Astraware Contest

Received an email today telling me that I have won a prize in the

Astraware Bejeweled Birthday Giveaway
[astraware.com]. Basically
anyone that enters the “contest” will win a prize.

I got:

Zap! 2000 – A game for Palm, which I already have (albeit mine is a warez
version). But it’s still nice to win an official version. After clicking
on the link:

I was told that a mail will be sent to me with the registration code.

I received a mail with a download link and my registration code. This is
version 1.5 of Zap! 2000, which has three versions – grayscale, 256 color
and 16 bit color. Apparently, v1.5 is supposed to run faster on the m505
and other Palms.

Synced it to my Palm and registered using the reg code that was provided.

Zap! 2016 on an m505.

I am good in drawing

This is a prototype screen for my assignment. The map is sourced from a
raw screen capture from the Swanston Street Precinct Association webpage.
Touched it up with Paint, adding white text boxes to symbolize ambulances
and a shaky hand (too much caffeine) drawing of a sun with a black hole in
the middle. That is supposed to be the scene of the accident. This is
prototype of an emergency management system done using Java. ph34r my l33t
drawing skillz! πŸ˜‰

Malaysian Local Talent

Listening to an Ah Niu album I downloaded from
Boxup [boxup.com]. I’m
still trying to figure out whether the song Abu Ne Ne is racist or he’s
just being satirical about Malaysian culture. Abu Ne Ne is a racial slur
used to refer to people of Indian descent. I used to like Ah Niu when I
was in Form Five but I haven’t heard much of his recent stuff. I did see
him perform in Wisma Sanyan, Sibu during 1998. He did like two songs and
his security staff bustled him away after someone threw a coke can onto
the stage. It’s strange the way that local artists all go to Hong
Kong/Taiwan/wherever after they become successful (and I use this term
liberally). I’ve been told that those markets are more mature and that’s
where the big money is made. Feh…sell outs. Another local band I like is
OAG. Again, I’ve not heard much of their recent stuff but their song
What’s the Name o’ the Game?
is a classic! Kinda melancholy and I’ve
always treated it as a coming of age song rather than a football anthem.
πŸ™‚ Another group which deserves mention is the M-girls. They used to do
Chinese New Year albums only but they have done a studio album this year.
If you’ve ever watched one of those costume CNY videos, you’ll have seen
them. I think they’re called “four girls” in Chinese (direct translation).
I won’t comment on their musical abilities, but that Cassandra Chin sure
is good-looking. Heh. =D

Saw this on Slashdot

“War On Terror Not Over Yet”, Emperor Declares

CORUSCANT — Presiding over a memorial service
commemorating the victims of the attack on the Death Star, the Emperor
declared that while recent victories over the Rebel Alliance were
“encouraging, the War on Terror is not over yet.”

“We will continue to fight these terrorists,
and the rogue governments who harbor them, until the universe is safe,
once and for all, and the security of the Neo-New Cosmik Order ensured.”

It was one year ago today that the Death Star,
perhaps the greatest symbol of the Empire’s might, was destroyed in an
attack by fanatic Rebels, who used small, single-person crafts to
infiltrate seemingly impenetrable defenses. Thousands of mourners were on
hand to remember and pay tribute to the victims and their families.

“We lost our innocence that day,” reflected
one mourner. “I guess we thought we were immune from the kind of violence
that happens in other galaxies. We were wrong.” “I lost hundreds of
buddies that day,” said one teary-eyed Stormtrooper. “Guys whose only
crime was trying make the Universe a safer place.”

Although the day was colored by sadness, the mourners found some relief in
the news of a decisive victory over the Rebels. In an attack led by Darth
Vader, Empire forces were able to rout hundreds of Rebels from a network
of caves underneath the surface of the planet Hoth. “We’re not sure we got
them all,” says a Vader spokesman. “There are a lot of places to hide in
those caves. But we’ve delivered a powerful blow to the terrorist’s
infrastructure, that’s for sure. Today, the Empire has struck back.”

Initial reports are unclear as to the fate of Luke Skywalker, a hero among
the Rebels, who is rumored to have delivered the fatal blow to the Death
Star. Skywalker, a former desert-dweller from the planet Tattooine, became
a part of the Rebellion after family members were killed. Skywalker was
trained by a militant wing of the Rebels, known as “Jedi Knights.”
Fanatical in their religious beliefs, the Jedi Knights claim to derive
their power from the mystical “Force.”

It’s believed that Skywalker was specifically trained by infamous
terrorist O bin Wankanobi. Wankanobi, occasionally called “Ben” and easily
recognized by his bearded visage and long, flowing robes, achieved
near-martyr status among the Rebels after his death last year during a spy
mission. His more fervent followers believe that Wan Kenobi lives on
within them today, some even claiming to hear his voice during times of
duress.

The attack on the Death Star came shortly after the Empire’s destruction
of Alderstaan, a planet whose government was known to harbor terrorists.
Responding to criticism over the total annihilation of the planet, Vader
stated, “There is no middle ground in the War on Terror. Those who harbor
terrorists are terrorists themselves. Alderaan was issued ample warning.
The fight for continuing Freedom is often burdened by terrible cost.”

The cost of this war can still be seen today in the continuing efforts to
build a coalition government on Tattooine. Longstanding animosities among
the planets various ethnic groups, including the Jawas, Tusken Raiders and
scattered human settlers, have been an impediment to the peace process.
The Empire continues to maintain a small peace keeping force until a
provisional government is finally in place.

Much of the difficulty in fighting the Rebel forces stems from their lack
of a central organizing structure. “They don’t play by the traditional
rules of war,” complained one spokesman. “They come in all shapes and
sizes, united only by their single-minded desire to destroy the Empire
before it destroys them.”

The Emperor closed his comments today by stating that “the cowardly attack
on the Death Star left a deep scar on the Empire. However, we will not
stop fighting until every last evildoer has been brought to justice.” He
paused for several moments, wiping away a tear and then added with
determination, “We will never forget.”

“I wish we could all just get along,” said one of the mourners. “But it’s
hard to offer an olive branch to a cult of religious fanatics whose main
tool is violence and who insist on calling us the Dark Side.”

Heh. Thought this was pretty funny. It was posted by Namarrgon on
/..

Aftermarket chargers

Well, I got a new charger this afternoon for A$25.

The charger. It didn’t come with any packaging and the shop proprietor told me that if it
doesn’t work, I’m welcome to bring it back for a full refund.

Made in China by Tian Ye Electron Company. Tian Ye translates to Sweet Coconut in English.
Hah!

Well what do you know…it actually made the optimized charging detector trip. I don’t know if
it actually uses optimized charging coz it’s not official Ericsson merchandise after all. I didn’t
feel the need to time the charge cycle to see if it actually charges faster or just trips the
optimized charging detector. =D

The bad thing about the charger is it’s unusual orientation. The plugs actually goes in sideways
so it needs to be at the end of the power board. Notice the green LED indicator.

Well, all in all, it works well and isn’t too expensive. I’ve seen one of those USB chargers
that charges using the USB port of your computer. They cost A$15 and take power off the computer
main power supply so they don’t need to be attached to a power source. It seems pretty nifty but my
USB ports are all taken so I didn’t get one of those.

Grr…

I tripped over my cell phone charger cable just now while it was charging my T-28s. Didn’t
realize anything out of the ordinary until I tried to plug the charger cable back in, only to
find:

The charger cable snapped from the tip.

1. Close up of the cord. It’s naked…

2. Close up of the broken off bit.

At least the battery has been charged nearly to capacity.

Oh well. I’ll have to pop into the mobile shop at the campus center tomorrow and see if they
have any charger cables for the T-28s. I only have one, so I won’t be able to charge my cell phone
now that its b0rked. I did try to manually insert the squiggly wires into the broken off bit but my
amateur electronics tinkling did not produce any satisfactory results. In other words, it did not
work.

My no-spoilers review of Episode II – Attack of the Clones

Vedi I Came

Upon arriving at Chadstone, me and my mate Jimmy got something to eat at nudle. I was craving
for some Chinese food but the food courts upstairs were closed so the next best thing is the quasi
Chinese food place near Hoyts. I had Malaysian Chilli Seafood Stir Fry with rice and a chocolate
milkshake. After the meal, we headed over to Hoyts to check out the status of the line, but seeing
not much activity there, we went to Pancake Parlour for dessert. I had a stack of pancakes with
cream and a coffee. When we got back to Hoyts there was a line of people waiting there already so
we got to the back of the line and queued up. Good thing I had my Palm with me so I read my Java
lecture notes which I had the forethought to sync before coming here. There was another guy in
front of me with a Sharp Zaurus and a girl behind me with a red Visor. Pretty good PDA showing
considering Australia doesn’t have a lot of PDA users.

There were two guys beside me with a digital camera and a toy lightsaber that started to shoot
pictures of the line. Upon seeing that, a senior staff member came over and asked that the guy put
away the digicam as no cameras will be allowed in the theatre. However, the staff member did not
want to keep the digicam for the duration of the film because she did not want any liabilities, so
the poor guy had to get out of line to put it in his car. Heh. Anyway, after a long wait, the we
were allowed into the main waiting area. There were three groups of people, the La Premiere room,
Cinema 12 and Cinema 5. Interesting that they opened up 3 screenings when they planned for one. The
La Premiere line is the longest one and also the one with the most security checks. Everyone got
their bags checked before being allowed into the theatre.

There was another long wait outside the theatre, with us sitting on the stairs in a line. The
Hoyts staff begin distributing magazines to the people waiting in line to keep them occupied.
Unfortunately, the only magazines given out were this:

The Australian Women’s Weekly March 2002

Hmm…alright then. At least it kept be busy reading the articles considering I didn’t have the
forethought to charge my Palm batteries and it ran out on me. While waiting in line, I felt the
rumblings of a stomachache. Heh, I should not have eaten the chilli seafood dish on an empty
stomach. I didn’t want to go to the toilet though coz the doors were about to open. After a couple
of minutes, the doors opened and everyone ignored the poor attendent asking to see tickets and
rushed into the theater to secure a good seat. There was a group of guys in front that nearly
started a mini stampede by running into the theatres. πŸ™‚

Veni I Saw

After a short while, the screen came to life and everyone started clapping…to the Hoyts snack
bar advertisement. =D The usual adverts and trailers ran for 20 minutes while the crowd settled
down. I did see a good Nike advert – it was the steel cage tournament one. Pretty interesting. The
Gamecube one was not bad too. The trailers that ran I’ve mostly seen before from Apple’s trailer
site, but it’s nice to see the Superman one on the big screen. Kirsten Dunst filling up the screen
in the end of the trailer where it was raining on her wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes. πŸ˜‰

Soon after that, the film started and everyone started cheering and clapping and mimicking the
voices of Star Wars characters. The cinema was filled to capacity and it was a pretty good crowd,
mostly fanboys with about 80% males and 20% females. The movie started with the usual panning up
after the words scrolled up to screen. Natalie Portman seems to have gained a bit of weight in this
film, but she’s gorgeous as usual. I didn’t expect to like Hayden Christensen but I think he did a
pretty good job with this one. Believable chemistry between him and Natalie which is a plus during
the love scenes. I thought it was really, really sweet when Amidala kissed Anakin on the cheek when
she jumped from the pole in the arena.

This film was much better than Episode I, and I am one of the few that liked Episode I, so
that’s saying a lot. πŸ™‚ The music was great, especially during the arena battle. The Jango Fett
storyline is good, gives a bit of back story for him and shows us his fatherly side. The Naboo
scenes are beautiful, I reckon it’s not hard to fall in love in that kind of environment. =D And
Natalie Portman gets some pretty nice outfits *wolf whistle*, I especially liked the one she wore
in that scene with Hayden beside the fireplace. Those things look very perky and firm and pliable.
πŸ˜‰

There is one scene which was quite cheesy though. Perhaps the director didn’t mean it to be so,
but it’s hard to take it seriously when the whole theatre is laughing. The one I mean is the Anakin
nightmare sequence, it comes right after the fireplace scene so all the gutter minds in the theatre
was laughing their asses off. We get to see Anakin’s dark side start to surface in this film. He is
rebellious and confrontational with almost everyone. The visual effects are pretty good, everything
is believable and detailed. I especially liked the arena fight, that was the coolest part of the
film.

All in all, this is a very good film, I expect even non-fans will like it. It develops all the
characters nicely and it’s a great lead up to the third installment, which I am very much looking
forward to. We finally get to see Yoda fight and he’s really good. I expected it to be strange
considering Yoda’s height but he really pulls off some pretty impressive moves and more than held
his own against his opponent. Go see it in the cinemas, the cam DivX and the pirated VCD doesn’t do
this film justice. I give it 5 out of 5 seals.

Funniest line in the film: Obi Wan saying “Anakin, I swear one day you’ll be the death of
me”
(or something to that effect). It had the Star Wars fans laughing while most of the theatre
were probably wondering why we were laughing.

Bye I went back

The movie ended at around 2:30 AM after which I went home. I’m not my usual eloquent self today
(heh), but that’s because it’s nearly 5 now, I’m sleepy, and I still need to finish up my
assignment. I’m glad The Force was with me as I managed to hold my diarrhea until I got home. I
knew I should not have eaten hot stuff on an empty stomach. =D May The Force be with you too, young
Jedi.

Attack of the Clones

I’m heading over to Chadstone Hoyts later to see the premiere of Attack of the Clones. Expect a
review up when I get back at around 02:30 AM + 1000 GMT. πŸ™‚

Here’s a joke for you people to enjoy:

There was a boy standing on a corner selling fish.

He was saying, “Dam fish for sale, dam fish for sale.”

A preacher walked up and asked why he was calling them dam fish.

The kid said, “I caught them at the dam, so they’re dam fish.”

The preacher bought some, took them home and asked his wife to cook the dam fish.

His wife looked at him in bewilderment and said, “Preachers aren’t supposed to talk like
that.”

The preacher explained why they were dam fish, and she agreed to cook them. When dinner was
ready and everyone was sitting down, the preacher asked his son to pass him the dam fish.

His son replied, “That’s the spirit dad. Pass the f**king potatoes!”

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