Incubus Light Grenades

YEAAAHH!

http://www.myspace.com/incubus

Extra Lice

Halow. Where do I start hehe.

First off, you have to watch "Casino Royale"! It rocks! Plus it has Chris Cornell singing in the intro! If you want an mp3 let me know :D

Ok, to your right are two new services I'm tryin' out. Meebo widgets and Twitter. The meebo widget will be the most truthful source of whether I am online or not :P So kudos to you for knowing my blog address (death to my msn/ym contacts list!). Twitter supposedly is a service that will inform you of your friends' moods/locations/whatever they type on the "Update" panel or send through their cellphone. I intend to use it as a "mobile scratchpad" for ideas I would normally forget when I'm "mobile". Any rantings you may read there are debatable, on the yellow chatterbox :)

I've finally demo-ed my DRM client packager for MCT. They have a lot of new requests for the app, but I think they like it. But with the waging war on DRM, its future could be dim. That's why I'm betting my cards on..

Vista. It's coming out next year to consumers. I've been studying WPF by bits, I should start getting serious. I'm currently getting my feet wet on the Sidebar gadgets. It's not even using WPF. It's just a bunch of your usual html/javascript/ajax plus new "gadget" namespaces. I've created a "radio" sidebar gadget for MCT. It's not yet visually appealing though. And it's not hard to imagine they're creating their own already. In any case, it's still worth pursuing. I've enlisted one of my web designer officemates to design the interface. Will keep you posted.

Am I a mouse killer or what. Mouse #1 went kaput after 3 weeks, faulty IR. Mouse #2 also died on me after a month, faulty left click. So I bought a more expensive mouse this time. Mouse #3 (the silver Kensington) is lined up for the guillotine.


A few weeks ago I bought a pair of drumsticks.


That same day I happily trotted to Tiet, to play drums, by myself. I was trying out 10 Years' "Wasteland". After two hours, my time was up. I went to the counter, and the counter dude recognized me..

"Hey you play for Ling's band right, you sing right? Why are you playing the drums?"

"I uh, was trying to learn"

He laughed, as if my answer was a confirmation of what he was hearing for two hours. I probably turned red, but I was brown to start with, so he probably didn't notice. Hmm, but that didn't keep me from buying this!! (Drum rolllll)


Got this from an expo sale, I don't think it's good, but it's all they have. Bought this as well..


If you can't see the title (thanks to the styro balls), it's "Ping Pong". Apparently it's "#1 Box Office Hit In Japan". I'm a sucker for box office hits, even if all movies claim they're box office hits. It's better than "#1 Movie in America!", which has been abused over and over it's gotten so cliche. I had to get two more VCD's (very retro), because it's a $10 for 3. So I picked up a relatively unknown "Inner Senses" and "Samurai" starring Ken Watanabe and Tom Cruise. I obviously came too late for that expo. (I went there for the Adidas sale anyway, but that too sucked).

I finally got Pin's bass for $130.


Haven't tested it yet. In fact this is the first time I took it out of the case, just for this photoshoot haha! (Check out my "uncle" bed sheet ahehehe) I'm excited to try it to record some stuff. I used to record bass lines using FLStudio. It wasn't that bad, but the real thing should sound better. Thanks Pin, you don't have to worry about me complaining. I don't play bass anyway lol ;)

What I do know though (or at least I think I know) is to write those songs. I am however not very good at it. (Well you be the judge). I've been following melodies through instinct. I feel that the process is selfish, because I gratify mostly myself when creating those melodies. Well yeah there's that "do-whatever's-in-your-heart-and-everything-will-follow" thing, but I'm now dismissing it as a very naive route. I can be incredibly creative (and content) for myself and totally selfish with other people. There has to be some pattern, or a technicality to it, that will bring the process to a whole new level. So I signed up for a songwriting class, starting tomorrow! If the class doesn't turn out to be what I expect, I can always turn into "social" mode, making as many people-connections as I can, that'll probably lead me to the right person. I have long realized that flaw, that I still need to be "pushed" by someone, or something, to get the ball rolling.

Like this book..


I can't say that I don't really need it, but I don't think I've been lacking that "think big" attitude either. I buy/keep them for the sole reason of being a constant reminder of what I want to achieve. Hence, the flaw. These books may be reduced to mere "titles" in the bookshelf, but still they have the same effect of inspiring and moving me. (I am quite worried as well because I've been accumulating these self-help books at an alarming rate, I should get a psychologist instead lol).

Thanks to Ling for lending me this..


The first quote is already a winner.. "I cried because I did not have an office with a door, until I met a man who had no cubicle - Dilbert". Bwahaha! I'm going to enjoy this hehe. I hope she enjoys my "48 Laws of Power" as well, err, not in a humorous way of course lol. (Damn another self-help book)

Hmmm, geek mag..


I have read everything there, except the main article lol! (This is where I found Twitter by the way).

I was out for lunch this morning, and planned on getting fish soup (never though soup will be great with fish on it, until I tried it here in Singapore). For an extra fifty cents, you get rice.

"Wan extra lice?"

I stared at her blankly for about five seconds before I realized she meant "rice".

"Uh NO, definitely not". And her eyebrows met, probably wondering what I meant.

Ooooo ooooo look to your right....

TALK TO ME BWAHAHAHA!

Busy

busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy
busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy
busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy
busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy
busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy
busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy
busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy
busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy
busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy

.. with something ;)

Air Guitar T-Shirt

"Textile motion sensors embedded in the shirt sleeves detect motion when one arm bends and the other fake-strums. They then send the information to a computer that interprets the data and plays it as a series of guitar riffs."

--> WOW!! Full article here.

..In the (near) future a full band would not need any instruments! These hi-tech shirts will do!

"Hey what guitar do you play.."
"I have a medium size Guess shirt, with an Axl Rose print."

I wonder how you'll wash the shirt without damaging the electronics.. hmmm

YEAH I'M SICK!!

The doctor said... sore throat fever. Whatever man! As long as I get to stay home on a weekday wahoooooooooooo!!

I'm napping.

I'm In Good Company

Ok, my coworkers would probably disagree, but I've been contemplating a lot about this. And there's never a better situation than today to stress that I feel I am in a good company, loose and volatile as it may seem. I'll probably regret about this post someday, but right now I want to be proud and excited of what I am currently part of.

I work in a data hosting and web services company, with one of its services supporting a big media corporation here in Singapore. Structure wise, honestly, it's a mess. Five months into the job, I've seen resignations and restructuring back and forth. As any other company, it's generally been the action of choice to make things better.

Today it so happened that one of the webservices I built for a client (a big media corporation) is creating a mess, and was halting most of their webradio pages, returning a web server busy error. I didn't realize the urgency of the problem until I saw the process requests log flashing and scrolling quickly before my eyes. That sent me into a mini-panic mode (and excitement, oddly). Fortunately I was able to determine the problem quicker than I anticipated and fixed it before lunch. But it was perhaps too late, because now the media corporation is having doubts on the database we're using, that is associated with the webservice I provided. And they are pressing on the matter of migrating to a newer database. (About a month or two ago we had a problem that was quickly tied to the database as well, on a different product that I am not directly related to). Anyway, on both occassions, I could honestly validate that it wasn't the database's fault (we're using mysql by the way), the first occassion was an SQL statement that was just trying too hard (courtesy of our developer boss). And in today's case, it was a faulty setting in my webservice. On a technical perspective, as I have said, both outages weren't the database's fault. But of course we could not dismiss the fact that we could have a better database (SQL Server). We are hosting in a Windows environment anyway. Which brings me to my boss, whom I am very proud of.

It may be perceived as stubbornness, but his persistence to stick with mysql earned him my total respect. If he has swayed easily I surely would have had doubts of his leadership. In one way or another, I know we'll migrate to that new database in a few months time, but the fact that we had to deliver at a very short period of time (I had to create the webservice in two days, plus the COM interop since the client is using ASP in their pages), he was being practical and decisive about it. In a few months time I have learned more from him than any of my previous bosses combined.

One of them was to learn when to say "no" to an idea. The new database was such an inviting and feasible solution. To my blind eyes, it was very much an acceptable solution, and I would have told the client "yes, we'll try exploring this solution right away." Those who know me well will probably nod in agreement that I am such a person. I have this unmatched enthusiasm for new and unexplored stuff. I can already see that new database running in my head. Except I forgot that I had to factor in money, period of time to execute, and other unforseen problems that may come up during the process of migrating to a new database. There's reality check for you. "No" is a word that bosses should use more often.

Anyway, if you think that my boss has taught me complacency, think again. He has pushed me (indirectly) to my limits and has given me room to work in a realm where creativity and innovativeness (is there such a word?) is highly required. The good thing about it is that he gives me enough space and freedom to move about. He gives so much trust in people that sometimes it's scary. But it gives you that sense of responsibility, which I like. If I present to him an idea, he will only ask me once if I can do it. If I say "yes" the first time, it's pretty much the end of me if I can't deliver it haha. So I find myself searching the ends of the known web world for cutting edge stuff that will help me arrive at a good and innovative solution. I have been in this work for 5 years now, but never have I stretched my mind so much until now. I am very thankful to him for that.

I remember back then what I told one of the supervisors in my previous company: If we want to keep people in the company, we should have company heroes. Those who walk the talk. Those who will give you straight instructions, and had the guts to decide on the matter at hand. Clearly we lack those back then. I am grateful that I found one now.

Amidst company restructuring, gossip, annoyances, and what have you, here is one who just won't budge. He's not running the whole company, but it's good to be in his company.

Undying Review from Garageband.com

Just got a very inspirational review from garageband. Simple stuff that makes me happy :)

Check the review here

Yey I'm comin' home this December! Can't wait to play with you guys again. Luna will never be forgotten hahaha! (whoever she/he is).

\m/

Bored

Just for the sake of updating.. here are some items from my "memory board" that I've erased..

• buy pc game Half Life 2 Episode 1 -> bought Need For Speed Carbon instead.
  
• buy drumsticks -> went to Tiet on the same day and tried learning drums by myself
• buy bass -> bought from Pin
  
• expose C# web service as COM interop
• finish "The World is Flat"
• finish "The Greatness Guide" -> I'm reading it again
• start drawing manga
• start creating Vista Sidebar Gadgets
  

BWAHAHAHA!

This kid is AWESOME!!!!!!! I think he's possessed or something haha

The song that put me on top

Well whaddaya know, if you search "ham and cheese song" in Google, my blog comes up on top of the result list.

So expect a next demo song to be titled as such bwahAHAHHA! Makes me hungry just thinking of probable lyrics for it..


I went to Pastamania (again) earlier this lunch... to do my pizza-disappearing trick..

TADA!!!!