569. Quiet Sunday

Being in somber mood, the rainy sunday morning was appropriate. Basically spent the day sleeping in, reading books, cleaning my room and clearing off some work. Just what the doctor ordered. Maybe not.

Had enough of lazing around in the house, so headed out to New World Park. It's a new place at Burmah Road. This is the first time I'm there. I was surprised how big the place is. Hmmm, seems quite happening even for a sunday nite.

The South Court; The Center Court

568. My new baby

Nope, haven't got a replacement for my car yet. The new baby I'm refering to is my new Dell Dimension. Spent the rest of the evening setting it up and getting used to Windows Vista. First thing I noticed is how I didn't noticed it's already on. It's amazingly quiet. Next was trying to confirm the specs. Core 2 duo, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD & 128MB GeForce 7300LE. Everything checks out.

Vista has a really beautiful interface, but it takes a while for me to get used to the layout and also the set up. The advanced settings are well hidden and accessing it triggers all sort of alarms and warnings. Guess it's built to be foolproof. It took me awhile to finally transfer what I needed to the new PC. Took the new graphics card for a spin. It isn't exactly fast, but compared to my old one, it's really fast. I tried to play some HD video on my old PC, and it won't run smoothly. With the new PC, not only can it run smoothly, I can run 3 HD videos, Photoshop CS2, play games and surf the net simultaneously. :) ahhhh, finally.

The old & the new; connected for data transfer

Done! It's new home

Since I was busy setting up the PC, decided to have pizza for dinner. Pizza Hut has this new offer on their crunchy crust pizzas. So gave it a shot. It's lovely. That's gonna be my new favorite pizza. A lovely evening.

_____________________

My Random Thots:

It's interesting how humans change & adapt. Guess that's the notion of evolution or survival instinct even. Overtime, only the strong will survive, the weak gets eaten :D Duh, how the heck should I know how the "system" works, I'll check with God when I meet Him/Her and get back to you.

567. Finally parted with my baby

Well, it's official! It has been a wonderful 7 years, but all good things must come to an end. She was good to me all those years. Reliable, hardworking, always there when I needed her, going on drives with me when I'm down and had many memorable moments with her. But alas, hope her new owner will take good care of her. Goodbye my dear. Will miss ya.

Moving on.

I was asked how come I didn't mention a certain movie which I watched alone on sat nite. Well, lemme assure you that it's an honest oversight and not that I'm trying to block out certain memories. :P To prove it, here's the "missing" post. Enjoy....

.....I finally watched a movie in a cinema all by myself. Well, it was awkward really. Firstly, because I arrived late and had to seat in between 2 couples and secondly because of the theme of the movie. It's a lovey dovey movie k, but worse, it's the brokeback mountain kind. the forementioned show was "I now pronounce you Chuck & Larry". I gotta say, the show itself was so funny that I forgot I was feeling awkward. :) It was a riot.

Now how exactly did I end up watching it by myself? It's coz Chong, Yippie, Jack & Ann wanted to watch Rush Hour 3. Since I've already seen it and it's not worth a 2nd watch, I opted to go solo for the first time. I'm glad I did. :)

Had another round of golf with Chong and gang today. Scored my first ever bogey (+1) but lost one of my new balls in the water hazard. Felt this was better than my previous game, but couldn't verify it as Chong left the score card on the buggy. Alas, would've loved to see how I did. Anyway, there's always a next time.

566. 2 chicks' B'day, A hen's nite, Fishes & Golf

Celebrated Raine & Cheryl's birthday @ Tiger Arms thursday evening. Man the place is quiet. Actually, it was really dead in town. Surprising. Probably becoz it's fasting month. After that, headed to over to QE2 coz Seng had to meet Jimbo there. Ann was there too, it's Joanna's hen nite.

Raine & Cheryl with their cake

Havin fun @ Tiger Arms, Upper Penang Road

Joanna @ QE2

Friday's a lil more relaxing. Went with Fen, Wee, Raine, Ruyi & Isaac to this huge pet store in Burmah Road. Huge place! 3 floors of fishes, puppies, snakes, parrots, spiders, iguanas and whatever else u can think of.

On Sat, work was typical, but after work it's my first time back on the greens after 8 yrs. Been to the driving range a bit, but not on the course. So thot it might be fun. Turned out it was. We played only 9 holes @ Penang Golf Resort's West Course and I scored a miserable 70. Pros score 70 for 18 holes. So guess I'm half pro. :D lame joke. Anyway, anticipating more games to come, I bought more balls.

Teeing Off

Goofing around at the course

Lai distracting me; Payback time

Sunset @ Penang Golf Resort

My score card; New balls

565. Meteor Crash!

Finally! A Meteorite crashes into earth! Just like in the movies. It's been over 24hrs, but still no sign of the Autobots crawling out of the crater, no alien virus dat turns humans into zombies, no alien symbiotes, not even superman. Instead, we got gas! :) Sigh, someone need to rewrite the script here.

Scores ill in Peru 'meteor crash'
Borrowed from BBC NEWS

Hundreds of people in Peru have needed treatment after an object from space - said to be a meteorite - plummeted to Earth in a remote area, officials say.
They say the object left a deep crater after crashing down over the weekend near the town of Carancas in the Andes.

People who visited the scene have been complaining of headaches, vomiting and nausea after inhaling gases.

But some experts have questioned whether it was a meteorite or some other object that landed in Carancas.

"Increasingly we think that people witnessed a fireball, which are not uncommon, went off to investigate and found a lake of sedimentary deposit, which may be full of smelly, methane rich organic matter," said Dr Caroline Smith, a meteorite expert at the London-based Natural History Museum.

"This has been mistaken for a crater."

A team of scientists is on its way to the site to collect samples and verify whether it was indeed a meteorite.

Geologists have called on the authorities to stop people going near the crash site.

A local journalist, Martine Hanlon, told the BBC experts did not believe the meteor would make anybody sick, but they did think a chemical reaction caused by its contact with the ground could release toxins such as sulphur and arsenic.

An engineer from the Peruvian Nuclear Energy Institute told AFP news agency that no radiation had been detected from the crater. He ruled out any possibility that the fallen object might be a satellite.

Afraid

Nestor Quispe, the mayor of the municipality to which Carancas belongs, told the BBC that many residents had been affected.

"Lots of people from the town of Carancas have fallen ill. They have headaches, eye problems, irritated skin, nausea and vomiting," he said.

"I think there's also a certain psychological fear in the community."

Local resident Heber Mamani said a bull and some other animals had become ill.

"That is why we are asking for an analysis, because we are worried for our people. They are afraid," he said.

Another local villager, Romulo Quispe, said people were worried that the water was no longer safe to drink.

"This is the water we use for the animals, and for us, for everyone, and it looks like it is contaminated," he said.

"We don't know what is going on at the moment, that is what we are worried about."

The incident took place on Saturday night, when people near Carancas in the remote Puno region, some 1,300km (800 miles) south of the Peruvian capital, Lima, reported seeing a fireball in the sky coming towards them.

The object then hit the ground, leaving a 30m (98ft) wide and 6m (20ft) deep crater.

The crater spewed what officials described as fetid, noxious gases.

Jorge Lopez, a health director in Puno, told Reuters news agency he had an irritated throat and itchy nose after visiting the site.

564. RIP Colin McRae

Rally champion Colin McRae dies with son in helicopter crash
Tom Gordon

THE former rally driving champion Colin McRae was killed and his five year-old son feared dead in a helicopter crash yesterday afternoon. The aircraft came down in Jerviswood, Lanarkshire, half a mile from the family's home and burst into flames just after 4pm.

Jean-Eric Freudiger, McRae's agent, said the 39-year-old driver had been piloting the helicopter himself. Also on board were believed to be his son Johnny, another adult - said by locals to be a school friend of McRae - and another child. McRae's wife Alison and their daughter Hollie, 9, were not on board, friends said.

Strathclyde police said in a statement: "Four people were onboard the helicopter," adding "The bodies were found within the helicopter which is owned by Mr Colin McRae of Jerviswood House, Lanark. It is believed he was onboard the helicopter."

McRae became Britain's first World Rally champion in 1995. He was one of the country's most successful sportsmen, achieving 25 wins in World Rally events and 42 podium places. He was a flamboyant driver, inspiring one the world's best-selling computer rally games.
________________________________

A LEGEND OF THE ROAD
Richard Rae
From The Sunday Times
September 16, 2007

Colin McRae, Britain’s first world rally champion who died in a helicopter crash yesterday, will be remembered as one of the most spectacular drivers this country has produced. The appalling news of McRae’s death comes less than two years after the death of Richard Burns, Britain’s second world rally champion and one of McRae’s great rivals, after a long battle against cancer.

The 40-year-old McRae won the World Rally Championship in 1995, was runner-up in 1996, 1997, and 2001, and third in 1998. It was in many ways ironic that McRae’s driving style, the reason for his immense and enduring popularity with motorsport lovers the world over, appeared to be so at odds with his personality.

Mainly, of course, because it wasn’t – the truth was that for all he rather enjoyed playing up the apparent contrast between his flamboyance in a car and a buttoned-up, almost taciturn public persona, once away from the cameras and microphone, McRae was a natural risk-taker, and as such, an extrovert in attitude to life in every respect.

The son of a famous rallying father, McRae reckoned he first sat behind a wheel at the age of two, although his first experience of serious competition was on motorbikes, winning a number of junior and intermediate trials competitions. He made his rallying debut in 1985, combining his driving with working in the family heating and plumbing business, but his natural speed, astonishing car control and readiness to drive on the edge ensured he quickly began to make a name for himself amongst regular rally-goers.

His first World Rally Championship drive came in Sweden, home to so many great racers, in 1987, where despite several off-road excursions he finished 36th overall and third in class. His first victory came closer to home, in the Tweedies Rally in 1988, when he was co-driven by childhood sweetheart and wife to be, Alison Hamilton.

While he continued to impress as a privateer, McRae’s biggest break came when he teamed up with David Richards, the 1981 World Champion co-driver and already a man beginning to make his way in the business of motorsport.

It was Richards who persuaded Subaru that building a car capable of winning the World Rally Championship could transform a marque previously associated with gentleman farmers into an edgy best seller, and in McRae, he had the driver to win the title.

That the dream could become reality first became genuinely apparent in Sweden, in 1992, when, but for a puncture on the final day, the odds are McRae would have won the rally in the Nordic heartland. In finishing second however, he finished ahead of Stig Blomqvist and Markku Alen.

His first WRC win came the following year, in New Zealand, and though there was always the chance of a crash, it was rapidly becoming clear that no driver was as exciting, and more to the point, as quick, as McRae at his best. In 1995 he became Britain’s first World Rally Champion, sealing his victory in typical style with a final round win in his home event, beating teammate and double world champion Carlos Sainz in front of hundreds of thousands of ecstatic British motorsport fans.

To finish runner-up in the next two years was to some a disappointment, and given he won more WRC events than any other driver in 1997, to McRae himself. All the more so because he could argue that the failure to secure the championships were down to mechanical and technical issues, rather than his own driving.

In 1999 he switched to Ford, but consistent success continued to elude him, though his win in the Safari Rally of 2002, his 25th in the WRC, confirmed his place as one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport. A short-lived switch to Citroen followed, but after an enforced sabbatical in 2004 his appearance in a Skoda Fabia ensured another huge turnout for the 2005 Wales Rally. A seventh placed finish showed he had lost none of his ability.

By now the longevity of his fame as a driver had been secured, and for reasons other pure ability. For all that he always claimed not to be much of a fan of computers, in 1998 he leant his name to a rallying game which rapidly became one of the best sellers, and in various formats, continues to be to this day.

Already a wealthy man, in 1995 he became an official resident of Monaco, partly on the advice of his friend David Coulthard, but soon moved back to Scotland to ensure his young family grew up near his old home.

McRae was once asked why Scotland produced so many great drivers. He replied: “Maybe there’s something in the water! Seriously, though, I don’t think there’s any real reason for it, it’s not as if there’s an abundance of fantastic tracks for Scots to race on. I think its a reflection of the fact that the Scots are, by and large, a very determined group of people. Determination is a quality that motorsport demands in abundance, so maybe that serves us well and drives us on.”

McRae was determined, certainly, but he was also immensely naturally talented. In that respect, he may be bracketed with the driver who most regard as the greatest of them all, his fellow Scot, Jim Clark. He, too, died far too soon.

Rally Champ

- The Scotsman was the the son of five-time British rally champion, Jimmy

- He rode motorbikes as a teenager and took part in his first rally in 1985

- McRae made his debut in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Sweden in 1987, finishing 36th overall

- He was the Scottish rally champion in 1988 and the British champion in 1991 and 1992

- He won his first WRC race in 1993

- In 1995 he became Britain’s fi rst world rally champion

- He was made an MBE in 1996 for services to motor sport. He won 25 WRC rallies, with 42 podium finishes


Sad, sad day in motorsports. RIP Colin McRae 1968 - 2007

563. Texas Hold'em Nite

Received my new PC speakers yesterday. :) installed it immediately. As expected, it's weak in the bass dept. But as a "center" speaker to compliment my current sound setup, it's just nice.

Outta da box; Installed!

Later in the evening, it's off to Beau's house for poker nite. Before we knew it, it's 3am and time to head home. 'Twas a blast.

The Staredown; The Victory dance

Sunday morning, as always, is family time. This sun morning, it's off to Golden Phoenix @ EQ for Dim Sum. Surprisingly, the Dim Sum there was pretty good. Took some photos @ EQ. Didn't realise how nice their landscaping is. Wee & Raine took Ruyi & Isaac for a ride in the bubble lift.

On da way to breakfast

Ruyi & Isaac in front of the restaurant; In the restaurant

View of the golf course with the bridge in the background

EQ's beautiful landscaping

The hotel's interior

Wee, Ruyi, Raine & Isaac in the bubble lift

Well, it's official, McLaren has been stripped of all constructor's championship points for 2007 and also fined USD100 million for unauthorised possession of confidential Ferrari information. Notty notty McLaren. Click here for the full transcript of the World Motor Sport Council’s judgement

562. Earthquake again

Indonesia is hit by multiple quakes in the past 24hrs, with the most powerful one being a magnitude 8.4. Thus far, there were at least 9 fatalities reported as opposed to the quarter million in 2004. I remember that one, we were happily on the way to Jack's house and playing with Tiger cubs.

OK, in the continuing saga of things breaking down, yesterday, the power supply for my home PC died. Well, specifically, the cooling fan for the power supply unit died, causing the power supply to overheat. To my relief, my local PC parts shop had plenty of power supply units on hand. He'll wait for me before he closes. I had to rush over. My relief was short lived, after he inspected my power supply unit, he told me it's from a very old PC (mine's like 6 yrs old) and he don't have that in stock. Crap! Anyway, after doing some autopsy, my only option was to buy another fan and try to replace the one dat's burnt. Well, after grabbing the fan, I return home to begin the operation. The good news is, after swapping the fan, everything worked out fine. The new fan is a lot louder than the old, but it's also more powerful.

Trip to town: RM5.00
Supper: RM5.00
Fan for PC: RM13.00
Proud of myself for a job well done: Priceless :D

Power supply unit disassembled; taking out the burnt fan

Power unit back in it's slot; It's aliveeeeeee!