Monday, March 31, 2008

The Eye (Ang Mo version)

I can see dead people, I can see spirits and ghost, I can see demonic presence because I have a special eye.

I think if you got that ability since baby, it won't be scary at all compare to having it in the middle of your life when things like ghost, demon and spirits are something we learn to fear

This is a direct replica from the Chinese movie of the same name starring Lee Xing Jie.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Wii are currently playing...


If you ever own a Nintendo Wii console, Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a definite must have title in the game collection. One of the first few games design to utilize every aspect of the WiiMote and Nunchuk controllers. Great story line backed up with a unique combat and adventuring system...


If you ever own a Nintendo Wii console, Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a definite must have title in the game collection. One of the first few games design to utilize every aspect of the Nintendo DS Lite, from the touch screen to the build in Microphone even the the extend of using the opening and closing of the upper LCD screen. Great story line backed up with a unique combat and adventuring system fully controlled with the stylus.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Hotel booked for Taiwan Trip

I made a reservation for Good Ground Hotel by mistake and have to cancel it. The review of it was horrible and the bathroom looks more like a Hostel shared bathroom than a 3 Star hotel bath room. Have to pay S$10 cancellation fee though. Fact is not all hotel around XiMenTing area are good hotel. TS Hotel and Rainbow Hotel are highly recommended by people in online travel forum and casual reviewers of Tripadvisor.com. However, due to their high demand, its all sold out.

Good Ground Hotel with Not So Good bathroom

Chance upon another well reviewed hotel near XiMenDing area called East Dragon Hotel 东龙大饭店。It got all the good reviews on AsiaRooms.com by former residents. Immediately drop a line to directly to the Hotel using Skype as there is no online reservation website available and was greeted by a friendly front desk staff. I don't know if they speak English or not so I did not take chances with the language barrier. In my most accented Taiwanese Chinese, I made the reservation for 7th May 2008 to 14th May 2008. Great!!! They got the Family Suite available for reservation. So happy man....finally after two unsuccessful attempt to book hotel like TS Hotel and Rainbow Hotel + 1 crappy mistake of booking "No So Good Ground Hotel", I finally got a hotel for my family stay in Taipei.

Some walking distance to the MRT , Train Station and XiMenDing. Well a little exercise is good for my two old folks and my desk bounded sister. The Hotel logo look respectable.

Now all thats left is to work on my half completed itinerary. I learn something about booking hotel. Sometimes, its better to call the Hotel directly to make reservation than going through the website.

Lock N Lock

While trying to jump start my colleagues vehicle by myself, I accidentally close the door, lock myself out of the his car and left the key in on the driver seats. Almost panic stricken as my wallet and hand phone are in it. Unlike my own vehicle, I don't have a spare car key for his! I almost resorted to breaking the window or calling a lock smith. Thank goodness my neighbor who happen to be the apartment maintenance stuff for St Marin dropped. Must be my distressed look...

Using a long wired hook made out of clothes hanger, he managed to pick the key out of the driver seat through a narrow opening of the driver's side door. Was extremely relieved and grateful for his help. Even for someone who don't speak English well (He could have migrated from Mexico), he is but all smile when it comes to lending a hand. What a close call for me...I thank him before getting back to jump starting the vehicle again.

Than it happen again...this time after I was unsuccessful in cranking up the car even with jump start cable hooked to my Miata's car battery, I got out of the vehicle and the natural instinct to shut the down happens again, this time leaving the car key in the key slot! You see, all the cars I drove do not "self lock" itself when I shut the door except for this stupid car. Once bitten but not shy at all....I locked myself out of the vehicle again. The feeling is like missing a point blank soccer goal a second time...

By some miracle intervention, my good neighbor pass by again and I must be looking really really stupid to lock myself out again but yet again, with the same old wire (make out of the clothes hanger), he manged to unlock the car. The same smile from him and he drove away again... I am twice grateful now...

Something tell me I shouldn't attempt to jump start the car myself because the cock up I made seems to be increasing in intensity. Packed up all the stuff, hop into my Miata and headed off for lunch at MacDonald, recounting the misadventure I have today.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Gwen Stefani Rocks!!!! "4 in the Morning"

I should have listen to her music long ago when I was still back in Secondary school. Everyone was crazy over No Doubt back than and most girls were singing..... "Don't Speak, I know just what you saying, so please stop explaining...". Never knew "No Doubt" let alone appreciate Gwen Stefani singing power.

Well...almost listening to her song everyday now. She is almost 40 but still got a great voice (and chio blondie also)... No Doubt one of the few good female singer around. My favourite song from her right now is 4 in the morning. That tongue twisting chorus was perfectly sung...


The Wild Flowers

Its spring time in Texas, the trees are getting their leaves back, the little flower bud of the Blue Bonnet are appearing on the field and little daisies are already blooming in the grass around our hanger. The weather is sunny but cool, its a pleasant day in short.

If I ask you to name 5 flowers, it'll be easy to say Rose, Lily, Orchid, Sunflower and Daisy. Now name me 5 flowers that grow in the wild? Stuck... That is normal for we are used to florist shop which are mostly 'Valentine' flowers. Most don't even bother to learn about wild flowers at all. Flowers from the florist shop wither after sometime and never to recover again...its like a beauty lost forever.

The wildflowers (and trees) bloom in Spring, turn yellow in Summer, falls in Fall (Autumn) and disappear in Winter ("botak" for trees). And at the first sign of oppurtunity from the warmth of the sun and norishment of the melted snow and rain in late winter, Wild Flowers bloom again in Spring. Unlike your regular flowers or plants that need protection outside Spring season, Wild flowers are all by themselves out there, taking whatever the nature and sometime human intervention throws at them. They are tough plants for they can survive many cycles of season change.

Like Wild Flowers and Florist shop flowers, there are people who always have the good things in life and never experience challenge, set backs, took risk or lost like plants that got so use to the tender hands of the gardener who watered and care for it everyday. In a 180 degree change, when they lost that support, these people are no longer shield from tough times in life and break down.

There are also people who been through the good times and the bad times, success and failure, winning and losing the game and all this in many many cycles like a wild flower through the 4 seasons. These people are harden veteran of life and almost nothing could bring them down from the goal of survival or achievement.

A silver spoon in the mouth might be a good thing in life but the earlier one stop depending on it, the better life he/she will get in the future. So step out of that comfort zone before you are force out of it unwillingly.... Be a Wild Flower, not a shop Rose thats only vivid for a moment.

WikiTravel

I bet all of you have heard of "WIKIPEDIA" which is pronounce We-Key-Pedia for obvious reason. Its an OpenSource Internet encyclopedia where everyone and anyone can contribute to its content. So have you heard about "WIKITRAVEL (We-Key-Travel)"?

It works in the same style like Wikipedia but its focus on traveling and tourism in different country of in the world. For each country, city, county or destination of interest...all information for tourist are break into the following categories ,

  1. Understand
  2. Get In
  3. Get Around
  4. See
  5. Do
  6. Buy
  7. Eat
  8. Drink
  9. Sleep
  10. Get Out
WikiTravel is a great jump start website to start your holiday itinerary planning but it should not be the only resource you depend on. Its content are contributed by travelers for travelers. Good resource for Free and easy trip or backpacker tour.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Boss farewell soccer game

Our boss tour of duty in Peace Prairie Detachment will end on the 31st March, the same day he heads back to Singapore. Rodger from the Ops side organized a saturday farewell soccer game at Stampede Sports Arena located at SouthLake City. This will be a game of Ops vs Logs (Operation guys VS Logistic Guys, Green Vs Blue) in door soccer game. Artifical pitch under the spot light instead of sunlight, the Stampede Sports Arena is a great venue for all our future soccer games but we can't always play there because it cost money to book.
I lost count of the score so I guess we draw in the game with at less 14 goals share equally by both sides. Field rivalry aside, it was a great game for all of us that day and I'm very sure everyone is enjoying the running and ball kicking. A rare saturday morning football game for all the soccer siao in PP Det who usually only play on Sunday.

Got a strain left ankle muscle (old problem) and a bruised right toe but those sacrifice are overshadowed by two goals and two field assist during the game. Ah Kam made a spectacular, almost horizontal diver header to score one while Sen Loong, I think he volleyed in another. Puvean was an excellent play maker controlling the entire pace of the mid-field and also scored hat trick with all his accurate long shots! The FE-Garfield is excellent with his dribbling and passing, totally wrecking havoc in our defense while LT Kang tag team with him on the opposite flank, another terror to our defense. Desmond was pretty determined mid field player and who can forget "Violent" Rodger, the most aggressive defender on the field, I tried to avoid him and let our Cpt Commando clash with him in their left defense zone. He is like a bull dozer in defense, collided with him once when I tried to scissor a ball and was momentarily "shell shocked". Xiao Bai is very very sneaky, infiltrated our defense undetected to score a goal. Maj Peh is the goal keeper for the Ops side and he hold the fort well with humours remark everytime he made a save. Leo is remarkable with both his left and right foot and is a wall of our defense.
I am leaving soon and if not I would be really keen to join the PPDet team for another season of North Texas soccer league. I think we have good players from the new blood in PP Det and experience veteran who played in the previous season to form another team. I'm sure we will kick some ass this time round.


Team Peace Prairie Detachment

Well well...it will be a Dynasty change soon, "Darth Vader" moving back to the Empire and the "The Hulk" is taking over command. Which frontier will our mothership be heading to in this New Dynasty's regime? I have just 2 months to see the difference which is a sure bet to have under a different leadership.

End note for Sunday: "Why are some of my colleague heading 20++ miles south to work on Sunday? Fuel price is at an all time high and for crying out loud, God rest on Sunday so must human. I guess its the determination to make everything right in their respective responsibilty. There is no extra pay, extra allowance or extra priviledge... just a common trait for people in this base. Sometimes, I just don't get it... but a applause to them for the sacrifice to make make the organization's clock ticks"

Saturday, March 22, 2008

1 good news and 1 bad news

Manage to catch Eddie online today and got to know 1 bad news from him.... Our dear big brother Alfred got 3rd degree burn while working on a oxygen tank. Heard that the burn on his leg and hand was so bad he need skin transplant from other parts of his body. He is in stable condition now after an operation and I wish him Get Well Soon.

Than the good news. My dear brother Eechyi is getting married? Or should I say he is going to married his girlfriend (soon to be wife) ShiYan on the 26th of March! Damn. I gonna miss the ROM.

Oh boy... everyone is changing around me and sometime change can be quite overwhelming. I sometime question myself "Where am I in life right now"? Is everyone at the letter "M" of life while I am still far behind at "E"? In a few months when I got back to Singapore, I might be facing a totally different friends and environment I got so used to 2 years ago. This is both exciting but frightening sometimes...

EVERYBODY'S CHANGING


Friday, March 21, 2008

Tua Pao Xian!!! 大炮仙!!!

Look what I found today when sending equipment out of base for servicing. This is most probably an old Vietnam War era tank.

Don't mess with Texans for they have the big cannons.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Hawaii!!!

Heading out of States and back to Singapore on the 31st May 2008. I will definately miss out the Taiwan trip but I sure don't wanna head back to Singapore and head back to work without a short holiday trip somewhere else. So why not spend just one more holiday tour in United States of America? But this time somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean...Hawaii. Plan to make it a stop over trip for myself before coming back to Singapore. Been a long time since my last holiday somehow I forgotten where I gone to...

Ahh.....the Beach, the Sun and the Deep Blue Sea.



There is motorbike rental shop in Honolulu (run by Harley Davidson), maybe I will rent a BMW tourer and ride around the big big island during the day time while staying in a Hostel.


Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Gun Control?

In Texas, I can get a gun with just a driver's license and some cash....

" You don't need gun control here, do you know what you need? You need some bullet control! We need it man...we need to control the bullets. Thats right, I think all bullet should cost $5000. $5000 dollars for a bullet...You know Why? Because when a bullet cost $5000 dollar, there will be no more innocent bystander." -- Chris Rock


A documentary on the gun culture of USA


Tuesday, March 18, 2008

7 Days Taiwan Trip Summary

FLUFFY FLUFFY BEAR,

Its so late already I am still working on the Taiwan Trip Itinerary. For the summary, I think when you arrive in Taiwan, just stay at Royal Castle Hotel right in the center of Ximending. Hang around Taipei for the first 3 days to experience the city life, culture, fun, the night market, Taipei 101 blar blar blar. Board a bullet train from Taipei to Chiayi (1 hr 30mins). Chiayi is the gateway to Alishan Mountain, “Guang Zi Ling” muddy Hot spring spa 關子嶺. I think Alishan is a MUST GO if you ever head to Taiwan, I feel like going there just by looking at the pictures. Spend 2 days and rejuvenate with the natural air of Alishan Mountain. Explore Explore Explore!!! Day six, head back to Taipei and go Free and Easy staying at a POSH 5 star hotel for a day. Day seven…go home lor…. The only headache I have now is booking the Hotel inbetween. Ha ha

Sincere,

BIG FLUFFY BEAR

Be back on 31st of May

Oh boy...looks like the dates are most likely to be firm. My tour of duty (or tour of USA) will officially end on the 31st of May 2008. Will miss out the Taiwan trip for sure and confirm miss out the wedding Dinner. Paiseh to Alfred and April...I was really looking forward to be the "brother" for the customary wedding. When the Call Of Duty from our country is pass down, there is no way to reject it. If there is any news that the original departure date of 4th stays, I think it will be a bonus.

Well, I am prepared for the extension and the extra allowance amounting to S$2000++ for my stay from 4th to 31st May. Well, I don't mind extending my stay for another month now. Ha ha!!! $$$$$.

Although I miss out on the Taiwan trip, I still got to plan it out for my family which is giving me a bit of a headache. You see, I am into backpacking and hostel style of travelling... dropping by a country without too much of a planning and simply just explore and discover. However for my family and with my absence, I'm so worried that they might not know where to go or how to get from places to places. This require a detail itinerary.... which I have already start working it out today. 7 Days of travelling in Taiwan and I have only finish planning Day 2 of the itinerary after 3 hours of online clicking. Phew...still got a Detachment briefing to prepare for next Monday.

Well, opportunity for Mum and Dad to go for overseas Holiday is rare. Sis is doing really well in her career and I have just save a little gold pot from my overseas duty in USA. I guess its a good time to let them indulge in the good things in life. I say to myself "Better now or Regret later" (You know what I mean).

Think I will get them to US for Holiday if I ever have an opportunity to be back in US again for a second tour of duty.

Monday, March 17, 2008

After a day of WWE

Damn f*** dead tired after a whole day of watching live wrestling match at Tyler city. This is my first time watching a live WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and although I already realize many years ago that it is nothing but a well choreographed fighting, I still find it entertaining especially the final match between the tag team of Shawn Micheal and Triple H vs 2 guys I just can't remember their name. Its like watching a Jackie Chan film with Ang Moh stuntman. I still remember that Shawn Micheal appeared during the WWF era back in my secondary school days and its been so many years since than. Thats was like 10 to 14 years ago and he is still around now. Together with Undertaker, I guess both of them are the longest serving wrestler in WWE.

Will be posting pictures here the next time. As for today, I need a rest.

I am TRIPLE H!!!


Tag me!!! Tag Me!!!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Plans might be disrupted!!!

First, I have a family tour to Taiwan from the 7th of May to 14th of May. Next I will be attending my brother customary wedding dinner on the 16th of May. I so looking forward to both this events when suddenly the unconfirmed news came crashing down on me yesterday that there is a very high possibility I will only be able to go back Singapore towards the end of May instead of the 4th as planned.

Damn!!! My sis have already got the air tickets for the Taiwan trip and now I have to be prepared to miss out this long overdue family holiday trip. Looks like they have to go without me. One thing I learn from this episode is nothing always happen as planned. There is no confirmation of my return date yet but I pray that I will be able to go back on the 4th and no extension be made. This holiday trip is very important and hard to come by for my parents and all kudos to some admin cock up for the delay.

Now not only do I miss out the holiday, I also miss out my brother's wedding dinner. Already looking forward to it the day he told me bout the date. Wah lau eh....thats the best time to get all our old friends to gather for a Dinner and catching up especially when our gathering time become a luxury when most of them are either attached or married. There goes my MC role for the night...

Good news or bad news, I hope the mystery is revealed as soon as possible so either everything goes as plan or become contingency plan.

"Life Is Full Of Pain but Suffering Is Optional"

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Monday, March 10, 2008

Mazda Miata for sale

Its time to let go of my baby who have serve me exceptionally well for the past 8 months!!! The best car I ever own so far and I will surely get the newer model Mazda Miata SE (Special Edition) the next time I ever have the chance to come back to USA for work again. This is a really fun lightweight and nimble car with just simple, no frill automotive technology that put you really close to the road between the interface of steering wheels and road wheels. All the things you need of a car with nothing extra you never use. Currently advertise on AutoTraders.com for sale at US$7200...

MY MAZDA MIATA 1.8L, Green, Year 2000

I am drooling to get the Mazda Miata Special Edition version next time. It come factory equipped with BOSE sound system, 15" alloy wheels, full leather seats, 6 gears, ABS...etc etc. Test drove one a few days ago and totally fall in love with it. Its just US$14,000 for a second hand one with less than 60K miles on it.


One thing for sure...this is definitely not a car I can afford in Singapore...in fact, I think I can't afford any car in Singapore with sacrificing my creatures comfort for 4 wheels on the road. In the the mean time, the closes experience I have after parting with my current Miata will be on Playstation 2, Gran Turismo 4.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Its snowing again!!!

"Snow! Snow! Snow! So white and pure. Like Cloud, Like Pure Vanilla and Baby Milk..."

Just when I thought those were the last encounter of snow 2 days ago, I was surprise again today with more snow falling from the sky. This time much heavier than those I report 2 days ago. Places were having 6 inches of snow but my apartment was within but near the fringe of the Snow storm so my area only gets 2 inches of snow. Nevertheless, its another great day for photo shooting and short burst of snow fight. We have to evacuate from the base earlier today to avoid getting into slippery and slushing road condition and instructed to head home straight. Along the way, the road is already feeling like clear Slurpee.

I headed out behind my house to find out who is laughing and shouting were coming from the mini golf course and was greeted by familiar faces of my colleague who are staying in the same apartment estate. Stayed longer than expected and nearly complete a successful experiment of frost bite on my fingers and toes. You see, I am only in a jacket, shorts and slippers in 0 degree temperature. Its man against nature and nature.


EngWee, Michelle, Xiao Mi and Riccardo

Prime Minister making a white poo hill.


Am I in Colorado or Dallas?

Miata taking a powder bath.

Looks like I was wrong previously about seeing snow for the last time in Dallas. Just got a call to stand-by at home and await further instruction about heading back to Base tomorrow. In the meantime, just gonna snuggle at home to watch some movie, edit MTV and sleep.


Thursday, March 06, 2008

A day visit to Discover and Share Pre-School

My day visit to Discover and Share Pre-School to register Andrel for Pre-K. Part of my duty as an in-processing officer is to ensure new coming personnal to PP Det are taken care of for the first few days of their arrival. An optional part of my duty is to take pictures of all the wonderful kids at Discover and Share pre-school for my blog. Does a kid behavior and character when they are so young decide what they will be when they grow up? Some like to play in group, some prefer to be alone, some are vocal and laugh a lot while other like to give you that curious stare. I do believe a kid character and traits NATURE (good or bad) thus good education both from parents and teacher from a young age is very important to NURTURE them to the right path of life.



Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Heavy fun snow tonight at Dallas

The 2007 winter came and gone without a day of snow. What a disappointing winter it was until today, late into the winter period and almost the beginning of spring....its starts to snow really heavy tonight.


The Tobacco company new mascot




Monday, March 03, 2008

Mod for Nintendo Wii Mod Part 1- Alternative for D2C chipset Wii.

Installing a Mod chip for the latest production batch of Nintendo Wii is an incredible feat especially when you have zero or even a beginner knowledge and skill of soldering. Why? Because unlike the older batch of Nintendo Wii, the current batch require at less 13 wires (for Argon Mod Chip) or 30 wires (for D2Cpro Mod chip) to be carefully soldered onto individual legs of a IC chip located on the DVD drive. The older batch of Wii are using D2A , DMS or D2B while the newer batch, thanks to Nintendo "Anti-Mod" department initiative, they have redesign the drive to make it almost impossible to install a Mod chip. Eventually mod chip designer and installer were able to circumvent it.

30 wires of pain and patience.

Even though I have installed MOD chip on the Microsoft X-Box in the past, which also involve soldering wires to the leg of IC chips... Just looking at those huge amount of wires really makes this an intimidating process. At less the IC leg of the X-Box are not so close together and there are less than 5 wires to solder compare to 30 over here. 30= 30 chances of making a mistake. Not impossible to be done though but it does take lots of patience and steady hands to tackle this task. Opening the Wii console to remove the drive is so much more simple.

After some research online. It turn out that Nintendo have 换汤不换料, "Change the soup without changing the ingredients". Everything between the older batch and the latest batch of Nintendo Wii are the same, hardware and software with the exception of the DVD drive, its either a D2A/DMS/D2B chipset, really easy to mod or the current D2C chipset, really pain in the ass to mod. Several forum have confirm that the Nintendo Wii works even if the "D2C" DVD drive is swapped with a "D2B" DVD drive. For those people like me who do not want to screw up a modification and ended with a void warranty, replacing it with a D2B drive before installing the Mod chip is the best but not the cheapest option. However most Nintendo Wii games cost US$49.99 or S$79.99, while "Friendly games" cost only US$5.99 or S$12. Do the math and the modification cost eventually have its cost recouped in the short run.

Now the best place to get a refurbished or old "D2B" drive will be from E-Bay. Just search "D2B Drive" and you should find it. Currently it cost US$99.99 and shipping cost US$19.99 to any location in the world. Ships from Hong Kong (Yeah!!! The Chinese did it again)? Much cheaper compare to other website selling it at US$189 ~199 before shipping fees.

A D2B Chipset drive cost US$99.99 from E Bay.

With a D2B Chipset DVD drive installed which is an easy you follow closely any online Internet guide about "Disassembling the Nintendo Wii", the next thing to do is to test the drive making sure it works and have not suffer any damage during shipment, otherwise just return the drive as DOA to the E-Merchant and they will do an exchange for you. Most of the time, nothing should go wrong with it, electronic nowadays are tough SOB. Now since its working, remove the D2B drive and install back the D2C drive and carry on playing your favorite Wii games in the current unmodded set.

Half the battle is won with a D2B chip. The next half will involve getting a great Mod Chip call 'WiiKey" and installing it. The cheapest source so far is from our neighbor next door, the Canadians. Canadamods.com is selling the WiiKey mod chip at only US$17.95 with a flat shipping rate of US$12 no matter how many chip you get.

WiiKey is not WiKipedia is not WiiKey.

Turn out the WiiKey is so easy to install that disassembling the Wii console turn out to be more difficult this time round. Just 6 points to solder and they are not IC Chip leg!!! Just rest the WiiKey in the designated point and start soldering it... of course, basic soldering skill is a must and use of flux are encouraged. Looking at it, its even easier than the X-Box mod I did years ago.

Easy! Piece of cake I say!

Stay tune for Nintendo Wii Mod Part 2 when I get my "D2B" DVD drive from E Bay and my WiiKey.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Prince Harry secret deployment to Afghanistan

Prince Harry hopes to return to combat zone as soon as possible

LONDON — Prince Harry, home from his abandoned military mission to Afghanistan, says he hopes to return to combat zones as soon as possible.

The soldier prince was met by his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, as he landed at an air force base in England on Saturday after serving as a soldier in the volatile Helmand province for 10 weeks.

Harry's secret tour of duty - due to last until April - was abruptly ended after a magazine and a website disclosed details of his whereabouts.

The prince's mission had previously gone unreported under an agreement between the Ministry of Defence and major news organizations designed to protect the 23-year-old prince and his fellow soldiers.... (MORE)


RESPECT FOR THIS WHITEHORSE!!!!