an cool piano & cello arrangement of Love Story and Viva la Vida.
it's quite well done, and neatly arranged.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
typical inefficiency
a couple of weekends ago, our house got hit by lightning.
it was pretty nasty. the storm came quite suddenly. I had gone to the kitchen to get a drink of water when I heard the lightning strike and saw a flash of light from the study.
the end damage meant that my modem, router, and desktop were all out.
the desktop went to the shop for repairs. ends up that the motherboard is out. the shop was willing to lend me a few parts to use temporarily while it's on warranty repair but they didn't have a spare motherboard at the time, so I have to do without a desktop for the time being. fine, no problems.
then came the matter of the modem. I got a new Linksys modem/router, which was supposed to be pretty good. had problems setting it up cause my notebook is dying (optical drive acting crazy, audio drivers and speakers shot, and just found out my ethernet adaptor is gone, and I've already replaced the hard disk once)
tried to set up the router using a friend's notebook (the Dell XPS is a beautiful system :p) but failed to get an internet connection. noticed the DSL light wasn't lit, which means that it wasn't getting any internet signal from the line.
I tried everything I could figure out, still couldn't get the DSL light to come on or any kind of internet connection. finally we got TM to come over to check on the line.
I wasn't home at the time, Alice was there. They checked using their own cheap non-branded modem - and it worked... then they told her "your modem is not supported, why don't you get some cheapo modem" (or something along those lines). they then told her to get our modem checked at the shop.
so when I came back, I went over to the shop. they tested it - and it worked fine. came back home, and again, not working. tried it at a friend's place - not working
finally found the workaround in the lowyat.net forums, apparently somebody else had the same problem and posted the same questions on the forum (with the exact same modem, too!)
apparently, I had to change one of the settings to change the DSL mode to a lower one to accommodate TM's outdated technology. what a let-down.
but anyway, I have an internet connection again (albeit, with a dodgy notebook, but at least I'm online), no thanks to TM. First world infrastructure? I don't think so, and this is supposed to be one of the most modern and hi-tech cities in the country. what a laugh.
it was pretty nasty. the storm came quite suddenly. I had gone to the kitchen to get a drink of water when I heard the lightning strike and saw a flash of light from the study.
the end damage meant that my modem, router, and desktop were all out.
the desktop went to the shop for repairs. ends up that the motherboard is out. the shop was willing to lend me a few parts to use temporarily while it's on warranty repair but they didn't have a spare motherboard at the time, so I have to do without a desktop for the time being. fine, no problems.
then came the matter of the modem. I got a new Linksys modem/router, which was supposed to be pretty good. had problems setting it up cause my notebook is dying (optical drive acting crazy, audio drivers and speakers shot, and just found out my ethernet adaptor is gone, and I've already replaced the hard disk once)
tried to set up the router using a friend's notebook (the Dell XPS is a beautiful system :p) but failed to get an internet connection. noticed the DSL light wasn't lit, which means that it wasn't getting any internet signal from the line.
I tried everything I could figure out, still couldn't get the DSL light to come on or any kind of internet connection. finally we got TM to come over to check on the line.
I wasn't home at the time, Alice was there. They checked using their own cheap non-branded modem - and it worked... then they told her "your modem is not supported, why don't you get some cheapo modem" (or something along those lines). they then told her to get our modem checked at the shop.
so when I came back, I went over to the shop. they tested it - and it worked fine. came back home, and again, not working. tried it at a friend's place - not working
finally found the workaround in the lowyat.net forums, apparently somebody else had the same problem and posted the same questions on the forum (with the exact same modem, too!)
apparently, I had to change one of the settings to change the DSL mode to a lower one to accommodate TM's outdated technology. what a let-down.
but anyway, I have an internet connection again (albeit, with a dodgy notebook, but at least I'm online), no thanks to TM. First world infrastructure? I don't think so, and this is supposed to be one of the most modern and hi-tech cities in the country. what a laugh.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
well then!
nothing that I didn't know...
General Description
As an Encourager, you are very relationship oriented and respond naturally to the needs of others. You want to be seen as an excellent listener who can respond to the challenge of helping others in practical ways, including solving personal problems.
Typical Areas of Strength
Encouragers, like you, are typically energetic, friendly, encouraging, patient, understanding, loyal, steady, dependable, and are willing to listen to the needs of others.
Typical Areas of Struggle
You often shy away from conflict and may avoid making difficult people decisions, rather than hurt the feelings of others.
Your Preferred Activities
Because you cooperate well with others, you function best with access to people who need assistance, encouragement, development.
Your Communication Style
You communicate through carefully chosen words, gestures, body language, facial expressions, and listening skills to communicate your concern.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
on the screen: Marley & Me
Condemn me if you wish, but I'm a fan of Owen Wilson (not so crazy over Jennifer Aniston, but oh well) and when I got free tickets to watch this it was quite an interesting proposition. The fact that it was in Cineleisure dampened the enthusiasm a bit but hey, it's a free ticket.
Marley & Me is based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by John Grogan (played by Owen Wilson) and charts the roughly 13 years that the Grogan family had Marley, a yellow lab retriever.
The story starts with Grogan getting married, and moving down to Miami where they adopt a puppy and that kicks off their adventures. The dog ends up eating and destroying pretty much their entire home, and tensions arise as the family has children and pressures mount.
I know, doesn't sound like much of a story, right? The fact is, it really does have a good storyline and I was riveted for the entire 2 hours of the movie. There are funny moments (with Owen Wilson, how could there not be?), there are dramatic moments, and there are pretty sad moments. And of course, the main star of the show is always... Marley. Apparently played by many different yellow labs (I guess they couldn't age the dog with make-up the way they could with humans), Marley steals the show and carries it all the way through your heart-strings.
I really did enjoy Marley & Me, even though I left the cinema feeling kinda sad. All in all, it's just one of those movies that isn't really blockbuster material, but still really does affect you in some way.
Alright, ratings! I'd give this movie a 7.2/10. Owen Wilson was reliable as always, and surprisingly, Jennifer Aniston gave a great, powerful performance as well, you almost couldn't recognize her from her role in Friends. And of course, there was Marley :)
Marley & Me is based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by John Grogan (played by Owen Wilson) and charts the roughly 13 years that the Grogan family had Marley, a yellow lab retriever.
The story starts with Grogan getting married, and moving down to Miami where they adopt a puppy and that kicks off their adventures. The dog ends up eating and destroying pretty much their entire home, and tensions arise as the family has children and pressures mount.
I know, doesn't sound like much of a story, right? The fact is, it really does have a good storyline and I was riveted for the entire 2 hours of the movie. There are funny moments (with Owen Wilson, how could there not be?), there are dramatic moments, and there are pretty sad moments. And of course, the main star of the show is always... Marley. Apparently played by many different yellow labs (I guess they couldn't age the dog with make-up the way they could with humans), Marley steals the show and carries it all the way through your heart-strings.
I really did enjoy Marley & Me, even though I left the cinema feeling kinda sad. All in all, it's just one of those movies that isn't really blockbuster material, but still really does affect you in some way.
Alright, ratings! I'd give this movie a 7.2/10. Owen Wilson was reliable as always, and surprisingly, Jennifer Aniston gave a great, powerful performance as well, you almost couldn't recognize her from her role in Friends. And of course, there was Marley :)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
on the plate: Castell Steak House
how does an amazing, succulent, hot and tender chunk of meat sound to you? It appeals to me, at least
to celebrate Alice's birthday, we headed over to Castell Steak House. Surprisingly, I found no reviews about the place. None, zip! But I had heard a couple of good things about it from some people who had gone before, so it was game on.
the place is tucked away in one corner along Jalan University, and since they built the flyover just at that junction, it's easy to miss the place and not know about its existence.
true enough, the place wasn't very crowded, there was just the two of us and another large party of eleven people or something like that, nobody else was dining (but it was a Tuesday night). We ordered seafood bisque, two steaks and some sauteed mushrooms.
first up, the seafood bisque. It was slightly creamy and had a few chunks of seafood inside, not too shabby but could have been better. I tried to take a photo but since it was too dark and my phone camera doesn't have a flash, there are no photos in this review. Sorry!
the steaks came up next, and this is where the heavens sang. Really. I had the T-bone steak and it arrived with a baked potato and a generous serving of corn (and sour cream and spring onions! yum). The steak was possibly one of the best things I've tasted recently, it was juicy, tender, succulent and was just simply good in all ways imaginable. The steak was grilled plain with some pepper and salt for preparation, and served without gravy or sauce to mask any flavors. So, the flavor of the beef really shone through and boy, was it good. I haven't had steak this good probably since I came back to Malaysia, and that's not a joke.
the sauteed mushrooms came and were bleh, just halved button mushrooms which were sauteed in a cajun marinade, tasted okay but nothing to shout about.
the menu is rather limited in its selection, mostly steaks with some chicken, lamb and seafood for those who don't like to do cow, but then again, that does work in their favor as they can concentrate on what they're good at, and that's really, really good steaks. There is one dish, the prime rib, that really looks interesting, but I don't think I'm gonna try that anytime soon as it's priced at a chilling RM98++ per portion. I saw someone on the other table having it and it looked good though.
so, the total bill for both of us (soup, two steaks, mushrooms and two drinks) came up to RM122, not too expensive for a good steak dinner, but also not something to go to on a regular basis. Unless you're in the business of printing money, I guess.
here we go
Food: 7.4/10 - best steak I've had in a long, long, long time. Natural flavors of the beef shining through and causing taste buds to rejoice
Drinks: 6/10 - my lime juice was good and sour, but not everybody would like it that way I think. Not a large selection but okay
Ambience: 7/10 - nice, quiet place that's dimly lit but tastefully done up
Service: 7/10 - of course, you get good service when there's only two tables that evening. Usually. Not everywhere, but at least here it made sure of prompt and efficient service
Castell can be reached at (03) 7955-0532
to celebrate Alice's birthday, we headed over to Castell Steak House. Surprisingly, I found no reviews about the place. None, zip! But I had heard a couple of good things about it from some people who had gone before, so it was game on.
the place is tucked away in one corner along Jalan University, and since they built the flyover just at that junction, it's easy to miss the place and not know about its existence.
true enough, the place wasn't very crowded, there was just the two of us and another large party of eleven people or something like that, nobody else was dining (but it was a Tuesday night). We ordered seafood bisque, two steaks and some sauteed mushrooms.
first up, the seafood bisque. It was slightly creamy and had a few chunks of seafood inside, not too shabby but could have been better. I tried to take a photo but since it was too dark and my phone camera doesn't have a flash, there are no photos in this review. Sorry!
the steaks came up next, and this is where the heavens sang. Really. I had the T-bone steak and it arrived with a baked potato and a generous serving of corn (and sour cream and spring onions! yum). The steak was possibly one of the best things I've tasted recently, it was juicy, tender, succulent and was just simply good in all ways imaginable. The steak was grilled plain with some pepper and salt for preparation, and served without gravy or sauce to mask any flavors. So, the flavor of the beef really shone through and boy, was it good. I haven't had steak this good probably since I came back to Malaysia, and that's not a joke.
the sauteed mushrooms came and were bleh, just halved button mushrooms which were sauteed in a cajun marinade, tasted okay but nothing to shout about.
the menu is rather limited in its selection, mostly steaks with some chicken, lamb and seafood for those who don't like to do cow, but then again, that does work in their favor as they can concentrate on what they're good at, and that's really, really good steaks. There is one dish, the prime rib, that really looks interesting, but I don't think I'm gonna try that anytime soon as it's priced at a chilling RM98++ per portion. I saw someone on the other table having it and it looked good though.
so, the total bill for both of us (soup, two steaks, mushrooms and two drinks) came up to RM122, not too expensive for a good steak dinner, but also not something to go to on a regular basis. Unless you're in the business of printing money, I guess.
here we go
Food: 7.4/10 - best steak I've had in a long, long, long time. Natural flavors of the beef shining through and causing taste buds to rejoice
Drinks: 6/10 - my lime juice was good and sour, but not everybody would like it that way I think. Not a large selection but okay
Ambience: 7/10 - nice, quiet place that's dimly lit but tastefully done up
Service: 7/10 - of course, you get good service when there's only two tables that evening. Usually. Not everywhere, but at least here it made sure of prompt and efficient service
Castell can be reached at (03) 7955-0532
Thursday, January 29, 2009
interesting... or not... cello scrotum!
found this article posted by a friend on facebook... very interesting article about a malady that strikes fear into the heart of cellists everywhere... ummm... somewhat
Cello scrotum? It's a load of...
Cello scrotum? It's a load of...
Sunday, January 25, 2009
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