Live life

The world does not revolve around you. The world goes on with or without you. You are insignificant in this vast world. You are however significant to your loved ones and friends. Invest time in them.
Loved ones and friends stick with you through thick and thin. Your billionaire CEO wouldn't flinch if he had to retrench you when times are bad. Don't spend every waking hour working.
There is so much more to life. Be it... admiring clouds, playing Pool, surfing the net, savouring the taste of Iced Mocha in your mouth while people watching, the coolness of the drizzle that brings relief after a heat wave, drinking Bailey's Coke while listening to PVD, writing your personal blog, admiring the beauty of your surroundings and taking pictures, watching an aesthetic movie, collecting Star Wars action figures, reading, travelling the world and experiencing new cultures, learning a new skill or technology, the adrenaline from playing Bball, staring at the stars...
I choose to live life. Will you?

Funny how things turn out

Its strange that Arsenal is doing so well in Europe this season without Vieira and against Vieira's Juventus in the first leg of the Champion's League quarter-finals yesterday. I'm a part time Gooner fan so I'm hoping they go all the way to the finals.
I will be plugging for Lyon too! Their style of play is candy to my eyes.

Boo boo

Google accidentally deleted their own official blog. We are only human... shit happens ;p

Numbers game

Its fascinating reading about why NBA players chose the jersey numbers that they wear. There's more than meets the eye.
One story that's not there is how Michael Jordan came to wear the now legendary no. 23. His elder brother wore no. 45 and he wanted to wear that number but it was already taken so he divided 45 by 2 which gave him 22.5 resulting in him rounding that number up.

Honey Cubicle

Honey Cubicle*: A cubicle set up as an enticement to test for the latest in physical security breaches. The Honey Cubicle contains a PC with full network access not protected by any screensaver, HW or SW locking device. The Honey Cubicle is primarily a research tool meant to detect the latest physical security attack vectors and develop countermeasures to such threats. Some of the newer discovered attacks directly attributed to the Honey Cubicle include:

1. The now famous "shoelace" attack where the attacker accidently pretends to tie shoelace near the Honey PC
2. The "dizzy spell" attack where the attacker sits down near the PC and pretends to catch his/her breath while typing commands
   
3. The very dangerous "Janitor" attack where the attacker dresses up as a cleaning lady, pretends to clean the keyboard with a duster while using the duster to secretly load Metasploit and shovel a reverse bind shell via the MS RPC DCOM exploit.

* Coined by The Sushiman.

People are just strange

I encounter this lady occasionally* on the train. She is perpetually sick and always coughing, sniffling and wheezing. Anyways... I got irritated the other day with her continuous sniffling so I offered her some tissue. She rejected me!!! *gasp* and promptly continued to suck back her disgusting mucus for the next 10 minutes. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

* When I'm late for work ;p

You rock!!!

Wikipedia was found to have more errors than Britannica in a recent study by researchers but hey... its free!!! No wonder Britannica is shitting bricks now. Personally? I still refer to it becoz you can find the most obscure things like descriptions for Singlish, SPG, Chiam See Tong, etc.

We're all toast!!!

How easy is it to crack the passwords on your Windows PC? It is this easy. As extracted from the Ophcrack description: "Just put it* into the CD-ROM drive, reboot and it will try to find a Windows partition, extract its SAM and start auditing the passwords." Yes... we're all toast.
I tested it on my PC. The first password was cracked within seconds... yes you read this right... seconds, not minutes, not hours. With the default alphanumerical tables, I got partials for other passwords. If I had downloaded the latest tables, I suspect that all passwords would have been broken.
How do we counter this? Make sure you have a complex password** and make sure nobody sticks a CD into your CD-ROM when you are not around.

* Burn Ophcrack onto a CD.
** Your password will be eventually cracked but at least give the bugger a harder time.

What next?

There have been a flurry of flavoured Colas in recent times. First there was the Vanilla Coke then Pepsi Twist and Coke with Lime. Now there's *drum rolls* Pepsi Tarik!!! Its a Coffee Cola. The verdict? It tastes very familiar... hmmmmmmm... taste like something I've drunk before but I can't put my finger on it. Bourbon Coke maybe?

How to anonymise yourself online?

Eureka!!! I found a simple way to anonymise yourself when surfing the web using a Windows PC.
Option 1
Step 1: Download Anonym.OS.
Step 2: Burn Anonym.OS as a bootable CD.
Step 3: Stick the CD into your CD-ROM and reboot.
Step 4: You're ready to surf anonymously.

Option 2
Step 1: Download Anonym.OS.
Step 2: Install and run VMware Player.
Step 3: Download livecd.vmx.
Step 4: Edit the livecd.vmx file using a text editor and replace the existing iso name with the Anonym.OS iso name.
Step 5: Run the livecd.vmx within VMware Player.
Step 6: You are ready to surf safely.

The use of each option depends on your setup at home. Contact your friendly Security Professional if you require assistance.

Lethargic

I feel so lethargic this week and its all becoz I didn't get my weekly dose of violence and adreneline. Guys... you can't pass up playing ball on Sunday... you don't know what missing ball does to the rest of my week!

Bad traits

Singaporeans share common traits that are undesirable and I officially declare that I can't stand them. One would be the fact that Singaporeans are habitually late. I have known people to make appointments and are still at home 15 minutes before the agreed meeting time!!! It takes me 5 minutes to get down to the ground floor of my block and another 10 to walk to the nearest MRT station so I don't see how it is humanly possible for them to attempt to be on time unless they can teleport themselves. People... leave earlier than your intended departure timing... way way earlier.
Another peeve I have is the backing out of appointments. I'm not referring to those "Hey let's meet up?" then not fixing a time and place to meet... if no time and place was set, there is no appointment. I'm actually referring to "Hey let's meet at xyz at 7pm" then calling to cancel at the last minute or *gasp*... calling to cancel after the agreed timing or going MIA. Yes, it happens.
To top it off, these people are repeat offenders of the above traits.

The battle rages on

A new technology has been harnessed in the battle against spam. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the new addition to the anti-spam arsenal. How freaking cool is it? Some of you may have received spam where it does not actually contain text but a graphic containing the irritating spam message. This is a method employed by spammers to by-pass spam detection engines. OCR is not THE solution to our problems as it does introduce false positives but is still a work-in-progress.
There is hope!!!

Ironic

What is ironic? The fact that the government, media and general public are trying to quash Singlish. My take? I love Singlish and swear by it. I feel totally at ease using it with friends... just like wearing a well-tailored suit.
Please... its the only truly Singaporean entity... one that all Singaporeans relate to, use and makes us recognisable... none of that manufactured "Singaporean" things like the Merlion or the terribly dumb Merlio*.
Don't blame Singlish for the poor English written and spoken by Singaporeans. I speak and write excellent English. Just know when to turn it on and off where applicable.
Bo chap lah!!! Die die must continue speaking Singlish.

* Musical instrument shaped like the Merlion.

Destiny or choice?

I sometimes ask myself this question... "Are our lives determined by fate or the decisions we make?". Don't you ever wonder how differently things would have turned out if you made a different choice when faced with a decision, took a wrong turn or missed the train (just like Gwyneth Paltrow's character in "Sliding Doors"*)?
I read about how my beloved "Star Wars" came to live on reel. The only reason George decided to make "Star Wars: A New Hope" was because he could not get the rights to make a movie about "Flash Gordon". Imagine if things were different, he might not had the same success with "Flash Gordon" and he wouldn't be the !@#$%^&*() rich bugger he is now.
The debate rages on.

* One of my favourite movies of all time!!! Strongly recommended that you watch it if you haven't.

Socks

This is "Socks", the neighbourhood cat. I gave him this name because of his white paws that gives the impression that he's wearing socks.

"Happy" St. Pat's Day

Never knew the significance of Saint Patrick's Day so I finally got down to researching it... interesting. I was feeling under the weather the same day so these dark clouds I saw in the evening pretty much summed up my mood.
April on the other hand had a blast. She had green beer to commemorate St. Pat's. Have a good weekend all friends.

Mmmmmmmm

Niiiiiiiiicccee... fluffyyyyyyy.

Would you...

Interesting... was reading The Straits Time interview with Adrian Pang. It turns out that his caucasian wife is 1.8m tall while he is only 1.7m in height. Hmmmmm... I have no opinion on this becoz I've never dated anyone taller than me but what do you guys and gals think of this?

Clouds are my cigarettes

I admit it... I'm addicted to clouds. I like taking pics of clouds and posting them but what tipped me off was the fact that I couldn't stop admiring the clouds in scenes while watching "Brokeback Mountain". Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllpp.
My verdict about the movie? It has an interesting story but its a tad slow... however I give it a rating of 9 out of 10 because of the amazing clouds ;p

Jedi Mind Trick

It turns out that Ang Mohs have harnessed the power of the "Jedi Mind Trick". DS was telling me about the time he and his wife brought an Ang Moh out for some soya bean milk. D's wife ordered cold Soya bean milk for them but was informed by the auntie that they only serve hot ones so take it or leave it. The Ang Moh who was with them turned to the auntie and forcefully said "You will serve us cold soya bean milk". The auntie promptly complied.
Jokes aside... what does it take to get any decent service? Shesh... it takes an Ang Moh before you can get anything done.

Don't believe everything you read

This is a good article that explains why you shouldn't believe everything that you read especially when it comes in the form of a forwarded email. It irritates me when I receive such emails as it takes up mailbox estate and results in me having to clear them.

Need ideas?

What do you get as a gift for a Uber-geek??? Here's a tip on what to get for your friends who are geeks. No clue which specific one to get? Get the ones that look coolest to you even if you may not get the joke ;p My personal favourites are the ones that have the word "Hacker", "Wardriver" and "Syn/Ack".

Yummy evening

Tried Teh Tarik and Kopi-O ice-cream today with Jim and Fenn. Mmmmmm... how would I describe the experience? Mmmmmm... hahahahha... its like eating Teh Tarik peng and Kopi-O peng... ahahhahahahhahahaha.
We also went cruising around admiring cars. Check out the tasty B class Merc and Phantom. Woooooooooooooooooo. I was irritated by the conduct of a Cycle & Carriage employee though. She was gestering from inside the building for us to get lost. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I may not be able to afford a Merc now but that doesn't mean I won't be a buying customer in the future rite??? And if they didn't want people hanging around the display car... they shouldn't allow entry into their premises or place a car outside the building rite???

Superstition or coincidence?

The Sushiman and I are both cynics. However when it comes to superstition, we have two different approaches. He is against it while I tend to follow them as long as they are not plain stupid and if they don't do any harm.
A friend of his recently advised him to clear his wallet of old receipts and other rubbish because only from doing so will "new" $$$ came in. Shocking!!! He actually followed that friend's advise. Anyways after doing so, he got a spot bonus from management and last nite he won a prize at our D&D. !@##$$%^&*(
Superstition or coincidence? Makes me wonder if our Chinese ancestors were onto something.

D&D

Here are pics from my company D&D. The theme was "Spy Vs. Spy" which gave me an excuse to wear my suit. I got this suit made two years ago in Bangkok but never had the chance to wear it. Tried taking a cab to the event with my suit on... not a chance so I ended walking to the MRT station and was sweating buckets. Also ended up taking the train home.
The Sushiman is the ultimate spy as he even manages to maintain his secret identity even while he's eating dinner. Its strange how differently people behave in the office and during the D&D. Quite a lot of people went absolutely wild during the event and its shocking because its so different from their persona in the office.
"The suit makes the man". Don't know if you guys agree but I did get a compliment from a neighbour I've never met before while in the lift on the way back home ;p

Blown away

I'm a die-hard Blackburn Rovers fan but honestly didn't know much about the origins of the club. After reading up on their history, I am truly humbled and astounded by their past.
Also came across the story behind the comic strip Spy Vs. Spy. It was created by the original artist to express his feelings about the Cold War. Just goes to show how we continuously take things for granted.
Insane... I even came across Curtin's entry in Wikipedia. Some nut even provided the cafeteria's menu!!! Man... reading about my uni brings back tons of memories. *sigh* what I would give to go back to those uni days.

Its gone

Booo hooooo hooooo. The Scorch action figure is gone. Some psycho* bought it with the other four action figures. Now all I have is a pic of it that I got from the Star Wars website. *sigh*

* Others are psychos if I can't have what I want. Hahahahahahaha.

Swirly ones

Cool. Usually we get fluffy clouds in Singapore. This morning I spotted swirly ones. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicccceee. Who cares if I was late for work? I had to snap these clouds.

Magic mushrooms

The fried mushrooms from Jerry's are amazing. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Though they're fried... the mushrooms are nice and juicy inside. Combine it with the sauce... mmmmmmmmmmmm. Can't wait for the next time that I have them again. *sigh* Till the next time mushrooms.

Downgrade?

Did Takumi trade in his AE86 for a van? Well makes more sense to transport tofu with a van anyways ;p

Dawn

The only benefit of having to be out of the house by 7 is that I get to appreciate the wonderful sight of sunrise. Normal human beings are still asleep at dawn ;p Well I used to previously anyways.
Its strange how the majority of people walk around like zombies and not notice things around them. I'm glad that I've woken up from my slumber and appreciate all around me. That probably explains why I'm always stopping abruptly while commuting to take pictures. Stop rushing and working too much... enjoy the beauty that is our world. Don't stare at me or condone me... you zombies are the weird ones.

Sunshine hijacking

The Sushiman has created a new jargon and this is an activity that he accuses me of. Well I'm always open to feedback and will try to avoid this in the future... so here's the definition.
"Sunshine hijacking" (or "sunjacking" for short) is similar to a Session Hijacking attack but rather than hijacking a TCP connection you steal or hijack someone's limelight or moment of glory and redirect the conversation to some other unrelated topic leaving the victim stuck in mid sentence.
It is an attack that is difficult to pull off because you must send the correct "sunshine sequence numbers" to the victim. Then you must reset the original conversation before the victim has an opportunity to restart the conversation. Other alternatives to sunjacking are "sunpoisoning" where you poison the victim's conversation-to-moment-of-opportunity mappings or "sunshine flooding" where the victim is suddenly overwhelmed by millions of unrelated topics of conversation and totally forgets what he was about to say originally.

The "sunflooding" attack can take minutes or even hours to recover from while the victim tries to remember what the hell he was talking about in the first place.
See also: "Ninja sunshine bombs"

Suspicion

I have a very strong suspicion that a friend of mine has gotten their PC infection with... take your pick: virus, worm, spyware or adware. What makes me say so? I have been continuously bombarded with spam this week from a machine I suspect is infected with malware that harvested my email address. Just yesterday for example, my mailbox received 56 spam mails within a 6 hour span. If you think you might be the one... contact me and I will be able to provide assistance.
The Sushiman has also been kind enough to upload a guide written by me on his website. Download my guide here. It discusses steps that you can follow to secure your PC at home.

Unexplainable

Was watching "Road To Perdition" on Channel 5. F**king brilliant movie. I watched it in the cinema with April before but didn't mind watching it all over again on the telly. It's not just the fact that Tom Hanks is one of my fav actors but I have this unexplainable fascination with the Mafia and hitmen. I think Fedora* hats, long coats and Tommy guns are bloody cool.
Maybe I should go get myself a Fedora... hahahhahahahha ;p

* Incidently Fedora is a free Linux OS that you can install on your PC if u guys are interested.

すばらしい

Hahahahaha. The title of this entry is Japanese for marvelous. Don't u just love the Internet? Can't imagine life without it... I got the translation from using Babel Fish. April and I accidentally discovered this Japanese restaurant (located on the 2nd floor in CHIJMES) and had dinner there. The food there is just as the title suggests.
Check out all that fresh raw seafood. Still drooling over the huge slabs of salmon. The fruit tea is brilliant. April had salmon rice and me the lamb chops. Hmmmmmm. However, stay far far away from the mochi dessert though. Sucks big time becoz its tasteless.

What a day!!!

Wore my Kobes to work today... what a boring day it turned out to be. Took some pics of clouds again. The thing about clouds that fascinate me is that no two are the same just like snowflakes. Ate a slice of my colleague's bday cake and got a tummy ache. As a result, had soup and bread for dinner. Was itching to play pool 2day and I must have texted at least 15 people but not one single fren was available.

Human nature?

Is it human nature to take things for granted? Just becoz something works, we don't stop to scrutinize or question it. Even a simple thing like webmail... we use it everyday but don't think anything of it. Too chim for you? Let me get to the point... there was a vulnerability in Gmail that executed javascripts received in your inbox when you read the mail containing it. Imagine this... someone sends you an email with a malicious script in it... you open it becoz you're curious as it had some catchy title... BOOM!!! You're compromised. Game over.
Don't panic... it has already been resolved by Google but as Mulder would say "Trust no one"*.

* I miss the X-Files.

My new obsession

Anyone of you played "Republic Commando"? Well they have just released a new Star Wars action figure of one of the Commandos from that game. This is one of the most detailed action figures I have ever come across and am really keen on buying. Well did I? I didn't unfortunately becoz there's a catch!!! The guy won't sell it to me becoz he said there's only one of it in every carton of action figures that he buys thus its exclusive. He will only sell it in a set of five figures but I already have two of the five figures and am not interested in the remaining two as well. *sigh*

What next?

Gosh... Carl's Jr now sells beer with its delectable burgers. Mai xiao xiao. In a competitive market like the fast food industry, I think Carl's Jr really stands out becoz its unique. Carl's rocks.