Breakfast Marathon II ~ in conjunction with Merdeka Day

The best part about public holiday like this is that you get UPS (uninterupted-power-sleep) til high noon & stay in laze & daze mode all day long for all you care, as long as you name's not on that darned holiday/weekend duty roster list. Nasty suprises (work-issues) tend to crop up over long weekends, especially when everyone's happy merdeka-ing; so going OT = suicide, even the lucrative OT claims are not that much of a motivation anymore... unless i'm very the cash-strapped. To show our patriotisme, we should all refrain from going to work on this auspicious day. Since most of my kawan sekandang are not on the suicide list, one of us lazyly suggested the idea of a breakfast marathon... In a small peaceful town like Kuching, there isn't much to do, even on a public holiday, especially if you inherently belong to the kang tao-less gang... except lim teh, makan, lim teh, makan .... Afterall, it's been a year since the last breakfast marathon, though this one is more like a lame-sprint compared to the previous.


Kicking off with kolo mee at that old town coffeeshop at Green Road...

Gone in 60 seconds...

Then off to 7th mile for the infamous original 3-layer teh-c-peng...

Not a very shun lu route... if not for the desperate rendezvous with the bunch of new gals from workplace

Back to town again in time for lunch...

Dim sum at Crowne Tower's Causeway Bay..

A very lo-so & demanding camwhorer (one handling the cam) caused a minor ruckus over a spilled glass of tea..

& an unreliable cam that died-ed intermittently.. (troubleshooting in progress, equipment engineer notified)

A bemused girl-next-door: Eh, lu lang cho ha mik? Why can you ppl sit & eat properly like all the other grown-ups??


Nice ride spotted ~ one mean low riding Jazz

What marathon? 3 stations nia oredi wrap up liao??? ~ senior citizen marathon bah =p

Happy Merdeka, people!

Really looking forward to my 1st upcoming Kayaking adventure scheduled next saturday =)
That's how weekends should be spent ~ if you ask me... healthy + action-packed. Lucky to have friends who are such good activity initiators/event organizers ~ coz i'm definitely not! I'll be more than happy to play the supporting cast, by tagging along & roping in more buddies to join in.
The initial location changed from Bau to Borneo Highlands (better, coz i've never been there)
Some details of the trip:
1. 120 per pax; need own transport to travel to kayak location
2. Double type kayaks ~ for it is easier for beginners to handle
3. Dry bags to store compact cameras/hp/valuables available on loan
4. Only drinking water provide, need to bring own picnic ration. Actual time on water 3 hours + swimming break at halfway; starting from Bengoh to Kg Kemadang at Borneo Highlands + some suprises on the way??
5. Payment on trust basis; cash term on actual day of trip based on number of ppl confirmed going (not turn up; so siapa-siapa fong-fei-kei will kena hantam)

So anybody game enough for an exciting rough & wet kayaking adventure?

Have listed down some so stereotypical favorable replies to be expected (as illustration nia, no pun intended):

Guy A: Okey, i'm in . (Confirm going)

Guy B: Sorry brader, cun-cun got date with kang tao on that day. I'll pass. (Confirm cannot)

Girl C: (??)
#1 hmmm.... cheaper liau? np! but transportation ar... u will kautim for me if im goin hor?
#2 this one ar, IF U LET ME GO, u gota be responsible for me ar! hahaha... AND IF IM GOIN, im not gona be in a kayak with stranger ar.
#3 dun care bout tis. hehe...
#4 hmmmm... somebody's gota be responsible for me, so i js let him kautim all these, can? hahahahahahha..
#5 ok. so, I CAN confirm goin... BUT, bear in mind that ....bla-bla-bla..

Heh, notice the difference? So going or not? took me quite awhile to decipher that before finally reaching the I CAN confirm goin part. Yup, will definitely take me an hour to come up with an interestingly lengthy reply like this one. Very the mafan... Haha, very the funny also =p

“Secrets”

“Follow the notes upon a journey

At first sight marks one's destiny

Once the voyage comes to an end

Return lies within hasty key”

Screening at Roy’s Polarwood Cineplex, the other night. Indifferently titled Secret (I think), this is actually Jay Chou’s directorial debut; from the uninspiring outlook of the movie teaser, this’ll be the one movie I would least care to watch. From the beginning it was laughter all the way, thanks to the ‘brilliantly precise’ senseless subtitles (think word-for-word mandarin-english direct translation ala Babel Fish)… laughed til beh tahan… xp mind you, it’s supposed to be a melancholy love drama. Laughter subsides as the story unfolds; the subtly amazing musical & cinematography start to bowl me over ~ the plot’s a genius! But alas, just as the now highly anticipated climax of the story is slowly unfolding before our eyes, that darn pirated DVD stubbornly refused to play the last remaining 5 mins of the movie. Damn potong stim nia.. Then somebody had the bright idea to try streaming the movie from youtube ~ it had the whole movie uploaded in segments.. well almost all, except that highly sought after last 5 mins. Never had a movie that I wanted to watch the ending sooo badly. I guess, that’s karma biting back… so much for buying a pirated DVD! Fated to catch it at the big screen. Hope that it’s still showing at the 'proper' cineplex.

Another secret unveiled at the movie night: Simon’s Secret Cheesecake

Eh, how come got rectangular shaped crater defect in the middle one??

Doing some analysis on how the ‘defect’ was formed… Presentation 2/10 but Taste 8/10. Not bad at all, this fella can be good husband/bf material, heh... =p

Dilbert Awards for outstanding Management (fwded)

A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life Dilbert-type managers. These were voted the top ten quotes in corporate America :

"As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards.
Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees will receive their cards in two weeks.."
(This was the winning quote from Fred Dales, Microsoft Corp. in Redmond WA)

"What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter."
(Lykes Lines Shipping)

"E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business."
(Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)

"This project is so important we can't let things that are more important interfere with it."
(Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)

"Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule."
(Plant Manager, Delco Corporation)

=) ??? Award winning quotes for outstanding management that shapes today's corporate working culture... So oh-haven't-i-heard-of-that-somewhere-before? sounding; yes you have, coz real life Dilbert-type managers are abundant in offices around the world. You're highly probable to be working for one..

20 Golden Office Rules... (fwded)

1. Rule 1. - The Boss is always right.
2. Rule 2. - If the Boss is wrong, see rule 1 . When in doubt, always abide by Golden Rule #2
3. Those who work get more work. Others get pay, perks, and promotions.
4. Ph.D. Stands for "Pull Him Down". The more intelligent a person, the more hardworking a person, the more committed a person; the more number of persons are engaged in pulling that person down. Especially when that person is such an a$$^&* to work with
5. If you are good, you will get all the work. If you are really good, you will get out of it. Now, what i need to do is get really good at what i do..
6. When the Bosses talk about improving productivity, they are never talking about themselves. Only applies to subordinates

7. It doesn't matter what you do, it only matters what you say you've done and what you are going to do. Manipulation of words does the trick
8. A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the butt. Literally

9. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted. irreplaceable = neck-deep in pool of shit but still surviving well... now, nobody's going to fill in your shoes, unless they've got guns pointed at their heads
10. The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get. Put up with shit = get more shit (usually non-optional)
11. If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it. Depends on how high your "long-piak" tolerance is
12. When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried. Everybody's an Oscar winner when it comes to playing this part
13. Following the rules will not get the job done. This is one trick the old dogs would pick up faster than the newbies
14. If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done. It amazing how 90% of the work gets done in the last twilight minutes
15. Everything can be filed under "Miscellaneous".
16. No matter how much you do, you never do enough. the infinite yardstick
17. You can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work you are supposed to be doing.
18. In order to get a promotion, you need not necessarily know your job. True enough, just stick with #19
19. In order to get a promotion, you only need to pretend that you know your job.
20. The last person that quit or was fired will be held responsible for everything that goes wrong The ideal scapegoat ~ is the one who's no longer around to defend themselves

Return of the 300
A movie as stunning as historical poem...
~ expression of beauty & strength.


The counter attack of Sparta...




An ambassador to Sparta, where a bloody fight will begin






This is crazy!!







Crazy!?








This is Sparta!!






This is also Sparta!







This still is Sparta!







No matter what, this is Sparta!





You crazy bloke!








Aiya!!






This is Sparta!!





Even the King himself has to refer to the God









Please guide us, God of the Sun!






You siao ah! Now is night time, you call me out!? Go away lah!




Damn that stupid Sun..
So the King gathers his strongest army & departs










On the way, he met some allies..







Yo, this is all you got?





Hmm...








You, what do you do?






I'm the hero of Justice.





What about you?









I'm Harry Potter.






And you?






I'm the pride of Saiya.








Heh, a bunch of small characters.







Brothers, tell them what we do!





Andy Lau: "I wanna be a good man....








This is Sparta!!!

So on they marched & when they finally reached the Dark Tower, the Great War began...










Let them know,









What is Sparta!!!






?? What has this got to do with me!?























Surrender, Spartan!





Aaaa!?









wuuu...







Actually, ... i'm your father...





NO~~~~!!








I want revenge!






This is Sparta!

The Spartan army is unstoppable...finally, they come face-to-face with the Dark Lord













I never thought it was you...

Sponge Bob!










I've lost...









My time has come!







Hah, you're too dumb!





Aaa... my heart! You!?





That's right, this is Sparta.
Hence, the Spartan king live happily ever after.




More like parody of the 300 (fowarded) =p

Cosmic Era Gundams

SEED: Orb's Strike Rouge Gundam

SEED Destiny: Orb's Akatsuki Gundam

SEED Destiny: ZAFT's Destiny Gundam

SEED Destiny: ZAFT's Justice Gundam

SEED Destiny: ZAFT's Legend Gundam

SEED: Earth Alliance's Aile Strike Gundam

SEED: ZAFT's Freedom Gundam

Have always been a mecha-fan ~ since the good 'ol days of Transformers & Robotech of the 80s. Though this has been the longest running mecha-anime series since the late 70s, my 1st foray into the Gundam series has only been the recent Cosmic Era SEED (halfway into the 50-episode series) & its sequel SEED Destiny; got hooked on it right away. When it comes to articulation, level of details & cool factor, the CE Gundams have got to rank among the best of the mechas. That iconic Freedom Gundam is definitely on my wishlist...
Source here :one cool site with tons of eye-candies from the land of the rising sun =)

New Lancer 2.0GT

Rumour has it that Mitsubishi's new toy is in town; i just had to go check it out to be sure, coz it looked & sounded almost to good to be true. Sure enough, it was the main attraction at the Mitsu's exhibition booth at the Kuching; looking even better in real flesh! So there i was, at Kuching Food Festival for the only time this year (wrapping up tonight) ~ to check out a car & not forgetting the never miss 'sightseeing' as some might term it. *guys thing, ok*
Some of the measily snapshots i managed:

Tasteful & minimalistic interior + steering wheel with a great feel + F1 paddle shifter = yeah bebeh!

A very un-Lancer-like rear end, but the look kinda grows on you & matches well with the aggrasive front snout. It's wearing massive 18' alloys too. Reminds me of its big brother, the Galant VR-4; this junior sized sedan has really grown in size too.

Powered by a 2.0 MIVEC engine capable of 155ps @ 6000rpm with 20.3kg-m @ 4250rpm. I wouldn't exactly call that a high performance engine, especially when the car weights over 1300kg; but is potent enough to for some fun spirited drive around town. It's the killer looks that counts... All that for approx RM117K ++ ~ CBU (complete-built-unit) from Japan. Sure makes the Civic 2.0 iVTEC darned overpriced. Also makes a certain heavy-footed colleague of mine wanna cringe & cry... for buying a City iVTEC too soon.

Snapshots of the new Lancer Sportback. It just get even better!

But then again, for the pure peformance enthusiast with very deep pockets, there's the ultimate Lancer Evolution to be had at probably up to 2.5x the cost of an average run of the mill Lancer. 280bhp 4WD with over 40kg-m of torque does sound INTIMIDATING.

Done with Destiny, now moving on to the prequel:

One animated sci-fi series i'm hooked on at the moment.

50 episodes long ~ is not usually what i would have patience for; but as the story develops, i'm finding it increasingly difficult to resists the temptation of "let's-watch-another-episode"; usually leads to another & yet another dragging into the wee hours, like i don't have to work the next day.. 8 more to go to the finale, the 50th episode.
Although the original Mobile Suit Gundam had debuted in Japan in 1979 & has had countless of sequels encompassing centuries of future history& spanned several alternate world, SEED Destiny series would be my 1st fascinating introduction into the universe of Gundam.
Gundam SEED Destiny is a sequel to Gundam SEED set in the Cosmic Era timeline; an age where science has enabled humanity to explore both inner and outer space. Genetic engineering has created a new breed of superhuman Coordinators, and given birth to new resentments and prejudices that have split the human race in two. SEED Destiny's focus was placed more on the ideological conflicts held by the characters, with social commentary proposing a global government conspiracy theory. In a wide scope, the series poses the question of what would be the best path for humanity to follow: one where people's paths are chosen, but they are able to live to their full potential, or that of freedom and the inevitable conflict that will occur?

G.U.N.D.A.M ~ never knew it had any meaning in particular. Amusing.

A potrayal of realistic war machines instead of invincible superheroes, where the people who used these machines to engage in a futuristic space war were complex characters whose motivations and beliefs didn't break down into simple good and evil, and the story encompassed human drama and social commentary as well as thrilling robot battles.

The appeal of an anime? ~ is a medium that offers something for everyone.
Not convinced? Let go your inhibitions, go pick up a copy & watch.

Simon-san's Gundam. Quite a professional looking shot, i must say

Well, there u go: some *leaked* snapshots of the photoshoot... did not turn out to be exactly what i dreamt it to be, nevertheless had lotsa fun ~ at the expense of a half day's worth of office-hour-productivity, yeay! Posing around leisurely & looking cool does sound pretty simple; but getting the essence of the shot can be anything but that. Usually takes countless of re-takes.. & finally ending up with only a handful of 'presentable' ones. Heh. These are 2 of the more 'presentable' ones =) ...for blowing my own trumpet, somebody's gonna accuse me of being si beh hao lian again. Well, that si beh hao lian is 3rd from the right in the topmost shot; just beside Mr-Nescafe-Moment, & that not-to-be-missed hunk engineer-cum-model-cum-sportsman-extraordinaire, Chris. Maybe i should take a couple more 30sec lessons on modelling from him, & when i get really good at this, i'll start demanding royalty fees from the photos... haha. CHEH BOI!!