Kien Huo lurking...

Wang Lee Hom

2009-10-14T11:08:00.001+08:00

Computer tethered photo capture

2009-05-01T09:01:00.000+08:00

Episode 29, computer tethered photo capture from Jim Talkington on Vimeo.

Home Photography

2009-03-16T09:46:00.005+08:00

Free online magazine, click on image to read

Chase Jarvis' 5 Secrets for Exceptional Photographs

2009-01-31T22:56:00.002+08:00

Chase Jarvis' 5 Secrets for Exceptional Photographs from SilberStudios.Tv on Vimeo.

In this absorbing interview Marc Silber gets an inside look at multi-award winning Chase Jarvis' photography. Follow Chase around the globe as he discusses his style, what he loves about being a photographer and his five tips for getting exceptional photos.

What it takes to be a rally photographer

2008-12-08T11:52:00.003+08:00

You need to be ready and steady all the time, even when a car loses control and swerve inches from you!
Capture the moment!

Nerves of Steel - Watch more Free Videos

Cosmetics ad behind the scenes

2008-12-01T13:32:00.004+08:00

A nice video produced by Jean-Baptiste Guiton showing the process of capturing the different parts of the process in producing this final ad below. Found this on www.strobist.com

Archiving photos

2008-11-25T15:25:00.002+08:00

Since a year or so I have been shooting RAW more often than jpegs. And the hard disk is filling up real fast too! I have nearly fill up my current 500GB external hdd with all my photos from the last 5 years or so shooting digital. With that kind of data on a single drive if the drive fails then it's bye bye! Besides getting more storage space, I also been looking at backing up my data in the form of RAID 1. Mirroring 2 identical hdds, if 1 drive were to fail there is a secondary hdd with the exact content that I can backup from. Currently the most affordable RAID that is available in KL is the The D-Link® 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-323) pictured below.

While searching for more information of NAS (Network attached storage) I came across this very informative blog entry. Click HERE to read on.

Archiving photos is a tedious, time-consuming experience and the transition from
storing negatives to digital files on CD, DVD, or hard drives hasn’t really
improved matters all that much. On the other hand, losing images because they
weren’t archived properly is even worse and the potential for losing large
numbers of images is arguably even greater with digital.

Casualty at Bkt Tabur!

2008-10-15T05:55:00.000+08:00

Watch the news report at TV3, minute 2.30
Condition reported to be 'membimbangkan'

What lenses do I need to cover wedding?

2008-10-08T07:59:00.001+08:00

"What's the best recommendations of lenses to use at a wedding?" The BIG THREE
-Canon: 17-85mm IS (24-105mm IS is a good choice too but it might cramp you now and then), 50mm F1.4, 70-200mm f2.4 or F4.0 IS it's all about the budget here.
-Nikon: 18-200mm VR (great range for the wedding shooter and sharp enough especially at F6.3), 50mm F1.4, 70-200mm F2.8 VR

Now GO WIDE:
Canon: 10-22mm wide angle lens
Nikon: 12-24mm wide angle lens - sorry it costs more that the wider Canon optic.

FANCY, DANCY:
8mm Sigma Fisheye

Click here to read the reason

Wedding Photography - 21 Tips for for Amateur Wedding Photographers

2008-10-07T21:35:00.001+08:00

“Help me - I’m photographing my first Wedding!… Help me with some Wedding Photography Tips Please!”

Click here for the tips

Customer from hell

2008-09-10T14:41:00.000+08:00

A recording from a very disgruntled customer versus the customer service officer.
The CSO involved was later rejected from the company in another department opening.

Listen it in all it's vulgar glory here
http://media-mobi.com/en/index.php?pg=play&z=2xr9et60xd1h24mfh6ljmoag29kfad22&seeall=1

Enjoying 1st Sept 08

2008-09-04T00:06:00.002+08:00

Originally was suppose to climb Bukit Tabur with a few friends from work, but due to some unforeseen gwailo visit, a fren hv to pull out. So hiking cancel lorr..
So was thinking of some alternative activity, and the night before me and Patrick decided to go to Taman Rimba Ampang. Located at the very end of Jalan Ampang, the place is easily accessible via car.

With four batang namely me, Patrick, Andrew n Brian did some morning walk. Great of Brian to come along even though his camera body is still in Canon hospital.

Dew drop refraction

lil jumper spider among the flowers

bee collecting pollen

Later in the afternoon went for some badminton and pingpong... so much fun playing pingpong, another game that i have not played since leaving Uni.

casualty

she serves a mean top spin

Later that night after the games, we adjourned to Sri Damansara for some crab goodness. A shop called Tak Food HK seafood. Overall the dishes are good and cheap too boot. Cost only about RM20 per person in a dinner for 8.
We ordered 3 crab dishes, kam heong, cheese and ham dan (salted egg). There was a prawn curry cooked in a coconut dish, stir fried fish fillet with garlic n onions, 'chew pai' tofu and steam vege....
not forgetting fresh deep fried mantao... Yummy!

The cheese crab was kinda dissapointing, it seems like they use some sort of mushroom cream soup instead. Hmmpphhh....!

Tai Fok next to 999

the oh so yummy man taos!

stir fired fish fillet with garlic n onions

ham dan crab

kam heong crab

so called cheese crab

this is how u do it...

the aftermath

A tiring yet satisfying day

2008-08-29T22:25:00.009+08:00

So what hv I been up to that is so tiring? For the 1st time in my 20+ years, I made it in person to witness with my own eyes the Merdeka parade (albeit just a full rehearsal) at Dataran Merdeka. Felt so patriotic just like that LOL! Normally I would just watch it live on the TV or just sleep over it.I took the LRT to Masjid Jamek then spent bout 2 hours there.

Later in the afternoon about 2pm, I climbed all the way up to the tallest telecommunication tower in this region. The Kuala Lumpur Tower, or KL Tower as it's fondly known. They are hosting the KL Tower International BASE Jump here for the 9th time since 1999. The view up there was great, lucky to have a nice blue sky for shooting.

check out the panorama view up there

WHAT IS B.A.S.E JUMPING?

BASE jumping is the sport of using a parachute

to jump from fixed objects. "BASE" is an acronym that stands for the four categories of objects from which one can jump:

BUILDING
ANTENNA
SPAN
EARTH

me goofing around camwhoring

Olympic game blooper... window BSOD

2008-08-13T19:01:00.002+08:00

The dreaded Windows BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) during the Beijing Summer Olympics opening.
Source : http://gizmodo.com/5035456/blue-screen-of-death-strikes-birds-nest-during-opening-ceremonies-torch-lighting

Can you feel it? 感觉 [Eve]

2008-07-30T01:05:00.002+08:00

Something new, a new style of shooting and presenting. But biggest change of all - fastest edits I have ever done to a set of photo! LOL!

Thanks to Jonjon and Adam for having me there for the shooting of one of the cutest girl I have met, Eve. And to all the new friends made that day, Tony & Manfred not forgetting Maxx.

Had fun TCSS with you all =)

Entranced by Paul van Dyk

2008-07-28T01:32:00.002+08:00

Thanks to my friend Brian, I got to cover VONYC Sessions World Tour featuring Paul van Dyk at Zouk Mainroom, Kuala Lumpur. It was a great pleasure to be so close the one of the leading electronic dance music DJs and producers.

For more photos, please visit my site @ www.lurker.smugmug.com

“Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing.” - Oscar Wilde

2008-07-24T18:25:00.002+08:00

South Korea's Kim jung-woo fights for the ball with Iraq's Younis Mahmoud (R) during their 2007 AFC Asian Cup semi-final soccer match in Kuala Lumpur July 25, 2007

I always wanted to blog bout this, but ~~i was plain lazy~~ didn't really find the time. The AFC Cup was held in Bukit Jalil from July 7 to 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Malaysia hosted group C of the games which consisted of Iran, China, Uzbekistan and Malaysia. The semifinals between Korean Republic and eventual winner Iraq was also held in Bukit Jalil. I had the privilege of covering this international event. Some of the photos can be seen here. Besides the main event, Malaysian Chinese Photojournalist Association (MCPA) organized a photography competition to find the best image captured throughout the game. The result can be seen here.

What I wanna highlight here is the winning photo and mine, consolation prize.

First Prize - Ahmad Yusni bin Mohammad Said

10 Outstanding Awards- Ching Kien Huo

Notice the similarities between the photo? That separated it from being a so so photo and a great photo. Let's hope I get more chances like this in the future.

The difference between school and life?

In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.

How to enable color management in Firefox 3

2008-07-24T10:18:00.002+08:00

Before enabling color management

After enabling color management

Color management allows images and colors to be displayed consistently across a variety of devices. Mozilla recognizes embedded ICC profiles in image files and uses a local color profile to perform the color adjustments. This preference determines if Mozilla should make these adjustments. It's turned off by default.

Why isn't this value true by default? Well, according to Mozilla, you'll see a 10-15% performance hit using this setting, but if you've got a reasonably fast machine, it'll be worth the better-looking photos.

Here's how to turn it on.

Method 1 Manually edit the colour management setting

1. Type about:config in Firefox 3's address bar and press Enter.

2. A warning dialog box appears - click "I will be careful, I promise!"

You will see a long list of configuration.

3. In the Filter field, type gfx.
you're left with 3 config:

gfx.color_management.display_profile default string
gfx.color_management.enabled default boolean false
gfx.use_text_smoothing_setting default boolean false

4. Double click on the second line -

gfx.color_management.enabled default boolean false

and the value will change to true -

gfx.color_management.enabled default boolean true

5.Quit and relaunch Firefox 3. And your firefox is now colour managed.

Method 2 Install the Color Management add-on

There are two ways to turn on color profile support in Firefox 3. The easiest is to install the Color Management add-on . After you install the add-on and restart Firefox 3, color profile support is enabled, and you can specify a custom color profile by going to the Tools menu, selecting “Add-ons”, and clicking the Color Management add-on “Preferences” button. If you do not specify a color profile, the system default profile will be used, which should be OK for most people.

Sources:
http://www.color.org/version4html.xalter
http://www.dria.org/wordpress/archives/2008/04/29/633/

10+10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits

2008-07-11T01:30:00.002+08:00

A very good write up to improve your people shots. To summarize all the tips

1. Alter Your Perspective
2. Play with Eye Contact
3. Break the Rules of Composition
4. Experiment with Lighting
5. Move Your Subject Out of their Comfort Zone
6. Shoot Candidly
7. Introduce a Prop
8. Focus Upon One Body Part - Get Close Up
9. Obscure Part of your Subject
10. Take a Series of Shots
11. Frame Your Subject
12. Go with a Wide Angle
13. Play With Backgrounds
14. Change the Format Framing
15. Hold Your Camera on an Angle
16. Take Unfocused Shots
17. Introduce Movement
18. Experiment with Subject Expressions
20. Find an Interesting Subject

Read the full article here
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/10-ways-to-take-stunning-portraits/
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/tips-portrait-photography/

Lost my HRM manual, how to use?

2008-07-10T06:46:00.000+08:00

A lightly used HRM, yea the protective sticker is still on it
lost the manual, unable to find any online

so am requesting help here if anyone know how to link it to the strap (that goes on to the chest) and also the other functions (like for interval training)

TQVM!

Can you count how many pixels?

2008-07-09T23:43:00.003+08:00

New toy to play with! 70-200mm @70mm with a set of Kenko extension tubes

Anwar (61) vs Saiful (23)

2008-07-04T07:21:00.000+08:00

Well till know i doubt there is still anyone who do not know what is this all about. These are some funny stuffs i quoted out from online forums

Just imagine. 61 year old guy with a back pain taking on a tall, healthy 23 year old. By force, judging from the accusation. DSAI's must be buffing up at fitness centre and taking steroids.....
they shud come up with a sexual harassment thingy, a more subtle approach, to dig a guy at his age with a back prob and without any struggle or fight... "abg anwar, jangan lar, please dont, auwwww! tak mau, tak mau, i jerit nanti auwwww!" ngeheheheeee.

Janice 衛蘭 "My First" Concert In Malaysia 2008

2008-05-07T11:07:00.002+08:00

Janice M. Vidal, often credited as Janice, is a female cantopop, jazz and R&B singer based in Hong Kong. She is the twin sister of singer Jill Vidal. As a Hong Kong singer she had chosen to adopt the Chinese name Wei Lan (衛蘭), although most of her fans refer to her simply as Janice. She performed at Stadium Merdeka on 1st May 2008 as a part of her 'My First' concert tour.

Click on the link below for a slide show of the concert

http://lurker.smugmug.com/gallery/4845831_xHtMR

A Malaysian made it to TIME 100, The World Most Influential People

2008-05-03T20:00:00.000+08:00

Hmmm.. will he make the news in the local papers? Click HERE to find out who.

Dr M blogs!

2008-05-02T06:20:00.000+08:00

'Lo Mah' Old Horse, Tun Dr Mahatir just started his personal blog at www.chedet.com

With only a single entry, the post already have over 500 comments! hahaha!

Edison and Nicholas, before and after

2008-02-09T18:20:00.000+08:00

Help needed! Urgent!

2008-02-06T17:29:00.000+08:00

I am sorry to bother all of you guys and girls but this is urgent!

I have a friend coming over from far and need a place to stay. I have your houses. Please receive and love him.

His name is Choi San.

財神

Say this sloooowly : Choi San. I love you and I need you, bless my house and my family

Cheers,

Happy Chinese New year of the Rat 2008!
Gong Xi Fat Chai!

You know election is near when...

2008-02-01T11:20:00.000+08:00

... when you start receiving CNY cards from candidate hopefuls, with the each names living in under the same roof printed on the envelope!

But hor...

Malaysia Open 2008, Badminton

2008-01-19T04:47:00.000+08:00

Only 2 players left after the quarterfinals. Lee Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo.
Rexy is considering quitting the job after all the doubles players crash out early in the games.

Just to add something coz it's the New Year

2008-01-01T18:22:00.000+08:00

Half an hour more till the 2nd day of 2008, what to write? what to write?

Do you believe in horoscopes? Chinese zodiac monkey got quite a good forecast for 2007, but somehow 1 certain point did not really come close for me. Maybe I did not look nor try hard enough. I wonder what is in store for 2008?

Currently I am hooked on reading thriller fiction novels. Loves the ones by Dan Brown such as Da Vinci Code, Angels& Demons, Deception Point. Now it books by Steve Berry (The Amber Room, The Romanov Prophecy and The Third Secret). Also a very Indian Jones inspired novel by the Australian author Matthew Reilly, Seven Ancient Wonders.

Resolutions for 2008? I want to get fitter, make more images - enjoy while doing it, get a car? Get a gf? LOL!

I also look forward for my 1st 2008 holiday which is still in it's planning stage . Redang Getaway anyone?

Redang Getaway anyone?

2007-12-30T17:14:00.000+08:00

Was having lunch with my Terengganu buddy from Uni earlier today. It has been nearly 5 years since I left the lovely state of Terengganu, and the 3 years there I had only manage to go to 3 island. Namely Pulau Kapas, Pulau Bidong and Pulau Perhentian.

After Uni, my friend worked as a beachboy at Redang for about a year. He suggested that to enjoy a Redang trip where it is not too pack and non peak period would be around mid March-mid April 2008.

So using this blog entry to gauge the interest of peeps out there... who is interested? Post a reply here kay? We'll discuss further!

Of course I hope he can decide earlier to enjoy better Air Asia rates!

Related infos
http://www.onestopmalaysia.com/holidays-2008.html > Malaysia 2008 school and public holidays

http://redang.org/resorts.htm > Redang resort links

http://booking.airasia.com/skylights/cgi-bin/skylights.cgi > AirAsia flight bookings

Twas one Beautiful Wedding ~Chun&Celia~

2007-12-27T12:32:00.000+08:00

"Who organises wedding dinner on Xmas eve? Of all days! What a choice"... That was what I hear often from my friends when they asked me where would I be on Xmas eve. Well embarrassed to say that I also at a point said that to myself.

More over it is at Sungai Petani, Kedah. A little town up north, how happening can that be? How wrong I was. Some how, no matter where you are, it's who you are with that makes the difference. Celia is my course-mate and housemate in Uni when we were doing Nutrition together. So this is sort of like a reunion dinner for a couple of us close friends during 'the good old times'. Besides bunking into the same room again like we used to in those days, also there were lots of catching up to do. And I learn that there maybe another 'red summons' in 2008 *Yikes!*

The wedding was done is a huge hall, accommodating around 200 tables. This is also the 1st wedding I attended that is a wedding cum concert cum countdown clubbing cum dancing, and of course lots of booze! How is that for a wedding? Haha.. I also jokingly mentioned to the bride that this maybe THE wedding of the year in Sungai Petani!

Now you will feel no rain for each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold for each of you will be warmth for the other.
Now there is no loneliness for you,
Now you are two persons but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your togetherness,
And may your days be good and long together.

A decisive moment? The expression on the bride, photographer and the people below is just priceless!

Da Mouth (大嘴巴) showcase @ Zouk

2007-12-23T15:52:00.000+08:00

Da Mouth (Chinese: 大嘴巴; pinyin: dà zui ba) is a newcomer to the Chinese music scene. A Taiwanese hip-hop band made up of MC 40, DJ Chung Hua, male vocalist Harry, and female vocalist Aisa. They released their self-titled debut album "Da Mouth" on November 16, 2007.

more images http://lurker.smugmug.com/gallery/4038769

Brian's multiply http://brianljk.multiply.com/photos/album/146/DaMouth_aka_Ta_Chui_Pa_Zouk_?replies_read=2

End note-just like any fansi I went up and got some autographs, now I just wait till they get famous! LOL!

Star Live Concert by NTV7 十分红演唱会

2007-12-23T05:40:00.000+08:00

The main attractions of the night was award-winning Taiwanese David Tao and Singaporean Stephanie Sun, who were named Best Male Singer and Most Favourite Female Singer respectively at the Seventh Global Chinese Awards 2007 in Hong Kong last month. Other international artistes are the Grasshoppers from Hong Kong, Claire Kwok, Vic Zhou (of boy-band F4), and upcoming group Da Mouth from Taiwan.

On the local front are Taiwan-based artistes Nicholas Teo and Penny Tai as well as Karen Kong, actress-singer Stella Chung, Louis Cheng (winner of the 2005 Astro Talent Quest), Jet Yi plus boy-bands Boyz Frenz and JNK (formed by Jack, Nick and Kyan, who were finalists of Project Superstar 2). From The Star

Shooting location was to the side of the stage (the stage was about 6 feet high) coupled with a weak spot light the camera ISO setting was cranked up till ISO1600. Not much keepers I would say from the night.

Still David Tao is one that rocked the night with his R&Bs and also dueting with Yanzi on 'Hey Jude'. Da Mouth is a relatively new group, with a very sexy female singer Ai Sa, which apparently is a Japanese.

Dusty I think is an understatement!

2007-12-20T18:58:00.000+08:00

Opened up my computer casing to do some cleaning, I think i'll just let the pictures do the talking.

CPU fan and the Power Supply box

Close up of the graphic card

Wider view with all the wires criss crosssing... messy!

Ms Hypertune 2007 results

2007-12-18T23:01:00.000+08:00

Beauties posing for photographers during the Ms Hypertune 07 finals in Kuala Lumpur 18 Dec 2007. From left to right : Carace Kwan, Ms HT 06, Natalie Fong, 1st runner up, Andrea Cheah, Ms HT 07, Katherine Fong, 2nd runner up and Winnie Chan, Ms HT 05.

Weee~~!! Double page spread in Hypertune Dec 07 issue

2007-12-12T20:34:00.000+08:00

Okie.. quite a normal pics.. but getting a 2 page spread.. hehehe!.. happynya!

Let go and just dance baby!

2007-12-09T00:22:00.000+08:00

Oh yeah.. it just feels good once in a while to let go of everything and enjoy urself, with friends or on your own. Just flow with the music and shake you r bon bon!!

This time was at Poppy Garden with special spinner DJ Jazzy Jeff

"DJ Jazzy Jeff (born Jeffrey A. Townes on January 22, 1965 in Philadelphia) is an American hip hop and R&B record producer and turntablist. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince."

Of course alcohol did play a part innit, 2 btls of Carlsberg followed by Chivas and you are good to go! *beer+liqour=tipsy in a blink*

Thanks for the company for those who were there! :)

Buy buy buy!!

2007-12-04T11:01:00.000+08:00

Finally..., someone has decided to take the plunge!

Sin Chew using my picture (albeit online version only)

2007-11-30T19:50:00.000+08:00

Oh yea... baby! It feels good when a hobbyist like me gets to have his image used as part of a publication. (hehe.. self plug entry) The pictures are taken on Friday at Bukit Jalil Stadium, and it was used on the English language site of Sin Chew.

I have been on a few occasions stringing for Associated Press, and I think this is the 1st time that my picture is used by local news. The Hockey Champions Trophy is the International Hockey Federation's most prestigious annual event (since 1980). Founded by the Pakistan Air Marshal Nur Khan, it features the world's top-ranked teams competing in a round robin format. This event is currently being played at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Nov 20-Dec 9.

As far as I know, entry to this event is FREE! *thumbs up* Cameras are also allowed to be brought in, an effective focal lenght of minumum 200mm is reccomended.

Just goofing around

2007-11-27T19:03:00.000+08:00

It's good to have fun while making images

L-R : lurker, Cassie, Maxx, Ah Tak

TVXQ 2nd Asia Live Tour Concert 'O'

2007-11-25T20:59:00.000+08:00

Coming to the concert without any prior knowledge of them ended up going home with lots of 'wow', 'wooo' and 'wah's! Well you get the idea.

Biggest concert I have ever been to, with lots of pyros, flames, rain falling down, hydrolics and a big ass projector that can illuminate a screen bout 10 storeys high.

Refeshing Gabai Getaway!

2007-11-05T09:26:00.000+08:00

Organised at the very last minute, surprisingly it turned out exceptionally well..

Initially it was only me and Ah Tak going for some landscape and slow shutter practise. Ended up with 11 eager photographers and 1 pretty talent.

Da Group Pic (pic by Melvin)

Liverpool footballer John Riise pay slip salary

2007-11-02T04:26:00.000+08:00

OK this story is all over the news today - but here's the photographic proof that all footballers are paid way too much
Source : Digg

ZzzZzzzz

2007-11-01T07:54:00.000+08:00

Skipped Halloween Mambo
Instead i stayed at home
for some much needed
sleep

all 12 hours of it
and' dayum' does it feels good!

Donut Craze

2007-10-29T07:13:00.000+08:00

Okie.. it's just another entry about the J.Co donuts craze which have been gripping the town of KL. Can roughly say that it is the highest traffic outlet in whole of Pavillion. Customers queing up like snakes in front of the shop. But what the heck?

It taste so good!
Very light donuts unlike the ones you buy at pastry shops.
If you tried chiffon cakes before, well i can only say J.Co donuts are lighter than that!
Oh yeah! It literally melts in your mouth!

*tells self, extra calories can be burn off*
repeat 50 times before buying more of J.Co

A glimpse

2007-10-28T00:56:00.000+08:00

A year older but none the wiser

Still looking, still yearning

For anyone who's willing

To keep me from wandering

3 Stooges at B.E.P

2007-10-27T18:05:00.000+08:00

Yea.. Black Eye Peas concert at Genting Arena of Stars 26/10/07

Uma Thurman 'oh so see-thru' dress

2007-10-21T13:27:00.000+08:00

Uma Thurman has startled onlookers at the Swarovski Fashion Rocks event with an outfit which left little to the imagination. She is well... naked in it. I wonder if she realized that the dress is totally transparent. I mean, how can you not notice that? So desperate for attention meh? 37 years old mother of 2...! Hot MILF!

Bout monks, juntas n photogs

2007-09-28T09:52:00.000+08:00

A young monk shouting slogans during a protest against the military government on Tuesday in Yangon.(European Pressphoto Agency)

I guess most if not all are aware of the current situation in Myanmar. If you notice most images used are captured by their local news rather than wire agencies staff. Maybe it's due to strict protocols?

Even our local papers The Star are requesting for images from the general public.

I've a friend that is going there armed with only a Canon S3 IS Pro and a laptop. :-)

Off to work...

2007-09-28T09:04:00.000+08:00

Just some visuals during my short stint in Batu Pahat.

Poem about Badawi

2007-09-25T15:13:00.000+08:00

saw this from Screenshot's reader comments

This is a story about Malaysian society
Where the different races supposedly live in harmony
In 2003, came along a Prime Minister by the name of Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi
Who led his party to a resounding election victory.

This is a PM whose promises are many
All his slogans are equally catchy
As a result, many people are taken in completely
By his humble and Mr. Clean personality.

First among his chief promises is to combat corruption immediately
That has everyone applauding loudly
But until today, all the major cases are still one big mystery
Lack of evidence or is he fooling us secretly?

Not long after, he introduced Islam Hadhari
Some complained there is only one version of Islam from the Almighty
Anyway, what is it all about, no one knows exactly
Except for some broad points outlined in theory.

Then, he said we need to cut our budget deficit quickly
Which started the dismantling of Tun M's legacy
This caused us to hear about the crooked bridge flip flop story
With all the accusations, what is fiction and what is reality?

By his own admission, his son is extremely wealthy
Because he controls a listed company by the name of Scomi
Was once implicated in the shipment of banned components to a Middle
Eastern country
But his son claimed ignorance and that's the end of the story.

He also has a son-in-law by the name of Khairy
Not elected but is UMNO Youth's deputy
Got entangled in the merged Avenue-ECM Libra entity
Which happened right under the nose of the PM-led Finance Ministry.

Then, we came across a foreign newspaper reporting factually
Of his adventure to see a yacht at a faraway place somewhere in Turkey
This is not true, he said insistently
But I don't see the newspaper issuing any apology.

Next, came the jet on the itinerary
Bought or leased, he is lucky that Malaysians are not financially savvy
The jet is also for the Agong's use, he said publicly
I wonder whether the Agong requested for one specifically?

Later, we read of his holidays in an Australian city
Staying in a mansion owned by someone whom an old man named as Patrick Badawi
We shouldn't be so critical if he was only away temporarily
Except for the fact that there was a major flood in our own territory.

Then, we get the case of Proton disposing off a subsidiary
Not for a large amount but for a mere penny
Many think behind the deal something's very fishy
Tun M's pet project is certainly going awry.

Overall, crime rates are going up highly
Confidence in our police is at its lowest historically
But the IGP got his tenure extended easily
He must be thinking everything's hunky-dory.

He has also been busy launching economic regions lately
Trying to attract foreign investments into the country
Sadly, some are saying that the northern development is benefiting a crony
While others argue the southern one will end up as LKY's colony.

You see, I can go on and on about this indefinitely
Because it is easy and I do not need to create any of them individually
They are all plucked from the web where the stories about him is a plenty
From promoting judges unfairly to always being sleepy.

Actually, I am just an ordinary Malaysian who cares about her country
And I have to state that I am not against him or his policy
For I do not care who is the Perdana Menteri
As long as the person is capable and trustworthy.

Whooping 5GB from Hotmail!

2007-09-05T08:36:00.000+08:00

Yeap... hotmail is upgrading!

Convenience of technology has given us

2007-09-01T19:20:00.000+08:00

Sometimes i am just simply amazed with what the advancement of technology can do to ease our life and at the same time keep us connected with all...

'Nuff said

Self poison is the worst type of poison...

2007-08-28T20:10:00.000+08:00

Was looking for something to replace my 4 years old desktop speakers. Came across Aego M on promotion. Touted the only hifi level multimedia speakers. Did some lurking around for more info/reviews and found plenty of rave reviews from local users.

6 hours later... the georgeous set in white is sitting next to my pc!

Oooo... EARGASM i tell you! The clarity is superb, wide soundstage! (of course coming from a non audiophile :p) Size for once does NOT matter! Hahahaa!

My 'workstation'

2007-08-25T10:26:00.000+08:00

Just a snap of the place where I spent most of my time staring at, my own little private space. My pc at home, where I play my games, watch movies, chill out with musics, tok kok in msn, edit my pictures, look at other's pictures, kao lui, spam in online forums, etc...

Gwen: I am not a bad girl

2007-08-21T04:38:00.000+08:00

Excerpts from the Star

“I’ve made a lot of changes to my concert just for Malaysia. It’s a major sacrifice that I have made as an artiste. But I’m willing to do it ’cos I want my fans in this country to see me perform here.

“I will wear jackets over my tops and leotards underneath my skirts or dresses,” added Gwen, who had earlier privately met with Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Mohammed Mohd Daud.

This just reminds my Jolin Tsai's concert last year

Photo Stealing at a Whole New Level

2007-08-20T06:52:00.000+08:00

I just thought this may be of interest/concern to some considering how often images get stolen. It seems that a self portrait taken when Lara Jade was 14 was stolen and used as a cover for a Porn video, read on...

Let's do the PLANK

2007-08-14T15:38:00.000+08:00

The Plank - One of the Best Abs Exercises!

You may be learning the plank exercise for the first time or you may already use it regularly in your workouts. I have found it to be one of the most effective abs exercises I use. Not only does it strengthen the abdominal muscles, but also works all the core muscles -- the back, hips, etc.

I recommend starting with the first exercise and gradually increasing the seconds you can hold the position. Once you feel comfortable with the plank on your elbows, progress to the next exercise. It's very rewarding when you can see your core strength improve by the length of time you are able to hold the position!

more
http://www.abs-exercise-advice.com/plank.html

¿¿ɹǝʇndɯoɔ ʎɯ oʇ pǝuǝddɐɥ ʇɐɥʍ ¡d1ǝɥ

2007-08-09T19:39:00.000+08:00

¡pǝʍǝɹɔs sı pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ʎɯ ʞuıɥʇ ı

Guys watch your backsides!

2007-08-05T17:26:00.000+08:00

Yea literally! Rape women, murder after rape, snatch thieves, robbery, road bullies that lead to death and now rape men

Latest reports says that a "a well-known singer in the Chinese community, was allegedly robbed and sodomised by a group of men after a stage performance early Thursday morning"
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/5/nation/18508018&sec=nation

Any idea who is this well known local singer is?

Reuter's Photoshop usage guidelines

2007-07-29T07:34:00.000+08:00

Last year a couple of photojournalist were in the limelight for wrong reasons when Reuters unknowingly published images which were excessively edited to increase the dramatic effect.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13165165/

After this issue, David Schlesinger, Reuters Editor-in-Chief published a treatise on the proper ways to use the powerful software Photoshop in their photojournalist's workflow. The details is written out in a very clear and precise way on how one should (or shouldn't) use the tools available.

Below are some of the excerpts taken out from Reuters's blog

Photoshop is a highly sophisticated image manipulation programme. We use only a tiny part of its potential capability to format our pictures, crop and size them and balance the tone and colour.

Materially altering a picture in Photoshop or any other image editing software will lead to dismissal.

THE RULES ARE:
• No additions or deletions to the subject matter of the original image.
(thus changing the original content and journalistic integrity of an image)

• No excessive lightening, darkening or blurring of the image.
(thus misleading the viewer by disguising certain elements of an image)

• No excessive colour manipulation.
(thus dramatically changing the original lighting conditions of an image)

.
.
.
.

Cloning, Healing or Brush Tools are not to be used. The single exception to this rule is sensor dust removal. The cloning tool will only be used below the 100 pixels radius setting. Unless performed on a well-calibrated screen under good working conditions we strongly recommend photographers to request dust removal by pictures desks.

Saturation should not be used. It affects image quality and cannot be judged well on a laptop screen and adds nothing more than what can be achieved in levels.

Colour Balance adjustment should be kept to the minimum, especially on laptop
screens which tend to have a blue dominance.

Levels should only be adjusted to the start points of the histogram graph on both shadows and highlights.

Auto Levels should not be used.

The Burn Tool in most cases should only used to subtly darken areas that have been overexposed. When the burn tool is used in shadows a visible element of everything that can be seen in the raw file must remain visible.

Highlights and Shadows can be toned by using the selective highlights tool, a feather of 25-30 and then adjusted in curves.

Article gleamed from Photoshop User June 2007

Some short write up on the current state Malaysian Football

2007-07-27T09:29:00.000+08:00

I guess most of you have read this somewhere else, just thought of reposting this. Embaressing but funny though.

Tahniah diucapkan kEPADA SKUAD
bolasepak negara, negara kita mencatat
sejarah selaku tuan rumah pertama dalam
sejarah tamadun manusia yang tak dapat
mata pun...angka jaringan yang
diperolehi pun memberi makna yang tak
terhingga :

KALAH 5-1 DENGAN CHINA

jika ditambah 5 + 1..jawapannya
adalah enam...skuad bola sebenarnya
memberikan penghormatan kepada enam
perajurit negara yang maut dalam
tragedi melibatkan pesawat NURI....jadi
skuad kebangsaan menghadiahkan 5-1

KALAH 5-0 NGAN UZBEKISTAN

Skuad bola menghadiahkan kekalahan 5-
0 ini sebagai ingin memberitahu dunia
luar bahawa negara kita telah mencapai
50 tahun kemerdekaan dan sesuatu perlu
dibanggakan...hasilnya skuad bola
negara melahirkan rasa cinta kepada
negara melalui angka itu 5-0

KALAH 2-0 NGAN IRAN

skuad kebangsaan sedar malaysia ingin
menjadi negara maju menjelang
2020...jadi dalam perlawanan terakhir
ini mereka sekali lagi menunjukkan
bahawa mereka sebenarnya mendukung
aspirasi negara dengan memberikan
menghadiahkan kekalahan 2-0

KESIMPULAN

berundurlah wahai pemimpin FAM
seperti datuk raja zainuddin, datuk
anifah aman
dan datuk redzuan sheik
abdullah...FAM bukan gelanggang
kepentingan politik...tengku abdullah
dah pun berundur secara
terhormat...YANG LAIN TAK RETI-RETI
LAGI KE!!!!!....jangan sampai esok
malaysia kena bantai dengan negara
timor leste 5-0, baru nak bertindak...

cuba kita bandingkan 2 tajuk akhbar
di bawah :

metro 15 JUN 2007 :

FAM YAKIN HARIMAU MALAYA MAMPU LAKAR
KEJUTAN

metro bertarikh 14 JULAI 2007

FAM SEDAR TARAF MALAYSIA KIAN JAUH
apa jadahnya semuanya....kejab yakin
kejab tak...kejab leh main, kejab kata
tak boleh...dahla buat peraturan tak
tetap....dulu kata pemain terlibat
piala asia tak boleh main semi final
piala FA...pastu dibenarkan
pulak...pastu bila akhmal rizal
terhincut2 keluar jadi tak boleh
lak....dari situ je dah nampak FAM urus
liga macam sampah....aku bersimpati
dengan nasib rakyat malaysia yang
berada di stadium bukit jalil sambil
melaung-laung kuat
MALAYSIA...MALAYSIA...MALAYSIA.....tapi
dekat papan scoreboard tertera Malaysia
ketinngalan 5-1....apa punya bodohla
orang-orang ni...nak masuk kena bayar
tiket lak tu...bukan free...yang untung
FAM and kroni-kroni...pemain malaysia
lak yang boleh menaNg...gaya rambut,
but tercantik, jersi ala-ala
barcelona....lagi2 muka shukor adan,
rusdi talib, khaironisam,fadzli
shaari....macam tu je terbaik dari
berjuta-juta rakyat malaysia

AYUH RAKYAT MALAYSIA DALAM FRIENDSTER
NI YANG MASIH SAYANGKAN BOLASEPAK
MALAYSIA....FORWARDKAN MESSAGE
NI....BUAT MEMORANDUM SUPAYA SEMUA
MAKHLUK TU BERUNDUR...TAK KIRALAH KO
SULTAN KE, AHLI PARLIMEN KE, SENATOR KE

UNDUR!!!...UNDUR!!!!....UNDUR!!!!...UND
UR!!!!!

War torn country Iraq's football team reaches the finals of AFC Asian Cup 07

2007-07-26T08:50:00.000+08:00

I am in respect of the Iraqis despite all the problems back in their homeland they manage to reach the finals of this regional competition. They beat South Korea 4-3 in penalties after a stalemate but tense game in normal regulation time. The win has put a lot of smiling faces in Iraq capital, not to mention gunfires .

They will meet Saudi Arabia in the finals on the 29th of July in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Indonesia.

Below are some comments I came across while reading some local forums discussing the match,

"When they hv won, our national team 'kena hentam' some more.
Iraq...a country in trouble...great performance.
Our team?
'makan cukup' semua cukup...play like crap"

"FAM should contact FA of Iraq and ask them how they develop football with such low or no financial support from the government ..."

Btw the Iraq coach Jorvan Vieira, was once coaching our own Malaysian U-20.

Ahmed Menajed celebrates after scoring a goal during the penalty shootout against South Korea at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup semi-final soccer match in Kuala Lumpur July 25, 2007

Yeom Ki-hun being consoled by his teamates after having his spotkick saved during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup semi-final soccer match in Kuala Lumpur July 25, 2007

For more images please head to http://lurker.smugmug.com/gallery/3130395#P-6-15

Narcissism is alive!

2007-07-24T20:24:00.000+08:00

Boo!
Hope I didn't scare y'all away. Just some old picture of yours truly that i dug up from my archives.

All about Potter

2007-07-20T21:51:00.000+08:00

So in a few hours Carrefour and Tesco will have lots of kids lining up for the final chapter of Harry Potter

RM40 off what MPH/Popular etc is selling wei! hahaa.. guess where they all will be lining up? In response, the four major bookstore chains has responded by....

not selling! LOL
read it here
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/20/nation/20070720172429&sec=nation

Meanwhile i have found a very good summary on the upcoming title, scroll down

bewarn of spoilers tho.......

dun say i didn't warn you

Wong Ming Zhi sued

2007-07-18T12:17:00.000+08:00

The rapper from Muar, famous for his rendition of " Muar Chinese" was sued due to his latest creation "Negarakuku" which was uploaded to youtube.

For context, http://lurkzone.multiply.com/video/item/15

Uzbekistan gives Malaysia another 5 goals drubbing

2007-07-15T06:19:00.000+08:00

Yup, for the 2nd straight game, Norizan Bakar's boys got their ass whooped 5 times. Makes me wonder if this is in conjunction with our country's 50th year of Independence? 5-0, 50... See the picture? The Malaysian team coach was jeered by the crowd everytime his face appeared on screen. Meanwhile banner calling Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to wake up was prominently displayed.

Malaysia being the 1st host country out of the competition will see out the last group C match against Iran on the 18th of July at Bukit Jalil stadium. I wonder if that match will end with another 5 goals conceded? Or no it won't be a surprise if more!
More images on my web gallery here : http://lurker.smugmug.com/gallery/3130395#171594860

AFC Asian Cup 2007

2007-07-10T21:09:00.000+08:00

Got another chance to cover a regional sporting event. This time is football. 1st day match of Group C, Malaysia in the game by virtue of being a co-host of this tournament. Shooting football requires even faster reflexes compared to shooting motorsport. And the 1st day I totally sucked (images wise lah) according to my sifus.

Malaysia vs China (1-5)

more updates and images can be found here http://www.photokaki.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16281&highlight=

Wedding Blessings

2007-07-09T00:35:00.000+08:00

婚礼的祝福 Wedding Blessings
作曲: 陈建宁填词: 许常德

hūn lǐ de zhù fú

shí jiān yī miǎo yī miǎo yī miǎo
dǎo shù jì shí
wǎng shì yī mù yī mù yī mù
tū rán jìng zhǐ

nǐ wǎn zhe tā
tā wǎn zhe nǐ
xiàng wǒ zǒu guò lái
tóng zhuō de rén fēng yōng ér shàng
jiāng nǐ wǒ gé kāi

wǒ gàn bēi
nǐ suí yì
zhè shì gè cán kù de xǐ jù
wǒ de rén shēng zǎo liú zài nǐ nà lǐ
wǒ què hái yào gù zuò xiāo sǎ dì

Repeat:
( nǐ hé tā
wǒ hé nǐ
zhè shì gè fěng cì de jiāo jí
shì nǐ tai cán rěn
hái shì wǒ tai tiān zhēn
nǐ yào wǒ lái
jiù zhēn de chū xí

wǒ de qǐng tiē shì nǐ de xǐ tiē
nǐ yào de yī qiē
rú jīn dōu biàn chéng wǒ de xīn suì
nǐ zǒng shì tai qīng xǐng
wǒ shǐ zhōng hē bù zuì
lián zhù fú nǐ hái bī wǒ gěi

nǐ de xǐ tiē shì wǒ de qǐng tiē
nǐ yāo wǒ jǔ bēi
wǒ zhī néng huí jìng wǒ de bēng kuì
zài chǎng de dōu zhī dào
nǐ wǒ céng nà me hǎo
rú jīn zhěng kē xīn dōu suì le
nǐ hái yào wǒ wēi xiào )

婚礼的祝福

时间一秒一秒一秒
倒数计时
往事一幕一幕一幕
突然静止

你挽着他
他挽着你
向我走过来
同桌的人蜂拥而上
将你我隔开

我干杯
你随意
这是个残酷的喜剧
我的人生早留在你那里
我却还要故作潇洒地

Repeat:
(你和他
我和你
这是个讽刺的交集
是你太残忍
还是我太天真
你要我来
就真的出席

我的请帖是你的喜帖
你要的一切
如今都变成我的心碎
你总是太清醒
我始终喝不醉
连祝福你还逼我给

你的喜帖是我的请帖
你邀我举杯
我只能回敬我的崩溃
在场的都知道
你我曾那么好
如今整颗心都碎了
你还要我微笑)

He just wanna say Hi

2007-07-05T19:05:00.000+08:00

my 'naked' Perfect Grade Strike Gundam

Lonely won't leave me alone/ 千億個夜晚

2007-06-19T22:31:00.000+08:00

Original song by Glenn Medeiros

Why do I seem to be caught up inside a dream
All my life, it's always been my shadow and me
Over my shoulder there's always a voice somewhere
Saying I never should try to set my heart free

I wish that love would come and take me in her arms
Show me what I've never known.
Where I could hold someone words like right and wrong
Just fade away like yesterday

Lonely won't leave me alone
Lonely won't leave me alone
Why, tell me why, won't even let me fall in love
Oooooh everywhere I go always by my side
Won't even let me fall in love

I try and say I love you but the words won't come through
In my eyes, see all the tears and sad memories
Why can't I start out new and leave that old feeling too far behind
I guess that lonely needs company

Around each bend of road
I'm thinking that in time there will be that rainbow's end
But when I follow those self illusions
I find that it's only lonely and me again

Lonely won't leave me alone
Lonely won't leave me alone
Why, tell me why, won't even let me fall in love
Oooooh everywhere I go always by my side
Won't even let me fall in love

Lonely won't leave me alone
I wish that love would come
Lonely won't leave me alone
And take me home
Lonely...

This Cantonese version by George Lam

再次看你一眼然后静静孤自远得 Woo.....
前面是个孤单夜晚四处也觉冰一眼离别路上步步困难
Woo.....长夜待我空虚里习惯谁愿回看忧郁的眼
旧事没法平淡偏偏要装作平淡冯著忘记将它行淡
但是易说难辩岁月已印在眉间匆匆光阴如幻
天天空虚无限落寞的双眼前面尚有千忆个夜晚
终于归于平淡茫茫然走向埋没著我一生夜晚
Lonely won't leave me alonly lonely won't leave
me alone Always by my side lonely won't let me
fall in love oh every where Igo Always by my side
Lonely won't let me fall in love
Repeat

Separated Twin Sisters Found!! One in Malaysia Another in HongKong..

2007-05-10T08:36:00.000+08:00

'nuff said

Tako! Takoyaki!

2007-05-08T21:56:00.000+08:00

I was over at MidValley after work earlier today with the intention of looking for some new reading material in MPH. Sadly the book that I am looking for is not in stock. So I went "jalan-jalan cari makan"! Hehehe!

Came across this little snack called Tako Tao. They looks like oversized fishballs. This is the info I got from Wikipedia on Takoyaki.

Takoyaki (たこ焼き or 蛸焼, Takoyaki^?) (literally fried or baked octopus) is a popular Japanese dumpling made of batter, diced octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, konnyaku, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, green laver (aonori), mayonnaise, and katsuobushi (fish shavings), originated in Osaka. Making takoyaki requires a takoyaki pan, a special frying pan made of cast iron with hemispherical molds.

They come in 3pcs per set with 4 different fillings to choose from. I ordered octopus and unagi filling which cost Rm3.90 and RM4.40 respectively.

Last week I had Korean food with a few friends over at Life Center, KL prior to the "So you think you can DANCE" live recording at the RUUMS. The show was.... so so, I think i'm better off watching it from the comfort of my home if not for the nice company I had that night.
The Korean dish I ordered was quiet interesting to say the least, I think it's only my 2nd time having Korean food. I can't recall what's the name of the dish, but I do remembered Claris saying it's the equivalent to Malaysian 'chap fan' or economy rice.

The 'chap fan' with rice underneath all those vege. They come with a plate of sauce where you mixed it up all together. End result taste kinda like fried rice to me coz the whole thing was served on a hot metal bowl!

All the mini side dishes. Sen enjoying her meal while Wong looks on.

Meanwhile back at home....

Petai Sambal Belacan!!
mom's cooking! <3

Crap.. ManUtd not coming to Malaysia liao

2007-05-08T20:20:00.000+08:00

got this little piece of news,
Source: http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070508/afp/070508131225spo.html

Man Utd's Asia tour at risk

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8, 2007 (AFP) - Malaysian authorities caved in to
pressure from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Tuesday and ruled
Manchester United out of playing in the country in July, throwing their
Asian tour into chaos.

The decision came as FIFA president
Sepp Blatter called for the newly-crowned Premier League champions show
some respect, adding that he was liaising with the Football Association
to get United to change their plans.

"You are welcome but
please come at a time that is acceptable to the whole football family,"
Blatter said on the sidelines of the AFC Congress here.

"As FIFA president I appeal for your solidarity.

"If
a big club is touring we appeal for a minimum of respect when they plan
to travel to the region when the Asian Cup is being played."

The
vice president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Tengku
Abdullah Ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah joined AFC president Mohammed bin
Hammam in calling for United's entire pre-season commercial tour to be
called off.

Manchester United are also due to play in Macau, Japan and South Korea.

"If they want to come (to Malaysia) during that time they can't," Tengku Abdullah told reporters.

"The
sanction has not been given by the AFC and we have to follow it.
Manchester United cannot come to Malaysia during the Asian Cup. They
will have to rearrange their schedule."

Bin Hammam on Monday
slammed United as "disrespectful" for scheduling a tour during the
Asian Cup finals being held in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and
Vietnam from July 7-29 -- a flagship event he hopes will boost interest
in Asian football among Asians.

He suggested FAM could face
disciplinary action if they allowed United to play in Kuala Lumpur on
July 27, saying each association hosting matches had signed guarantees
not to hold any other games when the Cup was on.

His fear is
that a tour by such a big club will divert attention from the Asian Cup
in a part of the world where English Premier league football is hugely
popular.

"It is bad news for the fans but it is the feeling of
the family of Asia," said Tengku Abdullah. "By the look of it the Asian
Cup will have to take precedence.

"We all have to support Mr. Bin Hammam's call for Manchester United not to come to Asia at all during the Asian Cup.

"The feeling is that they have to reschedule."

It was clearly a decision taken reluctantly with FAM General Secretary Ibrahim Saad separately spelling out what he thought.

"As
a Malaysian I'm surprised. It is out of tune for people to dictate to
us how we celebrate our 50 years of independence," he said, referring
to the United game that was to be part of celebrations of their
independence from colonial rule.

Manchester United plan to
kick off their tour against J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds on
July 17 in Saitama in Japan before travelling to the South Korean
capital for a showdown with FC Seoul on July 20.

Alex
Ferguson's team are then due to head to Macau for a match against
Shenzhen on July 23, before ending the tour in Kuala Lumpur on July 27
against a Malaysian XI.

Malaysia was part of the schedule primarily because low-cost carrier AirAsia is one of Manchester United's key sponsors.

~BabyGina~

2007-05-05T01:38:00.000+08:00

Had a fun shoot with Regina at Tmn Bukit Jalil together with awong. I think all of us got a nice ~~sunburn~~ tan for shooting when the sun is 90 degrees on top of your head.
Much thanks for Regina for layan-ing me and awong for joining. Too bad a few others can't make it. Also Kenny for his lighting equipments, gotta get 1 set of that soon!

Photos will come a bit slow as I find time to edit them. C&C welcome. You can follow the thread here : http://www.photokaki.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14812

Photos from Andy Wong: http://www.photokaki.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14792

#1 Regina with her 'not so nice jeans and top'

Save the cheerleader, Save the world

2007-05-04T14:42:00.000+08:00

For all the fans, can't hardly wait for the season finale!!

Razerised

2007-04-29T00:38:00.000+08:00

With my recent MSN nick, I have attracted a number of questions regarding it... LOL!
Normally I would just ask them to google out the meaning themselves. And they come back with more questions! Hahahaa.. cha tou!

Yes, is a freaking rodent! Gaming mouse is what the manufacturer is calling it.

Razer was founded in 1998 and has since produced some of the most recognized and widely used gaming peripherals. The company has always kept its slogan, “For Gamers, By Gamers”, in mind when creating gaming products. This is clearly evident in all of their products on the market. Razer continues to strive to meet the needs of today’s astute gamers.

The mouse is very smooth and glides on the mousepad thanks to it's big Teflon coated feet. Other than that, there is not much that I can differentiate from my previous mouse, the Logitech MX500. For those interested to know what so special about the mouse, head on here. They have a good write up on it together with some benchmark comparing all the gaming mouses in the market. It is nice to know that I currently own one of the most accurate rodent in the market. Frag on baby! Headshot!

All the Prime Ministers of Malaysia not pure Malay?

2007-04-24T19:26:00.000+08:00

This is an interesting piece of comment left on Lim Kit Siang's blog by reader undergrad2.

But then who is a Malay?

The first PM was half-Thai. The second was half-Bugis (read: Indonesian), the third shared his ancestry with Ataturk and the fourth somebody who could read Tamil if UMNO minutes were written in that language tomorrow. And the fifth is of Chinese descent.

They are ‘Malays’ only as far as Article 160(2) of our Constitution of 1957 allows them to be.

Do you all still remember your history lessons?

Intel Core 2 Duo price slash!

2007-04-23T20:42:00.000+08:00

A forummer in lowyat.net made this little price comparison between shops in Lowyat Plaza based on the latest price slash announced by Intel on their line of Intel's Core 2 Duo

Seems like a good time to go dual core!

Hapennings here and there

2007-04-20T12:03:00.000+08:00

Sometimes news just come fast and furious and can easily overwhelm a person. For the past weeks or so I was pretty occupied with work, clocking nearly 60 hours per week at my shop. So much time spent yet the sales is not moving anywhere, sigh. Sad. I am just able to maintain it on par with the previous month, and things has been slow the last few days, what to do? Middle of the month mah!

Hahaha! Just hope that things will pick up once people gets their incentives and salary payment later in the month.

April presented me with at new challenge at work. One of my colleague was transferred back to her hometown in Ipoh to take charge of a new outlet. Congratulations! It's always nice to see people that you have work with taking on new challenges and getting promoted. Sweeter even when they started of under you.

To replace the void when she left, I was given a new staff. An experienced staff mind you, with years of experience under her belt in this line of work. Only problem is she is slightly above the age of 50 and computer illiterate. =.="

While I shouldn't be biased towards any age group, I still have the hesitation of working or rather supervising someone who is so senior than me. Especially when delegating work for her. So far everything has been going smoothly, she is very easy to get along with and she taught me some new stuffs too that I didn't know. Definitely a new challenge wouldn't you say? Hahaha!

Now comes the hard part, teaching her to use the computer and misc paperwork. Just try to imagine teaching your mom to use the computer! Am really losing grey matters here.

For someone who have not touch a computer in her life, who can't tell apart a mouse from a keyboard, what's a window or an application it ain't any fun! Not at all! I don't even know where to start initially. I do hope she is able to catch up in the 3 months probation period, I hate to extend it or come worse to tell her that she's not up to it.

Enough about myself here.
When all this is going on, a friend of mine Mike Mak is fighting for his life in Assunta Hospital. Originally thought to be issues related to appendicitis turned out something worse. It involved his colon whereby a part of it had to be removed due to gangrene. All this has since affected other parts of his body.

2pm: Update from adrianyap and xiyi from Assunta:

It's not looking too good. Mike is on dialysis for his kidney and his liver enzyme reading is too high. He is off sedation but he is not waking up. Attempts to wake him has met with little response. Hoping that he will wake up by tonight. If not, he will be considered to be in coma state. His will power is low. Please visit him in small groups to cheer him up and urge him to fight on. The rest is up to him and God. Mike, be strong!

There is an appeal for a blood donation as more blood plasma is needed by Mike

Update from Adrianyap:

Mike had used 4 pints of blood plasma so far and he needs to replace them back. We hereby ask any PKers who wish to help out by donating blood, any blood group for blood plasma will do. TQ

this is the sms i received from Mike's sis :
Assunta Hospital blood bank, Level 3 near HDU area. pls state Mike's name, Mak Siew Loong RN number: 00821808. Mon - Fri 9am-5pm. Wed 9am-7pm, Sat 9am-3.30pm. Sun and PH closed. Thank you

Head on to this thread if you want to be kept updated on Mike condition.
http://www.photokaki.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14104&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=135
To whoever that is reading my blog do make a prayer for Mike.

Be strong Big Mike! Fight over this!

Today also is when I was told that my University best friend Celia Wong is getting hitched a day before Christmas. The dinner is going to be at Sungai Petani, Kedah. Exactly on the same date in 2006, another of my Unimate got married too! Why all choose this day eh? The last one was at Cameron Highlands.

Today is also Pooi See's birthday. No party or any get-together tonite because she is away at Tapah for a Christian workshop with Monfort Boys.

Points to ponder

2007-04-18T12:05:00.000+08:00

Some quotes from Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant got me wondering, which is reproduced below

To be successful, you need to learn to overcome your fear of being rejected, and to stop worrying about what other people will say about you. So many times I have met people who hold themselves back simply because of what their friends might say if they did something different. I know because I was the same way. Coming from a small town, everyone knew what everyone else was up to. If someone did not like what you were doing, the whole town heard about it and made your business their business.

One of the best phrases I said over and over to myself was, "What you think of me is none of my business. What is most important is what I think about myself."

Do you care what others think of you? Did it somehow affected the decisions you have made previously?

Manchester United went on a Rampage against Roma!

2007-04-11T08:29:00.000+08:00

Seeing the results this morning warrants a blog entry by itself! After losing away to Roma 2-1 in the 1st leg of the Champions League quarterfinals Manchester United marched imperiously into the Champions League semi-finals with a 7-1 destruction of Roma to claim an 8-3 aggregate victory. Still on course for another treble!

Sir Alex Ferguson's side hit three goals in just seven minutes early in the first half through Michael Carrick, Alan Smith and Wayne Rooney in a stunning opening to what must go down as one of the greatest European performances ever seen at Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo was in unstoppable form, scoring a goal either side of half-time, and Carrick and Patrice Evra were also on target after the break as Roma completely capitulated in the face of the sustained United onslaught, going out 8-3 on aggregate.

Manchester United's Patrice Evra, right, celebrates with Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring against Roma. Martin Rickett / AP

Manchester United's Michael Carrick (L) celebrates with Wayne Rooney after scoring their fifth goal during their Champions League quarter final second-leg soccer match against AS Roma in Manchester, northern England, April 10, 2007. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson (L) celebrates with coach Carlos Queiroz (R) following their Champions League quarter final second-leg soccer match against AS Roma in Manchester, northern England, April 10 2007. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring his second goal against Roma during their Champions League quarter final second-leg soccer match at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Tuesday April 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, center, scores the fifth goal against Roma during their Champions League quarter final second-leg soccer match at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, Tuesday April 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Manchester United fans celebrate beneath the scoreboard during their Champions League quarter final second-leg soccer match against AS Roma in Manchester, northern England, April 10 2007. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Big Boy Toyz

2007-04-11T00:20:00.000+08:00

My 3rd Master Grade Gundam! This time round it's a Limited Edition Zeta 3 White Unicorn! Most prolly it'll stay in the box till end of this year or maybe longer =.= coz I lack the time to assemble them. Each set can set you back around RM150-RM250! And the whole thing is made entirely out of plastic!

The other 2 MG Gundams I have now in my collection is the GAT-X105 Aile Strike Gundam and Wing Gundam Zero Custom. Out of the 3, only Aile Strike has been assembled. And also that is to be considered a 'work in progress' as I have yet to kautim the panel lines and decals.

Managing personal moolah

2007-04-07T10:49:00.000+08:00

Saw these 2 books on sale for RM19.00 each so I thought I pick it up for some light reading. Previously I had enjoyed Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad, and "CashFlow Quadrant" is kind of "Rich Dad Poor Dad" continuation.

Who wouldn't want to be rich right? He is selling us this dream with his books.

excerpts from Wikipedia:

Robert Kiyosaki is best known for his Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of motivational books and other material. He has written 18 books which combined have sold over 26 million copies. Although beginning as a self-publisher, he was subsequently published by Warner Books, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, currently his new books appear under the Rich Dad Press imprint. Three of his books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant, and Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, have been on the top 10 best-seller lists simultaneously on The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Times. The book Rich Kid Smart Kid was published in 2001, with the intent to help parents teach their children financial concepts. He has created three "Cashflow" board games for adults and children and has a series of "Rich Dad" audio cassettes. He also publishes a monthly newsletter and gives motivational talks around the world. He also writes a bi-monthly column on Yahoo Finance.

A large part of Kiyosaki's teachings focus on generating passive income by means of investment opportunities, such as real estate and small businesses, with the ultimate goal of being able to support oneself by such investments alone. In tandem with this, Kiyosaki defines "assets" as things that generate money, such as rental properties or businesses, and "liabilities" as things that cost money, such as house payments, cars and so on. Kiyosaki also proclaims financial leverage to be critically important in becoming rich.

4 in a row!

2007-03-31T23:16:00.000+08:00

Yeap! That's 4 time straight I have managed to meet with my shop's sales target. I am so glad that the extra time spent at the shop did not go to waste :) Yay! But I do miss going clubbing with the kaki's tho...

A new month, the whole 'shebang' will start all over again. I just hope this time it won't be so last minute again.

Of Orcs, martial arts and sharp shooting

2007-03-30T18:20:00.000+08:00

Yeah... all 3, that's what I have installed in my computer now

Warcraft III: Frozen Throne playing on Blue Server and Lancraft. Warcraft 3 being THE strategy game with hugely popular DOTA maps. I have much to learn here, especially buying items combo. 1 game can easily last 1 hour.

SilkRoad Online is a MMORPG. Gamers familiar with the game Diablo 2 on the PC will feel at home in SilkRoad where most of the gameplay is similar.

and Counter Strike: Source on Steam, arguably the most popular FPS game to date.

Yea, the games are pretty dated but I'm happily playing it and all the eye candies turned to the max and still enjoy smooth frame rates. Anyone game?

Dilemma dilemma

2007-03-25T21:25:00.000+08:00

I don't need a C2D system, but i want one,

I don't want a car but i need one.

Sigh...

Satisfying Slumber

2007-03-23T13:41:00.000+08:00

It has been a while I slept early... and last night I found the time to really catch up with my sleep. Owe it too much liao...

The day before I attended my company's 1st ever annual dinner held at Concorde hotel, it was a great night. Got to meet up with colleagues all over the country and finally am able to put faces to some of the familiar voices that I have been hearing over the phone.
The dinner ended way past 12am, after that I headed to Velvet for some Mambo luvin. Finally reached home around 4.00am.
On the very next morning I had my monthly OHM at the HQ. Backed up with 4 hours of sleep, I wade through 4 hours of 'motivational' talks, lectures and statistics reports. And since the US gwailo is coming over to Malaysia for a visit I had to make sure the shop is in tip-top condition especially the new layout and product placement.

Back to home from work at 6.30pm, drop to my bed at 8.00pm, work up today at 9.30am feeling fresh!

Oh yea, gotta do this more often! :)

Hilarious short film on fashion photography

2007-03-14T12:43:00.000+08:00

Why do you want to become a fashion photographer?

Mini Lightbox

2007-02-27T11:54:00.000+08:00

Haven't been using my camera for the past few weeks so i decided to do some indoor shooting after being inspired by Strobist. I built a lightbox that cost me less than RM5 and it's good to shoot close up of non moving objects. The images shown below aren't something new, actually it's very common stuffs, but i had never get my butt up to try it. Quite satisfied with the results. Still need some tweaking in Photoshop.

Below are the results from the lightbox. The subjects are lit with a single 550EX flash located off camera triggered wirelessly by the ST-E2.

Lurking throughout 2006

2007-02-12T11:54:00.000+08:00

It has been around 4 years since I got to know this expensive hobby named photography. So far I am very glad I have no regrets whatsoever. The joy of capturing precious moments, the special access to restricted area and last but not least all the wonderful friends I gotten to know through out the process will be treasured forever.

This is the 1st time I went and actually try to shortlist 10 images which I think marked what the year has been. It's not easy, and some choice may not be the best but here I present to you my 2006 selection. All taken from what I have uploaded in my SmugMug site.

Some random pick from 2006 in no particular order

#1

Mei Qin

#2
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2006

#3
MotoGP 2006

#4
David Tao concert

#5
Sharon

#6
A1 GP 2006

#7
Olive backed Sunbird

#8
Jolin Concert

#9
Suzanne

#10
Super GT Round 4, 2006

Proton Malaysia Super Series 2007

2007-01-16T23:58:00.000+08:00

Here i have created a small slideshow from the pictures taken during the qualifying round (1st day) of the Proton Malaysia Super Series 2007 held from the 16-21st January 2007 at the Cheras Badminton Stadium

李聖傑-最近MV

2006-12-29T01:25:00.000+08:00

Another lovely song from a fairly new Taiwanese singer.
*Appreciate if someone can translate the lyrics for me*

Christmas Weekend 06

2006-12-25T18:44:00.000+08:00

It is a long Xmas weekend for me this year. Normally I would be working through out the holidays due to the line of work i'm in. This time is slightly different as I quite a number of annual leave to clear, 5 days to be exact. So far it has been a memorable Xmas, it has it's ups and down... but let's not have the unhappy stuffs mar it shall we?

My uni mate Gee Huat or affectionally known as 'Ah Fatt' by us is tying the knot this Xmas week to Carmen Liew, also from the same Uni. Congratulations to the couple! Me and a couple of my uni mates made the trip to Cameron for the 'Receive the bride' ceremony. They were Chin Shen and Shirley, Luke Wee and Cindy, Jackie and Lee Way, The newly weds See Aun and Corey, Ker Yin and me. At Cameron, Bryan Loo, Vaui Lea, Siew Chuen, Choo Soon and Ah Pit was there too It was a tiring trip, but enjoyable nevertheless. They were there to be his 'heng tai's' to 'negotiate' his way to the brides room. ( is that how one describe the tradition? heheh ) I was there to capture the joyous moment on camera.

It was my very 1st experience as a wedding photographer. Not sure how well did I perform. Below is a small slideshow of the happenings.

Celebrations aside, I had a great time meeting up with the guys. This is the 1st time we had a get togehter since graduating from Uni. Sharing the same apartment brings back so much old memories. We 'chor tai dee' till 3am while watching English Premier League on TV and talking bout the good old days. The next morning we woke up at 7am to meet up with the bridegroom who travelled from Teluk Intan. Cameron Highlands was kinda packed and traffic was quite horrible during the day so we did not go sight seeing much. Only got to look see at the tea valley located between Tanah Rata and Ringlet. Bought some 'pearl corns' and cherry tomatoes. On the way back to KL we made a pitstop at Bidor for the famous Pun Chun Restaurant to grab a bite to eat. I lost my appetite tho as i was seated at the back of the car on the way down and Luke was trying to challenge a Shell oil tanker drifting from Cameron to Tapah. He failed to catch up!! I ended my Xmas eve partying at Poppy till 5am Xmas morning.

More pics coming soon

Jackie and See Aun missing the old days of groping each others

L-R: Jackie, Luke, Chin Shen, and me

Luke and Cindy

Jackie and Lee Way

Chin Shen and Shirley

Another Xmas

2006-12-25T05:55:00.000+08:00

Chirstmas comes every year, this year is no different. Lets wish all of you that care to stop by my blog a Merry Christmas and hope no one need to sing this song from Eason Chan. He is touted to replace Jacky Cheung and co as Hong Kong's next 'heavenly kings'. His songs are mostly sappy love songs. I'm sharing a few of the mp3 in my multiply account. ;)

Lonely Christmas

明年今日 (Next year tommorow)

Shall We Talk

2006-12-19T14:22:00.000+08:00

Nothing much to update, just that I have finished reading the Prodigal Daughter by Jeffrey Archer and now reading Deception Point by Dan Brown.

The Prime Minister has changed

2006-11-12T11:37:00.000+08:00

An interesting discovery while i was lurking the forums...

http://www.mykmu.net/modules.php?name=News...order=0&thold=0
Contributed by usopijan on Tuesday, November 07 @ 02:19:37 EST

Sebelum Pilihanraya 2004
KUALA LUMPUR 4 April - Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi mengarahkan semua wakil rakyat Barisan Nasional (BN) membuat pengisytiharan harta sebelum akhir bulan depan.

Abdullah berkata, pengisytiharan itu perlu dibuat meliputi harta-harta yang dimiliki oleh wakil rakyat serta ahli keluarga masing-masing.

"Pengisytiharan harta ini melibatkan harta-harta yang dimiliki sekarang dan perlu dilakukan dua tahun sekali,'' ujarnya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas mempengerusikan Mesyuarat Majlis Tertinggi (MT) UMNO dan Mesyuarat Dewan Tertinggi BN di Menara Dato' Onn, Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC), di sini hari ini.

Abdullah menegaskan, semua wakil rakyat BN perlu mematuhi kod etika wakil rakyat yang kini pada peringkat draf akhir.

Katanya, draf akhir kod etika itu akan dibincang untuk diluluskan pada mesyuarat Kabinet, Rabu ini.

Sekarang
2 November 2006
KUALA LUMPUR 2 Nov. – Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi menegaskan, beliau tidak pernah menyalahgunakan kuasanya sebagai Perdana Menteri dengan membuat tindakan yang menguntungkan anak-anaknya.

‘‘Saya tidak pernah membuat keputusan yang menyalahi dan menyalahgunakan kuasa saya dalam hal berkaitan dengan anak-anak saya,’’ ujarnya.

Presiden UMNO itu berkata, tindakan ahli keluarganya, terutama anak-anak dan menantunya memiliki harta bukan merupakan satu kesalahan dan beliau tidak berhasrat mencampuri urusan mereka.

Menurutnya, ahli keluarganya mempunyai hak sama seperti orang lain, bebas untuk memiliki harta.

Sehubungan itu, Abdullah menegaskan, beliau tidak bercadang membuat pendedahan tentang harta yang dimiliki oleh anak-anak mahupun menantunya.

‘‘Itu (harta) adalah hak ahli keluarga saya, tak payahlah saya umumkan harta yang mereka miliki,’’ katanya kepada pemberita selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Majlis Tertinggi UMNO di sini hari ini.

Tambahan pula, katanya, tindakan ahli keluarganya untuk memiliki harta bukanlah satu perbuatan yang salah.

Perdana Menteri berkata, begitu juga dengan anak-anak dan menantunya, mereka tidak perlu mengambil tindakan mengisytiharkan harta mereka.

We go eat some DimSum!

2006-11-02T22:54:00.000+08:00

Woke up early today (6.30am!) so i can go have some breakfast with some buddies of mine at the workplace. Sri Petaling is quite a popular haunt for dimsum recently with 4-5 shops selling similar stuffs in the same area. Some even operates 24hours!

My friend brought us to this corner lot shop which he highly recommends (well, he mentioned that's the only one he been to before :S ). The shop is located opposite TMNet Clickers if that's any help to those of you that asked me the where it is. Heheheee...

What i like bout this particular shop is that they let you choose the dishes that you want THEN only they steam it. Unlike the other shop that i went the night after David Tao's concert where all dishes comes pre-cooked. Below are some of the dimsum i had this morning....

The bill came up to RM 43 for 3 guys. A hearty (and calorie dense) breakfast ay?

YUM!!

David Tao (Love Can) World Tour 2006

2006-10-30T11:36:00.000+08:00

Beautiful stage, great lighting, superb sound system, wonderful performance, an unforgettable night!
That's David Tao's concert for you! The show started at 8.30pm over at Bukit Jalil National Stadium and lasted roughly 3 hours. It rained earlier in the evening and David thanked God for the good weather at the end of the show.
David Tao being a talented performer that he is, played the guitar and piano too besides singing. And he had a dancing session with his backup singers as well!

Here are some of the images i managed to capture that night.

For more images please head to http://lurker.smugmug.com/gallery/2062092/