Saturday, June 28, 2008

Mars Asparagus for sale anyone?

Well, if you've read the news, Mars has soil that can sustain life, i.e. us.

The bad news is, you have to eat asparagus for your whole life, if you live there.

Nah, I'm just kidding. Apparently the chemical compounds have been extracted from Martian soil, and the conditions are rather perfect. Like one's backyard soil, according to an unnamed source.

Of course, from a Singaporean's point of view, one question's the definition of 'perfect'. I sure would miss durian if I live in Mars.

Here's the LINK for more info.

Random Musings

I'm a dad! haha, not true. Well, kinda. Guess I look like a dad. Or they just need a father figure. Who knows? All I can say is fathering is tiring.

Yet, there never is a definite age to be a parent, is there? One could be sixty, and have grand-children but not be a parent. It's not just a term, it's a symbol and represents the bond, trust and faith.

Break the trust once, and it's over.

Some will try to be parents, but they can never be. Others don't try to be parents but falsely assume that they are parents.

Work, money, adultery and more.

Raising and nurturing.

Too bad father's day isn't around the corner, or I'll be so so so blessed.

Papa Roti watch out! Papa Randy is here! Muahahahaha...

Nah, who am I kidding. =X

You know, some kids, I mean young adults, I mean young teens, like 12 to 14 years of age, [can't call them middle teens, right?], some of their characteristics are displayed. Most probably they won't know it, since it would escape most of their maturity, yet, you just take a look, and you can imagine them ten, maybe fifteen years down the road, with certain qualities in their character, that would aid them on the path of success, should they chose to maximize its potential.

The world's a small place. I could befriend the daughter of my mother's friend who became her friend when they chatted together while waiting for the school bus to pick up her daughter who was from the same primary school as I am, and two years younger than me, and took the same school bus.

Tomorrow's June Event. It's amazing. Some of them are amazed at the simplicity of broadcasting sound effects from my mac to the sound system. A 3.5mm cable, and a jack to ensure it fits in the mixer, and it's done.

Dra dra. Lychee. Gideon. Harrison. Heh, if I were harry, he would be my son.

Sometimes the best comes from simplicity. That said, not all things in life are simple, unless, the product is simply complicated.

If they're active, they're active. So, how does one make them sit still?

Friday, June 27, 2008

Encouragement.

Encouragement. Support.

We would need a steady supply of these to live on in life. Some may require less of it, others may need more.

But how does one excel in it?

Can you learn it in a special school that specializes in it? Or is there an art? Or perhaps a book of phrases, and you randomly pick one and offer it to the person in need?

People will say it varies according to the situation. True, I agree. You can't tell a suicidal or depressed person to "Go!" Or "All The Best!"

So how does one excel in it?

By experience? Or by saying phrases that are uplifting to our spirits, and praying it will uplift the persons' spirits too? Yet, a man's meat is another man's poison, so how can the effectiveness of such phrases be gauged in order to maximize its potential for the right situation?

Then again, perhaps all that is truly needed is a listening ear and a companion. Millions of children grow up everyday, but don't be fooled by assuming that the vibrancy of virtual social networks has made us less lonely.

On the contrary, it has diminished the value of relationships to a virtual status, and I'm pretty sure Abraham Maslow didn't mean social needs to be that of pseudo-physical.

So, could the most effective way of encouragement one provide would simply be a listening ear?

Something so simple, and yet so hard to comply with, in this world where everything demands for our attention, both physically and virtually.

Do you agree?

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

FF3... and add-ons.

If you haven't installed or updated to Firefox 3, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!

You can download it from the official website at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/. It's available in 46 different languages and compatible with 3 Operating Systems (OS): Windows, Mac and Linux. Talk about going global.

If you're currently using Firefox 2, I would assume your greatest worry would be whether Firefox 3 is hard to navigate, and whether your add-ons are compatible.

You can relax. Firefox 3 boats of the same interface, save for the Awesome Navigation Bar. Don't worry, if you don't like what you see, you can change or edit it back to the setting as per Firefox 2 style.

As for your add-ons, the numerous Firefox 3 betas released enabled code developers to start editing the compatibility, and if the update manager informs you that the add-on is incompatible, just be patient. The odds are that Firefox developers are vetting through them.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Youtube Screening Room

Youtube has recently 'opened' a screening room. You won't Tom, Dick or Harry's home videos here though.

The Screening Room will showcase top films shown around the world, leaning more towards features and those that are played at International Film Festival.

Top films naturally demand top video quality and this Youtube has promised. All films are played in a high quality player, and four new films will be released every other Friday. Or so they say.

There's also an option to purchase a copy of the films available should you yearn for a hard copy.

There are currently four films available for viewing, ranging from four to fifteen minutes in duration.

Check out Youtube Screening Room [http://www.youtube.com/ytscreeningroom].

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Potholes

Well, if you wondered what Potholes:Retrospect is about... it's a mini-series, of sorts, inspired by a good friend's ongoing story.

You can read her the chapters of her Missing Home series at http://www.singing-is-my-passion.blogspot.com/.

Oh, the creativity unleashed during one's youth. Unrestrained, resilient, and abound with life, energy and surpassing strength.

Oh, the woes of age. The experiences never forgotten, the truths hidden, the memories tarnished, scarred yet trudging on.

Enjoy the Missing Home series, and perhaps Potholes may further add mystery to certain characters. Though mine won't be as long as hers. Mine are like nuggets compared to her chicken cutlet.

Enjoy. =)

Friday, June 13, 2008

Potholes: Retrospect

He had always believed in her since young. It didn't matter that the elders of the community frowned upon a girl learning how to fight. Why should they care? They didn't witness the uncle, whom he grown to love, honor and respect, thrust the dagger into his father's temple.

It haunted him every night - the muffled cry of pain and surprise; the brief look of anger that turned into anguish.

That afternoon, he had knocked over several porcelain vases while imitating moves from the sacred Scroll of Fight. It was not on purpose, and he knew Father would probably just heave a sigh, and then beckon him to clamour onto the bed and be regaled with stories of the vases and their mythical powers.

If they were that powerful, surely they could put the pieces back together again, he reasoned. Father would probably announce to the Royal Court that a rat had broken in during the night and caused the vases to topple and break.

Yet every time he wanted to tell Father about it, something seemed to hold him back. And so night fell, but no matter how hard he tried, he just could not sleep.

At the age of five, he had promised Father he would uphold the value of honesty, and this seemed to be keeping him awake. Finally, he could stand the restlessness no more and headed down the secret passage that interlinked his room and Father's. If Father was asleep, it would mean a sleepless night. If Father was still awake... perhaps there was something mythical about those vases.

He reached the end of the passage and was about to knock on the wall when he heard the door open and close quickly. 'Surely Father isn't going out this late', he thought to himself and peered in through a crack on the wall. It was his uncle.

'Perhaps they have important matters of the State to discuss", he reasoned and was about to turn and return a while later till he saw it.

The glint of the dagger.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Gmail

Gmail has increased its attachment size to 20mb, as compared to Hotmail which offers 10mb, half its size.

This would definitely benefit those who have suffered long enough at sending multiple emails with attachments because the files exceed 10mb in accumulated size.

And, if you're interested to preview future features of Gmail, you can try playing around with Gmail Test Labs. You can enable it via your Account Settings in Gmail. Some interesting ones would be playing Snake, and 'allowing' Gmail to log you out for 15 minutes so you can rest your eyes. Or your browser. Good for those who simply need to check their email every 5 minutes.

If you can't find it, just google. You'll find it. =)