.

Rerip:
A previous rip was bad, now it's ripped again properly. Similar to repack.

READNFO:
When something important is mentioned in the NFO or as a replacement for PROPER, READNFO can be added to the releasetitle.

Important tags for mp3 releases:

TV: Audio from television material
Radio: Audio from radio material
WEB: Audio downloaded from an online music store
VLS: Vinyl Single (1-2 tracks)
EP: Vinyl Maxi-single (2-5 tracks)
LP: Vinyl Full-length Album
CDS: CD Single (1-2 tracks)
CDM: CD Maxi-single (2-5 tracks)
CDR: CD-Recordable (CD-R)
DVD: Audio from a DVD. Often cabaret shows or concert/music dvd's.
DVDA: Audio tracks which come on a DVD as a bonus. The DVDA part can't be played by normal DVD players.
MD: Audio from a MiniDisk
TAPE: Music from a tape
Promo: Promotional
XX: Imported
RETAiL: Retail
Liveset: A record of a DJ mixing live. Mostly recorded using:
- DAB: Digital Audio Broadcasting is a system used to broadcast radio programmes.
- SAT: Music broadcasted via satellite channels.
- CABLE: Music broadcasted by radio channels via cable radio.
Bootleg: Illegally recorded and pressed record. Often live recordings, sometimes studio out-takes. The name comes from people who hid a microphone in their boots.

Labelcode/Catnumber:
This is a code which is like a unique code for every music cd/vinyl/etc. The code isn't just some number, but it contains values which are recognisable. For example: Catnumber: WNRD2371 is a cd from WieNerwoRlD Ltd.

Clean: The music is censored. Generally sexual or violent words, which are replaced by 'bleeps' or stripped.
Explicit: The music is not censored.

Now some tags just for movies/tv rips:

Sources:
DVDrip: A rip of the final released DVD. If possible this is released pre retail (for example, Star Wars episode 2). The quality of DVDrips is very good. DVDrips are released in SVCD and DivX/XviD.
VHSRip: Transferred off a retail VHS, mainly skating/sports videos and XXX releases.
TVRip: TV episode that is either capped from Network (capped using digital cable/satellite boxes are preferable) or PRE-AIR from satellite feeds sending the program around to networks a few days earlier (do not contain "dogs" but sometimes have flickers etc). PDTV is capped from a digital TV PCI card, generally giving the best results. VCD/SVCD/DivX/XviD rips are all supported by the TV scene.

Formats:
VCD (VideoCD):
VCD is a mpeg1 based format, with a constant bitrate of 1150kbit at a resolution of 352x240 (NTSC). VCDs are generally used for lower quality transfers (CAM/TS/TC/Screener(VHS)/TVrip(analogue) in order to make smaller file sizes, and fit as much on a single disc as possible. Both VCDs and SVCDs are timed in minutes, rather than MB, so when looking at an mpeg, it may appear larger than the disc capacity, and in reality you can fit 74min on a CDR74.

SCVD (SuperVideoCD):
SVCD is a mpeg2 based (same as DVD) video format which allows variable bitrates up to 2500kbits at a resolution of 480x480 (NTSC) which is then decompressed into a 4:3 aspect ratio when played back. Due to the variable bitrate, the length you can fit on a single CDR is not fixed, but generally between 35-60 Mins are the most common. To get a better SVCD encode using variable bitrates, it is important to use multiple "passes". this takes a lot longer, but the results are far clearer.

XVCD/XSVCD: These are basically VCD/SVCD that don't obey the "rules". They are both capable of much higher resolutions and bit-rates, but it all depends on the player to whether the disc can be played. X(S)VCD are total non-standards, and are usually for home-ripping by people who don't intend to release them.

XViD/DivX (Digital Video Express):
DivX is a format designed for multimedia platforms. It uses two codecs, one low motion, one high motion. Most older films were encoded in low motion only, and they have problems with high motion too. A method known as SBC (Smart Bit-rate Control) was developed which switches codecs at the encoding stage, making a much better print. The format is anamorphic and the bitrate/resolution are interchangeable. The majority of proper DivX rips (not Re-Encs) are taken from DVDs, and generally up to 2hours in good quality is possible per disc. Various codecs exist, most popular at the moment is XviD. The formal most popular codec was DivX.

CVD:
CVD is a combination of VCD and SVCD formats, and is generally supported by a majority of DVD players. It supports MPEG2 bit-rates of SVCD, but uses a resolution of 352x480(ntsc) as the horizontal resolution is generally less important. Currently no groups release in CVD.

Additional source info for TV Rips:

HDTV (High Definition Televison):
Digital recording from a source stream at either 1080i or 720p at a bitrate from 19,39mbps or higher.

PDTV (Pure Digital Television):
Other resolution digital recordings from source streams at a bitrate of 10+mbps or higher. It is a label given to files that were ripped directly from a purely digital source, having less resolution than HDTV. This is accomplished by using a TV tuner card capable of receiving Digital Video Broadcasts or C-Band.

SDTV (Standard Digital Television):
Digital recording or capture from a source stream at any resolution with bitrate under 10mbps.This includes DirecTiVo but also captures from digisat or digicable with analog capture cards.

TVRip (Analoge TV Rip): Recorded from analog TV, lowest quality of all TV rips.

More TV info:

Season/Episode code:
A code which shows the season and episode of a tv show.
For example: S01E12 is season 1 episode number 12.

DVB (Digital Video Broadcast):
The standard for direct broadcast television in Europe and the US Based on MPEG2 Compression.

DSR (Digital Satellite Rip):
Recorded from Digital Satellite, quality is similar to PDTV.

PPV (Pay Per View television):
Pay television programming for which viewers pay a separate fee for each program ordered.

Software:

AIO
AIO stands for All-In-One, meaning an all-in-one software pack. For example: Microsoft Office, which contains Word, Frontpage, Publisher, Access etc.

RTM
RTM means Release To Manufacturing. This release is leaked before it's available in stores. A RTM version of a software title is the final retail version, the one that you will be seeing in stores.

VLM
VLM stands for Volume License Key. This means that the cracked application is already licensed, and therefore doesn't require an activation after installation.

Crack Type
For example crack or keygen.

Machine
On what machine is it compatible, such as Nokia phones, PDA etc.

OS
With which operation system is it compatible. For example Windows, Mac etc.

PlayStation:

PS2
A copy of a Playstation 2 game released to CD.

PS2DVD
A copy of a Playstation 2 game released to DVD.

MULTi3 / MULTi4 / MULTi5 etc
This means the release contains multiple languages. The number at the end indicated the number of languages.

PlayStation Portable:

UMDRip
This applies only to Playstation Portable (PSP) games, and it means that some stuff was ripped from the original game because it was not required or was ripped to save space. For example languages or movie files.

UMDMovie
The Playstation Portable (PSP) is also capable of playing movies. Though a PSP can't playback DVD's or CD's, only UMD discs. So movies for the PSP get released on UMD discs.

PSXPSP
This is a PSX (Playstation 1) game playable on a PSP (Playstation Portable) using custom PSP firmware.

USA, JAP, EUR
Especially PSP releases, but also other console releases, are sometimes tagged as USA, JAP and EUR. These are alternative regions, and they replace PAL and NTSC. USA are off course the United States of America, JAP is Japan and EUR is Europe.

256MS, 512MS, 1GB and 2GB
These tags only apply to PSP releases, and they show the required size of an UMD disc. UMD discs can contain up to 2 gigabytes. When a game is 100mb it fits on every UMD disc, but when a game is 900mb it will only fit on 1GB and higher UMD discs.

Spot The Fake Smile

2008-01-26T21:35:00.001+08:00

Identify Real/Fake Smiles
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I did this test on BBC Science & Nature. Basically, you are suppose to decide if the person smiling at you really means it or not.

Surprisingly, I think I did pretty well.

They didn't reveal the average test results so I have no idea if I am normal or not. Would someone take the test and tell me how you fared?

Results
You got 16 out of 20 correct

Look at the labels below each image to see which smiles are genuine and which are fake.

Ticks and crosses show which smiles you got right and wrong.

Click on the image if you want to see the smile again.

Most people are surprisingly bad at spotting fake smiles. One possible explanation for this is that it may be easier for people to get along if they don't always know what others are really feeling.

Although fake smiles often look very similar to genuine smiles, they are actually slightly different, because they are brought about by different muscles, which are controlled by different parts of the brain.

Fake smiles can be performed at will, because the brain signals that create them come from the conscious part of the brain and prompt the zygomaticus major muscles in the cheeks to contract. These are the muscles that pull the corners of the mouth outwards.

Genuine smiles, on the other hand, are generated by the unconscious brain, so are automatic. When people feel pleasure, signals pass through the part of the brain that processes emotion. As well as making the mouth muscles move, the muscles that raise the cheeks – the orbicularis oculi and the pars orbitalis – also contract, making the eyes crease up, and the eyebrows dip slightly.

Lines around the eyes do sometimes appear in intense fake smiles, and the cheeks may bunch up, making it look as if the eyes are contracting and the smile is genuine. But there are a few key signs that distinguish these smiles from real ones. For example, when a smile is genuine, the eye cover fold - the fleshy part of the eye between the eyebrow and the eyelid - moves downwards and the end of the eyebrows dip slightly.

Scientists distinguish between genuine and fake smiles by using a coding system called the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), which was devised by Professor Paul Ekman of the University of California and Dr Wallace V. Friesen of the University of Kentucky.

Icons Now Placed On 2nd LCD

2008-01-21T00:25:00.001+08:00

Icons Now Placed On 2nd LCD
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

What the title said. Work tomorrow. Gotta go.

Deep Sleep for Mac

2008-01-20T06:34:00.001+08:00

Deep Sleep for Mac
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I wanted to hibernate my iMac, that is, power it down completely and be able to resume from exactly where I left off. I came across Deepsleep. There is a widget and a command-line version.

I was aiming for something like in the picture on the right so I opted for the command-line version. Here's what I did.

Deep Sleep is a simple Dashboard widget which allows users to put their computer into hibernation mode, also sometimes called software suspend mode.

The following operating systems are supported:
• Mac OS X Tiger from 10.4.3 to 10.4.10
• Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.0
Later versions may work, but are not tested. Earlier versions will deﬁnitively not work.
Any computer with the safe sleep function is supported. This includes :
• Apple Powerbook HD 12”, 15” and 17” (released on October 2005)
• Apple Macbook Pro 15” and 17” (released on January 2006)
• Apple Macbook 13.3” (released on May 2006)
• Apple iMac “intel” (released on January 2006)
• Apple Mac Mini “intel” (released on February 2006)
• Apple Mac Pro (released on August 2006)

Setting UserID and Owner as root
After downloading the deepsleep command-line program, it should be setuid root like so.

$ cd /Volumes/[where you saved deepsleep]
$ ls -l deepsleep
$ -rwsr-xr-x@ 1 root admin 43996 Jan 20 05:16 deepsleep

If it's not, do the following.

$ sudo chmod u+s deepsleep
$ sudo chown root deepsleep

Test it out. :)
Hit your Power button to turn on your Mac again.

Create a nice icon for deepsleep
If everything went as planned, we can move on to give deepsleep a nicer icon. Use img2icns to convert an image of your choice to an .icns.

Apply the icon
Click on the .icns and Cmd-C.
Select deepsleep and Cmd-I.
In the Info window, select the small top-left icon and Cmd-V.

Ready for use
Drag your customised deepsleep to the dock next to the stack and that's it, we are done!

Dual LCD

2008-01-19T19:41:00.001+08:00

Dual LCD
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I got myself a Samsung 931c 19" LCD monitor to complement my 24" iMac.

More pictures of it in use here.

iMac Under Warm Light

2008-01-16T02:51:00.001+08:00

iMac under warm light
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I have gotten my hands on a 24" iMac for my room.

It's pretty cool for watching movies fullscreen. More photos here.

Due to the size of the screen, I had to spend some time looking for HDR images to use as wallpaper.

It's not easy locating HDR images that are done correctly and of suitable size. A simple "hdr" keyword search yields many duds that you need to sieve out manually.

If you are looking for large and detailed wallpapers for your 24" iMac or large LCD, I recommend clicking here or if you prefer the long way, go to deviantART, in the menu, choose "Customization -> Wallpapers -> All", narrow down the search results with the keyword "hdr" and increase the scope of the search to "All Time". Have fun!

Asian Usenet

2008-01-14T02:46:00.000+08:00

If you have Usenet access and

1. want to watch Korean, Japanese, Hongkong movies and TV serials or,
2. am like me who is constantly cajoled by couch potato friends to help obtain said materials,

check out the group a.b.asianusenet or visit them at asianusenet.com.

Think of it as a geek version of those TS Laser or Poh Kim Video outlets if you will. Check it out!

Dexter S02E02

2008-01-10T01:31:00.001+08:00

dexter_wall_01_800x600
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Holy crap. The last scene in Dexter S02E02 got me good. I have watched horror flicks including the recent Body #19 and none of 'em made me jump like it did.

And may I say how great I think the show Dexter is? Yup. I am sure everyone out there can identify with the main character, a serial killer who chops his victims up into pieces. Good stuff.

Far Away

2008-01-04T01:50:00.001+08:00

Nickelback - Far Away
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

My hearing is back. After 3 long days.

Reaching home, listening to the clanging of my gate's heavy latch dropping onto the base was a brand new experience. This night I listened intently, right from the first loud clang it made till the vibrations whittled down.

I have been addicted to sounds this night. Putting on headphones instead of simply playing my tunes through my Macbook's speakers, I went through all my tracks in iTunes. Listening intently to what I have missed all this while, not only for the past 3 days.

This song, this one song, sums up all that I have missed all this while. Download the .mp3. Life is back to normal, whoopeedoo!

Got Me Chuckling

2008-01-02T00:04:00.000+08:00

Wow. These got me going pretty good after a day of mugging.

#833499 +(664)- [X]

Declan: I dunno...I love her, but this new years is going to be uber depressing
grencez: her friends are much lamer than both of you combined
Declan: The thought of her getting high at a party where everyone is drunk while I sit at home and code Perl or something is kind of too much to bear
CyanFlux: maybe try coding something in c

#833485 +(472)- [X]

[Boyzoid] we went through almost 4 cases of beer
[Boyzoid] and most of that was drunk by my dad and I
[Boyzoid] I get my liver form him
[jamiejackson] you'll get it from someone else soon

#832450 +(100)- [X]

Rayo :: My friend Lupe is the Santa at the Mall.
dissolve/decay :: wait, what happened?
Rayo :: He owed me money.
Rayo :: So I waited in line today with all the kids.
Rayo :: and told him to pay up in front of all the children, "kids. Santa owes me 40"
"....come on Greg...wheres your Christmas Spirit?"
"Do you want these kids to think Santa is a cheapskate?"

#832266 +(309)- [X]

[kw] I tried to download a chick flick once, but none of the packets had any sense of direction

#832254 +(641)- [X]

[Redden] you know what you shouldn't take on planes?
[Sealab] Leslie Nielson?
[Bagel] Box Cutters?
[Dodge] William Shatners?
[Scotty] Gameboys?
[DotTom] Babies?
[The Amazing Rando] Wesley Snipes?
[seander] Flaming torches?
[Gib Yob] Vials of smallpox?
[Kelvin] Zombies?
[Tomuber] Mutha fuckin snakes?

#831193 +(-271)- [X]

[Corrupte] My friend's a fag he tried this dating servivce
[Corrupte] and found a girl that was like 20 years old, blonde, mature and had big tits
[Corrupte] Foolishly he went out wit a girl with no picture
[Corrupte] But she was actually 20 and had was blodne and shit
[jason] why is he fag then
[Corrupte] She was born on a leap year

#830747 +(4496)- [X]

[Montana] yeh but chinese for dinner.. Peking Dick FTW
[Dauntless] ... LOL
[Montana] omg here we go
[Dauntless] Can you say bash.org?
[Montana] why? so it can join the other 1 million quotes of random people saying 'i love wang.. oops typo, i meant computers.
[Montana] Screw this
[Montana] If i'm getting quoted I'm getting my moneys worth:
[Montana] MONTY PRESENTS THE ULTIMATE QUOTE
[Montana] OMFG my naked sister just ran into my room and before I could sex her she set fire/other means of destruction to my room but because Im a total geek it doesnt occur to me to get of irc and fix it.
[Montana] I instead enter a conversation on computers: OMG MY COMPUTER HAS GOT A VIRUS! OH WAIT NO, ITS WINDOWS/LINUX/MAC/NORTON/AOL. Now for the obligatory Windows ME insult where the name of the product is mistaken for a pronoun for myself:
[Montana] ME SO GAY! WHOOPS IT LOOKS LIKE THE INTENDED PURPOSE OF THAT STATEMENT WAS TO HIGHLIGHT MY OWN HOMOSEXUALITY WHEREAS I MEANT IT TO BE THE HOMOSEXUALITY OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM! HOW EMBARASSING!
[Montana] Now for the topic of sex:
[Montana] I HAVE A GF.. AND BY GF I OF COURSE MEAN A GFORCE 20MB 3.45 SYSTEM RETRO POWER MAX SUPERMAN RAPING COMPUTER STICK!
[Montana] Furthermore, I make a comment as to the worth of sex but comment of my lack of sexual activity.
[Montana] Hmm
[Montana] I'm forgetting the most impostant part! The lack of social interaction!
[Montana] OMG I just opened my blinds and the sunlight burnt and I saw this guy with a swollen chest and I was like WTF and my dad says 'thats called a girl' im like WTF IS A GIRL then i went and downloaded 50GB of porn.
[Montana] /end rant
[Montana] Anyways, as I said before.. dinner.. brb
[Dauntless] o_o

Miniature Music Box

2007-12-27T01:37:00.000+08:00

Met up with Tracy, Cherie and her sister Candy today after my grueling 1.5hrs job interview. Bought something really cool. A miniature musical box. Took a video of it using my k810i and uploaded it to Youtube just for kicks.

The tones created by the box are really clear and crisp, playing the really wonderful "When You Wish Upon A Star". The little "golden engine" within the little pinewood box makes it feel really special.

Who Is The Worst Driver You Have Ever Met?

2007-12-19T14:49:00.000+08:00

Who is the worst driver you have ever met? Got the following from here. Some of answers are hilarious.

BY BRENDASTARLET AT 12/18/07 01:12 PM

I've ridden with just as many terrible guy drivers as women, but the worst driver I've ever been in a car with is a friend who lives in a large east coast city. She doesn't own a car, so her only time behind the wheel is in rental cars, i.e., once every two or three months.

She has never mastered the concept of acceleration, so she either floors the gas pedal or barely taps it enough to get any forward motion. She also has a problem with right-side depth perception, and constantly veers too close to the lane markings, meaning I would always get nasty or petrified looks from the motorists next to us. One year, we drove to the Upper Peninsula and even though it was hours on the road, I rejected her offers to drive. I was scared we might end up side-swiping a moose.

BY ZZMARCUS AT 12/18/07 01:14 PM

Grandma stomps on the gas to accelerate to speed and stomps on the brakes to slow down. She also has a hard time staying within the lines on the road so if you've made the mistake of letting her drive you have to make the choice between wetting your pants in fear or throwing up from seasickness.

BY BUMBLEBEE AT 12/18/07 01:25 PM

My grandmother is 96 and peers through the steering wheel in her '85 Olds wagon. The dash blocks the lower half of her line of sight.

NY residents, you will notice a drop in your insurance premiums when she ceases driving.

BY ADIDAC425 AT 12/18/07 01:26 PM

My College roomates younger brother Matt is by far the worst driver I have ever seen.

85 in a 35? Check!

Tailgate everyone? Check!

Pass on the right? No problem!

Pass on the left on a double yellow line? No problem!

Pass on the shoulder? Yes he DOES!

Best part- all this is after he got his license back from 4 year suspension related to a DUI accident. His version of the story?

"I woke up one day and didn't know where I was. I asked a nurse and she told me I had been in a car wreck, and this is the first time I have been awake in over a month..."

The "official" version? His Isuzu Rodeo snapped through a telephone pole 10 feet off the ground.

Yes, the boy genius managed to get 10 ft airborn, and smash into a pole.

1 life flight to the ER please, no in flight movie required, kosher meal prefered, can that be served through an IV?

Worst part?

I found this out while riding in the back seat of his Durango as he maniacally maneuvered through rush hour traffic. In the 10 minutes it took him to tell the story, my life flashed before my eyes at least twice due to several near misses with other traffic. I can only liken the experience to being strapped into a seat on a plane that is plummeting from the sky, and having the captain talking on the intercom telling you about the other plane he crashed last week...

Right Brain Versus Left Brain

2007-12-13T22:31:00.000+08:00

Thank you for taking the Creativity Test. The results show your brain dominance as being:
Left Brain Right Brain
48% 52%

You are more right-brained than left-brained. The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. In addition to being known as right-brained, you are also known as a creative thinker who uses feeling and intuition to gather information. You retain this information through the use of images and patterns. You are able to visualize the "whole" picture first, and then work backwards to put the pieces together to create the "whole" picture. Your thought process can appear quite illogical and meandering. The problem-solving techniques that you use involve free association, which is often very innovative and creative. The routes taken to arrive at your conclusions are completely opposite to what a left-brained person would be accustomed. You probably find it easy to express yourself using art, dance, or music. Some occupations usually held by a right-brained person are forest ranger, athlete, beautician, actor/actress, craftsman, and artist.

Your left brain/right brain percentage was calculated by combining the individual scores of each half's sub-categories. They are as follows:

Your Left Brain Percentages 35% Sequential (Your most dominant characteristic)
27% Linear
27% Reality-based
21% Logical
14% Verbal
0% Symbolic (Your least dominant characteristic)

Your Right Brain Percentages 34% Random (Your most dominant characteristic)
32% Fantasy-oriented
30% Holistic
28% Concrete
13% Nonverbal
10% Intuitive (Your least dominant characteristic)

What do these percentages mean? Read more!

Low percentages are common in the Brain Type Test and are not indicative of intelligence. Instead, medium to high scores (30 - 50%) are desireable, as they show an ability to utilize a processing method without an abnormal reliance on it. Special focus should be paid to highly dominant (50% or above) or highly recessive (0 - 30%) methods, as they tend to limit your approach when learning, memorizing, or solving problems.

If you have Highly Dominant characteristics, your normal thinking patterns will naturally utilize these methods. Conscious effort is required to recognize the benefits of other techniques. Using multiple forms of information processing is the best way to fully understand complex issues and become a balanced thinker.

If you have Highly Recessive characteristics, your normal thinking patterns naturally ignore these methods. You may only consider these under-utilized techniques when "all else fails," or possibly not at all. It is important to recognize the benefits of all of your brain's capabilities in order to become a balanced thinker.

Left Brain Categories

Sequential Processing

Sequential processing is a method used by the left hemisphere for processing information. The information that is received is processed in order from first to last. Information is processed in a systematic, logical manner. Through sequential processing, you can interpret and produce symbolic information such as language, mathematics, abstraction, and reasoning. This process is used to store memory in a language format. Activities that require sequential processing include spelling, making a "to-do" list, and many aspects of organization.

Your Sequential Analysis

You show moderate ability to organize information sequentially. You are capable of processing information you receive in a systematic, logical order from first to last. However, at times you will process information you receive quite randomly, or may give it only a semblance of order. You are probably an average mathematician and speller, and may or may not enjoy tasks such as making "to-do" lists.

Linear Processing

Linear processing is a method by the left hemisphere to process information. In this process, the left brain takes pieces of information, lines them up, and proceeds to arrange them into an order from which it may draw a conclusion. The information is processed from parts to a whole in a straight, forward, and logical progression.

Your Linear Analysis

When processing information using this method, you will occasionally feel the need to see the "whole picture" before you are able to achieve results. At other times, you are able to piece all of the parts together in a straight and logical progression to form a whole, which then enables you to understand what you have processing. The information, your mood, and your level of comfortable are all factors that determine your response to a linear processing problem.

Reality-based Processing

Reality-based processing is used by the left hemisphere as a method for processing information with a basis on reality. This processing tool focuses on rules and regulations. An example of this would be how a left-brained person would completely understand the repercussions of turning in a late assignment or failing a test. A left-brained person also usually easily adjusts to changes in their environment.

Your Reality-based Analysis

You process information with a basis in reality, but are not limited to it. You may recognize the repercussions of you actions, but proceed to do something anyway, in the heat of the moment. You can complete projects to whice you are emotionally attached as well as random tasks.

Logical Processing

Logical processing is a method that is used by the left hemisphere to take information piece by piece and put it all together to form a logical answer. When information is received through reading or listening, the left hemisphere will look for different bits of information that will allow it to produce a logical conclusion. This aspect of the left hemisphere is what aids you in solving math problems and science experiments.

Your Logical Analysis

Logical processing is not one of your strengths, so you may tend to rely on a "gut" feeling to help you make your decisions from the information you have received. For example, you will often choose an answer on a test because it "feels" right, and you may be correct. This is due to the fact of your tendency to look for the whole picture but not the details that create it. You can often start with the answer and work your way back to allow yourself to see the process and parts that create the whole. You may find math problems and science experiments difficult because of this.

Verbal Processing

Verbal processing is a method used by the left hemisphere to process our thoughts and ideas with words. For example, through verbal processing, a left-brained person giving directions may say, "From this point continue east for two miles and turn north onto Bellevue Road. Continue north on Bellevue Road for seven miles and turn west on Main Street". With verbal processing, exact, logical directions are given in a very sequential manner compared to a right-brained person who, in giving the same directions, would use more visual landmarks.

Your Verbal Analysis

You are not a verbal person. When you process your thoughts, you tend to use very few words, preferring instead to illustrate a problem or solution. You often find yourself in situations where it is hard for you to "find the right words." Upon reading or hearing new information, you must first create a "mental video" before you can process and understand the information of your thoughts. For example, when giving directions, you probably use many gestures with your hands such as pointing and leaning, and also refer to visual structures such as "a McDonalds" or "the big tree" instead of street names or exact mileage.

Symbolic Processing

Symbolic processing is a method associated with the left hemisphere that is used for processing the information of pictures and symbols. The majority of functions associated with academics involve symbols such as letters, words, and mathematical notations. This process is what aids you to excel in tasks such as linguistics, mathematics, and memorizing vocabulary words and mathematical formulas.

Your Symbolic Analysis

You have difficulty processing the information of symbols, and would rather see the real object in order to understand. You probably hated algebra. For example, if solving a math problem, you need to "draw out" the problem to understand and solve it. You rely on the visualization of real objects instead of their symbols. Tasks such as memorizing vocabulary words or mathematical formulas are more difficult for you.

Right Brain Categories

Random Processing

Random processing is a method used by the right hemisphere for processing information. The information that is received is processed without priority. A right-brained person will usually jump from one task to another due to the random processing by their dominant right hemisphere. Random processing is, of course, the opposite of sequential processing therefore making it difficult for right-brained individuals to choose to learn in sequence. In order to overcome this, a right-brained person may want to attempt to learn sequence by using colors since the right hemisphere is sensitive to color. For example, you may want to associate the first step with green, the second step with blue, and the last step with red. Consistently using the same sequence will allow you to see that this strategy can be applied to many tasks involving sequence.

Your Random Analysis

You have some ability to process data randomly. You are at times able to make "leaps of logic" and discover unique things by thinking "outside of the box." However, you may tend to ignore your random processing thoughts unless you are desperate for a solution. It is important you recognize this skill as not grasping at straws, but a viable way to discover new ways of approaching a problem.

Fantasy-oriented Processing

Fantasy-oriented processing is used by the right hemisphere as a method for processing information with creativity. It focuses much less on rules and regulations than the processing method of a left-brained person. Due to the fantasy-oriented processing mechanism of a right-brained person, they do not adjust well to change. Instead of adapting to the change in the environment, a right-brained person attempts to change it back to the way they liked it. But fantasy-oriented processing also provides the advantage of creativity to right-brained individuals, and since emotion is integral of the right side of the brain, anything a fantasy-oriented person becomes involved in emotionally will aid their ability to learn.

Your Fantasy-oriented Analysis

You have the ability to use both creativity and reality to process the information you receive. This is a unique gift that allows you to both focus on rules and regulations but to also act with creativity. You are able to adjusting to change, even though you might not like it, and you can become emotionally involved in your work if it interests you.

Holistic Processing

Holistic processing is a method used by the right hemisphere to process information. The information is processed from whole to parts. A right-brained person, through holistic processing, is able to see the big picture first, but not the details that accompany it. A strongly holistic person may often find that prior to listening to a lecture given by an instructor, they must first read the chapter so that they better understand what the lecture is about. This function is also what provides to you your visual spatial skills. It also aids in tasks such as dancing and gymnastics. Through holistic processing, memory is stored in auditory, visual, and spatial modalities.

Your Holistic Analysis

You show some ability to process data holistically, starting with the whole and working backwards to find the parts, which inform the whole, to form your conclusion. When you process information in a linear manner you are able to start with the parts and work up to form the whole. It is important to be comfortable with both methods, as both are equally necessary in the learning process.

Concrete Processing

Concrete processing is a method associated with the right hemisphere that is used for processing things that can be seen or touched. It processes much of the information you receive from real objects. For example, a right-brained person is not just satisfied that a mathematical formula may work, but will want to know why it works. A strongly concrete person often finds it easier to solve a mathematical problem by "drawing it out" because it allows them to visualize it. The more a concrete person can visualize something the easier it is for them to understand it.

Your Concrete Analysis

At times, you feel the need to see a real object in order to understand it. At other times, you are able to understand a problem on a symbolic level. For example, you may find that in solving math problems, it occasionally helps you to "draw out" the problem in order to understand and solve it.

Nonverbal Processing

Nonverbal processing is a method used by the right hemisphere to process our thoughts with illustrations. Reliance on this method is why it is occasionally difficult for right-brained people to "find the right words" in certain situations. A right-brained person cannot just read or hear information and process it, but first must make a mental video to better understand the information they have received. For example, through nonverbal processing, a person giving directions may say, "Continue going straight until you see a big, red-brick courthouse. At the courthouse turn right, and go down that street for a couple of miles until you se a gray stone church which will be on your right. Straight across from the church is the road to the left you need to take." With nonverbal processing, the directions that are given are extremely visual compared to the exact, sequential directions that would be given by a left-brained person.

Your Nonverbal Analysis

You have little ability in nonverbal processing. When you process your thoughts and ideas you mainly use words instead of illustrations. For example, if you were giving directions you may say, "Continue traveling west for 3 miles and turn north at the intersection." You would give exact, logical directions in a very sequential manner.

Intuitive Processing

Intuitive processing is a method that is used by the right hemisphere to process information based on if it "feels" right or not. For example, a right-brained person may choose an answer on a test because they had a "gut" feeling and often they will be correct. Another example of this is how a right-brained person will know the correct answer to a math problem but will not understand the procedure of how they arrived at the correct answer. A right-brained person will usually have to start with the answer and work their way backwards in order to be able to see and understand the parts and process that create the whole.

Your Intuitive Analysis

When you process information using this method, you do not rely on "gut" feelings but take the information and put it together piece by piece to form your conclusions. You often look at all of the different bits of information before piecing together your solution. You probably excel in such tasks as solving math problems and performing science experiments, because the intuitive method is not needed.

SABnzbd for Mac OSX

2007-12-03T04:38:00.001+08:00

SABnzbd for Mac OSX
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

SABnzbd for Mac is functionally similar to Hellanzb on Linux.

That is,

1. It handles .nzb files so downloading anything you want from Usenet blazingly fast is a breeze. (see screenshot)

2. Automatically par-checks and unrars so you end up with the final files that you want rightaway. (see screenshot)

I believe I am going to stop using Unison from now on.

*Hellanzb is available for Fink and DarwinPorts but if you are like me, running short on diskspace, no longer do development, want a more elegant solution, SABnzb is the way to go.

Usenet Again, This Time On Linux

2007-11-25T01:50:00.000+08:00

My buddy needed to download some files and I offered to help. I found the torrents but they were extremely badly seeded and leeched (if you are one of 'em, I loathe you...).

I turned to Usenet and promptly got the files. After that was done, I proceeded to have a field day grabbing some of my files.

In my previous post, I was accessing Usenet from my Mac using Unison. Most of the time, I am using my server back home. I had recently got another additional 400GB for it so I was looking for a Linux nzb-capable Usenet client.

Enter Hellanzb.

Hellanzb is really awesome because not only is it nzb-capable, it also automatically par-checks and unrar your files for you! All you need to do is to provide the paths to par2 and unrar and it does the rest. Extremely handy and convenient.

# Supply a path to the (un)rar command
#Hellanzb.UNRAR_CMD = None
Hellanzb.UNRAR_CMD = '/opt/bin/unrar'

# Supply a path to the par2 command
#Hellanzb.PAR2_CMD = None
Hellanzb.PAR2_CMD = '/usr/bin/par2'

Save the nzb file into the designated queue folder.

# Where to put queued .nzb files
Hellanzb.QUEUE_DIR = Hellanzb.PREFIX_DIR + 'nzb/daemon.queue/'

Hellanzb detects the new file and starts your download. And because it's Usenet, downloads complete even faster and more reliably than private trackers. It's nice to know that your download would be complete when you come out of the shower. :)

arnold@localhost ~ $ hellanzb.py

hellanzb v0.13 (config = /home/arnold/hellanzb.conf)
(amiatrome) Opening 8 connections...
hellanzb - Now monitoring queue...
Found new nzb: fp
Parsing: fp.nzb...
Parsed: 52 files (1930 posts), 712.4MB
Queued: 712.4MB
[1] web-fp.r14 - 99% @ 49.0KB/s
[2] web-fp.r15 - 10% @ 377.0KB/s
[3] web-fp.r15
[4] web-fp.r15
[5] web-fp.r15
[6] web-fp.r15
[7] web-fp.r15
[8] web-fp.r15
[Total] 427.0KB/s, 477 MB queued, ETA: 00:19:06

Touch Typing

2007-11-24T20:17:00.000+08:00

Test how good at touch typing you are.

You reached 204 points, so you achieved position 8000 on the ranking list

You type 308 characters per minute
You have 55 correct words and
you have 4 wrong words
Congratulation, you are fast, but maybe you can become faster?

Honestly, I gave it a few gos before I got bored and settled for the score above. Around 4 times I think. So feel free to break it in here.

When We Forget

2007-11-17T23:43:00.000+08:00

Usually a story of a husband starting up a relationship with another woman is the subject of gossip and back room whispering, but for former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor, her husband’s new romance is not cause for jealousy – instead, she’s glad.

Read more!

17 years ago John O’Connor was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. in 2005 Sandra Day O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court, citing her husband’s illness and her need to take care of him as her reason for retirement. Recently John O’Connor was moved into a new cottage at the assisted-living facility where he is living, and he fell in love with a fellow resident with Alzheimer’s.

“Mom was thrilled that Dad was relaxed and happy and comfortable living here and wasn’t complaining.” said Sandra’s son.

It was different when he first came to the center, the son said: “He knew this was sort of the beginning of the end … It was basically suicide talk.”

John O’Connor was shifted to another cottage at the center and “48 hours after moving into that new cottage he was a teenager in love. He was happy.”

Lisa O’Toole, manager at the assisted-living facility, described the relationships at the facility as almost childlike, with the couples holding hands, hugging or simply having dinner together. She says the reactions from the families can be mixed. “I’ve seen total extremes where families just fall apart, the wife doesn’t understand, and they’ll cry. And then you have the other end, the opposite spectrum … that it’s OK that they have somebody to make them happy.”

According to Dr. Peter Reed, senior director of programs at the Chicago-based Alzheimer’s Association, it is understandable why relationships spring up among Alzheimer’s patients, because “Whether residents still have a spouse or whether their primary families are their children, people living in these situations are engaging each other all the time and are seeking human contact and seeking social relationships.”

“Imagine if all the people you know and loved disappeared,’’ said Dr. Richard Powers, chairman of the medical advisory board of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. “Wouldn’t you want to find someone who was your friend, who would hold your hand and watch old television shows with you? The person with Alzheimer’s still searches for joy.”

As for the families, Dr. Powers says, “it’s not uncommon at all for families and spouses to allow this to go on, because it sustains a person’s happiness. Those of us who have had this disease in our families know you just have to roll with these changes. Let them have a friend, if it buys them a day of happiness.”

Recently a film by Sarah Polley, Away from Her, was released and deals with this very issue.

Fiona and Grant are an Ontario couple who have been married for over 40 years. Now, in the oncoming twilight of their years, they are forced to face the fact that Fiona's "forgetfulness" actually is Alzheimer's Disease. After Fiona wanders away and is found after being lost, they agree she must go into a nursing home. For the first time in the five decades their relationship has spanned, they are forced to undergo a long-time separation since the nursing home has a "no-vistors" policy for the first 30 days of a patient's stay, so they can adjust to their new surroundings. When Grant visits Fiona after the orientation period, he is devastated to find out that not only can has she seemingly forgotten him, Fiona has transferred her affections to another man. The other man is Aubrey, a wheel chair-bound mute who also is a patient at the nursing home. As the distance between husband and wife grows, Grant must draw upon his love for Fiona to perform an act of self-sacrifice in order to ensure her happiness.

I haven't watch it but probably would one of these days. You should too.

Iron Man

2007-11-17T23:14:00.000+08:00

Iron Man is coming to theatres! Yay! I have waited for Spiderman, Fantastic 4, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, Hulk, Transformers... what's another 6 months?

Watch the trailer. It's really cool.

La La La Again

2007-10-06T23:13:00.000+08:00

Lyrics here.

We're both looking for something
We've been afraid to find
It's easier to be broken
It's easier to hide

Looking at you, holding my breath
For once in my life I'm scared to death
I'm taking a chance letting you inside

I'm feeling alive all over again
As deep as the scar, under my skin
Like being in love, she says, for the first time
Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right
Where I belong with you tonight
Like being in love to feel for the first time

The world that I see inside you
Waiting to come to life
Waking me up to dreaming
Reality in your eyes

Looking at you, holding my breath
For once in my life I'm scared to death
I'm taking a chance letting you inside

I'm feeling alive all over again
As deep as the scar, under my skin
Like being in love, she says, for the first time
Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right
Where I belong with you tonight
Like being in love to feel for the first time

We're crashing
Into the unknown
We're lost in this
But it feels like home

I'm feeling alive all over again
As deep as the scar that's under my skin
Like being in love, she says, for the first time
Maybe I'm wrong, I'm feeling right
Where I belong with you tonight
Like being in love, she says, for the first time
Like being in love to feel for the first time

Like being in love, she says, for the first time
Like being in love to feel for the first time

To Bring Back The Dead

2007-09-30T01:32:00.000+08:00

Some quotes from the 2 articles listed below.

(Source)
To Treat The Dead

By Jerry Adler
Newsweek

May 7, 2007 issue - Consider someone who has just died of a heart attack. His organs are intact, he hasn't lost blood. All that's happened is his heart has stopped beating—the definition of "clinical death"—and his brain has shut down to conserve oxygen. But what has actually died?

As recently as 1993, when Dr. Sherwin Nuland wrote the best seller "How We Die," the conventional answer was that it was his cells that had died. The patient couldn't be revived because the tissues of his brain and heart had suffered irreversible damage from lack of oxygen. This process was understood to begin after just four or five minutes. If the patient doesn't receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation within that time, and if his heart can't be restarted soon thereafter, he is unlikely to recover. That dogma went unquestioned until researchers actually looked at oxygen-starved heart cells under a microscope. What they saw amazed them, according to Dr. Lance Becker, an authority on emergency medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "After one hour," he says, "we couldn't see evidence the cells had died. We thought we'd done something wrong." In fact, cells cut off from their blood supply died only hours later. Read more!

But if the cells are still alive, why can't doctors revive someone who has been dead for an hour? Because once the cells have been without oxygen for more than five minutes, they die when their oxygen supply is resumed. It was that "astounding" discovery, Becker says, that led him to his post as the director of Penn's Center for Resuscitation Science, a newly created research institute operating on one of medicine's newest frontiers: treating the dead.

Biologists are still grappling with the implications of this new view of cell death—not passive extinguishment, like a candle flickering out when you cover it with a glass, but an active biochemical event triggered by "reperfusion," the resumption of oxygen supply. The research takes them deep into the machinery of the cell, to the tiny membrane-enclosed structures known as mitochondria where cellular fuel is oxidized to provide energy. Mitochondria control the process known as apoptosis, the programmed death of abnormal cells that is the body's primary defense against cancer. "It looks to us," says Becker, "as if the cellular surveillance mechanism cannot tell the difference between a cancer cell and a cell being reperfused with oxygen. Something throws the switch that makes the cell die."

With this realization came another: that standard emergency-room procedure has it exactly backward. When someone collapses on the street of cardiac arrest, if he's lucky he will receive immediate CPR, maintaining circulation until he can be revived in the hospital. But the rest will have gone 10 or 15 minutes or more without a heartbeat by the time they reach the emergency department. And then what happens? "We give them oxygen," Becker says. "We jolt the heart with the paddles, we pump in epinephrine to force it to beat, so it's taking up more oxygen." Blood-starved heart muscle is suddenly flooded with oxygen, precisely the situation that leads to cell death. Instead, Becker says, we should aim to reduce oxygen uptake, slow metabolism and adjust the blood chemistry for gradual and safe reperfusion.

Researchers are still working out how best to do this. A study at four hospitals, published last year by the University of California, showed a remarkable rate of success in treating sudden cardiac arrest with an approach that involved, among other things, a "cardioplegic" blood infusion to keep the heart in a state of suspended animation. Patients were put on a heart-lung bypass machine to maintain circulation to the brain until the heart could be safely restarted. The study involved just 34 patients, but 80 percent of them were discharged from the hospital alive. In one study of traditional methods, the figure was about 15 percent.

Becker also endorses hypothermia—lowering body temperature from 37 to 33 degrees Celsius—which appears to slow the chemical reactions touched off by reperfusion. He has developed an injectable slurry of salt and ice to cool the blood quickly that he hopes to make part of the standard emergency-response kit. "In an emergency department, you work like mad for half an hour on someone whose heart stopped, and finally someone says, 'I don't think we're going to get this guy back,' and then you just stop," Becker says. The body on the cart is dead, but its trillions of cells are all still alive. Becker wants to resolve that paradox in favor of life.

(Source)
New Treatment Brings Patients Back From The Dead

(CBS) PHILADELPHIA Doctors in Philadelphia are testing a revolutionary new treatment that is restoring life and bringing people back from the dead. CBS Station KYW-TV in Philadelphia Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl has details.

During cardiac arrest, the heart stops beating. It's a trauma alert and people are often declared dead within minutes.

But now doctors at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital are bringing people back from the dead.

Dr. Lance Becker and his team are challenging fate with breakthrough new treatments that could save hundreds of thousands of lives.

61-year-old Bill Bondar is living proof that people can be brought back from the dead. Read more!

"I didn't know I died, I didn't feel anything, I still don't believe it," Bill said.

"I looked at his face, and I was looking at a dead man," Bill's wife Monica said.

It happened just after the couple left a jam session. Bill collapsed outside their home, lifeless.

"That was the most frightening thing I ever saw in my life and I knew my husband was gone. He was gone," said Monica.

Paramedics were able to restart his heart, but that's just part of the battle. Cells continue to die, and there can be damage to vital organs like the brain, that could be fatal.

Bill ended up at Penn, where he got the new experimental treatment of chilled saline that's injected.

Cooling pads are then wrapped around a patient. The body temperature is normally 98 degrees, but cooling brings it down to 92 degrees. Doctors keep it there for about 24 hours. This process is called intentional hypothermia.

"It decreases cellular injury when the cells are deprived of oxygen, so with less injury we are able to do a better job of getting people back," said Dr. Becker.

A similar cooling therapy was used on Buffalo Bills football player Kevin Everett, after a devastating spinal cord injury. He's now able to move after getting a quick infusion of cold saline.

But Dr. Becker said the cooling therapy needs to be faster, so they're developing a slushy type saline that contains ice particles. It would be injected into the blood stream to quickly reduce body temperature.

"We really believe that that is going to save lives in a way that we haven't even seen," said Dr. Becker.

"I feel lucky," said Bill.

After being dead for a few minutes back in May, Bill along with Monica are now back to enjoying their boating life, with a whole new perspective.

"Our grasp on life is so tenuous. It's so fragile that it doesn't really matter what you worry about tomorrow because you might not have it. You have to live as if you're going to die tomorrow," said Monica.

Bill now has an internal defibrillator and is taking medications.

The experimental cooling treatment at HUP can only be used on certain patients. But doctors expect it will eventually become a critical standard of care for saving lives.

50 Myths About Money

2007-09-27T21:10:00.000+08:00

(Souce)
Many misconceptions about personal finance could leave you out of pocket if you act on them. Emma Tyrrell and Liz Dolan give us a reality check

Many people don’t give much credence to the saying "see a penny, pick it up and all day long you’ll have good luck". It’s one of many myths that don’t ring true. You could add "money doesn’t grow on trees" or that it burns holes in pockets to the list, too.

Most myths are harmless, but some are potentially dangerous: believe them and you could end up out of pocket. So we have come up with 50 myths about money.

Read the 50 myths about money.

Pensions

1. I’m too young for a pension

Most of us don’t start taking pensions seriously until we reach our mid-thirties, according to research from HSBC.

Only ten per cent of 16 to 24 year-olds, and just over half of 25 to 34 year-olds are paying into a pension, with the rest believing they are too young to worry about it. But the consequences of delay are serious.

A 21 year-old paying £75 a month into a stakeholder pension could retire at 65 with a fund of £337,000, which could buy a pension of £12,700 a year. If he failed to start contributions until he was 30, his fund would only grow to £171,000, buying a £6,470 pension.

2. I don’t need a pension: I’ve got a house

Given all the fuss about pension fund deficits, bust company schemes, lousy investment returns and plunging annuity rates, it’s hardly surprising that so many people have lost faith in pension plans.

What is much harder to understand is why so many people believe that investing in their homes can be viewed as a viable substitute. It remains to be seen how many of Britain’s growing army of buy-to-let landlords and small-time developers can generate enough debt-free cash to pay for a comfortable old age.

Some will, some won’t, but at least the underlying strategy makes sense. Hoping to use a home as a pension makes no sense at all. The average property may be worth a small fortune (around £200,000) compared with the average retirement fund (roughly £25,000), but you still have to live somewhere.

Few have big enough homes to fund both a decent income and acceptable accommodation for life, especially in these days of galloping life expectancy.

3. My work pension is guaranteed

Company schemes are better protected than they were a few years ago, and are a lot safer than the days when Robert Maxwell stalked the land. But there are still very few guarantees.

Since April 2005, members of defined benefit (final-salary) schemes have been able turn to the Pensions Protection Fund for help if their employer goes bust.

But, although existing pensioners incomes are paid in full, people who have yet to retire get 90 per cent at most, and extra benefits, such as widows’ pensions, may be reduced, or even scrapped. PPF rules are not set in stone and may change at any time.

The value of a defined contribution (money purchase) pension fund cannot be guaranteed as it is dependent on the investment skills of those managing the fund, and on the state of global investment markets.

The pension itself is not provided by the employer, but by an annuity bought with the individual’s pension pot on retirement. So your income in retirement is dictated by annuity rates at the time you take it out.

Annuity funds are ring-fenced and should, if properly funded, provide a guaranteed income for life. It remains to be seen how well the annuity industry will cope if life expectancy continues to grow at its current rate.

4. I have to buy an annuity when I retire

You are not compelled to buy an annuity as soon as you retire If you have a big enough pension pot an unsecured pension (USP) allows investors to leave the bulk of their pension fund invested until any time up to age 75, at which point they must buy an annuity - unless they take the Alternatively Secured Pension route.

The ASP is unlikely to be a suitable route for many as there is a potentially nasty tax charge of 82 per cent.

Mortgages

5. Interest-only mortgages make homes more affordable

An increasing number of homebuyers, especially first-timers, opt to pay only the interest on their mortgages and nothing off the capital.

The big problem with interest-only mortgages is that allow you to fool yourself into believing you are buying a home, when you’re really only buying the difference between the purchase price and current value.

Any increase will reduce the debt, but will do nothing to strengthen you position on the property ladder. But any fall in value could leave you with negative equity, leaving you with even more to repay.

Lenders used only to sell interest-only mortgages alongside investment plans that were supposed to repay the capital on maturity. As we now know, the projected returns were often over-optimistic, but, at worst, the bulk of the debt will still be repaid.

Nowadays, the best plan is to switch to a repayment mortgage as soon as possible. If you can’t afford to do so, you can’t afford the property. It’s as simple as that.

6. Fixing the interest rate for the life of your mortgage is better than a series of short-term fixes

Gordon Brown is a great fan of long-term fixes, partly because they cushion homebuyers from nasty shocks and partly because they deprive the mortgage industry of a fresh injection of renewal fees every couple of years.

He may also hope that, if they become the norm, the media will be less inclined to come out with headlines like "More misery for homeowners" each time the Bank of England increases its borrowing rate.

Such products already exist, but few homebuyers have so far proved willing to lock themselves into the same rate for five years, let alone 10, 20 or even 25 years.

A report commissioned by the then chancellor a few years back blamed unattractively high rates for this unpopularity, but lack of flexibility is a more likely reason.

Anyone locked into a 20 year fix in 1998, when the base rate stood at 7.5 per cent, would have been in despair five years later, when the rate had more than halved to 3.5 per cent.

It has since risen to 5.75 per cent, but there’s now talk of a further fall. Meanwhile, our hapless homebuyer’s hands are still tied by a hefty early repayment penalty.

7. Flexible mortgages cut the cost of buying a home

Flexible mortgages allow you to make extra repayments on your mortgage as and when you want.

Each extra payment reduces the debt, with a commensurate reduction in interest charges. If you pay enough off for long enough, you could lop years off the total repayment time, and thus save thousands of pounds in interest.

It’s a particularly good idea for people with an irregular income and a more rewarding alternative to a regular savings plan. Unfortunately, a lot of people never actually get round to making overpayments. And even many of those that do are inclined to borrow the money back at a later date for holidays, cars etc.

This gives them access to cheap credit, but does nothing to cut the cost of home buying, Some lenders set limits on the amount that can be re-borrowed, but others stipulate only that the loan must be repaid in full by a certain date – a temptation for the undisciplined to saddle themselves with a debt they can’t repay.

8. A shortage of housing supply means property prices cannot fall

The UK has a massive housing shortage. More than 223,000 new households are expected to be formed this year, but we are only building 185,000 new homes a year.

But property prices will only remain high so long as supply is outstripped by demand. If something happened to dampen that demand – for example interest rates shooting up to unaffordable levels, or unemployment levels increasing dramatically – the situation could change.

And if mortgage repayments rose to the extent that large numbers of homeowners were forced to sell up or see their home repossessed, that sudden increase of housing supply could only exacerbate the situation.

But while property prices could fall, experts do not believe it is likely as long as employment levels remain high.

Savings & Investment

9. Active funds outperform tracker funds

When stockmarkets are falling, an efficient tracker fund follows them down, while an active manager can in theory buck the market.

When markets are rising, that job is harder, but a good active fund manager can add value. That’s the theory. The reality, as even world-famous investor Warren Buffett admitted recently, is that a cheap index tracker will beat most fund managers over the long term.

Active funds tend to charge annual management charges of 1.25 per cent and up, while trackers typically charge 0.5 per cent or less. Yet thousands of active funds fail to beat their benchmark indices over the long term.

Worse, some are even "closet trackers", following an index while charging active management prices.There are fund managers who have consistently outperformed the market, but they are a minority.

10. A tracker fund tracks the index

It’s fair to assume a tracker fund will always under-perform its index, by roughly the level of its charges. But tracker funds are not as straightforward as they seem, and their "tracking error" can vary quite dramatically.

Some are full replication funds, where the manager holds every stock in the index and buys and sells to match its weighting in the index.

This method, often used for FTSE 100 trackers, is let down by the high dealing costs involved in all that trading.

For bigger indices, fund managers use "sampling", buying the biggest shares and then replicating the rest by buying shares typical of their sector.

If they get it wrong the "tracking error" can be substantial.

11. You can’t lose money with premium bonds

Everyone loves premium bonds. Not only do you get 24 chances a year to become a millionaire, plus thousands more to win lower amounts,but – unlike other forms of gambling - you also get to keep your stake, which you can cash in at any time.

In practice, most people hang on to the money for fear of missing out on £1m in the next prize draw. When the money is finally withdrawn, often not until the bondholder has died, will almost inevitably have been ravaged by inflation.

Worse, says Martin Lewis of moneysavingexpert.com, four in five of those with the £30,000 maximum holding can expect below-inflation returns in any one year.

Annual earnings are said to average 4 per cent. But, as Lewis says, if 1m people pay £1 for the chance of winning £1m, you could say the average prize is £1 – even though 999,999 people get nothing. Premium bonds are for gamblers.

If you care about decent annual returns, stick to the best-paying savings accounts

12. You can time the market

Research from Fidelity shows that the longer you leave your money invested, the less likely you are to lose money.

If you invested £1,000 in the FTSE Allshare in 1992, it would have grown to £4,612 by the end of June 2007. If you’d missed the best 20 trading days, you would have just £2,212.

Trying to time the market runs the risk of missing those best days, as they often happen during the toughest times. On 12 March 2003, for example, the UK market fell by 4.3 per cent, but the next day it rose by 5.2 per cent.

Either invest your money for at least ten years and try not to worry about it, or drip-feed it in via regular savings, reducing the impact of market volatility.

13. Corporate bond funds are low-risk investments

Corporate bonds are effectively IOUs issued by companies to raise money. They pay a fixed rate of interest over a fixed term, which is why they are commonly sold as "low-risk" investments. But, the term can be misleading.

For instance, while the income may be fixed, the price is not. A holding bought two years ago, for instance, is likely to be worth a lot less now as bond prices have plunged over the past 18 months.

That’s fine if you can afford to hang on for recovery, but not if you need the money now – or indeed are likely to do so in the next few years. In addition, corporate bonds are only as safe as the company that issues them.

This is reflected in the interest rate: the greater the perceived financial strength of the issuing company, the lower the income you receive, and vice versa.

Again, this isn’t a problem if you know what you’re doing, but it can be a massive problem if you are attracted by an unusually high rate of interest without understanding the underlying reasons.

Most ordinary people invest in corporate bond funds, which obviously helps to spread the risk. But different funds still follow different risk/reward strategies and it’s important to pick one that meets your needs.

14. Blue chip shares are low risk.

No. The value of blue chip shares can fall sharply – you only have to look at Northern Rock fall from grace.

15. I’ll start saving when I have enough money

It’s never too early to get the savings habit, and the sooner you start, the longer your money has to grow.

High-paying savings accounts are available with minimum investments of £1, while unit trusts and Oeics offer savings plans from as little as £20 a month.

But despite grand resolutions at the start of each year, Alliance & Leicester says half of those planning to save say they will put money aside when they can afford it, rather than committing to a regular payment into a savings account or investment fund.

Nearly one in three British adults saved nothing in 2006, according to the bank.

16. I have a savings account so I’m earning money

Not necessarily. If you have debts at a higher rate of interest than you earn on your savings account, you could actually be wasting money.

You may well need a rainy day fund to pay for emergencies, such as car repairs, or a new boiler. But beyond that, the money would be better spent paying off any credit cards, store cards or loans.

If you’re a higher-rate taxpayer earning 6 per cent gross savings interest, you will be earning £360 a year interest after tax for every £10,000 of savings you have.

If you used that £10,000 to pay down a 15.9 per cent credit card debt instead, you’d save £1,590 interest, making you £1,230 better off.

17. Buying in the sales saves you money

We all like to congratulate ourselves on getting a bargain. But whether it’s a new TV or trolley loads of cheapo clobber, it’s only a bargain if you really need it, or if you would have bought at full price anyway.

Buying something you don’t need, and have only been tempted into by a 50 per cent off sticker, doesn’t save you money, it costs you money. Doh!

18. Shares are the best hedge against inflation

Financial advisers are wont to guide clients into equity-based products on the basis that share prices have always outperformed all other types of investments over the longer term.

19. Fixed-rate savings bonds are a good hedge against falling base rates

If you fix the rate paid on your savings and the prevailing savings rate falls, you are obviously quids in. Unfortunately, the opposite is much more likely.

This is because banks and building societies tend to issue fixed-rate bonds when the money markets are predicting further rate rises.

This is primarily because the underlying cost of providing the guarantee is lower at such times than if rates are expected to fall. Of course, the markets aren’t always right and you could still end up on the winning side. But you’re normally better advised to keep things fluid.

20. Buying funds direct from the fund management company is the cheapest option.

No. It is the most expensive option and could cost you up to 5 per cent.

The cheapest way to buy a fund is via an online fund supermarket or a broker. They often offer discounts - sometimes there is no charge to pay.

21. Guaranteed equity bonds offer all of the benefits of stockmarket investment with none of the risks

GEBs are savings plans whose returns are linked to the performance of one or more stockmarket indexes over a set period.

They are sold as risk-free because you are guaranteed to get back at least as much as you put in. Some plans are more generous than others, but all have certain restrictions. restrict returns in various ways.

Some set limits on the amount you receive if the relevant stockmarkets rises strongly over the period. And, although the initial capital is always returned, few plans add a bit extra for inflation (although some pay more).

If shares soar at the outset and then fall back again, you get none of the upside and all of the downside. People who invest directly in shares can lock in profits by selling after a strong rise, but GEB investors have to wait for the end of the term.

The biggest drawback of all is that GEBs never include dividend income, which might be as much as 40 per cent of the total gain enjoyed by direct investors.

Banking

22. My bank is best because it pays the highest rate on current accounts

Current accounts should be treated as temporary holding accounts for money you are planning to spend during any one month.

Anything left over should be transferred to a savings account, thus minimising the temptation to spend more than you have to.

It therefore makes a lot more sense to judge banks by other criteria, such as charges, extra services and the way you are treated by staff.

23. I can’t use my Natwest card at a Barclays ATM

Oh yes you can! In the old days, the banks limited ATM access to their own customers and those of certain other banks.

For instance, Barclays customers could also use ATMs operated by Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland but not by NatWest or HSBC.

This was particularly annoying for people whose bank or building society provided only a small number of cash machines. Nowadays there are no such restrictions. You can use any ATM you choose.

You won’t be charged for using ATMs operated by members of the LINK organisation – which means pretty well any bank or building society. But you will have to pay for using one of the non-LINK machines, Charges must be displayed on-screen before you begin the transaction.

24. Paying my bills my direct debit is cheaper

It is with utility bills but drivers paying their car insurance by direct debit risk paying over the odds for the convenience.

According to MoneyExpert. com, the price comparison website, 11 out of 12 motor insurance policies charge consumers interest if they choose to pay their premium by monthly direct debit and the average APR is 22.7 per cent.

On an average annual comprehensive policy costing £806 this will mean an extra £182 on top of the premium quoted.

25. Withdrawing cash from an ATM abroad is free

Most credit and debit cards typically incur a 2.75 per cent loading fee outside the UK.

However, Nationwide and the Post Office charge no fees.

26. I can’t switch my bank account to another bank because I am overdrawn

Banks love people who are consistently in the red as they are likely to be a lot more profitable than people who never borrow money.

The only reason why the bank may refuse to accept you as a customer is if it has very good reason to believe you will never be able to repay the money.

27. If my bank or building society goes bust, 90 per cent of my savings are protected

If a building society or bank collapses, the first £2,000 will be returned in full, plus 90 per cent of the next £33,000. These limits apply across the board, not to individual savings accounts.

If the bank is part of a group – for instance, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Intelligent Finance are all part of the HBOS – you may also find that the compensation limits apply to all accounts held with any members of the group.

The limits have remained the same for a number of years and are hopelessly inadequate. Attempts by the financial ombudsman to get them raised to more more sensible levels have so far failed.

If you have a substantial amount with this particular building society, you should consider moving some of your savings to at least one other institution.

Borrowing and debt

28. Student loan repayments are crippling

A recent survey of sixth-formers by the University of Greenwich found that on average they expect a graduate earning £16,000 will have to repay their student loan at a rate of £70.75 a week – out of a take-home pay of £244.41.

In fact, on that salary your student loan repayments would be just £1.73 a week. Student loans are, in real terms, interest free, as they only accumulate interest at the same rate as inflation.

You start paying back the money the April after you finish your course, but only if are earning over £15,000, and repay 9 per cent of your income over that level, until the balance is paid off.

29. I’ve solved all my debt problems by consolidating them all into one loan

Debt consolidation agencies are the scourge of the heavily indebted. It may sound like a good idea to take out a single loan rather than having to pay a host of different creditors, but it’s not.

To start with, by consolidating your debts, you have repaid all your creditors at the same time and now owe the whole lot to one company.

This means you are no longer able to prioritise your debts, which would have allowed you to concentrate on the most important, such as the mortgage or council tax.

If you had consulted an independent, fee-free debt adviser (such as you local Citizens’ Advice Bureau) before doing anything, you would have received help with drawing up a repayment plan and negotiating deals with individual creditors.

You should still do this, but it will be that much harder for them to help. Second, while many of your previous loans will have been unsecured, your new one is likely to be secured on your other assets, most importantly your home.

This means that, if you are unable to make payments, you could lose everything, including the roof over your head.

Third, although your monthly payments may be lower, the term of the loan is likely to be a lot longer, which means you will end up paying a lot more interest than you would previously.

30. A bad credit rating stays with you for life

There are three credit reference agencies, Callcredit, Equifax, and Experian, which store information on county court judgements (CCJs), bankruptcies, repossessions, and applications for credit.

Missed credit repayments stay on your credit report for 36 months, while CCJs are held on file for six years. If you have paid the debt within one month of the CCJ, you can ask the court to remove the details from your record.

Discharged bankruptcies also stay on your record for six years, unless you have a bankruptcy restriction order made against you, which lasts for 15 years.Beware of companies offering to repair your credit record for a fee.

You can do the same yourself for nothing – the credit reference agencies can tell you how.

31. The more credit cards you apply for, the better your credit rating

Having no credit – no cards, overdraft facility or loans – can make it hard to get credit, as lenders will find it hard to assess your credit-worthiness.

However, applying for multiple credit cards can actually damage your credit rating. Each time you make an application for credit, it leaves a footprint on your credit report.

An unusually high number of applications might suggest that you are trying to take on too much debt, or make a lender think you are a victim of identity fraud.

So, when you are shopping around for credit, make sure you ask lenders for a "quotation search", rather than making full applications.

32. An IVA won’t affect your credit rating

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a binding agreement between you and your creditors, over how you will repay outstanding debts, and is often seen as an alternative to bankruptcy.

But just like bankruptcy, an IVA appears on your credit file for at least six years, marking you as a high-risk customer, and making it more difficult for you to get credit.

If your agreement with your creditors lasts for more than six years, then the IVA will stay on your credit report for as long as the arrangement lasts.

33. Cashback credit cards save you money

This is true – if you pay your bill off every month, in full. If you don’t, and you’re incurring interest and penalty charges, then that 0.5 or 1 per cent cashback is just a sad little sop to stop you finding what you really need – a 0 per cent credit card.

Another way to waste money, while still feeling like you’re saving, is to increase your spending in order to pass the limit at which your credit card starts paying a higher-rate of cashback.

34. Consolidating your credit cards and loans onto your mortgage saves money

It can certainly cut your monthly outgoings, and mean that you only have one creditor to deal with, rather than several smaller ones. The interest rate charged on the new combined loan may well be lower than you would have been paying on your previous debts. However, as many consolidation loans tend to be long term, you can end up paying more interest in the long run. Another problem is that the loan will be secured on your property, meaning that you now face the extra risk of losing your home if you can’t keep up with repayments.

Insurance

35. I have free travel insurance through my credit card

The free travel cover provided on most credit cards is actually "travel accident insurance", which will usually pay out only if you suffer an accident while travelling to or from your holiday destination, in very limited circumstances.

Proper travel insurance policies should cover medical expenses, repatriation costs, personal liability and cancellations.

Such comprehensive cover is available free on some premium credit cards, but as they charge annual fees of up to £300, you will be paying for it one way or another.

Barclaycard and Co-operative Bank do offer proper travel insurance free to ordinary card customers, but only if they buy a holiday through the card company’s travel service, and use their credit card to pay for it.

36. The best insurance policy is the cheapest

As witnessed by the recent explosion in rate-comparison websites, most people pick insurance policies by price alone.

Few give the policy terms more than a cursory glance before signing up; some don’t even both to do that. You may believe that one policy is pretty much the same as another.

Not so. They can vary quite considerably, and you normally get what you pay for. A low price can mean you have to pay a large chunk of the claim yourself, either because of a massive excess or because the maximum payout is totally inadequate for your needs.

You may have to do without a courtesy car, or alternative accommodation if your home is flooded. You may end up with nothing at all because you have failed to spot the long list of unreasonable exclusions, or have missed an arbitrary deadline.

And policy details are only part of the story. Some insurers reclaim the costs of cheap premiums by cutting back on staff numbers or training, or by fighting every claim, or delaying payment for months.

Of course, the low premium may simply be a loss leader to drum up business, in which case you’ve probably secured yourself a bargain.

The best way to choose a policy is through personal recommendation or, failing that, by consulting an insurance broker who knows his stuff.

37. Red cars cost more to insure

This probably started as an urban legend, possibly in the US, but is complete nonsense.

Although Churchill Insurance put together a "Colour Crash Index" in 2004 which did reveal a direct correlation between car colour and accident frequency, red cars were well down the list of most accident prone, after black, silver, green, yellow, blue and grey.

In any case, neither Churchill nor any other insurer takes car colour into account when deciding your premium.

Interestingly though, red auto paint is more expensive than other colours, making bodywork repairs pricier.

38. I can get good value insurance from my travel agent

Unlikely. Travel agents have long been lambasted for offering expensive travel insurance and you are better off surfing the internet for a better deal.

Since 2005 the sale of travel insurance policies has been regulated by the Financial Services Authority, but policies sold as part of a package holiday by a travel agent or tour operator do not fall under the FSA regime.

The rules mean that anyone selling insurance has to ask certain questions to check the suitability of a policy.

Last year Which?, the consumer champion, accused some travel agents and tour operators of mis-selling travel insurance.

39. I’m too young for life insurance

You may be young, but you’re probably not immortal.

As soon as there is someone who depends on you financially, you need life insurance. That may be a partner who you share a mortgage with, a spouse, or children – anyone who would struggle for money as a result of your death.

Yet according to Virgin Money research, 27 per cent of parents think they are too young too have life insurance, despite being old enough to have children. A 35-year-old non-smoking male can get £100,000 of life insurance cover from as little as £7 a month.

40. Life insurance is more important than critical illness cover

You are actually five times more likely to suffer a critical illness than you are to die before age 65, as heart attacks and cancer are more survivable than ever before.

Most people who contract multiple sclerosis are aged between 20 and 40, and half of all testicular cancer cases show up in men under 35.

Contracting a serious illness like this can mean you need expensive nursing care, drugs, or equipment, and may also limit your future earning potential.

Critical illness insurance can help with these costs, paying out if you are diagnosed with one of a list of specified illnesses. It can be very expensive, however.

41. Suicide isn’t covered on life insurance policies

Most life insurance policies do have suicide clauses, designed to stop people who already plan to take their lives from taking out huge amount of cover, and then killing themselves in order to extract their families from financial problems.

However, these generally only exclude claims for suicide within the first 12 months of a policyholder taking out the cover, and insurers will usually pay up on suicides after that point.

In addition there is often an exception in the first year if the insurance has been taken out to cover a mortgage and can be paid directly to the lender.

Tax

42. Only the rich suffer higher rates of tax

In 1997, 2.1 million people paid higher-rate tax at 40 per cent.

Ten years later the number had risen to 3.7 million, thanks to Gordon Brown’s love of "fiscal drag". This is the phenomenon where tax thresholds, which have gone up in line with inflation, fail to keep pace with average earnings.

Many of the workers who now fall into the top-rate tax brackets include senior nurses and senior ambulance and fire service officers, as well as university lecturers.

In 2007-08, anyone earning more than £39,825 could be liable for higher-rate tax. The threshold is to rise to £43,000 from April 2009, but the

Treasury will claw back the money by widening the band at which 11 per cent National Insurance is paid.

43. I don’t need to make a will because I’m leaving everything to my husband

On the contrary. If you die without making a will, your husband is quite likely to end up having to share your estate with other family members.

If you leave more than £125,000, and have children, he is entitled to £125,000, plus interest on half of the balance – but not the capital itself.

The children inherit half the remaining capital immediately, and the other half when your husband dies.

If you don’t have children, your husband gets the first £200,000, but only half of any remaining capital.

The other half goes to various relatives in the following order: your parents; siblings; grandparents; aunts and uncles.

44. My wife will get my pension when I die

Your wife may be automatically entitled to your pension fund if you die before converting it into a pension.

However, scheme rules differ and it is always advisable to make your wishes clear to the trustees – especially if you want the money to go to someone else.

When it comes to the pension itself, if it is linked to your final salary, your wife is likely to be entitled to a proportion of your pension, but not the full amount.

If your pension is provided by an annuity, and you want your wife to continue receiving an income after your death, you will have to pay for it at the outset – normally by sacrificing part of your pension fund.

45. I don’t need to worry about inheritance tax, because I am leaving everything to my spouse

It is true that there is no IHT to pay on assets transferred between spouses, or those in a civil partnership. But this doesn’t mean you should ignore IHT completely if you have assets exceeding £300,000.

If you want as much as possible to end up in the hands of your children and grandchildren, you need to ensure both spouses make the most of their individual nil-rate bands.

This will ensure that up to £600,000 is passed on to heirs tax-free, rather than just the £300,000 that will be utilised on the death of the second spouse.

Remember too that this exemption only applies to married couples, or those in a civil partnership.

Co-habitees enjoy no such exemption, regardless of how long they have lived together or how many children they have.

46. If I give away my home and survive for seven years I don’t have an IHT problem

Theoretically this can work, but only if you pay a market rent on your home while you continue to live there. If you live there rent-free, then this is considered a "gift with reservation’’ by HM Revenue & Customs, which will not make it exempt from IHT.

In practice, even if you pay the correct rent, this is seldom a tax-saving move. Many older people are asset-rich but cash poor; so paying rent on their own home would seriously impact their standard of living.

What is more, the beneficiaries who receive this rent will have to pay income tax on this money. They are also likely to be subject to capital gains tax if they sell this home after your death, as it is not their primary residence.

This means they have to pay CGT at 40 per cent on any gains in the property’s value from the day it was given them, to the day it was sold.

So the potential tax saving for your heirs may be negligible, but the cost will be significant.

47. If I give money away, the taxman can’t find out about it

Oh yes, he can. And HM Revenue & Customs has the power to prosecute and fine executors - and potentially beneficiaries - who fail to declare lifetime gifts on the appropriate IHT form.

Julie Hutchison of Standard Life says recent statements have made it clear that the Revenue intends to step up investigations, and clamp down firmly on any incidents of tax evasion.

Under current rules, you can give away money or assets, and provided you live for more than seven years after making the gifts, they are not included within your estate for IHT purposes.

It is advisable to make a note of any such gifts and pass them on to the executors of your will. You can appoint a beneficiary, such as a spouse or child to be an executor as well as a professional such as a family solicitor or accountant.

If you die within the seven-year period, and the total gifts are less than £300,000, these will merely "mop up’’ part of your tax-free allowance, so the beneficiaries have no further IHT to pay.

48. I don’t have to worry about my pension, as this isn’t subject to IHT

Well, strictly speaking there may be no immediate IHT problems, because pension funds are not subject to IHT. But this does not mean that you should ignore pensions altogether.

Most people nominate their spouse to pick up their pension should they die. While there is no IHT to pay at this point the funds will be taxable when your spouse dies and leaves the remainder to the next generation.

One solution is to ensure the pension is paid into a trust on your death, with the spouse being the main beneficiary.

The trustees can forward funds to the surviving spouse and also ensure that other beneficiaries, such as children can also benefit from these funds without paying IHT.

49. There is nothing I can do to reduce the IHT liability on my property

Simply handing the deeds of your house over to your son or daughter is not an effective means of escaping IHT. But there are steps you can take if it is simply the value of your family home that is pushing you into the IHT bracket but ensure you get independent legal and financial advice before proceeding with either options outlined below.

The easiest way to reduce the value of your home is to take out a debt secured against the property. For most people, this means some type of equity release scheme.

This can be a valuable tool in IHT planning, allowing you to reduce the value of your estate while at the same time releasing capital to supplement your pension.

This money can also be used to make lifetime gifts that will potentially be exempt of IHT. But it is worth remembering the debts will continue to accrue interest until you die.

As a result, it is possible your beneficiaries will receive less from the sale of the home, once the debt and interest are repaid, than they would have done had they simply paid the IHT bill.

The other option is to change the ownership of the property from "joint tenants’’ to "tenants-in-common’’.

This enables the spouse who dies first to leave their share of the property (up to the prevailing nil-rate band) into a trust, in which the children are likely to be the main beneficiaries. This enables the nil-rate band to be used twice. And finally….

50. An independent financial adviser will always pick the best deals on the market

In theory, IFAs are supposed to treat their clients like favourite aunts, selflessly choosing the very best investment strategy, regardless of how little they may earn for themselves.

In practice, all but the saintly few tend to bear their own financial interests very much in mind.

The regulations require IFAs to be able to prove that suggested solutions make sense for the individual in question, but they are not penalised for ignoring products like savings accounts or exchange traded funds (ETFs), that may be better for the client, but pay no commission.

Providers are allowed to pay pretty well as much commission as they choose, and it is no coincidence that the more they pay, the more products they are likely to sell.

Clients who pay fees to avoid commission bias, may find they are charged for a whole lot of extra services they neither want nor need.

That's What Friends Are For

2007-09-24T02:11:00.000+08:00

These four sure look like they have got each other's back. A great performance of That's What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross & Whitney Houston.

Gentoo To Sabayon Linux

2007-09-23T03:37:00.001+08:00

Ticker
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I have installed Sabayon Linux over my Gentoo on my home server.

My trusty Gentoo installation armied through my use of it since university 2nd year until now. As a remote bittorrent machine, an entertainment media center, a host to Subversion, CMS and a terminal server. That's ~4 years of 24/7 extended non-stop usage, unless the power gives out.

I had kept it updated through the use of emerge -Davu world. The last wallpaper change it had was from the first Fantastic Four movie in 2005.

Recently, I came across Sabayon Linux again (it's based on Gentoo) and it looked a lot better than when it first came out, about a year ago?

The project looked a lot more mature. There was a nice website, documentation, lots of download mirrors, quite a few releases, active forums, posts with good questions and quick answers, indicating it's now more well-integrated.

Given my lack of time due to work, I figured this is a good chance for me to try out Sabayon Linux again and give my box a fresh overhaul.

Sabayon's installation was extremely smooth and all hardware detection went without a hitch. Really well done. The only intervention I made was because Sabayon needed >10GB of disk space and I had to repartition my Gentoo partitions.

The automated installer is really a great time-saver for people like me who already know how to install Gentoo using the traditional command-line. Although the eventual system doesn't feel as lean as my previous installation, I got the following eye-candy for almost no work at all (and notice my wallpapers are now from the second Fantastic Four movie? The old installation used wallpapers from the first movie) and it's still Gentoo under there so I can still continue using the terminal anyway.

Fidelity Stock Widget For Mac

2007-09-18T02:12:00.001+08:00

Fidelity Stock Widget For Mac
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Nifty. Functional stock widget from Fidelity. Complete with the obligatory charts and figures.

Veronica Mars Is Still Cancelled

2007-09-18T00:04:00.000+08:00

Sigh. Veronica Mars was cancelled and there's still no news of it being revived.

I loved the show. Check out fan-made video. I will never forget the scene right at the beginning. I guess the author shares my sentiments. She purposely edited that scene to be at the beginnning.

The Last Of The Mohicans

2007-09-17T08:37:00.000+08:00

It's common practice for me to pay a visit to a movie's IMDB page if I like the movie.

I was watching the movie The Last Of The Mohicans and was going through it's trivia when I came across this.

Many long nights were spent filming the siege scenes. Due to the expansive area involved, loudspeakers were installed around the battlefield and fort so directions could be easily given to the hundreds of cast and crew. One night after many long hours, Mann was heard to shout over the speakers, "What's that orange light? Turn out that orange light!" After a pause another voice (an A.D.?) came over the speakers stating, "That's the SUN, Michael."

Priceless.

Kitty!

2007-09-16T09:23:00.000+08:00

I gotta go to work on a cool, rainy Sunday. Again.

Boooring.

I came across this kitty video and it's funny and upbeat. Gave me that little kickstart to the day.

Just caught I Now Pronounce Chuck & Larry last night. Really funny. The kind you laugh till you start wheezing. I would still have preferred to watch War, aka Rogue Assassin, though but the tickets were out.

I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me)

2007-09-15T13:03:00.000+08:00

I have been listening to this song over the radio pretty often and my ears never fail to perk up. I finally got it off p2p and popped it onto my Macbook and k810i.

It's a really nice song, albeit a little sad.

I did a search on Youtube today and found a video to go along with it. Turns out the version I have been listening to is by Exposé.

Here's a video of their rare performance of the song at a concert. Turns out this group is just as good in concert! And their fans are pretty cool.

Not Many People Get It

2007-09-02T21:41:00.000+08:00

Funny.

(Warning. Vulgar too.)

#796356 +(2807)- [X]

MftS: Who the fuck is the one naming hurricanes?
MftS: They somehow manage to give them the least threatening names ever.
MftS: If I turned on the news and heard that Hurricane Erin was coming I'd think to myself, "Erin? I could take that slut."
MftS: If I turned on the news and heard that Hurricane Dicksmasher was approaching, I'd grab all the money in the house, shove it in my pockets, and get the fuck out of there.

#790133 +(6411)- [X]

third_planet: The other night my friend had some pot and wanted me to smoke it with him, but we had nowhere to smoke it because both our parents were home.
third_planet: So we drove around looking for a place to park so we could smoke in the car.
third_planet: We eventually settled on a Wendys parking lot..
Mr-Butlertron: The logic is all there...
third_planet: I know, it was a ridiculous idea. We were just desperate and that was the first place to pull off..
third_planet: So we park in the back of the parking lot under this tree, and it's dark out, so we figure we're secluded enough. We start to light up and a cop pulls in. So we both sit really still and hope the cop will think the car is empty and just parked there. Or that he won't notice.
third_planet: The cop circles the parking lot once, then parks behind us and we're both freaking out. So Bobby, my friend, takes all the pot and shoves it in the glove compartment. But the car smells like pot, so we figure we're busted.
third_planet: So Bobby says we've gotta distract the cop from the pot. In a huge flash, he rips his shirt off, undoes my pants and sticks his hand inside. Before I can process what's happening, the cop knocks on my window. Then he looks in and sees Bobby shirtless, with his hand down my pants and turns bright red.
third_planet: I roll my window down and the cop says in this really flustered voice, his face bright red, "you guys be good now" and walks quickly back to his car and drives off.
third_planet: He didn't even notice the smell of pot.
third_planet: We drove home in the most uncomfortable fucking silence ever.

#789672 +(1843)- [X]

grosslack: Hell is a place of everlasting damnation and fire.
locokamil: Your belief system is thermodynamically unsound.

#789044 +(556)- [X]

soulmata: i wish i could get rid of my nuthair permanently
Caffeine_: get the laser hair removal
soulmata: sure lets point a laser at my cock

UPDATE
Oh god, these are hilarious as well.

#47959 +(164)- [X]

Orian: Due to typing classes when I was six I have the keyboard memorized for the most part :P
RedComet: Ori: somebody ever told you you need a life?
Orian: Yes quite often
BlackMage: did you ever ask what the url was?

#147771 +(383)- [X]

Laemtao: Girls are like Wolfenstein 3D.
Shatai: How so?
Laemtao: If you get far enough, you have to fight Hitler himself.

#192433 +(713)- [X]

-([AfZ]Curse)- i just ripped the most putrid fart ever
-([AfZ]Curse)- and my fucking dog looked at me and walked out of my room

#769818 +(335)- [X]

How do I recompile PHP?
have you prepared the appropriate sacrifices?

The Thief Lord

2007-09-02T01:46:00.000+08:00

The song Collide by Howie Day against the video backdrop of the movie The Thief Lord.

I was getting back from tennis this afternoon when my music player shuffled over to Collide and my ears perked up. Tried looking for the MTV on Youtube but the original MTV was boring. This fan-made had the highest rating and the kid with the crow's mask on caught my attention.

I did some reading up and it turns out the video is from a movie called The Thief Lord, a "very good family film" and "a lost gem that everyone will probably enjoy".

A tale about two young boys, Prosper and Bo, who flee to Venice after being orphaned and dumped in the care of a cruel auntie. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young urchins and their enigmatic leader, the Thief Lord. From their home base of an old cinema theater, the children steal from the rich to support themselves and soon capture the interest of a bumbling detective. However, a greater threat to the children is something from a forgotten past-- a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself...

Sounds cool. Think I am gonna set aside some time to watch it one of these days.

Anne Hathaway's Somebody To Love

2007-08-26T00:16:00.000+08:00

Was going through my DVD stash and found this movie Ella Enchanted that I have never watched before. It got a decent rating over at IMDB so I popped it into my Macbook over dinner.

It turned out to be very refreshing and Anne Hathaway is really hot. Here's a clip of her performing Somebody To Love in the movie.

Best Man Speeches

2007-08-25T21:24:00.000+08:00

I have discovered something on the internet that is incredibly powerful, unique and absolutely heartwarming today. Videos of "best man speeches" at weddings.

They are always so joyous, laughter-filled and blissful that it rubs off on you (even if you have absolutely no part in it).

If you need a light-hearted video to pass your time, go ahead and youtube "best man speech" and find your favourite video.

Aston Martin DBS

2007-08-18T20:44:00.001+08:00

asonmartindbsoff_007
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

"During production of the movie Casino Royale, the DBS was still on the Aston drawing board. Aston therefore had to hand-build a "hero" car for static scenes. For one of the film's stunt sequences they donated three DB9 road test prototypes made up with custom bodies to look like DBSs; all three cars were eventually wrecked.

During filming, stunt co-coordinator Gary Powell discovered the cosmetically modified DB9's centre of gravity was too low to make the car roll during a ramp jump. The crew increased the ramp height to 4 times the original, but it still refused to roll. In the end, an air cannon installed behind the driver’s seat drove a cylinder into the road, forcing the car to roll 7 1/2 turns breaking the world record.."

That's the interior of the finished Aston Martin DBS. Exterior and other images here.

This Bad Day Wasn't So Bad

2007-08-15T11:43:00.000+08:00

My bad day turned out pretty ok. At least I got to catch up with some shut-eye and relax a little.

Just A Wallpaper Change

2007-08-11T00:50:00.001+08:00

Just A Wallpaper Change
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I find this pretty amusing. Making my desktop look absolutely outta whack.

Arnold Simpsonized

2007-08-11T00:13:00.001+08:00

Arnold Simpsonized
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

That's how I think I will look like if I ever end up in Springfield.

The New iMac 24"

2007-08-08T21:30:00.001+08:00

iMac 24"
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

I think I'm gonna get this for my home. It's pretty, hassle-free and has a generous viewing area. =)

Need For Speed: Carbon For Mac

2007-07-22T02:26:00.001+08:00

Need For Speed Carbon for Mac
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Need For Speed: Carbon for the Mac is finally coming out this August 2007. I can't wait!!

Macbook Uptime

2007-07-10T07:51:00.001+08:00

Macbook Uptime
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

My Macbook has been up for 38 days. Still zippy.

39 Ways To Live And Not Merely Exist

2007-06-24T02:41:00.001+08:00

(source)

"The proper function of man is to live - not to exist." -- Jack London

Too often we go through life on autopilot, going through the motions and having each day pass like the one before it.

That's fine, and comfortable, until you have gone through another year without having done anything, without having really lived life.

That's fine, until you have reached old age and look back on life with regrets.

That's fine, until you see your kids go off to college and realize that you missed their childhoods.

It's not fine. If you want to truly live life, to really experience it, to enjoy it to the fullest, instead of barely scraping by and only living a life of existence, then you need to find ways to break free from the mold and drink from life.

What follows is just a list of ideas, obvious ones mostly that you could have thought of yourself, but that I hope are useful reminders. We all need reminders sometimes. If you find this useful, print it out, and start using it. Today.

Love. Perhaps the most important. Fall in love, if you aren't already. If you have, fall in love with your partner all over again. Abandon caution and let your heart be broken. Or love family members, friends, anyone -- it doesn't have to be romantic love. Love all of humanity, one person at a time.

Get outside. Don't let yourself be shut indoors. Go out when it's raining. Walk on the beach. Hike through the woods. Swim in a freezing lake. Bask in the sun. Play sports, or walk barefoot through grass. Pay close attention to nature.

Savor food. Don't just eat your food, but really enjoy it. Feel the texture, the bursts of flavors. Savor every bite. If you limit your intake of sweets, it will make the small treats you give yourself (berries or dark chocolate are my favorites) even more enjoyable. And when you do have them, really, really savor them. Slowly.

Create a morning ritual. Wake early and greet the day. Watch the sun rise. Out loud, tell yourself that you will not waste this day, which is a gift. You will be compassionate to your fellow human beings, and live every moment to its fullest. Stretch or meditate or exercise as part of your ritual. Enjoy some coffee.

Take chances. We often live our lives too cautiously, worried about what might go wrong. Be bold, risk it all. Quit your job and go to business for yourself (plan it out first!), or go up to that girl you've liked for a long time and ask her out. What do you have to lose?

Follow excitement. Try to find the things in life that excite you, and then go after them. Make life one exciting adventure after another (with perhaps some quiet times in between).

Find your passion. Similar to the above tip, this one asks you to find your calling. Make your living by doing the thing you love to do. First, think about what you really love to do. There may be many things. Find out how you can make a living doing it. It may be difficult, but you only live once.

Get out of your cubicle. Do you sit all day in front of computer, shuffling papers and taking phone calls and chatting on the Internet? Don't waste your days like this. Break free from the cubicle environment, and do your work on a laptop, in a coffee shop, or on a boat, or in a log cabin. This may require a change of jobs, or becoming a freelancer. It's worth it.

Turn off the TV. How many hours will we waste away in front of the boob tube? How many hours do we have to live? Do the math, then unplug the TV. Only plug it back in when you have a DVD of a movie you love. Otherwise, keep it off and find other stuff to do. Don't know what to do? Read further.

Pull away from Internet. You're reading something on the Internet right now. And, with the exception of this article, it is just more wasting away of your precious time. You cannot get these minutes back. Unplug the Internet, then get out of your office or house. Right now! And go and do something.

Travel. Sure, you want to travel some day. When you have vacation time, or when you're older. Well, what are you waiting for? Find a way to take a trip, if not this month, then sometime soon. You may need to sell your car or stop your cable bill and stop eating out to do it, but make it happen. You are too young to not see the world. If need be, find a way to make a living by freelancing, then work while you travel. Only work an hour or two a day. Don't check email but once a week. Then use the rest of the time to see the world.

Rediscover what's important. Take an hour and make a list of everything that's important to you. Add to it everything that you want to do in life. Now cut that list down to 4-5 things. Just the most important things in your life. This is your core list. This is what matters. Focus your life on these things. Make time for them.

Eliminate everything else. What's going on in your life that's not on that short list? All that stuff is wasting your time, pulling your attention from what's important. As much as possible, simplify your life by eliminating the stuff that's not on your short list, or minimizing it.

Exercise. Get off the couch and go for a walk. Eventually try running. Or do some push ups and crunches. Or swim or bike or row. Or go for a hike. Whatever you do, get active, and you'll love it. And life will be more alive.

Be positive. Learn to recognize the negative thoughts you have. These are the self-doubts, the criticisms of others, the complaints, the reasons you can't do something. Then stop yourself when you have these thoughts, and replace them with positive thoughts. Solutions. You can do this!

Open your heart. Is your heart a closed bundle of scar tissue? Learn to open it, have it ready to receive love, to give love unconditionally. If you have a problem with this, talk to someone about it. And practice makes perfect.

Kiss in the rain. Seize the moment and be romantic. Raining outside? Grab your lover and give her a passionate kiss. Driving home? Stop the car and pick some wildflowers. Send her a love note. Dress sexy for him.

Face your fears. What are you most afraid of? What is holding you back? Whatever it is, recognize it, and face it. Do what you are most afraid of. Afraid of heights? Go to the tallest building, and look down over the edge. Only by facing our fears can we be free of them.

When you suffer, suffer. Life isn't all about fun and games. Suffering is an inevitable part of life. We lose our jobs. We lose our lovers. We lose our pets. We get physically injured or sick. A loved one becomes sick. A parent dies. Learn to feel the pain intensely, and really grieve. This is a part of life -- really feel the pain. And when you're done, move on, and find joy.

Slow down. Life moves along at such a rapid pace these days. It's not healthy, and it's not conducive to living. Practice doing everything slowly -- everything, from eating to walking to driving to working to reading. Enjoy what you do. Learn to move at a snail's pace.

Touch humanity. Get out of your house and manicured neighborhoods, and find those who live in worse conditions. Meet them, talk to them, understand them. Live among them. Be one of them. Give up your materialistic lifestyle.

Volunteer. Help at homeless soup kitchens. Learn compassion, and learn to help ease the suffering of others. Help the sick, those with disabilities, those who are dying.

Play with children. Children, more than anyone else, know how to live. They experience everything in the moment, fully. When they get hurt, they really cry. When they play, they really have fun. Learn from them, instead of thinking you know so much more than them. Play with them, and learn to be joyful like them.

Talk to old people. There is no one wiser, more experienced, more learned, than those who have lived through life. They can tell you amazing stories. Give you advice on making a marriage last or staying out of debt. Tell you about their regrets, so you can learn from them and avoid the same mistakes. They are the wisdom of our society -- take advantage of their existence while they're still around.

Learn new skills. Constantly improve yourself instead of standing still -- not because you're so imperfect now, but because it is gratifying and satisfying. You should accept yourself as you are, and learn to love who you are, but still try to improve -- if only because the process of improvement is life itself.

Find spirituality. For some, this means finding God or Jesus or Allah or Buddha. For others, this means becoming in tune with the spirits of our ancestors, or with nature. For still others, this just means an inner energy. Whatever spirituality means for you, rediscover it, and its power.

Take mini-retirements. Don't leave the joy of retirement until you are too old to enjoy it. Do it now, while you're young. It makes working that much more worth it. Find ways to take a year off every few years. Save up, sell your home, your possessions, and travel. Live simply, but live, without having to work. Enjoy life, then go back to work and save up enough money to do it again in a couple of years.

Do nothing. Despite the tip above that we should find excitement, there is value in doing nothing as well. Not doing nothing as in reading, or taking a nap, or watching TV, or meditating. Doing nothing as in sitting there, doing nothing. Just learning to be still, in silence, to hear our inner voice, to be in tune with life. Do this daily if possible.

Stop playing video games. They might be fun, but they can take up way too much time. If you spend a lot of time playing online games, or computer solitaire, or Wii or Gameboy or whatever, consider going a week without it. Then find something else to do, outside.

Watch sunsets, daily. One of the most beautiful times of day. Make it a daily ritual to find a good spot to watch the sunset, perhaps having a light dinner while you do so.

Stop reading magazines. They're basically crap. And they waste your time and money. Cancel your subscriptions and walk past them at the news stands. If you have to read something, read a trashy novel or even better, read Dumb Little Man once a day and be done.

Break out from ruts. Do you do things the same way every day? Change it up. Try something new. Take a different route to work. Start your day out differently. Approach work from a new angle. Look at things from new perspectives.

Stop watching the news. It's depressing and useless. If you're a news junky, this may be difficult. I haven't watch TV news or read a newspaper regularly in about two years. It hasn't hurt me a bit. Anything important, my mom tells me about.

Laugh till you cry. Laughing is one of the best ways to live. Tell jokes and laugh your head off. Watch an awesome comedy. Learn to laugh at anything. Roll on the ground laughing. You'll love it.

Lose control. Not only control over yourself, but control over others. It's a bad habit to try to control others -- it will only lead to stress and unhappiness for yourself and those you try to control. Let others live, and live for yourself. And lose control of yourself now and then too.

Cry. Men, especially, tend to hold in our tears, but crying is an amazing release. Cry at sad movies. Cry at a funeral. Cry when you are hurt, or when somebody you love is hurt. It releases these emotions and allows us to cleanse ourselves.

Make an awesome dessert. I like to make warm, soft chocolate cake. But even berries dipped in chocolate, or crepes with ice cream and fruit, or fresh apple pie, or homemade chocolate chip cookies or brownies, are great. This isn't an every day thing, but an occasional treat thing. But it's wonderful.

Try something new, every week. Ask yourself: "What new thing shall I try this week?" Then be sure to do it. You don't have to learn a new language in one week, but seek new experiences. Give it a try. You might decide you want to keep it in your life.

Be in the moment. Instead of thinking about things you need to do, or things that have happened to you, or worrying or planning or regretting, think about what you are doing, right now. What is around you? What smells and sounds and sights and feelings are you experiencing? Learn to do this as much as possible through meditation, but also through bringing your focus back to the present as much as you can in everything you do.

Crash Test Videos

2007-06-12T05:43:00.000+08:00

ConsumerReports has a really useful collection of crash test videos for all popular makes and models of cars.

While many factors contribute to serious crashes, the vehicle you're in can make a life-or-death difference. To see how a model performs in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests, click here.

I took a quick look at the crash performance of the old favourite Honda Civic and the popular Mazda 3 and 6. After watching the videos, I would much rather be in a Civic than a Mazda 3 when it really matters.

Just because the car salesman says the car comes with air bags et cetera doesn't mean they are all made the same. Being the geek that I am, crash performance is one of the key factors of choosing my car. Rear spoilers don't really protect my head when a wayward drunk driver comes my way.

Speedtest

2007-06-08T23:43:00.000+08:00

This website does a pretty nice job of testing your bandwidth.

Deja Vu

2007-06-05T00:00:00.000+08:00

Just finished watching Deja Vu. It's a crime thriller, action and time-travel sci-fi all rolled into one.

Don't butt out just because of the time-travel aspect. It approaches time-travel from a brand-new perspective but it's not the main focus .

It's not one of those instantly likeable films like Lord Of The Rings, Spiderman or Back To The Future but it's still one of the films you have to watch at least once.

Here's a quote from the movie.

Doug Carlin: What if you had to tell someone the most important thing in the world, but you knew they'd never believe you?
Claire Kuchever: I'd try.

Chilling Out

2007-06-02T22:10:00.000+08:00

It's been a long day.

It's always great to find some mindless stuff to pry your mind off things.

note: offensive language follows.

(source)
SergioThree: there's other fish in the sea, man, she's just a girl
Beatsfromkorea: no dude, that's bullshit.
Beatsfromkorea: Think of it this way. if your precious copy of street fighter third strike broke and i told you "it's ok man, there's other games in the sea. here, play mortal kombat instead" what would you say? you'd be like, "fuck that, gimme third strike."
SergioThree: ...
SergioThree: you just reached me on a level that i never thought possible

(source)
: If they only realized 90% of the overtime they pay me is only cause i like staying here playing with Kazaa when the bandwidth picks up after hours.
: If any of my employees did that they'd be fired instantly.
: Where u work?
: I'm the CTO at LowerMyBills.com
*** Ben174 (BenWright@TeraPro33-41.LowerMyBills.com) Quit (Leaving)

(source)
man, my girlfriend left me for some faggot named robert
you don't live in Hope mills do you?
ya, why man?
lol, just wondering, was her namne alisson?
you mother fucker

(source)
Rabidplaybunny87: Okay, so my neighbors officially hate me
GarbageStan23: why?
Rabidplaybunny87: Well, me, david and andrew were having a bonfire in the backyard, and we were making s'mores and all... and suddenly we here sirens, and see a firetruck turn into the street in front of us.
Rabidplaybunny87: So we all went running to see what was up, and our neigbor's house was on fire!
GarbageStan23: oh shit!
Rabidplaybunny87: Yeah, and when we got there, the wife was crying into her husbands arms, and we were just kinda standing there, and then she saw us, and then like for 10 seconds, gave us the dirtiest look ever
Rabidplaybunny87: Turns out, we were still holding our sticks with marshmallows on it, watching the fire....
Rabidplaybunny87: talk about bad timing...

(source)
lol
I download something from Napster
And the same guy I downloaded it from starts downloading it from me when I'm done
I message him and say "What are you doing? I just got that from you"
"getting my song back fucker"

(source)
I want to fuck Michelle's brains out with my huge fucking cock, over and over again .. and then her sister can come and join us too.
Err turno, your mom reads the quotes on bash.org?
I'll fucking KILL YOU! !
Your mom does work for the church ? If she reads what you just said she'd be pretty angry right?
Dude you have no fucking clue, don't seriously... you'd be ruining my life.
Don't worry, I won't post it.
[Privmsg] Hey dude, I'm gonna paste something - will you post it on bash.org?
[Privmsg] the turno thing? haha you fucking bastard!!
[Privmsg] hehe his mom's gonna fucking kill him, drag him to that church they go to and get the priest to sodomise him.
[Privmsg] yeah and then he's gonna come fucking kill us, still I reckon it's worth it;)
[Privmsg] You're not gonna post it are you ? Please don't .. I'm begging you.
[Privmsg] I'm not gonna post it:) and even if I did she'd never know that your nick turno was her son Michael Savu .
[Privmsg] *phew* spose you have a point

It Ends Tonight

2007-06-02T00:01:00.000+08:00

It Ends Tonight by The All-American Rejects. Lyrics here.

Your subtleties
They strangle me
I can't explain myself at all.
And all the wants
And all the needs
All I don't want to need at all.

The walls start breathing
My mind's unweaving
Maybe it's best you leave me alone.
A weight is lifted
On this evening
I give the final blow.

When darkness turns to light,
It ends tonight
It ends tonight.

A falling star
Least I fall alone.
I can't explain what you can't explain.
You're finding things that you didn't know
I look at you with such disdain

The walls start breathing
My mind's unweaving
Maybe it's best you leave me alone.
A weight is lifted
On this evening
I give the final blow.

When darkness turns to light
It ends tonight,
It ends tonight.
Just a little insight won't make this right
It's too late to fight
It ends tonight,
It ends tonight.

Now I'm on my own side
It's better than being on your side
It's my fault when you're blind
It's better that I see it through your eyes

All these thoughts locked inside
Now you're the first to know

When darkness turns to light
It ends tonight,
It ends tonight.
Just a little insight won't make this right
It's too late to fight
It ends tonight,
It ends

When darkness turns to light
It ends tonight,
It ends tonight.
Just a little insight won't make this right
It's too late to fight
It ends tonight,
It ends tonight.

Tonight
Insight
When darkness turns to light,
It ends tonight.

Beautiful Tennis Morning

2007-06-01T23:59:00.001+08:00

Beautiful Tennis Morning
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho

Gorgeous day.

Best Quote From Spiderman 2

2007-05-20T21:51:00.000+08:00

Chanced upon a rerun of Spiderman 2 on the tube tonight.

Henry Jackson: Hi, Peter!
Peter Parker: Hey, Henry! You've grown tall.
May Parker: You'll never guess who he wants to be... Spider-Man!
Peter Parker: Why?
May Parker: He knows a hero when he sees one. Too few characters out there, flying around like that, saving old girls like me. And Lord knows, kids like Henry need a hero. Courageous, self-sacrificing people. Setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later, they'll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them how to hold on a second longer. I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.

Hilarious Verizon Exit Interview

2007-05-20T18:50:00.000+08:00

Ok. The existence of this hilarious Verizon exit interview form is proof that being tech support drives people mad.

My personal favourites are answers to questions 9, 11-18, 21-23 and 25-28 but hey, just read the whole thing.

Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6

Hi, I'm A Marvel... And I'm A DC

2007-05-17T06:46:00.000+08:00

Satire.

Only good if you are acquainted with the following keywords.
Marvel
DC
Superman
Batman
Spiderman

I am actually looking forward to more. You can find the whole series here.

I Need To Get Hitched Before It's Too Late

2007-05-11T20:42:00.000+08:00

The Perception Laboratory's Face Transformer allows you to upload a photo of yourself and manipulates it to create Managa, Baby, Child, Teenager, Young Adult and Old Adult versions of yourself amongst other versions.

I gave it a whirl.

The Manga version turned out okay. Not good. But okay.

The Baby version looks cute or freeky depending on how you look at it. To me, it's both.

The Child version looks like a young monkey.

The Teenager version also looks like a monkey.

The Young Adult version is basically how I look like now. Nerdy.

And then there is this. The scariest shit since Japanese and Korean horror flicks. The terrible likeness presents a real horror. Behold... the Old Adult version.

WTF?!?

I never gave much thought to getting hitched. But this picture just put it all into a sick and distorted perspective. It's either I get hitched now or I remain lonely for the rest of my life with that dude staring back at me in the mirror. Now how's that for a horror flick?

PS. Don't laugh. Give your photo a whirl and experience the horror yourself.

Overspending

2007-04-29T21:29:00.001+08:00

Wilson K Factor KSix-One Tour 90 racquet
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

$235.00 Wilson K Factor KSix-One Tour 90 racquet
$ 20.00 Ashaway Crossfire 18 Kevlar string for more topspin.
$ 8.00 Prince Lovibe dampener
$ 8.90 6 x Dunlop trainer tennis balls
---------
$271.90 Sub-total (Tennis)

$158.00 iPod Nano (2GB Black), 1st version. Works with iPodLinux.
$ 83.00 1GB Kingston 5300 667MHz SODIMM for my Macbook.
$ 29.00 1GB miniSD card
$ 38.74 Flickr Pro account
$ 22.78 1 month Unlimited Usenet access, 45 day retention
---------
$331.52 Sub-total (Geek)

=====
$603.42 Total

The good news is that most of them are long-term assets except for the monthly Usenet access, which is still totally worth it.

Mac Applications That I Use

2007-04-29T10:22:00.001+08:00

Mac Applications That I Use
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

I have been using my Macbook for a couple of months now and I have mostly discovered most of the Mac applications that allow me to do what I did in Linux.

One odd thing I have realised about some Mac applications is that their names do not tell you what the program does.

Here are a few examples.

Fugu, Cyberduck - FTP, SFTP
Handbrake - DVD Ripper
Poisoned - GIFT frontend and server package
Unison - nzb-capable Usenet client

Then there are those that make sense but the word used is very uncommon.

Colloquy - IRC client

I am posting a list of the apps I use for future reference. Feel free to go through this list to see if there's something for you. I am rushing off to my tennis game so I haven't got the time to make this list friendly and all so I am defaulting back to a quick directory listing. : P

Last login: Sun Apr 29 08:55:04 on ttyp1
Welcome to Darwin!
arnold-hos-computer:~ arnold$ ls /Volumes/disk0s5/Installers/
AVIConverter_320X240_EN_Ver4.2_Setup.exe
Adobe.Photoshop.CS.Mac.OS.X.dmg
Afloat-b4.dmg
AppDelete1.0.2.dmg
Burn.localized
Colloquy.app
Comic Life
Cyberduck-2.7.3.dmg
Dashboard Widgets
DesktopManager-0.5.3.dmg
FlickrUploadr-2.2.dmg
Fugu-1.2.0-English.dmg
Gimpshop-OSX-2.2.11.dmg
GoogleEarthMac.dmg
HandBrake 0.7.1
LastFM_Mac_1.1.0.0_en.dmg
LiquidCD
MAME
MacExplorer
MacMAME-0.103u2.dmg
MacPARdeLuxe.dmg
Mozy-0.4.1.1.dmg
Opera_9.20_Setup.dmg
PandoraMan.app
Parallels
PlasmaPongX13_x86.dmg
Poisoned.app
QS.3800.dmg
SNES9x
StartupSoundPrefPane11b1.dmg
The Unarchiver.app
Transmission-0.6.1.dmg
Tryst.dmg
Unison
VMware
aMSN
cccloner.dmg
ffmpegx
img2icns.app
macsfv.dmg
quicktime_pro_serial
rEFIt-0.8.dmg
smw-1.7-mac.zip
vlc-0.8.6a-intel.dmg
wirehangredux_macosx

Yo-yo Performance

2007-04-28T21:04:00.000+08:00

A extremely impressive Yo-Yo performance to the tune of popular Cantopop clubbing song, Du Yi Wu Er.

Pandora

2007-04-27T00:05:00.001+08:00

Picture 4
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

I enjoy the internet radio station service known as Pandora.

I key in my favourite artist or song name and Pandora does the rest. Within seconds, new songs that share similar characteristics to the one I entered are streamed directly to me through my browser. You can also use PandoraMan so you can quit your browser without killing your music stream.

Pandora is unique, personal and startling accurate. It knows my preferences better than myself.

If you love music, then you absolutely need it. Pandora is free and there is no need to register. However, by registering (use any of the US zip codes here), you can save your favourite songs and bands and have a continuous stream of songs for every mood.

For example, I have a The Calling (band name) station for my brooding moments and a McFly (band name) station for my upbeat moments. If I am feeling easy, I just set it to shuffle between the stations.

Now comes the bummer.

The future of Internet radio is in immediate danger. The Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC has more than tripled the royalty rates for webcasters and left unchanged they will kill Internet radio. These exorbitant rates go into effect on May 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006!). Without Congressional action the majority of webcasters will go bankrupt and silent on this date. We need your help. Please take a moment to send a letter to your member of Congress to keep Net radio from being silenced.

This doesn't only affect Pandora. It affects all internet radio stations. So if you appreciate Pandora and your personal favourite internet radio station, click here to help.

Googling Myself

2007-04-25T19:47:00.001+08:00

Sean Brings Own Coffee To Study Room
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

I indulged in another activity only bored geeks would do today. I googled (yes, it'a a verb now) myself using my old nick, "aerotus".

Rediscovered some stuff I did when I was slacking around in university. There are some old photos from cycling in Malaysia (Plentong) and some namecards I designed for the Japanese Appreciation Club.

Those were the days when we could have fun without any baggage.

Playing Need For Speed over the campus LAN.
NTU bike rally.
3am suppers (To be honest, I didn't do much of this. My kind buddies got takeaway for me whilst I remained in front of my computer.)
Inter-hall badminton tournament.
Falling asleep in lectures or not turning up (To be fair, I only skipped morning lectures).
Starting our DB project 3 days before the deadline (I think we stay back in the lab till 2am and watched Dodgeball whilst waiting for 1am Macdonalds pseudo-dinner. We got an A by the grace of some greater power and a blur instructor.)
9am-2am study cramming sessions (I got tired of scraping by with Cs. And after flunking one module, I went berserk. We did nothing except study and eat everyday for one month on stretch. Ok. I think we had some rounds of tennis and DIY movie screenings in between. And once during the break between our papers.)
When the library closed at 11pm, we would go downstairs to Mac. I usually had the healthier Chicken Foldover with a McFlurry or Hot Fudge whilst the rest would have their burgers and ice cream cones. Then began our long trudge back to hall to bath, surf some web, shut-eye and wake up to 9am canteen half-boiled eggs and kaya toast. This is also when I started to try to hack my sleep.

Those days were tough and fun. Now I am slightly more deliberate, feel older and alarminly, am experiencing an urge to settle down.

Hmmm. My supper just got back. It's 2:37am. Feels like the good old days all over again.

Unlimited Usenet On My Mac

2007-04-23T01:33:00.001+08:00

Downloading From Usenet On My Mac
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

Now that I got money to spare, I went ahead to sign up for monthly unlimited premium Usenet access.

After doing a bit of homework, I decided to go with Newshosting's US14.95/mth unlimited plan offering 45 day retention and 99%+ completion (and of course, unrestricted and anonymous access to binaries).

It's limited to 8 connections so I had that set on Unison (nzb-capable Mac newsreader).

The downloads consistently perform similarly to well-seeded torrent swarms from private trackers. Everytime I go back to check on the download (say after a bath, meal or a bit of channel or web surfing), I would be pleasantly greeted with a completed download.

I did a rough calculation to see how this was happening.
From the screenshot, I am downloading around 350KB/s. So to download a regular xviD encoded movie release, it would take about...

700MB = 700 x 1024KB = 716,800KB
716,800KB / 350KB/s = 2048 secs = 34 mins

This is really cool because sometimes, after getting off work, all I want to do is watch a movie after my bath and I just don't wanna wait. : )

Installing Windows On Mac OS 10.4.9

2007-04-22T16:10:00.001+08:00

Installing Windows On Mac OS 10.4.9
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

I bought a gadget that could do video, mp3, FM, photos and even tetris. But it couldn't do Mac. Thus I am finally installing Windows on my Mac after putting it off for months.

Opera 9.20 Speed Dial Function

2007-04-20T23:50:00.001+08:00

Picture 3
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

I upgraded to Opera 9.2 on my Mac and was pleasantly surprised by the new Speed Dial function.

I would probably still stick to typing out my URLs but this function is still very neat. Reminds me why Opera is still my favourite browser after so many years.

Speed Dial gives you quick access to your favorite Web sites when a new tab is opened. Click on an empty spot to add a new Speed Dial entry, delete it by clicking on the cross, or drag and drop thumbnails to rearrange. To open a page, click on the thumbnail, or press Command+1 to Command+9.

A Titanic Anniversary

2007-04-15T23:15:00.000+08:00

Today's the anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

The Calling

2007-04-12T08:08:00.000+08:00

The Calling - Things Don't Always Turn Out That Way.

Lyrics here.

iTunes shuffled to it this work morning. Pretty cool song from The Calling's first 2001 album, Camino Palmero. It's not as popular as the other songs in the album such as Wherever You Will Go. I like almost all the tracks in Camino Palmero, especially those selected for inclusion into Smallville.

Well he cant sleep at night
And he cant do whats right
It was all because she came into his life
Its a deep obsession, taking up his time

Chorus :
Shes all that he wants, shes all that he needs
Shes everything he just wont believe
Take away his doubt, turn him inside out
Then she can see what hes been dying to say
But things dont always turn out that way

And he must confess
All the impure thoughts of his beautiful temptress
Although he keeps it all bottled up inside
Although he keeps it all safe within his mind, oh yeah

Chorus

So wipe that smile off your face
Before it gets too late
Theres only so much time
For you to make up your mind

Pimp That Snack

2007-04-08T08:03:00.001+08:00

egg
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

tots
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

Pimp that snack! This is where people document how their attempts to recreate and pimp our favourite snacks.

Check out the making of a monstrous Snickers bar (Snickers is my favourite snack by the way)and an oversized Cadbuary Creme Egg (they even accurately recreated an oversized foil wrapper to wrap the chocolate egg). Browse through the league table for more snacks.

Anyone out there willing to lend me their kitchen? Since my fave Snickers bar has already been attempted, I am thinking of making a huge Ferrero Rocher instead.

UPDATE
Here's a Jelly Tots project, done by a nine year old and his brother. I find their opening line particularly original and funny.

After much research, me and my brother (Adam) discovered that the average pack of jelly tots contains 38 sugar encrusted delights in 5 flavours. As a professional chimney sweep, I could only afford to make 30 tots, as I spend most of my hard earned cash on soap.

They probably had help but they look so cute with their oversized Jelly Tots, how could you bear not to vote for 'em?

Lonely Solitude

2007-04-01T16:01:00.001+08:00

lonelysolitude
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

My Wallpaper In Use
Originally uploaded by Arnold Ho.

I made a simple wallpaper for my Mac. There's a screenie of it in action. Yes. I am bored. The weather killed my tennis.

Grab the full-size wallpaper here and the full-size screenshot here.

Geek Score

2007-03-18T10:34:00.000+08:00

It's a boring Sunday morning. Gloomy weather outside. I did a test and my geek score is 82.

Overall, you scored as follows:

17% scored higher (more computer geeky),
1% scored the same, and
82% scored lower (less geeky).

Compared to those in the same age group as you:

24% scored higher (more computer geeky),
1% scored the same, and
75% scored lower (less geeky).

What does this mean? Your computer geekiness is:

High-Level Computer Geek. All of those below you are envious of you! (...Well perhaps not the cool people)

Again, here are my answers. Feel free to take a look.

First of all, do you feel that you are a computer geek?
Yes
No
I don't know, that's why I am taking this quiz. Doi!

Do you have boy or girl parts? (Does not impact score, just used for statistics)
Boy
Girl
Not Applicable

Are you an old fart? (Again, does not impact score, just for stats)
Less than 13
13 - 15
16 - 18
19 - 22
23 - 27
28 - 32
33 - 40
Over the hill

Do you have a weblog (blog)?
No
Yes

Do you host your own weblog (blog) on your own server?
No
Yes (Not this one but I do host my own secret blog...)

Do you read other's weblogs (blogs)?
No
Yes

What is your primary means of communication?
Direct talking
Telephone
Internet Chat
Email
VOIP

Is that your only mean of communication?
No
Yes

How are you connected to the Internet?
Don't know
Dial-up
Corporate LAN
ISDN
DSL / Cable Modem
Wireless phone
Other less than 1Mbit/s
Other more than 1Mbit/s

Is Bill Gates your hero?
Who's that?
Yes
No
No, he's evil

What about Linus Torvalds?
Who's that?
Yes, I bow to him
No

What about this guy?

Um, who is that?
Yes
No

Who was that guy?
Bill Gates
Linus Torvalds
Seymour Cray
Thomas Watson
Steve Jobs

What time is it right now?
12am-2am
2am - 4am
4am - 7am
7am - 5pm
5pm - 9pm
9pm - 12am

ROT13 this:
trrxfnerterng
OMG! Why am I taking this quiz?!
ROT13!??! I'll ROT you!
Books can smoke
Geeks are great
Foots bay tower

What does this do:
echo $dorks==$geeks?"yes":"no";
I don't know
Outputs yes
Outputs no

How many of the released volumes of TAOCP have you read?
What is that?
About 10 pages of the 1st Volume
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
All Six of them

Is 2448 - 1111 cool?
Numbers suck!
No, that is so old school
Yes, I am a believer (it's actually part of my blog banner which I created myself. Scroll to the top, first line, look for 1337.)

00001001?
10010010?
9
5
What is this test? How did I get here? Mommy!?

Convert this from ASCII to English:
49204561742046726F6773
MOMMY!!?
There once was a man from Nantucket...
English
I Are Dummy
I Eat Frogs

What does ASCII stand for?
All sugar can injure igloos?
American Standard Code for Information Interchange
American Standard Code for Information Integration
Alliance Standard Code Interchange Integration

Did you Google the last question?
No, I just guessed
No, I knew it
Yes, Google is Godlike
Yes, but I am still not sure my answer is right

Google this:
Nerd Quiz
No way
I did, and now what?
I am going to take those quizzes
I have already done all of those

Is Google god-like?
No way
Oh yeah!

As of right now, how long have you been in front of this computer without getting up?
Less than 30 minutes
About an hour
About two hours
About three hours
more than 3 hours

Not including "work," how long do you spend on the computer daily?
Less than an hour
About two - three hours
About four to five hours
About six to seven hours
more than eight hours

About what percentage of your work / classes involves computer use?
Much less than 25%
About 25%
About 50%
About 75%
Practically 100%

It is 3am on Saturday... What are you doing?
Sleeping
Programming
Web surfing/blogging/chatting
Playing in a MMORPG
Stumbling home from a party
Stumbling home from a LAN party
Playing with myself
Something else

Now it is 3am on a school night. Now what are you doing?
Sleeping
Programming
Web surfing/blogging/chatting
Playing in a MMORPG
Stumbling home from a party
Stumbling home from a LAN party
Playing with myself
Something else

Which word best describes your significant other (SO)?
I have no SO
Geek / Nerd
Smart
Hunk / Pretty
Dumb
Left
Right
A Dell

Honestly, do you really have a significant other?
I already said no
You caught me
Yes

In your home, how many computers do you have?
None
1
2 - 3
4 - 5
More than 5

How many of them run Linux?
None
1
2
3 or more

Do you have any dual boot systems (i.e. Windows / Linux, etc...)
Run that by me again
No
Yes

What operating system are you taking this quiz on?
Windows
MacOS / OS X
Linux
Unix
Other

How many CPUs does the computer you're on have?
I don't know
1
2
More than 2
WAY more than 2

Have you ever had an argument about which operating system is better?
No
Yes
Yes, and always win!

Do you curse Windows and what it represents?
No
Yes

...but use Windows anyway?
No way!
Yes

Can you write computer programs?
Nope
Yes

Fluently?
I said no!
Yes

Specifically, can you write BASIC programs?
Nah
Yes

...Pascal?
Um, no!
Yes

...HTML?
No, argh!
Yes

...PHP?
Why do you keep asking! I said NO!
Yes

...Java?
I give up
No
Yes

...C / C++?
Nope
Yes

...Assembly?
Nope
Yes

...Assembly, without any references?
No Way!
Yes, I am a CP/M god!

Have you ever typed a batch file in DOS?
Nope
Yes

Have you ever typed script in Linux/UNIX?
No
Yep

If given the choice, would you be a Computer Scientist
Yea right!
Yes

How about a Computer Engineer
No Way!
Yes

Which job would you choose if money was not part of your decision?
Doctor
Lawyer
Engineer
Programmer
Computer Engineer
Slacker
Firefighter
Ballerina

Click Here (a new window should open)
What are your thoughts?
I am not clicking that!
Lame!
Kinda funny
It's the truth man!

Click Here (a new window should open)
What are your thoughts?
I am not clicking that!
Lame!
Funny!
ROTFLMAO

Identify what's in the following picture

A vending machine.
A computer?
ELPH-1
Cray-1
ENIAC

Speaking of computers, what was the first electronic digital computer's primary function?
Pong
Projectile paths
Pac Man
Finding prime numbers
Cracking codes

Speaking of Pong... Have you ever played it?
Don't know
No
Yes
Yes, on a classic Atari

Speaking of Pong... Who patented the idea?
Atari, Nolan Bushnell
Nintendo, Sui Nagasaki
Greenoid, Ralph Nader
Magnavox, Ralph Baer
Sientell, George Costanza

Have you ever played games on a Commodore 64?
Don't know
No
Yes

Have you ever programmed a Commodore 64?
Nope
Yes

Have you ever connected to the Internet with a modem with speeds of 1200baud or less
Don't know
No
Yes

What's a baud anyway?
Technobabble
A bit per second
Carrier shifts per second

Have you ever corrected a computer salesperson on technicalities?
No
Yes
Yes, and was handed an application

Do you find yourself ever saying "lossy compression" when talking to others?
Nope
Yes

Do you know what "lossy compression" means?
No
Yes

Ok, smart one, what does it mean?
I already said I don't know
Compression that is lossy, duh!
Compression with some data loss
A compression scheme that retains all original data

Are you still taking this quiz? Wow, you are a computer geek!
Yes

Which HTML tag is used to insert an image into a web page?
Don't know
image ...
img ...
a image ...
pict ...

How often do you back up your important documents?
Never
Rarely
Monthly
Weekly
Daily

What does CD mean to you?
Certificate of Deposit
Compact Disk
Change Directory
Cadmium
Carrier Detect
Candela

Did you laugh at any of these questions while taking this quiz?
No
A bit
Yes, because the truth is funny (sometimes)

Do you have a question to put here?
Nope, this quiz blew me away
Yes I do
Yes, and it would be WAY better than anything above!

If you score high, are you going to show your Graphic Prize to others?
NO WAY!
Yep!