New Year Must Wear Red!

So say de ol' folks ad home. So say olso de radio ad.

Well, bugger I have no red shirt, red shoes, red undergear nor (thankfully) red pants. But I did get myself this little red firecracker to carry about:

Gosh, can't stop playing, sharing, touching. On and on! Looks like my hands will be full this CNY.

Let's go, beep beep, gotta get up outta your seat
Get down, beep beep, gotta get up outta your seat
On and on... the beat goes
On and on... the beat goes
On and on
Madonna : The Beat Goes On

If Wishes Came True

Naughty or nice? With X'mas less than a month away, I guess now's a good time to talk about the things I've been wishing for. Surely I deserve them, for I've been nice. Well, maybe I've been naughty too but we're talking about being naughty in nice ways ;-)

1. Things that make me go awww...

I'll start this easy. Despite being thirtysomething, I'm not ashamed of being still in touch with my inner Calvin. So wickedly adorable stuff like this raunchy reindeer is always welcome. Feel free to buy one for me, at kidrobot.com :D


2. A better bedfellow

I've said time and time again, I'm fine sleeping without air-conditioning. But the sad fact is, I'm a rare breed (rare enough to ask WWF for help, I warrant), and people who'd want to sleep with me, more often than not, aren't so cool about sweaty sex in an unchilled room. So it looks like, sooner or later, I gotta hook up an aircon in the bedroom, for the sake of nuzzling, cuddling and "dot dot dot". Of course, an Energy Star rated one would be good - save money, save the world! I suppose I could afford to get one but there are so many other things clamouring for my hard-earned money. Things like...


3. A 3G WiFi phone with GPS

Like, so much of my life is online these days I'd even be chatting with friends around the table and have side conversations online with those same people! Most phones would get you online but WiFi gets you online for free (when you're in a hotspot anyway). Unfortunately, there aren't too many models boasting WiFi and even less come bundled with A-GPS - not exactly necessary, but I've seen how well it works first hand, and it helps for people like me who like to get off the beaten track in the hunt for nice shots. Of course, shots like that would be best captured with the use of...


4. A Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera

And it's gotta be a Nikon! Don't get me wrong, I love my less-than-a-year-old P60, but obviously I can do so much more with a DSLR. And I'm getting so into taking photos I'm starting to feel like I wouldn't really mind lugging the baby around wherever I go.These things come with a hefty price tag, though, and that's before all the extra lens and accessories. The cost of D40 with kit lens alone would pay for the air tickets to get me to...


5. Melbourne

I so wanna go back there again, even though I've heard about how much it's changed. But somehow, something stopped me from hopping onto the free air ticket bandwagon. Probably I was worried about my work schedule, and the expenses I'd incur. But now I know it was really the holding out in the hope of a better offer. Something like cheap tickets to...


6. London

Yup, I've been wishing for this for almost two years! And as of today, it's officially OFF my wishlist. Although I had to be my own genie in this case and pay for my own air tickets, and I'm taking chances here by flying long-haul on budget air. Still worried about my work schedule and expenses, but ah heck, screw them! Just in case though, I'm updating this wish from "tickets to London" to "sponsors for accomodation, meals and transport".

*BIG HINT to all you people in London* :P


Bonus: World Peace

I really do want world peace! Joystick, peace and love!

Handsome Handjob

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OMG... TITTIES!

Spot the titties!

And I'm not talking about the two mounds of ice-cream sitting on the plate.

Had a nice weekend lunch-do-thingy. With some real girls, which made for a pleasant change (of sorts). Granted, at least one of them was gay, but let's not be prejudiced, shall we?

So there we were, congregating in Snowie's kandang. The Cow made pasta, The Nut brought salad, and The Pig whipped up a batch (or was it two) of delightful molten chocolate cakes - well, they weren't exactly molten, but the were certainly delightful! Will and the BF brought the ice-cream to go with the cake, and me? Well, of course I supplied the wit and charm.

But just in case, I brought chippies too, in case wit and charm did not go down so well.

Camwhoring dessert

Nut also had the presence of mind to bring along the Boggle set she had got for Christmas. Yes, a real Boggle set, one where we have to shake rattly cubes in a box, flip over an hourglass, and actually write with pens on paper. Like, as opposed to the online Bogglific, which had brought us all together in the first place.

I suppose one could call it "analog" Boggle.

By the end of the afternoon, when Will finally allowed me to unwrap my Christmas present (from last year, I must stress), we actually ended with TWO sets of Boggle. Guess Will took my Bogglific ratings a little too seriously. That, and perhaps he thought I'd appreciate the old skoolness of it, what with the fact that I own one of the final generations of the very-soon-to-be-obsolete CRT TV's

I suppose he's right on that count. Haha.

Breaking in the Boggles

Well, that was certainly a nice, relaxing start to the year. Here's to good food, good friends and good, clean fun!

(Though some good, dirty fun would be welcome too)

December Dealing

Time really flies when you're busy as a bee. It's already nearing the middle of December? Heck, how did the whole damn year go by just like that?

It was only last weekend when I realised the year-end sales were in full swing. Funny thing is, year-end sales for most people is about gifts and clothes and shoes and bags. Somehow I've managed to gloss over that pretty much (although I did spontaneously buy a pair of shoes last week, but that's something I'd do even on a non-sales period). Instead, I found myself hunting for things with three-figure price tags, if not four. After discounts.

Well, I honestly couldn't watch Wingedman populating his new pad prettily without being drawn into the whole "let's see how I can do up my place a little more" routine, could I?

Granted, my place justifiably needs a lot more doing up. My store room's still a junkyard and my kitchen... well, let's just say it isn't quite one still. But my focus is currently on my almost-but-not-quite complete living spaces.

Thankfully, I've been budgeting for a new TV these last several months. Yes, it's finally time to upgrade from my almost portable 14" mini that's been with me for 8 faithful years (even surviving that break-in, which is why I say it's almost portable). After checking out the price difference between picture-frame-perfect LCD TV's and the modern slim-design (but still bulky) CRT TV's, I figured the RM2,000 I'd save could go into my kitchen budget.

A perfectly good plan, until I realised that slim as it may be, a 29" CRT needs more serious furniture than the plywood DIY cabinets I've been using as a TV console. Oh well, at least I can still get a branded CRT (even one that pretends to be an LCD TV, at least on the face) and a branded TV cabinet, all for less than the cost of a 32" LCD TV. I could save even more I guess, but I've looked at cheaper options for both the TV and the TV cabinet, and I gotta say none of them tickles me gonads.

Looks like it's gonna be another long while more before I finally do up my kitchen. Or my store room.

Sigh, home ownership = no money in the bank.

Here's hoping for enough bonus this year to help cover the bills, what with the personal and car insurances due, the TV and cabinet I'm getting, the other stuff I'm wanting to get, and the all-in-one printer I just got (damn PC Fair!).

Oh, and that little beach holiday I'll be having to wrap up an already amazing year :-)

Release From Bondage

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds,
– and done a hundred things
John Gillespie Magee : High Flight

It is done. No more being tied to one spot. Freedom to move has been awarded. My notebook is finally mobile.

Yep, I went and got myself a wireless router, and my apartment is now WiFi-ed. Actually I'm probably creating a WiFi zone beyond my property walls, but of course, I'm keeping the network secure. I hope.

For the last half year or so that I've had my notebook, it's mobility was only made use of on the few occasions I wanted to have my computer while being away from my place. At home, it would only sit near the modem, or as far as the network cable would allow. In short, it was practically rooted to one spot.

No more. With this lovely little gadget, my notebook can now go places, without leaving home. Did I say the gadget's lovely? Ah, it's lovely...



Now I can view recipes in the kitchen, do my banking at the dining table, watch anime while lounging on the sofa, blog on the balcony, read comics in bed, even play Scrabble while sitting on the throne. Anything I want, wherever I want!

Well, admittedly, in the last few weeks since I installed the router, my notebook got moved from next to the modem to my sofa's armrest. And it has stayed there since. But hey, at least I have the option of moving it anywhere at anytime. If I wanted to lah.

Just like walking around naked, being unwired in my own home is pretty liberating. No more a slave under the yoke of the modem!

Now excuse me while I go plug in the power cable before the notebook runs out of batt.

Almost Butch

Spent the past few days scouring the shops for a good drill. I meant the power tool. As in hardware. Oh never mind.

You'd think purchasing a drill would be some seriously butch thing that a guy bent on doing DIY home projects (and I don't mean crochet) would do. Well, I thought, anyway. But noooo, even under such cirumstances, the more... ahh... "celebratory" side of me insisted on surfacing.

-walks into store-

Hmmm... drills, drills... ah. Here we go. Let's see... boring, boring, pricey, dodgy...

Hey look at that one! Cordless drill. So cool. No pesky cables to get in the way of that ultra-butch look when I'm wielding it. And I can use it to drive screws too! Lord knows I have enough trouble trying to do that with my dainty hands.

Then again, it's battery operated. Probably ok for light work but would it drill a hole in the wall? I need more power. Like this one - 700 watts! Woah, like, what a monster, dude! Variable speed reversible, drill/drive/hammer, it's got the works for home use. Price isn't cheap, but not too bad either. Ah, no drill bits included. Have to think about this one.

Waitaminute. What's that?

-scurries over to next aisle-

Oooh. Butch toolboxes. *Gasp* Lookatthisone - check out it's size! So big! And solid! And strong! Oh oh... even got neat little compartments on the top to organise all the screws and nuts and nails (not the ones on your fingers lah). And the price is only... *choke*... Two. Hundred. Ringgit. For an empty, plastic toolbox.

-backs off quickly and goes back to the drills-

Hey, here's one. Low price. 500W - no bigass juice guzzling machine but respectable enough. Also VSR, drill/drive/hammer, etc... And it comes in a nice box to keep it in. Ooh and the box has a compartment on the top to store away my bits! And omg... accessories included! Accessories are good! I love accessories!

-out comes the credit card for the (lost count)-th time this month-

Hey, at least I didn't approach the store assistant, put one hand on my breast chest, and wave with the other (wrist limp and pinky extended), and go, "Boy! Boy! Oy! Now be a dear, will you, and get me one those... things... that go drrrrr..."

Hmmm... With the amount of posts in my blog lately that involve acts of indiscriminate shopping, I feel like I should somehow be hearing alarm bells ringing away (lots of them) and start being more (much more) thrifty with my expenses.

Then again, that constitutes a resolution. And resolutions can wait till January :P

Stop! Slow Down Baby

Slow down baby
And don't act crazy
Don't you know you can look all you want but you just can't touch
Christina Aguilera : Slow Down Baby

There are times in a man's life when he just has to stop and smell the roses.

To cruise down the slow lane and enjoy the scenery.

To throttle down, lean back, and watch the world go by.

...

Damned run-in period and its abysmal speed limit.

Eating Words (& Other Fun Stuff)

Sometimes, a long while isn't quite that long. Wasn't it just last week that I said I wasn't gonna bring my notebook out anytime soon?

Well, granted that I didn't know then that the PC Fair would be in town. So instead of bringing it to go sit in a cafe to (hopefully) attract the attention of gorgeous gymbag-toting technogadget-loving men of the same sex persuasion, I did the next best thing - I took my notebook shopping!

Must say I've never actually been to any PC Fair before this but this one's definitely huge and packed with people. Kinda felt like a kid let loose in a candy store. External hard drives! Flash drives! FM modulators! Printers! Sound systems! Cool cooling systems! They really do have everything in there - and many at pretty good prices too.

I was tempted to get a modulator, which is a kind of gadget that allows you to hook up a flash drive, fit the modulator into the car DC power supply (the part where there's a knob with a picture of a cigarette on it, though I don't know anyone, smokers included, who ever use that to light their cigarettes, much like there are still ashtrays in the car which are almost always used to keep coins, sweet wrappers and bits of fluff; but I digress...) and the modulator would then transmit a radiowave to your car so you can play all the music stuffed in your thumbdrive through your car radio. Who needs CD changers these days? A basic unit only costs less than $50 though the one that was priced over $100 had cool features like an LCD screen, song randomisation function, and yes, it looks real pretty.

I would have bought the basic unit. The only thing that stopped me was the fact I didn't buy it there and then, and believe me, backtracking to where you first found something you wanted isn't really an option.

What I did buy were some DVD-R's so that I could finally burn that FMA movie for my friends. And of course, to archive some of the more interesting movies I found, of questionable nature or otherwise. Ahem.

I also got my notebook a new companion in the form of a 2 GB flash drive. To think I can like, share a whole movie with my friends without having to burn a DVD. Hehe. Oh wait. So now I don't have to actually burn the DVDs for them? Erm.

The other thing I was considering was one of those all-in-one printers. The thing is, I don't really have anywhere to put it. Also, I barely use printers at home - maybe like once or twice a year. I've been getting by on the goodwill of people such as, well, Good Will, who was considerate enough the other day to be not in London or somesuchplace, when I had a very last minute printjob to execute. Well, that's what friends are for anyway.

In any case, that little consideration was thrown out the window the moment I found something better to throw my money at, namely this. I honestly didn't think I'd get a backpack of this quality for a price that's less than an all-in-one printer (and please don't tell me if I didn't get a good deal anyway, not after buying Absolute Sandman and seeing the book go on sale a few weeks later... and oh, the bag's cheaper than Absolute Sandman after discount so I'm taking that to be my consolation). It is a Targus after all, and it's really well-designed, what with plenty of storage and compartments and being all properly padded, the better to protect my notebook with, and all that.

So yes, my notebook now has a cool bag to travel in, you know, for all those times I'm not bringing it out.

Everybody say it together now: A gay and his money are soon parted!

Amen.

Surfing On Caffeine

They just sit there, hour after hour, staring at the screen in front of them, fingers sporadically tapping, tap-tap-tapping on the keyboards. Next to their machines, cups of something sit - perhaps a soy chai latte?

Enter the curious subculture of hotspot cafes. Geeks like me have finally been persuaded to abandon our insular lifestyle of surfing the net in our bachelor pads, alone with our generic crackers and home-made mugs of milo. Instead, we now brave a world of surfing the internet out in public, occasionally alone still, but with upgrades to imported chips and franchised frappucino. Geeks will now be more social, perhaps even chatting with some cute teenage girl named sweepea90, blissfully unaware that sweepea90's actually that geriatric man sitting two tables away.

OK, I admit I actually haven't quite taken to this brave new world yet. Back in the days when my PC was constrained to sitting on a desk, I pretty much liked the idea of sitting in a nice cafe all by myself, just reading a book. But in truth, I've only done that a couple of times. It would have been different if I was in Melbourne where the neighbourhood I lived in had great little cafes just a block away that served cheap lattes. Here in the valley, going to a decent cafe would mean driving half an hour through horrendous traffic. And so expensive to have a drink there some more!

So I guess my notebook won't be going out all that often, the poor thing. But at least it's had it's first outing the other day when I was hanging out with Jon. Of course, prim and proper people like us don't surf porn sites (at least not in public). No, we were expanding our knowledge and wisdom by catching up on international current events.

Ah, mi petit notebook. Hope you enjoyed that taste of fresh air. It'll be a while before you get it again. A long while.

Gayman. Toybook. Poor But Happy

And finally, ye olde desktoppe, being of the thirde in the generations of Pentium, hath croaketh.

And what lousy timing it was.

I knew it was time to replace my computer. I've had it for seven years, and the coming of XP way back when had already made it outdated as it was. The advent of dual-core simply ensured it was obsolete. Besides, you know your computer's expiring when it has to go for annual hospitalisation.

So yes, I've been gearing myself up to buy a new computer but I was holding out for the year-end promotions. No such luck, though. Last week, my PC decided not to start. At all. I turn on the power, the CPU energises, then... nothing. Not even the bloody initialisation screen which shows the processor and RAM details.

Don't ask me what happened. Since I was going to get a new computer anyway, I never bothered to send the old one in for a check. I think the motherboard or the processor gave out or something. Come to think of it, my computer gave up on the same day I had brought K's spanking new HP Pavillion over to my place to finish up some stuff Jon, Jaq and I had been working on... Maybe my computer had simply expired out of embarrassment.

So anyway, that was why I had to spend a whole week offline - my PC was down and I was busy shopping for a laptop. After looking around, getting opinions from friends (which ended being so varied it didn't help me very much), and of course, checking specs and prices, I finally settled for this baby:

The Compaq Presario V3119AU

Here's what made up my mind:

1. It's the best value-for-money notebook in the market right now. None of the other branded notebooks gave specs as good as this one for RM3000. I'd probably find cheaper deals next month but I really couldn't wait for that now, could I?

2. I got to upgrade the RAM to 1 GB for a pittance.

3. It's... so... PRETTY!!!

Okay, so #3 would have ensured my buying it even without the advantage of #2. And maybe even without the good sense of #1.

But I'm sure anyone would understand. After all, it really is lovely for a mid-range notebook (and lovelier than some of those costing twice as much).

So, Jay, NOW I can go sit in a cafe and bum off their wifi to update my blog :-)