My Bachelor Pad

Finally got my wireless network working. And re-arranged my furniture, need to work on the right furniture to buy and add to my small room. Nevertheless, I am happy with the new work area which is under my bed. It is pretty cosy with the light on and the sound of rain drops just outside my window.

I am thinking of adding an extra small table on the side, much like an L shape furniture for me to write on. Right now, there isn't much area for me to write. Yes, I still do love using the pen and paper. Probably, I might get some drawers and a small sofa. Thinking of getting those sofas that you can sleep on. Those kinds that follow the contours of your body. Maybe I could get it in red.
















There it is, my humble corner... cosy chair, warm lighting, some hot cocoa and the cold rain. Yes, it is my corner of bliss.

Can we suggest this for Singapore's Funniest Videos? (NSFW)

I can't help but laugh at this video.

I don't think this would pass the censors here, anyway enjoy the video.

PC for under US$200

Apparently, two weeks ago, Wal Mart sold out its 10,000 units that cost US$200. The specs include a 1.5 GHz VIA C7 CPU embedded onto a Mini-ITX motherboard, 512MB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive.

Sounds pretty ok, considering if you are just using your pc for normal usage eg: typing, reading emails, updating your blog, surfing the net. So what makes it so cheap? Well the answer is pretty straight forward. No Windows.

The PC is not bundled up with Windows in here, and no Microsoft Office, this PC runs on Linux and Open Office, both are open source and free! So that keeps the costs low.

You can read more about it here.

If you think abt it, the PC does meet your basic needs. Unless you are a High-end user like me, then this PC meets your requirements for a PC on a budget. There is already a lot of bad publicity on Windows Vista and that is one of the reasons why I haven't been blogging. I been currently trying to downgrade to a Windows XP because Vista is taking such a long time to load and shut down!

Anyway, I think because of that, people are opting to stick to Windows XP or buy a Mac or in this case, switch to Linux. And best of all, it's cheap. This period reminds me of the Concorde era. It had the ability to reach places at the quickest possible time, and providing good service to it's passengers, but in the end, it is just too expensive to travel in it and it too had it's own terrible disaster which led to the end of it's career.

Comparing that with the current wrap on Vista, M$ is goona have a hard time trying to sell it's Vista. Windows has been the standard for most part of the world users, but if Vista is not keeping to it's promises, people are losing faith in M$. I think, now other OS are springing up soon to offer a better alternative and Linux is probably becoming a contender, maybe not enough to beat M$ but at least it is trying to get it's share in the market. Now I read, Google is making it's own operating software.

You can read more abt it here.


So what do I look for in an OS?

1) Light weight
2) Ease of use
3) Quick Loading time

Hopefully someone can create such OS. I am not into nice cool graphics, I just need an OS that works fine and doesn't load forever! Till then, it is XP for me.

WORLD AIDS DAY

I wanted to blog abt this day, because it landed on the same day as my birthday. But yesterday I was too preoccupied with my new gifts that I totally forgot to write abt it.

Anyway, the AIDS epidemic isn't getting any better. We still haven't found a cure, 3rd world countries are not getting the medicines they need to survive through this disease, people are still out there having unprotected sex, the world is getting more connected and yet our young adults and even our older adults are still clueless of what causes the disease and how it is transmitted.

UNAIDS estimates there are 33.2million ppl with HIV, 2.5 million of them children. Around half of them have it before they are 25 years old and most of them do not live beyond 35. It is a pandemic.

In 2005 alone, 2.4 ~ 3.5 million people died of AIDS. More than half a million were children. A third of them occured in sub-Saharan Africa.

4,400 ppl die of AIDS everyday in sub-Saharan Africa. If that happens in Singapore, our population would have been wiped out within 3 years.

HIV is transmitted through blood, semen, vaginal fluid, perseminal fluid and breast milk. Yes, breast milk! Other transmissions can be in a form of anal, vaginal or oral sex. Blood transfusion like the sharing of contaminated needles can get you infected with HIV.

1st December isn't significant to me just because it is my birthday, but it is a reminder to myself and I hope to others of the implications you will get when you make the wrong decisions in your life.

There is still hope for you and there is still hope for those who have HIV. There are pills to slow down the virus and doctors are still working on a cure. Although it may seem bleak at the moment, the pills that are helping to slow down the spread of the virus infection is giving an extended life to the HIV patients.

You can read more of it here.
http://www.joinred.com/

Personally, I think everyone here has a responsibility to be informed and inform others of this disease. And at the same time, learn to protect oneself, either through protection or keeping yourself chaste.

AIDS is no longer a gay's disease, it is a people's disease, knowing no gender, race or age.




















Resource, information links and how you can give your support:

http://www.avert.org/worldaid.htm

http://joinred.blogspot.com/

http://www.worldaidsday.org/index.asp

My Birthday Presents!!

Oh gosh, how time flies by so fast. I don't usually bother much abt my birthdays, but this year has been a different year for me. I learned a lot of new things, eg: being a leader, a teacher, a good brother and son, managing my time and money, self-discipline and endurance, etc... It has been a pretty good year.

I recapped my past year on what I have achieved. And most of it have achieved, mostly on my own and I am pretty proud of myself. But all that is not attainable without the support of my family and friends. No doubt I have achieved things but there is still lots for me to accomplish. I am setting goals mentally as I write this blog, and as I recall what the past year has taught me, I think it has to be about growing up.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I lack maturity but more like learning from the lessons throughout this year, from making mistakes to making important decisions.

This year, I finally passed my driving license.
I found a fulfilling job. (or maybe i should say, 'refound'; not too sure if that is a word itself)
I passed my IPPT on my own without a training buddy.
Made painful decisions in my past relationship.
Set up a new blog.

Although it seems little that I have done, but only I myself know the pain and sacrifices I had to go through to achieve all that. Weeks of staying home jobless when everyone seems to have a job. The countless driving lessons which almost drove me penniless. The late nights at work to finish up projects and weekend work to earn more to buy a laptop so that my sis can use my pc for her school work next year. The pain and fatigue from training almost everyday in the middle of the night running around parks and housing estates and still waking up the next morning for work. Having to face a painful break up and seeing her face tear in my hands......

What a year it has been.

Oh well, you live and learn. Life's would be boring without facing challenges. And I face it each day in stride, knowing I have learned how to deal with it.

Anyway, here are my presents!
















It's a candle, made by one of my colleagues at work. Nice isn't it! She is so sweet to make me a candle out of sand and tiny seashells. It looks too nice to light up. I be putting it in my desk room next to my laptop!

















My sis bought me a T-shirt. Yes it is light blue. So striking, I like the design on it. Looks pretty.

















Yes! Food! Glorious food! My parents bought me pizza!


















Yes I bought meself a laptop! With help from a dear friend of course. Got it from Sitex. It is an Asus A8Jseries. Pretty good specs, it has a 160gb HDD, 2ghz Core Duo, 2Gb of Memory, 802.11a wireless, ATi Radeon X2300 graphics card, plus, I got free Altec Lansing Speakers, free optical mouse, free laptop bag (the bag is pretty rugged and tough), free portable wireless access point, some free softwares, and all of that for $1515. My friend helped me pull it from almost $1600 to $1538. The girl was sweet enough to bring it down further to $1515 all because it was my birthday :)

I feel so gratified!
Now I Goota go customize my laptop!