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Through the viewfinder

Happy New Year to all and anyone who reads my humble blog. Once again we have entered the beginning of a new year, one that we all hope will bring better tidings for everyone.

As usual there were count down events all over the state of Penang last night, I decided to go check out the concert at Queensbay Mall as Power Station was coming to perform. Well my main purpose was not to go countdown, but more towards shooting the concert, and besides, I missed the past year’s concert which I think featured more interesting celebrities, not that the celebrities who came last night aren’t interesting. Continue reading

My Bazooka

Now if you are a photographer, you probably know what this lens is, yeah it’s a the ever popular Canon telephoto lens! My very first L lens, a very expensive souvenir I bought in Singapore. This baby really burned a big hole in my pocket (nearly RM7,000), but it’s well worth the money. The full package comes with carrying case and hood as well.

Continue reading

I remember this topic being brought up a few weeks ago during lunch with my colleagues, what do we do when the lift breaks down and starts to free fall? There were suggestions to climb out of the lift, jump before the lift impacts, and other imaginative ideas. However I doubt any of those would actually work, then I received an email with tips on how to survive a lift breakdown, read the following and see if it’s the best way or just another wise idea.

First – Quickly press all the different levels of buttons in the lift. When the emergency electricity supply is being activated, it will stop the lift from falling further.

Second – Hold on tight to the handle (if there is any).. It is to support your position and prevent you from falling or getting hurt when you lost your balance.

Third – Lean your back and head against the wall forming a straight line. Leaning against the wall is to use it as a support for your back/spine as protection.

Fourth – Bend your knees. Ligament is a flexible, connective tissue. Thus, the impact of fractured bones will be minimised during fall.

Anyone has more concrete facts on the matter don’t hesitate to post your comments below.

Being a fighting game fan, one needs a weapon worthy of the fight. I’m lucky to have got my hands on one of these babies, may I present to you my Ultimate Weapon: Madcatz Fight Stick TE Collector’s Edition! It was quite hard to find one in our local stores, although it was pricey, bought it at RM680, I’d say I have no regrets.

The Ultimate Weapon

The stick is very sturdy and well built, precision is excellent and the Sanwa buttons are just a joy to push. Continue reading

Ever wondered why men likes looking at the female breasts? Maybe it’s just genetic, a gender response and need, an unresistible attraction, or whatever reason you can think of, here’s another reason you can add to your list of ‘reasons/excuses’ the next time you are caught staring at someone’s breasts.

“10 Minutes Of Staring at Breasts Daily Prolongs Man’s Life by 5 Years” Continue reading

Ok so you’ve read about the 101 uses for a man, the men have cooked up a similar list for the ladies as well, again courtesy of Times Online and you can find the original article here. 101 uses or not, I think we’d still love you, and yes it’s an unfair world (to men of course) and women always complain that they’re being treated unfairly.

1. Finding at least one thing about your appearance worth complimenting (“I’ve always loved your … earlobes”).
2. Finding at least one thing about your new haircut worth criticising.
3. Lending you (often without knowing it) moisturiser.
4. Keeping Darfur on the agenda by being interested in what George Clooney is up to.
5. Employing, through her retail habits, tens of thousands of children in the developing world.
6. Leaving lots of little bits of ground apricot kernel in the bath after her weekly exfoliation.
7. Never being too embarrassed to dance with you, despite your two left feet.
8. Compensating for your lack of colour co-ordination (they know the colours that go — and the ones that don’t).
9. Answering all the boy-band questions in the pub pop quiz.
10. Remembering the birthdays Continue reading

Here’s an interesting list compiled by Times Online, you can view the original article here, but for convenient reading you can just read it from yours truly’s blog here. A very interesting list, the next time you have a fight with your guy, don’t hesitate to use this list to find a reason to forgive him if need be.

1. Whistling at you in the street on your 41st birthday (this should be a state-funded initiative).
2. Model railways, the running and maintenance of.
3. Pigeon fancying.
4. Particle physics
5. Eating up the elderly tub of coleslaw in the back of the fridge after an evening at the pub.
6. Opening all those terrifying brown envelopes that the bank will insist on sending you.
7. Catching spiders.
8. Bringing you tea in bed in the mornings.
9. Forgetting your anniversary, but then wildly overcompensating with a completely over-the-top gesture, preferably involving diamonds.
10. Making your limited Continue reading

Anyone who reads The Star In-Tech every Tuesday will be familiar with this quirky engineer working in his cube. The comic strip can be a bit difficult for kids to understand I find, as I myself was not too sure what he was talking about when I read the strips some 10 years back.

Here’s a collection of some one liners that’s sure to make you laugh or at least smile

I’ve highlighted my personal favorites, what are yours?

1. I say no to alcohol, it just doesn’t listen.
2. A friend in need is a pest indeed.
3. Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.
4. Work is fine if it doesn’t take too much of your time.
5. When everything comes in your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
6. The light at the end of the tunnel may be an incoming train.
7. Born free, taxed to death.
8. Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don’t have film.
9. Life is unsure; always eat your dessert first.
10. Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.
11. It’s not hard to meet expenses, they are everywhere.
12. I love being a writer…what I can’t stand is the paperwork.
13. A printer consists of 3 main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and
    the blinking red light.
14. The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented
    the other three, he was the genius.
15. The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.
16. In a country of free speech, why are there phone bills?
17. If you cannot change your mind, are you sure you have one?
18. Beat the 5 o’clock rush, leave work at noon!
19. If you can’t convince them, confuse them.
20. It’s not the fall that kills you. It’s the sudden stop at the end.
21. I couldn’t repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
22. Hot glass looks same as cold glass – Cunino’s Law of Burnt Fingers.
23. The cigarette does the smoking, you are just the sucker.
24. Someday is not a day of the week.
25. Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.
26. To err is human; to forgive is not a Company policy.
27. The road to success…is always under construction.
28. Alcohol doesn’t solve any problems, but if you think again, neither does
    Milk.
29. In order to get a loan, you first need to prove that you don’t need it.

  …and here’s the best of the lot

30. All the desirable things in life are either illegal, expensive, fattening or in love with someone else.

Last night the lion dance at Esplanade was an interesting show, even with the strong winds, the show still went on, thank goodness it did not rain. I was there with my friends and friend’s dad who was also a photographer, we had quite a nice chat about photography techniques, and his travels, experiences.

Preparation for the dance

Anyway back to the lion dance, as we arrived early we had the chance to see them preparing, and for the first time we saw that there were actually mattresses and cushions at the base of the stilts which were later covered with a green silky cloth as part of the decoration.

The crew

There was quite a crowd that came to spectate as well, the night started out with a dragon dance, which IMHO would have been better if it were not cramped up on the small stage. Did not bother to get any shots of it either.

The lion on stilts

The first Lion Dance performance by Team B was well done, nearly no mistakes, but it was not so smooth for Team A later on as there was a part where the front dancer kept falling to the ground, apparently it was due to the strong winds, or IMHO, was due to the dancer at the back being unable to grab onto him properly, but well I’m probably wrong as these guys should be well trained for the performance. Luckily nobody got hurt.

Gaze into the night

There was another performance with a black lion but due to bad placement of the drums, all we could see were the drummers backsides and some glimpses of the lion head when they were raised.

Qi Lin

There was a Qi Lin amongst the lions as well, did not quite like the costume though as it looked to me like a hell hound, and again the view of it was obscured most of the time.

The black lion

Leap of faith

Playful Lion

There will be an international lion dance competition on the 26th to 27th September 2009 at the Komtar Dome. Be sure to go check it out if you’re a fan of lion dance as it will be your chance to watch international standard lion dance right here in Penang!

Are you on Mac or are you on PC? The two never seem to get along, well maybe they are starting to get along now that Windows has made it’s way to the Mac platform along with a few other Microsoft products, and considering Macs today run on the same processors as their PC rivals. So what’s with all the hoo hah about Mac vs PC? They’re both just computers aren’t they? The only difference is the operating system running on them right? Well according to the video below they’re more than meets the eye! Watch the video below and let your perception of the Mac and PC forever be transformed!

If you thought that video was good, check out the trailer for the new version of the video below, it will blow you away!