Saturday 25 December
Buon Natale
Merry Christmas to all readers. Yes, all two of you. Here's some Christmas-themed Flash games from Macromedia, Smashing Ideas, Zarin Media, Speedy Santa and Juice Media.
You can also send some greeting cards from Hewlett Packard and Kitten Parasites.
Sunday 19 December
Juventus hold Milan to goalless draw
Juventus were lucky to escape with a goalless draw, though they didn't play well and Milan were the better side for much of the game. Fabio Capello was seething in the first half and Juve's play improved after the half.
Eventually either side could have won though if the winner was Juventus, there'd be lots of articles saying things along the lines of "winning despite not playing well is the mark of a champion".
Which I believe will be Juventus this season.
Friday 17 December
Winter Champions Juventus Host Scudetto Challengers Milan
Juventus host second-placed Milan at the Stadio Delle Alpi tomorrow night with a four-point lead. 2003 Golden Ball winner Pavel Nedved of Juventus will face his successor this year, Andriy Shevchenko of Milan. Juve are the unofficial winter champions as they have an unassailable lead going into the mid-season winter break.
I think they'll draw, possibly goalless.
Thursday 09 December
Candy Lo Pics
Candy Lo looking absolutely radiant at the Golden Horse awards ceremony held last weekend on December 5th.
Thursday 02 December
New movie posters
Okay not-so-new 'cos they've been out since last week or so.
On the left is Tim Burton's upcoming movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, slated for July 2005. I'm a Depp fan though his movies tend to "bomb at the box office". Waiting for "Finding Neverland" to show in Singapore.
The other poster is from George Lucas' Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, slated for May 2005. The teaser trailer's currently online at StarWars.com (where else?).
Tuesday 30 November
Weird Windows XP Crashes
It's the time of the year again when my computer inexplicably crashes. On startup the BIOS screen shows jumbled letters, like "nmne" when it's supposed to be "none". Then after the Windows XP loading screen it just shows the BSOD before the Log In screen shows up.
Something's definitely wrong with the nVidia GeForce MX440. It's the third time it's happened, and always around November-December. Somehow the default driver in the graphics card BIOS just f**ks up during this period. Like it's got holiday mood so it refuses to work.
I disabled the card and now my PC works fine. Other than the low monitor refresh rate.
Saturday 20 November
Coppa Italia: Juventus lose 0-2
Defensive mistakes from Juventus defenders Iuliano and Thuram gave Serie A bottom club Atalanta a 2-0 win in their first-leg Italian Cup match played in Bergamo. Capello fielded a primarily reserve side but still you wouldn't expect them to get thrashed. In any case Capello's clubs seldom place the Italian cup as priority.
Friday 19 November
Juventus Jersey Arrives
The Juventus jersey third kit is now available at Weston situated in Queensway Shopping Centre. It retails at $80 and has the Sky logo instead of the restricted Tamoil logo, and the design is slightly different from la vecchia signora's Champions League kit.
I've been asking the staff at the Peninsula Plaza outlet of Weston about it since late-August, but each time was told it'd only arrive "next month". So I went back to the Penin branch after seeing the jersey at Queensway for closure but they didn't have any stock.
Guess I'll have to go back to Queensway Shopping Centre for it on Monday.
Wednesday 10 November
Firefox Released
Firefox 1.0 empowers you to browse faster, more safely and more efficiently than with any other browser.
Been using the Mozilla Firefox Browser since version 0.8 but the Preview Release still had a couple of bugs which hopefully they managed to iron out. The Popup Blocking and Tabbed Browsing remain its best features, as well as the Google search box and font size changer (regardless of CSS).
Sunday 07 November
Juventus Lose at Reggina
Juventus lost 1-2 at Reggina, Ibrahimovic scoring Juve's only goal. Both Reggina's goals came from deflected shots, while the bianconeri, so often associated with getting the better of the referee's decisions (except Collina), had two goals disallowed and were denied a clear penalty.
Thursday 04 November
Juventus Win Qualifying Group
Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero scored the winning goal in the last minute after Bayern Munich captain and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn spilled Zlatan Ibrahimovic's shot. With the win the Bianconeri confirm top spot in UEFA Champions Leagus Group C as they have a better head-to-head record against second-placed Bayern Munich.
It was almost the 0-0 draw I predicted, but hey I don't mind. Juventus won!
Wednesday 03 November
Juventus travel to Bayern Munich
UEFA Champions League Group C leaders Juventus travel to Germany to play Bayern Munich, whom they defeated 1-0 in Italy in their last group match.
I think Juventus will be looking for a point, while Bayern are not in great form and looks likely to avoid defeat, and adopting that attitude against a solid Juventus defence means that it'll probably be a low-scoring draw. Like 0-0.
Gadget News from Gizmodo
(News via Gizmodo, images and text from Nokia, Logitech and LighTalk product webpages)
New Nokia Phones: 6020, 3230 and 7710
Nokia unveiled several new products at NMC in Monaco, including the Nokia 7710 multimedia smartphone, the Nokia 6020 phone, and the Nokia 3230 phone.
Logitech® MediaPlay™ Cordless Mouse
Logitech's MediaPlay cordless mouse is a cordless mouse which doubles up as a remote control for use with Media PCs, available in the US for $49.95. Looks like a Nike sneaker to me.
LighTalk: Pen style customizable LED Motion Dosplay
LighTalk is "the latest LED toy in Japan" which allows you to scan in what you've written and display it via its LEDs when you wave the Pen back and forth.
Saturday 30 October
Sony PSP available Dec 12 in Japan
Gamespot reports that Sony Computer Entertainment has officially confirmed the release date of the Sony PSP. It will go on sale on December 12 in Japan, 10 days after Nintendo's launch date for the Nintendo DS.
Sony also confirmed the battery life will last at least four hours for both playing games and video, despite speculation that Sony might delay the launch date to research increasing battery life.
The PSP will cost ¥19800 ($310), compared to the DS' price of ¥15000 ($235).
Various Games & Demos
Ariel Malka has a demo version of his upcoming Mobile Sand puzzle game for MIDP2.0 handhelds. Users can play the first few levels online, and also download the demo version into their handsets.
Italian Simone Legno, featured in New Masters of Flash: Volume 3, has updated his Tokidoki Flash website with a driving game. There's also a mini-pong tennis game buried under the "Menu > bio > you" navigation.
Love that background music! Speaking of music...
There's also a Pac-Man-ish game (Flash required) to promote a song called "Your Mother's Got A P*n*s". (News from PixelSurgeon messageboard)
Friday 29 October
Juventus win 2-0 with Collina refereeing
Juventus have a poor record in matches under referee Pierluigi Collina. They haven't won in a match refereed by Collina since 2001, and lost all three matches Collina refereed last season. Some fans even set up a "Odio (hate) Collina" website to protest against him.
But in the grudge match last night against Roma, the bianconeri won with a goal in each half from Del Piero and Zalayeta. Even so, Collina disallowed (rightly) an Ibrahimovic goal for offside, and also sent Emerson off for two shirt-tugging offences, which was a little too extreme.
But when you play well, referees can't affect the result. I like Collina and think he's the best there is, but it's interesting why Juventus often fare badly when he referees their matches.
Thursday 28 October
Juventus grudge match against Roma
Juventus host struggling Roma tonight with Director of Operations Luciano Moggi looking for revenge for last season's 4-0 loss at Roma in which Roma's Francesco Totti goaded several Juventus players.
Tonight the roles are reversed as Roma are struggling defensively while Juventus have become a solid unit under Fabio Capello, Roma's coach last season and one of three individuals to switch over from Roma.
Juventus to win 2-0 or 2-1.
Wednesday 27 October
Cat Experiments
Experiment #1
Take one cat. Add Pomelo skin. Get a limecat.
Experiment #2
Take one tabby cat. Add brown masking tape. Watch the experiment (1.46MB of fun). (News from PixelSurgeon forum)
Apple Introduces iPod Photo
Apple® introduces the iPod® Photo (above, left), the newest member of the iPod family that lets you take your entire music and photo library with you wherever you go.
The iPod® Photo 40GB version retails for S$ 888.00 while the 60GB goes for S$ 1,088.00. The black iPod (above, right) is a Special U2 Edition 20GB iPod inspired by Irish rock band U2 and retails for S$ 628.01.
Both available at The Apple Store (Singapore). (Images and text from Apple website)
RedStart Design: Subtle Safety™
California-based jewelry maker RedStart Design has designed a ring in their Subtle Safety™ line which can be turned into a set of brass knuckles when required. (News from Gizmodo, images and text from RedStart Design website)
Considering that the wearer needs to remove the ring, transform it and then put it back, not to mention that you'll also need an assailant kind enough to just stand there and wait, it'll probably be abused more as a tool to attack, rather than deter attacks.
Catit Drinking Fountain
The Catit® Drinking Fountain responds to your pet's need for a continuous supply of water. Re-circulating water with greater exposure to oxygen provides fresh-tasting, cool, filtered water for pets with a multitude of health benefits. (News from GadgetMadness, images and text from Hagen.com)
If I had a cat, I'd get one of these. The filtered water flows over the surface of the dome and accumulates a small pool which is re-circulated back. From Montreal-based Rolf C. Hagen Inc., which has a subsidiary in Malaysia to cater for South East Asian countries.
CHiA'SSO Fuze Necklace
Genuine rose quartz necklace changes color before your very eyes. LED light brings out the natural inclusions of each hand picked stone. US$ 38. (News from PopGadget, images and text from chiasso)
Lav-Nav Highlight
Lav Nav is a sensor-based LED night light which glows green when toilet seat cover is down, and red when it's up. (News from Shiny Shiny , animation from gadgets.co.uk)
ACME MADE Laptop Bags
The Designer Slim line of laptop bags from Acme Made (U.S.) is designed to fit most laptops including Apple, Sony, Dell, HP and Gateway. The streamlined design allows it to be inserted into another bag or carried with or without its removable shoulder strap (included). (News from Shiny Shiny, Images and text from acmemade.com)
Sunday 24 October
Leading Men Face-Off
This weekend promises to be an interesting one, with the launch of the eagerly anticipated Sony Ericsson s700i phone, and two big soccer matches this tonight. Manchester United hosts Arsenal in the English Premiership while Serie A giants Milan and Inter play their derby at the San Siro.
The Red Devils will want "revenge" for the Gunners' disrespect in this fixture last season, as well as to end the latter's 49-match unbeaten streak. With Juventus winning 3-0 last night at Siena, both Milanese clubs need to win just to keep pace with the Serie A leaders.
The s700i currently out of my means, but I think Manchester United and Milan might just sneak a 1-0 win against their opponents to help fund my budget.
Saturday 23 October
New Phones Launched
(Images from Sony
Ericsson photo library and Nokia
press release websites)
All three local telcos launched the Sony Ericsson s700i (above, left) today. The phone is available at $988 with a two-year contract, or about $1198 without a contract.
Nokia's newer phones on sale at local telcos include the N6260 (above, center) and N7260 (above, right) at $588 and $468 with two year contracts respectively.
Saturday 09 October
Blog News
Steamboat at Marina South
Had steamboat buffet with my family at Marina South last night. Intended to check out this restaurant called "Roadside Stall Hotpot", but I made a wrong turn and ended up at the other stretch of the road.
So we randomly picked a BBQ-Steamboat stall called "Dragon Village". The variety's better than at most neighbourhood steamboat places, but I think our usual place at Ang Mo Kio Central is somehow better.
Friday 08 October
Blog News
Regarding Copyright Infringement
Checked my email a few days ago and saw one of particular interest. It came from the Syndication Manager of NewScientist, which said that I had infringed their copyright on an EcoBot II article, and asked me to remove it.
I had written something like
NewScientist.com reports that "A team of robotics experts at the University of the West of England in Bristol are developing a robot that catches flies and digests them in a special reactor cell that generates electricity."
using words from the opening paragraph and an edited image from the article.
Just in case you're doing something similar, apparently giving the author credit and linking to their article (as above) isn't enough. Furthermore, it was on a personal website which I don't intend to make money from.
I've since removed the article and informed them but haven't received any replies yet.
Update
I've received a reply from New Scientist considering the matter closed.
Wednesday 15 September
Tech News
Websites start taking pre-orders for Nintendo DS and Sony PSP
Nintendo hasn't confirmed any release dates but Wal-Mart is already taking Nintendo DS pre-orders. It costs US$199.82 and will ship by December 2004. Besides pre-orders for the Nintendo DS, and Lik-Sang from Hong Kong is also taking Sony PSP pre-orders and is expected to ship on 19 November 2004.
Friday 10 September
General News
Nokia Launches New Fashion Collection
Nokia 7280: Lean, Sublime Lines
The sleek and sexy Nokia 7280 offers a completely new mobile phone design, foregoing the traditional keypad for a discreet keyless dial.
Nokia 7270: Detailed Deco
The boldly stylish Nokia 7270 draws its design inspiration from the Garbo-esque glamour of the 1920s. Encased in an etched stainless steel housing, this fold design accents your wardrobe with a matching textile wrap, carrying strap and pouch to reflect your personal style and mood.
Nokia 7260: Flamboyant Fashion
Materials, graphics and colour palette set the Nokia 7260 apart. Featuring chrome and steel accents, this Art-Deco-meets-Industrial-Design concept is certain to be a favourite of fashion-minded crowd.
Sony Cybershot DSC-M1
The Cyber-shot DSC-M1, a 5.1-megapixel digital still camera, a slim, matte-black device about the size of a deck of cards, is held vertically, and its 2.5-inch articulated LCD swivels upward and rotates a full 270 degrees.
Panasonic "Beyond-3G" Phones
Panasonic showcased their "Beyond-3G" concept phones at the ITU Telecom Asia 2004 show in Seoul. One looks Jellyfish-inspired while there were other accessories-inspired phones.
Tokyo International Gift Show
Strange stuff abound at the Tokyo International Gift Show. My Japanese translation isn't very accurate so there may be some errors in the toys' description. But if you can read Japanese, the news are from ITMedia's review. Prices shown in parenthesis, ¥100 is approximately S$1.55. The only things I'd (realistically) buy are the Lumi-Pads.
Toys that answer your questions by randomly nodding or shaking their heads (¥840). Voice-mood dependent toys (¥1,995).
Voice-activated stuff like dancing banzais (¥3,990). Remote control dancing robots with emotions.
Vibrating snack packagings (¥1,890). Chemical-powered glowing soccer balls (¥2,000). Battery-powered luminous writing pads (¥2,097).
Music box with 1.5 inch LCD and moving 3-D Mickey Mouse parts (¥29,400). Mickey Mouse-themed Plasmacluster Ion Humidifiers (¥33,600) and stereo speakers (¥19,970).
JVC KD-SHX929 Car Headunit
It plays MP3/WMV music formats, and also movies or still pictures. For ¥73,500, or about S$1140.
Thursday 08 July
Tech News
Apple iPod mini International Availability Set for July 24
Apple® announced that iPod® mini, the smallest portable music player ever to hold up to 1,000 CD-quality songs, will be available internationally on July 24.
Sony Unveils NW-HD1 Network Walkman Digital Music Player
The epitome of elegant design, the silver NW-HD1 model weighs less than 4 ounces making it the world's smallest portable audio device built with a 1.8-inch, 20GB hard drive. Images from Sony Japan's Walkman site.
Saturday 03 July
Blog
Spiderman 2
Watched Spiderman 2 last night. Working on the spoiler-filled summary.
Sunday 04 July
Entertainment News
Candy Lo compilation album to be released
Sony Music Hong Kong will release a new Candy Lo album titled "Four Seasons in One Day" in July. The double-CD compiles 34 music tracks split into themes following each of the four seasons Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
Wednesday 30 June
Blog
Major Blackout
Was walking along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 towards the Central when the blackout happened last night. First the street lamps went off, then the lights in the shops along the street followed suit. It was pitch black along the corridor from the New Town cinema to Jubilee Entertainment Complex along Block 721.
Had wanted to go to the Gaming Arcade in Jubilee for some fun, but this was even better. Malays and Ah-Bengs were acting up, some screaming and howling, while a couple of alarms were triggered... In short, we had a mini-Anarchy.
Wednesday 23 June
Soccer News
Scand-al-navians!
Denmark and Sweden played out a 2-2 draw to eliminate Italy, even if Italy manage to wallop Bulgaria silly with a 9-0 scoreline. Which they didn't, of course, those scorelines only happen in the S-League. Instead the Italians needed a last minute goal to come from behind and win 2-1.
I'm not accusing the Scandinavians of match-fixing. It's just that when the scoreline was 2-1 in Denmark's favour, the Danes were not too concerned about conceding the equalizer, which Sweden desperately needed to qualify.
I only suspect the Danes' sportsmanship.
Especially since Italian Francesco Totti spat at Dane Christian Poulsen during the match between Italy and Denmark a week ago. If it were the Swedes who were leading 2-1, things might have been different.
And hopefully Totti's spit hit his target. I'm not condoning Totti's action, but if you're gonna do it...
Eventually the azzurri only have themselves to blame. They needed a two-goal
win over Bulgaria in the event of a 0-0 or 1-1 draw between the Scand-al-inavians
and didn't even manage that. While Sweden and Denmark managed 5-0 and 2-0
wins against Bulgaria, Italy almost had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
So the Italians are whining about conspiracy theories again. There may be a case for it, but this Football Italia article says it best:
Not only does this Italian team not know how to win, they don't know how to lose either.
Wednesday 16 June
Tech News
Yahoo! Mail increases storage to 100MB
Sports News
Pistons win Game Five 100-87
Pistons won Game Five 100-87 to win the 2004 NBA Finals. Ben Wallace had 18 points and 22 rebounds, leading all five Detroit starters in double digit scoring. Chauncey Billups was named Finals MVP.
Monday 14 June
Sports News
Pistons win Game Four 88-80
Pistons won Game Four 88-80 as Rasheed Wallace had 26 points and 13 rebounds to fend off Shaquille O'Neal's 36 points and 20 rebounds. Finals MVP front-runner Chauncey Billups scored 23 points while his backcourt partner Richard Hamilton added another 17.
Unsung heroes Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince played their part as they have done all series. 6-foot-9 Wallace did what he can against 7-foot-1 Shaq and helped out with 13 rebounds, while Prince hounded Kobe to hold him to 20 points on 8-of-25 shooting.
Friday 11 June
Sports News
Pistons win Game Three 88-68
Pistons won Game Three as they dominated the game and thrashed the Los Angeles Lakers 88-68 to take a 2-1 lead in the 2004 NBA Finals.
Defensively, Tayshaun Prince held Kobe to 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting, two-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace limited Shaq to 14 on 7-of-14 shooting, while offensively, Man-of-the-Match Richard Hamilton scored 31 points as Chauncey Billups added another 19.
It's funny how Shaquille O'Neal still insists "it's all about us", while Gary Payton believes that "they [the Pistons] are just fortunate to get two wins out of three." Phil Jackson didn't quite agree though - during a stretch in the third quarter, he benched his starters, leaving only Kobe.
But it's still only 2-1 to the Pistons.
Wednesday 09 June
Sports News
Lakers win Game Two 99-91 after overtime
Lakers won Game Two 99-91 after Kobe Bryant scored a trey to force overtime. Lakers should thank Larry Brown's insistence on not adopting the Hack-a-Shaq "strategy" after they inbounded the ball to O'Neal, trailing the pistons by three.
Monday 07 June
Sports News
Detroit Pistons win Game 1 at Los Angeles Lakers
Lakers lost Game One of the NBA Finals 75-87 to the Pistons. I'm among the many who dislike the Lakers' tendency to disrespect their opponents by sometimes playing with an almost casual attitude. I'm not a fan of the Detroit Pistons either, but I like Larry Brown, who is probably NBA's most under-rated coach.
Phil Jackson has always managed Championship-caliber teams like the Jordan-Pippen Bulls and now the Shaq-Kobe Lakers. Larry Brown takes comparably lesser teams (Reggie Miller's Pacers, Allen Iverson's 76ers) and turns them into legitimate contenders.
Thursday 03 June
Tech News
PC Show 2004 opens
CNet Asia has an article about Star Buys at PC Show 2004. At the show, an IBM Thinkpad R50e is at a promotional price of $2099, down from IBM's listed web price of $2703. I'm more interested in the T40 though.
Those that prefer a bit more colour than classic black can check out Acer's Ferrari 3000, or Toshiba's upcoming Yves Behar designed notebook, featured in Wired magazine's March 2004 issue.
Wednesday 26 May
Soccer News
Porto defeats Monaco 3-0 to win UEFA Champions' League
FC Porto became only the second side to win the UEFA Cup and the European Champion Clubs' Cup in successive seasons when they carried off the continent's premier club prize for the second time in their history.
Monaco's inspirational captain Ludovic Giuly was injured after 22 minutes and was replaced by Dado Pršo.
Carlos Alberto scored the opening goal for Porto in the 40th minute when his pass to fellow striker Derlei bounced back to him off a Monaco defender. The Brazilian teenager despatched it with aplomb from 10 yards into the top corner of Monaco's goal for a 1-0 lead.
As Monaco pressed for an equalizer, Porto scored a second goal through a counter-attack. In the 71st minute, Deco broke clear and found Alenichev on the left. The Russian put the ball straight back into the playmaker's path and Deco stroked home Porto's second.
Four minutes later the game was as good as over. This time it was Derlei who broke free, and he found Alenichev courtesy of a cross that deflected off Squillaci, by now on for Givet. Alenichev needed no second invitation as he drove the third nail in Monaco's coffin.
Monday 24 May
Tech News
Sun Java Desktop System
MSNBC has a positive review of Sun's Java Desktop System, but Linux.com's review complained of installation problems on four different computers. Another review on PC Pro successfully installed it, but on a Pentium II.
So I guess I'll be looking for the Community Edition. And yes, you read that right. Microsoft's plugging Sun's product (a desktop OS nonetheless) on its news page, after years of slugging it out verbally.
Entertainment News
King of Fighters: Maximum Impact
SNK NeoGeo's King of Fighters: Maximum Impact will be released sometime in July, exclusively for Sony's Playstation 2. Read IGN's review.
Thursday 20 May
Soccer News
Valencia defeats Marseille 2-0 to win UEFA Cup
Fabien Barthez was sent off as Valencia claimed the UEFA Cup with victory over Marseille in Gothenburg.
The former Manchester United keeper saw red for a cynical 45th-minute challenge on Mista which enabled Vicente to set the Spaniards on their way to victory from the spot. Barthez's two-footed lunge after Mista had knocked the ball past him gave referee Pierluigi Collina no alternative but to show the keeper the red card.
Mista put Valencia further ahead with a crashing 58th-minute second after a superb right-wing cross from Vicente. The striker chested the ball down before hitting an unstoppable right-foot shot past substitute keeper Jeremy Gavanon from 12 yards.
Wednesday 19 May
Tech News
Microsoft giving away free Visual Basic .NET
Microsoft is giving away a free copy of Visual Basic .NET to users at its Visual Basic at the Movies website. Users are required to view and rate five of its 101 movies, then sign up to receive a redemption code email, which entitles the user to a complimentary Not-For-Resale copy of Visual Basic .NET 2003 Standard Edition.
Entertainment News
Candy Lo earns seven-figure sum for skin care advertising assignment
Candy accepted an advertising assignment for skin care product line Bioscreen Asia for a seven-figure sum. She was chosen for her devil-may-care attitude. But Candy agreed to the assignment only after using it herself and inviting several friends and relatives to try it, and receiving positive results.
During the press conference, Bioscreen's regional manager Emmanuel Cavil kept repeating that Candy was beautiful and even asked her if she would be open to cross-cultural relationships. Candy replied that she still prefers chinese.
However the assignment wasn't easy, as Candy had to squeeze into a tight-fitting low cut wedding gown for the photo shoots, which besides "revealing enough cleavage to swipe a credit card", also made her chest area sore.
The director had asked her to wear a low-cut wedding gown and she specifically chose an extremely tight-fitting design due to concerns of over-exposure. Furthermore she had to endure mosquito bites as it was shot on a riverside lawn, after which she exclaimed: "It's tough work to earn this money!"
Candy Lo to make guest appearance in TVB serial
Candy will be making guest appearances on a TVB serial to be shot in mainland Guangxi. She plays a Tibetan nurse of Zhuang nationality who lost a leg due to diabetes and had to use an artificial limb. The shoot will take two weeks in May and her character will appear in four to five episodes.
Candy Lo earns six-figure sum for Toothpaste ad
Candy accepted an advertising assignment for a toothpaste product for a six-figure sum.
The slightly buck-toothed actress/singer was surprised that she was chosen, while the advertising company revealed they liked her smile. She had considered procedures to re-align her teeth, but decided not to as she was afraid that it'll affect her singing.
For the photoshoot, Candy had to lie down on a thin wooden bench three feet long and six inches wide for six-hours, while the camera crew tried get the right shot to create a free floating feeling, after which she had a sore back.
Thursday 13 May
Gaming News
E3 Expo
E3 Expo began last night at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Sony Officially Unveiled the PSP (PlayStation Portable) while Nintendo did likewise with their Nintendo DS (Dual Screen).
Sony's PSP (PlayStation Portable)
Nintendo's DS (Dual Screen)
Tuesday 11 May
Entertainment News
Summer Blockbusters
Watched Hugh Jackman's Van Helsing last night. Thought it might be the sleeper hit of the summer since the main blockbuster is considered to be Brad Pitt's Troy, Dreamworks' Shrek 2, and Tobey Maguire's Spiderman 2.
Van Helsing would have been a great show if its dialogue had taken a more serious tone. Instead it seems intentionally cheesy, and backfires for those with a bone to pick. But it's still a good action movie. For those interested on spoilers, azzurri's currently working on it.
Last year's sleeper hit was Johnny Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Speaking of which, Disney has revamped the official website to include a few mini-games.
Tuesday 04 May
Blog News
Shopping Spree
Went on a minor shopping spree yesterday. Bought the CD album compilations of four female asian artists; Miriam Yeung, Melody Chiang, Fish (or Jasmine) Leung and Faith Yang. Wanted to get another two albums (Mavis Fan and Kelly Chen), but budget limits.
Been following the music of the latter three since about three years ago when I first heard of them. As for Miriam, I decided to try it out after listening to some of her ballads on My FM, a radio station based in Malaysia, which plays a mix of chinese and cantonese tracks.
Radio stations in Singapore are not allowed to broadcast music in Chinese dialects.
Friday 23 April
Site Update
Site Reorganization
Designing template pages for each section. The homepage is 250kb, way too large for users on dial-up. It takes about 33 seconds to load the entire page. The markup itself is already 75kb.
Including images, I'm targetting a load time of 10 to 15 seconds on a 56kbps modem for the whole page to load, which roughly translates to 100kb. Excluding images, I'm targetting a size of 50kb.
Updates on Juventus will continue but may not be summarized on this page. Use the Juventus news archive page to check for news.
SoccerBet! delayed
SoccerBet has been delayed as the layout gets messed up in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5. The webmaster knows about the widely used IE hack but is reluctant to employ any CSS hacks. It's a clever workaround, but so is using nested tables for layout.
Wednesday 07 April
Blog News
Passed 640-801, now CCNA
Passed the CCNA Exam 640-801 yesterday. Now I'm officially MCSA: Messaging, MCSE (Windows 2000) and CCNA, which also makes me over-qualified but under-experienced. Anyone interested in hiring a CCNA/MCSE?
Passing mark is 849 on a scale of 300 to 1000. There are 56 questions to be completed within 90 minutes. Out of the 56 questions, typically three will involve a router simulator and requires the candidate to properly configure the router according to the objectives stated in the question.
Wondering why the scale is from 300 to 1000? According to my Cisco Networking Academy instructor, every candidate begins the exam with a score of 300. Each router simulator scores 150 if the objectives are reached, otherwise you get nothing. The other questions make up the rest of the scoring.
Though there weren't any mention of time extension for "non-native English speakers" (Singapore's national language is Malay), the clock in the Exam started counting down from the two hour mark. But to be safe, I finished the exam within 90 minutes.
Encountered three router simulators on the exam, but didn't have much trouble. The objectives were straightforward, such as troubleshooting the router's network connectivity, or configuring and applying an access list. Anyone familiar with the Cisco IOS will have no problems, especially since the command-hint "?" is available.
There is no penalty on using the command-hint (the only penalty is time), but it's likely you'll have trouble finishing the exam if you take more than 15 minutes on each simulator. I took five to eight minutes.
Weds 24 Mar
Tech News
Ericsson to prevent Nokia majority stake in Symbian
ZDNet
reports that Swedish telecoms manufacturer Ericsson
is planning to increase its stake in Symbian
in order to prevent Nokia winning control
of the smart phone operating system maker and making it a Nokia platform.
Shares in Symbian are distributed among various mobile phone makers including Panasonic, Samsung, Siemens and Sony-Ericsson. Ericsson is negotiating with the other partners to exercise an option that allows them to raise their individual stakes proportionately, after Psion offered to sell its its 31% share to Nokia.
Sony Ericsson launches Game Developers Challenge 2004
Sony Ericsson has launched the
Game
Developers Challenge 2004. The contest kicks off on March 22nd to co-incide
with the Game Developer's Conference
in San Jose, and will end on June 24.
Consumers will play the game through a web interface and vote on the winner. The top 20 games will then be passed to a panel of experts to determine the final winners. There will be one winner each from the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas.
Nokia launches N7610 at CeBIT 2004
Nokia recently announced the new N7610
phone . It includes a 1 megapixel digital camera, 4x digital zoom, 8
MB internal dynamic memory with 64 MB Reduced Size MultiMediaCard (MMC),
video clips up to 10 minutes long, and sheer style through customizable
Nokia Xpress-on™ Style Packs.
Upcoming phones for the Asia-Pacific market include the Nokia 6230 and Nokia 7200.
Nokia 6230
Nokia 7200
Fri 19 Mar
Tech News
A Washington
Post article describes an up-and-coming P2P Trojan PhatBot. PhatBot
targets only Microsoft Windows, and will shut down some 300 programs on
the PC when infected.
F-Secure
has a discussion of the latest
version and its variants.
Once infected, PhatBot is able to create an IRC Bot, scan subnets for vulnerable
PCs, perform a DDOS using other trojans' backdoor, collects email addresses
and Registry info.
The removal tools are listed together with the discussion.
Thurs 18 Mar
Entertainment News
Watched Sony
Picture's Big Fish last night, and it is definitely one of Tim Burton's
best films since Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Fans of the director will recognise his trademark gothicism, vivid colors,
weird imagery, and quirky characters that you can somehow relate to.
The story is about Edward Bloom, and his son Will who grew up listening to his father's outrageous exploits as bedtime stories. However they haven't spoken to each other since an argument after Will's wedding. The movie recounts Edward's stories as Will returns home to find out the truth behind his dying father's life.
As with all movies by Tim Burton, not everybody will like it, but I think it's a brilliant movie. Especially the final scene between father and son in the hospital.
Weds 17 Mar
Blog News
Came across a lady bearing a striking resemblance to Hong Kong celebrity Candy Lo a week ago on the mrt. She looked like the character Candy portrayed in "Truth or Dare: Sixth Floor Rear Flat". Which happens to be a good show.
Didn't manage to take a photo of her, but here are some news of the real Candy Lo.
Entertainment News
Last week Candy was invited to model for an Asian Hairstyling competition and, in keeping with the surfing theme of the show, went onstage to model in a bikini top and holding a surfboard. However the air-conditioning was a little too cold, and she experienced a small "wardrobe malfunction" of her own. Heh.
Candy's regular co-actress and friend Karena Lam was recently chosen to officiate the opening of the latest McDonald's restaurant branch in Hong Kong. Karena used to be nicknamed "fat lady", before slimming down after signing on as Marie France's celebrity ambassador.
Speaking of Marie France...
Rosamund Kwan has become the latest celebrity ambassador for the slimming specialists. The 41-year-old actress commented that the money was good and she wanted to leave the entertainment scene with some memories.
Rumors speculate that she accepted the role to ease her finances, as her younger model-partner has not seen many assignments in recent years.
Fri 12 Mar
Entertainment News
Johnny
Depp's new movie "Secret
Window" opens today across North America.
Reviews from critics in a list compiled by Yahoo! Movies show that it isn't very well received, averaging C-.
Most reviewers say the movie starts off fine but loses steam towards the end. And yes, Depp saves the movie as usual.
Thurs 11 Mar
IT Show 2004 begins
The
IT Show 2004 starts today at Suntec
Exhibition Centre Halls 401 to 404, on Level 4. It begins daily at 12
noon to 9pm and admission is free. Last day is on Sunday March 14.
Gamers will be interested to know about Microsoft's X-Box offer. In Wednesday's edition of The New Paper, on pages 30-31 it reports that the first 200 visitors on Friday March 12, with a copy said tabloid, will be able to get an X-Box free, by purchasing five original X-Box games at $69.90 each.
However, Microsoft's X-Box site states that only the first 500 customers will be entitled, but does mention any other requirements other than "whilst stocks last" and typical legal talk.
Tech News
Microsoft
have upgraded the threat level of their Outlook
2002 security flaw from "Moderate" to "Critical".
Business
Week has a nice article summarizing the conspiracy theory behind SCO
litigations against IBM and other Linux users.
SCO's
www.sco.com website was brought back online
two days ago even though the mydoom
virus was expected to end targeting the website at February 12.
Weds 10 Mar
Microsoft Security Patches
Microsoft
have released three
new security bulletins for March. MS04-008
for Windows 2000 Servers, MS04-009
for Microsoft Outlook 2002, and MS04-010
for MSN Messenger.
Technical details of each bulletin follows:
- MS04-008: Vulnerability in Windows Media Services Could Allow a Denial of Service
- MS04-009: Vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook Could Allow Code Execution
- MS04-010: Vulnerability in MSN Messenger Could Allow Information Disclosure
Tues 09 Mar
Sony Ericsson debuts new phones
Sony
Ericsson unveiled five new phones, two of which are exclusively for
the North America market. The model numbers are S700,
Z500, K700,
while the T637 and T237
are exclusive to North America.
The S700 incorporates a new design, using a keypad which swivels out, similar to Motorola's V70.
The other phones seem to be updates to other Sony Ericsson phones already on the market. Images below compare their relative sizes.
Mon 08 Mar
Return of the King DVD release date announced
New Line Cinema
The producers of the movie trilogy Lord of the Rings announced that the DVD release date of "Return of the King" will be May 25th. An extended version will follow at the end of the year. New Line Cinema says the initial DVD release of the film will include the film, as well as a 20-minute theatrical trailer and a range of behind-the-scenes material.
They also have an attractive five-foot poster on sale, featuring the movie's main characters. It costs US$29.95.
New virus versions
Symantec
New version W32.Netsky.I@mm, the "From:" line is [email protected], and the email prompts to reactivate Yahoo! mail account by pressing a button.
New version W32.Sober.D@mm, The email messages claim to be from Microsoft containing a patch for the W32/Mydoom@MM virus. the "Subject:" field may vary (English version) or is one of the following (German version)
- Microsoft Alarm: Bitte Lessen!
- Microsoft Alert: Please Read!
Sat 06 Mar
Passed MCSE 70-224... barely
Took and passed MCSE Elective Exam 70-224: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server. 45 questions to be completed in 160 minutes, minimum score of 700 to pass. I obtained 722.
Considering I only half-guessed about five questions, I had expected it to be closer to 800. The highest score I've come across is 826.
Mon 01 Mar
Lord of the Rings wins 11 Oscars
Best Picture winners and cast and crew of Lord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings swept the 76th Annual Academy Awards, winning in all its nominated categories, while favourites also won in other categories, in the most predictable Oscars show I've seen.
Peter Jackson won Best Director and Sofia Coppola won Best Original Screenplay. Sean Penn and Charlize Theron won Best Actor/Actress, while Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger won the Best Supporting Actor/Actress. Finding Nemo won Best Animated Feature Film.
Deja vu
Last year Adrien Brody presented the Best Actress award to the first African-American winner, and got to smooch Halle Berry, who did a nude scene in "Monster's Ball".
This year Adrien Brody presented the Best Actress award to the first South African winner, and got to smooch Charlize Theron, who did a nude scene in "Monster".
As eight-time Academy Awards host Billy Crystal deadpanned: "I first hosted the Academy Awards thirteen years ago... Thirteen years... Things were so different then... Bush was president, the economy was tanking, and we had just come out of a war with Iraq."
Damn funny, the man is.
Thurs 26 Feb
Passed MCSE 70-219
Took and passed MCSE Elective Exam 70-219: Designing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure. 35 questions split into four scenarios, with varying time limits depending on the number of questions per scenario.
Weds 25 Feb
Gold is the colour of Champions
Gold is definitely the "in" colour. Just ask these guys.
Coincidentally, they're all highly anticipated movies, at least for me. Ok, so the guy in the middle ain't in Gold, but it's got a similar glow, albeit kind of eerie.
Switched to Mozilla's Firefox
FireFox Icon
Finally installed Mozilla's Firefox browser after testing on the computers in my CCNA class. Slightly faster (about 10 to 20 percent) than Internet Explorer, comes with built-in download manager, pop-up blocker, tabbed browsing, text zooming feature, and customizable with extensions. Overall a nice basic package.
However, it doesn't come pre-installed with plug-ins such as Macromedia's Flash and Shockwave players, and Sun's Java Virtual Manager, so you'll have to install them manually
American President biography website reclaims top spot
USA President
After weeks of intense jousting with MichaelMoore.com, the White House government website hosting the official biography of George Bush is now back on top of Google's search for "Miserable Failure".
Nope, it's not a hoax, but a type of hacking called GoogleBomb.
As for the other Googlebomb, SCO has vanished since February from Google's search for "Litigious Bastards", probably due to its changing of its DNS to avoid the MyDoom attacks.
Tues 24 Feb
Passed CCNA Online Finals
Passed the Cisco Networking Academy CCNA course online finals test last night. It brings an end to the 9 months plus course conducted by the NTUC Skills Development Department.
Sat 21 Feb
MCSE 70-217 Exam passed!
Took and passed the MCSE 70-217 Exam: Implementing and Administering a Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure, last night. There is no scoring system, you'll only get a pass or fail message after attempting 53 questions to be completed within 155 minutes.
