Sanity… is for the Weak

“… and then there was Light… and POWER“

Is this cool or what?!? Finally, an alternative power source for the PSP (and it’s environmentally friendly)! The Solar game console charger has a built-in 1800mAh Li-ion battery. In bright sun light a Sony PSP is fully charged in 4 hours.

Somebody now please *pretty please* buy this for me… or credit USD$35 into my bank account: POSB 009-43928-5. I’ll take Gold Bullion as well

:Link:

First up, a big *Hello* from the both of us to Cheryl, who’s reading this from Sweden! As you can see, I ‘ve added you to the links

This classy lady is not only pretty (Miss Universe Singapore 1999, no less), but smart as well; currently doing her PhD at Göteborg University.

And now, a little something more serious:

Wifey called my attention to the news article about the guy moron who left his Husky out to die of heatstroke. As dog owners ourselves, we felt that it it was a inhumane and utterly disgusting thing to do. It may be only an animal, but do they deserve to be treated this way? It seems to me that a dog these days is more of a fashion statement than a pet and companion. A visit to the dog show held every quarterly pretty much validates this view; just look at the number of fluffy little things dressed up and groomed… likewise, we’ve noticed that Huskies are getting more and more common here in tropical sunny Singapore. Let me paraphrase that “ARCTIC Sled Dogs getting more and more common here in SUNNY, TROPICAL Singapore”. I don’t begrudge people who really love this breed, but at least have the common decency to ensure the dog’s welfare. Seriously, if the moron had even an iota of common sense, at least a little shade and water would go a long way to better the dog’s life.

On a side note, I also blame Hollywood and weak-willed parents for the amount of pain caused on dogs, for it seems that when ever a cute animal gets featured on a kiddy show, the brats would than clamour for a pet “just like it” *insert suitable whining*. And when the novelty wears off, these animals are usually either abandoned or just mistreated. Not only that, when there’s demand, supply must of course meet it ~ resulting in indiscriminate breeding and more problems for the dog as genetic problems creep in. A while ago was Dalmations, and more recently Labadour Retrievers.

Not even fishes were spared; a collague of mine another moron gave in to his brats’ whining and bought a Anemone Fish after taking them to the show “Finding Nemo“. But since he didn’t want the bother of setting up a whole marine tank, he simply gave his kids the fish in the plastic bag. Little wonder then, the fish died after a couple of days, as the kids were “playing” with the fish in the bag just like the movie. Unfortunately, they didn’t tire of it as he’d hoped, and started whining again… and he bought another… and another… and another… well, you get the picture. When I asked the moron why didn’t he just set up a tank, the reply was “It’s only $2 for a fish”

- Delta’s Words of Wisdom

Blogger Indian Stallion has more to say about this.

I’m not shy to admit it… I love to eat. And I’ve got the love-handles to prove it too :p

*But* I love to cook too. And which is why, these guys from Eat Dangerously came up with, IMHO, the best web application, ever:

A FRENCH K.I.S.S. MENU CREATION TOOL

Go there, select the food you feel like having (or Trust the Force and select Random) click “Create Recipe” and off you go. This is what I got:

You will be having this lovely meal: flambed chicken in lyonnaise sauce served with macaroni.

Shopping list. . .
2 tablepoons of clarified butter
2 tablespoons of minced onions
2 dashes of salt
1.5 cups of demi-glace
4 tablespoons of vinegar
2 pieces of chicken
2 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons of powdered mustard
2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar for the salad
4 tablespoons of white wine
2 pinches of pepper
2 cups of macaroni
2 bits of rosemary for garnish
2 shots of cognac
6 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil for the salad
0.5 cups of beef stock
2 handfuls of watercress

Meat. . .
The chicken should be at room temperature. Prepare it by patting dry, then coating with salt and pepper.

To flambeé your chicken, heat a sufficiently large iron pan on high. When it is good and hot, add some clarified butter. You will frizzle your meat so a hardened coasting may form on the chicken surface which will keep their juices in.

Now, put in your chicken. Put your chicken in skin side down first. After browning both sides for about 2 minutes, lower the heat to medium. Continue to cook for about 20 minutes or so, flipping every 5 minutes. The length of time is dependent on how tender your chicken is.. When the meat is done, pour a bit of cognac into the pan and ignite. When the flames disappear you are finished.

Sauce. . .
For lyonnaise sauce:

brown 2 tablespoons of minced onions slightly in 2 tablespoons of butter.
moisten with 4 tablespoons of white wine and as much vinegar
reduce the liquid
add 1.5 cups of demi-glace
set to cook slowly for half and hour
strain if you desire

Starch. . .
Parboil the macaroni in salted water, keeping it somewhat firm; drain it; and simmer it in about 0.5 cups of beef stock until the macaroni has almost entirely absorbed it. Serve in a timbale, and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of the beef stock.

Salad. . .
To make your simple salad, take 2 handfuls of watercress, separate the leaves, wash them, and dry them.

Now, make your dressing. Take 2 tablespoons of vinegar, three parts its volume of extra virgin olive oil, along with 2 of teaspoons of powdered mustard, salt and pepper and whisk together. Gently toss your dressing mixture with your watercress.

When you are finished cooking, arrange the food on 2 plates and apply rosemary garnish over the whole.

Why? Well, to quote the guys from Eat Dangerously ~ “. . .because “Being healthy pays off when you’re old while eating delicious food pays off RIGHT NOW.”

Bon Appetit people!

Random Rumble:

Woke up at an ungodly hour this morning so that I could make it for driving lessons at 8am. Just like a normal workday, in fact… I just hope with all this pain and money spent, I’ll get my license at the first try.

Damn, I need a break

We’re (almost) out of Kibble

It’s amazing how fast 2 skinny dogs go through the dog food. We’ve only just opened a 18kg bag of kibble, and now it’s almost gone! Strange thing is, they’re still so skinny….

Luckily JuzPetz delivers to the door, free of charge.

Food

Wifey baked cookies today! And now the house smells of Double Chocolate Chip cookies…. Mmmmmmm…. I think I’ll go steal one now.

Be seeing ya!

Shameless Plug: Vote Me!

It’s been a great day today, and got lots of things done:
1) Changed bedsheets
2) Did Laundry
3) Bathed dogs
4) Collected wifey’s new IC (3rd Gen already! Got holographic picture somemore!)
5) Settled Insurance
6) Cooked dinner!

As mentioned, I’ll be posting pictures of stuff I cooked when possible. Here’s the first:

Main: Spinich and Egg Tagatalle, Creamy Potato with Mushrooms & Ham Sauce.
Wine: Renwick Vineyard Ice Wine, Resling, 2002
Dessert: Chocolate Ice w/ Apple Mousse (for me!) and Ben&Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake (for wifey!)

In other news, here’s a little something really wierd; a Hamster-powered Cellphone Charger

Gonna have an early night: Driving practice at an ungodly hour tomorrow~ 8am >_<

Be seeing ya!

First up, something from Mr Brown:

Next, wanna see this page in Benglish? Click here!

Kudos to Kenny Sia for coming up with something like this!

And now, a little something more serious:

Laser Cannons Coming to an F-16 Near You
LONDON (Reuters) - A U.S. Pentagon invention could make air combat resemble a battle scene from Star Wars, with a laser so small it can fit on a fighter jet, yet powerful enough to knock down an enemy missile in flight. The High Energy Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS), being designed by the Pentagon’s central research and development agency, will weigh just 750 kg (1,650 lb) and measures the size of a large fridge.

:Link:
All we need now are some friggin’ sharks to mount this friggin’ laser on their heads…

Hi folks, just want to let you know that I’ll be closing this site and moving on to somewhere else.

I’ve come to realise that I’m a lot more comfortable about this online publishing business now, and as such I’d like to move on to a platform that’ll take a little more skills to do. How’s that for learning new skills and upgrading, as urged by the PM, eh?

So catch me at the new location:

http://sanityisfortheweak.blogsome.com/

Or, update using the new RSS feeds:

Be seeing ya!

D_G

Woohoo! Came across this article today, and I figured it’s worth a look.

The BrainGate™ System is based on Cyberkinetics’ platform technology to sense, transmit, analyze and apply the language of neurons. The System consists of a sensor that is implanted on the motor cortex of the brain and a device that analyzes brain signals. The principle of operation behind the BrainGate™ System is that with intact brain function, brain signals are generated even though they are not sent to the arms, hands and legs. The signals are interpreted and translated into cursor movements, offering the user an alternate “BrainGate™ pathway” to control a computer with thought, just as individuals who have the ability to move their hands use a mouse.

:Link:

Sooo… Cyberpunk. So, when can I get my Neural Interface Jack, hmmm?

Next up, is a mountain bike by the folks at Specialized.

Now, it looks cool as heck and neck breakingly fast; but how the hell are you supposed to steer the damned thing?

:Link:

Shameless Plug: Vote Me!

I came across an article about the guy who crashed into some bars installed by the LTA and was subsequently paralysed from the neck down on this morning’s Today Paper. Apparently, the family is taking legal action against LTA for monetary compensation.

All well and good… *BUT* is the LTA completely responsible? I mean, people are NOT supposed to cycle on the overpasses, and there’s been signs put up since 2001, for goodness’ sake! And yet this man ignores the rules and happily cycles across, and thus hits the bars. That this guy was paralysed from the impact, shows that he was going at a pretty fast speed. What if there were no bars, but there was a person walking across instead? Then who shall sue whom?

Of course I’m not saying that the LTA should be absolved of all responsibility ~ adequate lighting on the bars may perhaps have served as a warning to all and sundry. But should some moron decide to ignore the warnings and ride on the overpass, endangering himself and others… whose fault is it then?

So, what’s next? Now that all the bars have been removed all across the country, thus freeing more morons to ride across the bridge, if a pedestrian gets knocked down and paralysed, the bars come back again?

I’d vote the guy for a Darwin Award. But unfortunately, he doesn’t qualify. Pity.

:Link:

It has been a great weekend, best spent with old friends over a good dinner.

We met up with Mo, Larry and Jew (no, *NOT* the Three Stooges) for dinner on Friday at Oosters. Mo & Larry I meet all the time , well, online anyway, but I haven’t seen Jew for many years.

Great to have met the missus Jew! Ditto with Noelle, who came with Mo, a great big Hello to the both of you; and hopefully, after listening to the guys talk shop, you’ll have a better understanding on what drives us… to Game.

Woohoo! New stuff for the PSP, now out.

First up is a cyberpunk-themed graphic novel, NYC2123: Dayender by the guys from NYC2123.com. Besides being downloadable for viewing on the PSP, they also have a PSP-formatted site for online viewing at http://NYC2123.com/psp.

Yet another PSP formatted site is found at fastpsp.com, best viewed on the PSP.

Next, a Web portal by Sony, those wonderful folks who brought us the PSP, which offers download of video clips at Portable TV. It’s currently in Japanese only… but that’s not gonna stop you, right?

And finally, free Comics and Graphic Novels free for download, pre-formatted for the PSP at Water Media.

Enjoy! It’s only gonna get better!

First up: A quick recap of the A/V

Now Playing:
PC:
+Guild Wars
+Unreal Tournament 2004
+Mind Rover
+Cypher
+Dark Grimoire
PSP:
+Rengoku
+Metal Gear Ac!d
+Wipeout Pure
+Coded Arms
+Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition

Audio:Slave
In the B&O:
+Black Eyed Peas: Monkey Business
+Basement Jaxx: The Singles
In the PSP:
+Gorillaz: Feel Good Inc.
+Rx: My Name is Rx
+Teddybears STHLM: Cobrastyle
+Mint Royale: Singin’ In The Rain

Visual:Slave
In the DVD:
+Appleseed 2004
+Steamboy
+Initial D: 4th Stage
Movies to Catch:
+Initial D: The Movie
+Fantastic 4
+Sin City
+Night Watch
+The Legend of Zorro
+Lord of War
+Herbie: Fully Loaded
+The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
+Transporter 2

Hi Folks!

As you can see, I’ve MOVED.

Reason? Well, I figured that since I’m gonna be online so often, I’d move to somewhere where a little more coding skills are required, a “Level Up” so to speak

It’ll probably be some time before I’m up to scratch again, and I’ll be a little busy trying to get the picture hosting thingy working also, so be patient. If you’d like to look at the old site, it’s still available >here<

Be seeing ya ;)

Hello, hello! It’s been a busy week, and we’ve hardly had time for ourselves!

First up: Great News. My little Sis has gone preggers. So I’m officially an “Uncle” now. Whee. *&^%$#@!!!

We caught Steamboy, an new anime by Katsuhiro Otomo. Touted as the most expensive Japanese animated film to date, it took almost $20mil to make. Unfortunately I wasn’t too impressed ~ Katsuhiro Otomo seemed to have lost his touch along the way, as the story rambles on after a good start to a lacklusture finish. The main “Moral of the Story” for this film seemed to be the usual “War is Evil” spiel, but the way it was delivered, especially in the latter half of the movie was chaotic to say the least. I’d still recommend this show, for the beautiful artwork and great animation, as well as a coverage of a lesser known genere: Steampunk.

Next, on the humour side, we caught a bit of the Don & Drew Show on radio last Sunday, while on the way to Ikea for lunch and getting more picture frames for the wall. All I can say is: Man, these guys are Good! Funny, witty and talented, these 2 guys have come up with something that stands out, head and shoulders above the other locally produced radio shows. Do take a look at their site, as it contains podcasts of their stuff so far ~ I’ll bet that you’d like it.

Also we caught the first episode of House M.D. last night. I must say that the trailers do not do the show any justice ~ while highlighting the humor delivered in great style by actor Hugh Laurie, it fails to show the great drama that unfolds through the show. Gripping and side-splittingly funny, do check out some of the more memorable quotes from the show!

Finally, here’s Stanley’s Breeder’s page: Dream Chamber Whippets. See how handsome he was in his heyday? You can hardly tell now, especially when he’s just goofing off and lazing around at home… but he’s such a sweetheart, so we love him just the same.

Audio:Slave

In the B&O
+Black Eyed Peas: Monkey Business
+Basement Jaxx: The Singles

In the PSP
+Gorillaz: Feel Good Inc.
+Rx: My Name is Rx
+Teddybears STHLM: Cobrastyle
+Mint Royale: Singin’ In The Rain

Visual:Slave

In the DVD
+Appleseed 2004
+Steamboy
+Initial D: 4th Stage

Movies to Catch
+Initial D: The Movie
+Fantastic 4
+Sin City
+Night Watch
+The Legend of Zorro
+Lord of War
+Herbie: Fully Loaded
+The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
+Transporter 2

Daryl: It’s quite cool! No monthly charge for one thing, and only 20 levels to grind. Best of all, the PvP sections are very well done. Highly recommended.

Why the title? Go have a look at this article. Funny thing is, I can see it happening already (Heck, I play a MMORPG already ~ Guild Wars).

Additional supporting articles:

+Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier by Edward Castronova
+Business Education… Virtually
+Second Life Intrudes on First One by Daniel Terdiman
+The Quest to End Game Addiction by Julia Scheeres
+Virtual World Wiki

Interesting, no?

On a more mundane level, here’s today’s breakfast/brunch. Traditional Chinese Pancakes with Red Bean Paste filling and Coffee.

Yum.

I think I’ll put up stuff I cook from now on.

Hmm… I think I may be a Chaotic Good Cleric in Dungeons & Dragons. Jokes aside, this personality test is something used in professional circles as an indication of a person’s personality type - but it is not an indcation of a person’s job preference, as the human psyche is capable of “splitting” itself into something else to fit the job, and then reverting to type once off work to relax. A source of personality dysfunction? Perhaps… but I’m happy with my job… for now.

Wow. The Big 4-0. We’ve just finished watching the National Day Parade on TV, and boy, am I glad I’m not doing the Parade this year ~ the Padang is a *HUGE* place to march in and out of. Can only hope that when I’m 40, I’ll be as vibrant and energetic as this island I call Home.

On the home front, we finally moved the bookshelf from the spare bedroom into our bedroom. Result: Larger spatial sense in the spare, and easy assess to books (I read at night) as well as a computer table/corner for my laptop… oh, and a space for wifey’s handbags.

Went for dinner at Califonia Bakery and Deli at Novena Square and we came across a toppled crane. I think the last thing we need is another construction incident, especially after Nicholl Highway. We can only hope that nobody was hurt, but then again, TTSH is just across the street so the situation should be well in hand. The worksite was supposed to be some expansion for a medical hub.

Funny thing about dinner at Califonia, is that we’ve always gone there for breakfast, and this is actually the first time we ate something else on the menu. Recommeded is “The Mushroom Swiss” sandwhich and the “Penne Funghi” both delightfully yummy with lots of mushrooms. The dessert was let down though, the “Califonia Sundae” tasted cheap and bland.

It’s been a hectic last two days; we got house was cleaned, dogs showered, cheese bought for our new (Swedish!) cheese slicer, wifey’s SKII cosmetic thingamajig bought, brought in-laws for a treat to Holland V’s famous XO fish Bee Hoon, Dog biscuits and Greenies delivered, etc etc.

One thing though, the dogs see to prefer “Grandma & Grandpa” now. They were soooooo happy to see them come by on Saturday to pick us up for dinner at Holland V. Probably the two weeks the furkids spent at the in-laws while we were in Scandinavia were the best time they had… Grandma absolutely looooves them, and spoils them shamelessly - Cheese and Crackers in the morning, a doggie biscuit each in the afternoon and their usual dinner at night; plus lots of play time and long rambling walks. This is the both of them with Grandma… Tess was quite happy to follow Daddy back in the car, until she realised that we were not coming along!

Oh and we found time to shoot some stuff for the One Singapore Minute started by Mr Brown. Take a look!

Technorati tag: onesingaporeminute

Came across this from the Mr. Brown blog. And yes, the Ah Beng inside of me (or so wifey keeps telling me) rejoiced. Jokes, aside, this is probably *THE* Singapore Dream - to strike it rich, or, as a friend of mine eloquently puts it:

“I, a Citizen of SIngapore, Pledge myself to strike the highest prizes. Based on Toto, 4D or Big Sweep. So as to achieve prizes, prosperity and progress for my wallet.”

On other news; Sony Corp has released the Ver2.0 of the Firmware updates for the PSP. Among the features added were the long-awaited web-browser upgrade:

w00t!

I’m not sure if this came from somewhere else or is a totally bright idea, but I couldn’t help but be tickled pink when I read it today on the forum at work (Thanks, Chilicrap!).

NKF (verb) - to cheat, to report lower or higher figures with an intention to decieve, to report false figures. E.g. Ah Beng NKF’ed his salary to impress that Ah Lian he was wooing, without realising that she has NKF’ed her vital statistics by wearing a wonder bra.

NKF (noun) - an organisation whose modus operandi are dubious. E.g. Ah Lian left AH BENG Pte Ltd because she found that it was a NKF.

TT Durai (verb) - to secretly take money and assets from company, to maximise entitlements or privilieges. E.g. Ah Seng regretted to TT Durai’ing as much as he could from AH BENG Pte Ltd before he was sacked.

Peanut (noun) - a unit of currency equivalent to SDG$600,000. E.g. The jackpot for this Thursday’s TOTO draw is 2 peanuts (SDG$1.2m)

More pictures from the Sweden trip posted up on Flickr. Just follow the link on the side bar!

I stumbled across the trailer for the Transporter 2 movie. Although the first movie was pretty so-so in terms of plot, the action was fast and furious, and judging from this trailer, the second one looks to go one better… sans a pouty-lipped Shu Qi. Jason Statham is truely an awesome human being.

On the audio front, we were intorduced to this Swedish a cappella band by the name of The Real Group. And man do they sound sweet. Their version of the Abba hit “Take a Chance On Me” has to be heard to be believed! Thanks Michelle, for the recommendation.

Another musical group to take note of: Mint Royale. We’ve been totally blown away by their music video of their remix of “Singin’ In The Rain“. Way cool!

Audio:Slave

In the B&O
+Black Eyed Peas: Monkey Business
+Basement Jaxx: The Singles

In the PSP
+Gorillaz: Feel Good Inc.
+Rx: My Name is Rx
+Teddybears STHLM: Cobrastyle
+Mint Royale: Singin’ In The Rain

Visual:Slave

In the DVD
+Appleseed 2004
+Initial D: 4th Stage

Movies to Catch
+Initial D: The Movie
+Fantastic 4
+Sin City
+Night Watch
+Herbie: Fully Loaded
+The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
+Transporter 2

Carole: Caaan. Just strike lottery lor!