Flipping dangerous

<Pic removed at request of owner>

Shit happens when you least expect it. My friend, Des, evaluates the damage to his car after a friend flipped his Starlet Turbo at Turn 12 at the SIC. Lesson learned: Never lend your car to a friend for track days.

1.5 down, 8.5 to go!

I’m proclaiming this with gusto! I’m 88.5 kilos! I’ve shed 1.5 kilos in a month, through a healthier diet and exercise (thanks to my new membership at the gym and a personal trainer!). I didn’t expect it so soon, but I’m glad I took a chance to weigh in before gym last night. Happy and motivated to do even more now!

Did 45 minutes on the threadmill then cycling before proceeding to abs. Surprised I had little problems with the running bit, for the entire duration. Hmm.

In any case, I look forward to hitting my target of 80kilos (that’s another 8.5 kilos left!) in 7 months. Wish me luck, wish me luck!

Mac-less Yet Again!

It’s deja vu all over again. I’m Mac-less. Like it was 2 years ago when I sold my iMac G4. And also like 4-5 years ago, when I got rid of my ageing PowerMac 8600. Feels weird. This gaping void. Where my PowerBook used to sit, just a day ago, is an empty space with a spare mouse and mousepad. With nothing else. Empty.

My PowerBook G4 was handed over to its new owner late last night. I bid my final farewell to my beloved portable, one that has served me well without complaint, fuss or problems over the course of two years. It’s been a pretty much problem-free machine, except for the battery which was affected by the Apple Battery Exchange program twice. (er, yes, twice. Lucky me!).

So in this transitional period, I’d be home alone. The optical mouse with no USB port to plug in to. The 20m Cat-5 cable without a Ethernet port to network with. Sigh. No more pre-shut-eye Best Motoring videos. No midnight blogging. For now at least.

I will not be taking delivery of the almost new iMac Intel Core Duo until after Raya. It’s gonna be lonely I tell ya. *Sniff* Anyone wants to keep a lonely, Mac-less guy on those cold nights, please give me a call. Only sexy, lonely, obliging women need apply!

On the Apple front, Apple has discovered a Windows virus in a small number of Video iPods recently. The RavMonE.exe virus is a well-known Windows virus and is believed to have been carried by Apple’s contract manufacturer of its Video iPod. Apple cites, on its website:

We recently discovered that a small number – less than 1% – of the Video iPods available for purchase after September 12, 2006, left our contract manufacturer carrying the Windows RavMonE.exe virus. This known virus affects only Windows computers, and up to date anti-virus software which is included with most Windows computers should detect and remove it. So far we have seen less than 25 reports concerning this problem. The iPod nano, iPod shuffle and Mac OS X are not affected, and all Video iPods now shipping are virus free. As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not catching it.

Who’s exactly to blame? Apple blames Windows for being virus-prone. And Apple also blames itself for not catching it in the first place. Not a BIG problem (especially not for Mac users), but anything that leaves the factory and is sold should be virus-free, Windows or Mac.

Perhaps it’s an Apple PR thing to sell more Macs? Who knows eh?

Happy DeepaRaya Everyone!

Happy DeepaRaya my Hindu and Muslim friends! Drive safe and have a wonderful holidays! BTW, check out the Petronas TVCs A contrast in execution and storyline, but neither less compelling nor enjoyable.

Watch them here.

Merom, here we come?

Even before officially collecting my iMac Intel Core Duo 17″, I’m already contemplating upgrade options. Being an Intel-based machine, and fortunately, a socket-based architecture, I not only have a processor upgrade path from the first gen Intel Core Duo 1.83Ghz chip (“Yonah”) to a faster chip, I can look at the latest 64-bit “Merom” Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which is socket and motherboard-compatible. The T7400 “Merom” is a low-power processor, suited for laptop applications.

Since switching to Intel architecture, Apple’s first Intel-based machine, the Mac Mini, has seen many tabulated processor upgrade reports. And so far, there has been one successful iMac Intel one, using an engineering sample T7400 2.16Ghz Merom processor. Interesting. Some Apple retailers offer processor upgrades out of the box, which is nice.

I will likely to bump the RAM to 2GB (which will cost around RM900) as the first upgrade step. When the Merom is available via retail channels (if not, then I’ll look for friends from Intel!), I will most definitely attempt a self-upgrade. (I just love ripping machines apart!).

Check out Wikipedia on the Intel Core 2 Duo and Core Duo product line.

I’m excited! Woohooo!

Hooked on Realiti

I’m hooked. What can I say? In a Lost, Desperate Housewives kind of way, local drama Realiti is top on my list of recommended let’s-vege-in-front-of-TV-on-Sunday programs. It’s brilliantly shot, well-acted and has a pretty interesting storyline (wanna know who writes for Realiti? It’s Dzof (for a couple of episodes) and also Ng Ping Ho (who happens to also be the Director of the series.

What’s Realiti about? To cut a long story short, Realiti is a story about a reality TV show – The Malaysian Star. Much like Malaysian Idol. And One in A Million. But life’s never that straight forward is it? Wanna read a real sypnosis? Why don’t you read the pilot, if you’ve missed it –> click here. (here you go Dzof, more net traffic for ya!)

So why do I like Realiti? I like the characters. Kudos to the casting director because I think it’s spot on. Azizan as Amir, the cool Malay kampung rocker. Ashraf as American-bred R&B influenced Burn, Melissa as the sexy Baby, Alvin – the very poofy Nickson (he is SO right for this role, I laugh each time I see him on screen!), Chelsia – the pretty girl and Burn’s love interest with a drug problem. Radhi Khalid as Mac the mentor is brilliant. And I love the dialogue. Very real, in a everyday Malaysian sort of way. Like Rabun. Like Sepet. Like Gubra. There’s English, Malay, Hokkien, the Malaysian suffixes – “la“, the works. Sweet.

I missed the pilot and a couple of early episodes, but fret not, I’ve got them bookmarked on YouTube. For those who missed any episodes, head on to YouTube and do a search. Or point your browser here –> Dzof.org: Realiti

To tell you the truth, it’s getting better as the characters develop further. I can’t wait till Sunday again. Hope they also release a DVD collection of the entire series. Definitely a worthy addition to my DVD collection.

Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Nazrudin Rahman, Juliana Ibrahim, Lydia Ibtisam, Nell Ng, Kee Thuan Chye, Cheyenne Stutzriem, Aishah Sinclair. Special appearances by Fat Fabes, Carmen Soo and Fly Guy. What would you do to become a star?

Goodbye PowerPC, Hello Intel

Like many Mac afficiandos of late, I’m moving to an Intel-based machine. My trusty Powerbook G4 1.33Ghz 12″, is being sold to a friend for a steal, a companion for almost 2 years. Don’t get me wrong, I do love my Powerbook. I love the size, form factor, the total sexiness and presence. I still think it’s a kickass machine, probably one of the best notebooks Apple has ever made (it’s way up there, along with the Pismo). However, I felt it was time to move on. Intel is the future, Apple having made a complete transition from PowerPC (which has been the sole processor in all Macs for 12 years), and should be for years to come.

I am sacrificing mobility by opting for a desktop iMac Intel Core Duo 17″. And that’s quite a big sacrifice. I had pretty much two options. A low-end MacBook, or this. I do like a MacBook, but the integrated Intel950 GMA is a HUGE letdown, so in the end I’m deciding on the iMac.

This would be the 2nd ever iMac I’ve owned (and 4th Mac ever), having proudly own the cutie-pie lampshade iMac G4 800Mhz two years ago. IMHO, the best designed iMac to date.

I guess nothing is irreplaceable, especially computers and gadgets. Things move on fast, playing catch up is not easy. I’m barely ‘catching the wave’, just my bi-yearly upgrade to not fall too far behind. I am pretty sure, a couple more months down-the-line, I would add a portable to my Mac collection, just waiting for Apple to update the MacBook with a better graphics card.

Well, goodbye my dear Powerbook. Goodbye PowerPC. Say hello to Intel.

No pain no gain? You don’t say!

No pain no gain.

This cliched phrase truly rubs off on me, at least today. Well, at least I think my trainer thinks so. My arms hurt like hell. To describe it as pain is an understatement. I can’t stretch my right arm fully after 3 sets of bicep curls last night. And I walk like I’ve either got:

1. Overly big balls
2. Bad case of hemorrhoids
3. Weights strapped to my feet.

He really pushed me. He did. “Give me 10 more or you find another trainer. I don’t wanna train you anymore!” Fuck. And bloody hell, did I do 10 more, as he said.

This is torture, I thought. But what’s the point of hiring a trainer if you’re not gonna push yourself right? From last night’s session, it’s pretty obvious I’ve got a long way to go, especially where strengthening my upper body is concerned. Thanks to regular futsal, I don’t have the same issues with my legs. My core isn’t as bad as I thought either. More cardio and ab training will help strengthen it more.

But my body is tired. Even though I feel I have lots of energy and my mind, awake. It’s been 3 days of solid exercise in a row. Tuesday – gym, Wednesday – futsal, Thursday – gym. Likely to head down tomorrow too, if I’m not too busy. Perhaps I’ll take a day or two off to recuperate. Y’know, rest those aching muscles.

*Ouch* *Ouch*

“Inspire Me” Media

These are ads and ambient media that inspire me to be a better designer, and a creative thinker. Screw the conventional, think out-of-the-box. Make the unfathomable fathomable. Brilliant!

Well done, Alex!

While I battled understeer and reacquainted myself with the gravel at Turn 9 in SIC, Alex Yoong and A1 Team Malaysia did the country proud with convincing wins in both the Sprint and Feature Race at Brno over the weekend. The race win was A1 Team Malaysia’s first victory of the year and the second A1GP win for Malaysia following their triumph in the Shanghai Sprint race last season. Alex benefited from a slow start and avoided trouble before the first corner with a clash between Team New Zealand and Germany.

Congrats Alex and A1 Team Malaysia! We’re proud of you!

Pics courtesy of A1GP.com