TechieEat: Starbucks and Coffee Bean

Ok so like, I'm sensitive to caffeine but I still went for a drink at Starbucks and Coffee Bean lately. I had my usual Green Tea Latte. The photo below shows a Tall size drink. Ok I'll admit that I ordered a miserable tall size drink. And I'll admit that I mention before that tall size drinks are for pussies. But here's my excuse. I drank it 30mins before I was supposed to meet my friends for dinner. So a venti size just don't do.

I went to Coffee Bean with pals and gang yesterday night. I was never a fan of Coffee Bean but Junction 8 doesn't have Starbucks. Coffee Bean had this new series of cappuccino in the flavours Spiced Honey, Salted Caramel and Cinnamon Chocolate. I love cinnamon coffee but I wanted to try something else. I ordered the salted caramel but they ran out of caramel, well done. So I went with the spiced honey. It's an interesting taste with spices obviously. But I can't taste the honey. Overall its a good drink I guess.  

Starbucks - Vivocity Level 1

Ambience - 4/5

Green Tea Latte - 5/5

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf - Junction 8

Ambience - 1/5

Spiced Honey Cappuccino - 4/5

TechieEat: Green Tea Soya Ice Cream

I finally got to try Mr Bean's green tea soya ice cream. It's not bad, but people who prefers Green-tea-er green tea may avoid it. Macha lovers usually avoid green tea with milk. However for Mr Bean's green tea soya ice cream, you will taste the distinct soya instead. So it's up to you to try.

Mr Bean - Raffles Place
Green Tea Soya Ice Cream - 4/5

Ramblings: Caffeine Addict

The world is unfair. Amongst all the things you like to do or like to eat, there must be some you can't do or eat because of certain reasons.

This morning I drank a can of Nescafe Latte. It's not even a double shot caramel macchiato, and I felt it. My stomach can't really take caffeine, apart from tea and green tea. Maybe that's because I don't drink as much tea as coffee but I definitely drink a lot more green tea compared to coffee. It's been a couple of months since I last drank coffee. Chi Weng and Chin Hua would probably laugh at me.

I love coffee (not black though). I used to drink a lot of it. I started drinking it when I was in primary school, to the surprise of all my relatives since coffee isn't really a favourite drink of a kid. But ever since my regular gastric started, I believed that spicy food and caffeine were the cases since my problems always come after I drink coffee or eat spicy food (I still eat a lot of spicy food though, there's just no escape). If there's some coffee in sight, I would drink it. There was a period of time when I was addicted to Starbucks and I would just spend my time sipping my favourite caramel macchiato.

I still have the urge to drink coffee nowadays though I try not to. There's no stopping me totally though. Darn this stupid restriction to drink my coffee.

Ramblings: Paper Heart

I was reminded of this a few days ago when Valentine's Day was coming. I remember Edwin teaching the method to fold the heart to Bang Hui and me. It was during a Civics class and the topic was about loving parents or something like that. Part of the lesson involved making a heart but it was simple and it didn't look nice. That's when Edwin boasted that he knows how to make a nice one and intrigued Bang Hui and myself.

Cool eh?

Sights And Sounds: Baby With Doraemon Shoes

Look at his shoes! There's a face of Doraemon sown on each shoe. It's cute! Too bad this is the best my camera phone can take without letting the whole world know I snapped a photo of this cute baby with his cute shoes.

Food: Hokkaido Cream Bun

I needed a snack when I was working. S Mart at 8 Shenton Way sells this cute looking bread originating from Japan. There are many flavours but this is the most odd one. The bread itself is soft and feels great to the bite. Unfortunately there isn't any "Hokkaido Cream" though. The packaging boast of a different method of preservative in a form of a card. It says it's alcohol. Interesting. $1.50 for one.

Food: FairPrice Treats

I went to FairPrice at Punggol Plaza as usual to do my grocery shopping. I saw a few new stuff that I never knew were there before.

Papaya milk. We saw this in Taiwan and we really loved it. It's expensive here. $2.85 for a pack of 3 250ml. When chilled thoroughly, it's quite nice.

Since I'm a fan of ice lemon tea, I just had to try this out. Unfortunately its too sweet for my liking. Seasons is still the best.

This shaker-fries alike potato chips looked very interesting. Its unagi flavoured with seaweed powder. But both packets of seaweed were too dried up. It's a failure on its part. The unagi chips itself were also too blend. $3+ for 52.5g pack.

Ramblings: Mood Swings

This morning I was in a very good mood. That was all the way up till early afternoon. Then I guess the ang mohs at my company pissed me off, certain smses sounded way insincere etc. Then I blew it. Now at home, the kiddos are driving me insane, I get blamed for hurting them etc. Darn, soon to be 21 years old and still having mood swing. This is wrong.

Side story.

This 2 ang mohs at my company wanted to open a DBS bank account. My direct supervisors ask me to bring them there, though it's just a stone throw away. They do look that stupid though. So I led them downstairs, and because we walked out of the wrong exit (hello I'm a temp, I don't know the building that well) and they decided that they could well walk themselves to the bank. So they walked in front of me, despite my efforts to walk fast (they're ang mohs, their legs are twice the length of mine). I overheard their conversation. Without hesitation, they walked into DBS Tower 1, which is the main office. Believe me, I wanted to ignore them and just let them make a fool of themselves. But I didn't, I'm so nice.

They also mentioned something about working in a primitive environment at my company cause the screens are all so small and they'll need binoculars to see. HELLO, you use a magnifying glass for this purpose, stupid retards.

Brain Storm: I'll Be There For You, Not Be There For Me

When I was in Sec 3, my friend got into a pretty bad cycling accident. A small section of his forearm was smashed. He was hospitalised, needless to say. We were all kinda worried.

Then came one day, another friend suggested visiting him, and tons of his other friends whom I do not know are going as well. I hesitated, and I said "but there's so many of his friends going and I don't know them". I was put off by the fact that I have to be surrounded by strangers. Then one of our mutual friend muttered, "are you going there to see him? Or are you going there to see his friends? Why are you hesitating?"

I was shocked. And I was ashamed of myself. I was supposed to go visit my friend. I'm not going there for my own sake, but for his. Why did I need to care who were there?

Years down the road, it becomes common. When a gathering comes along, people start asking, "erm, so who's going?" Usually, this means that this person more or less will not be attending the gathering. A gathering is but one of the many. And then there are departures, or events of great significance.

"So who's going?" Not you, that's for sure.

Event: Mardi Gras And Pancake Day

http://food.theatlantic.com/abroad/your-mardi-gras-my-pancake-day.php

When I was in Xinmin, I read that Mardi Gras was a gay parade event in some Europe country. When I entered Temasek, I was surprised to find that we hold our own Mardi Gras once every two years. I soon found out that Temasek's Mardi Gras is an art festival where many arts-based events are held on that day. My wushu team mates participated in the opening ceremony when I was in J2 as well. Though I regret that I did not fully indulge in that day's event, I must say it was fun while it lasted. Naturally we ended off with our mass dance at the mustering square (we always end off everything with that). The atmosphere was great, everyone was feeling high.

Another event that was held in Temasek was Pancake Day. It was just a day where instead of normal Civics period, each civics group were allowed to join games organised by the council. Each game involved pancakes in some way, hence the name. I remember Edwin represented 15/06 to do the balancing-pancake-on-head-and-turn-many-rounds-to-get-dizzy game (I remembered correctly I hope?). I then went to join 23/06 in their games cause they needed more people (hey I was from 23 before alright? so its not betrayal).

Where else but Temasek Junior College have such fun and exciting events held throughout the year?
(we also have Go Green Day, annual stay-overnight-in-school day etc...) Geez I miss my JC life.

News: Marksmanship Awards Delayed For Some NSFs

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v463/ffsl89/?action=view&current=marksman.jpg

  Several hundred national servicemen - many of whom have already completed their mandatory two-year commitment to the Singapore Armed Forces - have not been paid merit bonuses due to them for aceing their marksmanship tests.

The Straits Times understands that about 300 full-time national servicemen (NSFs), most from the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1SIR), are affected.

They were to have been paid $200 each for scoring well on the tests, conducted last October. The Defence Ministry confirmed yesterday that the soldiers had not yet been paid. However, it refused to say how many men were affected. its spokesman, Colonel Darius Lim, said a technical glitch in the payment process" was to blame. He added that payments would be made next month, and that the SAF was in contact with those affected (techiewen: they did!? oh, speak of the devil, I JUST received an sms from them).

It is given to those who score at least 80% in their annual shooting test, which involves firing live rounds at targets over varying distances while on the move, and in different positions. Soldiers are also graded on how quickly they respond to moving targets from different directions.

Many of the affected soldiers said they were unhappy that there had been no official word to them about payment for months, even though many of the 1SIR servicemen completed their NSF stints in December. As a result, many of the men vented their frustrations online, on the social networking site Facebook. Several said they were angry about the delay in payment, while others speculated on the reasons for the non-payment. When contacted yesterday, several servicemen said they had not yet heard from MINDEF. But when told they would be paid next month, all said they were relieved that something was finally being done after months of silence from the SAF.

Said one soldier, who held the rank of third sergeant but who did not want to be identified: "At least now, there is some confirmation that the authorities are doing something, but we hope such instances will not happen again."

But others said they were miffed that they had been left in the dark for so long to begin with.

One lance-corporal, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he had had no word from his unit right up to leaving the Army. "We were told that people in the battalion were looking into the matter and there was a technical error," said the 21-year-old, who is now working as a part-time assistant in a local bank.

"Some also said the scores had been processed and the money would be credited into our accounts soon, but who's to know whether that was true?"

Tech Speak: Sony Ericsson Rejected Google's Request To Make Nexus One

http://www.intomobile.com/2010/02/19/sony-ericsson-rejected-googles-request-to-make-nexus-one.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+IntoMobile+(IntoMobile)

Sony Ericsson said they don't want to be a sub-participant in Google's entry of the mobile phone market. While it's true that Google wouldn't want half the world to know that HTC was the one who actually made the phone (and contributed a lot of input, I'm sure), the fact remains that the letters "HTC" appears on each Nexus One and HTC did get a lot of recognition from this collaboration.

I would say Sony Ericsson could have benefited a lot if they had hitched a ride on Google now. After all HTC is well known for its Android phones due to the fact that it launched the first few Android phones and its Sense UI makes Android absolutely gorgeous. HTC continues to have advantageous relationship with Google with regards to Android, though notably Motorola is catching up (with rumours of Motorola Shadow being Nexus Two).

Tech Speak: Netiquette

http://lifehacker.com/5473859/basic-netiquette-for-email-lists-and-forums

Netiquette, meaning etiquette on the net, is generally not a well known knowledge to many people. For example many people do not know that TYPING IN CAPS MEANS YOU'RE SHOUTING and sometimes shouting is rude.

This Lifehacker's article is based on your work email lists and forums that you use. Short and simple. Everyone ought to follow it. And also stop SHOUTING ON THE NET.

Tech Speak: Social Networks Comparison

http://lifehacker.com/5472223/which-social-network-is-right-for-you

I read this article with interest. It showed me a few things which I didn't know about these 3 social networking websites which I used frequently. I daresay Lifehacker got their facts quite right. The image below, courtesy of Lifehacker, shows how the services fare in each category such as privacy issues and usability.

For me, Facebook is used to connect to my entire social network. This includes primary school friends whom I can't even remember how they look like (thank goodness for Facebook), secondary school friends whom I am the closest with and my other friends from Junior College and work place. As long as I see one's name and don't ask "do I know you enough?" or say "I think you pissed me off before" AND the invitation to be a "friend" was initiated by the other party, I will agree to add this "friend". FYI I very rarely invite other people

News: Name-calling In Google Age

by Jeremy Au Yong

- Straits Times, Life 13/02/2010

  I know I'm coming late to the party, so I won't go on and on about how dumb a name Apple has given it's tablet PC, the iPad.

Yet, I would be remiss in my duties here if I did not at least devote a few sentences to the feminine hygiene product jokes inspired by this product.

So if you don't mind, I'll try to get it over with quickly. Here goes:

Will the 64GB model be called the maxipad?

Will there be two data plans - light flow and heavy flow?

Will it come scented for the days when my data is feeling "not so fresh"?

If I order an iPad, will my girlfriend and I have to worry if it arrives late?

Is it true that for one week every month the iPad will be unresponsive and harsh?

Ahhhh, that feels better. Ok, I'm all done with that. No more iPad cracks from me today, I promise. Thank you for your patience.

With that absorbing matter out of the way (sorry, this is the last one, I swear), I can now move on to the real meat of today's column, which is: Why are there so many dumb product names these days anyway? Have we already used up all the good ones or what?

I mean, ask any random person in the street and they'll tell you straight away that you should not name your product an iPad, unless your product might be something guys are embarrassed to buy at a FairPrice.

Yet, here we have a situation where one of the world's premier IT giants is proudly using the name for its latest flagship product.

Not only that, we have a second company, Fujitsu, actually wanting to fight Apple over it. They claim they had come up with and used the dumb name first. It's their dumb name, not Apple's. (techiewen: wow I didn't know Fujitsu used it and want to claim it for theirs. read more here - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/29/fujitsu_ipad/)



Of course, it would be grossly unfair of me to single out the iPad as the only bad product name out there. There are heaps of other examples.

Tech Speak: Zen X-Fi 2 Branded As Top 5 Player For 2010

http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/news/Best-5-MP3-Players-for-2010/283492.html

This must be a joke. How can Creative Zen X-Fi 2 be a top 5 mp3 player for 2010. Firstly Zen X-Fi 2 came out last year not this year (that said, all the players in the list came out last year). Secondly, this is the second month of the year, it's still too early to say. Thirdly, how can Microsoft Zune HD not be one of the top 5 (okay I'm biased here, if there's anything good that Microsoft had ever produced, its the Zune HD, but I digress). Lastly, look at the video below, featuring the X-Fi 2. The user interface is too laggy. I used it myself at one of the flagship stores so it's true. Even though the interface improved a lot after the firmware updates and the sound quality is impressive but still... Top 5?

Tech Speak: A Phone With A Keyboard, NOT

Have I grumbled before about how frustrated I am that HTC is not coming up with an Android phone that I'll be satisfied with this year?

My ideal smartphone is one that is
1) Android based
2) Has capacitive screen (AMOLED is a bonus)
3) At least 3.2inch diagonally
4) Has a qwerty keyboard
5) Is made by HTC or Google-based

I prefer HTC because it's build quality is solid. There's also plenty of reviews saying that HTC has among the best qwerty keyboards around. I'm a Google fan, so Android is a natural choice. 3.2inch screen is really the smallest I can accept. I really want a qwerty keyboard because I don't like virtual keyboard (that said I don't like capacitive buttons too but I can make do with it).

I would want to use the HTC G1 Dream. But it's old, slow and not compatible with the latest Android OS. The next closest option is HTC Touch Pro2 but it runs on windows mobile and the processor is considered slow too. I'm not that fussy I guess and since I'm going to root it anyway most likely if I get a Touch Pro2 it will become Android. Frankly I was overjoyed when I heard that the Nexus One's Google Voice is rather accurate. But the thought of not being able to blog or tweet by voice when surrounded by people (I'll get embarrassed) is a turn off. I still prefer to type.

Geez, which one should I get? The closest upgrade to the G1 is HTC Lancaster but it only has a 3inch screen, has a slow processor too so I don't really think it's that much of an upgrade. Maybe I should just get the G1 and wait another year.

Ramblings: Laughing Stock Again

Danny said he's "damn curious to know what kind of girlfriend I will have". I'm only to classify that under the same type of comment as Jason's.

I'm not going to friend you already! Humph!

LOL~

Brain Storm: Time, It Does Not Wait. Society, It Does Not Forgive.

Many of my closer friends say I'm a cruel, heartless, nose-in-the-air bastard. That's because they know me better and because in front of them I speak truth from my heart and nothing else. And yet here I admit, the extremist in me has lied many times, for I do not believe in compassion, for I do not give in to excuses. There's no such thing as "he's just like that" or "she'll know one day".

While everyone is unique, I cannot tolerate certain characteristics. Maturity and sensibility is a relative thing. But how can one not have any common sense at all? Though I am sure that I have yet to meet a person who has none of it (apart from little bratty or bitchy 12 to 16 year old teenagers), I have met people who have come close to it. At first, I was horrified. Then I was amazed. At the end of the day, I was horrified again.

It's like, there appears to be a fine line between people who act like they are retarded, people who are half retarded and people who are really retarded. But actually there isn't. It's so obvious. A comparison cannot be matched among them.

Ramblings: Lonelytine's Day

14 February. There was a time when I didn't care at all. That was when I was younger. Even up till secondary 4, when there was a rose on my desk without a name, I didn't really care much (up till now I still don't know who it was from, or if it was even meant for me). Then came Junior College. Everyone was suddenly in a rush to get a girlfriend or boyfriend. There was school wide angel-and-mortal game, many roses flew around, and perhaps it was then that I started to get affected, by the lack of a valentine on Valentine's Day. JC2 and through, I was still, erm, dateless. When I was in the army, I remember how Chris sent me a SMS on Valentine's Day during BMT to cheer me up. Perhaps he saw the sadness in my eyes (or, maybe it was my grumbling). 2 years from then, till now, for 21 years, since I am born, I am still dateless. I thought I'd be totally desensitised by now. I would think of all that buddy talk, like "hey who needs a girl? I have my buddies, that's all I need" or "I would never place my girlfriend in a higher priority than my buddies". Then suddenly, we grew up, we see couples around, some of us get attached, and the words aren't as true as they used to sound anymore. We all know this, so even if some of us still remember the promises, we don't mention it anymore.

It's hard when I see couples around. Maybe I do need one certain someone by my side, sulking at my joys, laughing at my sorrows, spending all my money and wasting all my time afterall. But I'm really not someone who seems to be able to get attached at all. Kudos to Ching Yee and Jason. Ching Yee for saying that "you're someone who don't look like you are attached" and Jason for saying that "if wenqin is attached, it's interesting". Guess I should start working on living alone till I grow old, retire and die.

And gosh the bloody fag**t at the Chinese New Year celebration show on Channel 8 yesterday said that those born of the zodiac Snake (that's me) will have a lousy year in business, money, health, and RELATIONSHIP. Thanks. Oh well, not like the purist romantic (read! - http://infinitelyme.blogspot.com/2009/07/brain-storm-love-is-in-air-or-not.html) is going to get attached anytime soon.

Event: Chinese New Year

And here it comes again, yet another Chinese New Year Day. Year in, year out, this supposedly festive season never fails to prove to me how much I've grown since I was young (or rather, how much I've aged).

Mayhaps it's because I havn't seen my relatives for almost a year now, this year's CNY really showed me how I have approached adulthood and might as well considered a 21st year old adult already (though there's still some time left). This year, I didn't show much of a childish whims to my elders and more so, I spoke to them about serious issues. I was discussing about army life with some of my cousins and uncles. I was discussing about some of my younger cousins' rebellious stages in life with my uncle. I spoke to my cousin-in-law about Facebook and its undesirable effects. I shared some stuff about time management with my older cousins. Strangely, I felt that I had these things in mind all along. Was it a subtle change in my mindset? Was it due to the fact that I havn't seen my relatives for ages? Or did I just boom and grow up in an instant?

Maturity is a strange thing indeed. I also spoke to 2 of my closest cousins, both only a couple of years apart from me, about how we grew up. It was a intriguing thought. Who knew that we grew out of our bratty selves back from when we were 10 and so on, except when we spoke about it ourselves?

Perhaps you will find new-found maturity, if you stopped to think about it? I truly hope my family members will stop to think, even if a while. It's time to grow up, even if you don't want to. Harsh reality, yes. But it'll be easier if you mature. Take heed.

(that said, it was a really enjoyable time to have met up with my relatives again. these are the people whom i share blood ties with, and I can imagine how so, and why I enjoyed the time spent with them. it's in the blood, they say.)

Ramblings: No Sex This Year Please, I Don't Want A Tiger

It's going to be the year of Tiger tomorrow onwards. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong mentioned that he was concerned with Singapore's low birth rate. I mean, what's new? Dipping again, our fertility rate fell to 1.23 last year, down from 1.28 in 2008. He said that he's worried that it will drop again this year, because some Chinese couples prefer not to have Tiger-year babies.

Lol. This is laughable. I mean, what's the big deal. Your tiger baby's not gonna eat you. Like what? Before you have sex you suddenly remember, "oh shit, it's the tiger year, gotta get a year's worth stash of condoms again, or we might as well just no have sex until next year."

If you see a lovable geek out there who has a blog and love Google, and you think you need some sex, I say go for it. No need to fear tiger babies, I'm right here.

That said, I'm alone again this Valentine's. Geez I knew I should have gotten the Nexus One as a girlfriend. Now I gotta be alone.

Tech Speak: I Want To Move My "House"!

Each person has made a statement of them in the cloud. Some people have online profiles, some have Facebook account (ok admittedly not every person has Facebook), some have blogs and there is something that I'm sure most if not all have - emails. I'm sure for most of us Singaporeans, our email accounts are also linked to our messenger service, namely mainly MSN or Yahoo. When we were younger, we didn't have so many contacts, and our messenger contact list was few. It was easy to say "i want to change my email" on a whim. I mean, personally, I've changed my email like 4 times? I have been on my current one for 4 years odd now. It has a contact list of 400+ people, my messenger service has many contacts as well. I suddenly have the feeling of changing my email. But it's hard, I shouldn't and I can't. Just change it, you say? It seems like it's just emailing 400+ people about my new email, export my current MSN messenger contact list and import it into my new one. Tada, all done.

No, if only it is so easy. I have many web services linked to my email. I realised that many of those web services do not allow me to change my email address. Personally I find that ridiculous. My email now acts like my passport. Even for those which I can change my email, there's too many services and I can't even remember some. Though some say that I might as well just abandon those web services since I can't even remember them, but hey at least my browser remembers the login name and password and I can just login if I ever come across them again.

Actually the bulk of the problem is due to the Google Products I am using with my Gmail. Since I am a faithful user of Google, I use plenty of their stuff. It'll be hard to backup every single one of my 3500 Gmail messages. I have no idea how to move my blog over. My Google calender is totally filled with birthdays and appointments. My Google Contacts has 400+ people. I have 31 documents in my Google Docs. I have a halfway done website under Google Sites. My iGoogle homepage has 40+ gadgets and 6 tabs with tons of bookmarks. My Picasa web albums have 29 albums, taking up about 500mb of space. My Google Profile is properly done. My Google Reader has 25 subscriptions. My Youtube has a ton of favourites.

Best of all, Google says "if you do not have a Gmail account under your Google account, you may change your username. If you do, it is impossible to change the username. You may however, sign up for another account." Are you nuts? And gosh, my username "techiewen" is taken up for Gmail. I guess I'll have to stick to this for a while longer.

Brain Storm: Facebook For Nuts

I refer to the article on Straits Times 13/02/2010 - Racist Facebook Postings.

Now now, there we have it again. Some shit faced brats posted some racist stuff on the net. And by golly, of all places, it has to be Facebook. 2 polytechnic students and 1 youth created this group which used a derogatory term referring to Indians as its name. The kiddos were arrested but let off with a caution. There are 2 issues in this saga.

Facebook is a all powerful entity. Even though other social networking websites like Myspace and Twitter (does Friendster and hi5 even still exist?) has influences on different countries, but Facebook is one that has integrated into most communities. Everyone knows that by now. I mean, who doesn't have a proper Facebook account nowadays. (Okay maybe except you, stop looking at your crouch, I'm talking to you. Shame on you.) That said, most people still do not understand the meaning of being part of a extremely influential and far reaching online social networking service. It simply means that there's too many ways of affecting a person, whether you want it or not, and whether you do it upon yourself or others do it upon you. Say, a person wants to reveal that you were double dating (naughty naughty, but its your personal life, i mean it used to be your personal life), all that person has to do is snap a photo and post it on Facebook. Heck, he can just type some comments, that ought to do some damage. Nothing's personal anymore. The photos you posted of you drunk when you went to club yesterday will be seen by many, even those whom you didn't

Tech Speak: Sim Lim Square Against Piracy

Microsoft and Sim Lim Square Partner Against Piracy :: News :: www.hardwarezone.com.sg

This must be the joke of the year. Do you know how freaking many of the shops in Sim Lim Square are not STAR certified?

Tech Speak: Making A Google Buzz

At 9am today, My Google Buzz was activated. Okay, it might have been activated earlier but I was sleeping. It works much like Twitter, you follow people, people follow you. But there's no 140 letters limit (something I really dislike in Twitter, it could have been just a little longer you know). You can share links right on, and the links shows a little preview. You can also link some web services to share on your Buzz automatically. The web services shown on my Gmail includes Picasa, Flickr, Twitter, Youtube. Blogspot, Google Talk and Google Reader. I use almost all of them regularly apart from Flickr and Google Talk. I daresay though, that I wouldn't want every single one of my blog post, tweets and photo uploads to appear on Buzz. Sometimes I tweet and post some personal thoughts which I don't think everyone will be interested in. Somehow though, my tweets and Google Reader stuff hasn't appeared on my Buzz. It's not like I have a lot of followers on Buzz now but still...

Chin Hua told me he's buzzing too but the friends suggestion tool in Buzz doesn't seem to be working well. I can only search from my Google Contacts and for eg. Chin Hua has 3 email addresses and I don't know which one he uses to Buzz. Another feature I hope to see is to be able to control which tweets and blog post to appear on my Buzz. I don't think that's too hard for blogspot since Google owns blogspot but it might be of an issue with Flickr and Twitter. Last but not least, I think I would appreciate it Buzz hides part of the buzzes to say a standard length. Shortening it will decrease load time and considering that we can share even Youtube videos and pictures on Buzz, I think load time will become significant.

Will be back with more.

Tech Speak: A Frozen Yoghurt, Gingerbread And Whatever Starts With H Please

http://www.htcheroblog.com/2010/02/10/android-after-froyo-get-ready-for-gingerbread/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+HtcHeroBlog+(HTC+Hero+Blog)

And next up is Froyo, short for Frozen Yoghurt. We had Cupcakes, then Donut, and Éclair. After Froyo they predict it's gonna be Gingerbread. What do you reckon is up next?

Tech Speak: Make A Google Buzz

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/introducing-google-buzz.html

Here it is, this is Google's answer to online social networking. (actually Google has a social networking portal call Orkut but I think it kind of sucks, appearance wise at least, havn't explored much yet).

Google Buzz is integrated into Gmail and will be rolled out to users within the next few days. You can create a buzz from Gmail to start interesting conversations with others where you can share with them and they will see it. You can set your buzzes to be public or just within your circle of friends. Unlike Twitter, you can comment right on the buzz, attach photos, videos, links etc.

The mobile form of Google Buzz has an extra feature and that is geotagging. Geotagging seems to be the next big thing for Google, along with their I'm A Favourite Place On Google, Google Goggles (http://infinitelyme.blogspot.com/2009/12/tech-speak-put-on-your-goggles-from.html), Google Maps (where you get Geotag your favourite locations) etc. So create a buzz say when you were at Rocher's Soyabean snack house and it'll show right on the buzz where exactly you had it.

Take note though, geotagging in the form of social networking is not a good thing. I have heard of a website that mimics Twitter, only that you tell people where you are. It's sort of Google Buzz too. However when I first heard of that, I kind of didn't like it cause the whole world will know where you are, including people you dislike and your enemies. But Google Buzz will allow you to choose who you share it with, I hope. I havn't gotten it yet, I sure hope they do soon! I'll be back for more.

Tech Speak: MY Nexus One. I Wish...

If I have a Nexus One.. That's what I'll engraved. The second one appeals to me more. Though admittedly, I think I may not want to engrave after all. Then I can sell it. On the other hand, I think it'll make such a good phone that I would want to keep it. Oh well, no $$ anyways.

Brain Storm: Hamonious Singapore And Numbskulls

You must have seen it or heard about it by now. It was all over facebook, it was on youtube, there were thousands of views within a short time. Today's news brought light to the troubling video created by Senior Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism, a self proclaimed mega church which is independent. In the video, he sort of interviewed a supposedly ex-monk and ex-nun about Buddhism and ridiculed both Buddhism and Taoism. That's in the gist. The papers said there were 3 short clips but I didn't watch any cause it sounded boring and damaging to Singapore's religious harmony.

Now, I think we've been through this a lot. Wasn't there an immature guy a couple of years ago who spouted rubbish which promoted religious disharmony and got busted? Yet here we are, facing a man of great status in his religion, one who is experienced both as a pastor, as well as a Singaporean. Truth be told, I don't think he should be just let off with just a warning. It is a grievous crime. Any Tom, Dick or Harry in Singapore, would know that the foundation of Singapore's peace lies in our racial and religious harmony. Without it, how can our economy or political scene be stable? As Ministry of Home Affairs, Internal Security Department mentioned, it only takes a little effort from few persons to disrupt the religious harmony that we took so much pain to build up. Then again, I suppose in this sensitive topic of religion, more people would be in favor of letting it go in the name of their whatever kind religion (hey don't blame me, I'm a free thinker, I just want to see the deserved being punished). The Taoist said they prefer to maintain harmony with others rather than to pick a fight while the Buddhist said they are taught to forgive. Oh well, whatever I guess, I just hope that his apologies were sincere and he doesn't go around preaching something else behind our backs. You can say all you want about how great your religion, just don't bring other religions into the picture.

While Singapore is multi racial and religion and we should all be sensitive and all, one interesting part of our culture (at least for the youths) is that we poke fun at each others' race and religion. (Russell Peters anyone?) If it is done in good fun, such jokes are fine if not overboard. I'm sure most Singaporeans will agree with this. However, it doesn't appear that Pastor Tan was "insulting and joking about Taoism and Buddhism for the sake of love and funnies". It is no fine line. As one of great stature, it was unwise of him to make such remarks. (and videoing it up, what the heck was he thinking!?) Just imagine Obama going up to the press and saying that Singaporeans are a bunch of kiasu and kiasi people. True that may be, but it will still portray badly of Obama as well as straining the ties between the 2 countries. It's about context.

I have met many people who are totally devoted to their religion. Oh god goodness I've been through it so rough that I'm banned from the word "god" cause I'm supposed to be a freethinker, says that someone. I think its quite understandable if someone totally puts his or her faith into the religion. FYI, when you think that dick in the other religion is a stupid fool and will go to hell, that dick also thinks that you're a penis in the other religion who is a idiotic lunatic and will never reach enlightenment. It's the same, alright? In our country, nobody's religion is wrong. But if you don't understand and appreciate how delicate and important our racial and religious harmony is, you are a complete insensitive lunatic, foolish dick who is stupid and idiotic. That's our Singapore's way of life.

Ramblings: Sharethis

Notice a new green icon at the bottom of each post? I've been using this program called Sharethis for a long time in other websites now. I've been looking up on ways to increase web traffic on my blog and one of the ways suggested was to include Sharethis.

Sharethis is quite a convenient program. It allows you to share a certain post from a weblog or news blog to your favourite online social portal. I've always used it from Cnet etc to share stuff on my Facebook and my Twitter. However I rarely use it to share stuff on my blogspot cause it's not very well integrated.

I should start working on other suggestions to increase traffic on my blog, such as having more attractive content and having more regular posts. Hmm.

Ramblings: Acrophobia

Acrophobia is the fear of heights. Ok I am blogging about this because I have slight acrophobia. I say slight because I do not hyperventilate when I am at great heights. But I do shiver and become nervous excessively. It's a pain in the ass. That is because I am a rock climber (a little) and I used to do outdoor adventuring when I was in secondary school. Outdoor adventure club was my part time CCA for a while. Despite that, I am fearful of heights. Make me go near the glass ledges of shopping malls and my heart will skip a beat. My friends didn't really know about it until the recent Taiwan trip, though I myself wasn't sure how bad it affects me. But it seems that it's quite bad and Taipei 101 really triggered it. When I went to Recruit Express at UOB Plaza on the 56th floor 2 months ago, I didn't really feel a thing. After I came back from Taiwan, I started feeling a little dizzy when I went to Google at 8 Shenton Way on the 38th floor.

Today was the worst. I went to Google on 38th floor, my work place was a bank company on 48th floor. Just when I thought it's all over for the day, I was made to go to Recruit Express on the 56th floor. My lifespan just got decreased by a few years again.

Though frankly, all these has reduced my fear. With help and more experience, I may be able to reduce it to a minimal and go up Taipei 101 again!

Senseless Stuff: New Emoticons!

I got these from one of Chrome's new extension that uses Grease Monkey. Now that Grease Monkey is enabled, there's so much more to making use of Chrome. But the database is a little messy and I'm kind of lazy to go search. Oh well I'll just wait for some kind soul to fix it up or a new site to spring up.

Food: Favourite Drinks

Okay okay, the general category for food and drinks is Food. I don't see a point in renaming. But here goes.

After a few months, I'm finally back to drinking my favourite fruit juice of all time: Pokka's Carrot Juice! It's a drink which disgust a lot of people I know, so I guess you can say it's a acquired taste. In fact I don't know of anybody at all who likes this drink. I fancy many drinks and the brand is an important factor as well. Here's a list of my favourite drinks.

Favourite Fruit Juice:

1) Carrot Juice (Pokka)

2) Lychee Juice (Yeo's)

3) Powerberries (Marigold)

4) Sugarcane (any)

Favourite Iced Tea:

1) Iced Lemon Tea (Seasons)

2) Iced Apple Tea (Pokka)

Favourite Starbucks Drink:

1) Green Tea Latte (hot)

2) Green Tea Frap (venti ten scoops green tea powder no whip)

3) Caramel Macchiato

Favourite Milk:

1) Fresh Milk (Marigold)

I'm a green tea freak and I can drink green tea and iced lemon tea like water!

(anti jasmine green tea though)