My boss gave me 3 days off. Actually wanted to give me 10 days off, but that's pretty extravagant, and her boss thought so too. Soon to get another computer at work, and a KVM switch so I can swap the use of the two, using one set of keyboard, monitor and mouse.
We're going bowling this Friday. Jasper, what do you think of me staying over at your place this Friday? I'm thinking I'll go over after bowling, I'll be somewhere in the West, late evening-ish. Fell asleep last night, so really, really need to work now...
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Monday, November 29, 2004
chocolates
God I love chocolate. Dark chocolate, please, no other kind will do, just not satisfying and only feeds my craving for a real fix. Had bread and hummus for breakfast today. Incredibly awesome.
Friends is hilarious. I think the best parts are when Joey (or Phoebe) play stupid (or just plain loopy). Simpsons was hilarious. Managed to catch it because got home at 6pm today after the course; usually get back from work at around 6:30. Actually, lots of stuff on TV is hilarious.
Another mandatory death penalty or two for possession of heroin. Wrapped in tin foil amongst chocolates (malteasers) in a tin.
Aaron thinks it's not possible to easily get a complete desktop system (inclusive of CRT monitor, mouse, keyboard) for under $500 in Singapore. Of course, not top-of-the-line stuff, but pretty decent stuff. What do you think?
I think Say Yang is going to be running the marathon soon. It would be nice to go back to work tomorrow and do some programming. But it's a long night tonight...
Friends is hilarious. I think the best parts are when Joey (or Phoebe) play stupid (or just plain loopy). Simpsons was hilarious. Managed to catch it because got home at 6pm today after the course; usually get back from work at around 6:30. Actually, lots of stuff on TV is hilarious.
Another mandatory death penalty or two for possession of heroin. Wrapped in tin foil amongst chocolates (malteasers) in a tin.
Aaron thinks it's not possible to easily get a complete desktop system (inclusive of CRT monitor, mouse, keyboard) for under $500 in Singapore. Of course, not top-of-the-line stuff, but pretty decent stuff. What do you think?
I think Say Yang is going to be running the marathon soon. It would be nice to go back to work tomorrow and do some programming. But it's a long night tonight...
Saturday, November 27, 2004
baby
Couldn't really stand it anymore, so I cut the hair behind my head last night with scissors, then today at work the level 2 boss say I cut until damn funny so got one of my colleagues to even it out for me. So got free haircut.
Was out with Jasper just now. He's moved into the NUS hostel, and hasn't got his computer yet but he'll be getting a laptop soon. He says the NASA pillow isn't all it's cracked up to be. He says the Polar Express is a very nice, inspiring show. He says Clarissa is no longer the one, though the coin always says she is.
I'll be going to the course on Monday in civilian attire and just say that I wear civilian to work. Was tasked to do this thing at work today but didn't do it, and it's needed urgently, so need to do on Monday, but Monday I'm going for course, so in the end Eugene has to do it because he's the only NSF going to be at work on Monday morning. I feel bad, but what to do?
Might be getting a new cellphone. My lovey is about to be an aunt!
Was out with Jasper just now. He's moved into the NUS hostel, and hasn't got his computer yet but he'll be getting a laptop soon. He says the NASA pillow isn't all it's cracked up to be. He says the Polar Express is a very nice, inspiring show. He says Clarissa is no longer the one, though the coin always says she is.
I'll be going to the course on Monday in civilian attire and just say that I wear civilian to work. Was tasked to do this thing at work today but didn't do it, and it's needed urgently, so need to do on Monday, but Monday I'm going for course, so in the end Eugene has to do it because he's the only NSF going to be at work on Monday morning. I feel bad, but what to do?
Might be getting a new cellphone. My lovey is about to be an aunt!
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
RJC's move to Bishan announced on TV news
Excellent, joyous news, news fit for announcing over a Christmas Feast. Jasper has procured a room in the NUS hostel! He's probably going to get a computer, and so I'll probably go with him and help him get a good deal. And that's not it, he's also going to be mentoring some JC students for this math camp! It's a great activity, and an opportunity to meet girls.
He's probably not joining us this Sunday because he's meeting professors for lunch. By the way, I tried to see if I could upgrade my mobile phone plan, but the next higher plan has 700 free minutes (compared with the 100 minutes I have now), which would entail a monthly fee of about 3 times the amount I'm paying now.
Supposed to go for this "course" next Monday, was informed today, and it happens I've got a medical on Monday, and I have to go for the course, so cancelled my medical appointment, and the soonest date I can reschedule is in January. Sheesh. And another thing. I'm supposed to be in military uniform to go for that course, which, as far as I can tell, is just a listen-to-people-talk thing, nothing remotely requiring camouflage. I can't fit into my uniform. I think my waist size was 30 then, and it's about 35 now.
Working on a new project at work now. Web programming.
He's probably not joining us this Sunday because he's meeting professors for lunch. By the way, I tried to see if I could upgrade my mobile phone plan, but the next higher plan has 700 free minutes (compared with the 100 minutes I have now), which would entail a monthly fee of about 3 times the amount I'm paying now.
Supposed to go for this "course" next Monday, was informed today, and it happens I've got a medical on Monday, and I have to go for the course, so cancelled my medical appointment, and the soonest date I can reschedule is in January. Sheesh. And another thing. I'm supposed to be in military uniform to go for that course, which, as far as I can tell, is just a listen-to-people-talk thing, nothing remotely requiring camouflage. I can't fit into my uniform. I think my waist size was 30 then, and it's about 35 now.
Working on a new project at work now. Web programming.
Monday, November 22, 2004
space technology
Jasper has informed me that he bought the "NASA" foam pillow, that's contoured and keeps its shape (like if you pressed your hand into it). One more thing is that it's "exactly" 7 weeks to Clarissa's birthday, but that's a guess.
Haha, Bush just said "nuculear". Geez. It's not nice to laugh at people, but I wouldn't laugh at him if he wasn't the president of the United States. Honest!
Anyway, was out with Jasper last Friday, and Orchard Road is all dolled up in Christmas clothes. I was wondering whether it makes economic sense for shops to actually spend money on decorations, whether that would draw more customers, or might it even be that shops that don't have decoration lose out.
So there was a crystal shop with "Merry Crystal" on the storefront window, and another "Merry Clinique", so you might have guessed "Merry Clarissa", well, perhaps even "Marry Clarissa". We were both somewhat tired and somewhat high on that lightheaded "not-quite-enough-sleep" feeling, as Jasper puts it, "losing inhibitions, gaining exhibitions".
According to him, there was a girl wearing the shortest skirt he'd ever seen in his favorite cafe in Orchard Road, which is not Cafe Revive in Marks and Spencers, but Sun Moulin Cafe, which has a view of Orchard Road (the cafe is on the 2nd floor). I didn't know that. Before that day, I would have bet that it was Cafe Revive.
Hmm... there's something in my notebook about when you're screwed you don't feel like screwing, but I forget why we even talked about this.
Haha, Bush just said "nuculear". Geez. It's not nice to laugh at people, but I wouldn't laugh at him if he wasn't the president of the United States. Honest!
Anyway, was out with Jasper last Friday, and Orchard Road is all dolled up in Christmas clothes. I was wondering whether it makes economic sense for shops to actually spend money on decorations, whether that would draw more customers, or might it even be that shops that don't have decoration lose out.
So there was a crystal shop with "Merry Crystal" on the storefront window, and another "Merry Clinique", so you might have guessed "Merry Clarissa", well, perhaps even "Marry Clarissa". We were both somewhat tired and somewhat high on that lightheaded "not-quite-enough-sleep" feeling, as Jasper puts it, "losing inhibitions, gaining exhibitions".
According to him, there was a girl wearing the shortest skirt he'd ever seen in his favorite cafe in Orchard Road, which is not Cafe Revive in Marks and Spencers, but Sun Moulin Cafe, which has a view of Orchard Road (the cafe is on the 2nd floor). I didn't know that. Before that day, I would have bet that it was Cafe Revive.
Hmm... there's something in my notebook about when you're screwed you don't feel like screwing, but I forget why we even talked about this.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
mobile phone charges
Great thing for free incoming calls! In Singapore they like to implement "free incoming" in such a way that they bill you first, then "discount" the amounts "made free" by the plan. For example, my local call charges were about $316, then they subtracted $261 for the incoming calls. This system works, but it'd be much more sensible to only show charges for usage that's not covered by the plan.
That's how they do it in US, but it's easier for them because the distinction they make between "peak-period" versus off-peak is usually that every minute costs X minutes during peak, but there's unlimited nights and weekends (each minute then costs 0 cents). Then each plan has say 300 free minutes, so when you get the bill, you get charged the monthly charge for your plan, plus any extra minutes you use.
But here, peak period might cost 20 cents, and off-peak 10 cents, so they total usage for the month, say $40, then the plan includes $20 worth of talk-time, but you pay $10 for the plan, so it's $10+$40-$20=$30 that you actually have to pay.
By the way, I was cleaning my glasses, and broke one of those plastic pieces that rest on the nose. So replaced both of these with those from my dad's old glasses. Oh, and in another by-the-way, Olinda's out of the Singapore Idol competition. It's great she got so far, I would have wanted her to win, because she's got an awesome voice, but you know, it's a popularity contest, and Singaporeans being quite superficial, she probably doesn't have groupies to vote for her.
That's how they do it in US, but it's easier for them because the distinction they make between "peak-period" versus off-peak is usually that every minute costs X minutes during peak, but there's unlimited nights and weekends (each minute then costs 0 cents). Then each plan has say 300 free minutes, so when you get the bill, you get charged the monthly charge for your plan, plus any extra minutes you use.
But here, peak period might cost 20 cents, and off-peak 10 cents, so they total usage for the month, say $40, then the plan includes $20 worth of talk-time, but you pay $10 for the plan, so it's $10+$40-$20=$30 that you actually have to pay.
By the way, I was cleaning my glasses, and broke one of those plastic pieces that rest on the nose. So replaced both of these with those from my dad's old glasses. Oh, and in another by-the-way, Olinda's out of the Singapore Idol competition. It's great she got so far, I would have wanted her to win, because she's got an awesome voice, but you know, it's a popularity contest, and Singaporeans being quite superficial, she probably doesn't have groupies to vote for her.
Casino City
There's an opinion piece in the Straits Times today, about the gambling thing, and whether Singapore should develop a resort that features a casino and other family entertainment. The gambling that is currently everywhere in Singapore: Toto, lottery, 4D, that kind of thing, betting on soccer, whether a nuclear holocaust with occur in our lifetime...
There are jackpot machines in some places, but it seems to be only in country clubs, as far as I can tell. So if people get addicted to fruit machines, at least they are somewhat rich. But the thing about Toto and 4D and stuff is that it's also "convenience gambling", just go NTUC can buy Toto, and this type of gambling is done in full view of kids and it can become quite routine that it doesn't even seem like gambling anymore. Not like when you go casino then you dress up and maybe set aside a wad of money to "invest". You just do your groceries and when you've paid for the milk powder you take the change and use it to buy some Toto.
The article quoted some US study about the socio-economic effects of gambling, they somehow managed to get some figure of about $5 billion spent in the US to like deal with problem gambling, and a figure of about $166 billion to deal with problem drinking (in the US).
Should Singapore have a casino? Is it akin to prostituting itself to tourists? The casino will probably make a lot of money, which the government can get a cut of and disburse to the general public, but where will this money come from? Also, casinos and the entertainment industry in general are really really "inefficient", in a sense. They spend so much money making the place look grand and expensive because they have a huge profit margin, so ultimately the people who gamble pay for these excesses when they lose money. Then the profit that comes out is still huge, but probably quite significantly reduced.
In a way it would be better if casinos could be bare-boned and then instead of building fantastic palaces, that money goes to feeding the poor.
I don't think gambling is a good thing, really, because it's not really rational. Basically, the odds are against you, and there isn't really anything you can do to change that. Ideally, people should be educated about things like these, but you can't actually guarantee that educated people are going to be rational, or even want to try to be.
There are jackpot machines in some places, but it seems to be only in country clubs, as far as I can tell. So if people get addicted to fruit machines, at least they are somewhat rich. But the thing about Toto and 4D and stuff is that it's also "convenience gambling", just go NTUC can buy Toto, and this type of gambling is done in full view of kids and it can become quite routine that it doesn't even seem like gambling anymore. Not like when you go casino then you dress up and maybe set aside a wad of money to "invest". You just do your groceries and when you've paid for the milk powder you take the change and use it to buy some Toto.
The article quoted some US study about the socio-economic effects of gambling, they somehow managed to get some figure of about $5 billion spent in the US to like deal with problem gambling, and a figure of about $166 billion to deal with problem drinking (in the US).
Should Singapore have a casino? Is it akin to prostituting itself to tourists? The casino will probably make a lot of money, which the government can get a cut of and disburse to the general public, but where will this money come from? Also, casinos and the entertainment industry in general are really really "inefficient", in a sense. They spend so much money making the place look grand and expensive because they have a huge profit margin, so ultimately the people who gamble pay for these excesses when they lose money. Then the profit that comes out is still huge, but probably quite significantly reduced.
In a way it would be better if casinos could be bare-boned and then instead of building fantastic palaces, that money goes to feeding the poor.
I don't think gambling is a good thing, really, because it's not really rational. Basically, the odds are against you, and there isn't really anything you can do to change that. Ideally, people should be educated about things like these, but you can't actually guarantee that educated people are going to be rational, or even want to try to be.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
footnotes on ineffect
argh, my computer hanged/hung and my post was lost. Anyway, I was talking about how they sold hummus at Cold Storage, in a small plastic container, one of the brands I eat before in US. Not that nice, not thick enough and not enough of that garbanzo flavor. They also had "fresh" hummus, in a deli-like display, alongside pulped olives and a variety of other dips, as well as whole olives and mushrooms and stuff. The catch was that they were out of hummus.
I bought a blender, so should be blending my own hummus soon. I've been rather ineffective at getting things done, see [1, 2]. Work, work, work... Anyway I installed OpenOffice.org on several of the computers at work. They had it available on the network drive for people like me to install and use.
So my computer hanged just now, so my firefox profile was "locked" and I couldn't use it. The solution is to go to your profile folder and delete the file named "lock" (for Unix). Then can use already. I hope it's not my hardware flaking out, and that after I install the new kernel everything should work like a charm.
------------------
[1] the poem I promised a long, long time ago? Still unwritten.
[2] supposed to rebuild the kernel since X-knows when... still not done, but at least I've begun writing my .config file using "make xconfig". Had to install several packages before the xconfig would work.
I bought a blender, so should be blending my own hummus soon. I've been rather ineffective at getting things done, see [1, 2]. Work, work, work... Anyway I installed OpenOffice.org on several of the computers at work. They had it available on the network drive for people like me to install and use.
So my computer hanged just now, so my firefox profile was "locked" and I couldn't use it. The solution is to go to your profile folder and delete the file named "lock" (for Unix). Then can use already. I hope it's not my hardware flaking out, and that after I install the new kernel everything should work like a charm.
------------------
[1] the poem I promised a long, long time ago? Still unwritten.
[2] supposed to rebuild the kernel since X-knows when... still not done, but at least I've begun writing my .config file using "make xconfig". Had to install several packages before the xconfig would work.
Monday, November 15, 2004
firefox!
ooooh, I just installed mozilla firefox using Debian's apt-get! Quite some time ago I tried unpacking the tarball and it failed, well anyway I just did the easy way, and I've got version 0.9.3 with preferences and such imported from mozilla 1.7.3, which I've been using on Debian.
KDE key bindings
Hey the KDE key bindings are real easy to configure. I just chose the "Windows" style global shortcut keys (without the Meta/Win key), and now I Ctrl-Tab to switch tabs in mozilla, as usual. Alt-Left and Alt-Right work for going back and going forward (somehow these latter combinations suffered from some key binding problems in GNOME).
Oh, I always wanted to note this, but haven't gotten down to it yet. To "export" an Excel toolbar (so the custom toolbar is available on another computer), you can "attach" it to an Excel workbook (open the workbook, right-click the toolbar, choose customize, then click the "attach" button).
I think I'm going to sleep.
Oh, I always wanted to note this, but haven't gotten down to it yet. To "export" an Excel toolbar (so the custom toolbar is available on another computer), you can "attach" it to an Excel workbook (open the workbook, right-click the toolbar, choose customize, then click the "attach" button).
I think I'm going to sleep.
Sunday, November 14, 2004
long post to make up for silence
"Surprise" birthday party for Aaron today, which wasn't much of a surprise. For one, our Sunday routine of gym-swim-eat at Bishan S-11 had become so predictable that Jasper asking to go to Bishan park after the swim without eating was tell-tale one. Tell-tale two: Jasper accidentally sent an SMS to Aaron instead of Peiling that "He says can consider Bishan park". Ok, suppose we ignore that, then Aaron asks where we're going to eat, Aaron says got restaurant at Bishan park, and we say ok, eat at that restaurant. Then Aaron speaks to Peiling and tells her he'll pick her up, and she says no need, she take cab, then she change and say she got her own way of getting there, then she say Say Yang picking her up...
Anyway, I almost killed GNOME. I tried to install a newer version, naively agreeing without doing anything special other than "apt-get install gnome-core". Totally killed it, because the newer version did not install successfully, so could not log in. So from a text console modified my /etc/apt/sources.list so that the testing and unstable sources were commented out, and then did "apt-get -f install" and that cleaned it up some, and re-installed the stable version of GNOME from the installation CD I burned several months ago. Now things are back to normal, I think, but I've switched to KDE (because that was not whacked), and this version of it at least (KDE 2.2.2) is much more modern than GNOME 1.4 that comes with Debian Woody. So perhaps I'll stick with KDE, though I'll probably fiddle with key-bindings soon (I'm so used to Ctrl-Tab in mozilla to switch browser tabs, but by default that switches virtual desktops). Also got to get used to 1-click being equivalent to double-click.
I guess I got a little carried away upgrading my software, because I upgraded AbiWord (word processor), and it looked really good. And the upgrade for that was smooth. Really starting to use my computer for stuff other than browsing the web, you see. Uninstalled a lot of stuff that I wasn't using, stuff that are security risks, like ssh, telnet daemons. Installed xscreensaver, but actually KDE has a built-in screen-saver that's "matrix" themed, green characters (glyphs) intermittently written down the screen. Also fired up the GIMP and did the initial configuration. Also wrote a super simple shell script consisting only of the line
su -c "shutdown -h now"
and I saved the executable as /usr/local/bin/shalt
I'm quite glad that I managed to get myself out of the apt-get mess, which might not seem like much, but it's a great feeling to know that I can extract the bullet from my foot. Of course, it's still the mighty apt-get, which is uber-powerful and eminently easy to use. It's not like I was dealing with source code. Starting to use "grep" also for scanning text files. Have quite a lot of things to do on Monday... definitely plan to really really configure and install a new kernel. I think my parents want to go shopping in town also.
Interesting that if you don't really follow Singapore Idol, before you know it there are only 3 contestants left. My room is quite well decorated now. Did some painting with my cousins, abstract art pieces, then I did a few more after they left. The first piece I did was for Aaron, who liked it, and Jasper liked it too.
This is the site my lovey recommended, with statistics on the US election. One part of it really stumps me. It's the part where they ask people who they'd vote for "IF ONLY BUSH AND KERRY WERE RUNNING". Then 1% say they would not have voted, but looking at who they actually voted, it was 29% Bush, 38% Kerry, 11% Nader. This makes no sense. The only sensible statistic should have been 100% Nader, because it's only Nader besides Bush and Kerry who were running!!!
For those who thought honesty was the "most important quality", they report that 70% voted for Bush. For household income less than $50,000, which was about 45% of those polled, 55% voted for Kerry, and for those over $50,000, 56% voted for Bush.
Gurmit Singh on TV telling people to get pets only if they're committed, that abandoning their pet should never be an option. I endorse the message. There's also been quite a lot of ads recently about mental illness, on TV or at bus stops, there was one I saw that day one bus stop away from my house, about Churchill having manic-depressive disorder, I think, and ending with a message that roughly 1 in 5 people suffer from some kind of mental illness (e.g. phobia) in their lifetimes, so it's important to be aware, to be understanding and inclusive.
Found a bottle of tahini in a supermarket, then bought garbanzo beans (chick peas) in a can, and there's olive oil at home, which are the ingredients needed for hummus. It's silly that they don't seem to sell hummus in supermarkets here. The only thing I lack is a blender to grind the chick peas into paste...
Anyway, I almost killed GNOME. I tried to install a newer version, naively agreeing without doing anything special other than "apt-get install gnome-core". Totally killed it, because the newer version did not install successfully, so could not log in. So from a text console modified my /etc/apt/sources.list so that the testing and unstable sources were commented out, and then did "apt-get -f install" and that cleaned it up some, and re-installed the stable version of GNOME from the installation CD I burned several months ago. Now things are back to normal, I think, but I've switched to KDE (because that was not whacked), and this version of it at least (KDE 2.2.2) is much more modern than GNOME 1.4 that comes with Debian Woody. So perhaps I'll stick with KDE, though I'll probably fiddle with key-bindings soon (I'm so used to Ctrl-Tab in mozilla to switch browser tabs, but by default that switches virtual desktops). Also got to get used to 1-click being equivalent to double-click.
I guess I got a little carried away upgrading my software, because I upgraded AbiWord (word processor), and it looked really good. And the upgrade for that was smooth. Really starting to use my computer for stuff other than browsing the web, you see. Uninstalled a lot of stuff that I wasn't using, stuff that are security risks, like ssh, telnet daemons. Installed xscreensaver, but actually KDE has a built-in screen-saver that's "matrix" themed, green characters (glyphs) intermittently written down the screen. Also fired up the GIMP and did the initial configuration. Also wrote a super simple shell script consisting only of the line
su -c "shutdown -h now"
and I saved the executable as /usr/local/bin/shalt
I'm quite glad that I managed to get myself out of the apt-get mess, which might not seem like much, but it's a great feeling to know that I can extract the bullet from my foot. Of course, it's still the mighty apt-get, which is uber-powerful and eminently easy to use. It's not like I was dealing with source code. Starting to use "grep" also for scanning text files. Have quite a lot of things to do on Monday... definitely plan to really really configure and install a new kernel. I think my parents want to go shopping in town also.
Interesting that if you don't really follow Singapore Idol, before you know it there are only 3 contestants left. My room is quite well decorated now. Did some painting with my cousins, abstract art pieces, then I did a few more after they left. The first piece I did was for Aaron, who liked it, and Jasper liked it too.
This is the site my lovey recommended, with statistics on the US election. One part of it really stumps me. It's the part where they ask people who they'd vote for "IF ONLY BUSH AND KERRY WERE RUNNING". Then 1% say they would not have voted, but looking at who they actually voted, it was 29% Bush, 38% Kerry, 11% Nader. This makes no sense. The only sensible statistic should have been 100% Nader, because it's only Nader besides Bush and Kerry who were running!!!
For those who thought honesty was the "most important quality", they report that 70% voted for Bush. For household income less than $50,000, which was about 45% of those polled, 55% voted for Kerry, and for those over $50,000, 56% voted for Bush.
Gurmit Singh on TV telling people to get pets only if they're committed, that abandoning their pet should never be an option. I endorse the message. There's also been quite a lot of ads recently about mental illness, on TV or at bus stops, there was one I saw that day one bus stop away from my house, about Churchill having manic-depressive disorder, I think, and ending with a message that roughly 1 in 5 people suffer from some kind of mental illness (e.g. phobia) in their lifetimes, so it's important to be aware, to be understanding and inclusive.
Found a bottle of tahini in a supermarket, then bought garbanzo beans (chick peas) in a can, and there's olive oil at home, which are the ingredients needed for hummus. It's silly that they don't seem to sell hummus in supermarkets here. The only thing I lack is a blender to grind the chick peas into paste...
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
bank robbery
In the news today, someone robbed a bank in Singapore using a plastic gun replica. He was shot twice by a security guard, and I think he's still alive.
For many people in the office, it's the weekend already. Many taking leave on Friday, and since Thursday and Monday are public holidays...
Stupid advertisement on TV. "Extrim", take 2 pills before a meal and pig out without guilt because it blocks calories. That's an extremely unhealthy message to send out, delivered by an extremely thin model-like model. "So now I can eat what I like", as though previously you can't, and shouldn't.
Why does a footballer get disqualified for taking drugs, if those drugs aren't performance enhancing? Like cocaine? I mean, yes, civil/criminal penalties, but what does the sport have to do with it? I guess they want to have good values in sports. It's not hard to see from watching the news that you see tragedy after tragedy, stuff that makes you angry and outraged if you aren't already hardened and immune, then towards the end they give the sporting results to cheer you up and give you something else to think about, to be distracted with.
Jurassic Park III on TV. Didn't know there was a III already. Think I'll probably watch.
I miss my lovey...
For many people in the office, it's the weekend already. Many taking leave on Friday, and since Thursday and Monday are public holidays...
Stupid advertisement on TV. "Extrim", take 2 pills before a meal and pig out without guilt because it blocks calories. That's an extremely unhealthy message to send out, delivered by an extremely thin model-like model. "So now I can eat what I like", as though previously you can't, and shouldn't.
Why does a footballer get disqualified for taking drugs, if those drugs aren't performance enhancing? Like cocaine? I mean, yes, civil/criminal penalties, but what does the sport have to do with it? I guess they want to have good values in sports. It's not hard to see from watching the news that you see tragedy after tragedy, stuff that makes you angry and outraged if you aren't already hardened and immune, then towards the end they give the sporting results to cheer you up and give you something else to think about, to be distracted with.
Jurassic Park III on TV. Didn't know there was a III already. Think I'll probably watch.
I miss my lovey...
Monday, November 08, 2004
fake milk powder!
This is horrible. In China these distributors were selling "milk powder" with no nutritional value and many babies died and many more are in hospital, from malnourishment.
medical updates
So, it seems the NS medical benefits is no big deal. There's an annual cap of $240, and they don't subsidise if you see a specialist without a referral from a polyclinic. That $240 cap also makes it very unappealing for me to bother with all the claim stuff and the seemingly impossible task of changing from "private" to "subsidised" status...
Anyway, it seems I'm no longer in the immuno-tolerant phase regarding Hepatitis B. I'm now probably in the immuno-clearance phase. Blood test-wise, this means that I used to be
Hep B e-antigen: +ve
Hep B e-antibody: -ve
while now, it's become
Hep B e-antigen: +ve
Hep B e-antibody: +ve
which means that my body is fighting the virus, so dunno what the outcome will be. Will the viruses win? Those wily helical, geometrically symmetric and beautiful creatures that they are? Or will my antibodies prevail, those glob-like things swallowing stuff into their amorphous flesh in acts of mutual destruction?
Just did an "apt-get install xpdf" and I can now view PDFs beautifully on my linux box. Maybe it is an old version, but gv wasn't displaying PDFs quite so properly.
I guess I haven't been updating this much. Well, Bush won, as everyone knows. Nader lost. Oh well. From the news it seems one of Bush's first acts as re-elected president is to work on that constitutional amendment.
There's so much crap on TV, ever since people discovered reality TV and really made it fly. The sitcoms are still good, you know, the stuff like Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond. Reality TV gets all the viewers though, disgusting stuff like 'The Swan', 'Fear Factor' (which isn't all disgusting, only the stuff to do with gross stuff), but there's good stuff of course, like The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, the saner stuff...
Won't be at work much this week. Took leave today, and Thursday is holiday, and next Monday is holiday again! Still haven't built my kernel, maybe on Thursday? Anyway, quite pissed now regarding the NS medical benefits. $240 amounts only to $20 a month on average, and already the "allowance" they give hardly covers living expenses. It's not hard to see why those in poor families would risk going AWOL in order to make money to support their families.
The world is in shambles as usual. Japan has suffered its 3rd quake in succession, I think. Lots of homes destroyed, people dead and injured. Unrest in the middle east. Another major offensive in Iraq. Nuclear threats here and there. Terrorists threatening to kill hostages.
Anyway, it seems I'm no longer in the immuno-tolerant phase regarding Hepatitis B. I'm now probably in the immuno-clearance phase. Blood test-wise, this means that I used to be
Hep B e-antigen: +ve
Hep B e-antibody: -ve
while now, it's become
Hep B e-antigen: +ve
Hep B e-antibody: +ve
which means that my body is fighting the virus, so dunno what the outcome will be. Will the viruses win? Those wily helical, geometrically symmetric and beautiful creatures that they are? Or will my antibodies prevail, those glob-like things swallowing stuff into their amorphous flesh in acts of mutual destruction?
Just did an "apt-get install xpdf" and I can now view PDFs beautifully on my linux box. Maybe it is an old version, but gv wasn't displaying PDFs quite so properly.
I guess I haven't been updating this much. Well, Bush won, as everyone knows. Nader lost. Oh well. From the news it seems one of Bush's first acts as re-elected president is to work on that constitutional amendment.
There's so much crap on TV, ever since people discovered reality TV and really made it fly. The sitcoms are still good, you know, the stuff like Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond. Reality TV gets all the viewers though, disgusting stuff like 'The Swan', 'Fear Factor' (which isn't all disgusting, only the stuff to do with gross stuff), but there's good stuff of course, like The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, the saner stuff...
Won't be at work much this week. Took leave today, and Thursday is holiday, and next Monday is holiday again! Still haven't built my kernel, maybe on Thursday? Anyway, quite pissed now regarding the NS medical benefits. $240 amounts only to $20 a month on average, and already the "allowance" they give hardly covers living expenses. It's not hard to see why those in poor families would risk going AWOL in order to make money to support their families.
The world is in shambles as usual. Japan has suffered its 3rd quake in succession, I think. Lots of homes destroyed, people dead and injured. Unrest in the middle east. Another major offensive in Iraq. Nuclear threats here and there. Terrorists threatening to kill hostages.
Monday, November 01, 2004
broken plates
Anyway, Fear Factor was on TV (quite a disgusting and unwholesome show in general, really), and they were doing something with using their mouths to pick up raw internal organs (of some animal, perhaps even a human?) off plates on a conveyor belt, and the plates smash on the ground when they reach the end of the belt, and my mom was like "they're letting the plates drop!"
Everybody Loves Raymond is funny. I'm supposed to get some exercise in the evenings because there's really no other time when I can. But not tonight; quite tired now... had about 5 squares of dark chocolate after dinner. Yummy.
Just heard this on the news: China is condemning the arrogance of Bush.
Everybody Loves Raymond is funny. I'm supposed to get some exercise in the evenings because there's really no other time when I can. But not tonight; quite tired now... had about 5 squares of dark chocolate after dinner. Yummy.
Just heard this on the news: China is condemning the arrogance of Bush.
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