Archive | 2004

Hmm…Call me globe hopping Sultan hand shaker?

Posted November 17, 2004 at 6:00 am in Trips & Travel, UK

Oh well I have a fair amount of stuff to ramble on about..

So I better get started..

Today was another normal day in Brunei for the most part, I had to get up in the middle of the night (7am) and go to class..

My student picked me up in a new car…Mitsubishi Airtrek Turbo[/url]…which he just bought at the weekend…bastard…haha

The thing has pretty much the same engine as the Evo VII aswell, so you can strap on the 05 turbo and weee…off you go. And the guy is sad because he can only go up to 400bhp, because of the auto gearbox…*sigh*

The sickening thing it’s only $46,000 Brunei dollars…thats like 90,000RM…for that you can’t even get a Perdana in Malaysia…sick sick sick

Anyway today we visited the Istana Nurul Iman (the palace, and at that the LARGEST residential palace in the world) to check out the Sultans yard and attend his open house and shake his hand. Nice man to say a few years ago he was richest in the world, and he has the largest collection of Rolls Royces[/url] in the world..

Still kinda old fashioned in some ways though, like the chicks have one queue the guys another, segregated.

He gave me some Goodies, yay! Not really local delicacies as I expected though…

See inside, sweets and stuff:

Also a nice card with his handsome face:

It was hot and sweaty with hoards of people, I was like 76,819th to shake his hand…like he gives a shit haha

Anyway it was a good experience, but no cameras were allowed so no pics, I think one of the guys from our crew had some pics around abouts so I’ll ask him to pass them over.

We went to the Ministers house again after and had some good food, the Biryani was awesome!

I’ve taken some pics of my house too so I’ll put them in the gallery[/url] soon.

Also I just found out my beloved KL friends might be without me for a little longer..I got a rumour yesterday and an e-mail today saying I might be posted to Colombo a few days after I get back..for 21 days..

Actually I won’t mind too much as long as I’m back in KL for new years, I heard Colombo is pretty happening, with a nice resort and some sweet bitches, I mean beaches. Food is rumoured to be good too, oh well another place to travel too…it must be better than Brunei.

Anyway I think that’s about it for now, I’m sure I’ve bored you all enough for today. I’ve gotta go shower so I can go to another couple of open house thingies and eat more biscuits 0_0..

Continue Reading · 3 Comments · Trips & Travel, UK

So what does the G mean?

Posted November 16, 2004 at 9:31 am in General Nonsense

You are a real perfectionist in life and in love. You have very high standards for yourself, and you are the same in the romance department. You are looking for a partner who lives up to your requirements in intelligence, popularity and attractiveness. They must be at least your equal, or you just won’t be interested. You especially want your love partner to be well-matched with you in terms of intelligence, so you can have challenging conversations and stimulate each other mentally. You also tend to be drawn to people with a lot of status or popularity, because you feel that you can enhance your own status through the partnership. You are a busy person and you take your responsibilities seriously, so finding a love partner may not be your first priority in life. When you do go looking, you’ll take the same careful approach to love as you do to everything else. You can really throw yourself into a romantic relationship, but it has to mesh well with the other things in your life or you just won’t have time or energy for it. You tend to have short-term hookups with very attractive people, but you end up moving on when they don’t meet your other standards, or they are hard to get to know. You don’t get close to people quickly. When you do, it will be a powerful match.

Pretty accurate really..you gotta be smart, popular and attractive 🙂

Source: https://www.myjellybean.com/nameyou/nameyou.html

Ok so report for today, I watched The Day After Tommorow[/url], it was a bit better than I expected..worth watching anyway 🙂 Especially here..

Went to the Indian joint again…man back the same salty mush.

Apparently the freak time the food was good…was during Raya when they had a temporary chef..now the normal chef is back and the food is back to crap.

Other than that done nothing today…

Continue Reading · 4 Comments · General Nonsense

The 15th worst movie ever??

Posted November 15, 2004 at 11:18 am in General Nonsense, Movies

Ok so what did I do today to celebrate Raya? Zilch..

Same as any other day, got up around lunch time, went to lunch at the Indian joint and had me a chicken tosai..

It was ok, not salty at least.

Came home and went online for a bit, then had the pleasure of watching the 15th worst movie ever!

You got served![/url]

I didn’t expect it to be great, I bought it to watch them dance, and that’s what I got so I enjoyed it.

I tend to like dance movies…even though I’m not a great dancer hehe I do love to dance, just wish I could b-boy…also like the old school like Dirty Dancing[/url] and Saturday Night Fever[/url].

Rock on!

After that went to some open house business again..man these guys houses are like museums, I’m scared to touch anything, had some nice biscuits and stuff..after that was starving..so went to ‘Coffee Zone’ and had a chicken pie, which was ok.

Now I am back here…for whoever I was talking to earlier, my prepaid netcard ran out again haha so sorry I got cut off abruptly..

I also ate some Fuji apples today, which was nice..nothing better on a hot day than a juicy Fuji apple from the fridge…(Well ok there’s plenty of things, but I’m in Brunei so humour me).

See ya’ll soon..

Continue Reading · 6 Comments · General Nonsense, Movies

Happening weekend…

Posted November 14, 2004 at 12:53 pm in General Nonsense

NOT!

Ah well it was ok..

Just got back from my big night out, woohoo!

I went to check out Uncle Ho’s wares Brunei style..

Actually cheaper than KL and a better range of stuff, I found some foreign Thai and Korean flicks I couldn’t find in KL, which is nice 🙂 (Such as Beautiful Boxer[/url] and Taegukgi[/url])

Also got some decent horror movies, better find someone I can picit when I’m scared 😀 Also need to buy a sofa first to fully enjoy (and hide behind) during hardcore horror sessions..

Hmm had some half decent food then went to watch The Incredibles[/url], man that movie kicks some serious ass!

One of the best films I’ve seen for quite a long time, it’s somewhere up there with Shrek[/url] and Finding Nemo[/url]!

It’s the reason animated flix are so great now, the characters have such expression and you can actually develop the personalities on screen..Plus they can do all kinds of crazy stuff that can’t really be done with live action (Without an overload of CGI, which can ruin a film IMHO). I think it should be like this though, done in a kind of caricature way, yeah the scenery and sets look almost real but the people still look like animated characters. Animated movies should be a medium to express realistically wild stuff that wouldn’t work in a live action film.

Whoever thought up the stuff in this movie has a truly amazing imagination, it was original, funny, exciting, funny, interesting and FUNNY.

The only thing that annoyed me during the show were those monkeys that laugh a bit TOO much and a bit TOO often. I mean some parts are not THAT funny right…chill.

After that went to play pool with my colleage, which turned into an impromptu lesson, as I’m pretty decent and he’s…well..not.

He improved though which was good, but he kept getting distracted by the Phillipina who racked up our balls..”A little thick round the waist but good” I think were his words.

Then came back and checked my Uncle Ho merchandise, pretty good success rate.

$63BD well spent 😀

My 2 quotes for today are:

“Remember you are unique, just like everyone else”

And:

“49% of the people you know are below average“

Continue Reading · 4 Comments · General Nonsense

Humph

Posted November 13, 2004 at 11:48 pm in General Nonsense

Ok I am pissed.

No KK trip for me, guess what I am still here?

OMFG WHY??!? You ask…

Because my colleague had given my passport to local immigration to extend my visa…and forgot to tell me, oh well…I’d packed my stuff and was just going to the car, I said “Hey just one more thing, I need my passport back”..

How much of a shitter is that.

Oh well…am going out shortly to some open house thingies to steal other peoples food and daughters maybe.

I’ve dressed up all nice in case there is any hot neices around…or frustrated 30+ housewives *meow*

Will whinge a bit more later I expect, stay tuned!

*EDIT*

The open house thingy was ok, the rendang was pretty good, it was all very formal as it was a minister datuk dunno what’s house.

Went grocery shopping and got some Ribena so now I’m happy!!(Yes I’m easily pleased)

Also stocked up on net cards, surf teh web..the only way to maintain my sanity.

Off to THE MALL now to watch a movie or 2..

Laters!

Continue Reading · 5 Comments · General Nonsense

Little and Large…personified

Posted November 12, 2004 at 9:46 pm in General Nonsense

Was travelling to Cheras a while back to eat the great Tom Yam seafood…when we stumbled upon this freaky situation in front of us at the traffic lights.

It was a sure fire ‘Must take a picture’ situation.

I don’t think it needs any explanation.

Imagine a car full of us laughing our socks off…

Anyway what else has happened, guess what? Absolutely nothing..

Last night was really Divali, so my colleagues and I had some fireworks and stuff (Malaysia apparently celebrates the festival on the wrong day).

Then we went to the Salty Indian food place, and had some decent food for once. The butter chicken masala was nice, and not so salty!

Hmm what else, oh yeah a while back I decided to grow up and stop buying watches from P.S. Boutique and get myself a real watch, not another fake Breitling..

So I bought a fossil, I like it:

Other than that not really much, playing to fly to KK in a couple of hours cos I’m bored to death here and it’s a long holiday. Raya is coming so it will be extra boring here, Raya signifies the end of Ramadan and is a period of celebration and the concept of open houses (go into a random strangers house and eat their food, yum!).

Ok that’s it for now..

Continue Reading · 5 Comments · General Nonsense

Fate, Destiny and Bullshit

Posted November 10, 2004 at 12:42 am in Deep Thoughts

Ok I think this one is going to be a bit deep, so be pre-warned. When I write about this kind of stuff I tend to ramble on a bit, thus the section is denoted as Rambling Thoughts…perhaps plain old Bullshit would be more apt.

These thoughts are things I’ve dissected many times and I quite familiar with, they just happened to emerge today due to an MSN conversation I was having with a dear friend.

We were talking about choices, ‘having‘ to do things and destiny/fate.

Destiny or fate in this context being defined as your life having a pre-determined path, which if you think about the deeper meaning is rather scary…it means you have no choice, or even if you do, it doesn’t matter what you choose, things will end up the same.

I personally don’t see it this way, and that is what I explained to her and I wish to explain to you, if I can manage to articulate it correctly..twice in one day.

I see it this way, fate has a meaning on the macro scale, the larger scale, the bigger picture…as for each person, you are pretty much irrelevant in the great map. Some things are pre-destined or fated, but there are also different paths to take, you have choices on how to live your life, the end of course is destiny…we all end the same, in death.

A morbid but true thought, don’t fear death, it’s going to happen to you one day. A lot of people don’t dare to think about dying, but well it doesn’t bother me, I am not one to fear what I don’t understand, I embrace the ‘different‘, the unexpected and the abnormal. Death is inevitable..it’s going to happen, today tommorow or in 65 years…no-one knows when.

The crux of the discussion was that we all have choices, if we are in bad situations we can be proactive and CHOOSE to get out of them, most people don’t they accept their ‘fate’ as they call it, and live whinging about the misery that unluckily fell upon them. This pretty much as low as using Religion as a crutch as many do (This I will discuss another day), blaming your mistakes or weaknesses on a higher power, or something out of your control. Accept responsibility, accept the fact you can do something about it. Life is about choice, I choose not to live my life sacrificing for others uncessarily, no I am not heartless, yes I care for people, but I only have one life and I intend to make the most of it.

If you are unhappy with your life, do something about it..

To quote Robert Frost, there is always a Road Not Taken.

“TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

We all have choices, there’s nothing we CAN’T do, only things we feel we can’t do, or things we feel obligated not to do.

This is the key, we put ourselves in this situations, thus the logical conclusion is we can get ourselves out.

Choose your paths wisely..make your own fate, we will all end in the same place but how you get there is your own choosing.

About Bullshit…I seem to have a gift for it, someone said not many people have a gift for writing as I have, sadly most the time I just abuse my talent but well with SFDC at least I’ve done a lot of positive things with my knowledge/talent/bullshit..I pretty much have a PhD in bullshitology, fortunately this allows me to articulate some of the complex things that occur inside the mystical power that is my brain.

The above is one of these things..

I hope it helps you, motivates you or stirs you to thought in some way.

Continue Reading · 2 Comments · Deep Thoughts

Japanese Food and Japanese Horror

Posted November 9, 2004 at 9:05 pm in General Nonsense, Movies

Fortunately the food I had wasn’t the horror, it was actually great.

I had the hugest Salmon Sashimi the world has ever seen…I wish I’d taken my camera, then I could make everyone envious…

I’ll go there again and take a snap to immortalise the size of the portion.

Following that went to the Cinema to watch a Japanese Horror flick, One Missed Call[/url] AKA Chakushin ari.

Pretty formulaic Japanese horror, a lot like Ringu[/url] but with phones. If you want real horror…watch A Tale of Two Sisters[/url].

At points it was scary, at points disgusting and at points just plain weird. But worth watching nevertheless.

Still haven’t caught White Chicks[/url] yet, supposed to be funny, so that’s next on the list.

Reading a new book now too, Exploiting Software: How to Break Code[/url], for a review for SFDC I’m way overdue on about 7 books…so trying to catch up a bit.

Continue Reading · 2 Comments · General Nonsense, Movies

Update….The Insecurities of Internet Exploder and more..

Posted November 9, 2004 at 12:42 am in Hacking & Infosec, Ranting, Site News

Ok as you may have noticed…or some of the less observant amongst you may not..I have added some stuff.

A new sexy header ^^ (For the non tech, that means 2 arrows pointing up, so look to the top of the page), which I intended to do from the start…but had neither the software nor time.

I’ve filled in the contact page[/url] with some ways to stalk me, so if you want to abuse me feel free to do so via the contact form.

I’ve added a powered by section in the footer, so you can see all the geeky kind of things I’m using to build this site. I use TextPad[/url] mostly for editing stuff, FileZilla[/url] for my FTP client, PaintShop Pro for graphical manipulation and the almighty browser FireFox[/url] for well…browsing duh..

Ok well here goes a semi-rant.

PLEASE YOU FOOLS STOP USING INTERNET EXPLODER!

Ok that being said…it’s slow, it renders HTML incorrectly (MS once again have effectively defined their own standards…”Oh look a missing closing tag, nevermind we’ll render it correctly anyway, we know what they meant”)…You may think this seems like a good thing, but trust me it’s not, it means people can be sloppy and get away with it, they don’t have to care “IE will render it fine”, it crashes a lot, it’s fat and it’s the number 1 target for Spyware.

One of my students yesterday complained about having a TeenXXX dialer shortcut on her desktop she couldn’t get rid of, so I quickly cleaned her machine with my trust SpyBot S&D and explained patiently to her why she had so much spyware (60+) whilst no one else had any.

If you have problems with Spyware I suggest the following:

[list][*]Download and Install Ad-Aware[/url], update it and run a full scan
[*]Download and Install SpyBot S&D update, immunize and run a full scan
[*]If you are still infected grab HiJackThis![/url] and post your log here: SFDC HJT Logs[/list]After this you should be cool.

THEY WERE USING FIREFOX!

Ok that being said…FireFox[/url] is great, tabbed browsing is great, the Bookmarks Toolbar is great, the huge amount of extensions[/url] are even greater…and it’s FREE and it’s OPEN SOURCE…

IE has also had SO many major insecurities it’s not even funny…this also bust Outlook Express and Outlook wide open as they use the same HTML rendering engine.

If you want to know more details about the insecurity of IE you can read HERE.

If you do have to use IE, make sure it’s patched to the hilt and you apply some of the 3rd party stuff to make it a bit better (Google Toolbar[/url] for example), or even use one of the better versions of IE such as MyIE2.

Continue Reading · 7 Comments · Hacking & Infosec, Ranting, Site News