Sunday, May 16, 2010

Kiang To Ho Mai Keh Kiang

My title in Hokkien, literally translated it means "Enough if you're smart, don't need to pretend to be smart". Or simply, no need to show off.

I was playing basketball (and testing my fucked up chronic left ankle) in the evening at a nearby court in SS18. While in a game, out of nowhere a ball flew into the left side of my face. And resulted in CARNAGE.

You can even see the outline of the frame of my spectacles!

Close up view of the damage. Quite a bit of blood flowed out.

The miracle that emerged out of this carnage was that my spectacles was perfectly FINE. It wasn't even bent or scratched. Now I know the question in your minds right now. Just HOW did it happen? Well, I know for a fact half of you all will get bored when they see a wall of text. So I'm presenting the chain of events in my self drawn Paint pictures!

The ball was flying out of the court, near my teammate (I'm the one with the specs, duh).


Smartass had the brilliant idea of flying out and saving the ball by throwing it back in play, only he severely overestimated his strength.

Now I can go on and on about Newton's Laws about Inertia and Momentum, but that'll take the whole day. Screw that, one generally knows that it is harder to throw a ball backwards when it is moving forwards, and it'll take much more to throw the ball HIGH UP backwards.
Because Smartass overestimated his strength, his ball went flying straight into my face instead of into the air and back into play. And because I wasn't looking at the ball at that time, I had no time whatsoever to react.

The lesson of the story, boys and girls, is do NOT overestimate your strength. Just because you saw me doing the same move doesn't mean that you can do it too. I have far more strength, smartass.
Anyways, boys and girls, do not overestimate your strength. It's better to let the ball go out of play than throwing a ball straight into someone's face and causing severe blood loss (ok, so I exaggerated a LITTLE bit). Kiang To Ho Mai Keh Kiang.


Thursday, May 13, 2010

Coping Without Facebook: An Update

Not too long ago, I came up with the ridiculous (and some say heretical) decision of suspending my Facebook account indefinitely.
Most of my friends reacted the way I'd expected. Let's see, there was surprise, there was total and utter disbelief, and I swear to God I think there was some little bit of sadness. They just couldn't believe someone could let something as "important" as Facebook go just like that.

Yes, I do not deny that Facebook is a great tool for catching up with friends, finding long lost friends, or simply just chilling out (by playing some silly games). In fact, I'll probably reactivate my Facebook account when I go to Melbourne, just so I can communicate with everyone more easily.

Anyways, this is supposed to be an update on how I've been faring in these 11 days since leaving Facebook. And an update it shall be.

Many a people predicted SEFAWAS or Severe Facebook Withdrawal Syndrome (trust me, I love coming up with useless acronyms ;P ) To be honest I did too, but the transition period turned out to be pretty mild. There were times when my mouse pointer would automatically move towards the Facebook tab, but I'd always stop myself from doing any further damage.

As the days wore on, it became more and more natural [living without Facebook]. No longer would I unwittingly move my mouse towards the Facebook tab. I found other things to do. (One of them being being obsessed with defragmenting my computers' hard drives every other day to ensure the shortest boot time, crazy I know.)

As it turned out to be, my social life didn't go down the drain. In fact some of this year's funnest things happened during the period I threw Facebook away. Like I've said before, those that want to reach me will find a way to reach me, so I'm in no way disconnected from the world.

So why not guys, give it a try! Test your own resilience and self control and see how long you can survive without Facebook. ;P


Sunday, May 9, 2010

Welcome to the Family!

As some (or most?) of you already know, I'm transferring to my university's main campus in Melbourne this July. This means preparations, LOTS of them. From getting my IC and passport done to finding accommodation in Melbourne.

A dilemma immediately comes to mind. I'll need a computer if I was to survive 2 years there. My new netbook that I got a few months ago? No, no, no can do. Netbooks are useful for light browsing and light typing, i.e emails, IM but DEFINITELY not doing any serious work. The screen is simply not big enough to handle documents.

So the netbook is definitely out of the picture. Now those who know me know that I'd take a desktop over a laptop in a heartbeat. Why? Because a desktop is simply more powderful than a laptop. But in this case I can't move my desktop over to Melbourne, it is simply not practical.

That leaves only one other option. I'd need a laptop then. Now what laptop could you get a stingy, desktop-preferring, power-crazy, big-screen loving, graphics whore? Well those list of adjectives pretty much sum up what the laptop had to have.
  • Cheap
  • Big screen (14.0" is small to me)
  • Powderful processor
  • GRAPHICS CARD
There wasn't a lot of choosing to do. Other laptops either had the hardware and a fucked up, obscenely high price, or obscenely cheap prices with no hardware.

So I ended up with this.

Oh YES, Yes I bought an Acer.


And yes, people have been giving me their opinions on laptop brands. And one thing was common, they ALL unanimously hated Acer, for various reasons I could never for the death of me comprehend.
On the cover: The unmistakable Acer logo, and anti-fingerprint contours


One of the side reasons I got the Acer is to prove to those Acer-haters out there that Acer isn't half as bad as they think it is. Like what I always say, the computer is only as good as its owner. Treat it well, it serves you well. Treat it like shit, it fucking dies on you.


Keyboard layout: Macbook, anyone? :P


The retail price of this piece of treasure was RM 2,999. All over Low Yat Plaza retailers were offering "free gifts" along with the laptop. You could refuse the free gifts and get a lower price. In the end, I found a shop selling this laptop for RM2,899. As a comparison, getting a Dell which has all my laptop's specs would cost RM3,730, almost RM1,000 more.


"What specs! What specs? What specs!!"

Intel Core i5-520M (2.4GHz with Turbo Boost to 2.93Ghz), Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, NVIDIA GeForce GT 320M


15.6" HD LED Screen (That's a 30cm rule)


Other info: 2.26kg(I think I read this somewhere), 4GB DDR3


It has a pretty big touchpad, not that I'm going to use it often, but here's a look at it.
Touchpad: Monolithic buttons

Because its screen is so large, there's enough space to put in a full-sized keyboard, INCLUDING the Number Pad, something which I find a lack of use for.
It might seem similar to the Macbooks' keyboard, but it's not. The keys might not respond if you press on their sides


The laptop is made of mainly tough plastic to save cost. Here it's been made so as to mimic brushed aluminum, and you can't tell the difference from a distance.

The laptop came with a lot of pre-installed junk, all of which I deleted the moment I got home. The boot time(the time it takes from power on to desktop screen) improved from 2 minutes to 53seconds. Which is still slower than my 4-year old desktop(45 secs). See why I love desktops now? :)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Sunway University College "Expert Asshole"

Author's Note: This is my personal opinion and rant about my own dissatisfactions. I still love the people from Sunway University College. I'm only pissed at him.


The Star published an article today (6th May 2010) regarding the comments of an "expert" on the death of 14-year old Aminulrasyid, who has become an internet sensation of late thanks to our trigger happy corrupt cops.

I have read and reread the article numerous times and I just cannot accept what this "expert" said. It is just plain wrong to side with the cops on this matter. I'll post the article here for you guys to read (or reread), then post my BITCHING RANT after it.

*************************************************************************

KUALA LUMPUR: It is clear that 14-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah was at fault in his shooting, leading him to being accidentally shot by police who were only discharging their duties, a clinical psychologist said.

Assoc Prof Dr Teoh Hsien Jin said the situation was getting out of proportion and that the public had overlooked the most important issue, which was that of a minor driving a car without a driving licence.

He said that as far as the law was concerned, such an act was an offence.

“The crime rate in Selangor is worrying and the police have taken the necessary steps to reduce crime in the state by putting more men on patrol to react to any perceived threat.

“A lot of violent crime takes place after midnight and a speeding car pursued by a group of motorcyclists fits the scenario perfectly,” said Dr Teoh who is the Head of the School of Natural Health and Sciences in Sunway University College.

Dr Teoh, a former journalist, said the usual procedure for policemen in a patrol car or at roadblocks would be to pull a suspicious car over and shine a torchlight into it.

“But the policemen may not have had the chance to do that in Aminulrasyid’s case as the minor sped off, which led to the police firing at the speeding car.

“Police on shifts are normally armed with automatic firearms because they do not know who or what they will be up against. You just have to react to dangerous situations.

“When they opened fire, it is likely that one stray bullet could have hit him. In the dark, they were probably shooting to stop the car,” said Dr Teoh, who was also a Territorial Army officer.

He said he sympathised with the Inspector-General of Police who had come under fire from various quarters for threatening to pull his men off the streets following a public outcry over the incident.

“They are already overworked and underpaid and politicising the matter does not help. It is only making them more frustrated and angry,” he said - The Star

*******************************************************************************************************************************

Before I start, let me show you the person that I'm pissed about. Of course you'll need a face to curse at, not just a mere name. It's always easier to hate someone if you've got a face to uh...hate at.

Assoc Prof. Dr. Teoh Hsien "I Look Like A Conman" Jin

Read more about his background here.

First of all, great pun by our so called "clinical psychologist" from Sunway University College, "Discharging their duties." I swear to God I fell off my chair laughing off that one.

Now on to the second paragraph, where our Associate Professor claims that the "most important" issue was that of a minor driving without a driver's license. Now this is BULLSHIT. We all have done something rash and silly when we were young. I admit it, I used to drive without a license for the kick of it. No ulterior motives. No hidden parang in the boot. No body of a prostitute in the backseat.

Third paragraph, yes I do not deny that driving without a license is an offence.

Fourth paragraph (here we go again!), yes the crime rate is soaring of late. And the PDRM aren't doing anything...USEFUL. They never seem to be at the right place at the right time. In the morning when I need them at the roundabout to control the never ending flow of cars, what they do is come to the roundabout, PARK their motorbikes in the middle of the road, effectively blocking off half the road, and STAND THERE DOING NOTHING. Yah, taken the necessary steps kononnya.

Ok now notice how Dr IKnowNothing mentions the "usual procedure for policemen"? Ok keep that in mind, you'll need that for later.

The next line clearly disagrees with what the police have been claiming all these while. In every fucking article I've read, the police and the pro-PDRM supporters have been claiming that Aminulrasyid tried to reverse into the cops. But according to Dr. Contradictory, the opposite seems to be true.

And we proceed to the next paragraph, where I start to get really pissed. YOU DON'T FIRE AT SPEEDING CARS, WHETHER YOU'RE A COP IN BOSNIA OR CZECHOSLOVAKIA. THIS IS NOT HOLLYFUCKINGWOOD. It's AGAINST the Rules of Engagement of ANY police force, except maybe our Bolehland, where madness in logic runs true.

"You just have to react to dangerous situations." Yes you try to stop the suspect, NOT by pulling the trigger, FIFTEEN TIMES. That is at LEAST 2(TWO) full magazine's worth of bullets, meaning that if only one cop opened fire he would have to reload at least once. Out of those 15(FIFTEEN) shots, one found its way into the back of Aminulrasyid's head, instantly killing him. Another conclusion I can make, other than the one where the police are trigger happy fools, is that THEY ARE REALLY BAD SHOTS. If you wanna mimic HollyfuckingWood, the hero hits his target with one shot.

Also, the police CANNOT shoot to disable the car. They DO NOT have the right to. Their Rules of Engagement says so. The use of deadly force is only authorized when and IF ONLY their lives were threatened. Or I could paraphrase it to "only if attacked or going to be attacked". A car that is SPEEDING away isn't what I call "going to attack me."

Last two paragraphs, Dr. Asshole's really done it this time. Our useless IGP clearly invited flames, no, an INFERNO when he whined and sulk about pulling his forces off the street. That itself already reflects on the unprofessionalism of our IGP. And Dr. Asshole mentions that our police are "overworked and underpaid". As far as I know, they spend more time lepaking in mamak stalls, collecting "Royal Protection Money (Duit Perlindungan DiRaja, DPDR)" than doing their routine duties. So, Dr. Asshole analyzed the psychological state-of-mind of the police to be "frustrated and angry", now is THAT why they pulled the trigger 15 fucking times?

At the end of the day, we're not as angry about the death of Aminulrasyid as much as we are the non-transparentness of the System. Of course our (even more) corrupted Prime Minister released a statement claiming that a "transparent, fair and thorough" investigation would be conducted. Also said was that there were to be "No politicians in panel". Yeah RIGHT fuckers, a few days later (3, to be exact) the "special" panel was announced as if the first statement was never made. Yes, HEADING the panel was our very own Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop [read: POLITICIAN], and the panel had an ex-IGP as one of the members.

So fuck you Doctor, your points make no sense and you obviously want to "stand out" of the crowd with your statement. Open your eyes and take a good look around. You're a disgrace.


Sunday, May 2, 2010

Facebook Deprivation


It was another one of my spontaneous moments. In a flash I decided to deactivate my Facebook account. Now just WHAT made me commit such heresy, you may ask. Well, I'd say nothing really, just pure randomness.

After all I did live happily without Facebook even as everyone jumped on the Facebook bandwagon. I only fell into the spiraling hole that is Facebook when a friend, out of randomness decided to create an account for me.

That was about a year ago. Ever since then not a day went by without me not checking my Facebook account for updates, be it spam from Leung Keet or me being tagged in random pictures, ALSO by Leung Keet. At times I would just sit and stare at the Facebook homepage and wait for the tiny red notifications that indicated there was an update.

Yeah, ALL OF YOU are guilty of this crime. And you know it's eating away at your life.

So yeah, out of spontaneity I decided to deactivate my account, leaving behind a very very confused Leung Keet without any warning. In fact, just 5 minutes after I deactivated my account Leung Keet texted me and asked me why I "removed Kein Yip's drunk picture and that I had disappeared from Facebook". Now I don't know of any other living human that can know of my disappearance so fast than Leung Keet did. Whether or not he has a life I'll leave it to you to decide.

And yes, I did this to prove to myself and the world that I can and will survive without the parasite that is Facebook. I am not saying I'm quitting Facebook for good. I'm just like Tiger Woods, taking an indefinite leave. No worries, I'm not totally off the grid, I'm still on MSN and the World Wide Web. And those who want to contact me will know how to reach me. I'll be updating my blog from time to time with updates on the Facebook deprivation experiment, so tune in!

Friday, April 16, 2010

iPod Nano 5G: A Personal Review



This a personal review. It is by no means professional and I should not be blamed if you got it after reading my post and ended up not liking it. But bear with me, I will try to sound professional but no guarantees ya :D

We’ll start with the exterior and slowly move inside.

1. Overview

Apple’s 5th iteration of its iPod Nano line.
More commonly called the “iPod Nano 5G/5th Generation”, I’ll just call it the Nano in this review. The Nano 5G is deemed a "significant" improvement over its 4G predecessor by many fanboys and critics alike. Now I won't go much into technical details in this post, lest my loyal readers get bored.


The Product RED version of the Nano can only be obtained through the online Apple Store. Being a Product RED means Apple donates some of the money paid to a fund dedicated towards fighting AIDS in Africa.

My conscience is somewhat cleared


2. Exterior

No doubt one of the smallest sized MP3 players in its class in the market now. The Nano is about 9cm long and about 4cm wide and weighs a negligible 36 grams. That is a good 5 times lighter than my cellphone.

It is also very slim indeed, coming in at an impressive 0.61cm thick. That is slightly less thick than 3 SD cards. In terms of thickness, the Nano's closest competitor is Sony's new A-series Walkman, the A845.

The Nano 5G measures at about 90mm long

And about 40mm wide

An iPod on a diet


On the top surface there is the usual Hold switch. Activate it to lock the iPod to prevent accidental song changes etc.
One nigging issue here was that the button was a little bit too hard to activate. And with the Nano's extreme slimness, trying to activate the switch while trying not to touch the screen was a little tricky at first, but users should get used to it in no time.

The Hold switch in the Unlocked position


On the bottom surface, The usual 3.5mm jack and Apple's proprietary 30 pin connector, which functions as a data transfer and battery charging port.


The biggest hype about the new Nano 5G is probably the built-in camera. Unfortunately, the camera can only record videos, no still pictures. I personally would've preferred a still camera than a video camera. So the camera wasn't a deciding factor in my case.

The camera and its tiny microphone is located at just about the WORST place in the whole iPod. Located at the bottom lefthand side of the back, users would really have to be nimble with their fingers if they wish to operate the camera without obscuring the lens. Yes, part of the reason why I really dont give a shit about the camera.

Qualitywise the camera is pretty decent, recording somewhat clear videos at 30fps. To be honest I have only tried the video a grand total of ONE time, yeah, that is just how much it means to me.


Think of the camera as a Value added feature, not something to look out for when scouting for Media players.


3. Interior


The Nano 5G has a bigger screen than its 4G parents. The new screen measures at 2.2" compared to the 4G's 2.0" screen. Also, it is the first Nano in the family to utilize a TFT screen instead of the more traditional LCD screen. The results are a brighter and clearer screen that responses faster.

With the additional screen space, obviously more stuff can be crammed into the display, and that is exactly what Apple has done. Not to worry though, because users can customize their own menus from the iPod's settings.

The preview bar at the bottom of the screen is a pretty cool gimmick. It shows users about the content of each submenu. In this picture, the current selection was Music, so the album cover arts were displayed.


The Nano has a built-in accelerometer. To put it simply, it KNOWS when you're turning it on its sides, and will aptly switch to Apple's Cover Flow for users to browse through their music.

Scrolling the Clickwheel will in turn scroll through Cover Flow, a faster** way to find one's music.

**Some people might find Cover Flow faster, some might not.


For traditionalists who prefer going through traditional (read: Crappy) menus, you'd be happy to know that the Nano 5G has it too.

One of many sorting menus. Songs can be sorted by Artist, Song Name, Album Name, etc.


When playing music, basic information about the song is displayed on the screen, from Song Title (duh) to Artist and Album. The album's Cover art is displayed too, that is if available.
While the music is playing, one can press the center button and (if enabled) the Voiceover function will kick in. It says out the Song Title and Artist. Based on my experience, the voiceover has been pretty accurate in pronouncing various song names and artists' names, ranging from English to Chinese.

Yah, I was listening to the How To Train Your Dragon OST


Also in the iPod Nano 5G is the "Genius" feature. Now this feature was already introduced in the 4G, but anyways, the "Genius" feature automatically creates an ad-hoc playlist based on the user selected song.


There are a few "default" genres that Genius automatically creates a playlist for, but users can activate the Genius feature at any time on any song. This is done by an algorithm built by Apple. The result is a very refreshing mixtape any time the user wants it.

The Genius feature is pretty accurate, and the songs chosen have a similar rhythm or beat, making it a surprise to see what mix it churns out everytime. That is what I meant by "refreshing"


The Nano 5G comes with a ton of features, which can be found in the Extra submenu. Some new additions to the Nano is the Pedometer and Voice Memo. The pedometer pretty much explains itself, while the Voice Memo enables users to record short voice clips as notes.

The Nano has 3 built-in games. Not what you need, but during a boring train ride you might think differently



Users can enter their weight and the number of calories burnt will be calculated. Accuracy not guaranteed.


The Voice Memo interface is pretty cute. The decibel meter fluctuates as the user speak into the microphone while recording. No doubt a useful little feature for forgetful people. Then again they might even forget that they have this feature, or even BETTER, forget they ever owned an iPod.



Another new feature to the iPod Nano is the Radio FM. Now this is the very FIRST iPod that has a built-in Radio feature. Not even the grand Oh-look-at-me-I'm-so-grand iPhone has it. So Nano owners, be VERY VERY proud indeed. The Radio FM works like any other Radio feature in cellphones. Users will have to plug in their ear/headphones before being able to listen to the radio. This is because the ear/headphone cord serves as the antenna to receive broadcast waves.

One feature of the Radio FM VERY worth mentioning is the Live Pause function. It enables users to record(pause) up to 15 minutes of live radio broadcast. Those familiar with the TiVo will know what I mean. This is a very clever function put in by Apple indeed. Users can now playback their radio broadcast and CHOOSE to skip all the advertisements.

Without the antenna, the Nano will ask users to connect their earphones

With the earphone plugged in, the Radio is ready to roll


4. Music

iPods are not known for their sound quality, although the iPod Touch has received plenty of praises for its exceptional sound. The Nano 5G is no exception. In the sound department, the Nano brings forth decent sound. It is by no means a Sony or Cowon. Those brands have made a name for their superior sound.

Apple, on the other hand has focused on style and..well, uh, style. OK maybe features? Compared to other brands, the Nano has better features and most certaintly look more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

This is not to say that the Nano is lacking behind in terms of sound. It can perform, but users would have to upgrade from their stock earbuds. Apple has once again failed to provide quality stock earphones for their players.


Pro's and Cons:

Pros:
  • Small form factor
  • Light
  • Very efficient user interface
  • Wholesome All in One package

Cons:
  • Nothing special about its sound quality
  • Priced quite a bit higher than other competing brands
  • Very bad stock earbuds
  • Part of a closed system (ie. iTunes must be used)


Conclusion:

The iPod Nano is not a player for audiophiles. If you're an audiophile, you're better off with Sony or Cowon. But if you're looking for a good all around player with tons of features and light enough to bring around while doing your daily activities (ie. jogging, gym, or anything that involves a lot of motion), the iPod Nano is certainly the player for you.



End Note: Users should protect their iPods with utmost care. Here's mine. I sewed a casing for it using denim from unwanted jeans

Cost: A white hairs, operating that ancient sewing machine WASN'T by any means easy. Money saved: At LEAST RM50.



Behind the Scenes:

All pictures were taken with my trusty Canon compact camera and some with my SLR.


NOTE TO READERS: PLEASE for the love of God if you've bothered reading my review, it means that you're actually interested in what I have to write. So PLEASE give me some feedback. It would mean sooo much to me.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Look what came in the mail today..

It came properly packaged, all the way from Shenzhen, China!


Oooh oooh I'm sooo excited, are you? :P


This Product RED version is only available online, can't get it in shops :D Yeah I only got the 8GB one. Takde bajet lah, bang.


Coupled with my recently purchased Sony earphones, I didn't even bother with the stock earbuds.

Have I mentioned I get free engraving too if I buy online?

Also, by buying this Product RED version, it helps my conscience by donating what little amount to fight AIDS in Africa

There's the stock earbuds, still properly packed, below it is some cheap dock which I haven't figured out its function yet.
Overall I'm satisfied with Apple's service. They kept me very updated about my delivery status with their email updates. From the moment of purchase to delivery to my doorstep, it took a total of 4 days, not bad considering they had to ship it from China.

I MIGHT do a review on it later, but that depends on reader feedback. No point doing something no one's gonna read right?