Thoughts through uncertainty

Add me to the BIG watch, small wrist crowd.

2012-01-19T00:16:00.000-05:00

"You should be proud...not many made it this long"...my colleague said to me after I picked up my 5 year service award, and received my watch. He did have a point though, since many have left and didn't make it anywhere near 5 years here. As he said it, it's better to be with the devil you know, than to be with the devil you don't know.

The watch is probably my first watch since I started working. It's a TAG Heuer Aquaracer Grande Date Chrono..that's a handful of names. And it's HUGEEEEEE. Sure have some heft to it, but I'm actually liking the feel when I wore it...granted I had 6 (SIX!!!) links taken out to accommodate my tiny wrist.

This watch symbolizes 5 years of sweat and blood (well, not literally) in a tough company, where not many "survived" this long, and I certainly feel proud wearing it. Kind of like an being apart of a secret "we've been through 5 years of hell..and we're still here" club. It feels substantial...just like the watch itself.

That being said, it has never crossed my mind that I would be wearing a watch on the pretense that my wrist is too small...well, I was proven wrong. Looking for some watches at the moment too, a casual and an outdoor watch.

I've never been this excited over a watch...here we go...

Words are tied...

2012-01-09T23:39:00.000-05:00

We're living in 2012...ushering the year was great, but it didn't start off great within the first week. I'll chalk that up as a bump along the way...

Lots have happened within these past few weeks, and yet I still feel stationary here. I still have some patience, so we'll see what happens within the next few weeks.

Actually forgotten what I wanted to write out here...apart from purchasing 2 more flashlights...neutral white tints this time!
This means I'm probably selling off one or two lights which didn't get much use lately.

And as for 2012 resolutions? Well, I'll make them up along the way, perhaps..

...

Had a pleasant surprise to see Kenny G in this video...

Foster The People - Houdini

Rise above, gonna start the war!
What you want, what you need, what'd you come here for?
Well, eye for an eye and an 'F' for fight
They're taking me down as a prisoners riot

I've got shackles on, my words are tied
Fear can make you compromise
Fasten up, it's hard to hide
Sometimes I want to disappear

When I feel kinda bad and don't want to stress
I just pass it off on ability
Well you got what you want, and what you never knew
Perfect gift from me to you

Yeah yeah yeah

Got shackles on, my words are tied
Fear can make you compromise
Fasten up, it's time to hide
Sometimes I want to disappear

(Raise up to your ability)
You never knew what I could find
What could come when we realize
I don't want to compromise

(Raise up to your ability)
Yeah I'm scared but I disappear
Running around before I promise you
Like he's someone whose lost his way

(Raise up to your ability)
I know that you want me
'Cause it's simple to see of my ability

(Raise up to your ability)
Yeah you're undecided
Yeah it's the right feeling
Yeah I don't wanna runaway

You gotta focus on your ability
Focus on your ability
You gotta focus on your ability
Focus on your ability

Then they can't get what they want to steal
Can't get what they want to steal
Then they can't get what they want to steal
Can't get what they want to steal

(lyrics taken from here)

Swiping on glass never felt smoother...comes with free smudges

2011-12-01T23:29:00.001-05:00

I've been lucky enough to get a new toy, and I feel like a little kid in a candy store! Except it's all in a tablet form...a wee bit heavy, but for the price I paid for, and the fact I didn't have to queue up during HP's "firesale", it's worth every single penny. Long story short, someone I know bought an extra unit.

It's a 16GB wifi version of the HP Touchpad, running off WebOS's official 3.0.4 OS. I have to say, it's such a shame that WebOS's state is in a limbo, given HP's new CEO still needs time to figure out its fate, not to mention the state of 600 employees too...regardless of who's pulling the strings, the CEO takes the front cover, be it good or bad...usually bad. Tough job indeed.

I've been playing with it for a few days, and it's one of the best purchases I've made thus far, up there with my plane tickets to Seattle for 2011.
In a nutshell, I really love everything about it, the ease of use, the excellent web browser, the card swipe interface...everyone's mileage will vary, no doubt, but I'm strangely drawn to the card interface. Opening several "cards" of the web browser didn't bother me one bit in this case.

The swiping motion to clear notifications, flicking motion to "minimize" and another flick to close the program, is very satisfying. That's the kind of "human touch" that I felt was missing from the Android tablets I've tried so far. Of course, to be fair, my experience with Android tablets were limited to minutes in a store, on a heavily software-abused demo unit. Android tablets still feel convoluted to use and has a steeper learning curve.

On the WebOS, it feels very intuitive and simple. To be honest, I haven't been messing around much with it yet, apart from installing Preware, and loading Uberkernal on it...essentially overclocking the Touchpad from 1.2Ghz to 1.5Ghz. My friends are using the Warthog kernel, which overclocks the Touchpad to 1.7Ghz. I didn't feel the need for that yet, as I wanted to play with it at 1.5Ghz for now, with some patches that sped up the Touchpad quite a bit. That's as far as I've gotten with tweaking it. There's a lot of info on XDA, webOSbuzz, and other sites that has given me a wealth of information but I still have lots to read up on the OS.

But that's the point, it's so easy, I felt like a caveman doing it. With support from a strong community, I really hope HP continues supporting WebOS as well.

The best part though, is that skype video calling works great! I can call my parents via skype while roaming about as long as I have wifi access...

I've been using it as a eReader too, with Kindle's beta app...still have some kinks here and there, but usable for now. The real estate of the screen makes so much more sense for reading an ebook, as opposed to my phone's tiny screen. Have Top Gear loaded on the Touchpad too, no less (though I did buy KalemSoft's media player).

I believe I've spent as much on apps here, as I did on my Android phone...

Just feel like writing something here today...before I continue reading on my new toy. For 100 bux, it's a bargain.

...

Now I got to figure out if I could head to Washington again in 3 weeks time, though I have to be around from 28th through 30th...ruining all possible plans for New Year celebrations. Sigh.

Turkey day trip to Washington was awesome...never felt so relaxed and "at home" in a while, apart from when my parents were visiting, of course.

It was also a wake up call in the sense that I should start exploring ways to "save" in various ways, like flight mileage rewards, points, online deals...etc...something that I've been shying away for some unknown reason. I've been missing out on a lot of potential savings all these while. Spend wisely, they said.

Oh boy, I have a lot more to learn, and get more exposure.

New just isn't better, ironically.

2011-11-21T21:31:00.002-05:00

Funny how I was eager to get myself a Keurig machine, but I ended up returning it today...after a week of using it.

There just wasn't enough...coffee...in it, oddly enough. The coffee it made was watery, and I find myself using my good old drip coffee maker which tasted better. Oh well, there goes another toy to play with.

I did end up buying some capsules for my Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffeemaker, since they were selling it at the local store now.

Next thing to shop for, new sets of knives !! Saw a few but they were either too light or just too flimsy.

...

Had a nice birthday dinner with some colleagues, at a Brazilian seafood restaurant in Cambridge, MA...definitely a place I'd head back to again.

And I got a call from an old friend, which made my day...brings back good memories for sure.

So thanksgiving is coming up, and I'm all hyped up to head over to the West Coast...been waiting for this moment since August. Just hanging out with the peeps, makes me forget everything for that few days, and just unwind.

*taken from youtuber WTXFvsWNYW

Alanis Morissette - Ironic

An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn't it ironic, don't you think

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought, it figures

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought
"Well isn't this nice..."
And isn't it ironic, don't you think

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought, it figures

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face

A traffic jam when you're already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic, don't you think
A little too ironic, and, yeah, I really do think.

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought, it figures

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
Helping you out

Feeling like an old timer...soon...

2011-11-13T18:03:00.002-05:00

Figured I'll spend some time here as I'm feeling lazy to do other chores. So my birthday is coming up, but I wasted no time getting myself some early gifts. I'm sure my wallet wasn't feeling the joy.

Finally, after deciding for weeks, I got myself a Keurig machine, the B40...sure, it doesn't make the best tasting coffee...but there's something intriguing about using it. I'm a sucker for mechanical gizmos....because drip-coffeemakers feel so generic.

...

Next up, a Leatherman Wave!! Always wanted a multi-tool, although, to be honest, I don't have a real need for it. I'll find some use for it eventually...just like my Jetbeam PA40 flashlight, it found its way into my "trophy" category of random toys. Sitting pretty and clean.

...

As my flashlight collection grows, so does the power source. In this case, I tend to stick to quality Eneloop and "Duraloop" rechargeables. That calls for a quality charger, with one too many parameters that can be set. Highly recommended by other flashlight owners...the Maha MH-C9000. Selling point, was that it has 4 independent charging channels, adjustable charging and discharging rates, and, well, it works great. Has other features like reviving old batteries and such, but my inventory is still "fresh".

...

Other big ticket item includes a new pair of boots...The old pair lasted me 7 years. Served me well, I say.

I want to add, that the reason why I went with Keurig is mainly because of how scarce the Nescafe's dolce gusto capsules are around here. Keurig capsules are everywhere!! Had to do online purchases.

Needless to say, the day after I got my Keurig, Stop-and-Shop started selling Nescafe's dolce gusto capsules. The flavors that I wanted too, no less.
Really ??????

...

Sticking to the retro theme of songs, here's another song. I mean, listen to the guitars, drums, vocals...there's just so much substance that music nowadays lack.

Bob Seger - Old Time Rock and Roll

Gimme one good reason...to get up early on the weekends

2011-11-13T17:28:00.001-05:00

I've been procrastinating for a bit lately, mainly re-thinking my plans as there isn't a fruition for weeks. Doing it wrong ? Or do I need another jug of patience ?

This weekend was a short weekend, I have to say. Got up just on time to head to the park for a walk, yesterday and today. Weather was great too, though a little chilly and windy. Oddly enough, I favor cold-ish weather for my long walks, cause there's minimal perspiration and I could walk for a much longer time.

At one of my usual rest "spot", a bird-watching hut, I usually take the time to read markings and words that other fellow walkers left behind..

...

Well, the last one made me think a wee bit longer as I stood in the hut, scanning for other "new" markings...before resuming my walk.

Hoping I can do this for another weekend, before I head off to Washington for my much needed vacation.

...

I turn on the radio, same ol' songs playing over and over again...Where's the good music ? Where's the exposure of bands who write and play their own tunes ?

Now THIS is what I call music...

Tracy Chapman and Eric Clapton - Give me one good reason

the next chapter for many...none for myself yet

2011-11-04T21:56:00.000-04:00

It's happening so quickly. All my close friends, who started as colleagues, have left.

It just hit me, the very people I hung out with everyday after work, helped out, got help from, got advice from...have left and moved on to their next chapter in life. Heck, even all my friends in Boston had moved away too. Though I do have some friends in Boston, but their college lives isn't making it easy to meet up.

And I'm stuck here. Leads gone cold, and my situation suggesting it isn't my time to move on to the next chapter yet even though I've been trying hard.

But when ?

There's nothing left for me here.

Or is there ?

...

Goo Goo Dolls - Naked

Yeah I'm fadin'
And I call out
No one hears me
Never been, never felt, never thought I'd say a word

Weighed down
Safe now

You're naked inside your fear
You can't take back all those years
The shots in the dark from empty guns
Are never heard by anyone
Never heard by anyone

Yeah I'm hiding
in the fallout
Now I'm wasted
They don't need me, don't want me, don't hear a word I say

Weighed down
Safe now

You're naked inside your fear
You can't take back all those years
The shots in the dark from empty guns
Are never heard by anyone
Never heard by anyone

Inside your head
No one's there
And I don't think I'll ever be
And I don't care

You're naked inside your fear
You can't take back all those years
The shots in the dark from empty guns
Are never heard by anyone
Never heard by anyone
By anyone
By anyone

(lyrics taken from here)

Another addition.

2011-10-17T23:15:00.001-04:00

Finally got my hands on a neutral-white 4Sevens Quark "X" AA2 flashlight...after returning a defective non-neutral-white unit. In a way I'm glad the first unit was defective...I am loving the neutral color from this little beast...complements my Zebralight H51W nicely, though the Zebralight is a lot more closer to incandescent color, among my collection.

Only drawback with the Quark X is the reverse clicky switch...prefer a momentary on...and perhaps memory ? But the fantastic output is enough to win me over.

Best of all, all modes, including moonlight (very low light), works with my lithium primaries! This will probably be my main in-bag flashlight...and travel too.

My initial collection is complete...

...

Madonna - Ray of Light

Verse:
Zephyr in the sky at night I wonder
Do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun
She's got herself a universe gone quickly
For the call of thunder threatens everyone

Chorus:

And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel

Faster than the speeding light she's flying
Trying to remember where it all began
She's got herself a little piece of heaven
Waiting for the time when Earth shall be as one

(chorus)

Quicker than a ray of light
Quicker than a ray of light
Quicker than a ray of light

(verse)

And I feel
Quicker than a ray of light
Then gone for
Someone else shall be there
Through the endless years

She's got herself a universe
She's got herself a universe
She's got herself a universe

And I feel

Quicker than a ray of light she's flying
Quicker than a ray of light I'm flying

(lyrics taken from here)

More lights!

2011-10-11T22:20:00.000-04:00

Wasn't really in the mood to write my mind out, not sure why since this is where I usually write and forget...

Apart from pursuing plan B, I've gotten into the flashlight craze...leaving a big hole in my pocket with other heavy expenses all smacked together within weeks of each other...My tickets to Seattle took big chunk out of my budget, then my 3D card decided to kick the bucket, so I got myself a nVidia GTX570 card.

...

My mini collection has expanded to CR123 flashlights, the Fenix TK21 (2nd from left) being the "big" one...

Also picked up the Dereelight Javelin XP-E R3 (3rd from the left), which is my 2xAA thrower light. Love using this to shine through fog at my friend's place, since he has a huge empty backyard with random trees and a dodgy looking shed.

There's 2 more flashlights that isn't in the picture, the Fenix E21 for car duty and a 4Sevens MiniX 123, used as key-chain light, albeit a bit bulky. I just like having huge amounts of lights anytime.

Have a 4Sevens Quark X AA2 coming in the mail too, so that completes my collection for this season, I hope. Wanted a light where all modes would get along well with Energizer lithium primaries (L91).

The Fenix LD20 and Klarus ST20 loses low modes on the Energizer L91s until they drained a bit due to the higher voltages, but both of them work great with rechargeables...

Oh well...such random hobbies keep me sane as plan B rolls along...

a mini addition.

2011-09-15T20:43:00.001-04:00

Decided to pull the trigger on the Olight i3 EOS flashlight. It's still tiny, though just a little taller than the Fenix E05. I mean, look at them, compared to a AAA battery!

Love the 3 levels of brightness, but I'm still a big fan of the Fenix for its floody beam...juggling between both at the moment. Both of them are plenty bright for close-up use, and easily fit in pockets or key-chains.

Speaking of floody beams, I got my diffuser for the Fenix LD20, and it's just perfect for me during nite walks...since it's a flip type configuration, I flip it up for its regular beam pattern, and flip it down for a diffused beam, spreading light in front of me.

Well, that's my limit for now, got to save up for other plans too...

Lights...oh lovely lights.

2011-09-12T21:24:00.001-04:00

I've collected myself a "starter" collection...Starting with the JetBeam PA40 ("big" light), Fenix E21 (stored in car), Fenix LD20 (multi-use), 4Sevens Preon 2 (by the way, is awesome for its pen-like size), and the Fenix E05 (keychain light).

There's plenty of reviews on youtube and forums, for beam patterns and other technicalities. That being said, CandlePowerForums is quite possible the best place to read up on flashlights (of course there are many others out there)...on a side note, people there are way more courteous and patient than any other forums I frequent.

I am blown away by how far LED technology has advanced. It's the kind of thing that I can appreciate, see and feel. Weird, I know.

Have 2 more in my sights for my own birthday gift (when I budget for November)...looking to get a ThruNite Neutron 1A cause of its floody beam, and the Olight i3 EOS for a new keychain light...oh lovely! But the more I read, my list changes.

I also ordered some Sanyo Eneloop batteries, one of the highly regarded rechargeables...and a diffuser kit for the Fenix LD20. My mini collection should be sufficient for now, as I cycle through them for night walks around the complex's area.

Definitely a good distraction for now...

Let there be lumens on the other side!

2011-09-06T20:55:00.004-04:00

It's been weeks since...many great weeks, and a couple unpleasant ones. Really glad my parents visited me, and everything just fell nicely into place during our vacation. The chance to meet my dad's high-school friend was priceless, cause that's when you see elder folks just become young ones again. Worth every single moment.

Of course the best time was in Washington. Something about having parents around, regardless of where you are, that made the ambiance very homely...Penang-ish, I should say...with friends all around, Hokkien being spoken, dogs running about, TVs playing, food and drinks everywhere.

Needless to say, heading back to work was tough...straight into 2 mad weeks, giving me the urge to accelerate my plans to move...yet again. Seen too many good people leave and many others on the verge of calling it quits. Ah well, adds a little excitement, doesn't it ?

With an unusual stroke of luck, I met up with someone whom I haven't seen in almost 10 years! Best random moment in a while, I have to say. Always great to have someone from my hometown around.

...

The recent 4-day power outage got me back into my weird fascination for lights...in general. I've always been a fan of projector HID headlamps on vehicles, hence the retrofit I paid for to fit in a pair of TSX projectors into the Accord. Something about weak halogen headlamps that feels lame....or my eyesight is weakening...or people just don't bother bout these things like I do.

My next phase of...things...is torch lights, or flashlights as it's called over here. The confusion on my colleagues' faces when I asked them to hand me over the torch light...was amusing, to say the least.

I replaced my cheapo Inova keychain LED with this...for starters...

I don't know what to compare 27 lumens with...but it's plenty bright for "close range" tasks. Looked for few other AAA flashlights but settled for this first. There's plenty of reviews of this unit all over the web and youtube, and they are correct about the awesome "flooding" pattern this flashlight gives out.

I'm a fan of flashlights with flooding patterns because I tend to use it more indoors or at close range. My trusty Coleman maxLED has 1 setting, whatever the output is, and adjustable knob that adjusts the beam from focus to flood. I find myself using flood pattern more often. It's not the best, but it helped a lot at work during the power outage, in the dark, when everyone else had puny flashlights that surrenders at the sight of a candle. Then again I'm the only person picky about the light's intensity, reach and width.

Anyway, I also got myself a Fenix E21 too, for misc tasks....a Jetbeam PA40 for my "main" flashlight, the highly-regarded 4Sevens Preon2 as a carry-anywhere penlight and few packs of Panasonic Evolta alkaline batteries. Kind of overkill, perhaps. My wallet did weep though. And they're still on the way here.

I went for flashlights that utilizes AA and AAA batteries, for obvious reasons...they're abundant. Sure, I won't get the stronger output and capacity as the other flashlights juicing up on CR123A lithium batteries , but I prefer to have a more accessible resource.

And yes, I do use my flashlight (the coleman) quite a bit during winter. After all, it gets dark at 5pm.

...

Travis - Side

Well I believe there’s someone watching over you
They’re watching every single thing you say
And when you die
They’ll set you down and take you through
You’ll realise one day

That the grass is always greener on the other side
The neighbour’s got a new car that you wanna drive
And when time is running out you wanna stay alive
We all live under the same sky
We all will live, we all will die
There is no wrong, there is no right
The circle only has one side

We all try hard to live our lives in harmony
For fear of falling swiftly overboard
But life is both a major and minor key
Just open up the chord

But the grass is always greener on the other side
The neighbour’s got a new car that you wanna drive
And when time is running out you wanna stay alive
We all live under the same sky
We all will live, we all will die
There is no wrong, there is no right
The circle only has one side

(lyrics taken from here)

Don't look back in anger

2011-08-01T22:08:00.001-04:00

A random shot of a lovely day ending...

Things have been looking up lately, so that's a welcome change for a start.

Quite a bit to look forward to, close friends to meet up with, old friends to re-acquaint with...

Keeping me busy while I take another step forward...but in better spirits this time around.

...

Whatever happened to real music ?

I still remember listening to this tune, growing up long before I knew where USA was...and I never get tired of playing and listening to this song. Look at the crowd!

instrument of voices

2011-07-24T23:33:00.002-04:00

Came to post this...after a friend showed us this during his surprise birthday party

and this too..

a lovely tune.

2011-07-21T21:49:00.000-04:00

2 more weeks and I'm off for a long vacation...something I'm looking forward to, quite a bit. A major getaway from the mundane life here, which I'm working to "fix" for the long term.

Mind's calmer than before...some shake-up going on at work, in a good way...and getting excited to meet an old friend from the past too.

Ironic how it felt as if the world was collapsing around a week ago...today I could brush it off.

Alanis Morissette - You Learn

I recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone
I recommend walking around naked in your living room
Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)
It feels so good (swimming in your stomach)
Wait until the dust settles

You live you learn
You love you learn
You cry you learn
You lose you learn
You bleed you learn
You scream you learn

I recommend biting off more then you can chew to anyone
I certainly do
I recommend sticking your foot in your mouth at any time
Feel free
Throw it down (the caution blocks you from the wind)
Hold it up (to the rays)
You wait and see when the smoke clears

You live you learn
You love you learn
You cry you learn
You lose you learn
You bleed you learn
You scream you learn

Wear it out (the way a three-year-old would do)
Melt it down (you're gonna have to eventually anyway)
The fire trucks are coming up around the bend

You live you learn
You love you learn
You cry you learn
You lose you learn
You bleed you learn
You scream you learn

You grieve you learn
You choke you learn
You laugh you learn
You choose you learn
You pray you learn
You ask you learn
You live you learn

(lyrics taken from here)

Mr. Atkinson!

2011-07-17T22:58:00.000-04:00

(taken from youtuber: WRCforeva)

Thank you Top Gear for putting Rowan Atkinson on the show after so long. It sure is fascinating watching him aging gracefully after all these years...

Just one of those actors that I've wondered how he talks or behave beyond the comedic acts. Interestingly, seems like he's born to make people laugh.

And he made it to the top of the list of the celebrity board! Nice!

It's like...forgetting the words to your favourite song...

2011-07-17T13:33:00.001-04:00

It was a lost cause, perhaps. Realizing I've already lost the chance but yet, grasping to false hope...that I could be "lucky" for the second time around for the lottery.

Got into the first draw, which was flawed, and had to be redrawn...alas, I wasn't meant to get it. Nice teaser, indeed.

This month was an odd one, lots of talks with friends and colleagues about leaving, about staying on, about making the best of our positions...lots of angry voices, but yet lots of practical voices too.
Letting the old dreams go, and throwing the wrong ones away was probably harder than it sounds, given I had plans made up...and have it all scrapped like it never happened.

An uncertain stage in life, I could put it as. Feels like I'm already out of my own comfort zone...losing sense of connection to the world, to people around me...any sense of direction and purpose...
I've been driven to shut the doors from the world....my own doing, perhaps ?
It's probably the little things here and there that would bring me back.

Thank goodness for the state park that I frequent weekly, I'm finding some peace and sanity walking by the lake for hours...makes a good exercise too.

Time. Could use more of that...

...

(taken from youtuber:RJLupin6)

Regina Spektor - Eet

It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song.
You can't believe it, you were always singing along.
It was so easy and the words so sweet.
You can't remember, you try to feel the beat.

Eee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-
Eet eet eet.
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-
Eet eet eet.

You spend half of your life trying to fall behind.
You're using your headphones to drown out your mind.
It was so easy and the words so sweet.
You can't remember, you try to move your feet.

Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-
Eet eet eet.
Ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-
Eet eet eet.

Someone's deciding whether or not to steal.
He opens a window just to feel the chill.
He hears that outside a small boy just started to cry.
'Cause it's his turn, but his brother won't let him try.

It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song.
You can't believe it, you were always singing along.
It was so easy and the words so sweet.
You can't remember, you try to move your feet.
It was so easy and the words so sweet.
You can't remember, you try to feel the beat.

Bittersweet success

2011-07-02T23:25:00.001-04:00

The weekend was bittersweet...but first on the best part, being out on the sea on a sail boat at Newport, RI as part of the company's outdoor activity event.

...

So we had our 25th anniversary for the company, and it was extremely tiring preparing and helping every team leaders for their demos and stuff...given I had help from another colleague, it was still hard since I'm the only person who knows what is going on logistically and my help came last minute...The event itself went on flawlessly, which felt great.

But I did meet a few customers and integrators for our company, and I was in for a surprise when some of them were General Managers of their respective companies...mostly in Singapore. They sure are very nice, down to earth people. Then again, I'm an internal personnel so I'm probably the most neutral person in the crowd.

I had fun, that's for sure, hanging out at the bar with them, though I did observe, some business dealings definitely went down over "casual drinks" since that's the only free time they have and everybody is more open in the welcoming ambiance on the patio.

Had a couple of drinks and nice talks with some colleagues from UK and Czech every night, including some US colleagues. It's nice how everybody got closer and closer after events like these, over drinks when we're out of our "working persona". Had a different opinion on foreign colleagues after the event, to be honest. Positive ones.

And then it hit me. I intend to leave soon, no matter what it takes. I'm leaving a fantastic group of people, whom I've gained respect from, people who knows me by name and still remembers my full name though we meet once in a few years...people I won't hesitate to help any time of the day. Though I only meet them in person only once in a while...

That feeling of attachment to some colleagues will probably be a hit, but my heart is still set on moving away. That feeling of being trapped and lonely, takes a big toll everyone people I like goes home or away. Time flew by cruelly fast.

Oh well...I'll see how it goes. Job search shows no results as of yet. *cross fingers*

It's a trap!

2011-06-26T17:12:00.000-04:00

Working over this weekend, gave me a glimpse of the mood set for tomorrow onwards...when the most patient person in the company snaps, it made quite a scene.
Got news about a lead engineer speaking his mind today, on a day he'd much rather spend time with his family.

Morale is at its all time low, everybody's hating each other...except our colleagues from UK. They're all done, well-organized and enjoying the rest of the day. Got to love their management, keeping them well-informed.

All arguments we had for the past week leading into the weekend, could have been avoided with 2 simple ways. Follow the plan and keep everyone informed. That's it. How hard can it be to stick to a plan ? Other offices are just chilling out, except us in HQ. It's pathetic.

One engineer already left right before the big event...honestly I feel there's going to be a mass departure in the near future.

I've become a hateful person at work, probably...given how angry I get every single day I leave work. There's no contentment, no feeling of achievement. Just pure hatred, day in, day out. Yes it's that bad. There's nothing to look forward to, colleagues feel burnt-out after work and I found out another friend's leaving Boston for good too...

That being said, I just probably share a very different path and value with the company right now. They've been around for 25 years, nothing's going to change the way things work internally.

On the upside, it's fueling my urge to apply for jobs and look for other opportunities. Sure, job market isn't looking up, but I'm still confident I can get something soon...perseverance, got to stick to it.

Definitely hard to look for a silver lining now, but nevertheless...I sure as heck don't see myself in this company for the long run. It's a wreck inside.

Even the new employees are feeling it already. Welcome, newbies. Welcome.

Oh well, time to watch TV while waiting for Top Gear to download. Lovely!

...

not enough.

2011-06-21T23:05:00.000-04:00

This feeling. The feeling of being stuck, and every turn pointing out I'm at the wrong place. Such a tease...Have a job that I used to like, could have like it more but I got held back. Now I hate it.

Job search is still on-going. Even expanded to New Jersey. Not a fan of that state, but that's purely stereotyping...got to give it a chance, perhaps.

Heck, I'll take anything now. Any change of environment.

A shed!

2011-06-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

The weather forecast was not optimistic in any possible way...but in reality, it was sunny. It was lovely!

That called for another trip to the park...after a quick lunch, grabbed bottles of water and my outdoor shoes...and off I go through the back roads.

Did 2 different trails today, some with more elevated terrain which I wanted, and found 2 new sights...

...

So in other news, Boston Bruins won! well, naturally I'd root for the local favorites...sports fans are one interesting bunch. Looking at you, Vancouver. Never liked Canada for some unknown reason...this just adds salt to the wound.

...

I'm couch-ed!

2011-06-12T22:03:00.000-04:00

That. That's a HUGE couch. 8 feet long, in fact. But it's worth it, though me and my friend ended up with scratches all over trying to wrestle it into my apartment.
It definitely dwarfs over all my other furniture. Heck, I can sleep straight on that couch.

I was casually browsing for couches in craigslist, had some on my "maybe i'll look at that" list, until I saw the ad for this couch. One of those moments where I just go DO WANT! without hesitation.

Wasted no time contacting the seller, and he lives behind my complex too...and after 23 bux to rent a U-Haul van, i got it.
Have to say I'm surprised U-Haul was relatively cheap. For the couch, I paid a quarter of what it was worth a year ago...and it was way less than I'd pay for any couches in that condition anyway.

I've always been worried about everything under the sun, including moving out, hence the reason why I haven't had a couch for the longest time. Figured it's time to get a place I can lounge on while reading...just be worry-free for a bit.

Was also anticipating moving away but perhaps that's a worry for another time.

...

So another long week's about to start, expecting many long nights till the end of the month. And I kinda like it actually, the interaction with people under pressure...get to observe and learn a lot in such situations. Of course, given I don't break under pressure...

Well, off to watch some TV on me couch...and off to bed.

The outdoors. Love it.

2011-06-05T21:54:00.000-04:00

Spent the whole Sunday outdoors at Borderlands State Park...I've heard of it but never been there before until a colleague brought it up last weekend.

And gosh, was I in for a surprise. A pleasant surprise. It takes 10 miles of back roads which was just lovely...slow driving with all windows down.

Some pics taken from my trusty phone...which had good GPS reception too, surprisingly.

The Ames Mansion...

A lodge...interesting point-of-interest.

...

I did 3 trails since the day was still bright and sunny. Perhaps this will be a weekend routine. I love the pond area...just sit by a rock and space out into the day. There's other trails to do as well

And watching dogs rolling around the greens. Great timing as summer just got here...as in, the actual weather because it was rather cold to be considered summer until today.

And speaking of timing, I met my neighbor as I got back, who locked herself out after her husband dropped her home. We chatted a bit while waiting for her husband to return...and I do have lovely neighbors!

Glad the timing was right to get to know my opposite neighbors and their lovely hyper Jack Russell Terrier running back and forth between our apartments.

Off to bed early...airport run tomorrow morning...and another long week ahead.

Feeling lucky. or not.

2011-06-02T22:08:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I've written anything down...whenever I had the urge to jolt something down, there's no pen and paper within reach.

Got to say, with the tornado touchdowns yesterday nearby, I'm sure feeling lucky to be in Plainville. Tornadoes and thunderstorms missed my area, though I do sympathize those affected north and south of my area. It's hard to imagine just miles away, people died and some made homeless within an hour since I was following the live news closely. Lightning strike lit up the windows nice and bright too, prompting me to shutdown my PC and turn off stuff I didn't need.

Tornadoes here. That's just absurd. Nothing could prepare us for it at all. Heck, governor declared state of emergency last night too. Weather has indeed gone wild.

The more I think of it, Plainville seems to be a nice safe zone so far, given all the crazy snowstorm, blizzards, tornadoes....etc. *touchwood*

Counting my blessings.

...

Work is starting to get hectic, now that we're less than a month from the "main event"...every colleague I know is on full throttle now, working late nights, rushing back and forth. Got to say, my colleagues are crazy dedicated to their work...

I'm also feeling the pressure now, and I kinda like it. Fills up my time faster, as I formulate a getaway plan as well. Always good to have plan B.

...

Sometimes, I give up on trying to understand some people. Things changed within the past few weeks...and I have no clue what was it. Oh well. Changed from close friends to acquaintances. Maybe "close" wasn't even present in the first place. Such a lie.

Anyway, keeping myself busy with work for now...

...

There's more than 1 way through it all...

2011-05-15T22:44:00.001-04:00

So I heard the news about the DV2012 lottery being re-drawn 2 months from now, meaning my "winning" result is now voided. This was due to some computer algorithm flaw, and it wasn't fair to the rest since it was selecting from applicants who submitted within the first few days of the DV2012 submission date.
Sources from http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ (the video message).

Although I felt like the ball has been dropped on me again...I'm glad others will have another chance. I know many people who didn't get it.
Who knows? Luck might strike again, together with some friends.
Group strike ?

It's a wonder what a slow drive could do...burnt some fuel through the back roads with me, some radio noise and my trusty HIDs lighting up the way.

I was reading on some random horoscope (yeah, take it with a grain of salt..I know), and most of them point to May 17th as a full moon day...something big, or definitive for Scorpios. Ironically, my meeting with the US Customs is on that date.
Not anymore...
I get a chuckle thinking about it. It was too easy, i thought to myself days ago. Such a weird twist of fate.

Have to thank my lawyers for asking me to hold off on some procedures that require hundreds of dollars. That will probably go to lawyer fees now.

Not sure how my moving plans will pan out to be. After rejections from certain companies, I've got to improve on certain areas of expertise.

Certification studies are in the works too...receiving full backing from my boss and manager too, surprisingly. As in, "get him whatever he wants for this...anything" kind of backing. Doesn't get any better than that for now.

...

I feel...numb to bad news, glad that this offers another opportunity for my friends to get into the DV2012, exhausted mentally from all these ups and downs...

Hard to put it into words...because at the same time, that brief moment of feeling lucky, gave me a glimmer of hope. It was an awesome feeling.

By the end of the day, I'm laughing by myself thinking about at all of these...
with a glass of water.

...

Fall seven times, stand up eight. -Japanese proverb

2011-05-10T22:10:00.001-04:00

Things are looking up lately. Made a trip to Washington over the weekend and it was well worth the long flights and tiring run from one terminal to the other end of the terminal. I appreciate my work/walking shoes even more...worth every single penny!

This trip was eye-opening, in an inspiring way...can't say much bout my long term plans, as it changes as time passes by...but having that light-bulb moment made me realize I've been wasting time making merry with beer and wine alone.
I could not express the emotional roller-coaster ride in words...and how it felt to be overwhelmed. Though, it could only get better. That's a start.

Tiring, but meaningful. That's how I'd put my trip as. Had some moment to talk and catch up with the guys...learned a great deal within a short period of time. Definitely a friendly wake up call for myself.

Another good news came in a form of fuzzy feelings, involving a potential game changer for me here. It's like a door of opportunities waiting to happen...I just have to persevere and trust the lawyers.

It's as exciting as it is nerve-wrecking, not going to lie. The procedures, the paperwork, the uncertainty...with the biggest factor being the wait. Lots and lots of waiting.
The lawyer I'm dealing with has been very patient and gracious with her advise and insights. Having a professional I could call anytime, within business hours of course, definitely boost confidence in the process.

After many recent downfalls, this came as a surprise...I want it to be real, and yet at the same time, I'm preparing for the worse. Felt like I have much to lose because I'm getting desperate for a change. Doubts will fill in naturally. It already has.

However, I'm going all in this time. With the right mentality. I'm going to grab this opportunity, one way or another. It's the one.

...

There's other events and stuff to look forward to as well. A friend from Germany is visiting in June for a business trip. Going to be fun catching up with a familiar face.

Also told myself to pick up the pace on my certification studies. Keep myself busy and tied up to fill in the "waiting" gaps. Trying out programming on the side too...never know if I'll like it as a hobby...as they say, never know if you never try.

...

A song that I just enjoy the music...no idea what the singer's saying...the music is awesome.

lost for words.

2011-05-01T23:20:00.001-04:00

These few weeks were rather challenging, drained mentally and emotionally all the same time. Now's a good time for me to take a step back and look around...along the way, I must have been doing it wrong as it feels like I've come full circle.

Today's quite a change in the mood...more like a meet-the-couples weekend. Pleasant day, finally meeting my colleague's pregnant wife, and a friend's fiance...both who knew more about me than I do about them.

It's always a happy moment to see people I know moving on to the next stage of their lives with broad smiles across their faces.

Another event to look forward to is my weekend trip to Seattle...decided I need to get away from it all and clear the mind, even if it's for a short weekend.

Can never say no to a vacation, can we ?

.

2011-04-28T20:44:00.000-04:00

Feist - Past in Present

The scarlet letter isn't black
Gotta know who's got your back
Because they're right in front of you
Because they're telling you the truth

So much present inside my present
Inside my present so, so much past
Inside my present inside my past
Inside my present
So, so

Feeling it from dark to bright
When a wrong becomes a right
When a mountain fills with light
It's a volcano, it's a volcano
It's a volcano, it's a volcano

So much present, inside my present
Inside my present
So, so much past

Inside my present, inside my present
Inside my present
So, so much past

Inside my present
Inside my present
So, so much past

wait..what? the rock won ?

2011-04-25T22:49:00.000-04:00

This. This is what happens when I vaguely checked the car's parking brake at a slight incline. That rock in the reflection mocks my carelessness.

Well, obviously it had to happen the day after I washed the car on a beautiful day...though I'm glad it was the rock that was bumped, and not another vehicle.

Oh well, there's a reason it's called a bumper.

...

The week started off without any sense whatsoever...had 4 hours of sleep, cause I just couldn't sleep. Work was filled with typical things breaking and people doing senseless crap...though doing it while my body's begging for sleep is rather challenging.

One of those days where I lost touch of reality...and everything is just wrong.

...

2011-04-16T21:44:00.001-04:00

The video (found via wrestleview) of Edge officially relinquishing his title on Smackdown.

More to his point, parents deserve more credit then they usually get.

In a way Edge is an inspiration, a guy starting from the bottom and work his way up, living his dream. Hard work pays off, no other way.

A wrestler retires...a little bit of wresling fades away for me

2011-04-12T22:49:00.005-04:00

Well, it has been a while and I didn't feel like writing anything. Closed thoughts, mostly.

I have always been a fan of wrestling, though I was only exposed to WWE and TNA...and random videos on youtube. Sometimes, there's really good indy scene wrestling matches. So my exposure is very limited.
Have to say though, times have changed, WWE has become more family-friendly and less "brutal", per say.

And that's all understandable, given more young ones are exposed to pro wrestling on TV. However, I'd prefer if wrestler tells their story in the ring, rather than on a mic. Those days are gone, sadly. I'm sure it's still difficult as heck to be a wrestler, but with the way it is today, a bit of wrestling fades away for me weekly.

I was watching WWE last night, out of curiosity since I haven't been watching it for weeks because most matches or wrestlers on-screen weren't enough to grab my attention.

Then I saw Edge on, what seems to be, an impromptu spot...sort of like someone gave him the mic and asked him to say whatever he wants. Of course, this being WWE, initial thoughts were biased towards another work or storyline angle. As he gave his speech, it seems real.

After that spot, camera panned to the backstage where he was greeted and hugged by his fellow wrestlers and friends. It was a genuine sight.

He's probably the last few wrestlers I really enjoy watching on TV growing up back then, and up till now. I'd watch some of his recent matches on youtube randomly as well. Edge can work any matches, and entertain at the same time without looking cheesy at all.

The last few tough wrestlers to perform in the ring, I might add, with surgeries and stuff all inside him. That's one tough wrestler, from the era where there were little regulations and safety nets.

Some info on his sudden retirement here.

Definitely glad to see him retiring from the ring before it's too late.
And he retired as a Champion, how great is that ?
Not to mention he has held many titles, and has a very illustrious career.

As a fan, I'm hoping Edge will still be around WWE, obviously not as an in-ring competitor. Edge could spice up the commentary team...they need some fresh voices in that area, in my opinion.

Thank you, Edge.

Japan. Be strong.

2011-03-14T22:53:00.000-04:00

These few days have been really rough.

Thoughts and prayers go out to those affected in Japan. Yes, everyone is reporting it....and no, no words can describe the whole situation in any possible way.

With the media relaying constant images and messages, sometimes long-winded and confusing about the nuclear power plant status...it's hard to watch

And everyone there is a survivor, for being patient with one another...I mean watch the news, even with supplies running out, people are not yelling, not pushing...just patience and courtesy to the elders, as it should be.

Also, not to mention, no matter what the outcome, the people working the nuclear plant are heros as well.

Stay strong, Japan, and the rest of the world.

There's so many worldly events going on, nations unrest..disasters..wow.
Just wow.

...

And to those making cruel remarks and jokes about this disaster...the Afleck guy, Berita Harian, and others...Karma's going to hit you guys back just as hard.

Another thought, props to US carrier AT&T for starting the trend to provide free calls to Japan. I'd take it as a sign of respect...others see it at a PR move..either way, every bit helps now.

Clearing up MotoBlur

2011-03-10T19:02:00.000-05:00

I jumped the gun by assuming emails were going through MotoBlur's service...apparently not, as mentioned here.

I did talk to Motorola and read some reviews, and they confirmed only login information are saved for emails, but not the actual emails....hmmm....still doesn't sit well with me.

I've been blurred, and dual-cored.

2011-03-08T22:55:00.000-05:00

So I caved in and bought myself the Motorola Atrix "4G" phone....since it's pretty much 3.5G and every carrier is going on a marketing barrage with the 4G moniker, I don't expect this phone to be super-fast network-wise as its hyped up to be. Connectivity seems stable and fast enough for my use.

My Captivate went through a factory reset, and up on eBay now. I do have certain sentiments about Samsung and AT&T in regards to their collaborated products. Many users have complain about slow updates, messed up updates, failed updates, using cumbersome methods to get the updates...makes me wonder, if the non-US version got the update way earlier with less issues, did we get shafted here ?

I do like the Captivate in the sense it has a fantastic screen, no doubt about it. Although there's a lot of custom ROMs out there, a tremendous amount of support from the brainiac at XDA Developers (they deserve every dollar of donations), I can't help but think this caters to only a small number of user base. I mean, I consider myself some-what semi-techie on this Android rooting, custom ROMs...etc...

Perhaps a vast majority of users don't even know how to update, or maximize their Android experience. Not everyone is as tech-savvy, but know enough to post on forums asking for help...and yes, there will always be rumors floating around the web as to why AT&T took ages to push out Android 2.2 on the Captivate...

Many people on forums will of course recommend others to try custom ROMs and stop complaining about relying on official updates....but how many people would spend so much time on a phone with reading and researching and figuring out which ROM to pick out of the many on the list ?

I'm guessing most people bought it for the Android hype...openness, do whatever you want with it, new, fast, major updates every now and then... I jumped from Symbian, a very stable platform at that time, to Android, a new growing platform.

It feels like the actual experience isn't coherent with the projected experience Google expected for Android users. For stock Captivate users, we were in the dark when most of Google's products, mainly Maps, had great features that weren't supported in our older official OS. By the time we got Froyo, the excitement died.
The forums were filled with anger and complaints...numerous threads about the same topic, just worded differently. It was e-rage. Then again, it gave developers opportunities to flex their muscles.

This topic has been beaten to death till death got bored...but big politics and money holding the platform back ? AT&T holds back the updates, Samsung gets the blame as the phones bare their branding ? Eventually we got our updates, and for me, as part of a fairly new Android users, new updates are always welcome...
Though for average users, many have voiced their dissatisfaction with Samsung and AT&T, some even vowing not to buy another Samsung phone. I think that's kind of extreme...I'm sure both parties, Samsung and AT&T, will learn from this and make future inconveniences more transparent. They're in the business of making money, not losing their source of revenue.

I'm on the fence with the Samsung/AT&T collaboration myself. I'm one of those users who tried modding, custom ROMs, but prefer the official ROM for simplicity's sake...my choice, not really into constantly updating ROMs and stuff. Though if I have the time, money and patience, I would probably have a "test" phone just to try out the ROMs. Again, this are just my opinions. The vast amount of choices out there also came at a price with the vast amount of confusion.

I ditched the fantastic AMOLED screen for a different qHD screen on the Motorola Atrix. Not sure about Motorola's track record for updates, but I'll have to wait and see.

Then again, these days, with companies trying to dictate the restrictions and bloatware on their phones, making it harder for official software updates (point at you, Samsung and AT&T...), it's like choosing the lesser evil.
Ok, Motorola isn't any better, pushing MotoBlur on their phones. I find it lame that I need to be connected to MotoBlur just to start the phone from a reset.

So yeah, if their server goes down, starting up the phone from a reset is a no-go. Though I do use another launcher, so my setup is mostly based of workarounds for another workaround. I kinda like it..to some extend.

So far I'm liking the Atrix. I have to admit, the limitations on the phone is mostly due to the lack of support and adaptation from the market. Yes, the dual-core CPU is cool, Tegra 2 is cool, but there's just not many apps written to take advantage of that. Mostly games, for now.

Heck, I can't even play my high-def Top Gear videos because the stock player don't support mkv files. Other video players on the Android Market can't even render the video properly.
The Captivate plays those files, really well too. Not sure what the deal is, but I'm sure future updates will unlock the phone's potential.

That's what we get for early adoption of technology. Got to bet that major players will jump on this "Tegra 2" wagon.

That being said, it's only my opinion. I am greatful for the smart guys at all forums, especially XDA, for making the Android experience more accessible. There's a rather steep learning curve, but the smart guys made it easier for us to mod the phone. Just add some patience and reading, and it'll be a good mix.

On a separate note, having Flash on the Android's browser is like opening the float gates to flash advertisement. Geez.
Thank goodness for the ability to have them on-demand.

And YouTube...what happened to you ? Ads before playing a video, ads in the video...
Gone are the days where videos are just....videos....

...

That's some rant I got. Must be the beer doing the typing.

Unique...or is it ?

2011-03-05T00:19:00.004-05:00

I've been thinking about jumping on the Motorola Atrix 4G (branded in US) for a while, but there seems to be some disconnect whenever I play around with it at the store.

Can't comment much since I could only spend some time on demo units, which have been cooked well-done by every visitor at the store...tons of random apps loaded and running, as expected from a demo unit.

This brings to the case of MotoBlur, Motorola's own custom user interface for their Android handsets, which drew criticism on the forums from owners, many first time owners as well. I usually read off XDA, AndroidCentral and Phandroid, so my knowledge is biased towards the forums.

As mentioned on Motorola's own forum, you need a MotoBlur account to activate the phone before you can do anything, and it lets you sync emails, social stuff (facebook, twitter) through MotoBlur. Wonder what happens if MotoBlur server goes down ? Not that I wish this upon anyone...if it so happens to be down when people trying to activate it for the first time. It's like a box in a box kind of thing.

On top of that, there's also Google's own account, which we've been using to "sign-in" to the phone, accessing our Android market list, emails, Google checkout...etc.

I don't know, but I find having layers of sign-on is a bit...wonky, understandably owners mention you can opt not to use MotoBlur's services but not before you create a MotoBlur account first. I personally use LauncherPRO on the Captivate, and it's wonderful.

Engadget have a great article on MotoBlur, more like calling Motorola out on it...found here.

I prefer the simple route, given Google spends enormous efforts on the software-end. Buy a new phone, sign in with my Google account and that's it. Contacts sync-ed, market apps on the list to be downloded, off I go.

This reminded me of my experience as a first time Android user, months ago..which converts to years in the digital-era, at this current pace.

AT&T has its own "sync" web interface here, which somehow aggregated ALL the email addresses I've ever emailed to (eBay, craigslist transactions..etc) from ALL my email accounts tied to it, and converts them into contacts with just an email address entry. I was testing multiple accounts at the time, so I had huge loads of useless contacts.

Of course, being green in the game, I had no idea where these were coming from. They just appeared in my contacts, deleting them deemed futile when they re-sync "magically" again. Forums helped me figure out the issue, where I promptly logged into the address book site, which I never knew existed, and removed my device from the database.

That solved the issue as I deleted all traces of contacts on AT&T's site. I probably failed to read the fine prints, and my stuff were being uploaded to their server...and yes, given this present generation, privacy is being smacked around senseless, for the sake of convenience and backups...

Though I knew this when I got my Captivate, I'm still weary about signing on to other services on the phone that requires data being sent elsewhere.

I can understand companies are trying to simplify things, like making synchronization transparent...information populated on-screen seamlessly. Perhaps many people don't even bother how it happens...I just happen to be 1 of those who are very curious, probably contributes to paranoia to a certain degree.

As always, when it comes to these things, it's always subjective. This is just my opinion.

Froyo on a Thursday

2011-02-24T22:54:00.000-05:00

Today was an exciting day for Samsung Captivate owners, as Froyo (firmware 2.2) was officially released. I thought we Captivate owners missed the boat, with Gingerbread already out there.

Either way, this got me back into that "phase" with Android. Not sure how big the download was, because it had to be done via Samsung's own Kies Mini program, a software-upgrade-only version of the Kies software.

Took me a while to figure out the steps, of course I did not read the full instructions on the site, assuming it's just the standard click here click there steps.

The link for the steps and Kies download here.

I did left out an important bit. Step 3. USB Debugging. Beyond that, upgrade was quite slow, with the phone being in the "DO NOT TOUCH ME" state for 30 minutes. But all is well, phone runs noticeably snappier and GPS locks on heck a lot faster...like, from 60 seconds to 5 seconds from a cold lock. Color me impressed!

Anyway, got annoyed when they removed the option to disable geo-tagging in the camera app...only way to turn it off is to disable GPS and wireless-assistance. Quite a pain, really. Some forumers use applications to strip out the coordinates from the picture...

I went the lazy way and got Vignette off the market instead, to replace my stock camera app. It has the option to embed a direct link to the stock video camera app. Handy. Of course it has way to many filters and effects for a candid user like myself, but it gets the job done, though processing of images can be a little slow.

It's been a long wait, and we're finally up to speed, though Android Froyo is already so 2010. Glad to have the new update either way.

Many forumers went with custom ROM. I'd like to go that route eventually, but not at the moment. Prefer to have an official off-the-shelf update, albeit at a crawling rate.

...

It has been a rather odd week, I have to say. Worked through the long weekend, so I had no weekend at all. Literally.

Today is the "happier" day of the week, with Froyo captivating my attention the whole day..speaking of multi-tasking at work.

Though I'm still baffled at how certain things get done at my company. How hard can it be to make payments on time ? Saves everyone a lot of hassle.

At least I got myself a TV, finally. Thanks to a friend who bought himself a newer TV.

And he brought up a interesting point. In the States here, we can get a lot done in a day...and everything is much further than back home.
Let's see...went town hopping to a PC shop to grab something, went to get the TV, went to fix my friend's x-box (5th red ring of death), went to IKEA, fix up my TV cabinet, re-arranged the whole apartment...all from Noon till mid-night.

However, we can never get as many things done back home....cause of traffic.

Intriguing thought.

...

Must be pretty amazing to setup the sound system for that magnitude of people.

Snow Patrol - shut your eyes.

Doors without the keys.

2011-02-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

This week has been rather rough, with many long nights since last week but at least I got some major projects done...well, almost done.

Lately, I've been getting indirect messages...just when I decided to put it all into my career...perhaps it's just all a coincidence.

Started with last week's episode of NCIS, which was a nice touching episode actually. Meaning behind the main storyline was more of a question...a character in the movie works hard throughout his life, rise up the ranks, but has nothing to live for beyond his well illustrative career. Respect can only follow someone for so long after we step out of the office.
Does hard work really pay off ?

It's more like a one-sided goal, at least for me at the moment. A close friend also told me very recently, rather abruptly, that career isn't everything. Putting it all, chasing wealth...all these thinking, driving us towards greed sometimes, could just be leading us to the illusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Is it worth losing everything over career for wealth ?

Not that I'm in the position to say that. My career path is rather clear, yet it feels like a cake that's lying. Working late nights, fixing nibbles and squabbles behind the scenes without recognition, helping other departments while being in the shadows...that has to be the worse job in a way. It's a job that requires self-pride, because let's be honest...people only notice the parts that go wrong.
If this is were a movie, I'll be that guy that does things beyond the "chain of command"...as long as it doesn't disrupt the work operations. Or get noticed.

Nobody knows me outside of work, only during work-hours. Felt like the harder I work, the more I lose as well.

I feel cocooned in this...reality...after a long day of work, there's nothing else to look forward to, only the next day of work. Friends have already left, people I could count on, well, far or too away...some colleagues are close friends that I can rely on, but we're all on different frequencies...there's no one to spill it out to.

It's a very awkward picture, mentally.

Career's painted in solid colors, yet my mind's fading off with random strokes of brushes, from all directions. The background complements with its blurriness, as if a wall of fog taunts with a similar picture at the other side.
Could it be a really greener when it clears ? I intend to bring those solid colors to the other side, when the opportunity is right.

The heck do I know. Getting lost in your own mental image is like being in a maze that you construct and have lost the blueprints to.

This wasn't the image I envisioned before. No.

...

The power of the King's speech.

2011-02-07T22:17:00.000-05:00

I've always wanted to watch the King's Speech, but was kind of doubtful for personal reasons. More like the chances of it striking an emotional chord.

Decided to watch it anyway, after reading some reviews that it made some impact on stutterers. Have to say, it's rather empowering and I enjoyed the film. Very well done, in my opinion, though some parts were painful to watch.

If someone was ever curious what it's like to live as a stutterer, this film is close enough. The daily struggle has taught me to laugh at the world...pick up the guitar...appreciate music and silence...listen to the world around me more...

It takes one to understand another, as such, I've never really talked about it because people just won't understand. They can pretend, but it won't help. The best support isn't materialistic items at all. No.

Understanding, confidence, patience and persistence does wonders. Stir in some humor at that.
My parents have taught me very well, not to give up but keep moving on.

I have the privilege of working in a close-knit environment with my colleagues, helping me to improve tremendously. Though, sometimes it hits back...it's just another moment to me, in the end.

Everyday is like a game. My mind shapes different "worlds" to calm my nerves and muscles. It's easy for others to say, speak slowly, think before you speak...all those typical so-called advice. Honestly, they work only to a certain degree.

oh..and shouting? yes, they do work indeed.

I'm genuinely glad to be where I am, ready to take on the speech demon head-on the moment I step into the real world.

Oddly as it sounds, the less I fight it, the easier it becomes. Sometimes, giving up the battle is a step towards winning it.

...

This song can be interpreted in various ways...mine's kept inside.

Hello beautiful.

2011-02-06T23:13:00.000-05:00

The weather was rough, with snowstorms and blizzards welcoming us into February of 2011. However, today we have, quite possibly, the best weather so far in terms of temperature...it's above freezing point.

The ice was melting away when the temperature took a deep dive. So roads and pavements are nicely glazed now. Not the way I'd expect to end the nice weather.

Keeping fingers crossed for a safe week, for the next storm was expected to be on Wednesday. Again.

Ah...New England.

...

After much wait, I finally bought a new chair. Realized I should have always gotten what I wanted initially, instead of settling for others.
Spent half a day assembling, regretting, disassembling and more driving to get the chair I actually wanted.
Oh well, made my Sunday, as I was out throughout the day.

Weather was perfect for driving through the backroads with the sunroof fully retracted.

Goodbye, beautiful day.

Random find.

2010-12-31T22:23:00.000-05:00

Thanks to some random sites...I came across Steven Ho.

Worth checking out his site.

Dude is hilarious, and he's a part of the Green Hornet, out in Jan 2011. Will probably watch that for sure.

Hello 2011

2010-12-31T20:12:00.001-05:00

Goodbye 2010.

Christmas is here. With the right amount of snow.

2010-12-24T18:51:00.000-05:00

...

It's Christmas time.

It's the time when everyone I know here travels back home or back to their respective states. Quite literally.

Wishing them and everyone a safe and fun trip.

It's quiet here.

Very quiet.

Saturn resurfaces.

2010-12-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

I still follow wrestling news on and off, but less of the matches...and was glad to hear Perry Saturn has resurfaced after "missing" for years...literally, dropping off the radar.

(taken from: 1WrestlingVideo)

Have to say, it takes some guts to openly admit such mistakes and still stand in front of the camera with pride. Hope he stays clean.

When I started watching wrestling, Perry Saturn just moved to WWF (back then) with Dean Malenko, the late Chris Benoit and the late Eddie Guerrero as the Radicalz...They were the few remaining "badass" guys in the ring, though that was a decade ago. Can't believe it was already that long.

Comparing to wrestling today, in my opinion, there's not many matches that can compare to matches back then. It was just more...raw, and feels less scripted, and more painful.
I still look for those elements while watching wrestling, but it feels like a digitized soundtrack...lacking in pure awesomeness and oomph.
I felt back then in WWF, the wrestlers tell their stories in the ring. Less words, more actions. It's quite the opposite now.

I just find myself reading WWE and TNA recaps...and I watch older matches. And to realize so many wrestlers have passed away...after watching their great matches on youtube.

Wish I had Ring of Honor on my channel listing. Saw it when I was in Seattle, and gosh it was great! I could care less about the story lines, the matches were fantastic for some random episode that pop up when I was browsing.

Sadly my exposure to wrestling is limited to only mainstream companies, pretty much WWE and TNA. Youtube provided more entertaining wrestling matches from Japan and Mexico...Those guys are mad crazy. And unbelievably resilient.

...

An old match. Really old.

(taken from: DarklightFunaki )

Dec 2010. Snow, you're late.

2010-12-13T22:14:00.000-05:00

December comes around, pretty slowly. It crawls towards payday, and 2 more weeks of work before we take the week off in December.

And it hasn't snowed yet, though the weather has been rather temperamental in odd ways. Minus 10 Celsius on one day, and a warm 10 Celsius the next day...all in less than 12 hours!
And it's drizzling...which made it perfect for me to purge the stale air in the apartment.

It feels so slow, yet time flew by faster than it felt. My head is dividing by zero.
A close friend visited Boston again, before heading back to Singapore for good next week, and it has been 3 months since she was gone. At the same time, every minute feels like an hour now.

So 2010 is coming to an end, a roller-coaster ride of all sorts. And I've made my decision. Looks like I'm going to be Plainville for a good few more years. These recent..cloudy spots..perhaps, paints itself insignificantly in a bigger picture.

These few weeks have been kind to me...grabbed a whole load of time for myself, as I shy away for a moment.

New Year's resolution? Several on my list, but am I entitled to only 1?
I'll still wish for all of them anyway. hah!

...

Before moving on the music that I've been listening over and over...got to post this up..

...

A weekend with a mini game.

2010-12-05T23:01:00.000-05:00

It was another relaxing weekend. Dropped by several shops, which were crawling with people from everywhere. Ridiculous. Then again, it's Christmas shopping time too.
Spent the rest of my time at home, finished some much needed house work, making merry with my cooking appliances again...and went out again for some groceries.

It's getting quite cold now, but I'd very much prefer it to snow gradually. I get this uneasy feeling about the weather, given it's already in December and there is no sign of any snowflakes yet. Hope it won't storm every day. That would be very annoying. Should probably stock up on food too, just in case.

...

Thanks to the guys at Gameloft, Dungeon Hunter HD for Android was free for 24 hours, and I got my hands on them.

Had to sideload the apk file from my desktop, no thanks to AT&T for "locking down" the device. Oh well.

The game definitely caught most of my attention this weekend. It's addicting and actually quite elaborate for a mobile game. My Call of Duty: Black Ops is still sitting there since I've completed the single player. Haven't had the urge to start the multi player portion yet.

...

Perhaps I've come to a decision, which will be in black and white after several meeting this week. Hopefully less.
Got to look at the big picture. That's all I'm getting from everyone.

I'm anticipating some "recovery" time, which December brings.

Tick tock...tick....

2010-11-29T22:34:00.000-05:00

The week flew by like none other...the record snow storm, the company of close ones, pets and people, the food and drinks...it's all real.

Came to realize, I'm never really myself that often. Over here, I never cared for any food preferences, never really cared about going out, haven't enjoyed drinks with people in a while...ironic, I say.

When I'm at the other coast, there's food places I have on my checklist and I look forward for some drinks with friends at home...with whatever cocktail that the "bartender" fancies. We did get caught up quite a bit with the terrible snow storm.

I'm not being sarcastic here, and I know we get way more snow here in New England. I bet Seattle-ites would be laughing if we have the same amount of hills and ice. Ascending and descending on ice every few yards isn't exactly a graceful way for 4 wheels to get a grip.

I enjoyed my in-house time as we were "snowed" in for a few days. Just sitting by the couch, some TV (NCIS marathon throughout the day as well), connected online, random snacks, occasional visits from the friendly house Labrador...it's just so relaxing for me. Kind of "unwinding" after being burnt out at work and everything else.

Loved every moment of it. So much that it was surreal to return back here.

Decisions, decisions.

Perhaps it comes a time to make big decisions in one's life. This is one of them.

As I weigh my options, I can feel time haunting me with the clock ticking down from a company agreement to my lease renewal for my apartment. Personal feelings stepping over logical judgment. It's all clear but yet there's equal amount of doubts.

As someone once said (forgotten who)...wherever you go, go with all your heart. My actions have yet to portray what I envisioned in my head after having some time to think during my vacation.

I was holding back, unconsciously.

Had a quiet talk with a senior colleague today, who knew my mind wasn't here. She told me the grass isn't always greener on the other side. At where I am, I know what's coming...that makes work tolerable and predictable to a certain extend. That's why many are still around for years, despite the questionable treatment.

Yet every time I step back and glance around myself, everything suggest I'm at the wrong place. It could very well be a holiday romance in the West Coast, but the area just feels right. I can see myself living there, as I do here on my own.

It could be I'm tired of my current area and looking to get the heck out. I never got a chance to know what the area is like before moving here anyway. It was a signature that sent me here. Yes, I'm thankful to have a job with fantastic colleagues, but it came with a much larger costs. I take those as experiences anyway.

Only few in the company understands the various hats I wore at work everyday. Those are the ones who told me anywhere else WILL BE better. Emphasize on WILL BE.

This is going to be a long week. I can hear the clock ticking as I'm up on the fence, and my heart swaying to either side.

Decisions, oh decisions.

Probably a good time to retire for the night.

...

Turning twenty six years old.

2010-11-18T23:15:00.000-05:00

In another timezone, I'm already 26 years old. In my current timezone, not so. But it doesn't really matter at this point of time.

This year was indeed rough and tough, but it all isn't bad. So much has happened and I had my share of not-so-favorable moments but I'm glad to be where I am.
I'm glad to have people that I can call friends, those I could rely on, those I could meet up after months and still feel as if I never left, those who are halfway around the world who listens to my blabbering.

People come and go, and it's hard to see who's gotten your back. Even some friends from back in the days, though nothing's ever written in black and white.
Perhaps there's a reason some of us rarely converse anymore.
Moving on never felt easier, sometimes.

Of course I have a lot to be thankful for.

It isn't up with the big leagues, but it never complained. New set of strings, and it sings to my strumming and plucking. Glad I picked up a guitar and started playing.

And everything else that I have in my daily life, a car to drive, ability to eat out anywhere I want, a comfortable apartment to stay in...all those materialistic stuff.

I'm thankful for great colleagues at work. Despite my shortcomings with management from time to time, the people whom I work with makes up for it. Could not ask for a better diverse group of friends at work.

...

I've always told people I don't want any present. I do have everything I need.
And I already bought myself a present, in a form of an e-Ticket that has SEA stamped in it.

I look forward for something more than money can ever buy, company and time. As for that, I'm eagerly waiting for tomorrow's dinner at a colleague's place who is kind enough to host the dinner.
And yes, I like a quiet and modest dinner with some close ones.

Best part of my birthday? Calling up dad in another timezone to wish him Happy Birthday...

...

There's many songs that remind me of certain things. And then there's certain songs that I don't bother with the lyrics, as the music itself is enough to captivate my attention.

This is 1 of them

Randomhut, and some Android thoughts.

2010-11-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

The lovely weather greeted Plainville this morning, and I really do hope it'll be as nice as this next week when I get off the plane in Seattle's airport.

Ever since I got hold of my Android device, I've been doing more with it. To be honest I'm rather pleased with the battery, given the amount of apps that's in the background...like GTalk, Google Voice, WhatsApp, Gmail, Handcent, background data sync, and several homescreen widgets.
GPS is on when I'm outdoors too, though it only gets called to duty when the app requires it.

Typically the phone lasts me more than 12 hours before needing a charge, with the indicator reporting a modest amount of battery capacity remaining. Usually in the 30% range.
Of course, I always have a micro-USB cable in the car just in case. Wouldn't want to be caught a bit short in some situations.

...

Yes, Google Voice. I finally registered for it, and got it working last night with the Android app too. Would probably try out the international call versus skype when I call back home.

Will probably use this number for random people, as it's a combination of my work's number and extension number. Easy to remember. Acting like a middle man, GVoice lets me choose which phone to forward the calls to, and screen callers too. Sweet.

...

With the phone at hand, a much more better camera, and cleaner screen to work with, I started up another blog for a self-project. Not sure how long this will go...but anyway it's at:

Random Hut

Yeah, I couldn't re-register the older name, but all is well. Prefer a cleaner start too. One of those things that I think my phone can benefit from anyway.

I can post up stuff on wordpress with my phone, again. As long as the 3G signals don't let go.

1 task, several approaches

2010-11-07T19:31:00.002-05:00

This week has been...challenging on several fronts, but it's over, and we're fallen back by 1 hour in Eastern time.

Perhaps I've been going against the wave, seeing how nothing turns out from how I envisioned them. Should have sailed with the waves...well, never too late.

Saturday started at 5.30am, as I didn't want to be late for a friend's dance competition, called the Commonwealth Classic competition, I believe. Very fascinating, and impressive as there's several types of dances from foxtrot to waltz, and Latin to samba. Each "contest" lasted for only about a minute before the next session. Apparently it cost about $25 per session to compete in. Ouch.

Of course I had to find out more about it, and it turns out the competitors prepare with the common base set of skills and moves...and improvise during the competition. They have no idea what music is going to be played, and what kind of beat. Definitely news to me.

The feet movement, the synchronization, the body movement by the dancing couples were truly amazing. And that's only for the "bronze" class. I could only imagine the higher classes, silver, gold and open.

It's like watching bands playing live while improvising as they see fit. Ended the evening with an expensive seafood meal..but it was well worth the day.

Now i have to figure out how to get the pictures to my friend. Took 720p videos and it's surprisingly viewable, given my experiences with videos taken from phones.

...

So I've been using Swype lately, as my primary virtual keyboard on my Samsung Captivate.
I came across the demo site, which gave me a more insight on the power of the program, though it's probably heavily dependent on text prediction and how often you use certain strokes for certain words.

Here's the link to Swype's tips and tricks.

It's definitely much faster than tapping on keys...though it does annoy me sometimes when it just spills random words. Then again, could be the accuracy of the input motion. Overall, pretty high success rate with a list of recommended words that's close enough.

I could also tap the keys for input but it has to be tapped rather slowly. Tap the screen faster than usual, and it throws gibberish onto the screen with spaces in between. Not that big of a deal, as I've gotten used to that.

...

And then there's 8pen. A radical way of user input. Mainly involves less tapping per input, but I admit it has a steep learning curve. I tried it for a day but couldn't like the feel of it.
And yes, 1 day isn't enough to conquer such a steep curve.

Not saying it's a bad product, it's definitely fun and I'm glad to have tried out a new idea but it wasn't for me. I loved the Swype keyboard whereas some other people hated it.

Different strokes for different folks here.

Again, the only way to know is to actually try it out and it's about USD 1.50-ish on the Android Market now, with the standard 24 hour refund policy. Certainly a nice welcome of innovation.

Here's how it looks like. Yes it's intimidating at first sight.

...

I spent the rest of the afternoon at Borders till the sun went down. Read a couple of books, magazines...certainly a nice quiet way to spend the day after a misunderstanding of communications with some friends in the morning. Enough to throw things out the window and just read some books.
Nice change, actually.

A book I read briefly, was about horoscope. For my birth date, there was a summary of some sort...and it reads: In silence the truth can at last speak

Interesting. Interesting, indeed.

Other book relates to body language, which took a good portion of my time.

And I've been thinking about moving away, though I admit it was an on-going process without much effort. So less talk, a dash of silence and more doing.

...

An old song which came up in my mind...

Brrrr

2010-11-02T21:30:00.000-04:00

Didn't realize how fast the weeks went by.

Was not in the mood to write anything, really. Only looking forward to thanksgiving for some R&R.

And the Android OS is still keeping me on my feet, as I find out more stuff that I could do with the phone.

However, I do have to say I find myself reverting back to the built-in apps that just works...simple, no flashy dazzles. Just a few quirks that didn't bother me much.

The more things I read about, the more I try to convince myself, indirectly, that I need that app...hmmm...I don't, actually. Like the car locator app, which uses Google Maps and the built-in GPS to "remember" where I park my car.

Sounds cool, but I'd rather much prefer the old school way...just pay attention to my surroundings. Worked for 25 years, or 26 years in a few weeks. But it'll probably help if I'm out at an unfamiliar event hall with massive parking lots and similar-looking exit points. Either way, the app is in my "just in case" list of random apps.
Also, quite important to note that the quality of any GPS-related apps is heavily dependent on the internal GPS radio.

My Samsung Captivate does lock on fairly quickly but it takes few more seconds after the initial lock for the accuracy to be usable...which some apps just take the initial lock, hence it's usually off by few blocks.

Battery life is a miser initially, but it seems to be holding its charge, and I attribute to the battery calibration meter being off. Just getting used to the idea of tugging a small micro-USB cable in the car for charging on-the-go, or in the office if I need to.

Another simple app I found is the android notifier, which sends a notification from the phone to my desktop via WiFi if I get a call, SMS, emails, charging status...while the phone's in the bedroom charging. That way I can still get a heads up if someone's calling. Though, it doesn't work with WhatsApp, which is a bummer since I use that more often than SMS.

Oh well. Fiddling with a phone even kept me from playing Fallout New Vegas, a game I bought for 50 bux and it needs mods to make it "better". As much as I like the game, the bugs ruined the game. It's just a joke.

Imagine the amount of Android apps I could have bought with 50 bux !

...

Off to a warm shower...

I know it's cold, when the heaters started kicking in. Yay to automated controls.

Rant of the day.,

2010-10-19T21:48:00.000-04:00

Been having some fun with the new Android platform. Though I have to admit it feels like it's still out-growing its infant stage.

There's many inconsistencies, like my Samsung Captivate has a certain order of capacitive buttons (menu, home, back, search)...other manufacturers have it in another order, some with just 3 buttons...whatever they feel like putting it on.

I don't know, but it certainly doesn't have that "unified" feel like the iPhones or the new windows 7 phone has...as in, a unified set of "rules" that makes it familiar across the phones.

Either way, there's still lots of room to play around with. The hardware's great. Time will tell how the Samsung holds.

...

On the other hand, I've been eagerly waiting for Fallout New Vegas.

And what a massive disappointment. Crashes, lags, freezes....oh geez.

What a waste of 50 bux.

Not expecting it to be perfect, but on a stock system, it doesn't even run properly...can't go through a battle without massive drop in FPS and lag.

Though the forums are reporting similar issues and sharing the same sentiments about the game. Interestingly, the ATI guys are fine so far.

...

Oh well. Just another random rant...these 2 were on my "do want" list...got 1, but was let down by the other one.

If only Steam gives refunds...

That's not gone well...at all.

2010-10-13T20:44:00.000-04:00

It's like a dysfunctional family. I go to work, not knowing how the day will end up. Usually it ends up very interesting. Not in a positive way, mind you.

Few people left the company within 2 weeks...and yet, some don't even bother about their departure because it doesn't affect their workload.

Am I the only one who sees things differently around here ?

I mean, yes, I get annoyed a lot by some, I get frustrated by some...but by the end of the day, the big picture is a clearer sky with sparse clouds of gloom.

A particular person affects my work, ironically. That person isn't even in the same department, and with little friends at work, I've seen that person gone through a lot. On the surface of the book, yes that person bothers me a lot, and whole lot of other people.

However, in the end, we're only human. We have our non-work side that no one attunes to. In fact, my work was made a whole lot easier by this person because the personality traits of digging into rumors and gossips. Can't show enough appreciation for this person, who helped me out indirectly numerous times.

This person resigned, but not in a quiet manner. It was ugly. You know it's sad when you utter the phrase "I'm happy for you..." when one leaves the "family". Or it used to be like a family...

Sadly, my job is heavily dependent on such rumors, no solid grounds. Email threads about my task goes around without me being involved, and I know about the dateline, on the day itself. Nobody can work this way. It's as if I don't even exist. Until something breaks, of course.

And having many first hand experiences on how management handles time-sensitive matters...well, one can only handle so much before realizing it's all going downhill.

It's pathetic.

It's time to move on, some told me. I agree. Shifting gears into aggressive applications.

Heck, I'm even applying down the road.

I know what my next car would be...

2010-10-08T18:12:00.000-04:00

Work was horrible, right from the start in the morning up till when I had to leave for half a day. Every single time I have some time off, something big happens...and usually my softer side get the best of me and I just stay on even though I lost my vacation time.

However, today I felt the strong urge to just let everything go. And I did. Felt fantastic as I went to the BMW driving event, with the invitation from a friend.

Best thing I've done in a long time...we were allowed to flock the cars full throttle, make mistakes (i ran over cones...quite a few), and try again. No penalty for cone-attacks, but still heck lots of fun.

The organizer brought along competitor vehicles, and they're all base models, the lowest price in their class. We get to drive the BMW 328xi, Merc C300 4matic and Audi A4 2.0T quattro.

I find it very fun, because the instructor just sit there and said...go all out...just floor it and be confident. And he just chatted away on other non-car things. Very fun indeed.

The best part was the road test as we were allowed to take different cars out on the road by ourselves for 20 minutes or so.
I had a go in the 535i GT, 550i and 740Li...and tagged along with my friend in the 335d.

Liking the new 5 series a lot out of the bunch. The 7 series was very impressive with the way it moves, given it's size and weight. Feels "small" for a luxobarge.

Met a few bunch of nice people, from those working the events to other participants. Definitely a great stress reliever.

This made my day.

And off we go, to a Jazz event at 10pm tonight, in Boston. Lovely.

Another day with the Android.

2010-10-04T00:06:00.000-04:00

Day 3 or 4 (wasn't sure) with the Android 2.1 phone...and I already found some annoying quirks, but yet I'm still fascinated with what I could do.

Firstly, I can see why people get pissed at AT&T for taking a great platform and putting a leash on it...

Prime example, app backups. I tried few backup apps and went foruming to confirm my suspicion. Restore doesn't work, because it's being blocked by AT&T. Looks like the only way to re-install is through the Android market.

Now, the Android market requires the user to be logged into their respective Gmail accounts, which allows us to sync contacts, calenders and tasks. I find it very useful, updating on my PC and it auto-syncs with the phone.

The market app saves a list of apps I've bought or downloaded before, except my list appears only once. The moment I move away from the browser, like to the home screen, my list disappears when I re-open the market app.
So there's an app for that too. Called the App List Backup.

Despite the drawbacks and annoyance, mainly from AT&T, I'm still loving this platform. Gives me some room to "play" with it. This is more like a toy for me now.

...

On a random note, I noticed my car's mileage increasing quite a bit ever since filling her up with 93 Octane gas. It could also be the brand, as I tend to use Sunoco gas since I got it. I'm getting 360 miles per tank when the light comes up, and the tank still holds 3 gallon of gas if the calculations are correct.

Noticed this as I've been driving to the city quite a bit to meet up with some friends, playing pool and dinner, and just chatting away.

With I had the Speed6, that car absolutely hated Mobil gas. The car would get just 280 miles on a tank, while switching to Shell or Sunoco gave me 340 miles per tank.
This was constantly. Any Mobil station around Plainville or Mansfield or Foxboro.

Of course driving conditions vary from tank to tank, but I can "feel" the car drinking more gas with Mobil gas. Odd.

Well, enough of the thoughts, time to retire myself for the night.

A taste of eclair, on a gloomy week.

2010-10-01T23:34:00.001-04:00

...

Been keeping myself busy with a new toy...which distracted me a whole lot, to be honest. Occasionally I make a call, or a message.

I'm finally back in the modern age with a new phone. Got myself an Android, the Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate) for the AT&T in the US market. As a small bonus, I got a discount off my bills every month because my company's a customer of AT&T. Sweet.

I spent countless hours at night fiddling and familiarizing myself with the Android 2.1 Eclair OS. Definitely not something you can pick up and just go...at least for me, took some learning curve to adapt. Most colleagues who played with the phone, fumbled around the menu and most have trouble comprehending the menu flow.

Yes, we're not all smartphone users over here, but I knew I had to re-learn again...not as bad though, like the Symbian OS when I had the Nokia E71. Some menu placement makes me go round, but the comfort zone has increased.

Now I'm just awaiting Android 2.2 Froyo to be pushed to our phones...suppose to take place pretty "soon" from rumors. Of course the XDA Developers already have their hands on the build, but I'm going to leave it as it is for now, until I'm comfortable messing with the internals.

But I have to say, Samsung's Super AMOLED screen is fantastic! The black is black, the white is white...makes people just twirl the menus here and there without a clue, as they just want to see the icons and menus pop up in full clarity.

I'm just excited to fiddle with something new, reading up more on how the OS works, reading forums, and the tremendous amount of support from the ever-growing Android users.

Some compromise had to be made, which wasn't a deal-breaker for me...forumers beat this topic to death anyway. The phone lacks a flash for the camera and the front-facing camera was omitted too. Kinda show the confidence in Samsung, about US market adapting to front-facing apps.

The apps is where it gets better or worse. I've already reset the device 3 times due to some beta apps I was trying out. The platform is like home depot, all the "raw materials" are there, just have to pick and choose the right ones that work for a particular user. I find some apps does 1 thing really good, and lack in integration of other modules...making me search for more apps.

So, really, 1 good app beats the heck out of 10 half-hearted apps...I guess that goes for every platform.

But finding the right app is like hitting a jackpot, except that it cost money. And frankly, I have no problems paying developers for an app that I want to keep. Already spent money on some good (at least to me) apps.

Being in the software industry, I share the sentiment that developers are often left in the dark behind the scenes as marketing front takes credit. However, at least for android apps, credit goes directly to developers who make their own apps.
Yeah, bad comparison, but it's nice to see developers getting straight-up credit for their work.

Will write more about it...just a bit miffed that AT&T has it's own address book sync which syncs ALL the email addresses as contacts from ALL my email accounts. I ended up with 100+ phantom contacts from emails of people spamming my emails.

Lovely. So that's disabled and done.

...

On a sad week, too many news to be ignored. A colleague left in a hurry due to family emergency in Europe...and 2 colleagues will be leaving us. The way I see things being shuffled around, don't know if I should even care anymore.

hits the reset button...wonders if there's 1 for the weather.

2010-09-26T22:26:00.000-04:00

...

A change of heart for the weekend. Spent both days outdoors, which is really great...spending lots of time on the road, setting cruise control at 65mph and listening to random tracks on me old iPod...until it decided to kick the bucket halfway through.

Still, was a great weekend. Discovered H Mart in Burlington, MA...Korean groceries and marinated meat !! Had some for dinner just now actually...another nice alternative to hot pot at home. I prefer this place more than the Asian grocery mart I frequent, as it's much cleaner and organized...that's just my subjective view.

We met up at True Grounds coffee place this morning in Somerville for some breakfast...it was a lovely day, quiet drive, and free parking on Sundays in the residential area too. Spent the rest of the day in Borders, talking about...stuff and people...and some pool, before I headed back.

We shared fairly similar opinions on several subjects, well, mostly involving attitude and personalities of other people. Some people irk me, because they appear to be "fake"..and of course first instinct is to ignore, but yet, it takes a while to know someone. I have a tendency to give people too much credit up-front, and usually they don't appear as the reliable ones.
Goes the other way around too. I find these all very intriguing, so I'll take my time with an open mind. Just got to follow 1 of those rules.

Gotta do more of these Sunday coffee meets. Get myself out and explore the quiet side of the city.

The wind picked up like mad as we left the pool bar, and it felt much colder than I expected, with shorts and T-shirt that didn't help at all. But ironically I like the cold breeze. Shivering inside, but yet refreshing.

Weird, I know.

Winter is approaching. A part of me is jumping for joy, another part, not so much.

...

Posted this before, but this song pop up at Stop and Shop when I was buying stuff...I just like it.

Bruce Springsteen - Waitin' On A Sunny Day

Late mornings to start my day.

2010-09-20T00:48:00.001-04:00

(taken from here)

This weekend was rather nice, tiring but fulfilling at the same time.

Definitely great to meet someone new, and old friends again too. Before meeting up with the rest, we sway through the commons not knowing we were in a rally to legalize marijuana...we presume. Interesting, is all I have to say.

Of course, plans usually change along the way, but not how I expected to be. Random occurrences are always welcome, I guess. Have to loosen up a bit, I told myself.

And a friend drove us around in a rented Kia Soul. I knock on the car's design and shape, but I have to say I'm impressed with the interior quality and the car overall.
It's spunky, and works great in a tight city. Though not something I'll ever consider.

...

A friend of mine lost her email account to some Nigerian scam weeks ago.

More info here.

And a colleague's friend had the same problem minute ago. This is very disturbing.

Strong password is a must.

...

I found a friend who does weekly Sunday morning runs to Harvard square for coffee...he loves coffee that much. Something I'll probably start doing as well, grab a coffee, head to the park and read...or take a slow drive back home would do nicely too. Now that there's a reason to get out of bed early on the weekend, and get more done.

Today was relaxing, in a way. Headed to Borders to read some books and magazines...quite possibly the best time-waster for me on the weekends and after work.

Even got a cute little wooden card for a close friend in Germany. Which prompted me to clear my board-of-many-things and re-organize them again. This board was filled with postcards exchanged, and other memorable stuff that has lost its worth.

Kinda had a little spring cleaning, discarding cards and stuff that reminded me of the past...it was cluttering the board anyway. Before this, I just moved them away somewhere or just stuck it somewhere there on the board...like moving dust from 1 place to another.
Somehow, today, the feeling was definitive. Just shred the past away. Simple. Gone.

And off to clean the apartment.

Also string-ed my acoustic guitar...nothing beats the crisp bright sound of fresh sets of guitar strings. Lovely.

...

Brandi Carlile - Late Morning Lullaby

Soon as my eyes shut the slide show begins
Yesterday is gone now and the panic sets in
With the weight upon my chest and a ghost upon my back
And the numbing sensation of everything I lack that leaves me
Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming, ooh
Your real world away

Oh and beautiful, beautiful bright eyes, try
Oh and beautiful, beautiful bright eyes cry
Oh and late morning lullaby

First sound of morning is gray and alarming
It's so disappointing and the day is gone so soon
While the rest of world greets the day and feels new
I will push it away just like I always do, I will be
Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming, ooh
Your real world away.
Oh and beautiful, beautiful bright eyes, lie
Oh and beautiful, beautiful bright eyes try
Oh and late morning lullaby
Yeah and late morning lullaby

And I will darken my window so I can fall asleep
While the critics frown down on the hours I cheat that leave me
Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming, ooh
Your real world away.

Fail

2010-09-15T20:35:00.001-04:00

Caffeine isn't doing it for me anymore...Feels like I'm slowly losing the ability to focus on several things at once. Has age caught up with me prematurely ?

Happens quite often to me at work as I'm on the phone and typing to people on skype. Quite a moment, especially when I'm talking about leaving, and talking about future projects to 2 different parties at once.

Happens to the best of us. Epic fail, sometimes.

...

So there's no denying Facebook is hugely popular, so popular that GM braves itself to gamble with Facebook's existence in the long run.

OnStar to integrate Facebook, voice texting among others...

As technology advances, it seems like the fundamental mechanical design gets the backseat, as popular "in-thing" takes over. Sure, there's lots of debates over improved power plants, transmission, tires...etc...

But every manufacturer tries to cramp as much technology into cars...affordable cars. It certainly does make it more attractive to buyers, and they get more for their money.

But facebook integration? I'm just going on my own rant, as everyone has their opinions. Who in the right mind thought this is a good idea ?

Facebook updates and voice texting would just encourage people to use those features often just because they can. Though I haven't had any experience with the OnStar integration, javascript:void(0)I'm sure it'll be minimal information on screen as it'll be voice-based. People would just go shuffling buttons trying to get into every detailed menu.

Probably a marketing move, as it gets the new techie crowd jumping for joy now they can facebook while drive! How awesomzzzz is dat ?
Isn't OnStar suppose to help with accidents? Not cause them ?

Would be interesting for states that banned texting-while-driving.

Hope they come up with a remote-wipe solution for account settings...because cars get traded in quite often here.

But I see much fail in this idea. Really bad idea. Up there with drinking-while-driving...only thing is you can probably facebook your way to the crash site...or jail.

And remember, the internet is serious business. The internet will laugh at your fail and news will spread like wildfire.

Ok I'm done ranting.

...

Travis - Walking in the sun

I was walking along in the sun
Taking pictures of everyone
And there's something on the tip of my tongue
Oh

Well it's easy to see from afar
And it's easy to be on your guard
But it's harder just to be who you are
Oh

When all these
People who will lead you down the back of the track
They're on your back
They will try and tear you apart
But believe and you will see that there's no reason to doubt
Then you will find
You can do much better than that
If you think of all the things that you feel
All the voices in your head that you hear
It's a mystery that we are all still holding on

When all these
People who will lead you down the back of the track
They're on your back
They will try and tear you apart
But believe and you will see that there's no reason to doubt
And you will find
You can do much better than that

If you see me hit the ground
Don't come near don't make a sound

I was walking along in the sun
Taking pictures of everyone
And there's something on the tip of my tongue

No exceptions for the 3rd time.

2010-09-13T21:26:00.000-04:00

I get a chuckle from this. Privacy isn't private anymore...the more accessible we become, the harder it gets to "speak openly".

The irony.

Digital words and writings will never express the right emotions.

From experience, more wrong impressions than right ones. Takes a lot to know someone, not just words.

...

Ever gave an advise to a close friend, only to realize you make exception to that rule occasionally ? Kinda odd but it happens.

Though our conversation was a little on the gloomy side, have to agree work does take things off the mind...generated interesting emotions and cuss words for sure.

It's the after-work hours, that gets to us. Or me, at least.

Funny I mentioned 3rd time's a charm during our conversation. I thought about it after, but keeping it to myself.

A glass of wine is the exception this time. Add a few session in Battlefield 2 with the usual group.

A random rant...with some wine.

2010-09-09T21:54:00.000-04:00

It has been a weird week. Nightmares and weird dreams...*shrugs*

...

A long day at work, an early start tomorrow. Got volunteered into setting up the office by 7am tomorrow. This is getting very tiring.

It's like the gray area of my job description. Nobody wants to do it, but someone has to do it. There's only so much 1 person can do...yet the help I asked for, gets pushed aside.

Going to be fun if I leave, for sure.

It as been a very frustrating day indeed, but few hours in Battlefield 2 right after work remedied the stress and frustrations...of course with some friends playing online together.

And some Reistling wine. Haven't had wine for a while...

...

Find this song quite entertaining to play on acoustic.

A classical stream

2010-09-07T23:51:00.000-04:00

...

Ever had one of those days, when it just isn't your day and you get annoyed by the slightest change at work?

Can't grasp what exactly is wrong...yet everything seems alright on the surface, fitting my standard job description.

An odd day in the office indeed.

Got a tip to monitor plane ticket prices using Bing travel...mentioning prices would go down still. Crossing fingers before I buy my tickets.

Oh...have to remind myself to apply for the days off.

I asked myself, would the grass really be greener on the west coast ?
Some tells me otherwise, but my gut feeling says yes.
Unless there's something new to look forward too in this place.

...

Came across Jeremy Clarkson's review of the Ford Fiesta in youtube...in green!!

And this tune came on during his review, as the plucky Ford outruns a Corvette inside a mall...got to prepare for everything, no ?

What a change of tune. Lovely.

which reminded me of this...

Did not see that coming

2010-09-06T23:16:00.000-04:00

...

Yesterday was my first time to a baseball game, in Fenway Park, Boston. And yes, I'm not a fan of baseball, but I went for the experience anyway, with some friends.

I was more fascinated about the field, the area, the shops, the amount of beer stands, the people eating and chatting about outside as the game is going on inside...and the occasional echos of cheers and boos.

Some quick pictures taken with the weak camera on the phone.

After the game, we went around Boston, meet up some people, had dinner and headed back home.

It was a long time since I had a full day out in the city. Turns out to be much more enjoyable, especially getting to meet new people.
These rough months may be turning for the better after all...but I'm still giving myself few months.

Time will tell. Time to pick up the guitar and brush off the finger rust. It has been too long since I left it alone...that good ol' guitar. So much memories.

...

Been watching NCIS, and probably 1 of the very few series I follow closely...maybe a wee bit too closely since I finished season 7 within a week, that covers hours at night watching this, on top of my future career search..

There's something intriguing about the show, the characters...somehow reminds me a little bit of my own work life.

Here's a piece of performance from NCIS actress, Cote De Pablo. Lovely.

Yoshi has left the building.

2010-08-29T22:39:00.001-04:00

It happened so fast. The new family came over to my friend's place to look at Yoshi. Kids gave 2 thumbs up, and off he went. With the new family.
They're even bringing him camping next week!
At least he won't be bored anymore at home, with 2 new doggie friends and few kids at his new place.

It was sad, even though he isn't my dog, I took care of him for a while and various times in the past...so that little emotional tie was still present.

I said goodbye before I went upstairs as the owner talked to the new family. Did not to get involve with Yoshi's documentation and other matter.

That feeling, that everyone's gone...is just, depressing, to say the least.
Really felt as if I just moved to this place, again.

It's one of those things, you never realize until it's gone. I miss having Yoshi around, poking his nose into everything in the kitchen...when we're playing games...well, just having someone there, it makes a world of difference.

Though from what I'm hearing from my friend, the new family sounds promising, and genuine. Yoshi's going to have a much more entertaining lifestyle, being a home dog with people around constantly...and that's a good thing for everyone involved.

So off you go, Yoshi, as I shed a tear inside.
But cheers to a good dog life ahead!

...

So I got my review done, finally, so I could discuss future career paths.
But somehow I can't help but feel this was rushed just because I made a big hassle out of it...and rightfully so, I believe.

Won't get into details here, but suffice to say, I'm giving myself 6 months.

No matter how hard I try, this place gets even more depressing by the day.

Silence is golden, and so is moving forward.

2010-08-22T21:50:00.000-04:00

Thank the weather Gods, we got few windows of opportunities to make use of our time...before it started pouring like there's no tomorrow. Again.
A close friend came by yesterday as he was in New York for some business matters. He turns up, which can be described as a huge scoop of hilarity.

Before he got here, I was up in Boston helping a friend to move out. Feels ironic, because she's probably the first few person I've met here, and she's the last among the "group" to move away. So, yeah, feels like a full-circle...it's sad but yet I'm glad we're all moving forward.

Anyway, my friend came in 1 of these...possibly the grand-daddy of all grand father's car. The sort of car I would laugh my head off, if I see someone I know who's under 60, driving it. And that did the trick. In baby-blue.

The Grand Marquis...behold, sofa on wheels

Simple stunning!

I couldn't stop laughing when this turned up. But the sheer size of this beast is just crazy. It's HUGE.
So imagine old people, behind the wheels of this large boat, comfortable enough to doze them off.

This car has 2 characters...by day, it sure look like a harmless baby-blue cruiser.
By night, it kinda have the same headlight design as the Ford Crown Victoria...highway police cruisers.
So he kind of scared some people at night driving this thing.
Honestly, I usually pull over to the slow lane if I see headlights like these sneaking up on me at night.

We had dinner with another friend, like a small reunion as we all met in MTU. Definitely nice for both of them to meet up after many failed attempts.

The next morning, well, today, we set off on a journey to Castle Craig, about 120 miles from here in Meriden, Connecticut. It's in Hubbard State Park.

But before that, we made a quick detour to Yale University, despite the weather pouring down relentlessly. Though it stopped raining when we got there. Had time to walk around, grab lunch, and get back to the grand-father's car. Then it poured heavily again.

Some tower at Yale University.

...

Moving on, the drive was slow because of poor weather but it cleared up, thankfully, as we arrived at the park.

It felt nostalgic. There's some charisma to this place that just appeals to me. I can't explain it, but it's like, a nice getaway from everything else, despite the short trip.

And I found someone who wanted to visit this place.


On the way up to Castle Craig, inside Hubbard Park.

We carried on, windows down, as Sound of Silence from Simon and Garfunkel played on the stereo...weirdly. The skies cleared for a bit too.

It was an odd feeling with the cool breeze. Not to sound dramatic, but it felt as if I left the busy world behind me as we purred uphill through endless greens. Doesn't get any better than that.

And then some random 80's funk music came on. Followed by some tune by Tom Jones before we finally got there.

This sight greeted us upon arrival.

Castle Craig.


Wonderful breeze standing here.

View from the floor of the tower.

The castle has power !!!

...

Though Fratelli was closed, this trip made my day.

There's something about the castle.
Possibly also because it's easily accessible with wheels, giving you the feel the prize is clearly for the taking, no gimmicks.
Just some patience and careful driving up the windy narrow roads would do.

For me, this felt like a trip that ended well, as we started from Plainville with the skies pouring cats and dogs.

We moved forward and made the drive anyway.

I have to say though, the Grand Marquis, which my friend was kind enough to drive it for this trip, was very comfortable.
I might knock it a bit too much, but it was ridiculously comfortable, it's like a nice lazy boy chair on wheels. Literally.

Spending hours on the road while stuck in crazy traffic for lunch in Yale and 10 minutes on the top of a park...isn't a bad day to spend a Sunday.

...

Simon and Garfunkel - The sound of silence

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turn my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools," said I, "you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence

(lyrics taken from: http://sglyrics.myrmid.com/sounds.htm)

Random thought of the day

2010-08-12T23:17:00.000-04:00

Time plays tricks on the mind frequently...at least with mine.

At work, it flies past...and during those moments, I made mental notes of 'to-dos'. However when I step through the door at home, I just drop my 'to-dos' and laze around. Sometimes I felt deserving of the slack time, sometimes guilt sinks in.

And at home, time craws like a snail, when I'm lazing around...however when I pick up the load, damn it shoots past 2am. Explains why I'm fashionably late for the past 2 weeks. Not exactly proud of that.

Oh well. Random thoughts for the day.

Off to get some sleep for one....after twiddling with my guitar.

Excess baggage, begone.

2010-08-11T23:21:00.000-04:00

Hackers vs car computer...hacker wins

Yeap. It's only a matter of time. Another reason why I keep my trusty analogue tire pressure gauge in the car all the time.

We were having a discussion over a long lunch about different approach of perception by other people.

Most people could care less if their tire pressure is low. Some check it once in sumer, and run through winter well under-inflated since lower temperature reduces tire pressure.
I check mine almost every 2 weeks...probably overkill, but feels safer since I travel to Boston on and off.

...

So I'm still waiting for my review, thought I'm a bit skeptical about my requests...since I got a feeling it won't be honored. Not even close. I'll see...
All the hype, and yet, there's only talks and no action yet.

C'mon. I want my review...so I can decide if I should move away or not.

So this crossroad ain't as dramatic as...say, buying a house. A close friend just became a home-owner, or getting there with the amount of paperwork and stress involved. There's so many variables that can change without notice...from bank appraisal to interest rates.

Though, I'm gearing towards renting a place with this friend. Have to admit, feels like I'm moving 1 step back as people usually move out on their own, not in with other friends. But I'm not bothered bout it now.

Depending on what kind of lease I can get from him, it could work better for us. Probably more for me, cause I can save up more and move away easier since I'll have less excess baggage.

Good reason to sell unwanted furniture now.

Lace up me boots, and keep walking

2010-08-06T01:05:00.000-04:00

...

Somebody got an idea, that involves millions of people who evolved and grew up driving 3 pedals. Or 2, if you're in the States.

1 Pedal. That's all we needed, apparently

In a nutshell, the article pointed out that a 1 pedal implementation would be sufficient for us humans to drive safely. Stomp on it to brake, tilt it sideways to accelerate.

Now, just my own opinion, that's really not safe now, is it ?
Probably works for an individual who has lost a leg, God forbid that should ever happen to anyone.

But what's wrong, exactly, with the current setup ? 2 generic pedals for the car to drive people and 3 pedals for people to drive their cars.

Thanks to Toyota's recent massive oh-sh*t moment in the auto-industry, which was every media's wet dream, involving unintended acceleration, some people actually believe this is a good idea.

Though I find it funny Toyota's slogan was "Moving Forward"...in a rough time like these for them...but we had BP taking over the spotlight for a while, and finally Apple stealing the spotlight from BP with the AT&T and antenna-gate fiasco.

All jokes aside, perhaps it's not fair to say everyone drives the same. Some panic more often behind the wheel, and somehow confuses the acceleration pedal with the brake. And sadly, lives had been lost.

I can't imagine tilting my feet to accelerate. Get a cramp, have a crash.
There's just on sense of "movement", no define sense of authority that you're commanding a huge hunk of metal.
I'm just wired up to drive with 3 pedals now with confidence.

Oh well...I'm just nit-picking with changes. Why change something that's already proven ?

Then I ask myself the same question...Why do I want a change ?
Nothing's really broken here, and most people would view my position as "stable" ad "lucky".

But what others view as "stable" in terms of career, isn't quite the same as what I have in mind. Same as this Japanese gentleman with the 1-pedal idea, I have my own ways which many won't agree upon. Feeling takes precedence, and solidifies my decision.

Lucky? Depends. I'd open the door with the "silver lining" label on it.

Of course I won't know where I'll end up. Upcoming performance review would reveal my future plans, though I'm not putting much hope in that to keep me here for long. 2 years+ overdue, this review.

My certification caught me off-guard at work, as management made a big deal out of it when word got around, which was quite a nice gesture.
When others got it, they received little to no attention.

Yes, I feel pressured because I've officially gained the "he can do anything anytime" status.
Though I admit, is a really good step to push myself career-wise. There's always something to learn everyday.

...

A nice song to play on an acoustic...now that I've sold my electric guitar.

1 down...many more to go...

2010-08-01T15:43:00.000-04:00

So I finally passed the exam, though the questions were quite difficult, given it was presented in a sea of confusing words.

Though it's not a big deal for most people since it's a fairly common exam, it is to me because this was holding me back in the company...for various reasons...well, can't blame them since I dragged on it myself. Had no idea how much this is going to push certain things forward.
I'll see. At least there's a new glimpse of hope...

Now that I'm on track, I have plans to take 1 more exam within 2 weeks...though I have to find reading materials for it.

...

oh look! seashells!

2010-07-29T00:36:00.000-04:00

Seashells, beaches and a summer years ago. Brings back memories...honest, nice and sweet ones.

This card from Germany made my day.

Thanks.

Seeing through clean glass.

2010-07-26T20:12:00.001-04:00

Finally got my windshield replaced. Process was pretty much painless.

I went with JN Phillips auto glass repair, apparently the largest auto glass company in New England.

I submitted an online request with my insurance details, and a schedule for today. Time frame given was between 9am through 3pm. He came in at 1.30pm.

Ironically he was done before 2.30pm, and the bill was taken care by my insurance company without any hickups. Thankfully.

Only catch is, the car has to remain at its spot for 1 - 2 hours for the adhesive to "cure".

If there's 1 good thing bout this state, the state of Massachusetestset, it's the "no deductible state" status. This means, windshield replacement comes at no cost if I have comprehensive coverage, in other words, full coverage.
Sure beats paying on my own, since my deductible is $500 and typically glass replacement costs way under that. Unless someone goes to the dealer.

And being under a loan, that full coverage is required.
I guess insurance paid off, with the insurance company picking up the $302 bill, no questions asked.

...

Being as curious as I am, I dig into the details of the replacement windshield. Of course having OEM parts is always better, I was skeptical when I saw the branding.

Further reading revealed AP Tech makes OEM auto glass parts for Honda. And it got interesting, at least for me, when I carried on reading.

The prints read M334 AS1 DOT-376.

With some help from this windshield markings website, I deciphered the codes.

To quote the site,
"The AS number stands for American Standard, and is "AS" (or "American Standard") followed by a number indicating the position in which the glass may be used, based on its optical quality. AS1 is the clearest glass (at least 70% light transmission), is laminated, and can be used anywhere in a motor vehicle (typically just the windshield),"

M334 is the model number, and DOT 376 means the windshield was made by AP Technoglass Corp in Bellefontaine, Ohio, according to this site.

The other glass in the car was also made by AP Tech as well, so that's comforting to know JN Phillips used reputable parts, from similar OEM manufacturers.

Interestingly, some forumers recommend other auto glass brands like PPG and Pilkington. I didn't really bother since it's covered under warranty and it seems to be a well-done job. So far.

Took a quick highway run and there's no unusual wind noise or image distortion, which some people reported after their windshield replacement.

Cracked

2010-07-24T16:07:00.000-04:00

Woke up, saying to myself, what a lovely warm day...albeit a little too humid and warm.

Usually my apartment stays cool inside, keeping a constant 75F inside when it's 95F outside.
But today, it's 81F inside.

How is it possible ??? How can it be this hot.....

Then I saw the crack. Started with 2 inches, and now it spanned almost halfway across the windshield within hours. Geez.

Good thing I have another car to use while my friend's on vacation...and with pretty much every glass shop closed on Saturdays, I have to wait till Monday comes around.

Went with JN Phillips Auto Glass repair, and scheduled an appointment for them to come to my office lot and work on my car.
Interesting bit of logistics, to have vans fully equip with necessary...stuff...capable of mobile work...since I've never had to endure a cracked windscreen before.

I'll see how it goes on Monday.

Just have to pray the windshield holds itself together, like it should, because the thunderstorm just started. Lovely time for a cup of tea, no ?

Guess it's a sign. I should stay at home, don't drive and study since my exam's 1 week away.

And I signed up for the wrong test center. I got the one that's way further up north. Silly me. Should have checked...but ah well.

random vids.

2010-07-19T21:23:00.000-04:00

Shall start with this great video. Saw it a while back but I came across it again.

followed by...

...

Pulled the trigger on my exam date. It's one of those things that's really easy to procrastinate on unless I spend $125 on the registration.

2 more weeks to go and I have lots to read, and many more late nights at work.

Gosh it's hard to start studying again...after a momentarily pause. kind of.

With food..you never know.

2010-07-16T22:26:00.000-04:00

...

On a day like today, I enjoy the sound of rain drops. Something about it, which is soothing, coupled with a cup of hot tea.

Lately there's several new Asian restaurants...well, not really Asian restaurants, more like Americanized restaurants branded as "Asian food". 3 actually, in the span of the past 2 months or so.

Now, I don't know what the business model is, but it seems like they checked the wrong boxes for the wrong towns. Specifically Foxboro and Mansfield.

Ambiance is nice, calm and inviting setting but it just screams $$$...in a place where I just want good portion food. Heck, all 3 restaurants cost around the same but half the portion of existing food places.

Case in point, there's a Fresh Catch restaurant nearby the office where I have to brave across a stupid death-trap intersection...and at $13-ish for a bento box set, the portion is HUGE. In comparison, all these new "Asian places" had bento boxes set for about $15 with half the portion.

Why ?

It adds up to be more expensive cause we ended up ordering more to compensate for the pathetic food portions. I don't know, if I want that up-scale feel, I'd head to Patriots Place which is more appropriate.

Appropriate in the sense that the whole place "feels" expensive. The kind of feeling where you spend $20 on a meal and it feels justified. Not thinking why did I spend this much in an area like this ??

Well, okay, 1 of it is in Mansfield Crossing, a new area that tries to be up-scale with reasonable shops, kind of....except that you can tell the overhead costs and rental was probably through the roof.

I'd rather head across the street for a typical burger at a chain restaurant for half the price.

Yes I'm just ranting out cause we've reached to a point where we have no idea where to go for lunch...and the new hyped-up so-called Asian cuisines were disappointingly expensive.

On a positive note, good to see new restaurants popping up. Places to go for our performance reviews...if only we had ours.
Mine's almost 2 years overdue.

Pathethic.

...

Been feeling retro, watching old videos...and removing old pictures.

It's just a ride, next stop please?

2010-07-14T00:57:00.001-04:00

So I finally got around...at 2am last night when I couldn't close my eyes.
Felt quite restless, contemplating lots of things.

And so it begins again, only to find an article by accident.
Its message was pretty simple: Consider co-workers before moving on

Erm...what kind of sign is this ?

Got me weighing my options again, as if the situation is teasing my determination. For now I'm pushing on, and see where I land..or even if I'll move away at all.

Though as the day goes by, my dislike for this area grows bit by bit.
Perhaps I'm just skewed, thinking the grass is greener on the west coast. Of course we all get biased towards justifying our own actions and thoughts.
I admit that part.

It feels so...empty here, and yet I don't know why, after observing what I have here. Not much actually, if I think about it.

Just instincts here, perhaps. If it doesn't feel right, have do something about it.

Unless something drastic happens here, I see myself floating away from this coast soon.

How hard can it be ?

...

Jem - Just A Ride

Life, it's ever so strange
It's so full of change
Think that you've worked it out
Then BANG
Right out of the blue
Something happens to you
To throw you off course
And then you

Breakdown
Yeah you breakdown
Well don't you breakdown
Listen to me
Because

It's just a ride, it's just a ride
No need to run, no need to hide
It'll take you round and round
Sometimes you're up
Sometimes you're down
It's just a ride, it's just a ride
Don't be scared
Don't hide your eyes
It may feel so real inside
But don't forget it's just a ride

Truth, we don't wanna hear
It's too much to take
Don't like to feel out of control
So we make our plans
Ten times a day
And when they don't go
Our way we

Breakdown
Yeah we breakdown
Well don't you breakdown
Listen to me
Because

It's just a ride, it's just a ride
No need to run, no need to hide
It'll take you round and round
Sometimes you're up
Sometimes you're down
It's just a ride, it's just a ride
Don't be scared
Don't hide your eyes
It may feel so real inside
But don't forget it's just a ride

Slowly, oh so very slowly
Accept that
There's no getting off
So live it, just gotta go with it
Coz this ride's, never gonna stop

Breakdown
Don't you breakdown
No need to breakdown
No need at all
Because

It's just a ride, it's just a ride
No need to run, no need to hide
It'll take you all around
Sometimes you're up
Sometimes you're down
It's just a ride, it's just a ride
Don't be scared now
Dry your eyes
It may feel so real inside
But don't forget enjoy the ride

(source)

Zion...flights...loads of driving...loads of memories

2010-07-11T14:23:00.000-04:00

Games...ah yes. Been playing several new games, and waiting for more.
First game on my sight...

Fallout New Vegas. I know where my hours will be devoted to, when it comes out.

...

Flying for 6 hours straight felt like torture on the plane, especially when I couldn't sleep with a crying baby right behind.

Can't imagine flying back home for 12 hours+ in a row. Anyway, the trip to Washington was great. Had loads of fun and road time. Not much time to really catch up since we're all in separate cars but it felt awesome anyway when we're all hiking up together, grasping for breath after few steps.

I knew I was out-of-shape too.

...

We started the drive in the evening, driving through sunset and sunrise to Salt Lake City...visited the land of the mormons, and headed to the odd town of Kanub to our pet-friendly motel.

Took a de-tour through Bryce Canyon, and stopped at several scenic stops.

...

Then we headed to the motel for some rest and food. Next morning, we all headed up to Zion National Park. And off we go, to hike up Angel's Landing, the hardest trail I believe.

The initial hike was crazy.

Pictures don't do justice on how high we were. Our hearts skip a beat whenever somebody goes near the cliff. Scariest thing I've done.

And the chains. That's all the guidance we had from the angels above. A set of chains, and sheer cliffs on each side.

...

Tiring as heck, we headed back and vaguely talked about the trip back home. Decided to take the plunge and drive back 25 hours in a row.

Dropped by the ET Highway, or supposedly Area 51 based on some youtubers who had the balls to drive through the off-road tracks.

Stopped by Reno, Nevada on the way home. That city gave me an un-easy vibe. Something about it that makes it the first and last time I'll go there.

...

And we entered Portland, Oregon for breakfast. Probably we ended up at the weirdest part of town. So many awkward people and a dude jogging while carrying a mattress on his back. So many WTF in 1 morning.

I slept through the rest of the trip as we reached Redmond safely, though exhausted.

...

Some interesting events we had, while driving, included a double road-kill of a racoon...or whatever thing that wandered around in the dark on the highway. Car in front went over it, when I accidentally drove over it again. Crude way to die.

And driving through a deer-infested area for almost 90 miles. Scariest driving at night but I wasn't the first car, so props to the first car for drudging on and radio-ing back deer statuses.

Probably a very quick post, since I had loads of housework to do before I head into Boston again to meet a visiting friend.

...

Interestingly enough, I managed to bring 3 packs of beer for them in Washington. And proper packing is a must, given all luggage were thrown left and right despite the fragile stickers on them.

Off to do housework, while watching the final match for World Cup 2010.

Starting to ramp up my studies again...have my mind set on moving, but there's lots to be done. Arghh

Que in the "VTAK Y0 !!" jokes

2010-06-26T10:11:00.000-04:00

60000 miles. She took care of me without much hiccups...yet. Only a matter of time before the big stuff breaks and puts me on the roadside, or so I feel. As much as I loved the Speed6, I'm growing out of it as well.

Started looking for another replacement, and set eyes on a GTI, a car I've always wanted. The one they had didn't push the right buttons, and it felt a little underwhelming though it looked real classy.

Out of randomness, I walked out with another Japanese car, instead of a German I'd wanted. Fits me like a glove...okay, not really cause it's quite big, but I got into it for a test drive and my mind's set up.

Losing much ? Probably.
All-wheel-drive is gone, replaced by typical front-wheel-drive.
The rush of the turbo kicking in is gone, replaced by a 3 liter V6.
HIDs are gone, replaced by pathetic halogens.
Unique status of the Speed6, replaced by a generic sedan.

I've lost count on how many times I couldn't find my car cause it's so common.

But when I get into it, all is forgiven. Feels...relaxing and calm.
The engine purrs quietly and I can hardly tell when I'm revving 4k rpm in 2th gear. It's ridiculous. It's an old man's car. The clutch and sweet 6 speed manual adds a dash of youth, at least to me.

Going to take a while to get used to shifting by memory instead of engine noise.

The sound system effortlessly over-powers the road and wind noise. The seats feels comfortable on highway runs. Road noise is still there, but much more subdued.

Fits the bill.
Should have gotten this lazy car before, but I did have a good run with the Speed6, though I was worried something will blow every time I step on it.

The Speed6 was a picky car to drive, even going into boost.
Oh, I do miss the quirks, giving the car a character and presence.

I'm beginning to appreciate a quiet engine, a quieter ride, and something that...just works
That says something about getting old. Oh deary me.

I honest didn't think Accords would be this nice, though very generic and typical, it's subdued and a nice place to be after a crazy days of work. Granted this was the 7th generation top end model in 2006, with a tech-happy touch screen and lined with dead cows.

I've left the Speed6 scene, sadly. And I've moved into the typical generic crowd. This Accord better live up to its damn name.

Now every time I see another Speed6, I shed a tear inside.

A small thought on the American Dragon

2010-06-18T22:28:00.006-04:00

Note...most of my wrestling news come from wrestleview.com.

As a wrestling fan, can't help to think about the recent release of Bryan Danielson. I feel WWE definitely raised the bar for Bryan's popularity with their new product, NXT. Felt as if the show's part of something bigger, made to push Bryan and the rest, but mostly focusing on Bryan.

As an "underdog rookie" in NXT, I, just like other fans, was eager to watch Bryan wrestle all out. He had a great match with Chris Jericho, showing he has that caliber even with other veterans in WWE.

They built his fan base for sure, hyping his character up by 10 notches, letting him lose every single match and got fans on the edge of their seats...I bet everyone was waiting for Bryan to bounce back as a character that kicks ass all around after NXT season 1 ended.

They made his "career" in NXT catastrophic for sure, butchering his matches and making him lose every single one, except the last one. Enough for people to cheer on him to win after his character his rock bottoms.

And then he worked an angle (I assume) on live TV, choking Justin Roberts on TV. He got fire over that. He probably got carried away but he became the scapegoat here, I feel.

As if WWE management is flexing their muscle with solid proof on how stern they are on being a PG product. And choking isn't accepted in their criteria. Bryan got shafted if this is indeed real.

Can't help but to ask if this is all a massive "work" by WWE to rile up a much bigger response for Bryan ?
His popularity rose through the roof after his release with so many questions in the air...but so many things made me doubt it's legitimate in person, more like an angle that goes through the structured process within a large corporation if someone screws up on TV.

The TV man knew exactly where to shoot, where to zoom, showing Bryan choking Justin. On live TV. Producers got the memo, perhaps ?

As a fan, this could possibly be one of the best "angle" ever done, even if he's really fired. Even John Cena backed a petition to bring him back.

Then again...this is TV entertainment. WWE has done a great job blurring out reality with fiction...that people would even doubt a wrestler's firing is real and speculated it being a worked angle.

If it's a HUGE angle, Bryan got 1 hell of a deal there...being able to compete out of WWE and return as a character.

Either way, I'm eager to see where this goes with Bryan. Just when I thought I could see him wrestle all out on TV. Geez. What a way to kill all momentum.

Dammit WWE. Just let Bryan Danielson be himself, no gimmics. Just go out, wrestle and win. Watched some of his matches before, and I'm sure his matches will sell by itself. Sometimes I think WWE needs less characters and just more technical wrestlers...no one even remembers Dean Malenko anymore. The new fanbase is too young.

So NXT Season 2 started...and I admit, WWE has gotten my attention back as a fan. They started off the season 2 pretty well, I feel, with solid matches instead of dumb "tests".

Though I was hoping Desmond Wolfe (Nigel McGuiness) would have more opportunities in TNA Wrestling. He seems to be getting less time every time and losing momentum badly.

He got huge momentum working with Kurt Angle from his debut in the company. Kurt Angle !! Haven't seen anybody "new" to the company work with someone at that status and caliber as a start...not that I can remember. And now he's just losing. Even his matches seems...mellowed down from his indy matches. Short of time ?

Anyway, wrestling has caught my attention again. NXT built several characters up pretty well...curious to see how they'll popularize new wrestlers in NXT 2.

A little bit divided, on a one way motorway.

2010-06-14T01:07:00.000-04:00

It has been a rather quiet week indeed, taking my sweet time to recover from coughing and sore throat...and being sick for 2 weeks in a row ain't sweet.

I was just toying with the idea of moving back home...but a cloud of uncertainty just blew over like the recent storm here. Just can't help to feel I'll be foreign in my own home. Been away for far too long, perhaps ?

Now that everything has been settling down rather nicely at work after a chaotic and angry struggle for weeks, I can slowly set my thoughts down. Hmm...pretty much I need to move away from here. It's not because of work, but more than that...but I'll keep that to myself for now.

Though I still have time, first step is probably getting rid of things I consider excess baggage. Even sold off my electric guitar, which used to be very dear to me..there's something about that guitar.
I loved it, yet I didn't quite use it. One of those things I wanted to hold on to..just in case the mood comes up.

I'd figure it's time to let it go. The layer of dust tells the whole story. Letting go isn't that bad actually.

My acoustic guitar, on the other hand, I'll hold onto it for now. Not the best guitar with its share of dents and scratches, but it stuck with me since day 1.

Furniture queued up next on the list of things to get rid off...after spring cleaning of things that don't mean anything anymore.

This has been a random rant, as months ago, everything was going brilliantly, only to have it all gone before I even realize it. Just got to have some faith in recent events. Whatever the next unfolding will be.

Is it just myself losing control and feeling frustrated ? Everyone loves that powerful feeling of being in control, don't they ?

...

It's times like these...

Mental. Going mental.

2010-06-07T21:05:00.001-04:00

Perhaps I've taken health for granted...dragging on with minimal sleep and maximum exposure to the monitor. Eating lots of random stuff didn't help either.

Perhaps I've paid the price for these careless acts of mine with a pretty bad fever, followed by the lost of my voice and settled with a pretty bad sore throat...and lost of weight.

No kidding. Lost some weight, enough to make my pants loose. Geez. Diet on soup and water sure ain't helping at all. I'm just eagerly waiting to recover, to chomp my way again.

This was probably the worse fever I've had in a long while, 4 working days in a row with each day ending rather quickly as I hurried my tasks and headed back home early.
Could have been worse, perhaps.

...

The weekend was good, other than losing my voice, as I installed a new turbo inlet pipe for my car, and did some sound-proofing in all 4 doors.

The inlet pipe install was a pain even for small hands like mine. Took out the battery, and some other bracket blocking the installation. After some scuffling and wrenching, it went in without a hitch.
It's the "clear the area" part which took a while. And re-installation. Took me about 1.5 hours.

As for the doors, I decided to put 1 layer of Damplifier Pro and 1 layer of Overkill Pro on each door panel, and surprisingly the Mazda 6 had pretty decent insulation from factory.

Thanks to some forumers who did it before, I knew where to pull stuff apart.

Took about 7 hours straight to do all 4 doors. Was a good moment because the inner window guide rail inside the door panel came loose for some reason, making the driver's window crunch up against the upper window guide rails.

It was pretty good therapy, I'll say. I felt great and sweat buckets...no hint of sickness throughout the day of working on my car.

Haven't really driven on the long noisy highway yet but I'm not expecting much from only soundproofing the doors. It'll probably help tighten the music reproduction but more needs to be done to reduce road noise.

Another project for a long time to come, I'm afraid, as a garage would be in need to rip apart the interior and deaden the floor.

...

Read this interesting article today, and I can relate to by observing friends, or rather, people.

Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price

Glad to see I'm not the only one observing this.

Wrestling some time away

2010-05-31T23:50:00.002-04:00

Note to self: take time to document everything now. Will help next time.

...

Been away for a while, not really online in facebook as well...only snugging myself warmly in front of the PC, with Dragon Age Origins taking up my time, 1 hour at a time.

Quite a fun game though, just like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights, except with a much better interface and graphics.

This is going to take a while, but it's a nice break from reality.

...

This long weekend was quite relaxing. Met up with some forum members on Saturday for a few hours. Credit to the person who pushed for this casual meet just so we can meet in person and know who we're talking to/with.

Though as expected, it took a while to acquaint ourselves, as most of us at this meet is fairly new or quiet on the forums. Good turnout for sure.

...

Now on to wrestling. WWE has been capturing my interest more than TNA lately. Now I'm no wrestling expert but I do enjoy matches and some story lines, subjectively.

Tonight's episode of RAW, WWE's flagship product, was excellent to be honest. I do like how Daniel Bryan is getting some ring-time finally after all the hype about his technical abilities.

And gosh! He brought back the crippler crossface submission move! (RIP Chris Benoit). At least it looked like that move, and made me all excited again.

Props to Michael Cole and Miz for putting this individual over for the past weeks.

And Evan Bourne. Never thought he would get a spot in the main event. I really do hope they keep pushing Evan Bourne. Pairing him with John Cena is like almost a guaranteed win and push into the spotlight.

The main event match was very engaging, in the sense that they're feeding off the crowd nicely. Even the crowd built momentum throughout the match, from start to an exploding finish.
Glad to see the match wasn't a quick squash match.

Kudos to Sheamus for taking 1 for the team and giving Evan Bourne a positive rub in the right direction. Curious to see how they'll carry momentum for Evan. It could be just a 1 time push but at least we can see the crowd's approval of Evan's presence.

...

Now back to work tomorrow, and more Dragon Age ahead of me.

I really do hope the stuff I bought will arrive. How is it, that suddenly everything I order takes 2 weeks to arrive? Very very annoying but meh, it was a good break either way.

Another month to go before I set foot on a plane again.

Some quick posts.

2010-05-23T20:30:00.000-04:00

Came across this video:

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Great watch but curious how they'd get away with the brand names...in the sensitive world that involves copyright stuff.

...

Another great read I came across from the car lounge forums:

Awesome monster garage trailer build

...

So I've tried deadening my car's trunk. It's definitely harder than i thought. The tiles, which dampens vibrations from the car's structure, is thick in a good way. However, there's very little flat panels.
I ended up cutting the tiles, with a pair of gardening shears, into small bits and placing them as much as I can.

Didn't go for 100% coverage, so I tiled up as many surfaces I could reach.
Still harder to do probably because body was already aching from days ago, and this weekend project made it worse.

Hmm...doors are up next, after reading up on how to take the doors apart...

A weekend with the car.

2010-05-16T22:21:00.001-04:00

The weekend started with little sleep, and great weather. Thankfully.

I drove down 60 miles to Cape Cod to meet some forum members for a "meet and clean" session. Was quite nice, though some members who I wanted to meet didn't turn up.
Pretty much it was a meet-up session to clean our cars and see new faces.

Learnt quite a bit from the guys there since it was my first time claying the car. Process was quite straight-forward, wash car, dry, clay then wax.

The claying process was quite interesting but tedious. Spray quick detailer on a panel and just lightly rub the clay over it as it "grabs" all the...crap...on it.

Kinda hard to tell (as you can see I'm not a camera person), but the clay has dirty marks on it.
The guy recommended claying more on the bumper, lower sides of the doors and the front as that's where most of the dirt and grim gets stuck at.

The waxing part was more of a sealant solution from Poorboy's world but now come to think of it, I can't recall the exact product as there's so many listed on the site. Fail on my side. Have to check with the person who graciously let me use his set.

We did panel by panel since it got hotter and there's other cars beside too, and it felt good after it's all done.

...

Next part was to bring my car into the host's garage and jack it up for my engine mount install.

Pictured above is the stock unit. The one I bought, from CP-E, is a direct swap.
Of course that being said, it took much longer than I expected. Had loads of help from people there to learn where and how to jack the car up on 2 wheels...

Using the hydraulic jack was quite fun actually. The stock engine mount put up quite a fight as I wiggle and jiggle it out under the car with minimal space to move about.
Now, putting the CP-E's one in, took even more time. The mount sits between the engine and body frame, and the engine moved, or rather, dropped, after the stock mount was removed.

With full faith on the car elevated with 2 floor stands, we used the hydraulic jack to "lift" the engine until the bolt lines up. It was completed after a little more than an hour...longer than I'd expect but the tips I got from the guys were great.

Another part came in on Friday too, but that would have to wait because it's a 4 hour job for professionals...Will wait until a forumer opens his shop in Rhode Island in July or August.

That massive hunk of metal, is the rear differential mount and gosh it's massive! Being proven as 1 of the weakest link of the Speed6, that part was more of a preventive maintenance item. *touchwood*

...

The reason I changed the engine mount is because it was supposed to cure "drivetrain lash", with less engine bobbling. This equates to smoother shifts in theory.

But to be honest, I was a bit disappointed at first because it felt almost similar to the stock mounts. Though it's noticeable easier to rev-match during down shifts.
The up shifts still take as much effort and attention. The drivetrain lash was reduced by a bit, subjectively, when I'm not paying attention. Shifting at higher revs has improved and gotten smoother from gear to gear under load.

Probably time to change my shifting methods.

There's a hint of vibrations due to a stiffer link but nothing that bothers me for now.

...

That pretty sums up my tiring weekend as I had to drive 60 miles there, 60 miles back, 40 miles each way to the airport at night. Good thing I had stuff to eat in the car to keep me awake.

Shine, one humor at a time.

2010-05-03T23:37:00.000-04:00

...

Today has got to be one of those days. First few greetings were like "you look like crap, dude".

To make things worse, I calm myself with a slow drive. So being "crippled" without wheels didn't help either.

Everyday at work, there's more and more bad news I hear every second. Internal news, mostly. Some days, I just want to do my job...none of those crap BS.
I mean, how hard could that possibly be ?

And it's just Monday. Great.

To make things worse, facebook is more like a death trap now. Can't talk much about work without throwing some people off. So I guess that leaves this place, for me to rant out and forget.

The next bold statement about work would probably be the last, perhaps. It's always unfair but nothing really is, isn't it ?
Just have to look at it as half-full rather than half-empty.

A colleague brightened up my day before he went home to Germany. He said, no matter how shitty the day gets, having a sense of humor does wonders. Evidently my foreign colleagues could see the frustrations first hand but it's welcoming to have people who really understood. Kind of.

I've lost that sense of humor.

...

Mr Big - Shine

Foreign object, unexpectedly.

2010-05-02T18:57:00.000-04:00

This wasn't how I imagined the month would end. Or the new month to begin...
For some reason I had a reflection on the past and comparing it to where I am today.

Can I turn back time ? Turning the dial back to 4 years would be just nice.

I sit here, with a cold beer in the afternoon, finished playing Crysis Warhead which I bought for 20 bux on sale few days ago, dwindling about random thoughts...mostly asking myself why am I still here?
I feel suffocated currently, and distancing away from everyone else.
Or maybe it's the other way round?
Can't figure out why up till today.

Good people are hard to come by lately, and those who would stick with you, it's like a needle in the haystack. Probably because they're all far away, geographically speaking.

What would I do without the internet ?

Feels like I've come full circle again, not in a good way. Back to where I started when I should be moving on. How is it possible ?

Now it all feels...foreign.

...

So I found a screw stuck in my front tire yesterday morning. At first I was cursing to the high heavens as it's 10am and I'm all hyped up to go for a relaxing drive after a car wash session.

But then as the clouds blew over, I realized, it's probably a good thing it happened now since I was about to order a new set of tires weeks ago and procrastinated on that because of financial reasons.

Had I gotten new tires back then, the new ones would have been screwed. I'm convinced it happened about a day or 2 ago and it's consistently loosing air since I've found it. At least I have new set of tires ordered, thanks to the unconventional tire size. And a lot poorer but I guess you can't compromise on safety.

Decided to tough it out with the screwed tire as I wait for the full set to arrive as the shop is 2 miles away. I can manage that. Going to carpool with a colleague for these few days until the tires arrive.

Guess I'm looking at a spare tire change tomorrow since it has lost 8 psi in 8 hours. Oh geez..

Good reason not to drive for the weekend.

Test driving a car I've always wanted to own.

2010-04-30T23:57:00.000-04:00

I had this random urge to try out a car I've always wanted to drive, the MkV Golf GTI. So I did.
Thankfully I've built up a professional relationship with the person who sold me the Speed6. He knows me by name as well.

I can just walk in, test drive any car on my own and not get pressured to buy it. Literally, but of course I don't do it for shits and giggles. It's nice to have that opportunity since I've test driven 3 cars and decided it wasn't for me.
Well, the price wasn't right too.

So, onto the GTI. It was a 2008 GTI with the manual transmission, the "early" 2008 which still has the FSI engine, not the newer TSI in the "later" 2008 units. Don't know technical specifics on the differences, but it goes with the "they fixed all the crap from the previous generation" theory.

In comparison to my Mazda Speed6, which is aging rather well I have to say, the GTI felt like a vault. It's like locking yourself in a tight bunker. That sense of "security", if you will, and the doors/trunk shutting with authority.
The Mazda felt "thin" as I drove mine after the testdrive. This goes for most cars out there on the road too, even those with 5-star whatever rating that gets them the most marketing brownie points.

And when they say it's a dash stroker's wet dream, it's true. It's simple and elegant in execution, in my opinion.

But where it failed to impress me, is the clutch and gear shifting. I don't know, but my Mazda has taught me what a heavy clutch feels like. The GTI's clutch was very light, as light as stepping on extra soft tofu...no resistance at all.
And the throw is, although smooth, lacking in feel.
Perhaps my leg has been programmed to expect that massive spring resistance, and my hand programmed to man-handle the shifter into each gear.

The GTI felt so easy to drive. You can almost never get a rough shift with this car. I couldn't feel the damn engagement point at all, but still shift relative smoothly for a first test drive. And it has a very long delay in throttle response which is very very annoying, especially during gear changes...and rev-matching.
This car can be a newbie's first manual transmission car for sure...That easy.

It's a relaxing car, engine felt much more refined and a nice place to be cocooned in for long drives.

The Speed6 felt "raw", takes much more effort to drive it...as opposed to the GTI which felt laid-back and you can drive half-assed and get smooth gear changes every single time. But it doesn't feel connected somehow, the GTI.

1 factor I really like about the GTI, is its power. Plenty of usable power which is quite important. The Speed6 might have 80 more horsepower or so, but it takes lots more revs to squeeze some torque out of them. But AWD is something that would be lovely for the crappy weather here, especially winter.

This comparison is of course very off balance since both cars came from totally different classes, but it's the 2 cars I'd really like...if only the pricing on the GTI would be better. Though I didn't negotiate deeply since I was 50/50 with the car.

Ah well. I'll probably keep this car until it reaches 100k miles. Almost 60% anyway.

It's the little things. Depending on priority,

2010-04-18T17:32:00.000-04:00

...

So I finally got about to install the 3.5mm audio jack in my car, after procrastinating the whole morning yesterday.
Expected it to rain but yet the skies held back for some reason. So I decided to just get it done, and it rained a little bit half-way through.

Wasn't as bad though, the car was neatly parked at my friend's private driveway as I don't like foreign eyes looking at me dismantling the internals of my car.

I never knew my body could twist in weird directions because of awkward location of some screws, though I'm feeling the effects today. Quite a lot. I'm so deeply out of shape. Geez.

Pretty much the end result is a 3.5mm male audio jack which I can plug into devices that has the standard 3.5mm audio jack, which is virtually every device out there.

If there's such a thing as cheap and cheerful, this is it.
I can finally play my aging iPod on shuffle mode and re-discover songs from the past...and have internet radio steaming through my phone. Oh joy!

Can't complain about the quality of the output, as it cost me less than $5 in parts. The labor was the most satisfying part, perhaps.
Soldering, testing connections, taking the panels apart...it was therapeutic, oddly enough.

...

Time flies. These 2 words, uttered one too many times this week as I met up with several colleagues from Europe. It's true though, we met 2 years ago. Maybe more, but it felt like yesterday.
Was good to catch up with them, and finally someone who watches Top Gear, and listen to indie music as well.

Have been doing lots of thinking about moving and it's still lingering up there on the list, but the tides could change any moment. Hopefully in my favor, obviously.

Well, there will be more time to catch up as they're stuck here for another week due to the flights being canceled. Volcanic ashes do cause lots of air travel headaches, doesn't it ?

...

One of the songs I came across with my iPod from my university days..

(taken from Youtuber: goozemel)

Goo Goo Dolls - What A Scene

When you're feeling all wrong in the back of your mind again
How does it feel
When you drop down everything's all the same
Saccharine caffeine nicotine gum
Yeah it tastes sweet but it's not for long
And I just think you thought it would be
When you're looking for truth on the cover of a magazine
How does it feel
When you find out what you're not gonna be
They give you your image and the things you believe
Open your eyes tell me what did you see
And I just think you thought it surreal

How does it feel when you're out on your own
And now it's too late to come home
And it's hard to be free when you're down on your knees
Take it easy til you make it alone

Now you're a supermarket punk rock television comedy
Out on the scene
Yeah I bit down now there's no hand to feed
And all the beautiful images lining your walls
Pop radio screaming down the halls
Now you think you found something real
When it's all about money and the things that you need
Live a big lie and they all believe
Now I just find that somehow obscene

How does it feel when you're out on your own
And now it's too late to come home
And it's hard to be free when you're down on your knees
Take it easy til you make it alone
Take it easy til you make it alone
What a scene
Yeah
When it's all been said before
And all been done
Take it easy till you make it alone
Take it easy til you make it alone

Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah...etc
Lies weigh more than truth
Innocence looks good on you
Now everybody wants to know your name

(lyrics taken from: http://www.sing365.com/music/Lyric.nsf/What-a-Scene-lyrics-Goo-Goo-Dolls/AC6CDBA05B7EAB8448256B90000B5866)

Good is, well, good, isn't it ?

2010-04-14T23:41:00.001-04:00

Why is it, whenever I have my heart set on leaving...there's something that pulls me back again.
Career-wise, it's probably a smarter way to stay but I felt as if I'm totally done with this place, geographically speaking.

I've started my work performance review today, while still revising my submission. Though I have to thank my manager for putting me on track with my review papers.
God knows how crazy I drove that guy, but it goes both ways.

And with a company that has a strong future ahead, would it be really foolish to leave now ?
We're even more bullish by expanding the workforce by a lot, while anticipating an improvement in the market real soon.

There's nothing more to gain in Plainville. This town, is sort of like a place you would move to, if you already have a family. Not a place to look for one.

And Boston, well, if I'm honest, I'm not really fond of that city. An average distance of 40 miles per way, it isn't exactly near and cheap.
The name "Boston" felt like it has a dark undertone, lurking beneath the familiar name.
I mean yes, there's lots of life in all corners of the historic city...and most people there are students, who will leave eventually.

So it's not really a place to "settle down" for years. It's like a stepping stone in terms of experience. Hard to deny I've met some really nice friends and most left already, obviously...and some other friends who don't share the same interest as I do.

I have obviously ticked all the wrong boxes here, haven't I ?

During our company's lunch today, my boss said...if you have faith in something, stick to it through thick and thin.
That's his philosophy which brought the company to where it is today, despite all the initial negative feedback about the technology we chose to run with.

Career or a life ?
I should stick to my plans too, perhaps.

...

(taken from youtuber: nicky82785)

Sheryl Crow - Good is good

Good is good and bad is bad
You don't know which one you had
She put your books out on the sidewalk
Now they're blowing 'round
They won't help you when you're down

Love's on your list of things to do
To bring your good luck back to you
And if you think that everything's unfair
Would you care if you're the last one standing there

And everytime you hear the rolling thunder
You turn around before the lightening strikes
And does it ever make you stop and wonder
If all your good times pass you by

I don't hold no mystery
But I can show you how to turn the key
Cause all I know is where I started
So downhearted
And that's not where you want to be

And everytime you hear the rolling thunder
You turn around before the lightening strikes
And you could find a rock to crawl right under
If all your good times pass you by

When the day is done
And the world is sleeping
And the moon is on its way to rise
When your friends are gone
You thought were so worth keeping
You feel you don't belong
And you don't know why

And everytime you hear the rolling thunder
You turn around before the lightening strikes
And does it ever make you stop and wonder
If all your good times pass you by

When the day is done
And the world is sleeping
And the moon is on its way to rise
When your friends are gone
You thought were so worth keeping
You feel you don't belong
Neither do I

(taken from: http://www.lyricstop.com/g/goodisgood-sherylcrow.html)

Another week go by, another week draw closer.

2010-04-11T21:32:00.000-04:00

An interesting article I came across while browsing randomly for jobs online.

How ironic.

Why positive thinking is bad for you

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not getting all pessimistic here but it's just an interesting glimpse into how some people perceive good and bad.

Though I wish the article was more detailed but given it's a website article, it's probably a small excerpt from the author's established knowledge of psychology.

I guess it's an open ending for discussions out there, and I suppose part of his summary is to accept whatever that comes your way. That's it. No step 2 into labeling it as good or bad.
Kind of.

...

So the weather has gotten better, though a little bit windy to my liking today. I just started another side project for my car, since the instructions was posted on the forums.

I headed to the mall, to Radioshack actually, which is in the mall, to grab some 3.5mm audio jacks and several wire connectors.

Spent most of my time soldering and checking the continuity of the wires as I cut and solder them. Finally my multimeter was put into use, in a way.

Now that I have the connectors ready, I'll have to wait till next weekend to work on my car as it'll probably be a good 3-hours to take the dashboard apart, test it and put it back. Planning to do this at a friend's place, which is more private and secluded.

...

Well this coming week is going to be crazy, but in a good way I suppose.
The company's having an open day to welcome noobs..I mean new people..for interviews. Always nice to see fresh faces. Now if only we are actually hiring them.

We have our company's lunch too, which is a great time to meet colleagues from foreign offices. And there's an internal company-wide meeting...which is not really good.

More people would need spoon-feeding, more people would be bitching about stuff just because they can.

Oh the joy. But it's fine, in a way I get to know what people are made of, under pressure.
Same goes for them, towards myself.

...

Coldplay - Life in Technicolor

There's a wild wind blowing
Down the corner of my street
Every night there the headlights are glowing

There's a cold war coming
On the radio I heard
Baby it's a violent world

Oh love don't let me go
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow
I could hear it coming
I could hear the sirens sound
Now my feet won't touch the ground

Time came a-creepin'
Oh and time's a loaded gun
Every road is a ray of light
It goes o-o-on
Time only can lead you on
Still it's such a beautiful night

Oh love don't let me go
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow
I could hear it coming
Like a serenade of sound
Now my feet won't touch the ground

Gravity release me
And dont ever hold me down
Now my feet won't touch the ground.

(taken from: http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/coldplay-lyrics/life-in-technicolor-ii-lyrics.html)

Driving

2010-04-06T22:45:00.000-04:00

Scenic drives. Got to love them.

Scenic drives list

Now that summer is approaching, I'll take a day scenic drive through Cape Cod since it's in the same state.

All I need is someone to drive along with.

Counting my blessings.

2010-03-31T00:45:00.000-04:00

How in the world do I get so exhausted everyday after work? Couldn't even study if I wanted too. Hell, I didn't even touch any games.

And now my colleague's leaving for a few days due to family matters, leaving me with everything that's hanging around.

Sweet. Can't say much because it's definitely unforeseen circumstances, but still. It's like getting pummeled day-in, day-out.

It kind of says something when almost everybody at work is as pissed off as I am. What baffled me was that a colleague of ours, who has been there for 14+ years, was surprised on how things were being managed.
To his credit, they wouldn't push him too much since he has his hands in all of the critical parts of the software development.

Yes, have one dude manage all the critical stuff and wreak havoc if he leaves. Gosh, I love this place sometimes. Saving a penny upfront leads to expensive changes down the road.
So many mistakes, no hints taken ?

Not even worth my time and effort anymore.

The solution is simple, really. Draw a plan, and stick to the damn plan. And stop micro-managing people.

I have lost faith in management. Totally.

Time to finish up some letters and documents. Oh joy.

...

Thank you, HBK!

2010-03-29T23:26:00.002-04:00

So he did retire from the ring after more than 2 decades of wrestling. Not going to say I watch him growing up, but his fame spread through words and the internet.

For the matches I watched, it was always enjoyable, one of the last few remaining "old school" wrestling guys...he makes classic moves seem so, seamless. He paved the way for lots of younger wrestlers now as well.

Shawn Michaels had his farewell speech on WWE's flagship product, and I admire this person a lot as a personality.
Despite all the fame he got, he gave credit right down to the stage crew and the dude who made his videos.
He knows who put him on the map, and who made it happen behind the scenes.
Not many celebrities do that nowadays.

And though his farewell was just him alone, it felt well-appointed. No big groups of wrestlers sending him off during his speech.
It was just him and his time with the fans. Nice ending.

Way to go Shawn!

Take me away, far far away.

2010-03-25T01:22:00.000-04:00

Some days, I just want to fly away. Away from this place.

I have had, possibly, the worse week ever.

Even my gaming session in Battlefield 2 was massively bad, we were all separated into different squads, character kept dying from spawn campers in lots of games. Idiots.

The game crashed twice on me too, and even more on my friends' accounts too. Yet we still re-launch the game and continued the game...
We kept playing until Steam's voice chat crapped out on us for no reason.
So I couldn't hear my other teammates.

But nevertheless, it was still considered a good stress-relieving session.
It's not because I'm trying to make the 50 bucks worth while.
No matter how bad the game session is, usually it ends with a lot of laughs and stories to talk about the next day. Win or lose.

Work used to be like that. A shitty frustrating day ends with a couple of laughs, and all is well.

Not hatred. Not anger. Not frustrations. Not with profanities.
There is so much fail in management, I cannot even begin to express in words anymore.

Despite the positive pep talk colleagues gave me, nobody would want to be in my job position. None.

A close friend told me before, think about 1 good thing I've achieved today. And to this everyday.

For today, I've done the impossible at work again. I got that job done, the job nobody wanted to do because it was deemed impossible and stupid. Add a huge lump of bitching for the whole day.

And I've saved a bundle by cooking at home for the past 2 weeks.

Looking forward for my new Forge Motorsport bypass valve tomorrow too. Forge messed up the shipping address so it was delayed but it's all good, because I couldn't install it too due to bad rainy weather anyway. Looks like timing is going to be just right.

And my resume update. Needs to be proof-read.

Not staying here forever.

2010-03-23T00:03:00.000-04:00

Just finished watching TNA Impact! live, and what a show it was. Started off quite slow, with only 1 match within the first 30 minutes. Seriously ?

But the pace picked up quickly with more action right up to the end.
Glad to see Rob Van Dam in the ring again, still feel he was under-used during his time in WWF/E (when I first came to know this wrestler) but his main event tag-team match was sweet.

Just odd for them to have Big Rob Terry starting a kick-ass streak, with burst of short squash matches. Kind of obvious who's going to win but I think for someone his size and the push he's getting, he needs more air-time and longer matches, despite people hating him.
Time for him to address the hating fans, perhaps ?

Same as Lacey von Erich, with only seconds of airtime in her team match.

Overall it was quite entertaining and "strong" episode with so much squeezed into 2 hours.

...

A perfect time to unwind after a mad day at work, with trying out some dishes and end the evening with wrestling on TV.

Work has been...demotivating day after day, well it isn't all bad I guess.
Gives me the urge to study hard and get the heck out of this company. This has got to be the hardest place to work and the most under-appreciated job ever.

A risk worth gambling with I guess, I've been saying this for weeks but yet everyone advised me against it. I'm pushing on anyway, nothing to lose but my sanity at this point.

Had a nice chat with an old friend last night too, and it was random but in a good way. Nothing much to say, but it made me feel thankful for a lot more than I could imagine. It has been a long while, and time patched things up...wouldn't have it any other way.
Not to be caught too much in the moment, it made my day for sure.

...

Been listening to this tune. Her voice is sweet and beautiful.

Jewel - Stay Here Forever

(taken from youtuber: JubeXYZv)

Handling. Can't be felt by an android.

2010-03-16T21:45:00.000-04:00

As I was surfing away during lunch break, I came across this article from James May. He presented a great explanation about handling, well, and his pet cat.

Link to article.

That being said, I share his point of view, and I feel joystick will never replace steering controls in an automobile. Perhaps we've become accustomed to the steering wheel, adapted to the notion of what a wheel does and how it operates.

Try playing any car game, mostly racing games..and you go full-throttle from idle in a flick of a button. It's hard. I score poorly in racing games anyway. Bleh.

...

Speaking of handling, sometimes people tend to think they "know" the vehicle, and wrap expensive wheels around trees or ditches them into ravines.

Of course accidents happen, but there's so many levels of fail in this story.

My discipline teacher in high school once told us, we break rules all day long. Only some get caught because they reveal too much or somebody leaked information out.

So this person, lucky enough to drive a Nissan GT-R, raced it, crashed the car, and posted it on youtube. Now youtube is highly accessible anywhere. Easy enough for insurance companies to retrieve it with just some search, or word of texts through the forums and internet.

This is the kind of people who causes our car insurance rates to skyrocket.
Thank you dude, well done.

...

As I was looking forward to Windows Mobile 7 to splash the consumer market, Google released a new version of the Nexus One that runs on the 3G bands of AT&T...

Now my interest of the Android OS is surging back again. Too early to tell if they resolved several issues with the T-Mobile release batch.

Though, this also means there could be lots of Nexus One going cheap on eBay soon, but buyers beware as this would most probably be the units that runs only on T-Mobile's 3G frequencies. Not sure how many early adopters from AT&T jumped on the Nexus One wagon but that's one expensive jump.

Must. Resist.

...

Time to shower and start studying again.

Must go to one of Tommy's concert live. Must. Go.

(taken from youtuber: dubwise66)

Easy button, anyone? Shall settle for a video of a beautiful piece of mechanical art for now.

2010-03-12T00:27:00.000-05:00

Couldn't sleep again as I went to bed at 8am after having a headache. Yikes..now I'm wide awake at such an odd time.

Seems like moving is much harder than I'd expect, and risky to make at the moment. Bad timing perhaps ?
Been getting thoughts and advise from some close ones, with all straight answers. It's a huge gamble. Something big to consider and think through, though some negotiations have started about my future in this current company.

...

Nothing big to post but this video is full of win. You don't have to be a car fanatic to appreciate the epicness of the Zonda.

(taken from youtuber: runimation)

Moving on along

2010-03-09T21:11:00.000-05:00

Seattle. A place I'd really love to live in.
I don't fancy cities but this one does.
Granted it's just a vacation, but I loved it so much.
The place, the people, friends, pets...

This gave me more motivation to move forward, or rather, towards another career.
In the past I wanted to move somewhere, do something else but there wasn't really a place in mind yet.
I know where I'll be heading next, should the time be right in the near future.

In a way, this trip was an eye-opener for me.

Now I'm ready to go back in Summer, perhaps to do even more than a vacation. If the plan goes well.

...

A simple and sweet tune.

Corinne Bailey Rae - Put your record on.

Lyrics to Put Your Records On :
Three little birds, sat on my window.
And they told me I don't need to worry.
Summer came like cinnamon
So sweet,
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete.

Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alright
The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same
Oh, don't you hesitate.

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Blue as the sky, sunburnt and lonely,
Sipping tea in the bar by the roadside,
(just relax, just relax)
Don't you let those other boys fool you,
Got to love that afro hair do.

Maybe sometimes, we feel afraid, but it's alright
The more you stay the same, the more they seem to change.
Don't you think it's strange?

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

'Twas more than I could take, pity for pity's sake
Some nights kept me awake, I thought that I was stronger
When you gonna realise, that you don't even have to try any longer?
Do what you want to.

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

Oh, you're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow

I just wanna hear some rhythm

2010-02-26T01:51:00.000-05:00

2 more hours before I start getting ready to head out to Providence's airport.

I've never felt this excited for a long time, with plans already panning out for later and tomorrow night..oh joy!

I felt like I've earned this vacation...all my colleagues bugged me to leave when the clock struck 5pm. Except my manager, cause of the many things I had to do but then my colleague pointed out, work will keep pouring in anyway...and it's not like anybody's going to notice the extra work.

Yes, sadly we've concluded such pessimistic judgment about work. Partly because I never had a break for more than a year, and my workload keeps adding up. A break I needed.

And I finally got it.

Time to get back some rhythm.

...

Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere

I was trying to find my way home

But all I heard was a drone

Bouncing off a satellite

Crushing the last lone American night

(Chorus:)

This is Radio Nowhere

Is there anybody alive out there

This is Radio Nowhere

Is there anybody alive out there

I was sitting around a dead dial

Just another lost number in a file

Dancing down a dark hole (some say it’s “Been in some kind of dark cove”)

Just a-searching for a world with some soul

(Chorus)

I just wanna hear some rhythm

I just wanna hear some rhythm

I just wanna hear some rhythm

I just wanna hear some rhythm

I want a thousand guitars

I want pounding drums

I want a million different voices

Speaking in tongues

(Chorus)

I was driving through the misty rain

Just a-searching for a mystery train

Bopping through the wild blue

Trying to make a connection with you

(Chorus)

I just wanna hear some rhythm

I just wanna hear some rhythm

I just wanna hear your rhythm

I just wanna hear your rhythm

(repeat until end)

(taken from: http://41miles.wordpress.com/2007/08/23/bruce-springsteens-radio-nowhere-lyrics/)

Snowing in Toyota's land...few more days before I fly far away

2010-02-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

see more Funny Graphs

This pretty much sums up the weather situation here lately. All the false warning, and unexpected snowfalls.

Ah..the great weather of New England. Supposed to snow tomorrow but we'll see...this is the second time we planned for chicken wings at Wendell's.

...

So Toyota is like a giant pinata lately in the eye of the storm. Media tearing them apart...and the latest "oopss" moment didn't help either.

Unintentional bragging ? No pun intended.

Not going to go into the details (there's tons of it out there) but their reputation is still taking quite a beating with massive recalls, on-going problems, speculations about cover-ups and possible design flaws as well.

Though now is the time when we would do what we humans do best, take advantage of any situation, and put it out on the table.
Don't get me wrong, this can be a good thing because if it affects lives, something has to be done.
Then again, from a business view, it's like deepening the wound.

Their brand perception has definitely dropped a few notches lately...wonder how that would affect their sales and pricing to maintain the customer base.

It takes a lot to bring down a giant, but the media is right on top on this every second...and it takes much less effort to tarnish any reputation, than to build it up.

Now most people would probably think..."it could happen to me, why chance it?" and just ignore that brand. Some would go, "whoopie! sales time!"

Would I even consider a Toyota in the future?
Hmm...

Curious.
Why don't we ever hear problems like these back home ?

...

Lately I tend to believe everything happens for a reason, no matter how good or bad it turns out.
Changing perception helps for sure. A silver lining appears unexpectedly. Patience, perhaps.
Patience.
Can't wait to leave and clear the mind, away from this place...

Not many songs age as well as this one...gets better as decades past. I still remember when I heard this, quite a long time ago...
I don't find these kind of attraction with newer music nowadays, but that's just my opinion.

(taken from youtuber: Noelgtv)

Oasis - Don't look back in anger

Slip inside the eye of your mind
Don't you know you might find
A better place to play
You said that you'd never been
But all the things that you've seen
Will slowly fade away

So I start a revolution from my bed
'Cause you said the Brains I had went to my head
Step outside the summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out

So Sally can wait, she knows it's too late as we're walking on by
Her soul slides away, but don't look back in anger
I heard you say

Take me to the place where you go
Where nobody knows, if it's night or day.
Please don't put your life in the hands
Of a Rock 'n Roll band
Who'll throw it all away

I'm gonna start the revolution from my bed
'Cos you said the Brains I had went to my head
Step outside cos summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
Cos you ain't ever gonna burn my heart out

So Sally can wait, she knows it's too late as she's walking on by.
My soul slides away, but don't look back in anger
I heard you say

So Sally can wait, she knows it's too late as we're walking on by
Her soul slides away, but don't look back in anger
I heard you say

And So Sally can wait, she knows it's too late and she's walking on by
My soul slides away, but don't look back in anger, don't look back in anger
I heard you say

At least not today.

(taken from: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Don%27t-Look-Back-In-Anger-lyrics-Oasis/9F37CCAC2920FB794825686B0011B3B2)

Paragon +1, Renegade +2

2010-02-21T17:47:00.001-05:00

Firstly, props to the guys at Fring for making video calls (from skype) possible from the Nokia E71.
Used it twice and it worked great, though it was only through wifi.
So now I can make video calls via skype with my phone anywhere...Not that I use a lot but it's nice to have it there.
Well, mostly because I'm too lazy to turn on my PC sometimes.
Oh lazy me.

...

Less than a week before I'm gone for 2 weekends. Looking forward to this trip, getting away from this place and spacing out somewhere far away.

Had a conversation with a friend yesterday when we're looking for a parking spot, for almost 30 minutes, and he confirmed my suspicion about someone we both know.
Someone I'd like to consider...trustable...but alas, that's not the case.

After all the effort I put in, sheltering and helping out, guess it's worth it all to know what someone's made of. I have to say though, I wasn't surprised at all...knew it would happen sooner or later.

Disappointing indeed.

Why do I even bother anymore ?

...

Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls

(taken from youtuber: sheeshmusic)

Double negative != positive in a business

2010-02-18T23:06:00.000-05:00

Sleeping at 2.30am and getting up at 8am everyday wasn't the idea I had in mind...

Sleepy eyes and caffeine jumpstarts my day at work for the past week..but oh what a rush sometimes.

...

Just saw TNA wrestling and it seems they've decided to go head-to-head with WWE's flagship product...by going live on Monday nights. My choices just doubled by 100%. Literally...

That's great news from a fan's point of view..perhaps they've stepped up and prepared for live events, meaning very little room for error...or editing.

The theme is changing too, they lifted the 6-sided ring for the traditional 4 -sided ring...don't know about the rest, but the 6-sided ring was one of the "identity" of the product. Why change something that's unique ?

Glad they've given some wrestlers more air-time but when TNA goes live, would they shower the screen with more talk and less action ? That would really stink.
Even the pre-taped Impact episode is getting more irritating now with all the storylines to "show" the company's new direction...hope it doesn't become mainstream like pop music nowadays...

And Kazarian re-debut as himself...so who's playing Suicide's character now?

Seems like TNA is going to push physically bigger guys, like WWE does...just hope they push the right ones. Abyss and Rob Terry, 2 huge guys, finally starting to get a push, and both playing face characters too...good start I guess. And Ken Anderson is getting a major push too. Dude makes everyone so mad at him, that everyone wants to see him getting his butt kicked..he's that irritating. Now that's a great seller, a winner.

Get the right balance, and the crowd will buy into the characters, to boo and cheer loudly for every wrestler in the ring...silence from the crowd is the worse enemy of a character, in my opinion.

But where's the main event match tonight ?
There's just so much talking and video packages...so little wrestling tonight.
Get over the storylines and put more matches TNA...

Looks like TNA could be gunning to be just like WWE.

As a fan, I'd like to see a competitor to WWE.

Not a duplicate.