We had our jamming session last weekend at our favorite studio in Bangi. This time our guitarist came all the way from penang for this. well, actually he came down to KL for something more important but then he brought together his new gadgets to town so we rocked for 3 hours. We had a lot of fun. i can't tell how many songs we did, must be like 20 songs or so. we started of with some slow numbers, out of respect for the ladies perhaps. yeah, ladies. one of them even brought her mum along, or so i heard. they left after singing 2 songs. i think it's too loud for them.
we moved to more hard-rocking numbers from sweet charity & dio, among others, before calming down to our normal jamming songs, ending with an alleycat's favorite. musically we didn't hit the notes right but who cares as long as we had a lot of fun. i fell that i've lost touch with the guitar & keyboard, having stopped practicing for sometime. i guess i need to practice regularly at home again...
btw, i'm really impressed with our guitarist's new gadget. a boss (i think) multi-fx & the sweet looking & sounding (& expensive!) epiphone les paul prophecy
Monday, November 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Garmin Mobile XT
I just installed Garmin Mobile XT on my windows mobile phone. What can I say, this is definitely the best software I installed on the phone. Previously I used the old & trusty Garmin Que & Mapking. GMXT is way better, especially if you like to use yr finger on the touch screen. It works exactly like a garmin standalone GPS unit.
For those into GPS navigation, I definitely recommend this software even if it's expensive
But wait...if you think phone screen is too small, you can opt for Garmin Mobile PC, it's PC equivalent, with even more features. Then you can use your big laptop screen for navigation! If those 17" laptops are too big for you, then go for the cute netbook variety like the asus eee pc series.
For those into GPS navigation, I definitely recommend this software even if it's expensive
But wait...if you think phone screen is too small, you can opt for Garmin Mobile PC, it's PC equivalent, with even more features. Then you can use your big laptop screen for navigation! If those 17" laptops are too big for you, then go for the cute netbook variety like the asus eee pc series.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Shortcuts on Windows Mobile
Do you know that you can make shortcuts to do whatever you want on a windows mobile? Let's say you want to run a few programs one after another & click the menus, change settings or even rename & delete a file, you can do all that in a single click. Interested? Well, get yourself this great freeware called mortscript. You can get it here.
I use mortscript to start my gps programs. This is very important because when you are driving on the road at 110km/h you can't let your hand & fingers running around your phone looking to open a program & menu, can you? So this is where mortscript is pretty useful. I just press one button on my today screen & mortscript will do the rest, opening several programs & mouse-clicking the right tab & buttons & in a few seconds i have my gps navi program ready to go showing me the way while another program running in the background telling me about the incoming speed traps. Or how about getting your mp3 player playing your favorite tunes in the background as well. How cool is that??
You gotta know basic programming actually, but you don't have to be an engineer to do it. Just simple statements like "Run", "Sleep" or "MouseClick" will do.
Try it yourself & have fun..
I use mortscript to start my gps programs. This is very important because when you are driving on the road at 110km/h you can't let your hand & fingers running around your phone looking to open a program & menu, can you? So this is where mortscript is pretty useful. I just press one button on my today screen & mortscript will do the rest, opening several programs & mouse-clicking the right tab & buttons & in a few seconds i have my gps navi program ready to go showing me the way while another program running in the background telling me about the incoming speed traps. Or how about getting your mp3 player playing your favorite tunes in the background as well. How cool is that??
You gotta know basic programming actually, but you don't have to be an engineer to do it. Just simple statements like "Run", "Sleep" or "MouseClick" will do.
Try it yourself & have fun..
Bulan Raya again
Yeah... it's that time of the year again. I purposely say bulan & not hari raya, because we in Malaysia celebrate it for the full month, not just on the first day. But of course by the first week, we have gotten tired of listening to the raya songs, while we continue visiting open houses all throughout the neighbourhood.
It's the same routine for me this year. Went to my wife's kampung in Melaka on the last days of Ramadhan & celebrated the all-important hari raya pertama there. Actually it feels more like in Negeri Seremban, since everybody speaks the negeri slang & they still follow adat perpatih in some ways. This year was a bit special in 2 ways : We cooked our own lemang right behind the house & we did a kenduri on malam raya where we invited the imam to do doa selamat & maghrib prayers followed by the takbir right in our living room. As usual, the food leftover was so huge even though many kampung folks turned up. When will they ever learn to make just enough food which is not so hot, I wonder? But I do love my sister-in-law's black rendang, although it's still too much on the hot side. For the raya prayer, it was full house again at the kampung mosque. People prayed on the tarred surface while I managed to squeeze to get to the main hall. Next year I'll remember to bring a big roll of house mat for the whole family to pray outside. My family's theme this year was green. I got myself & my boys a nice hijau pucuk pisang baju melayu while my wife & the girls got matching, darker green baju kurung. We visited my wife's many uncles & aunties with plenty of nice food on offer. & normally I'd take just a small portion, thinking that there were more food to come. On the second day morning we travelled north to my kampung in Kuala Kangsar. Thankfully the traffic wasn't so bad. On the way there we were told to make a transit at Chepor where my eldest sister was having an open house for the whole family. So off we went. We decided to take the Sungai Siput way, where our former Works Minister has kindly widened the whole federal road to KK. I don't know why but we just visited one house for the whole 3 days in KK, & that was my aunt's. May be we were too tired & also we only have 2-night stay & on the last day it was Saturday & we must start our journey early to avoid the dreaded jam. Thankfully my mother managed to order our favorite laksa kuala & we brought some home to Bangi.
Getting home again, it was time to visit our relatives' houses around the Klang Valley & we took turn to visit each other. Being close relatives, we just went on an adhoc basis by simply call & say "kita nak datang..". Then, there are our friends' raya gathering to go to & this is normally more of a planned arrangement, with fixed date & time. We just had our ex-schoolmates' raya gathering last Sunday where one of our mates has kindly offered his restaurant as the place to meet up & we brought our food pot luck style. It was also the most tiring day because we also went up to Serendah & Batu Caves on the same day.
For next year, I want to make rule that we would only go to maximum 2 open houses for the day... we'll see whether we can follow that rule, yeah?
It's the same routine for me this year. Went to my wife's kampung in Melaka on the last days of Ramadhan & celebrated the all-important hari raya pertama there. Actually it feels more like in Negeri Seremban, since everybody speaks the negeri slang & they still follow adat perpatih in some ways. This year was a bit special in 2 ways : We cooked our own lemang right behind the house & we did a kenduri on malam raya where we invited the imam to do doa selamat & maghrib prayers followed by the takbir right in our living room. As usual, the food leftover was so huge even though many kampung folks turned up. When will they ever learn to make just enough food which is not so hot, I wonder? But I do love my sister-in-law's black rendang, although it's still too much on the hot side. For the raya prayer, it was full house again at the kampung mosque. People prayed on the tarred surface while I managed to squeeze to get to the main hall. Next year I'll remember to bring a big roll of house mat for the whole family to pray outside. My family's theme this year was green. I got myself & my boys a nice hijau pucuk pisang baju melayu while my wife & the girls got matching, darker green baju kurung. We visited my wife's many uncles & aunties with plenty of nice food on offer. & normally I'd take just a small portion, thinking that there were more food to come. On the second day morning we travelled north to my kampung in Kuala Kangsar. Thankfully the traffic wasn't so bad. On the way there we were told to make a transit at Chepor where my eldest sister was having an open house for the whole family. So off we went. We decided to take the Sungai Siput way, where our former Works Minister has kindly widened the whole federal road to KK. I don't know why but we just visited one house for the whole 3 days in KK, & that was my aunt's. May be we were too tired & also we only have 2-night stay & on the last day it was Saturday & we must start our journey early to avoid the dreaded jam. Thankfully my mother managed to order our favorite laksa kuala & we brought some home to Bangi.
Getting home again, it was time to visit our relatives' houses around the Klang Valley & we took turn to visit each other. Being close relatives, we just went on an adhoc basis by simply call & say "kita nak datang..". Then, there are our friends' raya gathering to go to & this is normally more of a planned arrangement, with fixed date & time. We just had our ex-schoolmates' raya gathering last Sunday where one of our mates has kindly offered his restaurant as the place to meet up & we brought our food pot luck style. It was also the most tiring day because we also went up to Serendah & Batu Caves on the same day.
For next year, I want to make rule that we would only go to maximum 2 open houses for the day... we'll see whether we can follow that rule, yeah?
Melamine? What the..?
For people still blur on what this issue is all about, I got an email explaining in simpler terms so i'd like to share it here...
1.What really is poisoned milk？
It is the milk powder mixed with "MELAMINE"
Melamine is use for？It is an industrial chemical used in the production of melawares.
It is also used in home decoration. "US
Do you understand？Melamine is use in industrial production，it cannot be eaten！
2.Why is Melamine added in milk powder？
The most important nutrient in milk is protein. And Melamine has the same protein that contains "NITROGEN"
Adding Melamine in milk reduces milk content and it is cheaper then milk so it lowers capitalization. It can give the business man more profit!
Below is Melamine，doesn't it look like milk？it doesn't have any smell, so cannot be detected.
3. When was it discovered？
Year 2007.US cats and dogs died suddenly, they found that pet food from China
Starting 2008, InChina
August 2008 China Sanlu Milk Powder tested with Melamine.
Sept. 2008New Zealand gov't ask China
Sept. 21, 2008 Lots of food products inTaiwan
4.What happens when Melamine is digested？
Melamine remains inside the kidney. It forms into stones blocking the tubes. Pain will be eminent and person cannot urinate. Kidney will then swell.
Although surgery can remove the stones, but it will cause irreversible kidney damage. It can lead to loss of kidney function and will require
kidney dialysis or lead to death because of uremia.
What is dialysis？In fact, it should be called "blood washing"
it is filtering all of the body's blood into the machine and then go back to the body.
The whole process takes 4 hours and it is necessary to dialysis once for every 3 days for the rest of your life.
Why is it more serious in babies？Because the kidney is very small and they drink a lot of milk powder.
China
It does not matter how much a human being took Melamine. The important point is "It cannot be EATEN!"
5.What are the foods to be avoided?
Foods that contain dairy products should be avoided.
Remember: Foods with creamer or milk originated from China should be avoided.
6.What do we do next？
Avoid the above foods for at least six months。
If you have snack bar, restaurant or coffee shops, stop selling dairy products for the meantime.
If you have infants at home, change to mother's milk or find other substitutes.
1.What really is poisoned milk？
It is the milk powder mixed with "MELAMINE"
Melamine is use for？It is an industrial chemical used in the production of melawares.
It is also used in home decoration. "
Do you understand？Melamine is use in industrial production，it cannot be eaten！
2.Why is Melamine added in milk powder？
The most important nutrient in milk is protein. And Melamine has the same protein that contains "NITROGEN"
Adding Melamine in milk reduces milk content and it is cheaper then milk so it lowers capitalization. It can give the business man more profit!
Below is Melamine，doesn't it look like milk？it doesn't have any smell, so cannot be detected.
3. When was it discovered？
Year 2007.
Starting 2008, In
August 2008 China Sanlu Milk Powder tested with Melamine.
Sept. 2008
Sept. 21, 2008 Lots of food products in
4.What happens when Melamine is digested？
Melamine remains inside the kidney. It forms into stones blocking the tubes. Pain will be eminent and person cannot urinate. Kidney will then swell.
Although surgery can remove the stones, but it will cause irreversible kidney damage. It can lead to loss of kidney function and will require
kidney dialysis or lead to death because of uremia.
What is dialysis？In fact, it should be called "blood washing"
it is filtering all of the body's blood into the machine and then go back to the body.
The whole process takes 4 hours and it is necessary to dialysis once for every 3 days for the rest of your life.
Why is it more serious in babies？Because the kidney is very small and they drink a lot of milk powder.
It does not matter how much a human being took Melamine. The important point is "It cannot be EATEN!"
5.What are the foods to be avoided?
Foods that contain dairy products should be avoided.
Remember: Foods with creamer or milk originated from China should be avoided.
6.What do we do next？
Avoid the above foods for at least six months。
If you have snack bar, restaurant or coffee shops, stop selling dairy products for the meantime.
If you have infants at home, change to mother's milk or find other substitutes.
GPS re-visit
do you know that you can do much more with GPS than navigation? here are some other things that I do with the help of GPS :
- digital speedometer. i'd say it tells your car speed better than your car's speedometer
- prayer direction. yeah, pretty simple & make sense really. since muslims pray in the direction of mecca, just make a mark of mecca (or kaabah to be specific) on your gps map & point your current location towards it & walla you got your qiblat direction accurately, much more reliable & accurate than your magnetic compass. the gps location for kaabah is N21deg 25.351min, E39deg 49.573min
- speed traps warning. get your latest speed cam location from malsing map (yeah, them again!) downloaded to your phones. with the right software, you will be warned of your coming speed cameras on the road. pretty cool, yeah?
Musically speaking...
I listen to music, all kinds. I was exposed to music at a relatively young age. At the time, my brothers & sisters were into 70's discos, & listened to the bee gees, boney m & abba. We also listened to local pop songs from the likes black dog bone, alleycats, carefree. my brother was also in a band playing at small functions like kenduri kawin. my brother teached me how to play the guitar when I was 7, i think. Then, when my sister got married, my brother's band would play. that's when my brother teached me piano a bit. after that, i learned my own, mostly from reading guitar chord books & listening the guitar sound. In 80's i turned to rock since everybody's listening to that & the names deep purple, scorpions & more locally, sweet charity came to mind, before some heavier stuffs from iron maiden & black sabbath took over.
Since I love the guitar, Van Halen became my obsession since the guitarist, Eddie, was regarded as the best at the time. Of course, my school friend would always say that Tony Iommy is better...well. I got hold of all the early van halen albums & really fascinated by the guitar sound & technique. Album-wise, I still regard their "1984" as one of the best all times, followed by "Fair Warning". The best album of Black Sabbath is "Heaven & Hell", ironically without the original frontman Ozzy. To me, Dio has the best rock vocals & it shows in this album. I don't leave out Ozzy however, as I also like his solo albums in the 80's, when Jake Lee was his guitarist. Oh yeah, apart from discos & rocks, I do listen to popular music from Madonna, Kylie & the likes back in the 80's & 90's. I still have a few full albums of them, but not so much of their recent offerings.
Sadly, now I don't have a favorite among the active singers/bands. I have stopped buying full albums nowadays. There are songs that I like to listen to but they are all scattered here & there.
Since I love the guitar, Van Halen became my obsession since the guitarist, Eddie, was regarded as the best at the time. Of course, my school friend would always say that Tony Iommy is better...well. I got hold of all the early van halen albums & really fascinated by the guitar sound & technique. Album-wise, I still regard their "1984" as one of the best all times, followed by "Fair Warning". The best album of Black Sabbath is "Heaven & Hell", ironically without the original frontman Ozzy. To me, Dio has the best rock vocals & it shows in this album. I don't leave out Ozzy however, as I also like his solo albums in the 80's, when Jake Lee was his guitarist. Oh yeah, apart from discos & rocks, I do listen to popular music from Madonna, Kylie & the likes back in the 80's & 90's. I still have a few full albums of them, but not so much of their recent offerings.
Sadly, now I don't have a favorite among the active singers/bands. I have stopped buying full albums nowadays. There are songs that I like to listen to but they are all scattered here & there.
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