This is quite coincidental - 2 people who don’t know each other on my Facebook made these comments
MacStorage
After using a Mac for the last 3 months or so, I think I’ve roughly got the hang of it. So much so that I find myself doing an Alt-C, Alt-V to copy and paste text at work sometimes on the PC. One thing that needs to be said about Macs though is that it isn’t a machine for the disorganized. I find myself so used to the Window-M shortcut to clear my desktop of windows before maximising a single window that it’s impossible to use a Mac effectively. I’d usually end up with a few windows of the same or similar folders and instead of closing them when I don’t need them, I’d just keep them in the background, not even bothering to minimize them. Very bad habits which are surprisingly hard to break.
Another issue I have is with my organizational skills. I’m used to having programs install in standard directories and then deleting the installation files thereafter. Usually, on a Windows machine, I’d have the installation files on the desktop, ready to delete at a moment’s notice. On my Mac, my files are downloaded automatically into a Downloads folder and a lot of installation files tend to expand and create folders of their own. I find it quite hard to decide which files to keep and which to delete and I think I’ve quite a few stray installation files hidden around. I’ve yet to master the tricks of determining useless files.
Programs are likewise installed here and there. I’m incorporating some semblance of order by creating folders named ‘Games’, ‘Documents’, ‘Photos’, etc but a lot of the files, zipped ones especially, auto-unzip into the current directory, not prompting even in the case of a duplicate. Macs are obviously not as dummy-friendly as Windows PCs are and it does require more discipline to maintain.
Most of the programs I’d use are finally installed and ready-to-be-used and I’m quite pleased with that. I wish my modem/router would work better on the machine though - my internet connection is sketchy to say the least and I doubt if it’s my configuration that’s the issue here. My PC connection works fine and downloads at about twice as fast. Which really isn’t saying much because it’s still snail-slow considering the price I’m paying for my internet. That’s the problem with shared-cable access. I believe most of the people in the area are using the same ISP and the same network as I am because the alternative dedicated network works wonky for some reason. Depending on the helpdesk people you ask, the problem lies either with the phone cables or your modem or your router or your computer. Not very useful and not very helpful.
I doubt if I’d ever be a strong advocate of Macs. I like how mine is pretty and takes up little space but it’s not all sunshine and roses as some Mac owners would have you believe. As much as I’m disinclined to use Microsoft products (I’m using OpenOffice even, by the way), I still believe that Microsoft Windows does have quite a bit to offer.
An ABBA a Day
In my room, there’s this box where I store all my bags. Some of these bags are made of leather or PVC and happen to be placed next to each other. Now I don’t think much of this box because handbag-watching isn’t one of my top hobbies. It’s not interesting at all to say the least.
I caught Mamma Mia on the big screen and I’m left with the burning question - How on Earth did Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan get talked into doing the movie? I’ve enjoyed quite a few movie musicals so it’s not the genre that’s killed the show. Grease was cheerfully pleasing and so was Hairspray. Even Phantom of the Opera wasn’t too bad even though it wasn’t fantastic. Mamma Mia was well, Mamma Mia!!!
It’s somewhat cute to have pretty teenage girls to prance around yelping in a shrill little voice in chick flicks. Not that that’s my opinion of course because I don’t really like girls. Or chick flicks. Or yelping. But generally, the act of running around yelping like a poor little lost girl has some appeal. It is however not cute at all for fully grown women - now we’re talking women your mother’s age - running around yelping like a lovestruck fifteen-year-old who’s just seen Zac Effron for the first time.
You need to also realise that not all 50 year olds are made equal. Some 50-year-olds look just like the 25-year-old college classmate of yours (the one who’s so dumb she had to repeat 5 years of school). Plastic surgery helps of course. With the film grain effect that attempts to replicate the MTVs of the 70s, Meryl Streep looks like a 50-year-old who’s spent her life tending to plantations. And well, do we REALLY NEED TO SEE THAT MANY TOPLESS SHOTS OF THE MALE CAST???
Watching Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep’s characters suck face has got to be the most uncomfortable moment of the show. It’s like walking into your friend’s parents’ bedroom at the wrong time and being made to endure the sights because moving would alert them to your presence. Oh and speaking of unpretty sights, check out the token male heartthrob in the show:
Everytime that face comes up onscreen, I suffer an involuntary spasm.
Oh my.
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head
You know Singapore’s tiny when stuff like this happens. Shaun muses about doing a cross-country ride today and I remark that I’m likely to do the park connector ride. Half an hour into my ride, we bump into each other.
Well today’s ride was pretty decent save for the 10 minute-long heavy downpour. I was at the beach stretch when the light drizzle turned ugly. I remember the first day I got my large uni. I was riding it along a different waterfront and the wind blew me off course because I’ve yet to get accustomed to riding that uni. The rains and winds today were terrible. It ended with my being completely drenched AND half the time, I had my vision obstructed by the rain that’s pretty much pouring down my face and into my eyes.
I rode on for about 15km more after that and took a bus home because riding with soggy shoes was making my toes numb. Total ride was about 30-35km I’d imagine - 2:34.
My intention had been to complete the full 42km ride followed by a 15km run. Even if my shoes weren’t soaked, I’m really unlikely to follow through with the run. Maybe a 5km run before I call it quits and head home. The ride was amazingly tiring for some reason. I think i lost my momentum after the rain because I had to slow down. The stretch after was the long coastal roads so it didn’t help my mood much. Deep down, I guess the main reason is really that I got bored of riding on and on and that’s very worrying since I’m supposed to be running a marathon in… 11 weeks.
Darrrr-Arrrrrr
It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arrrr me mateys.
The Adventures of Thunder Thighs
I can’t find my doc file. By Shaun’s request, here’s the original of what I submitted to this local mag for publication.
———
Spontaneity happens. Some days it could be heading out for cheeseburgers at 3 in the morning. Other times it could be say, signing up for an 800km unicycle relay race across Nova Scotia, Canada. Ride the Lobster was the first such endurance event and had the same prerequisites as mounting a crustacean - a well-cushioned seat, strong legs and mental preparation to feel general numbness in your lower body. It consisted of 4 stages with a time trials thrown in for good measure. The hardest part perhaps was persuading 2 other friends (and a support guy) to form a team with. Spontaneity, unfortunately, isn’t contagious.
We went as Team Masticating Bunnies From Hell. The racers loved our name; the schools we visited didn’t quite. For a low fee, we could pick your baby’s name too but I digress. Perception is a funny thing. We had left Singapore with the best unicycles in town. We raced with the worst unicycles in the competition. While the mid-ten temperatures felt chilly initially, the same felt warm at the end of it all. And of course, we now no longer think of Bukit Timah as a hill.
The first day killed us. We weren’t expecting rolling terrain or strong headwind from speeding logging trucks. It felt reminiscent of Jurassic Park – you’d hear a faint rumble in the distance before feeling your face sucked off by the vacuum caused by the metal beast passing you. It rained the second day. And the third. Riding in the rain at 11 degrees Celsius builds character. In particular, a group of characters with F leading the pack. We did better though because you can’t feel tired if you can’t feel your legs. Our sentiments were probably shared – that marked the first time we witnessed unicyclists breaking the 35km/h barrier on flatland.
If there’s any better motivation than a shiny red lobster grinning at you from its serving plate (lethargy causes hallucinations), I don’t know what it is. We happened to be there during the annual Lobsterpalooza, a festival celebrating seafood. Lobsters are so common in Nova Scotia, there are McLobsters selling around town although we never got to try any. There was a surprising lack of golden arches which might explain the abundance of walking hamburgers around the province. I believe they’re called cows.
Much of our route took us around the seacoasts and through farmhouses. On the final day of the race, we scaled a mountain. It was announced casually on a signboard that we would be ascending 240m in the next 7 km. Oh, and we had to get down it after. I don’t remember much of the climb except that I was more than a little paranoid of ending up as roadkill. We ended the day at 9pm or so and promptly found out that the town of Baddeck closes early. Over five days, we rode from Yarmouth in the South and ended in Cape Breton in the North. We didn’t come in first but didn’t come in last either so we did better than expected. One thing’s for sure though –we’re buying better unicycles the next time.
And I’m leaving the skinny jeans home.
Rock on with Your Fock on (I forgot how it goes)
FINALLY, EA’s decided to release Rock Band - the first, not the second - in Singapore. In a week. No grand spectacular release party. No grand spectacular limited edition package either. Heck, it doesn’t even sell in a full package. What EA’s releasing rather are the instruments and the game separately. For $229, you get the drums, a guitar and a mic and for an extra $79.90, you get the game. Uh yeah.
At the other corner of the ring, there’s Guitar Hero World Tour which retails for… $299, due out in November. Well well.
I was at the Games Convention Asia today and got a sneak peek at GHWT. The game was cordoned off in an isolated part of the hall (when I was there at least) and I asked the booth person if I could get a go at it. She said no but she COULD play the game so I can watch. So she went on to be not very chatty or helpful by telling me the obvious (”you can choose between 4 difficulty modes like shown on the screen here.”) and she’s also not very interesting (”You play the game like this”) so I left mid-demo. Because like all normal people, I’m not very fascinated with watching one barely proficient gamer play a music game with the volume muffled by the surrounding noise.
Pete Molyneux was there to give a talk about design decisions behind Fable 2. Now, if you haven’t played the first Fable, you should. I haven’t and I should and would if the boyfriend hasn’t been hogging the game for the past year. Fable 2 looks incredible and if the PR talk was to be believed, it has great potential as a social/community-building MMO game. It’s a hugely ambitious project that tries to target both the casual and hardcore gaming crowds with an innovative control/combat scheme - Combat is as multifaceted or simple as you want it to be and control of combos/experience gain is all up to the player. One does wonder if it’d make the game too easy for more experienced gamers.
The game’s about building up your character - good or bad, rich or poor, guns or swords - and various customization options promise a more immersive multiplayer experience. If for nothing else, I believe the game’s worth buying simply because there hasn’t been any co-op 360 game so far.
Holey-Grounds
Someone tripped on a panel in the office floor and broke it so I had to drop a message to get it fixed. Being incredibly bored, my email read:
While pacing the floors of the sixth floor, xxx opened a void to the unknown. There’s now a gaping wound on the floors in the middle of the barren part of the office, sheltered from our consciousness by a solitary side table.
Can you help us relay the message to the contractors?
Hm
Hm?