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Bo's ORDinner

2010-02-16T22:50:00.010+08:00

ORD personnel enjoying his pre-dinner snack

Be back to check out my smile when its my turn...

Bo & Jessica, does she have a blog?

my belated ORD gift to Seet,
somehow the photo just happened to be in my bag..

NSmen

Dinner time

I'm so not looking forward to spicy food,
especially not before an open water swim the next morning :S

$30 fish head curry

spiciness overwhelms all other flavours...

farewell gift from PT Branch,
photoshopped by yours truly

^{*pls shred away version 1.0}

Bo is so touched that he started crying

PT Branch past+present

a random trip to Sentosa IR

2010-02-06T20:44:00.001+08:00

i have to say this is the weirdest, unnatural looking statue i ever seen...

fancy lighting & escalators bring you to the...

you've got it

The CASINO~!

take ur time to read...

the yet-to-open Universal Studio Singapore

having been to the ones in Hollywood & Osaka,
I'm pretty sure i wouldn't be disappointed with Singapore's...

security is tight, you can't take the elevator unless you can prove yourself as a hotel guest

i call it The Biggest Loser - Couples' Edition =P

chilling out @ hotel lobby

paid $6 entrance fee to come here read newspaper -.-"

back to Vivo (paid another 2 or 3 bucks to get out of there, what a rip off!)

garlic bread with olive oil & vinegar

Weixian & his filthy claws!!

that reminds me of...
.
.
.
.

the day he wiped his unwashed hands on mr.Bao's shirt after visiting the toilet!!!
that was back in 27 April 2004.

Caesar salad, my first time having a salad in a restaurant, i think..
if you exclude the countless coleslaw i had in KFC...

wood-fried pizza~ to be honest,
i like the Holland V $10 pizza better..

cheese & more cheese~

everybody loves cheese, see how happy he is!

i'm pretty full before hitting the main course..

are you sure authentic Italian pastas are THIS spicy??

i have no idea what the heck they ordered, but one thing is certain:

he didn't paid a goddamn cent for the $96 bill!!!

flaunting his debit card in public

cabbed to Chevron for a bowling trip,
paid public price coz i brought neither my Nebo nor Chevron card =(

our 4th but not last taxi trip of the day brought us to Holland V

where Bao & me won a few dollars from a live match,

while Weixian reminds poor, and

even poorer after he paid he bill, lol

Duck Tour @ Suntec~

2010-01-03T19:21:00.005+08:00

AO enjoying his sumptuous breakfast

our boarding pass for the Big Duck!

Bo was so excited that he finished half the available memory before the ride!

quack quack~

our duck has a name - Darcy -.-"

from land to water... SPLASH!!!

hey, we were up there during our last outing!

hopefully our next outing can be "potentially profitable" *hint hint* =P

Padang

Bo is a happy customer

presenting... the survivors of the Duck Tour!

Changi Haven - A Delayed Post

2009-12-20T14:43:00.001+08:00

had to rush there by taxi because somebody's late!

first time visiting the SAF chalets..

at first we thought it was vandalism,
then they were found everywhere!

the chalets look good...

just as I thought we are gonna have a great time,

I realized we are spending the entire day in this meeting room =(

bee hoon & soya bean milk for breakfast..

CO giving his opening speech for reflection day..

while AO is in a fierce battle with the Z-monster, and........

he lost =P

ZzZzzZzz....

Leon enjoying the after lunch movie screening

"what's ur takeaway?"

iPoh-KL GoodFood Trip Part 2

2009-12-14T19:56:00.001+08:00

pretty 'standard' international buffet breakfast...

oops, forgot to rotate...

some caves with temples

sad to see tourists throwing all sorts of rubbish into the pond...

a very European-flavoured statue/fountain sitting in front of a Chinese temple,
what a strange sight...

outstanding Chinese cuisine for lunch @ some ulu kampong village,
so much so that I was too busy to snap anymore photos...

2nd & also the last night stay - Grand Kampar Hotel,
I always liked the idea of staying in new hotels...

very spacious room, just a little under-furnished

everyone appreciates a sparkling clean bathroom

does it looks like mushroom cloud from a nuclear blast?

iPoh-KL GoodFood Trip Part 1

2009-12-13T20:17:00.001+08:00

off we go to a short 3D2N tour to Malaysia for some good food...

shark-fin soup with... wanton!?
to our relieve, there's a whole scallop under the wanton skin.

this dish has some sense of humour =)

盆菜, no idea what it is in English..

Basically, its a hawker-centre-in-a-steamboat

Merdeka Square - where Malaysia gained its independence back in 31 Aug 1957

wanna know more, click here

100m flag pole, tour guide proudly claiming it to be the tallest in the world.

should someone tell him North Korea has one @ 160m? nah...

Later, we visited a local chocolate factory outlet,

where prices are sky-high!

Our tour guide was very honest with us, he told us straight that 5% of our purchases goes into his pocket..

Deep-fried paper wrapped chicken for dinner.
Believe me, this is one of the oiliest thing you will ever eat...

this 5-star hotel has a fancy name - Palace of the Golden Horses

very tastefully decorated, full of pictures of celebrities whom stayed - Manchester United, Chelsea, Tiger Woods, David Beckham & many more...

generously spacious room, but not much of a view

Bathroom, with separate shower & bathtub (as a 5-star requirement),
but what happened to the toothbrush, body lotion, shaver & slippers?

this place gives me an "old castle" feel

seriously, there's NOTHING to do here!
gym closed, pool under maintenance & most places are unlit...

even the unicorn is nodding in agreement...

Explore Philippines with Cebu Pacific Air

2009-12-01T01:33:00.000+08:00

Advertorial

Do you know... that The Philippines is actually made up of over 7,000 islands?

If you are looking for an affordable and value-for-money vacation, Philippines is the place to go. Whether you love scuba-diving, visiting historical sites, shopping or simply chilling out at the beach, there is something for everyone to enjoy at the Philippines!

The country is home to several fascinating UNESCO world heritage sites plus some of the best white sand beaches in the world. Boracay, Camiguin and Dakak just to name some. In addition, Boracay was recently named one of the Top 30 Beaches in the world by TripAdvisor.

Puka Beach, Baracay

2100. Nope, that's not the name of the next disaster movie, that is the number of shopping malls in the city of Manila alone, which of course includes the third largest mall in the world, SM Mall of Asia. With malls closing as late as 9pm & some offers midnight sale, no wonder they call it a shopper's paradise.

For scuba-diving lovers, they have the world famous, award winning Apo Reef Marina Park, offering more than 300 species of fishes and over 500 species of corals. With island-hopping now possible with Cebu Pacific Air, you can also head to Busuanga Island and Coron Island to explore the Japanese shipwrecks from World War II.

Do u know... that Philippines introduced karaoke to the world?

The best time to visit the Philippines is between December and May. The climate is cooler and less humid, with no risk of typhoons. This is also the best time to experience the rich and colourful Filipino celebrations and fiestas.

Besides its vast network of domestic flights, Cebu Pacific Air also provides cheap & affordable flights to dozens of international destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, even going as far as Seoul & Osaka.

Not longer ago in October, Cebu Pacific Air had 5 international seat sales, 2 of which were all-international destination sales, and one super low fare sale @ S$1! Who knows what good deals you might find on your next visit to Cebu Pacific Air website, just keep a look out ;)

For more information, please visit http://www.wowphilippines.com.ph/

nEbO - The Quest 2009

2009-11-26T14:05:00.002+08:00

i hate waking up early during weekends.. but it's ok since there's $10,000 worth of prizes to be won!

our "passport" for the race

those little kids are going to be no match for trained soldiers!

chiong ah!!!!!

u should see the faces of passengers in the train when the orange shirts stormed in ;P

long story short, we completely screwed up our first stop in a hurry,
morale is all time low as our $10,000 slowly ticks away with time...

The Peranakan Museum

Asian Civilisations Museum

unfortunately, we failed to complete the race in the given time..

it's ok, we had fun rite??

Pastamania moment @ Downtown East

shacked out!

some photo courtesy of Aaron

LanNee's 21st Party @ Chevron

2009-11-08T14:54:00.001+08:00

some pictures from LanNee's 21st birthday party/chalet @ Chevron

Seb & XR in the background

the signaler & the MP,
haven seen them since the steamboat outing in January!!

Wong acting suspiciously...

*naughty naughty*

star-shaped cake from Coffee Bean, i wonder how much it cost

LanNee & Jacob

and out of nowhere Wong started the "kiss! kiss! kiss!" chant

"KISS! KISS! KISS"

sorry to disappoint, but it didn't happen...

Happy 21st to LanNee!!!

nothing much lah... 'thanks for coming'

Restaurant City Tips & Tricks

2009-10-24T17:24:00.000+08:00

Restaurant City Tips & Tricks

find out how to clean toilet & repair arcade machines without a Janitor! (read on)

For beginners, focus on bringing one dish per category to level 10, as each level 1 dish consumed earns you 1.0 Gourmet point; while a level 10 dish earns you 2.8 Gourmet points!
As you level up, your restaurant gets larger and you will be able to serve more dishes!
Earn coins by clicking on trees, both around your restaurant and your friends'. They are automatically reset every time you exit and enter a restaurant.
Be rewarded by clearing up pieces of thrash. Simply left-click on a thrash and you will be rewarded with 1 coin & 1 Gourmet point!
To prevent ratings from dropping when your entire crew is resting, simply remove the door, or place an item in front of it (e.g. stove, trophy)
All stoves cook at the same rate.
Make a holding area for your customers with sofa/chairs, this will buy you some time to clean up the empty dishes
Golden Ratio - 5:3:0, 5 Chefs to 3 Waiters to 0 Janitors. See the next tip
To clean toilets or repair arcade machines without a janitor, simply enter Redecorate mode, remove the items, place them back again and click on the big green tick ;P
A worker with 100% health will last approximately 3 hours before collapsing in exhaustion
Growing your own ingredient by planting a seed will result in a random ingredient (bayleaf, garlic, coriander, oregano, ginger, wasabi, tea, leave, vanilla, sugar, basil etc.)
Missing out on free ingredients from the daily quiz? Get Download the free Restaurant City Quiz Helper with all the answers here
Unable to handle the massive stream of customers? Try distracting them with arcade machines. Each customer earns you 1 coin and 1 Gourmet point, breaks down after every 5 usages.
Janitors, previously known simply as Cleaners, can wash toilets as well as repairing arcade machines.
Buying decorative items do not boost or increase your restaurant rating
Resale value of an item is 50% its original price
Smiley faces represents a workers' speed and efficiency, they work best at over 80% health

Singtel Unveils Barclay Premier League Price Plan

2009-10-11T00:04:00.000+08:00

SingTel today unveiled its price plans for the Barclays Premier League, which it won the rights to for three years from August 2010.

Watching the Barclays Premier League matches will cost $23 (excluding GST) per month and this plan will include all 380 Premier League matches. This also includes one high-definition set-top box.

In addition, customers who sign a one-year plan will enjoy the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League at no additional cost till May 2011.

Mr Allen Lew, SingTel's CEO Singapore, said: "We have promised football fans that they will not be charged more than what they have been paying their cable operator. And we are delivering on our promise - in fact, watching the Barclays Premier League matches will cost them almost 60 per cent less."

"We look forward to making our services available to all Singaporeans and football fans island-wide by the start of the new Barclays Premier League season next year," added Mr Lew.

SingTe FootballFrenzy.com

HK + Macau Good Food Trip 2009: Day 6

2009-10-05T23:26:00.000+08:00

back to Hong Kong, back to 中環 (Central),
check-in at the boutique hotel known as Mingle by the Wing..

room's freaking small, but clean & well equipped,
plus train station is just 50m away!

Kenneth figuring out how to use the hi-tech system.

Apparently you can also control lighting, air-con from the tv remote,
plus there are hundreds of movies available (for free) at your finger tips!

Last on our Must-Eat list: 蛇王芬

Snake Soup!

with so many newspaper & magazine cuttings all over the wall, we didn't know what to order!

i asked the waiter uncle what's the restaurant's specialty dish, he laughed & tell me EVERYTHING on the menu are special!

i decided on something you can't find in Singapore: 潤腸羊肉煲仔飯
somebody please help me with translation...

5 out of 5 for 蛇王芬 (Ser Wong Fun)

Address: 中環閣麟街30號地下

no reservations allowed, cash only & be ready to queue for seats =)

Australia Diary Co.,
we travelled all the way to Jordan for desserts

earlier this year, Kenneth had this double boiled milk stuff for dessert..

not bad, but too sweet for my liking...

rushing to the airport the next day...

Hong Kong airport's Popeye is $$$!

my last meal in HK.

good food, i miss u~

THE END

HK + Macau Good Food Trip 2009: Day 5

2009-10-05T00:08:00.000+08:00

cheap cafes surrounds the hotel, now i know why - for the bankrupt overnights

took a cab down to the edge of Macau...

the bakery, Kenneth insisted on coming here

for the famous Portuguese egg tarts after seeing Cerlyn's facebook...

the bakery has 2 cafes, just walking distance away from the bakery...

Kenneth had some sandwich...

& i ordered a very filling homemade meat pie with baked potatoes...

the bakery's other cafe...

one dozen egg tarts on its way to Singapore~

Crown, Hyatt & Hard Rock combined & labeled themselves as City of Dreams..

Alliance seems to be the best option when you are fighting against the majestic Venetian

some free show in the hotel premise...

trying to convince us that the casino is built around some ancient dragon emperor's pearl, bla bla bla...

Hard Rock hotel, just 3 months old...

a very sheek place to be...

RHCP~

home of over 70,000 artifacts

we didn't know there's a rooftop swimming pool till we checked out

that's it for my 2D1N stay @ Macau...

to be continued...

Viknesh's 21st Party @ Grassroot Club

2009-09-30T00:35:00.000+08:00

We arrived at the Grassroot Club for Viknesh's $10,000 birthday party,
the place is just a short 5 minutes walk from Yio Chu Kang MRT station...

Bo was 15 minutes LATE despite him telling us not to be!

Lifeguards & the ex-PTI

LG Wilson flaunting his expensive watch to everyone

birthday boy & his thousand dollar suit, tailor-made in India

Bo & the birthday boy

Indian buffet for dinner...

the food is alright, but...

VERY SPICY~~~!

AO joined us on our table...

*gossip gossip*

red packet for the birthday boy...

stupid Viknesh sabo me to go on stage...

no, i'm not gonna tell you what happened! =X

his 3-layer, 5kg birthday cake which cost $500

Viknesh & his family & close relatives...

Viknesh & his favourite Sergeant, yours truly~ =P

Singapore Formula1 Grand Prix Race Analysis

2009-09-29T19:02:00.000+08:00

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on winning the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix! Flawless driving by the defending world champion over the course of 61 grueling laps at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. I have driven a hundred laps or so on the Singtel Simulator last year, (I was the 3rd fastest in Singapore, but not eligible for prizes since I was a staff) what a pity. Trust me, its tiring to complete 5 smooth laps in a row without losing concentration, not to mention 61 of them in the real thing!

Let start things off with qualifying. I was surprised Raikkonen failed to make it into Q3. The highlight of qualifying would be Barricello's crash which brought out the red flag. The Brawn's crash not only helped Hamilton clinch a pole, but also enabled the Briton to start the race with relatively heavier fuel load compared to the rest of other Q3 participants.

KERS gave Hamilton a smooth start off the line, but later had to be disengaged and restarted due to some technical difficulty. Overtaking on this narrow & twisty track proved near impossible. Lap 20, Adrian Sutil tried to take Alguersuari on the inside which end up in collision & taking out the innocent Nick Heidfeld in his BMW, effectively ending the latter's 35-Classified-Race stint, also brought out the safety car.

Rosberg & Vettel, *sigh* what can I say? Both made silly mistakes which cost them their podiums. The Williams driver out-braked himself & crossed the white line while exiting the pit lane on lap 18. Drive-thru penalty stripped him of any point scoring chances. Then we saw the Redbull driver suffered a similar penalty where he was caught speeding in the pit lane on lap 40.

Another blow to the Redbull Racing team came shortly on lap 47, when Mark Webber's brake disc failure resulted in a high speed crash in Turn 1. Felt sad for him, it wasn't entirely his fault. Fast-thinking McLaren brought Kovalainen in for an early pit stop following the crash, gambled their chances for a second safety car session which never did materialized.

Drama continues as the infamous Ferrari pit lane incident nearly repeated itself, on Toro Rosso! This time it was Alguersuari speeding off before the lollipop man gave him the go, nearly pulled off the refueling hose like Massa did last year!

Overall, it was a great race, full of actions, you just wouldn't know what's going to happen at the next turn! I'm glad Hamilton learnt his lesson from Monza. But ultimately, Brawn got the most out of Singapore as they emerge one step closer to both Driver & Constructor titles. Next, Japanese Grand Prix!

photos from: PaddockTalk & SingaporeGP

HK + Macau Good Food Trip 2009: Day 4

2009-09-27T19:13:00.001+08:00

1-hour fastcraft ride to Macau straight after breakfast...

i was surprised to find last minute hotel room price cheaper than anything i've seen on the internet!

moreover, hotel shuttle buses are everywhere!
whichever hotel/casino you feel like going, just hop onto for a free ride...

利澳酒店 Rio Hotel:

4-star, 3-year old casino hotel with 449 rooms,
located the edge of the main casino strip..

we paid HK$680 a night for a Twin Room, no breakfast,
notice 2 beds are of different sizes =S

bathroom with separate shower cubicle & bathtub...

it's nice to have everything sparkling clean~

very nicely packaged amenities...

complimentary baked caramel egg pudding...

Grand Lisboa overshadows other casinos on the strip...

the famous Qing Dynasty bronze horse head on display.

it was bought back to China for a record price of US$10million..

having tried numerous HK cafes, its time to try Macau's...

typical Macau street snack - Pork Bun

pan fried pork chop topped with succulent onion wrapped between 2-pieces of toasted 'baguette' bun... simple yet delicious~

random photo by Kenneth

some church ruins, kinda like the symbol of Macau...

FIRE!!!

LOL--> Singapre Rice Noodles

had a lousy oxtail noodle for dinner...

finally its time to visit the Venetian Macao!

i have always wanted to go there since i saw its documentary on National Geographics Channel...

random shot of the Macao skyline...

golden fountain at the US$2.4 billion hotel's lobby...

gold is the theme, this is what 3 million gold leaves can do...

Grand Canal Shoppes housing 330 shops under the hotel's roof...

hand-painted ceiling,
lighting simulates day & night every now & then...

how about a gondola ride if you find yourself too lazy to walk from Zara to Godiva?

even the toilet looks grand...

and you don't have to visit NKF to use a golden tap!

which of the following do you prefer?

half-price for cakes after 8 @ illy!

to be continued...

HK + Macau Good Food Trip 2009: Day 3

2009-09-26T15:17:00.001+08:00

Singapore's MRT started on 1987
Hong Kong's MTR started on 1979

hmmm...

DIM SUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

燒賣

蝦餃

fresh, juicy, whole shrimps...

"Crystal Phoenix Claws",
my first time trying this Fear-Factor-class cuisine...

叉烧包, or the Chinese calls it: 叉烧包

mango pudding, i give it a 5 out of 5!

none of those artificial crap you get from Singapore comes close to this!

Peak Tram, which yea, goes to the peak...

we were 'fortunate' to be stuck halfway for a couple of minutes,
the kids loved it...

random photo of the HK skyline...

鏞記 Yung Kee, a Michelin 1-Star restaurant,
a very high end Chinese restaurant famous for their roast goose..

"Century Egg with Pickled Ginger"

the most delicious century egg money can buy,
it cost about S$3/ea

roasted to perfection, just a dip of plum sauce brings out the natural taste & tenderness of the meat. Nothing comes close to this, seriously.

1/4 goose cost about S$25,
and goose is NOT duck!

雙奶燉蛋, anyone can help me with translation?

HK + Macau Good Food Trip 2009: Day 2

2009-09-23T21:36:00.001+08:00

breakfast at one of the many many "HK cafes" scattered throughout the city..

Kenneth had a typical "big breakfast",

while I had a pork chop noodle, yummy~

took a tram downtown for some shopping...

the tram broke down --- at the very stop we wanted to alight

erm, thanks for the free ride ;)

what a name!

just as I bought my shoes & step outside the shop,
they started giving out free ice-cream! =D

星光大道 or Avenue of Stars...

we visited my mr.Bao's favourite ~~pornstar's~~ star at the Avenue of Stars,

張伯芝 Cecilia Cheung!

having failed to find Edison Chen's star, we headed to the Intercontinental hotel where.

On our way up, we found a HK$20 note.

what a day! =D

there was a large crowd (mostly teenagers) gathered outside the Space Museum just as we were passing thru...

WHO THE HELL IS 楊千嬅?!

having escaped just before the riot begin, we boarded the Star Ferry, one of the top attractions in Hong Kong, which has been running for a 100-years before I was born!

the famous 蘭芳園, where the legend says 絲襪奶茶 was invented

(before you click that 'post comment' button, do take note that i'll not start another "Who Invented Chicken Rice" war with anyone)

simple yet delicious chicken chop noodle with meshed spring onion & ginger,
hope i got the translation right..

Q: how do you judge the quality & popularity of a restaurant?

A: the number of newspaper/magazine cuttings they put up...

hey! wait a minute... isn't that..

its Mr.No-Reservations! Anthony Bourdain!!

i bet the restaurant owner doesn't understand English & has no clue that the article is also praising his bitter rival just across the road ;)

THE photo spot for the heavy firepower DSLR "gang members"

it's nice to see Alonso speeding down the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps at the comfort of our hotel room...

zoom zoom~

to be continued...

HK + Macau Good Food Trip 2009: Day 1

2009-09-22T20:30:00.002+08:00

the journey begins at Changi Airport where we were welcomed with a BSoD (Blue Screen of Death)

it took us over an hour to find this hotel... should have printed a map!

Ice House Serviced Apartment

booked earlier thru some China travel site,
3 nights for the price of 2, best deal I could find on the net...

well, its call Ice House for a reason...

some pictures of the room:

it was later that we realized they upgraded our room to a much larger one =D

the world-famous skyline of Hong Kong,
light show nightly @ 8pm...

somehow bumped into a luxury supermarket after dinner,
photo showing some exotic rice from different parts of Japan - stored in a fridge..

you've gotta look at this...

they sell spring water from all over the world: Japan, Italy, France...
a litre of H2o will set you back at S$11!

I officially support the ban of bottled water

Seet's ORD Dinner

2009-09-14T22:53:00.001+08:00

3SG Seet ORDs on a not so auspicious day: 9/11

Therefore we decided to have dinner @ Holland-V, where chances of being attacked by terrorist is the highest! Remember the saying: "the most dangerous place is the safest place".

enough of bullsh*t, let's move on to the dinner

had ThaiExpress for dinner

Seet "enjoying" his dinner... spicy spicy~

we headed over to a nearby bar for a drink later...

CPL Bo enjoying his pint of beer...

LG Wilson having a good time as well...

LCP Leon laughing at what lousy drinkers the rest of us are...

ORD loh!!!

we hope he enjoyed himself, all the best to him...

Comex 2009

2009-09-13T13:57:00.000+08:00

Just a few photos from Comex 2009...

thankfully it wasn't crowded like the previous show a few months back...

Lynnfield on demo @ Comex!

for my not so tech-savvy readers, Lynnfield is the codename for the latest Intel quad-core line up for the mainstream market. Similar to the Core i7s but with significant changes, such as support for 2 channels of DDR3-1333, on-die PCIe controller, LGA1156 design & so on...

Bought a 500GB harddisk to expand my storage needs.. hopefully it can last me a couple of years before moving on to SSDs when they goes mainstream...

My First Singapore Flyer Ride!!

2009-09-09T20:01:00.003+08:00

CO drove us there early in the morning...

"Welcome to Marina Barrage", says the dustbin -.-"

LG Wilson!

NSF rules!!!

introducing LCP Leon, our paper shredder...

we settled at one of the shelters with a good view for breakfast...

only to find that our food was somehow 'destroyed'

aunty Jessica giving out breakfast, it always nasi lemak...

bla bla bla...

(click to enlarge)

Panoramic shot of Marina Barrage

we visited the Barrage Museum next, or whatever the name is...

a huge sphere made entirely of empty Newater bottles!

Wilson glows in the dark, just like the bottles...

scaled model shows how the Barrage works...

more Newater bottles...

reflection time...

my first Singapore Flyer ride, paid for by SAF =D

Singapore F1 Grand Prix paddock building

start/finish straight...

Turn 22 & 23, most tricky corners of the entire track in my opinion...

SWO Lee is a happy kid

can u spot the barrage?

football field on the floating platform,
they gonna need divers to pick up balls for them...

(click to enlarge)

Panoramic shot of Marina Barrage

NUFFNANG INVITES: Boeing 747 vs Porsche Carrera

2009-09-06T17:58:00.002+08:00

I am honored to be invited by Nuffnang to attend this exclusive event, featuring a race between a Boeing 747 vs Porsche Carrera 911 GT3, first time in Asia!

arrived @ T3 with my fellow PTI...

we were given a very nicely printed visitor pass...

buffet lunch & performances at the departure lounge. It was kinda awkward as my friend & I didn't know anyone there...

Dining by the runway...

Desserts... and stop drooling onto your keyboard!

transport for the VIPs to the grandstand located just 200m away -.-"

airport staff getting ready for the race...

yes, we were all made to wear the luminous vest...

look at how high they threw her up!

Seet cheering for his favourite airline as it took off in front of us (-_-)"

Hi!!! to the Discovery Channel tv crew

passengers in the SIA flight waving to us,
they must be wondering what the heck is going on?

as if the weather wasn't hot enough,
here comes the beautiful race queens!

the car somehow refused to start,
while the driver is being cooked alive inside that cockpit..

off he goes!

burnt rubber aroma therapy anyone?

the Jett8 Cargo plane on its way to the starting line..
how about a couple of warm-up laps?

the ACES kept the crowd entertained as the plane slowly taxi down to the start line...

the aircraft did not go on the first run, check out the video on the real race:

the Porsche won!! but how close was that?!

how about we have a JetStar vs Helicopter?

we had a good time @ T3, my friend was glad that he could keep that luminous vest, perhaps for his CWO

Thank you once again to Nuffnang (especially Raine) for inviting us to this event, we appreciate it a lot =)

BOTAK JONES BBQ Buffet @ $29.90!!!

2009-08-24T19:03:00.004+08:00

10% off beers; soft drinks on the house.

(click to enlarge)

"We’re going to have a an ALL-U-CAN eat Bar-B-Que at our Toa Payoh Outlet on the 27 Aug for just $29.90...! So wear something red and join us for a lot of eating, drinking and networking. Interested? Go to any Botak Jones outlet and make a reservation with a $10 deposit. Limited to 150 pax. See you there!"

-http://www.botakjones.com

First Lady Now Requires 26 Servants

2009-08-22T21:32:00.001+08:00

“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service,”
— Michelle Obama.

We were wrong.

Michelle Obama, as we reported on July 7, is not served by twenty-two attendants who stand by to cater to her every whim.

She is served by twenty-six attendants, including a hair dresser and make-up artist.

The annual cost to taxpayers for such unprecedented attention is approximately $1,750,000 without taking into account the expense of the lavish benefit packages afforded to every attendant.

Little did American voters realize the call for “change” would result in the establishment of an Obama oligarchy.

The discovery of the additional attendants was made by D’Angelo Gore of factcheck.org and by calls to Katie McCormick Lelyyeld, Michelle Obama’s press secretary.

Mr. Gore launched his investigation of the First Lady’s staff in the wake of an article that appeared on thelastcrusade.org and Canada Free Press on July 7.

The article, which became a chain letter viewed by millions of Americans, reported that Michelle Obama requires more than twenty attendants - - more than any First Lady in U.S. History. It provided the following list of White House staff members assigned to the First Lady:

1. $172,2000 - Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff)
2. $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy And Projects For The First Lady)
3. $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary)
4. $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the First Lady)
5. $102,000 - Winter, Melissa E. (Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
6. $90,000 - Medina, David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
7. $84,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (Director and Press Secretary to the First Lady)
8. $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady)
9. $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Projects for the First Lady)
10. $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
11. $65,000 - Reinstein, Joseph B. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
12. $62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator For The First Lady)
13. $60,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director for the First Lady)
14. $60,000 - Lewis, Dana M. (Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the First Lady)
15. $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (Associate Director and Deputy Press Secretary To The First Lady)
16. $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (Special Assistant for Scheduling and Traveling Aide To The First Lady)
17. $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (Associate Director of Correspondence For The First Lady)
18. $45,000 - Tubman, Samantha (Deputy Associate Director, Social Office)
19. $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
20. $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary)
21. $36,000 - Bookey, Natalie (Staff Assistant)
22. $36,000 - Jackson, Deilia A. (Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady)

Source: http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/13827

Rock Climbing @ Yishun SAFRA

2009-08-19T22:26:00.001+08:00

Wong's birthday celebration: all expense paid rock climbing trip to Yishun SAFRA!

(except for transport, insurance, lunch, dinner...)

the intimidating 25m wall which also house the indoor air-con bouldering gym

i dunno how, but he lost his phone =S

Lani attempting the wall with assistance from Jacob

little girl taking on 2 army boys in a rock climbing challenge!

she was given the nickname "mini-Lani"

none of shots were up to standard despite numerous attempts =/

yet another bad shot...

almost got injured trying to replicate my famous 5-Star Elbow Drop stunt

we were knocked out before even hitting the real rock climbing wall...

Later...

Wong who has a level 1 climbing cert taught us the knots & stuff...

that was as far as i could go,

not too bad for my first ever rock climbing attempt huh

Jacob up next.. go Sergeant Yeo!!

finally its the Birthday Boy's turn!

he reached higher than both of us did before return safely to earth thanks to the excellent belayer!

2nd attempt: could have reached the top but i was totally exhausted...

Birthday Boy's second attempt!

up he goes...

congrats to Birthday Boy for conquered the wall!

had dinner @ some Hong Kong cafe,
Sergeant Yeo makes a nice background for the $2.90 Ying Yang (milk tea + coffee)

my $8.50 beef spaghetti.. trust me, i can cook better than this..

Happy Birthday to Wong, hope he enjoyed his rock climbing trip~

Ah Long's 22nd Birthday Chalet

2009-08-17T22:13:00.002+08:00

some photos from Ah Long's birthday chalet... enjoy~

Lani & her 22st -.-"

birthday boy enjoying his forfeit~

"thanks for coming"

Wong got his present too~

Labrador Park Tour

2009-08-16T21:34:00.001+08:00

NE tour @ Labrador Park...

know nothing about this place,
heard it used to be a naval base back in the 90s'...

shhh~ is that a new species?

bunker where British soldiers used to live...

Secret Tunnel, don't tell others...

A very informative tour by the guide...

believe it or not, these stains were caused by soldiers splashing oil in order to repel mosquitoes

ammo store for the 6-inch guns,
2 soldiers would carry 1 of these at a time which weight 45kg

lift pulley system which raise the ammo to ground level to the guns

it was lunch time when the gigantic Star Virgo sailed past...

it's been more than a decade since I last boarded that cruise!

Panoramic sea view from Labrador Park

next stop: Bukit Chandu

canopy walk...

magnificent view from the 'air'

what a boring post, thanks for viewing =|

Microsoft faces ban on MS Word sales

2009-08-13T21:39:00.000+08:00

A US judge told Microsoft yesterday that it is forbidden to sell Microsoft Word in the USA because it breaches an existing patent.

* Injunction would bar sales of 2003, 2007 Word versions

* Takes effect in 60 days

* Microsoft says will appeal, impact seen minimal

* Shares closed up 2 pct; flat in after-hours trade (Recasts, adds detail)

Judge Leonard Davis issued a permanent injunction against Microsoft forbidding it from selling Word 2003 and Word 2007 in the US.

The award was made after a Canadian company called Infrastructures for Information (i4i) claimed that Microsoft had breached its patent, US patent number 5,787,449. The firm was also awarded $240 million in damages.

Microsoft has said it will appeal against the decision, awarded by Judge Leonard Davis in the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division.

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Special: Panoramics

2009-08-11T21:01:00.003+08:00

Some panoramic shots taken with my dad's Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS,
click on them to enlarge, enjoy~

Sea view from the Swordfish statue

Mount Kinabalu

Actual view from our 7th floor hotel room!!!
Deluxe Room, Pacific Sutera, Sutera Harbour Resort

Part 1: $30 Flight; RM30 Room
Part 2: KFC Cheezy Wedges
Part 3: Worst Hotel Ever
Part 4: FIVE STAR
Part 5: Resort Life
Part 6: Five Star Morning Call
Special: Panoramics

2 Republic Poly Students Killed On Railway Track

2009-08-09T11:05:00.003+08:00

Bodies of two Republic Polytechnic students were found near the KTM railway track at Upper Bukit Timah Road on Saturday. The couple, 19-year-old Chinese boy Goh Sheng Yao and 20-year-old Chinese girl Lee Jing Yu, were believed to be in a relationship.

The police received a call at 5.24am that a train had knocked down a couple at the track near Railway Mall. The couple were pronounced dead at 6.08am.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman said that the Chinese boy's left leg was amputated and he suffered an open head wound and multiple body fractures.

The girl, also Chinese, had multiple body fractures, and her right leg was nearly severed at the knee.

Ms Shahriza Embi, a Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) spokesman, said that an empty KTM train heading to Johor Bahru knocked down the couple. 'We had no idea how they got there.'

The morning shuttle between Johor Bahru and Singapore was cancelled. Four other train services were delayed for between one and two hours.

The couple, believed to be students from Republic Polytechnic, were apparently sitting on the track when the train came.

Source: StraitsTimes

Republic Polytechnic students received an email from their Director of Office of Corporate Communications Khng Eu Meng informing them of the unfortunate accident:

“Dear students and staff,

It is unfortunate that we have to break this news to you. The bodies of two students from Republic Polytechnic were found on the Malaysian rail line this monring, 8 August, at 5am. The deceased were from SOH (DIEM): Goh Sheng Yao; Lee Jing Yu Clara.”

Swensen's Ice Cream Buffet @ ION Orchard

2009-08-08T13:39:00.002+08:00

Print this coupon & enjoy a 1-for-1 ice cream & dessert buffet!

(click to enlarge)

50 ice cream flavors, 40 sundae toppings, chocolate fondue, waffles & more... anyone tried?

LIVERPOOL AGREE ALONSO DEAL

2009-08-05T19:45:00.001+08:00

"One of the most drawn-out transfer sagas of the summer has come to an end with Liverpool confirming they have agreed a fee with Real Madrid for the sale of Xabi Alonso.

The deal is believed to be in the region on £30 million, although Liverpool have pledged to keep the terms of the deal "confidential and undisclosed."

A statement on the team's website said: "Liverpool football club have reached [an] agreement for the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, subject only to a medical.

"The terms of the deal will remain confidential and undisclosed."

Real later also confirmed the deal, stating Alonso would be arriving in Madrid today to undergo a medical."

Source: inthenews.co.uk

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 6: Five Star Morning Call

2009-08-04T00:30:00.005+08:00

Having trouble waking up for breakfast in their ultra-comfy 5-star bed?

Try the complimentary 5-Star Morning Call Service! It goes like this...

WARNING: MILD VIOLENCE GRAPHIC CONTENT!

The Morning Call Service ensures his valued guest wake up to a magnificent sea view & in time for his buffet breakfast.

Why 5-star?

because his valued guest should be seeing stars by now...

WeiYuan is fully awake for breakfast...

"Don't queue for the food, they queue for you"

birds stealing food!

Just enough time for one last stunt before check out!

(photo taken by WeiYuan)

5-STAR ELBOW DROP!

*bone cracking sound*

slacking at the lounge after check-out...

everyone loves the 4-story tall painting...

Beautiful night shot of the Pacific Sutera

ordered some special cocktail for RM20++

& Sya had the most expensive Milo he ever bought...

one & only group photo...

goodbye KK...

back to Changi Airport; back to Singapore; back to work...

Part 1: $30 Flight; RM30 Room
Part 2: KFC Cheezy Wedges
Part 3: Worst Hotel Ever
Part 4: FIVE STAR
Part 5: Resort Life
Part 6: Five Star Morning Call
Special: Panoramics

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 5: Resort Life

2009-07-31T20:13:00.003+08:00

reminds me of those tourism poster ad

no doubt one of the best picture i ever taken..

i shall name it "Wish You Were Here"

buffet breakfast @ Cafe Boleh.. can't recall what this photo is about..

fresh fruit with fruit yogurt..

Sya refused to try because he insists that the word "yogurt" actually means "you-got-hurt" -.-"

Took a walk along the jetty to aid digestion

an irresistible urge to snorkel in the crystal clear water...

Our room were made up by the time we finish the walk, excellent job from the housekeeping department~

That was soooo much fun =D =D =D

On our way to the nearby Manukan Island for snorkeling:

RM68/person inclusive of return boat ride, 15min glass-bottom boat ride, snorkeling equipments & island entrance fees... Quite reasonably priced considering the operator is located right in the resort..

Magellan Sutera, the other hotel in the resort...

glass-bottom boat ride

Nothing much to see actually =X

Sad to say, most of the coral reef near the beach is dead, obviously due to over-tourism in the area... But we did get to see a few schools of fish, sea urchins & Nemo (clown fish)!

The lady from housekeeping delivered us a golden box,

containing just two pieces of rather expensive chocolates which Sya wasted no time swallowing

Bought coke, & yet again we "abused" the room service for some ice cubes...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYAFIQ!!!

(-_-)"

happy 21st to him!! =D

We tipped the room service guy even though he delivered us a fork instead of knife..

See, we are nice people =)

Bought too many slices...

time for an hour of relaxing bubble bath~

DO NOT DISTURB! shhhhh~

to be continued....

Part 1: $30 Flight; RM30 Room
Part 2: KFC Cheezy Wedges
Part 3: Worst Hotel Ever
Part 4: FIVE STAR
Part 5: Resort Life
Part 6: Five Star Morning Call
Special: Panoramics

BMW Sauber Team Quits F1

2009-07-29T20:40:00.001+08:00

"BMW has announced it is to quit Formula 1 at the end of the 2009 season, as AUTOSPORT predicted last night.

The news was confirmed at a press conference in Munich this morning, and comes on the back of a disappointing campaign for the outfit.

Dr. Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the BMW board, said that the decision was made after a refining of the company's future strategy.

"Of course, this was a difficult decision for us. But it's a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment," he said.

"Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. In line with our Strategy Number ONE, we are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula 1 campaign is thus less a key promoter for us.

"Mario Theissen has been in charge of our motor sports program since 1999. We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula 1 racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario Theissen and his team for this."

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen, who spearheaded the company's efforts as an engine supplier with Williams and then later with BMW Sauber, said he understood the reasons behind the withdrawal.

"Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years," he said. "But I can understand why this decision was made from a corporate perspective. We will now focus sharply on the remaining races and demonstrate our fighting spirit and put in a good result as we bid farewell to Formula 1 racing."

Dr. Klaus Draeger, member of the board who is responsible for development, said this season's poor results had played a part in the move to quit F1..."

Source: Autosports

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 4: FIVE STAR

2009-07-28T21:50:00.004+08:00

Sya relative's friend's friend's friend's friend's friend whom is so-call a tour guide, took us to Mount Kinabalu in his crappy car...

Nothing much, just some photos from the morning trip:

boring journey was over at last,
we arrived at the Sutera Harbour Resort!

Random shot of the Pacific Sutera lobby

view from hotel lobby

we opened the door to our Deluxe Sea View room on the 7th floor~

(Click to enlarge)

believe it or not, this is the actual view from our room!!!

guess how much our room cost per night?

Took some pictures of the room while Sya & WeiYuan were enjoying their 5-star experience...

it didn't take too long for ~~them~~, ok us, to mess it up =P

One of the many swimming pools in this mega-size resort...

A little introduction for the resort: There are actually 2 hotels, separated by a country club in the middle, attached with a yacht club facing the sea & a 27-hole golf course on the other side, just imagine the sheer size of this place!

Rental for a day of all-inclusive yacht is about RM5,000 -.-"

Think we'd better stay on land...

Spa, which unfortunately wasn't included in our package...

Complimentary buffet dinner:

smoked salmon

mussels

crab & about a hundred dishes more...

Desserts!

& more desserts...

there were like over 25 choices for desserts alone!

Calories is never a problem since i exercise so much ;P

Highlight of the buffet was this oven baked pudding which the pasty chef delivered to our table personally which a big smile!

absolutely loved it~

now you see it,

now you don't!

Oh yes, our package cost RM1200 for 2 nights stay, after the extra bed charge & tax. It includes a free room upgrade & 6x buffet breakfast, 2x complimentary buffet dinner & some other minor stuffs here & there, which turns out to be around S$500 or S$250/night, no so pricey if you consider its location & the range of facilities available.

In Part 5, i will reveal how we manage to fit return air ticket plus 5 nights of accommodation (inclusive of 2 nights stay at this resort) with an ultra-tight S$250 budget.

to be continued...

Part 1: $30 Flight; RM30 Room
Part 2: KFC Cheezy Wedges
Part 3: Worst Hotel Ever
Part 4: FIVE STAR
Part 5: Resort Life
Part 6: Five Star Morning Call
Special: Panoramics

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 3: Worst Hotel Ever

2009-07-27T19:20:00.003+08:00

ok ok, i wake up already lah!

The signaler too took a few blows before we headed downstairs for breakfast...

it wasn't suppose to rain! (according to the weather forecast)

last minute decision to stay at the Tune hotel

we arrive at the room by 1.30pm to find that...

the room has no power supply because check-in time is 2pm, great

went down to the Hypermall for some shopping

guess what... Sya hit the jackpot!!!

Actually he won a bottle of ketchup -.-"

Even the person giving the prize couldn't control his laughter~

we returned to the hotel room later that evening...

our RM80/night room's toilet

bathroom door with no lock

window with no view & cannot be opened =(

"ITS YOUR FAULT THAT WE ENDED UP HERE!"

to be continued...

Part 1: $30 Flight; RM30 Room
Part 2: KFC Cheezy Wedges
Part 3: Worst Hotel Ever
Part 4: FIVE STAR
Part 5: Resort Life
Part 6: Five Star Morning Call
Special: Panoramics

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 2: KFC Cheezy Wedges

2009-07-26T15:29:00.004+08:00

We visited the Gaya Sunday Market the next morning,
which turned out to be a big disappointment...

time-wasting @ only RM1.50/hour

View from the hawker centre...

Noodle is fantastic & cost merely RM4!

the famous swordfish statue, but the traffic was too heavy for us to get a closer look at the description plate..

the KFC addict...

WARNING: DROOLING MIGHT CAUSE SERIOUS DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER!

mouth-watering Cheezy Wedges, cost only RM4!

Indoor seafood foodcourt just 5min walk from our accomodation,
but we are heading for a more well-known place for dinner...

just across Le Meridien hotel,

lies the famous open-air seafood market,

you pick it, they cook it

BBQ chicken wings & satay...

WeiYuan purchasing a stick of chicken a$$

The dinner menu says: "eat me! eat me!"

food is cheap, we ordered whatever we felt like eating =D

since there's no toilet at the open-air seafood market,
we headed for Le Meridien to use theirs..

it was later that I realized I have a membership under the hotel chain's Preferred Guest program...

visiting one of the top-rated hostel in KK, Lavender Lodge

Bought fried ice-cream for supper...

to be continued...

Part 1: $30 Flight; RM30 Room
Part 2: KFC Cheezy Wedges
Part 3: Worst Hotel Ever
Part 4: FIVE STAR
Part 5: Resort Life
Part 6: Five Star Morning Call
Special: Panoramics

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 1: $30 Flight; RM30 Room

2009-07-25T15:19:00.004+08:00

Sya enjoying his Popeye @ Changi Airport

Seriously, we almost missed our flight because someone was late...

Goodbye Singapore, I'll be back~

2-hour plus flight to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

For the first time, taxi fare to Changi Airport cost more than the flight itself :S

Sergeant WeiYuan plotting his check points & MGR...

Taxi to anywhere in the city of RM20

Good thing about KK is that city centre is barely 10min ride from airport!

Choices of accomodation is plenty, we manage to hunt down the Velvet which we found earlier on the internet..

Lounge @ 2nd floor

Rooms @ 3rd floor, there are only 5 rooms!

RM30/bed night inclusive of breakfast, what a bargain!

Comes with free wifi internet...

or you can pay RM3 for an hour of internet

Breakfast the next morning...

Milk tea + kaya toast + hard boil eggs,
not too bad when you're paying RM30/night!

Part 1: $30 Flight; RM30 Room
Part 2: KFC Cheezy Wedges
Part 3: Worst Hotel Ever
Part 4: FIVE STAR
Part 5: Resort Life
Part 6: Five Star Morning Call
Special: Panoramics

MICHAEL OWEN JOINS MANCHESTER UNITED

2009-07-04T13:08:00.002+08:00

MICHAEL OWEN JOINS MANCHESTER UNITED

Latest News: Michael Owen has been confirmed as a Manchester United player. The striker has signed a two-year deal to play at Old Trafford and no transfer was paid as the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Newcastle forward was a free agent.Michael Owen: A free agent who joins on a deal believed to be incentivised. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson happily confirmed the deal saying, "Michael is a world class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level and that has never been in question. Coming to Manchester United with the expectations that we have is something that Michael will relish"

Owen himself was similarly happy, and said: "I had just begun to talk to other Clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday afternoon, invited me to have breakfast with him next morning during which he told me that he wanted to sign me. I agreed without a moment's thought.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands.

"I am now looking forward to being a Manchester United player and I am fortunate that I already know so many of the players here. I missed pre season last year and am pleased that I will be starting at Carrington from day one.

"I want to thank Sir Alex for the faith he has shown in me and I give him my assurance that I will repay him with my goals and performances"

Soccernet

(CLASSIFIED) PTI's Wardrobe

2009-06-29T21:33:00.003+08:00

EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK INTO A PTI's WARDROBE

Been playing around with photoshop recently, decided to showcase some of my work, you can find them on my Facebook too!

an all-white wardrobe

my sports shoes collection

3SG wrist ranks

PTI polos & singlets collection

Endure & Excel!

Michael Jackson Autopsy Report

2009-06-28T14:12:00.001+08:00

Michael Jackson’s autopsy has been completed.

The L.A. County Coroner says there was no trauma to Michael’s body and “no indication of foul play”.

The coroner said that Michael had been taking “some prescription medications.”

The coroner said the cause of death was deferred because additional testing — including toxicology and other tests — is needed. It will take 4-6 weeks to complete.

In addition, in an interview with CBS televesion, MJ's pal, Liza Minnelli said that: "When the autopsy comes, all hell’s going to break loose, so thank God we’re celebrating him now..."

showbizspy

Influenza A H1N1: Another 95 Confirmed Cases

2009-06-26T07:04:00.000+08:00

"The Health Ministry confirmed 95 new cases on Thursday, raising the total infected to 315.

About half of the new cases have been investigated and they comprise 25 local infections and 22 imported ones.

Of the 25 new local infections, 10 were Butter Factory nightspot patrons and staff, four were from the Maju Camp cluster and two caught the virus from close contact with imported cases.

Nine were linked to a new Republic Polytechnic cluster, which had three previous cases.

The remaining 48 new cases are still being investigated. .."

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/specialreport/news/438519_96/1/.html

New Case of Influenza A H1N1 from MAJU CAMP

2009-06-23T23:14:00.002+08:00

I heard the news broadcaster mentioned something about 马裕军营 on the Channel 8 news just a while ago. Wait a minute... isn't that MAJU CAMP??? Holy crap, I have many friends working there, let's hope no one else is infected...

"Singapore has confirmed another 26 new H1N1 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 194.

10 of the new cases are local transmissions. Of these, four are from the Butter factory cluster, a popular night spot.

One is from River Life Church and another is from the Singapore Armed Forces Maju Camp..."

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/438048/1/.html

Roti Prata with Geese Egg??!

2009-06-01T22:09:00.001+08:00

Have you tried Roti Prata with Geese Egg before?

Prata wth Geese Egg cost $0.90 more than normal egg prata...

It was at Jurong East where I came across this interesting Muslim food store

They certainly hope its a typo error =)

POP loh!!!

2009-06-01T22:08:00.000+08:00

The last night at my messy bunk...

Rank & badge all sewn & ready!

From jockey cap to beret to Fitness Specialist baseball cap

The fresh graduates from the 91st BFSC!

(photo taken from an audience's facebook)

That's us performing the rappelling + log PT stunt after the parade

(photo taken from Qian's facebook)

I think we put up a hell of show!

Wong, Jacob & LLY

all the best to Wong...

XR & me, thanks for coming

I DID IT!!!

2009-05-10T17:32:00.004+08:00

YATTA!!

I DID IT!!!

52 minutes is the time to beat. Guess what, my timing is 51m57s!! 3 seconds slower & I would have to do it all over again. What a close call~

The truth is, almost nothing went according to plan. After the swim, I had a bit of problem wearing my socks I dunno why. Went through the obstacles rather smoothly, off the ramp with a round of applause from the OCS cadets, which was really encouraging. I was minutes behind time after the up slope killer. Despite the fatigue, I pushed on.

450m from the end point, my stomach turned & I puked. I guess it wasn't a good idea to have roti prata with curry before a CPFT ;P The next thing I know, Sgt Song Po appeared from nowhere & was running with me. Alvin were yelling to me that there's only 20-seconds left. I gave it whatever I've got and sprint to the finishing line, had a last glimpse at the clock, and then I dropped to the ground with a huge sense of relief.

IPPT, SOC & CPFT are the 3 passing criteria for the PTI course. CPFT somehow resembles an army version of the modern biathlon, involving both swimming and running. Here is roughly its components, in sequence:

200m swim with long4 + rifle --> FBO 1.5km run --> clear SOC --> 3.5km rundown

PTI Goodie Bag we collected upon passing the course,

I love the golden cross swords =D

"...the Fitness Specialist knows that it is possible. He himself has stretched his body to those limits, and beyond."

www.mindef.gov.sg/cyberpioneer/backissuesoct1.htm

GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part5

2009-05-10T17:31:00.009+08:00

Last but not least, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor,
the gap is merely 3.5%

The gap opens to 5% with 4xAA & 16xAF.

You can see from the result that both cards perform at a similar level, with the GeForce GTX260+ edges out by a small margin in most games. Given both cards are selling at the same price, the Nvidia card definitely makes a better choice.

Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor

GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part4

2009-05-10T17:31:00.008+08:00

Need For Speed: Undercover, again no significant difference between the two.

The GTX260+ almost achieved what is known as "free AA",
while the HD4890 suffered a 12.6% drop in frame rate.

Moving on to the first DX10 game benchmark, FarCry2,
HD 4890 performs much better than its counterpart.

The gap maintained after switching on AA & AF.

Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor

GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part3

2009-05-10T17:31:00.007+08:00

Benchmark Result

3Dmark Vantage (Performance),
where GTX260+ leads by 1717 points or 16%,
thanks to its support for PhysX technology.

3Dmark06 running at its default 1280x1024,
shows that both cards are on par.

Moving on to Call of Duty 5, running at 1920x1200 0xAA 0xAF,
GTX260+ is merely 2fps faster, no significant difference between the two.

GTX260+ suffers a drastic drop in performance when AA & AF is turned on.

Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor

GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part2

2009-05-10T17:31:00.006+08:00

Test Setup

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3.6Ghz (400x9)
Memory: Corsair DDR2-1066 2x1GB
Motherboard: Asus P45
Harddisk: Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10
Power Supply: GreatWall 650W
Display: Hanns.G 28" (1920x200)

Graphics:
Gainward GeForce GTX260+ 55nm 896MB Golden Sample (625/1348/2200)
Radeon HD 4890 GDDR5 1GB (850/3900)

Driver:
Forceware

O/S: Windows Vista Ultimate SP1
Chipset: Intel P45 Vista 9.0.0.1008 WHQL
Framerate: FRAPS 2.9.8

Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor

GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part1

2009-05-10T17:31:00.005+08:00

GeForce GTX260+ 55nm vs Radeon HD4890

AMD turns up the heat with an improved core and thus the birth of it's flagship Radeon HD4890. As part of their pricing strategy, ATI has announced that HD4890 will be retailing for under $260, which is also the price point of an overclocked GTX260+. Today, we will find out which card is the most bang for bucks.

Sample GPU-Z screenshot:

GeForce GTX260+ core216 with a 55nm core

Specification Comparison

Product	GeForce GTX 260+	Radeon HD4890
Core Code	GT200	RV790
Process	55nm	55nm
Transistors	1400 million	959 million
Core Clock	625Mhz	850Mhz
Shader	1348Mhz	850 Mhz
Shader	216	800
ROP	28	16
TMU	72	40
Memory Clock	2200Mhz	3900Mhz
Memory Bus Width	448-bit	256-bit
Memory Size/Type	896MB GDDR3	1GB GDDR5

Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor

FEAR 2: Project Origin - GPU Graphics Performance

2009-03-15T19:22:00.002+08:00

FEAR 2: Project Origin was released on Febuary, 11 2009. The storyline starts 30-minutes before the nuclear end of the first FEAR game. The game is powered by the LithTech engine, although still DX9, but it incorporates new features such as Havok Physics, per-pixel lighting, particle effect systems, HDR, post-processing & motion blur etc. In the following review (extracted from PConline), we shall find out how it performs on the latest graphics cards.

Test Platform

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 @ 2.33Ghz
Gigabyte X48
Apacer DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15 2x1GB
Seagate 7200.10 SATA 500Gb

Nvidia GeForce 9600GSO (650/1400Mhz)
Nvidia GeForce 9600GT (650/1800MHz)
Nvidia GeForce 9800GT (600/1800MHz)
Nvidia GeForce 9800GTX+ (738/2200MHz)
Nvidia GeForce GTX260 (576/1998MHz)

AMD Radeon HD4670 (750/2000MHz)
AMD Radeon HD4830 (575/1800MHz)
AMD Radeon HD4850 (625/2000MHz)
AMD Radeon HD4870 (750/3600MHz)

Windows Vista Ultimate SP1
Forceware 182.06 / Catalyst 9.2

1440x900

There is no option for GTX260 to run the game at 1440x900.

1680x1050 4xAA

Project Orignal seems to be less demanding to the system than its previous releases, even lower end graphics cards like HD4670 and 9600GSO are able to handle the game with maximum graphics details, scoring above 50fps.

1920x1200 4xAA

HD4870 512MB dominates this game at every resolution. While on the mainstream side, HD4670 512MB & 9600GSO 256MB manage to chink out playable frame rates, even at this high resolution with anti-aliasing turned on.

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 vs E8200 vs E7300 Part5

2009-03-08T20:18:00.003+08:00

E7500 is overclocked to 4.4Ghz with only 1.312v!

Overclocked benchmark result:

Page 1: Introduction & CPU-Z
Page 2: Test System & 3DMark Vantage
Page 3: CineBench & Wprime
Page 4: FarCry2 & Crysis
Page 5: Overclocking Result

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 vs E8200 vs E7300 Part4

2009-03-08T20:17:00.007+08:00

It's a draw between E7500 & E8200 in FarCry 2.

Crysis performs better with larger L2 cache.

Page 1: Introduction & CPU-Z
Page 2: Test System & 3DMark Vantage
Page 3: CineBench & Wprime
Page 4: FarCry2 & Crysis
Page 5: Overclocking Result

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 vs E8200 vs E7300 Part3

2009-03-08T20:17:00.006+08:00

E7500 edges out 8.2% faster.

Clock frequency is a more important than L2 cache size as shown in the 2 scenarios above.

Page 1: Introduction & CPU-Z
Page 2: Test System & 3DMark Vantage
Page 3: CineBench & Wprime
Page 4: FarCry2 & Crysis
Page 5: Overclocking Result

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 vs E8200 vs E7300 Part2

2009-03-08T20:16:00.007+08:00

Test System

Core 2 Duo E7300 3MB 2.66Ghz 1066Mhz
Core 2 Duo E7500 3MB 2.93Ghz 1066Mhz
Core 2 Duo E8200 6MB 2.66Ghz 1333Mhz

Intel P45 mainboard
Corsair CM2X1024-6400G 2GB（2x1G）
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 250GB
NVIDIA GeForce 9800GTX+ (740/1836/2200)
CoolerMaster RealPower 500W

Windows Vista Ultimate SP1
Intel Chipset Device Software Driver 9.0.0.1008 Vista
ForceWare 180.48 WHQL Vista

3DMark Vantage Performance overall score

3DMark Vantage Performance CPU score

E8200 loses marginally to E7500 despite having a faster FSB & double the amount of L2 cache.

Page 1: Introduction & CPU-Z
Page 2: Test System & 3DMark Vantage
Page 3: CineBench & Wprime
Page 4: FarCry2 & Crysis
Page 5: Overclocking Result

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 vs E8200 vs E7300 Part1

2009-03-08T20:16:00.006+08:00

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 vs E8200 vs E7300

Launched in January earlier this year is the Intel Core 2 Duo E7500, clocked at 2.93Ghz with 3MB worth of L2 cache. Like all other E7xxx, it is based on the Wolfdale core built on 45nm technology. The following is an abstract of the original article.

This chip is currently retailing at NewEgg for $139.99.

R0 stepping as seen in the CPU-Z screenshot,
vcore range is 0.85~1.3625V

Page 1: Introduction & CPU-Z
Page 2: Test System & 3DMark Vantage
Page 3: CineBench & Wprime
Page 4: FarCry2 & Crysis
Page 5: Overclocking Result

Mass Effect 2 HD Teaser Trailer

2009-02-21T17:09:00.000+08:00

Mass Effect 2 HD Teaser Trailer:

Post Removed

2009-02-08T18:22:00.003+08:00

Crysis Warhead Patch 1 Download

2009-02-01T14:25:00.001+08:00

Crysis Warhead Patch 1 Download

General Fixes/tweaks

- Windows Vista: Mouse cursor should no longer have an offset in the menu.
- Windows Vista: Unrequested launches in windowed mode should occur less often now.
- Timedemo can now be started from the command line.
- Better dynamic texture support for enthusiast mode.

New Features

- Added 64-bit executables for Windows XP x64 and Windows Vista 64-bit version. In Windows XP x64 a new shortcut will be placed under the Crysis Warhead program group. In Windows Vista right-click the Crysis Warhead icon in Game Explorer and choose to run the game in 64-bit mode.

Known Issues

- Games saved in 32-bit won't work properly when running the 64-bit version and vice-versa.

Note: After applying the patch the version displayed (lower right corner of menu) is 1.1.1.710.

Download Crysis Warhead Patch 1 (~37MB)

FileShack
gamershell (12mirrors)
FileFront
Softpedia
FilePlanet
myCrysis
FilePlay (7mirrors)
BigDownload

FREE MP3 PLAYERS UP FOR GRABS!!!

2009-01-31T16:06:00.000+08:00

Some open house thingy, click HERE to register

*while stocks last

Bao Returns II

2009-01-27T19:34:00.000+08:00

Bao returns to Singapore for the 2nd time!

see last year's post here

Kept telling me not to be late & yet she ended up 17 minutes late!!!!!!

Generous serving of wasabi for her...

& then she was so lazy to take out the menu from the drawer below the table she had to call the waiter to do it...

Sushi & more sushi... where's Sya?

we didn't really eat much,

she did!

GeForce 8800GT vs Radeon HD4870 1GB - FarCry2

2009-01-27T16:23:00.006+08:00

Recently upgraded my aging 8800GT to the mighty HD4870 with a luxurious 1GB of GDDR5 to play FarCry 2 =)

Bench it with the exact same settings, average result is taken after 3 loops of small ranch.

Get ready for some insane frame rates!

8800GT 512MB OC (713/1728/2000)

HD4870 1GB OC (790/3800)

WHAT?! HD4870 1GB is only 1.4fps faster than 8800GT?!

Test System

Processor: Intel Core2Quad Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz (355x9)
Motherboard: ASUS P5B-E Plus
Memory: 2x1GB Kingston @ DDR2-1066 5-5-5-18
Storage: Hitachi 160GB 7200 SATA2
Power Supply: Coolermaster iGreen 500W
Display: BenQ FP202W 1680x1050 8ms

Graphics:
MSI NX8800GT 512MB OC (T2D512E) @ 713/1728/2000
MSI R4870 1GB OC (T2D1G) @ 790/3800

Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 32-bit DX10
Forceware 180.48 WHQL
Catalyst 8.12
FarCry 2 v1.0

----UPDATE----

After installing Catalyst 8.12 Hotfix...

the frame rates shoot through the roof!!!

Problem solved.

A better picture with this graph.

Data table of the test results...

other sites on FarCry 2 graphics performance:
Guru3D
Techspot

Intel Launches Core 2 Duo E8700

2009-01-27T14:35:00.001+08:00

Intel has launched a new flagship dual-core processor under its Core 2 Duo series: the E8700. As the number suggests, the new chip will have its FSB multiplier valie increased by 0.5x. Based on the Wolfdale core, the new model has already made it to Intel's ARK information system on its official webpage (found here).

The new chip comes with a clock-speed of 3.50 GHz, with an FSB of 1,333 MHz. The FSB multiplier value on this chip is 10.5, which gives it a 167 MHz increment over the E8600. Despite the high clock speed, it continues to hold a rated TDP of 65W. It features 6 MB of L2 cache and supports all features listed for the Core 2 Duo E8000 series processors. Intel claims that the chip will be available from its end for at least the next two years. It is yet to be listed by popular computer hardware stores, so we could know its availability and pricing. In most likelihood, it could displace the E8600 from its price-point, looking at the way Intel has been dealing with its lineup lately.

http://www.techpowerup.com/83135/Intel_Launches_Core_2_Duo_E8700.html

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 R0 revision

2009-01-27T14:13:00.000+08:00

Hoping to not go in the red this quarter, chip maker Intel has revealed its plan to introduce a new revision of its cheapest 45nm quad-core CPU, the Q8200. Currently available in M1 form, the Core 2 Quad Q8200 will transition to the R0 stepping next month, with the new parts set to start shipping on February 23rd.

The R0 Q8200 will feature a halide free package, new S-spec and MM numbers, a CPUID changed from 10677 to 1067A, Power State Indicator (PSI) support with Intel 4 series chipsets, plus three new low power states (Extended Stop Grant State, Deep Sleep State and Deeper Sleep State) and new instructions - XSAVE/XRSTOR. No word on the need for a BIOS update but it's likely that one will be required.

Source