Interesting

Nestle Drumstick Most Adventurous Challenge @ Sunway Pyramid

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slide out

I literally *slid* out feet first, like a baseball player sliding into the home plate. I wanted to get out of the obstacle house within 5 seconds so that I could win an instant RM 50 note and an adult ticket to Sunway Lagoon. I was at the Nestle Drumstick Most Adventurous Challenge at Sunway Pyramid and I really wanted to win!

rm50

I had analyzed how the previous people who attempted the challenge did on the LCD video screen outside. There’s a camera attached to the helmet of every person who went into the wet adventure tent and live footage was beamed to the TV.

drumstick extreme challenge

The rules are simple – get out within 5 seconds or less.

gearing up

I geared out in safety knee and elbow pads, donned a helmet with a small camera attached and got ready to dash into the tent. I had only seen one guy who managed to get out within the allocated 5 seconds…all the others took slightly longer.

safety gear

It was really dark inside – I had to take a second to orient myself but I knew the countdown wouldn’t start until I actually picked up the Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC.

I saw the “treasure chest” (which is actually an ice cream freezer) in front of me and rummaged around for the single drumstick inside. I looked back at the exit to plan a speedy exfil.

helmet

That was my mistake. The countdown started and I frantically swiped around, got the Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC and ran hellbent for leather.

run in

5 seconds….

I had planned to just muscle through all the obstacles – after all, I had enough safety gear on to push through the padded obstructions.

4 seconds…

That plan went south however, since I tripped on a wet patch. I had been warned that I’ll need a change of clothes since the theme of the challenge will involve water.

3 seconds…

I tried to get up quickly and was slimed with starch and powdered with several handfuls of flour.

2 seconds…

I managed to get up on one knee, with a slightly mashed Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC clutched tightly in my hand – the exit was in sight!

1 second…

…and flew through the exit feet first!

slimed

It turned out that I had clocked 6 seconds so I didn’t qualify for the RM 50 note. However, everyone who attempted the Nestle Drumstick Most Adventurous Challenge got an adult ticket to Sunway Lagoon and the new Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC – that’s a great consolation prize. 🙂

win

This challenge was held on a Sunday at Sunway Pyramid and there are still heaps of prizes to be won! There’s mini tablets and Sunway Lagoon Entrance Passes up for grabs each week in addition to the RM 30,000 cash grand prize with RM 10,000 and RM 3,000 for the first and second runner ups and RM 300 consolation prizes for 97 people! You just need to text:

DRUMSTICK ADVENTURE CODE POP CODE MyKad

contest

to 36300 the first time to register yourself. After that just send:

DRUMSTICK ADVENTURE CODE for the Grand Prize and
DRUMSTICK POP CODE for the Weekly Prizes.

rules

The Adventure Code is the alphanumeric code that can be found on Nestle Drumstick Ice Cream Freezer in various stores. The POP Code is the code you find under the top cover of your Nestle Drumstick. The campaign period for the contest ends at 10 November 2013 so submit your entries now! I have eaten quite a lot and submitted all the entries.

extrem choc drumstick

The new Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC is sinfully delicious too! There’s lots of chocolatey goodness inside that ice cream plus you’ll get a chance to win those nifty prizes while you enjoy the latest offering from Nestle Drumstick! Get more details at the Nestle Drumstick Facebook and the Nestle Drumstick Most Adventurous Challenge Website.

This is a paid advertorial by Nestle.

Sunday breakfast: Japanese square persimmons and a smoked Virginia ham sandwich

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japan square persimmons

Look at this! It’s square persimmons from Japan! I’ve seen square Japanese watermelons before (apparently, they’re easier to pack) and with their penchant of all things square, the humble persimmon has not been spared this treatment.

square persimmons

I bought two of this last night. It’s RM 25 for two – each square persimmon costs RM 12.50! I got it on promo though so it was 50% off. It felt just the right amount of squishy so I thought it’ll be alright. It’s not cheap though – one bite will cost you RM 6.

japanese persimmons

We had it for breakfast this morning after chilling it in the fridge – the square persimmons are really sweet and juicy! We both loved it! The skin is very thin and not tough at all so you can eat it if you want but the epitome of decadence is to just eat the flesh inside. A delicious start to the day!

virginia ham gouda cheese

I also made us sandwiches for breakfast. You will need:

  • Smoked Virginia ham
  • Crab pate
  • Arugula (rocket leaves)
  • Gouda cheese slices
  • Thick sliced bread
  • Eggs

scrambled egg

I made a sunny side up egg for myself and a “scrambled egg” over easy with milk, pepper and salt for my dear. She also wanted a open face sandwich while I opted for tradition as we had a really thick sliced milk loaf. I also omitted the crab pate and Gouda for hers but it’s essentially the same sandwich…just more work for me since we like our eggs different.

Kidding, dear! smirk

kewpie sandwich sauce

I fried the thick milk bread with butter for the additional crisp. Her version is a single slice with the over easy scrambled egg, one slice of smoked Virginia ham and rocket leaves, served up as is. She added some of that dreadful Kewpie sandwich sauce she likes on top.

I don’t use salt, pepper or any other condiments for mine coz I reckon the ham, crab pate and Gouda cheese has more than enough flavor! (and the fragrant butter to fry the bread too)

gouda cheese

I spread a bit of crab pate on one slice of the bread and added two (2) slices of Hormel smoked Virginia ham. It was on special – I asked for 150 grams and got 148 grams (6 thin slices) for RM 10.35. It’s less than RM 2 per slice! I fried the other side with butter and put the Gouda cheese on top so it’ll melt and slid my sunny side up egg and some arugula in.

I love sunny side up eggs coz the yolk just oozes out when you slice the sandwich!

virginia ham sandwich

Sunday breakfasts is something we both look forward to – we get groceries before and see if there’s anything new. The square Japanese persimmons gets two huge thumbs up from us! I’ll wake up early and make a sandwich (or sometimes it’ll be her who cooks). I have amassed quite a lot of sandwich recipes!

open face sandwich

It’s not crappy store-bought commercial bread with unusual ingredients for experimentation and a laugh either. I think my cooking has improved a lot and my sandwiches now are more, dare I say it, artisanal (even sounds anally-retentive from the last two syllables ;)). I should put up a Top 10 lists of the best sandwiches I’ve made, a new list with artisan bread and ingredients like prosciutto. smirk

3 interesting and unusual things I spotted in Sibu + a short mention

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1. Taking it in stride

smart ass car

We both laughed out of surprise when we saw this. I was driving to breakfast and asked my better half for my camera so I could take a photo. It’s the most innovative way to display your car licence plate after being rear-ended in an accident.

Why, you just put it inside and life goes on. smirk

2. Confused car

confused car

This car has the symbols for:

  • No Food and Drinks
  • No Smoking
  • Photography Allowed
  • Headphones Only
  • Instant Messenger
  • WiFi Hotspot
  • Facebook Like
  • Playboy Bunny

I don’t know what kind of statement the driver is trying to make but it doesn’t make any sense to me. Heh.

3. Hard candy

mm snack mix salty

I always head to Ta Kiong when I’m home. It’s an import specialty supermarket that has things you wouldn’t think Sibu would have. They even stock stuff I haven’t seen in KL coz they import it themselves. I like the Pretzel M&M’s – the newer ones are crunchier, saltier and sweeter with “more pretzel taste”.

pretzel mm

I’ve never seen Pretzel M&M’s in KL before (this is imported directly from the US) so I got some and the new formula tastes good.

I also got a pack of M&M Snack Mix – it has Salty & Sweet contents like roasted peanuts, crunchy pretzels, chocolate chip cookies. Now, the biggest question is whether the stuff is inside the M&M’s or outside i.e. are they fillings or separate snacks. I know M&M has peanuts, pretzels, peanut butter etc as fillings but I didn’t know they make them in Chocolate Chip Cookie.

raspberry mint mm

I wouldn’t be surprised though as M&M’s have Raspberry and Mint fillings covered in dark chocolate.

We haven’t opened the bag yet, so it’ll be interesting to find out.

snickers 3x

I also got us some Snickers from the US…

twix pb snickers squared

…and my favorite Twix PB! This is Twix chocolate cookie bars with peanut butter milk chocolate! Twix was what I reached for when I had the munchies back when I was studying in Melbourne and it’s still one of my favorite candy bars. I like peanut butter in candy bars, there’s also Snickers peanut butter Squared at the bottom (but we got that in KL) which basically contains 2 squares instead of a bar in a package you can twist to close and save one for later!

Short mention:


How to Golf in One Night

Haha! The short film above shows the antics of a guy who has never golfed in his life trying to impress his girlfriend’s dad. His friends gave him some well-intended but ultimately disastrous advice for “The Judgement Day” (as it’s hilariously called). His first swing made the golf club fly from his grip and hit someone, much to the disapproval of his future father-in-law.

It has a truly heart-warming ending after he and his girlfriend’s father have “the perfect round”.

I’ve seen Heineken and CIMB Classic posters around town and it’s no surprise that the long term sponsor of premier sporting events in the global arena like the UEFA Champions League for football, the Heineken Cup for rugby, and the US Open for tennis is finally going into the golfing arena – by being the official beverage partner of the CIMB Classic 2013 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (GLGCC) from 24-27th October.

heineken cimb classic

The prestigious CIMB Classic is the first PGA tour in Asia and golf enthusiasts can finally get Heineken style premier hospitality from their public hospitality marquee at the CIMB Classic. Located above the food village, Heineken’s The Green Experience will be a place for fans to lounge in style as they enjoy a grandstand view of golf’s greatest in full swing while cooling down with a refreshing Heineken brew in hand.

That’s what I read and it really made me want to go and experience the exclusivity that describes! You also get to pour the perfect pint of ice cold Heineken and give your best shot at the various games while watching the world-class action on screens. It’s the ultimate in Heineken hospitality!

Find out more about Heineken’s exciting calendar of events at their Facebook page or Twitter.

10 weird and wonderful things from last month

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1. Kiwano (Horned Melon)

kiwano

This is a RM 15 fruit we found at the grocery. The kiwano is also called a horned melon. It’s about the size of a kiwi – quite expensive for its size – and you’re supposed to eat it like one. I’ve never seen it in any other import specialty grocers so we got one to share.

horned melon

The kiwano fruit has lots of segments inside with seeds coated with jelly-like fruit and it tastes like cucumbers!

kiwano seeds

One of the most interesting fruits I’ve had to pleasure to eat – it’s like a refreshing *explosion* of clean, thirst quenching flavors in your mouth!

2. Huge 5kg Nutella

nutella 5kg

I eat a lot of Nutella and when I saw this in Langkawi (was there a couple of weeks ago and bought quite a bit of duty free goods) I couldn’t resist buying it. It’s 5,000 grams worth of Nutella in a huge plastic iconic container for just RM 145!

nutella traveler edition

However, we decided we couldn’t lug that beast back and settled for the Traveler’s Edition of Nutella – which is made in Italy and not Australia!

3. Klonut

klonut

Yup, it’s a clone of the cronut. We actually had it way back in July at Dessert Storm. There was a RM 7 promo with three flavors – Peanut Butter and Caramel Klonut, Kaya & Coconut Klonut and Boysenberry Jam and Chocolate Klonut.

dessert storm

It’s pretty good but it’s not the beautiful offspring of a croissant and a donut. The recipe for the pastry is slightly different here.

4. Chocolate coated Oreos

oreo travelers edition

This is a travel exclusive that we opened up last month. It’s only sold in airports (and such places) and it’s basically an Oreo covered in chocolate!

chocolate covered oreos

It’s made in Spain and delicious! I wish I had this when I did my own battered and deep fried Mars and other candy bars.

5. Snickers Ice Cream

snickers ice cream

Got a pint of Snickers Ice Cream (from France) and finished it on the same day while watching movies at home. A pint isn’t really enough for us, and thus over the weekend…

6. 31% off hand packed Baskin Robbins ice cream

br 31

I got two pints during the weekend coz we eat a lot of ice cream. My better half chose Chocolate Mousse Royale and I chose Sweet & Salty. I don’t know what happened but the batch that day didn’t have *any* salty pretzel pieces (which is why I like the flavor).

baskin robbins

There’s only caramel in the ice cream – probably coz the outlet topped the newly opened box with some leftovers (which was also contaminated with the neighbouring Blueberry Pabba Cotta). I should have asked the servers to just get me the ones from the new box instead of that but they were too busy – the 31% discount days always seems to be a hectic mess for the staff.

7. Cognac filled chocolate sticks

chocolate cognac

I bought this during our trip to Langkawi. I thought it was rather expensive at RM 34.50 for 15 chocolate sticks. This GOLDKENN product is certainly priced higher than the usual Anthon Berg bottle-shaped liquor chocolates…

cognac sticks

…but it tastes absolutely fabulous! The cocoa dusted chocolate sticks were filled with tangible cognac and it’s well worth the RM 2+ per bite price…and that’s duty free prices! 🙂

8. Absolut Hibiskus

absolut unique

I also got this really awesome and cool looking Absolut Unique display plaque. I’ve seen the Absolut Unique bottles around for a while now – each time I travel, I saw quite a lot of different bottles with different serial numbers…and now I have a unique mounted one!

absolut hibiskus

I also got a bottle of Absolut Hibiskus – it’s the first floral flavored vodka and it was launched in conjunction with Merdeka (Independence Day). The hibiscus is our national flower, geddit? 😀

It tastes good – am planning to make some cocktails with these, aptly with edible flowers (which you’re going to hear and see a lot more of).

9. Self-heating soup can

hot soup

We had this for dinner last night! I got this earlier this year during one of our grocery shopping trips. I think there was a promotion for RM 14 for two cans. Each “can” of soup is the same size and shape as a regular soda can!

self heating soup

The interesting bit about this is the self-heating part – there’s chemicals at the bottom of the can which heats the can when pressed and activated. You have to shake it for 30 seconds and steam actually comes out of the unopened can (along with a distasteful chemical smell).

heating soup

There’s a strip of indicator on the side which *changes color* according to temperature and you just open the can like a regular soft drink and drink it when it cools down. I thought it’s quite cool, just like the MRE (Meal, Ready to Eat – a military food rations kit) I got when I was in the Boy’s Brigade. Haha!

10. Pig teats

pig teats

Yup, those are exactly what it looks like! It just came in a package for a super awesome secret cooking project that I did over the weekend!

pig nipples

It’s going to be…er, revealed next week! 😀

The firecracker and the cat

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chinese firecrackers

This is a powerful multi-layered braided string of 39,999 traditional Chinese firecrackers – it’s huge, with lots of powder and chalk, which produces tons of red paper. I strung them up around the gate like a snake yesterday for the 7th day of Chinese New Year.

firecracker

It’s really, really loud. I was standing about 1 meter away and I could feel debris and chalk flying right past me.

Anyway, after my ears stopped ringing I suddenly heard a cat’s pitiful mewling.

Puzzled, I looked around.

No cat.

We searched and searched and finally isolated the mewling to a corner with our temporarily deaf ears. Me and my dad thought it was coming from *inside* the air conditioning unit.

air con

We spent a good 10 minutes trying to pry it open coz the cat sounded like it was trapped inside.

I kept looking in too but I couldn’t see the cat.

My dad went in to fetch a suitable spanner to undo the lugs while I tried to see how the cat could have gotten in but there are no openings.

…and then my dad happened to look up.

firecracker cat
(cat)

Yeah…

We were crouched down and looking inside the air conditioning unit so we never thought it was coming from above. Besides, our hearing was shot.

stuck cat

I think it’s a stray that was walking from the backyard when the firecrackers scared her and in a burst of adrenaline, she somehow managed this amazing acrobatic feat that she couldn’t extract herself from.

I had to get her down.

petting cat

Nice cat, wish it stayed but she haughtily stretched herself and left after I petted her a little and the ordeal was over. Ungrateful. Hmph. action

I spent last night with the police

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police

I just came back from a rather long night. The entire extended family was out celebrating the 80th birthday of my grand aunt. A bunch of us cousins decided to make a new tradition of going out clubbing during Day 3 of Chinese New Year and sent my grandma back.

I ended up hanging with the police instead.

We were about to head out after dropping them off when suddenly my aunts and grandma noticed that the entire house was completely ransacked. It’s a good thing we were still there.

The fucking thieves gained entry by strategically putting a couple of pieces of wood over a large storm drain, unscrewing the back gate with surgical precision and taking out the door with a couple of well put strikes that broke the lock.

…before rampaging through the rooms, breaking beds and overturning closets to find cold hard cash. They didn’t take anything else – the police said it’s probably coz gold and other valuables would be hard to sell without detection in a small town like this.

You know how much they netted? Over RM 30,000!

It’s Chinese New Year and the lion’s share of the damage was to my grandma. 🙁

She lost RM 20,000 out of the total (rest were my aunts and one cousin from Singapore).

I called 999 and told them not to touch anything. I was a bit taken aback when the operator said “Mr Poh can you repeat the address?”.

It’s the integrated system with telcos to prevent crank calls.

I realized that half a second after the initial surprise. I was out waiting for the police and then called the Sibu Police Headquarters instead to speed things up. They said they’ve already got the call and they’re sending out a patrol car.

The initial cops who came took a look around and said we needed to take stock of the losses and lodge a report at the main station.

Thus, me and my cousin went with all my aunts and grandma to the police station, made a report, went up to speak to someone and then went back home to wait for the JSJ (Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah – Crime Investigation Department) to come for forensics.

dusting fingerprints

They tried to get fingerprints but didn’t get any.

There has been a spate of break-ins at that area for a long time – the neighbor behind had the same MO. My grandma’s house is never empty – there’s always someone there coz 3 of my aunts and my grandma lives there. The only time it was empty, it got broken into.

Same thing happened to the neighbor to the back. The one at the side was slightly more unlucky, two females were in the house when it happened, but didn’t see the thieves coz they were forced down on the ground. Only money was taken, no valuables.

I think Sibu is getting a bit worse each year – one of my friends chanced upon a robbery in broad daylight yesterday.

I feel so sorry for my grandma and I guess it’s a good thing that some people are gifted with the ability to make others laugh (like my cousin) which puts things in perspective.

The silver lining is that no one was hurt coz the last time someone stumbled upon and recognized the thief in Sibu, the entire family was murdered. It was done to prevent them from pointing him out but one of them managed to get away by jumping from the second floor.

break in

I still feel fucking horrible though – I went to sit with my grandma who was there folding clothes after the robbers rummaged through everything and destroyed the beds to see if there was anything hidden underneath.

She told me that was the money she was planning to use for a vacation. T_T

She’s a very nice person, a kind and selfless woman armed with a cheery smile and always putting other people first. That was her entire life savings she has been putting away slowly over all these years you took, fuckers.

Chinese New Year shopping @ Petaling Street

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cny petaling street

I was out here the night before I was supposed to fly back to get some last minute Chinese New Year goodies for Sibu. It was a real pain-in-the-ass to lug them all back coz most of them had to be carry ons so it’s a good thing I had this huge bag from buying CNY clothes that I chucked everything in. Heh.

Petaling Street was quite festive – lights were strung out and there were heaps of people out and about.

waxed meat

Waxed meat is a popular item.

I was told that you can’t get proper ngaku (arrowhead chips) in Sibu so I bought a couple of tubs. I heard that this place has some of the best ones around. It’s RM 13 per container, I don’t eat them but my sister says that my brother-in-law can eat one tub, no problems. They were trying to get some back from Singapore too.

ngaku

I also bumped into this intriguing shop selling candied vegetables. I was looking at them and the lady was kind enough to offer me lots of samples. I didn’t quite like any of the others except for carrot, peppers, lotus root and coconut so that’s the only four (4) types I got.

candied vegetables

You can mix and match – it’s RM 15 for 200 grams (I think that was the price, can’t really remember) so I bought two small tubs back.

sanbanto

I also went to Sanbanto to grab a few packs of ba kua (pork jerky). They have two types – sliced pork meat (RM 50) and minced pork meat (RM 48). It depends on what you prefer.

sanbanto bakua

I’ve tasted them and was quite impressed – there are no preservatives so you have to eat them within 3 days once it’s open. However, each piece of ba kua is individually wrapped and there’s 500 grams of porky goodness in there.

I don’t usually like ba kua but this was made in-house and tasted so much better than the mass produced ones that I thought it’ll make a good gift.

petaling street cny

Next up! Fireworks and firecrackers for CNY! w00t! 😀

Guess what? I won Magnum 4D!

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magnum 4d win
THIS IS A WINNING TICKET

I had a feeling that I was going to get lucky yesterday so I went to the SS2 Magnum 4D outlet where I usually have my lunch and got some lottery tickets. I checked at night during dinner and thought I didn’t win but when I went back home and looked at the ticket – it was indeed a winning number! 🙂

lottery winnings

My number is 8179

I have *never* won Magnum 4D before.

winning lottery ticket

It came out as a Special Prize (RM 180) and I bought RM 3 of that number so I thought I won around RM 600 as I posted it up on the sixthseal.com Facebook page last night.

jackpot winnings

I just cashed it in and it seems like the Jackpot 4 prize is much larger than I thought. I read it was just RM 68 but when the payout ticket came out it’s RM 68 (Jackpot 4 bonus) x RM 2 (Jackpot minimum bet) x RM 3 (amount bet) = RM 408.

total 4d winnings

Thus RM 540 (RM 180 Special Prize) + RM 408 (Jackpot bonus) = RM 948.

8179 is a concatenation of a family number: 19(81) + 19(79).

The first is my year of birth and the other is the year my only other sibling – my sister – was born.

It’s a small win but I’m quite happy coz I’ve successfully beaten the insane odds. I’ve also had a winning Sports Toto ticket before and stopped buying after that.

winning face

Here’s a cheesy shot of me in recognition of the original one from 2006. (see the Sports Toto link from my post back then)

I had hoped to win a couple million from the Jackpot and send my mom and dad for a vacation to the States or Europe and get my mom better treatment but there are no shortcuts in life.

claim 4d

I am officially stopping any further bets from Magnum 4D since I just want to buck the odds. I used to occasionally get the tickets but seriously, the odds are just not there. I’m glad I finally beat it. It’s not much but it’s a bonus Chinese New Year ang pow. 🙂

I just got into the most mysterious accident

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accident middle damage

I was driving out last night from my place when I had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision with a car coming up at full speed from the exit ramp.

Let me illustrate:

my statement

* It should be noted that the 90 degree corner separating me from the other car at that ramp is a blind spot – I cannot see him and there’s a difference in elevation so I can’t even see his headlights splash for advance warning.

The person inside kinda smiled apologetically at me and then drove off. I couldn’t stop him since my car was still stuck and after extracting myself I went to lodge a police report.

The police told me that they can’t accept a report unless I have the other person’s car licence plate. I didn’t.

right flank

Thus, I went back and went to the security monitors to review the incident. A large problem is that all of the DVRs were all out of sync chronologically and I had to make calculations to see what happened when.

cctv recordings

The security was of minimal help. I had to do all of this myself, replaying the CCTVs (used to work in the securities line) for over 4 hours!

There were two cars entering the car park when I was getting into my car so those two are the obvious suspects. One of them did actually take that dangerous short cut that nearly resulted in me colliding head-on.

However, both of the cars were black and not white. I encountered a white car, and it seems like the person driving it looked rather familiar but there is no tenant with a white car coming in at the time.

dvr times

There was also the issue of headlights visible at the far end of the ramp before that, which could possibly be the result of an existing car (e.g. one inside the car park) at the area before Level 2 waiting and then coming up the wrong way.

The incident happened at 8:06 pm last night and I spent 4 hours scouring the CCTV footage and the car park for the car to no avail.

engine depressed

I had to swerve hard to avoid colliding with that car and in that process, hit the wall on the other side of the ramp. I have a feeling the front compressed into the radiator. I only got back after 12 am and talked in the porridge forum for a while before sleeping.

front decal depression

I can’t report this as it is but I’ve spoken to a lawyer and has been advised to keep all my video recordings and evidence for a possible future litigation which has nothing to do with traffic incidents (24 hours).

I can’t really talk about the circumstances (you know how it is, in law, it’s always about the other side making a mistake first) but anyway I’ll head out to get a quote from the workshop I used to work with to see how much the car is going to cost me.

left flank

Damn, and I’ve been real careful since fixing my car too. 😡

8 features I love about Windows 8

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windows 8

Yup, I’ve installed Windows 8 to replace the Windows 7 Home Premium Edition I’m running on my main workhorse.

windows versions

I’ve upgraded my notebook several times in terms on hardware (RAM, HDD etc) and I’m always excited when a new OS comes out. Windows 8 Pro 64-bit (my notebook runs 64 bit natively, though there’s a 32-bit version of Windows 8) has a lot of things that I like and having spent a couple of weeks with it, I’ve managed to single out 8 features that I love.

windows 8 install

It’s hard to go with just 8 since there are a lot of new additions to enrich your experience. Some are essential and some are just stuff that are just plain fun.

I write a lot, love to travel and have been blogging since April 2002 so I’ll keep my experiences on that personal level.

1. Start Screen

This is the much anticipated feature (in addition to Live Tiles) of Windows 8 and it takes some getting used to, but there’s no going back after that.

windows 8 start

This displays my most commonly used apps and I can see various messages flood in via Live Tiles in the People and Messaging apps, which I use the most. This way, I just have to synchronize my email, Facebook, Twitter, IM clients and it’ll all be integrated into one place.

I like to travel pretty randomly (without any plans and flying by the seat of my pants) and this feature allows me to just see what’s going on in Travel, check the Wikipedia app (stating local customs and faux pas e.g. not eating the doughy tops of khinkali, a type of Georgian dumpling and also pronunciation), pull out Internet Explorer 10 for bus/train schedules and all that while talking to people who’re there so I can maybe couchsurf.

That’s taking “keeping in touch” to a whole new level.

2. Enhanced Search

I love this feature coz it’s perfect for lazy people like me. Heh.

windows 8 search

Just type anything directly from the Start Screen and it’ll appear. I typed “Sky” in this case and SkyDrive pops up as one of the features so I don’t have to go rooting about for it. It’s really a time saver.

I can also expand the search to various areas (which is customizable) for it to trawl anything from Windows Store to the entire Internet. Nifty, this one, and handy for finding facts online by just starting to type on the Start Screen.

3. Snap apps

This is a godsend for blogging!

windows 8 blogging

Just hover your mouse to the left and out pops a list of currently running apps. You can actually drag one of those apps out so you have two apps on your screen. This can be resized as you wish so I can dedicate 3/4 of my screen to Photoshop for photo editing and the other 1/4 to WordPress on IE 10 to add the photos to my blog or reply comments.

…and yes, both of the apps work at the same time. 😀

4. Easy Screenshots

This is just amazing and it’s how I took most of the screenshots you see in this post. Windows 8 nullifies the need for external apps or the old method of Alt+Print Screen -> Open Paint -> Ctrl+V to take and paste a screenshot.

windows 8 pro

Now I just have to press Win+Print Screen.

It takes the entire screen and automatically saves it in the Pictures folder. You can also use Alt to take the current window but the shortcut where you can just automatically screenshot the entire screen is a lifesaver (or at least a time saver) to me – I do it a lot when blogging, writing and emailing someone about a travel deal. 🙂

5. Picture Password

This is one of the things which I’ll put under fun to use. Heh.

picturepassword

You can choose your best vacation/clubbing/adventure photos as a Picture Password and draw gestures around it to enter your computer. It not only acts as a password, it also shows my favorite photo while I’m logged out.

6. Windows Store

You can download a lot of free and paid games and apps in here – anything from Angry Birds to Wikipedia. I also found a fun and free game called Ball Strike when I was in Singapore courtesy of Jim Saret (of Biggest Loser Philippines fame).

windows store

It just requires a Windows 8 device with a camera – which is common enough, even my older notebook has a built-in webcam. This is an augmented reality game that gives me a bit of exercise while I’m at home.

I can see it being a hugely popular house party game too. Heh.

7. Charms Bar

This is the uber sidebar that allows you access to everything from the classic Desktop that traditional users would instantly recognize:

windows 8 charms

…to instant share which I use to quickly share travel itinerary PDFs, photos and such via Tweetro (a Twitter client) or email.

It’s awesome and you just have to go to the right of the screen to activate it.

8. SkyDrive

I have personal experience of having my camera stolen while travelling before – all my photos from the trip were lost! Integration with SkyDrive, especially for my photo backups, is essential to me.

The cloud-connectivity that Skydrive offers is wonderful because I like to travel in places that are not necessarily tourist friendly.

skydrive

I’ve also had my HDD crash two times before – and some of my precious photos were lost forever! Now with SkyDrive, I’ll make it a point to do auto backups when I’m done for the day and leave it uploading while I sleep.

It works beautifully for documents too e.g. the blog posts that I write every day.

You know how important photos are to travellers and bloggers – it’s a pictorial chronological memory for me and I can’t stand losing it.

Now I won’t have to. 🙂

Do I need Windows RT, Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro?

which windows 8
Here’s a chart to help you decide.

Windows RT
Windows RT is for people who wants a tablet-style easy to use OS where you don’t need new and existing Windows desktop software to work. It’s great with tablets and PCs where you want a user friendly experience – the new Start Screen is where you work from and all apps comes from Windows Store. As an added bonus, it comes with Office Home & Student 2013 Preview!

windows rt

Windows 8
Windows 8 is what most casual users will need – you’ll get all the new features in the Start Screen (actually all of the versions do) but you don’t have to work exclusively with Windows Store apps. The only thing you’ll miss out on is BitLocker. You can still use new and existing Windows desktop software as well as the apps from Windows Store – it’s the best of both worlds!

windows 8 versions

Windows 8 Pro
Windows 8 Pro is basically Windows 8 for power users or enterprise users. You get all the functionality in Windows 8 (like existing and new Windows Desktop software compatibility) and BitLocker for data protection as well as a host of networking features like Domain Join and Remote Desktop Connection.

windows 8 singapore

Windows 8 special promo info:
If you’ve bought Windows 7 PC from June 2 onwards, you can upgrade to Windows 8 for just USD 14.99 (RM 49.92). Login to www.windowsupgradeoffer.com (yes, this is a real Microsoft link, not some dodgy website) for more details.

Otherwise, if you have a PC and would like to install or upgrade to Windows 8, you can purchase it at USD 39.99 (RM 122). Login to windows.my for more details.

The offers end on 31st January 2013 so get your upgrade today to take advantage of the promo prices! 😀

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