ICS on my Nexus S

Just updated my Nexus S to Android 4.0 ICS. It is working seamlessly. This gives me confidence in purchasing Galaxy Nexus.

Galaxy Nexus

I simply must upgrade my Nexus S to this new Galaxy Nexus, ICS aside, I really dig the LED notification light.

I missed having notification light on my Nexus S.

The new Nexus looks a bit too big but maybe it will make reading ebooks more pleasant.

The ICS looks awesome, making it feels like a real smart phone.

I can't imagine myself using another phone with hard buttons, just seems so unnatural, I got so accustomed to "buttonless" design of Nexus.

Finally I received Monster Cable Miles Davis Earbud

Yes! They sound fantastic, full range rendered clearly, from Classical to electronic music. Downside they look a bit wanky though.

Finally Flash is dead

I hate Flash.
Now it is dead on mobile platform.
When will it die out on all platforms?
Adobe has been an arsehole about patching up Flash on Linux platform for years.
It has been a pain going onto Flash infested websites, it drives my PC crazy. It breaks and crashes my browser.

I can't wait till it vanish from Internet.

Open platform always is a safer bet.

Qantas shits me

Looking for flights to Hong Kong in late November, freaking Qantas online service sucks to the max.

I have to call call during weekdays, and probably wait in queue for hours before I will get any help.

Tickets will be scarce, high school and uni semesters, will end in mid November, all the overseas students will be competing for seats.

I can't even sort out the flights details, let alone my major concern with my business affairs. Frustrating!

FT86 successor of AE86

Yes! The legendary Toyota AE86 has a successor - FT86.

I will purchase it if it is available right now. The news is that it will be in production from 2012. No idea when will it be released in Australia.

Also big downer is that I have no concrete plan for up coming year. Where am I going to be? I don't know. What will I be doing? I have no idea.
Love in limbo, life in distress.

Qantas Vs Unions

Very aggressive move, grounding the whole Qantas fleet indefinitely, by Joyce. However, when unions are using guerrilla tactics, it is better to play chicken than dying by thousand cuts.

It, however, will cause myself some inconvenience; not knowing when it will end, I can't really plan my trip to HK.

Also even if the dispute is over, Australia will enter into peak traveling season. Tickets will be expensive and seats are scarce. There is some annoyance in this whole saga.

USD 270 Earbuds

Just ordered a pair of Monster Miles Davis earbuds, costing USD 270, the most expensive earphone I have ever invested. 

Hoping the sound will be great.

It was a choice between getting a pair of great sounding earphone or a pair of super high-end speakers. Speakers will cost around AUD 2,500.00, and I don't know if I will be in Melbourne to enjoy the sound.

Although Monster earbuds are expensive, usage rate will be high. If it lasts over an year than it will cost less than 1 dollar per day.

I can't wait for them to arrive, so I can test them out listening to some violin solos...
Really hope that they won't disappoint me.

Back on trainer

First time in more than a month I made myself getting back into training. Sigh... uncertainty of life, when will it all end? Nothing excites me, all my past interests washed away with Spring rain.

Dorian Oh Dorian Gray

Dorian, where are you?
Don't hide, don't pretend
Come out into the open
Come into light of the day

You are I, I am you
No more pretentiousness
No more disguises
Sell your soul be boundless.

WiFi signal booster

Paper wifi booster seems to work yet to be verified by further usage result.
If it works well, it can save AUD 150.00 for me.

Update: it's not effective, more modification needed, possibly by adding a layer of tin foil. Wifi signal is very weak and connection is erratic in other rooms.

Finally invested in a dedicated NAS

I've been using my old Linux desktops as a NAS but because of noise level and running it 24/7 never seem making much sense.
Every time I need to retrieve a file I has to boot it up which of course takes time causing inconvenience.
Now I've bought a 4 bay NAS, it's small and quiet, running non stop making it a true data repository.
Furthermore, I'll secure it and allowing connections from internet, it'll become my personal Cloud service. My current ISP provides me with static IP address without extra charge, saving me the trouble of setting up Dynamic DNS service. Now my files can be accessed from anywhere as long as I got internet connection.
This opens the option of choosing a notebook with a small storage capacity SSD. I guess that MacAir won't be ruled out due its insufficient data storage. However, my biggest reservation against choosing Air, is that it's a Mac! Although I can dual booting it with Linux but using a Mac is somehow irksome to me.

Zyklon B

At least it will put me out of my misery probably without too much pain. Courage to end it all is a daunting proposition though.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Winston Churchill

Do I possess such trait? Do I dare to take in Winston's words?

New month where will it end?

Another month gone by, I achieved little. Still trapped in a suspended animation; still lost in a labyrinth; still confused by an enigma....

Soulless

Thinking back to the pictures of my youth where I knew the way in which I had convinced myself, fortunately some would say, unfortunately said others, that I had been blessed with a pure and unsullied spirit of self reliance that allowed myself to look to no-one for help or friendship of any kind, for I could be just at home as the centre of attention at a heady party as I could in the solitude of my still empty room. I would not allow myself to seek company for the sake of killing time, I would rather entertain myself and find entertainment by observing banality of life surrounding me.

Defiance

I take inspiration from Captain Danjou, defiant to the end. Facing adversity, hopelessness, and despondence, I shall stand fast, refuse to accept the inevitable, stare down fate, and be defiant.

I have always been anti-establishment, anti-authority and a nemesis of fate; now I must draw upon all my strength in this dark hours to fight against all has been thrown at me.

Death holds no fear in me, failures I had many, humiliations I am accustomed to, life with all it's bitter sweet moments makes me defiant and resilient to it all.

On the day of my departure, I can only laugh with fond memories of war against fate.

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien

NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN

Non, rien de rien (No, nothing at all)
Non, je ne regrette rien (No, I don't regret anything at all)
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait (Nor the good that was given me)
ni le mal, Tout 'a m'est bien 'gal (Nor the evil. They're all the same)
Non, rien de rien (No, nothing at all)
Non, je ne regrette rien (I don't regret anything at all)
C'est pay', balay', oubli' (It's all paid for, wiped out, and forgotten)
Je me fous du pass' (And I don't care for what's gone by)
Avec mes souvenirs (With my memories)
J'ai allum' le feu (I've lit a fire)
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs (My sorrows, my pleasures)
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux (I don't need them anymore)
Balay's mes amours (My romances wiped out)
Avec leurs tremolos (With the tremblings they brought)
Balay's pour toujours (Wiped out forever)
Je repars z'ro (I set out once more from zero)
Non, rien de rien (No, nothing at all)
Non, je ne regrette rien (I don't regret anything at all)
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait (Nor the good that was given me)
ni le mal, Tout 'a m'est bien 'gal (Nor the evil. They're all the same)
Non, rien de rien (No, nothing at all)
Non, je ne regrette rien (I don't regret anything at all)
Car ma vie (Because my life)
Car mes joies (Because my joys)
Aujourd'hui (Today)
'a commence avec toi... (It all begins with you)

As the French Foreign Legion after a failed coup, I shall regret nothing, nothing at all. 

Torment Of Life

Memories puts me in pain; empty existence causes me pain; desires traps me in pain; calamitous life story induces more pain. Pain oh pain, it consumes all feelings, it obliterates all other senses.

La Vie en Rose

Prologo Rear Light

UFO shaped, very light but not bright enough for night use. I only bought it and put it on to abide by the legal requirements.

A ride in 3 & half hours time

Still awake but need to get up at 0630 going for a ride.
My bike is so dirty.
I am admiring design of the massive bottom bracket of my bike.

Cellini C with wing T-shirt

The T-shirt is a bit on the tight side, I must keep my weight down!







Rapha - Paul Smith, Pink T-shirt, Considering but pink might be a bit too much and I will need to be fit wearing it. Tight fit for city cycling.

Looking cool when one is old

Paul Smith is looking very dashing and stylish on a bike. He seems to have very good bike handling skill. Stabilising a bike at standstill is awfully difficult.

Windy day, Conquer it with better footwork

Unpredictable wind, it blew with erratic strength. My shots were affected, some sailed long, some landed way short, extremely difficult placing any shots.
Being unfit, and with a sore left ankle I was unable to make last second footwork adjustment. However, I still felt satisfied with my overall performance as my serves held up well against the condition. I was patient and placed ball toss in the right height and placement. One double fault only.

Dirt & Mess

My life is full of dirt and mess. How do I move on into a better place?

ASICS Gel Resolution Tennis Shoes

Finally after after 4 years, I got my replacement ASICS tennis shoes. They are yellow which is a pity, my original were sky blue. However they are still very comfortable.

New Business Card Design

Designing a new business card for my prospective project:

Novous Publica - Front

Back

My next phone will be a Motorola

Here is why:

http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/15/breaking-google-buys-motorola-for-12-5-billion/

If I ever get into tablets I guess that it will be Motorola as well.

I am pleased that I won't be forced into purchasing another Korean Sumsang made phone.

1500KM

After 1500Km tyre is balding, should I change to a tubular system as I am considering to move up into a more aggressive, stiff, and wholly carbon fiber constructed wheelset.

Targeting a new built - Look 695

French frame, Japanese groupset, and French wheels. Budget hopefully will be kept under AUD 13,000.

Local Melbourne price tag is around AUD 15,000 with lesser wheelset.

Cadel wins TDF

My god, Cadel finally did it!

His time trial was awesome, got back 57sec and now with 1min+ ahead of rivals.

He is from Victoria too! Just too perfect!

A bit sad now, as the tour will finish tonight... have to wait whole year to see it again.

I guess, can watch Vuelta a Espana in late August... last Grand Tour of the year...

Alpe D'Huez stage coming in couple of days

I've been waiting to see the stage for a fews years, I missed last few TDF broadcasts. I can still remember vividly witnessing Lance Armstrong in 2001 riding away from Jan Ullrich, incredible! I can't wait to see what's going to happen this year on the most famous climb in TDF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHJErrp4eOw

Mad Fiber vs Mavic Comsic Cabone Ultimate

Mad Fiber: 1085g, unique design, aerospace materials, handmade but a little bit crass on finishing - AUD 2900.00 (exclude shipping cost)

 

Mavic: renowned French wheel manufacturer, professional level, 1185g, 100g heavier than Mad Fiber, awesome machine finish ~ AUD 3000.00 (exclude shipping cost). My favorite cyclist Philip Gilbert's choice. 

I just can't decide.... Mad Fiber - hand made, waiting period ~ 6 to 8 weeks; Mavic probably available right now....

Lichtenstein up on to the wall

Poorly placed up on to the wall with double sided sticky tape... sigh

Black and White

Received white Bluetooth mouse today. Now the desktop is untangled and wireless. Black and white mix.

Nervous

Finally sent out an email asking for action from ex - business partner.

Just woke up from a nasty dream and decided to send it out last night.

Of course no reply. Need to think about next course of action.

CycleOps Trainer

Quite and smooth. Good indoor trainer but need motivation to train daily as it can be a bit boring cycling on a stationary bike.

New saddle

100g heavier not much improvement on comfort.

Nexus S

I was checking to look for OTA Android 2.3.3 update but I got 2.3.4 instead and what a surprise indeed!

I was about to send some hate mail to Google about Nexus S user experience.

Now I'm slightly happier then this morning.

Dual Booting Ubuntu and Windows 7

Now I am able to dual boot Ubuntu and Win7, the VAIO seems to be more useful, rather being an expansive paperweight.

Making an Entertainment Unit

Old cabinet shell - add IKEA castors for convenient manoeuvrability.

Entertainment Unit

Old file cabinet - add IKEA castors for manoeuvrability.

Cost of Living

Took my bicycle to be assembled in Melbourne today.

Service charge is AUD 199.00 which is more than HKD 1,600.00; in Hong
Kong it will only cost around HKD 300.00 which is 5 times less than
Melbourne!

However if I get it done in HK, I certainly will feel unease about
those people handling my beloved bike.

I have talked to them and seen how they work on bikes. There is a
trust issue regarding to their professionalism.

Trust is important, and it is a valuable asset.

sick of waiting

To do or not to do, this is the question.
I'll need to decide by this week. Need an ultimatum to finalize it
rather drag on then he'll think that all belongs to him!

--

Cheers,

Chris

One step forward Two steps backwards

Lost two motherboards, bought a brand new one finally got system running.

Now restoring VAIO back to Windows 7, waiting for Fedora 15 releasing in coming month. Also will upgrade current Fedora 14 to 15 as well; I simply can't wait for it.

The new Gnome UI truly kicks arse!

Nervous moment

Deadline has passed, no action has taken, I'm feeling a bit nervous. The fact now it is almost down to bargaining for money, nevertheless it feels as if begging for some sort of favour yet it is what belongs to me.

Odd sense of displeasure, naturally no one enjoys pursuing recovery of debt. Unpleasantness is almost expected, compounding the fact it is targeting a so-called " friend".

Absolutely ridiculous situation I found myself in, a tight spot, a trap, and a deep hole that I must release myself.

First thing first - fucking send the email.

Tension of Opposites

New term, tension of opposites, I read of a book my girlfriend recommended to me.

A great term for I applying to my current conflicted, confused and confounded quandary.

Starting another business forming from a new partnership brings a new leaf however I am looking for self determination and dictate my own terms ever since my last business venture with a so - called best friend left me with bitter and scarred memories.

Proceed with extreme caution.

Why one should never clean up after oneself in a fast food chain restaurant

One very simple reason: creating  employment.

Super!

I got the webcam of VAIO Z working with Linux. Feels great about it.

This time I yet may get 90% of all the Sony VAIO Z hardware up and running with Linux.

Linux will set you free, control your own destiny.

Red checker shirt

It all initiated with a common red checker shirt, some sort of friendship was established, now a possible business venture may aslo be lauched within months.
However, everything has it's pit falls... I need to beware of them and safeguard against such dangers.

Starbucks full of wankers

Sitting here is a true torment.
In a low end coffee chain shop, Starbucks, there are plenty of local try-hards, lost tourists and time killers. Of course occasionally there's one or two unfortunate ones, like myself, can find nowhere else to rest one's feet in this harsh and unashamedly commercial environment devoid of any human decency.

Recovery

Another recovery made to my VAIO.

Back to Gnome again. Let's see how we go from here.

I am getting very tired of doing this. Patience is required the actual release date is not due till May 2011.

First Micro Step

Ticket booked on 14 April 2011, will be home on the 15th.

Long awaited journey home I must kick off some of my prospective projects rather going through day after day without too much purpose...

Lost Amist Confusion

Plans of plenty, plans of change, plans of progress, and plans of innovation; yet stepping out first step has been delayed and postponed by procrastination and indiscipline. 

I should kick off by booking a return ticket, create an environment with less distraction, hammer down a solid schedule begin on a journey with incremental benchmarks approaching the end goal.

Watch

A watch tied to my wrist, keeping me on time, reminding me time management, alas who isn't a slave of time? The watch weights heavily on my wrist...

Righteous Indignation

Make a forceful complaint to my Serviced Apartment Company about not returning my 17K plus security deposit and they promised to direct deposit to my bank account on Monday which still is 6 days away.

I believe that my indignation and forecful tune made them transfer fund into my account within 24 hours.

Lesson learnt - always ensure to voice one's displeasure when facing service providers.

Gnome 3

After a couple days of hacking current Linux kernel to work on VAIO Z, I was pretty fed up with all the hassles and start to consider an alternative such as Mac Book Air / Pro.

Fortunately the latest kernel included in Fedora 15 alpha pre release actually work "out of box".

Also the Alpha version comes with Gnome 3!

The UI is much improved almost Mac like, I'm impressed however now I just have to bear with countless bugs and random crashes.

Nevertheless it is better than using Windows 7. I'm overjoyed that I can wipe Windows off my VAIO and out of my life.

Patience is a virtue

Painstakingly edging closer to retrieving a portion of my investment.

The effort I exerted, the stress I endured and the sacrifices I vested will never be returned with any interest. They will be like bad debts written off but there will always be scares inflicted on my subconscious forever tattooed in my mind.

Breakfast at MX

1022 finally can't fight starvation anymore so I got off my arse and headed down to MX for some breakfast.

Gamesmanship

More of the same, more BS; asked for a breakdown of financial figures, got a mesh of vague numbers...

I truly regret being in business with someone I thought was a friend... I never actually questioned any numbers before but now there is not an ounce of trust I have for him.

Moving always is a pain

Finally I moved out of Domus, a serviced apartment, man no matter how little things one got; packing and moving them create endless pain and inconvenience.

In a couple of weeks I'll need to fly back home.... really not looking forward to the long haul traveling. All the fucking airports, immigration and security checks one has to bear.... where's teleporting?

Patiently waiting

Waiting for the latest android release. This will be second update within just over a month. Awesome that's why getting a Google official phone is great.

More Delaying Tatics

Got a reply from business partner telling me to avoid engaging business brokers and keep my voice down about selling BR.

WTF! I truly losing trust in him.

On and Off Days

Life sucks, like playing tennis, one will have red hot days when one can't miss and another aweful day when every shot just hitting tape or missing by an inch.

I just hope that I can string more on days on a row than off days in life.

Nasty Week Ahead

It can be nasty the coming week ahead, both my partner and I, are confronting some challenges. However who knows, it might turn out better for us.

We just need to keep calm and collected as long as we are mentally prepared all will be good.

Time to take some deep breath and chill out making sure that we don't stress ourselves out.

Leap Into Abyss

What's ahead no one knows; take a chance, world can be ones oyster.

Live by the sword and die by the sword. Fortune favourites the brave; this is the motto I live by when I play tennis and I should live life by it too.

So jump into an abyss let loose go for all hell can bring, confront it all without fear.

Doing Business with a Friend is truly a misgiving

Pain, anguish, frustration - lies, deception, manipulation...

Freaking really shit me to tears!

Hammering fatty

Its always fun hammering someone in tennis especially someone you dislike.

I had Mega fun killing fatty on court last night, and he was commenting that he can't wait seeing me leave Hong Kong, so he wouldn't get punished again.

Ah it was fun indeed.

Slow and Lazy Days

Cold day. Did nothing all day.

Had a nice dinner with my partner, and a good chat about how to proceed with lingering annoying business matter.

I feel calmer and a bit relieved.

Something is a miss

I seldom consider consequences whilst I am making a decision. I failed to take all into consideration when I decide on any issues on hand.

It comes to my attention today, I have been told that I hurt my partner's feeling when I decided to accept an invitation to play tennis instead of going on a date.

Mind you, today is Valentine's day and I did previously agree to have dinner with my partner. It is my lapse for sure, maybe it has been so long that I am in a relationship, more precisely, I have always been acting without thoughts.

Well, if I desire a successful partnership in life I have to take such shortcomings seriously and amend them with utmost efforts on my part...

Gloomy Sunday

Gloomy Sundays always bring my moods down...

It looks like tennis will be called off today, drizzling right now.

Stop procrastination

I must stop procrastinate on things that put myself off.

Just face them head on rather put my head in the sand!

Do things like I play tennis full on attack disregarding the score.

My Prestige Mid:

I hate HTC!

I just sold my HTC Hero, less than 12 months old, for HKD 750.00 only! I paid HKD 4,500.00 for it and I had to put up with the bullshit HTC dished out for delaying months for upgrading the OS.

Now I hope that the Google Nexus S will give me better experience.

Paid for my first Android App

spent USD 4.99 on Mixzing Music App for my Nexus S.

I hope that it is worth it.

Freaking banking sorted finally

Freaking bank transfer finally done after a whole week! Stupid Australian banking rules really shit me sometimes....

Bored to death

If it only can bring death, I'll actually won't be suffering now.
Wouldn't mind catch in train in NYC, it might get my juice going...

Latte

Finally found a decent latte place, Oliver's Super Sandwiches,  near where I live in HK.
They use Illy coffee bean, nice unfortunately the cup is on a tiny side though.

Android Nexus S

Got it a few days ago paid just above USD 570. Better user experience than my HTC so far except for the dialer.
Where the fuck is Google Buzz Widget for Nexus S? It isn't in the Market for sure, it really shits me sometimes how Google does things.