Happy new year!!!

Best wishes to my three die-hard fans (Jim, Fenn and The Sushi Man) and the rest of you who do not read this blog often enough!!! May the new year bring loads of joy, love and $$$.

Money money money

"Money won is twice as sweet as money earned."
- Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman), The Color of Money

Paranoia

With the recent madness, I recommend that friends use Firefox to surf the net as you will be prompted if a webpage contains WMF files. Me??? I'm taking it to the extreme. I'm now surfing the net using Firefox within Ubuntu running as a virtual machine.
Besides surfing sites, I can also login to ICQ and MSN to IM using GAIM.

Did you know?

For you techies out there. Referenced from a whitepaper written by Mike Schiffman.
"There is a special reason why there are 13 root name servers. It is the maximum number of servers that can exist given that the maximum size of a UDP datagram is 512 bytes. Only 13 NS records and their corresponding A records can fit inside of a 512 byte DNS packet."

"I told you so"

I hate to be right sometimes. Just after posting about bad guys not taking a break, a new"Zero-day exploit" was discovered. Even fully patched Windows machines are vulnerable as this was a previously unknown vulnerability. Be wary about downloading or viewing files with the extension WMF as malicious WMF files provide an attacker full system privileges.
AVOID these websites as they are known to download malicious WMF files onto your PC.
Crackz [dot] ws
unionseek [dot] com
www.tfcco [dot] com
Iframeurl [dot] biz
beehappyy [dot] biz
toolbarbiz[dot]biz
toolbarsite[dot]biz
toolbartraff[dot]biz
toolbarurl[dot]biz
buytoolbar[dot]biz
buytraff[dot]biz
iframebiz[dot]biz
iframecash[dot]biz
iframesite[dot]biz
iframetraff[dot]biz
iframeurl[dot]biz
Latest update: I found a work-around solution to temporarily minimise the risk of getting compromised*.

To un-register Shimgvw.dll, follow these steps:

1.	Click Start, click Run, type "regsvr32 -u %windir%\system32\shimgvw.dll" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
2.	A dialog box appears to confirm that the un-registration process has succeeded. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Impact of Workaround: The Windows Picture and Fax Viewer will no longer be started when users click on a link to an image type that is associated with the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer.

To undo this change, re-register Shimgvw.dll by following the above steps. Replace the text in Step 1 with “regsvr32 %windir%\system32\shimgvw.dll” (without the quotation marks).

* Please contact your resident security professional for assistance if required.

Fighting a losing battle?

Its the holiday season and us security guys are taking a well-deserved break from trying to save the world. Go to security websites and you will find that there hasn't been any new articles for days. Look for a security engineer and they're on leave. Don't get me wrong... I want my holiday but what worries me is that the "bad guys" have their heads down finding some new way to take over the world while eating their holiday turkey.

More scenery

Singapore is always cloudy. Its fine in the day because it shields most of the sunrays but it also blocks out the stars from the sky at night. I miss staring out at the stars at night when I was studying in Perth. Wish that I was back there studying sometimes. Check out the streak of smoke left behind by a plane in the second pic. Found this sight intriguing... enlarge it by clicking on it if you are interested in viewing it.

Xmas lunch

Had Xmas lunch at this eatery called "Hong Kong Cafe" in Marine Parade. My gosh!!! Jim, Fenn, April and I stuffed ourselves silly with amazing dishes. We all agree that the food deserves 5 thumbs up especially the Salt & Pepper Pork Ribs (first photo below). One of the best Xmas lunches I have ever had... mmmmmmmm.

Strange

Its strange how you can watch a movie countless times and not realise who a particular actor/actress is. For example, I watched "Die Hard" on Channel 5 recently for the nth time and it finally struck me that the bad guy in the movie was Alan Rickman!!! Wierd.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays (like what they're only "allowed" to say in the U.S. for whatever reasons) to all my loyal readers!!! Have a good weekend and wishing happiness as well as joy to your families too.

On fire!!!

Kobe scored 62 points in three quarters against the hapless Mavs!!! When he left the game at the end of the third, he had outscored the entire Mavs team who had only scored 61 points. I own a pair of Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K5s (which is endorsed by Kobe) so I'm going to score 60+ points in my next bball game ;p
The Sushi Man* says I'm a marketing executive's dream in jest. Hahahahahaha.

* He is the epitome of cynicism.

Woooooo

My custom-made acrylic case for my special edition, Darth Vader, is ready!!! Anaconda collected it for me so I should be getting it soon. I will keep you guys posted when Darth is resting nicely in it.

Wow

Was watching "Fashion Rocks" on Channel 5 this afternoon and was blown-away by Avril Lavigne's performance together with the Goo Goo Dolls. They sang one of my fav Dolls' song "Iris". It turns out that the Dolls were one of Avril's musical influences... interesting.

Sales pitch

The Sushi Man was in the Apple store at Funan when he overheard a salesman trying to sell a pair of funky speakers to a Filipino couple.
Salesman: "Silver colour is nice. Just like the red colour but without the red."
Ahahahahahahha.

Aston Martin

Just found out that my CEO drives an Aston Martin Vanquish Roadster. I will leave my thoughts to your imagination.

Grammatical error?

Nooooooooo... this post is not an excuse to upload a pic of Fiona. I just think the slogan is all wrong. I feel that it should read "Uzap even tones your butt while you are at rest." instead.

Gross

My review for King Kong? Kong didn't scare me but I was traumatised by giant roaches, centipedes or other varieties of creepy crawlies. If I had a choice between being attacked by a dinosaur or giant insects, I would choose the dino hands down!!!
Would have given Kong 4 out of 5 but 2 points deducted for the presence of creepies.

Another one ;p

Hehehehehe. Yes yes yes... I got another one. This one has a button to play sounds too just like my Darth Vader but the differences are that it is not a special edition action figure and does not allow me to change its batteries without ripping off the packaging.

CNG Mercedes cab

Cool!!! I had the pleasure of taking a brand new CNG Mercedes cab. Couldn't tell from the exterior what the diff is from ordinary ones but I'm going to try my luck buying 4D again ;p
Thanks Sushi Man for the lift again!!!

It wasn't me!!!

Doing Jim* a favour by temporarily loaning out my blog to post his rant here**. We were hunting high and low for candy cane for his "bird" after dinner and then headed to my usual hangout for pool after successfully locating some. He forgot his unmarked plastic bag containing the goods when we left but remembered shortly after we leave and quickly ran back to get them. The girl working there assumed it was garbage and chucked it. Jim asked her for it and she apologised profusely but refused to pick it from the trash. This infuriated Jim as she should have offered to pick it up as she is after all a service provider. To top it off, the pool hall's toilet did not have soap (as usual) for him to cleanse the outside of the plastic bag so he was left with no choice but to rinse it only.

* Fren whom I managed to maintain for the past 12 years. The "oldest" fren I have and still meet up regularly.
** Written by yours truly as his proxy.

The day has arrived!!!

Ahahahahhahahaaha. It was only a matter of time before someone decided to do a movie entitled "Firewall". Have to catch this one... sounds a bit out of this world to me and unrealistic.

Survival

The only thing that is sustaining this blog is the fact that writing it is therapeutic for me. None of my friends read it anymore and I actually contemplated blogicide*. Starting to feel as depressed as Marvin, the Paranoid Android, from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".
Thought of putting a counter on this site previously but then realised most of the counts would probably be myself checking up on the numbers. *getting depressed again*

* Act of killing off a blog.

I should be satisfied with what I have?

My friend just got back from a 3D-3N trip to Korea. How bloody cool is that? She said its an annual event and that they went to Perth last year. My gosh!!! My company made billions last year and we don't even get a Xmas lunch. My team had to organise one ourselves and fork out $$$ from our own pockets.
*sigh* All I can think about to calm myself down is that there are people in the world worse off than me.

Irritating

After two weeks of peace, I finally have a rant. Don't you find acquaintances who pretend to be interested and keep asking the same questions absolutely irritating!!! I have a real life example. There's this wanton mee auntie (located at Bukit Merah Central hawker centre) whom I have been patronising for years. Everytime I buy food from her, she askes me a series of questions that does not differ too much from the questions below.
Wanton mee auntie (WMA): "When is your sister coming back?"
Me: "Not sure."
WMA: "Is she still in Scotland? Still studying or working already?"
Me: "No, she's working in HK."
WMA: "Ohhhh. Working as a doctor ah?"
She can't even be bothered to remember my answers or remember that she's asked me the same questions before but yet keeps making me repeat myself every single time. It doesn't show her concern or interest at all!!! I rather she not bother.
Remember my rant about colleagues who don't talk to me? Well if they are as disinterested as this auntie... then I'm happy that they don't bug me.

Comebacks

There are quite a few 80s groups making comebacks in the new millennium. Banarama and Simple Minds are two that I am aware of. Maybe they ran out of $$$ ;p

Waiting

Was waiting for a friend at Mr Bean for lunch. She was late so I got bored and took a pic of my legs. I love my Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K5s so much. She said my thighs look huge in the pic. Hahahahah... thanks.

"The Da Vinci Code" movie preview

My gosh!!! I just saw the preview of "The Da Vinci Code" and I have to say that I'm so excited because being a movie buff, it would be amazing to visually witness my favourite book on the large screen. It looks very slick and has tons of stars in it. Tom Hanks is the lead with Audrey Tautou (Amelie), Ian McKellen (Lord of the rings), Paul Betanny (Wimbledon), Alfred Molina (Spiderman 2), Jean Reno (The Professional) and many others in it. Its going to be out in May 2006. Sigh... I still have to wait another 5 months. There hasn't been a movie since Star Wars Episode III that has left me trembling in anticipation.

Not black and white

Just finished watching "Training Day". My gosh... Ethan Hawke is my favourite actor. That's besides the point, the movie provided a timely reminder to me that the world is not black and white. Yeah yeah... I can hear you guys groaning that this movie is fiction but it would be an absolute lie to pretend that sleeze and lies don't exist. They do and the world is grey which is what makes the world so dynamic and unpredictable. Scary huh?

Quiet week

Its been a quiet week for me that's why I haven't had anything to write. I do have some new photos though. Enjoy.

Carl's

Mmmmmmmmm. Finally had the chance to get my hands on those juicy Carl's Jr. burgers. 5 stars!!! The burgers are not oily or salty but still tasty without being bland. The chilli fries are amazing... reminding me of those Chilli Hot Dogs that I used to eat from A&W. Try it!!!

Forward looking

The Sushi Man is the first person I know who gets an accessory for a gadget first before getting the gadget itself. He requested a leather iPod Nano cover for the office Xmas gift exchange even though he does not even own a Nano!!! Talk about thinking ahead.

Welcome back!!!

Ahhhhh... after a two year hiatus, Texas is finally back. I have always loved this Glaswegian band and it does help that Sharleen Spiteri* is hot!!! Wooooopps... I let slip that fact. Ahahahhahahahaha.

Currently listening to "Red Book"... the songs have the typical catchy style that is synonymous with Texas, relaxing yet enjoyable. 5 stars but then again I'm biased.

* Little known fact: Sharleen was offered the lead in Moulin Rouge which she rejected and was eventually played by Nicole Kidman.

Creed

Alter Bridge* ain't no Creed no matter how hard they try. I miss them badly that's why I decided to get their greatest hits album though I already have two of their albums (Human Clay and Weathered). The main reason I bought it is because it comes with a DVD disc with 12 of their music videos. Scott Stapp rocks... the fools!!! Woooooo... it turns out that Scott Stapp has his own solo album from googling Amazon. Mmmmmm... looks like more $$$ is going to disappear from my wallet pretty soon.

* Band made up of original Creed members sans Scott Stapp (their lead singer) with a new lead singer.

Happy belated birthday

I got some belated bday pressies for myself today. OMG!!! Check out the amazing Darth Vader that has a button you can press to play four different phrases from the speaker found behind. I* also got myself Creed's Greatest Hits and Texas' new album, Red Book. More about them later.

* Mervyn was not harmed in the process of buying and playing the two CDs as they were not from Sony.

Photo taking contest

I'm tired of waiting for STB to get back to me so I decided to hold my own photo taking contest. Please vote for your fav photo taken by me, my dear friends. Welcome your appreciation of my work. Thanks.

Frog's leg porriage

Mmmmmmmm. Had my fav frog's leg porriage from Chinatown today. I haven't had it in such a looooooonnng time ;p You guys don't know what you're missing.

My preciiiiioooouuuuss

My gosh!!! The Cold Storage at Compass Point is like a treasure trove. Go there and you won't be disappointed. I previously got Dr Pepper from there which I couldn't find anywhere else in Singapore. Guess what I managed to buy from there??? Coke with lime!!! In case you guys didn't already know, Coke with lime is a limited edition drink which is already not available for sale. I had only tasted one can previously and was regretting not having had more but lo and behold!!! I found stacks of six packs in Cold Storage and had to quickly grab one. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Brazilian name

My brazilian name is Mervynão. Exotic!!! Get your own brazilian name at Nike Football.

Boycott

After getting so much flak for introducing malware previously, Sony is in the headlines again for the wrong reason. It was discovered that Sony CDs introduce another vulnerability to your PC, making your PC susceptible to being exploited by the bad guys. More information on this newly discovered issue is available here. If you have stuck any of these CDs into your computer... good luck.
After this second debacle, I'm boycotting Sony for life. We should all be so outraged.

"Quote" about Yoda

The Sushi Man found this on the web. Interesting.
"In the force if so strong Yoda is, with words in the proper order a sentence construct then why cannot he?"
Ahahahahhahahaha.

Effects

I love lights... the way it reflects off shiny objects and the way it stands out in the night. Water is another element that I adore and when the two come together... POW!!! This is a picture I took of the Shanghai Museum after a heavy shower.

Lakers Vs Celtics

Not sure how many of you remember this game or spent hours playing it endlessly? I did. I have been reminising about retro things recently and this game is one of them. I did a search on Google and found it!!! I was able to get it running but came undone when I was trying to get the jumpball started. Oh well... it was strange "playing" it again as my memory differed from what I saw on the screen. The colours were strange and the response sluggish. But it was nice reliving my childhood again.

Comic-inspired movies

I love comic-inspired movies but prefer those unique ones like "Sin City" and "Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow". I don't know what it is about them... probably the style, feel, colour, texture, characters, effort put into making them and the impression that I'm reading a comic rather than watching a movie.
Some research on the Internet informs me that there will be two more upcoming Sin City movies with the second installment coming out in 2006. Coooooool.

Unusual tribute to George Best

"After his first training session in heaven, George Best, from his favourite right wing, turned the head of God who was filling in at left-back. I would love him to save me a place in his team, George Best that is, not God."
- Eric Cantona, 2005

Still haven't gone

I'm still waiting to go to "The Art of Star Wars" exhibition. When are we going, Denis? ;p

Food court

There's something nice and relaxing about this food court. I like the look and ambiance of it.

Road to recovery... not!!!

Just when I thought that I was almost fully recovered... wham!!! I get hit again. Now I'm on my second round of antibiotics and see how huge they are.

What is your greatest fear?

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were all meant to shine, as children do.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

I heard this quote while watching the movie "Coach Carter" and was totally blown away. I found out that it was actually adapted from the book "A return to love" by Marianne Williamson using my Google Fu. Amazing and inspiring.

Still can't get hold of person-in-charge

I still can't get hold of the person-in-charge of the phototaking competition. I asked the customer service personnel from STB for help and was told to take a photo below 100KB so that I can send it via MMS. Duh!!!! That's not a solution. I'm joining a "best photo" competition not a "take a photo below 100KB" challenge.
Still not happy!!!

The closest you will get to autumn

This is the closest that we will get to any hint of autumn in Singapore. I was waiting for the train this morning and noticed the leaves on the tree turning yellow before falling off. Found this beautiful.

Cybercrime pays!!!

An article stating that more $$$ was "made" via cybercrime than from drug trafficking last year!!! Have I managed to make my point yet?