Sunday 28 June 2009

Music spotlight - Candy

No, I'm not referring to an R&B track. I'm talking about a soulful track by Paolo Nutini.

Paolo Nutini is an artiste that sounds like he's in his 40s - his music pokes into folk territories, some say. But you have to admit, his voice is one of warmth and maturity for someone in his 20s. And that's not a bad thing. In fact, I think that makes him quite unique. Like watching a 6-year-old girl sing "Halo" by Beyoncé with the same diva quality.

If you looked at this guy by his face and by his age, you'd probably compare him with the 3 JMs - John Mayer, James Morrison, or Jason Mraz. But this guy's a little bit different. Just listen and hear why...

Friday 26 June 2009

The "can't be bothered" blog post.

Seriously, I don't have much to blog about, because whatever I want to say, I've said on Twitter or Facebook.

So, rather than paraphrase, I'm copying verbatim. Hey, it's Friday night, I have my rights to a break, too!

in a chronological order... It's a montage of This Week in My Twitter and Facebook Updates...


Saturday 20 June 2009

Mid-year Review: The 2009 New Year's Resolution

As you probably know by now, I can be quite random.

But I like to review things I predict. New Year's Resolutions, Predictions for Apple Keynotes, etc.

So, This is one of those reviews. My New Year's Resolution checklist at a glance. Think of it as if it were the SA1 in your Primary school years, only today.


  • I will get into Bellerby's College [UK]
  • Did I do it? Yes. 
  • I will keep my mass under 75kg.
  • So far, so good. 
  • I will grow to above 1.80m by the end of '09.
  • Nope. Not yet.
  • I will not go into overdraft when I am in the UK.
  • Can't. My bank account doesn't allow Overdraft. So, goodie!
  • I will keep in contact with my Singapore friends.
  • Yep.

  • I will meet Indonesians in the UK.
  • 2, in fact. Also met Malaysians, and a staff who speaks Malaysian English!
  • I will cook at least once, be it in Indonesia before I leave, or in UK.
  • Nope. Though I can make Miso soup from an instant mix. Yum!
  • I will post minimum 100 posts in 2009. A low target for a busy year ahead.
  • Definitely over.
  • I will stop buying physical albums [i.e.: Music CDs] by the last quarter of 2009 [Oct-Dec]. I will, instead, buy online.
  • I've not bought a single CD since I landed in the UK. But we'll wait and see. I'm thinking of buying a Beatles album...
  • I will grow stronger in the LORD, and while I'm at this,
  • Amen.

  • I will find a church in the UK, and go to it regularly.
  • Yep.
  • I will get a new MacBook in 2009.
  • Oh, hello, Unibody MBP.
  • I will drive with a license in 2009.
  • Oh hello, driving license in Indonesia! And hi, Honda Jazz! (My bro's car.)
  • I will vote in the 2009 Indonesian Presidential. SBY or Megawati? that's the question at the moment.
  • Not yet.
  • I will watch a performance of a choir in 2009.
  • Not yet. Unless that time I went to the music room counts. Which I doubt.

  • I will watch min. 3 movies in the theaters / cinema in 2009.
  • Really can't remember, but my last review in March said I did it. So, I did it.
  • I will still take photos in the UK, but for artsy and casual reasons only.
  • Yes and No. I took photos for a school event (the "May Ball", which is like Grad Dinner with drinks and dance)
  • I will sit on the Airbus A380 for the first time in 09.
  • Oh yes I did! And I still have the boarding pass to prove it!
  • I will not be in Singapore for more than 100 hours in 2009.
  • Fail. O Level Results Release: ~48h. Certificate collection/transit before leaving for the UK: ~48h. And Let's not forget: I have to come back in August for more than 4h, so that's more than 100h in total. So, no other way to put it, except EPIC FAIL!
  • I will take up music lessons. Specifically, piano.
  • Again, Yes and no. Should have said guitar instead of piano. 

  • I will run a half-marathon in 2009. [i.e.: 21km. Not competitive, though]
  • Oh yes I did, In Indonesia, on a treadmill.
  • I will run in a running event in 2009, even if it's the London Marathon or Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon. 
  • hehe... Gonna be hard. Firstly, London Marathon is over. Secondly, StanChart Marathon happens while I still have school.
  • I will grow more muscles in my arms and the six-pack region. a four-pack would be nice, over the one bulge I have now.
  • Unlikely. Next!


    Oh wait, there's none left?

    Ok, then total up...14 green, 2 orange, and 7 red, making a total of 23.

    So, overall, I passed! Goodie! No need to review anymore, then!

    Friday 19 June 2009

    PhotoS!

    Check out my Flickr! just uploaded new stuff!


    P.s.: Update on my last post: I might go into a Gulag if I were to land in Iran or North Korea. So, let me apologise for the completely insensetive analogies I made. I didn't mean to say all of that thing - I still had some more on my mind that I had to redact. Just like the MPs' expenses report recently released by the UK Government. So much redaction.

    Thursday 18 June 2009

    anti-CV: why I can't be a journalist

    I came up with the title of this post while I was on my way to school this morning. Let me explain why.

    If I were to be a journalist, what are some things I would write in my articles or say in my news segment?

    On North Korea...

    Imagine this world is a nursery, and the leaders of each country on this earth are the infants in this colossal-scale nursery. Kim Jong Il is the attention-seeking baby that keeps threatening the other kiddies around him (Japan and South Korea) with death threats and toy 'nuclear bombs'. Not only that, but it's the fat b*stard with cancer (the people in North Korea - haven't you heard how they're suffering from malnourishment? and besides, KJI is ageing, so it's only fair that we say he is ill). And to add insult to the injury, he's in his own imaginary world, with the "I'm the beloved leader" manifesto that his dad got from his former friend Stalin (they died). Because KJI is stuck in his own egoistic world, and he has nuclear weapons, and he demands attention from all the other babies, he wants the others to know that he's powerful and everyone on this playground should give him whatever they have. 

    In summary, Kim Jong Il is an attention-seeking, fat, egoistic and terminally-ill mafia baby, who happens to have nuclear toys.

    On the Iranian election and Ahmedinejad...

    Let's say Iran is a classroom. Ahmedinejad would be the class monitor, and Khamenei (Iran's Supreme Leader) is the teacher.

    The election we just saw is like the class vote for class monitor. The very influential people in the class - the prefects (representing the military and Government official in Iran) and the rumour spreaders (the media, AKA the propaganda machine) - are pro-Ahmedinejad. And the teacher is biased towards the incumbent because he's so obedient. So, naturally, they might swing the rest of the class to support their leader of choice. When Ahmedinejad speaks, everyone has to listen. When Mousavi wants to say what he'll do if he were elected, the Mahmoud-backers would make noise and disrupt the speech. Right? And when voting ends, the class teacher will say "Ahmedinejad, you won", regardless of the votes and protests from the students who hated Ahmedinejad and want him kicked out of the class for causing them so much trouble, being the tyrant he is.

    That's the Iranian election simplified. It's just a case of class monitor voting gone horribly wrong, leading to 7 dead. What a bloody class. The teacher should be fired, and the students expelled.

    On Global warming and Credit purchase...

    I'm starting to feel global warming is a myth.

    The doom-sayers keep telling us to save the planet - cut your carbon footprint, use public transport, don't fly - use sails and kayaks, don't exhale until you float and reach outside the atmosphere, and don't decompose if you die. Blah blah blah.

    That's what the pro-earth people say. What about the everyday human beings? And what about the powerful people? Businesses? Power plants? Governments?

    If I were leader of the entire earth, I would make sure every part of this earth where sunlight can reach has solar panels. I would make sure every place where tidal and wind energy can be harnessed be used to get our energy supply. Bottom line: I would globalize all energy companies. They would be funded collectively by tax revenues from every country on Earth. That's quite a lot of funding, don't you think?

    But how come I don't see solar panels everywhere? I still see that oil is so important. What happened to scales of production? Can't you buffoons (i.e.: World leaders) come together and put your fists together? You should see more team sports matches. Putting your hands together always ends up in magic.

    And while we're on the topic of king of the earth, I would end this thing called "overdrafts" and "credit purchase". If you can have the money to buy something, then you may. If you need to wait for money to come in before you can buy something, then wait. You shouldn't say you want something, then take the thing and say you'll pay 30 days later, only to realise after 3 years of not paying that you can't afford to pay. Look what over-borrowing has done to the global economy. People are bad at Financial management and Mathematics. Don't trust them to know how many iPods they can afford to pay for in 3 years' time. They don't. So don't give them iPods which they can pay for later on. They won't pay.

    ------------------

    So, anyone want to hire me as a columnist? No? I thought so...

    Wednesday 17 June 2009

    Down with servers!

    Just a reminder: If you have an iPod touch or iPhone, remember that
    today's the day on which Apple releases the new iPhone OS 3.0 update.
    But, before you do the update, why not check for updates to your apps?
    I'm sure there's some updates there.

    So the checklist looks like this:-
    -Update apps
    -Sync apps to iPhone/iPod touch
    -Wait for 3.0 Software Upgrade to come
    -for iPod touch: choose if you want to buy the update or not
    -Download Software upgrade
    -Install Software Update onto iPhone/iPod touch.

    Tuesday 16 June 2009

    David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over


    I rarely put up music videos on my blog because
    a) the video's probably not going to stay online for long, and
    b) I have the 三分钟热度 towards most music I discover and post online. So, I never bother to put up MVs.

    But this one caught my attention. It's an awesome track put together by Kelly Rowland (remember Destiny's Child?) and David Guetta (some really popular house DJ, apparently). Not exactly the first match you'll think of when thinking of collaborations - a house DJ with an R&B singer - but it seems to work out fine. Just listen.

    Sunday 14 June 2009

    What do you think?

    I'm trying to set up a proper running workout playlist. This was what
    I came up with. If you have these songs, try running while listening
    to them and see how it feels!

    In the following order.
    Opening Track: Coldplay - Life In Technicolor II
    2. Black Eyed Peas - One Tribe
    3. Coldplay - Clocks
    4. Snow Patrol - The Lightning Strike
    5. The Fray - Absolute
    6. Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream
    7. Fall Out Boy - (Coffee's For Closure)
    8. Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
    9. Radiohead - 15 Steps
    10. Fall Out Boy - West Coast Smoker
    11. Muse - Starlight
    12. Muse - Knights Of Cydonia
    Power Song: Hillsong Live - Run

    Total Playlist Duration : 1:06:56 => More than enough for a 5K, with
    warm-up and cool-down.

    Saturday 13 June 2009

    Music Chart for the moment

    Here's another music chart!

    1. 
    Black Eyed Peas
    One Tribe

    2. 
    Linkin Park
    New Divide

    3. 
    Empire Of The Sun
    We Are The People

    4. 
    McFly
    Falling In Love

    ^5. 
    Keri Hilson feat Kanye West and Ne-Yo
    Knock You Down

    6. 
    Beyoncé
    Halo

    ^7. 
    Little Boots
    New In Town

    8. 
    Lily Allen
    Not Fair

    9. 
    Black Eyed Peas
    I Gotta Feeling

    10. 
    The Veronicas
    Untouched

    Just want to point out: songs marked with "^" means I didn't actually buy them, but they sound good on the radio.

    Also, while I'm talking about music, I want to give you my quasi-review of Black Eyed Peas' Album, "The E.N.D.". Personally, I wouldn't buy the entire album, if I couldn't buy individual songs. I was previewing the tracks on Amazon. Only 3 songs went from Amazon Store to my iTunes Library - "Boom Boom Pow", "One Tribe", and "I Gotta Feeling". Maybe this album is one of those albums where I have to take time listening to the album over and over again to actually like it, but that's a risk I'm not willing to pay for. I'll be watching the radio charts, though, to see what other songs make it to the top. My guess is that we might only see "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" on charts. 

    Thursday 11 June 2009

    If you're on Squarespace...

    Just so you know, there's new things to look out for in the
    Squarespace blog.

    Firstly, the layout is cleaner. It looks cooler, thanks to
    Squarespace's templates.

    Secondly, on the Right Sidebar, there's an option to go to the Archive
    or to SEARCH through the content of my thousands of posts. I ported
    over all my posts, and I'm updating both blogs, so you can do an A-B
    comparison if you want.

    So, give it a shot!

    http://ronfiles.squarespace.com

    Trying out new stuff...

    Hey guys.

    Just to let you know, I'm currently, experimenting with another
    blogging service, called Squarespace.

    It's a blogging/site-building tool that I often hear people recommend,
    so that's why I'm testing it out.

    Most of the components online and ready for your fragile eyes. Do
    check it out at:

    http://ronfiles.squarespace.com

    Only till 24 Jun 09...

    Monday 8 June 2009

    Apple product upgrade plans...

    I've been saying I want a new iPhone.

    I also said I wanted a new MBP before I bought the one I'm typing on
    at time of post...


    Now, time to evaluate what I think I should do...


    a) iPhone

    I cannot sell, trade-in, or retire my iPhone 3G. It's an officially
    unlocked iPhone, it's too good to give away, and I need a phone for
    when I'm in Indonesia. So, I shall keep handy.

    But that doesn't mean I can't get a second iPhone. I want the new 3G S
    because it has several features I could use a hand with.
    -Digital Compass, so I won't get lost
    -Nike+, so I can run with my phone rather than my iPod nano.
    -Video and AF, so I will use my phone to take pictures more often.
    -Less crashing would be nice.
    -Faster 3G speed, so I can tether to my laptop and make it worthwhile
    (all 3 carriers that I use: Singtel, O2, and Telkomsel, support
    tethering, btw.)

    The only problem now is the price. I am only willing to pay £250 for a
    phone right now, because essentially, I'm paying for a "rental" of an
    iPhone + camera + Nike+ + modem. Add everything minus the iPhone
    together, and that's about £250, which is still a lot of money by any
    standard. So, let's see what pricing O2 announces...

    b) MBP.

    No point discussing. I'm sticking to my current MBP till either it
    breaks down, or I graduate from Uni in 4 years' time.

    Why I really want to buy the next iPhone 3G S.

    The iPhone 3G S has a dumb name. It's physically identical to the 3G plain, only 2g heavier. It's really a 3G iPhone with new features and US$100 added on.

    But I want to buy it.

    Why?

    No, not because it has a 3 megapixel camera with autofocus and video.

    No, not because it's the newest device with an Apple logo and I'm a diehard Apple fanboy.

    No, not because my current iPhone has a laughable battery life.

    And no, not because the new iPhone has a Bahasa Indonesia keyboard so my brothers will shut up about the iPhone being a P.o.S. (Google it, but be warned, it's nsfw/nsfk/NC-16, so exercise caution) in typing in Bahasa Indonesia. If I want that, I can update my 3G to the 3.0 software coming in 9 days' time for free.


    I want the new iPhone 3G S because it does something incredible, no other iPhone or phone that I know can do.

    To tell you about this feature, I cannot describe it in any way, except to copy straight from Apple's Specs website, and blog about it here.

    So, here it is. The Number One feature of the iPhone 3G S in my opinion is:

    • Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
    NOTE:
    oleo- : relating to or containing oil. 
    -phobic: derived from the suffix "-phobia"
    -phobia: extreme or irrational fear or dislike of a specified thing or group.

    So, if Apple is to be believed, this new iPhone won't smudge will my facial oils! 

    That means I can use it on my Nike+ Runs, get a phone call, pick it up, and not get oil all over the screen. Awesome!

    Now, to sell off my iPod nano, iPod touch, Sony Video camera, Canon 30D, and MacBook Pro. 
    I want a new MacBook Pro, iPhone 3G S, and the up-coming 60D. But I'll keep my iPhone 3G as my unlocked phone for when I'm in Indonesia, or when my iPhone gets stolen/lost/sent for repair.

    Prediction roundup

    1) New iPhone(s).
    i. Better camera (with auto-focus and 3.2MP),
    ii. a digital compass,
    iii. matte plastic case on the back,
    iv. support for remotes on the newer earphones,
    v. faster processor,
    vi. higher 3G speed,
    vii. 2x the memory (both RAM and NAND),
    viii. HD 720p support,
    ix. iPhone OS 3.0,
    x. Release Date: July 17

    No word on 720p, remote, RAM. Release Jun-Aug, so Jul 17 is partially correct. 15/25 + 1 bonus for the s behind the word "iPhone".


    2) Snow Leopard.
    i. Snow Leopard is coming before September. 

    It's in September. But I was in the right direction, so that's halve? 12.5/25


    3) iPhone OS 3.0 - More talk about this during the keynote.
    i. Video capture & editing
    ii. GPS (turn-by-turn using the digital compass)
    iii. Movies and TV shows download from the iPhone (over Wi-Fi only)
    iv. Applications support for accessories and Push Notification Support re-explained
    v. Release date - July 17 (the date is correct, the month is wrong)

    Tomtom app w/ car kit = digital compass, new iPhone or not. btw, 1 month early! Good! 17.5/25

    4) What is/isn't going to happen...
    i. Steve Jobs will not appear on stage
    ii. Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall will.
    iii. No new iPods released or announced.
    iv. No new Macs released or announced.
    v. No new tablet. Not yet. The time's not right for something that 

    WTF? New MBPs? 20/25

    Summing up...

    Target was 65/100

    Total: 66/100

    Result: PASS!

    Sunday 7 June 2009

    focus on Photoshop.

    Something random that I was trying with my 50mm lens. Didn't turn out
    as nice (or easy) as I thought...

    Saturday 6 June 2009

    Obama speaks to the Muslim World

    Obama's speech to the Muslim World in Cairo, Egypt, June 4 2009.

    One of the promises Obama made, finally fulfilled. A speech to open up the dialogue between USA and the Muslim world. As an Christian Indonesian, I'm pleased to have a US president that respects Muslims, understands their point of view, and is willing to listen to them. Because what this means is the end of US 'colonialism' over Islamic states, such as Indonesia, where the US is seen as an enemy.

    "Whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners to it."
    --President Barrack Obama

    Indeed, it's the notion of a new beginning for US-Islam relationship.

    Links adjustment...

    It's that time of the [insert random period of time here] that I make
    some changes to the Links section of this blog.

    You'll see more blogs getting the strikethrough treatment from today
    onwards.

    By striking through, that doesn't mean I don't like the person, or the
    person has deleted his/her blog.

    I've changed my criteria for strike-throughs.

    From today onwards, Any blog that meets any of the following criteria
    will be struck in the Links section:

    a) hasn't posted a single post in the past 6 months. In theory, any
    blog without a post since 6 December 2008 would be struck. But because
    we're in June, I made it such that any blog without a post in 2009
    will get struck.

    b) gone private, rendering the blog inaccessible to many.

    c) been deleted/overtaken by someone else.

    d) moved without informing the new link.

    e) been re-skinned or facing a glitch which made the "last posting
    date" check impossible. i.e.: I can't see a single post, so I'm
    striking you as well.

    f) potentially harmful site. Thankfully, none of the blogs so far fall
    in this category, but in case a blog apocalypse should come, I've
    included this criteria.


    So, hopefully, you won't be offended if you see your blog getting
    struck. If your blog has been wrongfully struck, you may appeal by my
    tagboard or Facebook or email.

    Wednesday 3 June 2009

    Whoops. There it goes.

    Ren Yuan was IM-ing me of a little problem that some of you might have noticed in my blog skin.

    The overflow.

    Because I based my blog's Template code on another blogskin with the same structure, I copied large part of the code verbatim. The end result? A few quirks that might have suited that blogskin, but not mine. For example, the skin was meant for uber small (i.e.: around 8-point) font size. My blog, as you can see, is not 8-point. And to make matters worse, I email my posts from Apple Mail, so I have absolutely no control over how the page breaks would occur. This is a big problem in URL links, which can be quite long, so much so that they spill over to the next line. Or at least that's what they're supposed to do. They didn't. Because I left the overflow to "auto", which HTML coders say is the same as leaving it to "scroll", it, well, scrolled. So, for the Multi-touch trackpad users, you'd find that putting 2 fingers on your gigantic trackpad and moving them sideways whilst reading a post would move your post left and right. not cool.

    So, I removed the code for overflow. There is no overflow. So, I might have a URL that goes from left to right and out of the frame, but I'm fine with that, seeing that there's nothing much on the sides anyway.

    So, do comment on your opinions, whether you think I'm a mad genius, or a freaking idiot for taking out the "overflow" property because that will make your browser explode. Then again, if your browser explodes, how did you post on my tagboard? Perhaps your browser was inferior anyway.

    Oh, Ren Yuan and I created a new word today. (that's "today'' in my time zone at time of writing. If you're in 4 Jun 2009, it was yesterday that this word was created.)


    Hug•ly |həglē|
    adjective
    horribly ugly; horrifically ugly : that teddy bear is so hugly, I don't want to see it anymore.

    DERIVATIVES
    hor•rif•i•cal•ly ug•ly |hɔˈrɪfək(ə)li 'əglē| adverb adjective
    hor•ri•bly ug•ly |ˈhɔrəbli 'əglē| adverb adjective
    [censored]•ing ug•ly |ˈfəki ng 'əglē| informal adjective
    fug•ly |fəglē| informal adjective
    ug•ly |'əglē|adjective

    See? I even took the effort of making it look like a proper entry from Apple's Dictionary.

    Tuesday 2 June 2009

    Exciting stuff over at E3!

    Let me be frank: I don't play a ton of games (in fact, the only game I play seriously is Guitar Hero). However, I follow the developments that happen in the gaming world quite closely. Which is why the news coming out of E3 is quite exciting, in my opinion.

    One of the great news coming out this year is from Microsoft. More specifically, it's about what Microsoft calls "Project Natal". Rather than talking on and on about it, just watch this video.


    If you think this is a Wii poser, then probably you aren't looking and following closely. This is amazing technology being brought into the living room for entertainment. By using the camera and microphone, Microsoft is making the Xbox 360 a device that does not need a handheld controller like the Wii nun-chuck.

    This is, of course, assuming what they show is what they'll actually produce. It looks like an exciting development - very "Minority Report". Just hope it's not being overly ambitious.

    P.s.: How could I forget? Did you see the "PSP Go!" ? Check out Engadget. Coming out October 1st in US($249)/EU(€249), November 1 in Japan(¥268268). Or at least that's what I read.

    Monday 1 June 2009

    Factoids

    This blog is updated at the frequency of approximately 0.0000114Hz since 2 August 2006.

    Bet you didn't know that.

    What's your blogging frequency?