the New ipods

OK, if you've read the previous post, this is the moment I've been waiting for, the arrival of the new iPods. Just about 8 hours ago, Steve Jobs announced the arrival of the new iPods,

This includes the:

• iPod Touch
• iPod Classic
• iPod Nano
• iPod Shuffle

iPod Touch

The one that impresses me the most was the iPod Touch. Very iPhone-ishhh. But the features are kind of disappointing. Yes I can forgive Steve for the slimmer model, wider 3.5-inch screen, WiFi (only b/g no n), wireless surfing which includes wireless itunes. But I'm kinda wandering now, if Apple rushed this model out and missed out on some very important features like Bluetooth, a camera, more video format support and audio format support and what about the capacity??

The new IPod Touch( ok this is the newest of all as in totally brand new) comes with two capacities. A mere

• 8GB
• 16GB

That's all?? So little. If it was 80Gb and 160 GB, I wouldn't think twice and grab one of this now!! I wouldn't mind sacrificing on the thickness. Mind you this thing is only 8mm thick, thinner than the iPhone. but seriously I rather have more space.


Like I said, very iPhone-ishh, This is coverflow, should be familiar to all Mac users.

IPod Touch, very slimm......Similar interface to Iphone. With the usual iPhone keyboard interface. Again very iPhone-isshhh which makes it very appealing to me but sighhh... space. BUMMER!!!

IPod Touch

IPod Classic

Ok, The latest generation of the IPod Video now called the IPod Classic, duhh... I mean it all started with this right?? This model sort of gave birth to the iPod Nano and the iPod Shuffle. The IPod Classic (6th gen) comes with

• even more capacity, 80Gb and 160GB
  
• more battery life
• with coverflow
• and some extras

What makes this the second most appealing model to me is the enormous capacity 80GB and 160GB which as Apple states can hold up to 20 000 songs for the former and 40 000 songs for the latter, which fits me. Apart from that, the even larger space allows stuff for videos, series, games, podcasts, audiobooks etc....

slimmer, sleeker design

Coverflow plus an enhanced browsing interface. No surfing though

Ok, since this is the 6th gen IPod. Why can't Apple include more features apart from the more aesthetic interface. Bluetooth would be good. Surfing is a big no-no. How the world are you going to surf in a 2.5-inch screen??

Things that I wish was there:

• Added support for a wider range of video formats which includes, xvid, divx, flv, avi etc would be fantastic. Come on Apple when are you going to admit that the world's not run by movie formats like .mov, mpeg and h.264 formats?? Please spare me those video conversion softwares. Added support means no conversion or less time wasted and immediate viewing pleasure.... I wouldn't mind those on a 2.5-inch screen
  
• Added audio support for other lossless format like .flac, ape(monkey audio) and lossy format like .ogg apart from the ubiquitious .mp3

iPod Shuffle

There really isn't anything new about the iPod Shuffle...really juz a bunch of new colours, which I find rather ugly looking compared to the previous colour schemes. The only ones which I like is the red, The rest is juz ewwww....Ok Silver, wat de hack, is been around for yrs!!


IPod Nano

Ok the reason I put this newest addition to the IPod lineup as the last in my review is if it isn't obvious enough already is its hideousness. It's just ugly. The IPod Nano a.k.a iPod Phatty/Fatty is just designed in the wrong way. If you ask me, I rather have the previous generation of the IPod Nano.

Yeah yeah...

• better design...as claimed by Apple.(but seriously I can't see why or rather where??)
  
• Coverflow albeit sluggish as reported and the new improve interface with
  
• Added video support (finally), but still its ugly.
  
• Improved Battery life
  

I would rather strip off the entire scrollwheel thingy and add more screen space in the way the old iPod Nano is designed.

Also hideous colour. The cyan and green is ugly. Red and Black is fine. Silver is by default Apple

*********************The END**********************

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Probably or Undeniably...

the most underutilized and unprofessionally used Command in Windows. Or maybe we are all just too Noob for it. Care to guess?? Alright IMO, a not so professional one, but I guess it should apply to the general population, is the Run Command. Just press Windows Button + R and you will launch it.

familiar???

Probably Microsoft haven't make any refreshing change to this command. I don't use Vista so I don't really know. I have this personal motto of not trying out a fresh new operating system unless its more than a year old or if its a Mac. Hehe

Well you see I don't really know how to use this command well. Apart from running cds or dvds, launching programs like winword which stands for microsoft word, notepad for notepad and command prompt and a bit of other things, I can't seem to dig out anything more useful from this really puzzling program..Sighhh Call me a noob, but I'll humbly accept it, so educate me for those who are better informed???

But for all you fellas out there who happened to be as bewildered as me. Try the very refreshing and aesthetically pleasing Launchy. It kind of borrowed the idea from QuickSilver, a Mac OS X software which beats the shit out of RUN completely. I think I can hear Mac Users saying...ahahahah Copycats!!!




If there was a boxing match between Launchy and Run, Run will be punched to pieces and Launchy would make a boxing belt out of its innards..Ewww GROSS

Alright this is how the interface looks like. By default it has this shadowy border. And just inside, is a sort of translucent/semi-transparent glass-like border and a black space to type out the programs you want to launch. You can change the Launchy skin by just right clicking on it and choose from a rather wide range. But i personally like the default skin. Very Mac-isshh..


Right-Click and this Directories box would come out and you will have to manually add in files or folders that you want Launchy to scan.

Alas, File types is what I feel gives it the real kick-ass greatness. Cos you can add any type of file with any type of extension just as long as you have the proper program to launch it.

Steps:

1. So let's say you want Launchy to launch PDF files,



2. then just type in .pdf into file types.



3. You want MP3s, then just add in .mp3s,



4. then Launchy will immediately scan the particular folder for any mp3 files.



5. But first you must click OK and right click then select Rebuild Index. And Launchy will update the file entries its currently scanning.

Oh yaa... don't worry about Launchy, as it launches automatically with Windows BUT it doesn't hog a huge amount of resources away from Windows.

This program is currently open source. which means the program's code is freely available for anyone to modify and the current version of Launchy is Ver 1.25

Ok Launching/Opening Files or Apps

This is friggin' easy. And you don't need to know any specific letter to launch a program. So if you type say..."W" in Launchy, then it automatically comes out with an option of programs with "W" for eg:

1. Alt + SpaceBar to launch Launchy. (By default, this is the keyboard shortcut to launch it.)
   
2. Say you want to open Windows Explorer, so you may want to spell out the whole 2 words. NO!!!!! Dats wat makes this program magical.
   
3. Type the letter "W"
4. Microsoft Word may come out, and any other programs with the word "W" on it will be in the list.
5. You can get the list by just pressing the down arrow.
6. Chances are you can immediately launch Windows Explorer by just pressing "W" and go down the list.
7. Press Enter
   

So if you still don't know what I mean, say you want to launch Mozilla Firefox:

• just type either "m", "e", "f" or "z" to launch it. "O" might just display firefox but if you can't get it the first time just add another letter next to it. like "MO" and press Enter
  

Huh?? If you are getting confused already. Just use it and familiarize yourself with it.

It is truly easy to use and a blessing to all windows users who have to

1. Either double click on a short cut button, or
2. Launch the Start Menu before getting somewhere or . This is probably the slowest WAY!!
   
3. Probably having to launch Windows Explorer to open a file. Also quite SLOW!!
   

So what about files from your USB or External Hard Disk.

1. Just input the designated alphabet for the particular Drive say F: or G: or Z:
   
2. and then Rebuild Index andvoila any file in that particular drive can be scanned or
   
3. if you want it to be more specific just go to F:\Abc\123\....to launch whatever files in whatever folder
4. Of course finally Press Enter!!

Ok I can go on forever, so explore!!!

***********Launchy Rocks!!***********

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Some very Useful Tricks....

that will help make your life much easier with your PC (running windows)

Have you ever thought if life could be a little easier using Windows. Not that if you don't use the things that I'm going to tell you will make your life very much easier because frankly, not using them won't make you life very difficult. But when you are thinking of getting things done in a much faster and quicker way, keyboard shortcuts are certainly the way to go. So if in other words, efficiency and productivity is sort of your mantra, check this out>>>>


Ok not that many to memorize though. But count this exercise as one of the ways to train your memory and utilize those brain cells!!! These are all common things to remember. So if you are wandering if i include Photoshop or Word Keyboard Shortcuts, you'll be disappointed cos that's juz way...too much. But some might...might.... just apply. As they say experimenting is one way to gain knowledge.

Ok, I'm not going to put the entire map of the keyboard on screen and start telling you what is this for and that, because IMHO, it's pointless and brainless. Ok straight to the point:



I'll start off with something very simple and straightforward.


F1: Is almost synonymous with Help, in any software on the PC. In windows pressing F1, will bring out the Help Window
Windows Logo: Brings out the Start Menu. (If you don't know this I will definitely hit you on the HEAD! well virtually..ever heard of Facebook??)
Alt + F4: Closes the current window.
Alt + Tab: Brings out the Task-Switching Window and pressing tab switches between open programs.
PrintScreen: Allows you to capture the current screen image.


Now what most people might not know, except for the well informed.

Alt + Tab: Cycles through open windows forward as in moving to the right in the task switching window as you press TAB
Alt + Shift + Tab: Does the same thing except cycling backwards as in to the left. REMEMBER TO HOLD and press SHIFT to go backwards.
Windows Logo + R: Brings out the Run Dialog Box
Windows Logo + E: Brings out Windows Explorer
Windows Logo + D: Shows the Desktop. If you are just too darn lazy to drag your mouse to the show desktop icon, this is a great alternative.
Windows Logo + F: Brings out the Find Files/Folders Dialog Box
Windows Logo + M: Minimizes all windows, pretty similar to the Windows Logo + D
Windows Logo + Break: Brings out the System Properties Dialog Box. Ok if u guys don't know what "Break" is, it's the button on the right just next to Scroll Lock.
Alt + PrintScreen: captures the whole screen minus the taskbar.


Ok this kind of applies to quite a lot of things.

Ctrl + C: Copy
Ctrl + V: Paste
Ctrl + Z: Undo (any action)( is not a general command. )
Ctrl + X: Cut
Ctrl + F: Find
F2: Rename File
Alt + Enter: Opens property of a File. If you don't know what I mean, Open Windows Explore and Click on ANY file. and press Alt + Enter.


Alrighteeeyy.. Since Firefox is the best browser in the world. HAHA

For your info, this blog site works best on Firfefox 2.0. Notice the triple column, it works best in Firefox and in IE, ok not sure about IE 7 but in IE 6, the columns don't always appear correctly sometimes, it misses a column leaving 2 columns stranded behind on top. Notice the Labels Cloud, it works only in Firefox 2. I don't use IE 7, so if it works there, that's because I don't have it and I therefore don't use it.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Firefox

Ctrl + T: Opens a new Tab
Ctrl + W: Closes the active Tab
Ctrl + 1-9: Chooses a specific tab numerically, so the first tab is Ctrl + 1. The second tab is Ctrl + 2 and yada yada...ya daa
Ctrl + Tab: Cycles between the tab forward.. Still remember??
Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Cycles between the tab backwards. Familiar??
Ctrl + L: Goes to address bar
Ctrl + L: Goes to search box
Ctrl + D: Adds to Bookmark
Ctrl + B: Opens bookmark folder on the side
Ctrl + H: Opens your history
Ctrl + F: Find
F5: Reload/Refresh
SpaceBar: Page Down, you know for all those with small hands who don't want to reach up there to press PageDown, this is for you.
Shift + SpaceBar: Brings you up. So Page Up!
Ctrl +: Yeap, brings those font size a notch bigger. Good to prevent straining on you eyes
Ctrl - : Which is the opposite, Sizing down those fonts, if you think you eyes are 40/20. Haha juz kidding..


Mouse Shortcuts on Firefox (For those with scrollwheelies....)

Shift + Scroll Down: Next Page
Shift + Scroll Up: Previous Page
Ctrl + Scroll Down: Increase Text Size
Ctrl + Scroll Up: Decrease Text Size.
Middle Click on link: Fellas with three mouse buttons press middle button and for those with scrolls, juzt click the scroll.
Middle Click on Tab: Closes it.

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Something's smoking in ere'......

YESSSSS!!!!!

She's here....


She's here already.....



No not a hot chick in the skimpiest of clothes.



Neither is she in the most decent of clothes.



Nope not another top model dressed in the latest haute couture.



It's all about the arrival of the much revamped BMW M3 coupe. The BMW M3 2008-2009. The first moment I saw this car, I thought it looked thoroughly amazing, sleek, oozing masculinity, and of course looking like she has some real muscle and POWER under the hood!!


IMHO, I like the gray M3 better.


A quick summary from Autoblog

• First-ever V8 M3
• New engine weighs 33 lbs. less than the outgoing M3's six-cylinder
• 420 horsepower/295 lb-ft at 3900 rpm, 8400 rpm max engine speed
• 0-62 mph in 4.8 seconds, 155 mph top speed (electronically limited)

• 6-speed manual tranny
• MDrive - allows configuration and retrieval of driver-specific performance settings
• All-new aluminum suspension

• Carbon fiber reinforced roof
• Usual complement of "M" appearance, aerodynamic upgrades. Minimal body panel carryover from 3-series coupe
• Regenerative braking used to power the car's on-board network

New BMW M3 2008 Coupe - Watch more funny videos here

Juz listen to the purrr...

************The Ultimate Driving Machine************

Go to Autoblog for more details on its specs and reviews...

>>>>Autoblog

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The MADNESS!!

Ok juz outside the geographical boundaries of this country is something so big, so infectious that everyone seems to be talking about it especially people in the US, Australia and UK. Nope it's not a disease or an outbreak or an epidemic that could spell the end of the human civilization. No far from that.

Wat??


WAT???


WAT???



WAT?????WAT????WAT???





WAT!!!!!????

iPhone.

HUH??


Some of u might say..


That must be some new gadget from Apple.


Ok wat else could it be.


Nowadays, any new gizmo that starts with i-.... is synonymous with Apple. BUT THAT'S NOT TRUE!!



I'm sure most of those techie people out there will know that on June 29th at 6.00pm US time, the iPhone was launched by Steve Jobs. And this gadget is basically a phone da smartphone type with internet access + GPS and Youtube functionality plus an iPod, albeit a widescreen and a much improved one. It comes in 2 capacities. A 4GB and 8GB. The most advance iPod so they say isn't going to be released here...AWWWWW. until next year. OH ya there's no Bluetooth or 3G which I'm sure Apple will address immediately. Then just bring it in here and find some hacks to make it work la! At the moment its only released in US and available through AT&T. So will Apple's or AT&T shares soar up.... like really high?? Could Steve Jobs be richer than Bill Gates in the near future?? Nah, not likely for the latter.



For those who fear being infected by this iPhone Madness syndrome on which some are particularly dangerous. Avoid reading more. Symptoms include lining long queues at authorized Apple outlets, severe lethargy after a momentary period of euphoria and guilt after spending. This will be accompanied by strange dreams associated with the gadget. Failure to acquire the gadget will result in violent behaviour which would include cursing, change in personality, hallucinations and insomnia. This symptoms are just theoretical. A cure is in the pipeline and it will happen once Apple releases the iHeal software with the iPhone.



Disclaimer: Apple is not responsible for any form of damage caused by using the iPhone. According to the technical information provided with this device iPhone Madness Syndrome doesn't exist. So dun respond or react alarmingly to the italic fonts in red cos there are all total bullcrap.




Read on if it is love at first sight with the iPhone.


Read iPhone. The guided tour
Read iPhone. Get ready
Read iPhone. Activation & Sync
Read iPhone. Keyboard
Read iPhone(latest). Youtube
Read iPhone. TV Ads

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"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings"

Now let's see, they call this summer, The summer of sequels. NO doubt it is. First there was Spiderman 3, and then came Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End and then the recent Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and finally Shrek 3. Haven't seen Fantastic Four or Shrek 3 though, but so far, the only movie which has deserved an A from me is Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End. Spiderman was too incoherent, too many villain fights and the story didn't quite flow for me.

I got to say this. Even without seeing Shrek 3 or Fantastic Four. I can say this with great confidence.

TRANSFORMERS GETS AN "A" FROM ME

(A is the highest rating by my standards.)

Transformers has got it all. If there's one show that has really blown me out of my expectations. Like BLOOOoooooooWwwwchhh!!! Its gotta be Transformers. The war between the Autobots and the Decepticons has definitely been told in a very heartfelt, humorous and emotional manner without losing its storyline.

ITS THE BEST MOVIE SO FAR FOR ME THIS YEAR, that's not a sequel. (ok i already told u guys my fav sequel right??}

They say Choose a Side. Obviously I will choose not to destroy. But can I choose humans. Eh that's also protectingkan??

At first I thought, how in the world are they going to tell a story about transforming robots in a way that's gonna draw people's attention or even the fan's attention. I wasn't even convinced when I saw the trailer. Yeap, trailers show the best parts of the show and often those are the only ones. So having watch a number of transformer cartoons when I was young, I kind of like ok... Hollywood is gonna screw up again. Even Michael Bay couldn't convince me. I thought this is gonna be one crap movie again. They're gonna wreck one of my fav childhood cartoons on the big screen. Back then I was like OH NO!!!

Nevermind that there are transforming robots and quite a big chunk of human element in the whole movie. A lot of fans were whining about this. Even I was, but who cares about that. I'm quite sure without the human element, this show wouldn't be as good. Shia Labeouf is an amazing actor. He really gets the humour going on as Witwicky.

It's a robot. You know, like a super advanced robot. It's probably Japanese.

Sam Witwicky

Throughout the show, there's always a problem pronouncing his surname, "Witicky..." or "Witiwiticky." Josh Duhamel, the sergeant whom I'm pretty sure all the girls will drool over.


He really gets it going as one of the greatest Decepticons exterminator. OK Megan Fox is not my fav girl on screen but she's hot though!!!



Some parts are corny though but somehow in this show, it as corny as it is hillarious and enjoyable. Really the whole cinema went into a frenzy of laughter in some parts. Oh ya, there's again the Matrix slow mos, but really it makes it even better!!

OH ya, the transforming sequences are juz simply yummy. There are juz fantastic. Love Bumble Bee. my fav Autobot a Chevrolet Camaro in the show. Hey even the Autobots were hillarious especially the hiding around the house part. The transformers even curse especially Frenzy, the annoying tiny Decepticon. Fight scenes were awesome and even the seats and floor rumble during the final battle!!!





Guess I shouldn't spoil it more. Its juz so evil for me to do it right?? I din spoil that much I guess. Did I??? OH ya if you've read this far remember to empty ur freaking bladder!!. It's a 2 and a half hour show plus those dumb ads, I guess allow yourself 3 hours of bladder-filling time. So if u dun wanna miss any second of the show, please piss it all out then watch the show..Savvy???

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings"

Optimus Prime

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Is this REAL???

I have great admiration for people who are willing to push their abilities to the limits. The two pictures here in this post are by far the most impressive form of art I have ever come across.




The pic on top is a picture of a model, Tica who isn't quite known to me until I discovered this pic.

Believe it or not that isn't even a photo. IT'S JUST A FREAKING PAINTING!!! There call this Photorealism. According to the artist Dru Blair who kind of specializes in this form of art, it took him 65-75 hours to complete. I see no imperfections in this artwork that can confirm otherwise but still its freaking hard to believe that it's just a painting. Head over to his website to confirm my outrageous claims!



Ahh, one of my favourite Korean actresses, "......." isn't real here either!! The pic on top generated up to 5000+ diggs on Digg. Try to guess who's she. She doesn't look exactly like the real person but if I give you a clue, she acted in Full House, yes the one with Rain.




She's Song Hye Kyo!!

The pic is computer modeled from scratch in 3ds Max and Zbrush. Though it looks close to a real photo, the eyes and smile sort of give it away that its computer modeled.

But still, its by far the most realistic 3d model of a human ever to be created by this genius>>>>

Title: Song Hye Kyo
Name: Max Edwin Wahyudi
Country: Indonesia
Software: 3ds max, ZBrush

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The BMW Concept CS

Check this out. The BMW CS Concept car. Truly yummy looking. It looks like it borrowed designs from the Aston Martin and a little bit of Mercedes but still very much BMW at its core.

The body is sleekly design, love the backlights and design. The front kinda looks like the Aston Martin but I wish the designers could juz touch that up a little.



Check out Autoblog for more info....

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Lunch at Annalakshmi

Since research life have been treating us so well, we decided that we should go somewhere for a good makan. Mei Shiang has been telling us about Annalakshmi for a long time, that it serves great Indian food and you pay as you like! So when I heard "pay as you like...", I was like cool so can I pay 1 cent for a buffet meal. Naaa..... I'm not dat kiam siap and you pay at least RM1 for any meal regardless of how much you take.

Annalakshmi actually means "The Goddess of Meals", and there really is a magnificent statue of the goddess inside. Surrounding the interior are interesting Indian crafts and paintings which adds even more to the aesthetics. If you were to look at the whole restaurant inside, it does exude a higher class feeling. It operates based on the concept, "Eat as you want, pay as you wish."

Ok, what could be more important than the food right despite the already pleasing interior decorations. The food here is great. I recommend every single person who has come across this post to try the food!! According to one of the volunteers, they serve Southern Indian food, Northern Indian food, blah blah....blah. Believe me, I only came here for the food and I wasn't bothered about their background. But really, after searching on the Internet, there really is a difference. But I won't bore you with a mini lecture on what's the difference between Northern and Southern Indian cuisine.

Annalakshmi offers fine, Indian vegetarian cuisine. They have Chappati, Poori, Tosai, Vada, Sambhar, rice, dahl, curry coconut oil. Oh yaa, the vada should go with some orange powder. I've no idea what izit call and some sauce. The sambhar, which is some donut thingy. Even the rice they have two different variety, The also have a variety of vege, which is kinda obvious. Again, I dunno wat izit called. They also have fried eggplant if I'm not mistaken. They have yogurt which you can take it as it is or add onto another dish. And the yogurt is good. For beverages, there have quite a variety but I only tried the mango lassi. The desert for the day was red bean soup with sago. But they said, they also serve purple rice as desert. I forgot wats the name. The owner also said the buffet sometimes varies from day to day.

At the end of the day, we left with a very filled stomach thanks to all the delectable choices. We payed RM10 each. Most of it goes to charity after paying all the overhead. And all the workers are volunteers. Even some of them are medical students. Ok I din confirm dis but Mei Siang said so. Oh yes...I haven't mentioned where izit yet.. It's in MidValley, very close to Chillis. SO PEOPLE GO THERE!!!

Make sure its between 11.30-3.00 and 6.30-11.00pm

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Everything Heroes...

This seems to be a complete waste of time. Posting something that has already existed. The title speaks for itself. The NBC website on Heroes is already filled with all the necessary information one would need to digest, and even if it is physiologically possible to perform such a thing, our stomach would have problems taking in every information unless of course if we do have the extra compartments of a cow.

So most probably, the human body would excrete all the information as wastes, maybe in the form of a very watery, loose secretion known as diarrhoea.

How on earth would I be able to condense so much information in this space? Though I had the intention to do such a thing I wouldn't, because its plagiarizing information that is the sole property of the company who had created Heroes. I guess I had already posted enough of gibberish... before I go to the real matter.



As you might already know, I'm quite a big fan of Heroes. I decided to check out their website if it offered any sort of Ability Analyzer or something of that sort. Lo and behold, their website did offer such a thing, and its simply called the Ability Quiz.

After answering all the questions the FIRST TIME, I did have an ability and guess what...

The ability to sling webs... I was like what?? Spiderman??




Considering that Spiderman 3 is juz around the corner. Could this be an ulterior motive to promote the third show in its most subtle way to misinterpret my abilities as a web slinger. Not that I despise Spiderman. I love it and thanks to Alex I can watch it for free. Way to go dude. I digress....

Can't they just give me some character that I can relate to? Well I don't know. Maybe there will be a "spiderman" character later on in the show. Fine I know I shouldn't complaint. I can be a Hero...HAHA

Oh yes. My Fav Hero is Hiro Nakamura.


About Masi Oka, a.k.a Hiro Nakamura in Heroes

1. He is a genius, an IQ of 180....OMeGOSH!!!
2. He speaks fluently in four different languages; Japanese English, German and Spanish.
3. He worked in Industrial Light and Magic, a company owned by George Lucas.
   
4. Won a Golden Globe Award in the Best Supporting Actor on a TV series category.
   

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Arrggghhh...Bacterial Contamination!!!

In what I call "The worst bacterial contamination possibly " in IMU Research Lab history, it caused quite a stir for me here at the postgraduate lab. I absolutely did not know what to do. It kinda was like a brick fell on my teeny-weeny little toes. Minus the swelling, it caused quite an equal amount of pain emotionally. I had to dump 9 out of 10 of my culture flasks.

Bacteria was literally swimming through their self-made currents in the medium which was supposed to sustain and allow growth of my breast cancer cells. It turned out that I have been breeding Bacillus and Cocci species along with my poor MCF 7 cells throughout the weekend.

Dr. Yiap told me to pray....

And I said, "Ya, OK so that the cells can grow."

He said, "No. Not just that. So that bacteria wouldn't grow together with your cells!!!."

Ok, Ya I did pray. But it seems that it only worked for the previous batch. The one where Dr. Yiap had last handled the cells before he passed them to me.

Hmmm....

The Bacilli was wriggling in the medium, sort of twitching back and forth from head to tail, ok that's if they actually had those parts anatomically speaking. Maybe they have a head cause at higher power they really had those small bobs at one end. For the cocci, it was more like a bit of swimming plus a little bit of vibratory movements.

My cell culture turn out to be a bacteria culture. What a waste of lab resources. Cell Culture guru, Bazlin came and confirm my suspicion, and she let off a soft "Ewww...." and immediately she told me that I have to dispose of it but before that each of the contaminated flasks had to be bleached before disposing them.

Iggy had a great time looking and feeling geli by the bacteria. Pictures were taken also but sorry no photos at the moment, maybe later on.

But really, it is an invaluable experience to see how bacteria look like in a contaminated cell culture flask. I say this not in the sense of having pride from this achievement but as a lesson that should be learn.

*****From now on, I have to really be careful on my sterile techniques. Probably I shouldn't start off with too many culture flasks.*****

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For all you Switchfoot fans here....Check this out!!

Check out this video by by Switchfoot. Please wait for it to load.........




The song is call "Awakening"

For more info on Switchfoot, go to their Myspace website

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IMU BALL - Bella Noche

Not interested in writing a long post on this one. Last year's Ball at Marriott, was better in terms of the food and the ballroom was so pack this year. Marriott had more breathing space. But they were performances this year. But I really loved the funny flash video last year

Immediately after the ball, we went to Mont Kiara , to celebrate Clarissa's birthday at Starbucks, near Plaza Mont Kiara. Supposedly Starbucks was 24/7 but thanks to the misinformation from Calvin, we all had to go to Coffee Bean, which is also open 24 hrs. To our great frustration, even Coffee Bean closed early!!

Eeshhh... With all the tired faces, and the some smeared mascara and the unforgettable zombie Alicia look. We decided that Sri Hartamas was the way to go, and there it was we stopped by at Warong Uncle Don's and their specialty there was the Shisha and their splendid waffles. Their waffles are really good.


This is waffle with vanilla ice cream blended with honey, peanut butter and topped up with banana split.

There are a whole lot of varieties at Uncle Don's but don't be fooled by the photo. They actually serve quite a large portion and it's good supper which made the ball dinner forgettable.

Clarissa had a "Waffle" cake, and all of us enjoyed the waffles there though we were quite curious about the Shisha nearby. But we'll save that for another day..

We left at about 3 in the morning at reached home at about 3.20. Thankfully, Hartamas was a place that kind of never sleeps even at that time. Most of us were still quite awake when we left Uncle Don's but when I reach home, my brain was already beginning to shut down before my body could. After everything, I slept at 4...Wat a day...

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Adobe Photoshop CS3 Beta

New Features

1. The new user interface

2. Huge improvements to Camera Raw

3. The Quick Select tool

4. Better Curves

5. Printing Done Right

6. Black-and-White Conversion Control

7. Auto Align and Auto Blend

8. New and Improved Bridge

9. Smart Filter

10. Improved Cloning and Healing

Get the new Photoshop CS3 beta NOW!!

For tutorials
Click Here!!

• Lynda.com Photoshop CS3 training
• NAPP Photoshop CS3 Learning Center

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What A Longggggg NaMe......

Remember the song "Mr. Lonely"?? Akon sings it...and my what a long name he has, thank goodness we don't need to call him by his full naaaaammmmmmeeeee...

Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam

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Ahhh.....My Preciouss......

Finally, after so long...yes a long time, I've got my hands on the Sennheiser CX300.

What?? U may ask...

Nevermind it's actually a earphone.
SO?? what's the big deal about it??

This earphones is one rare commodity. My first encounter with this amazing earphones was at MediaPlex MidValley Megamall. Since I was looking for the best earphones in town, I decided maybe MediaPlex could fulfil my requirements. And there was it... one fine day, a long time ago on a bright and sunny day with clear blue skies, I FOUND IT.... not that it was easy looking for one.

I was opting for Sony at first and I thought I already had Sony so I tried looking for other brands. I knew Sennheiser was the way to go. It was the cheapest in the category I was looking for and certainly a very good pair of earphones at a reasonable price. Even Sony's MDR NC-11 loses out to this fellow. In my opinion, Sony's noised reduction earphones have too much bass. Not balanced enough. The Sennheiser CX300 was love at first sight. Then one fine day, I knew that I had to get it. It was on dat day, to my dismay I found myself nearly disappointed by the shopkeeper saying that they had actually ran out of stock for those earphones. I din know what to say, here I was in MediaPlex and suddenly they ran out of the most expensive earphones in town. Crap...so I look elsewhere and to my surprise, I found it in Machines, an authorised Apple reseller at the same price.

Immediately I grabbed it and tested it and boy it was wonderful hearing music with those pair of earphones. My old Sony can now RIP in my house for the moment. Don't worry I won't leave u to rot.

As for the Sennheiser CX300, it's produces clear,crisp music. Much better bass, very clear midtones and it emphasizes much more of those sounds that you can't hear through conventional headphones,speakers,earphones. Higher registers are really clear even at higher volumes. It simply is a joy to listen. OK looks like I'm putting my marketing skills here from work to good use here.... LOLZ so much for being a doctor and it significantly reduces outside noise except maybe for rustling of the wires on your shirt or of course much louder sounds which is why the bottom few earphones are my dream earphones.

Certainly, I was hoping for Shure, Westone, or Ultimate Ears to sell their products here but looking at their insane U$150-499 for a pair of earphones, it literally closes the door to some of their products. Who in Malaysia would want to buy such an insanely expensive earphones. Even if they were, the market would be really small dedicated to people like me/audiophiles/sound engineers.

Below, the best earphones on the planet.....

Shure E500 PTH

Westone UM2

Ultimate Ears Super.fi5 Pro

Ultimate Ears Triple.fi10 Pro

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Eragon

Ok, it's been along time since I watched a movie and my first movie after such a long break would be Eragon. I knew for a long time that this show was going to be something like The Lord Of The Rings. The environment, the storyline, and for a moment I thought the battle was also similar. It's also another one of those good versus evil storyline. The script is a tad bit too predictable and some things just don't make sense in the movie. I haven't read the book so for the record I have no idea what to expect from this show except for a few scenes that I saw from the trailer.

So I thought, if Lord of The Rings was so darn good, how could this show possibly outdo it or even be at the same level as it. To avoid having these feelings before the show, I decided that, alright let's just give this show a shot. It might just surprise me. Obviously the ads and the trailers are good. It's all part of marketing and no doubt there would want portray the best image for the show.

Got the Hint???

For those who have, I say the show is just an average show....maybe sitting on a fence between B and C, so I think I'll give it B-. Eragon looks more like the hunk of "Laguna Beach" instead or a hero/chosen one. Ok that's expected since throughout the show everyone expects The One to be more than they expected...to their disappointment. Maybe it takes some time for Eragon to develop the heroic appeal. Let's hope to see that in the next 2 shows. So, that's fine, the perfect guy for Eragon. Brom, is fantastic in the show. I was a little disappointed when his role ended up so abruptly in the show. He should have been given a longer time to survive before killing him. He really looks like a fighter but certainly does not have the appeal of The Chosen One. As for Arya, the book describes her as the most beautiful/fairest in the land. (form my sis who read it) True enough, she does have the looks but no doubt Arwen IMHO is much better. Somehow, I felt that she was insecure in her role in the show as though she was a bit hesitant.

Things that didn't make sense...

Common sense would tell you that a chick wouldn't be a cockrel in a matter or hours. The dragon in Eragon seems to have some form of accelerated growth mechanism built in. In fact this all happened when it started flying. Suddenly and mysteriously the dragon transforms in various stages as it flies ( those who saw will know what I mean) to a beautiful dragon, Saphira. I'm fine with its ability to speak so fast and tell its name. Fantasy does give a bit of leeway and since this is about dragons, why not the higher intelligence but not its growth. So I checked with my sis on the dragon metamorphosis since she read the book. Even she said," Where got transform so fast wan......?" And as for Eragon it seems weird that he could pick up the ancient magical language of the elves in a split second. Something like how babies could say 1,2,3 or A,B, C the moment the mother tells him that.

The fight scenes are a bit too tame for my taste. Maybe it's because LOTR has left such a great impression on me, that I just thought ok yaa this happen and that happen.... blah blah, even when Galbatorix send a whole lot of his army to get rid of the Vardens. But I love the dragon fight scenes. I thought it was excellent and the dark creature summoned by Durza was really excellent CGI. Durza was pretty convincing in the role of the evil magician.

For me, the only interesting development was when Murtagh came about because it kept me guessing, is this fella da good or the bad guy, because he was wearing a cloak all the while until later on when he sort of helped Eragon and da gang escape from prison. Besides that, I think the story could have more depth. I think it would not be so bland if the scenes aren't so predictable. OK dragon's special ability is fine, it's "natural" to have it there, after all it's a dragon show.

For those who are expecting a great adventure mixed with fantasy like me would be disappointed.
For those who read the book, I suggest imagining the scenes in your mind as an alternative to the movie.(because a lot of things are not there as usual.....)

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