My Road to Windows 7

Last night, I was suddenly all revved up to install Windows 7 Release Candidate. I had downloaded the 64-bit version for quite some weeks now but never got to installing it but last night - YEAH! And so I was about to burn the ISO image to DVD when I had a sudden thought to Google and see if there was any way to install without wasting a DVD since this is a Release Candidate and will ceased to be useful from March 2010 and totally unusable June 2010. I wasn't too optimistic but Google served me well! One can do it with the ISO image and a thumbdrive (but you would need at least a 4GB one due to the huge Windows 7 installation files).

I clicked on a couple of links but was only successful after the third. BlogsDNA has a step-by-step guide. First, there was the need to download MBRwiz to do some stuff to the computer so that you can make the thumbdrive bootable in a later step. It is a command prompt program which required administrator privileges and my Windows Vista did not have any visible method to run a command prompt with those privileges. Panic! Panic! Panic! Looks like I might have to burn the DVD after all! But Google saved the day again.

The How-To Geek has a simple solution. Type "cmd" at the search bar just below "All Programs". Then, instead of hitting just the "enter" key, press "ctrl" + "shift" + "enter". The blardy UAC thing will appear but once you get rid of that, you will have command prompt with admin privilege. With that settled, next was to mount the ISO image and BlogsDNA got just the link to the program just for that.

Another step that didn't quite work out was to make the thumbdrive bootable. This MIGHT be due to the ISO image was a Windows 7 64-bit version while I am running a 32-bit Vista. Luckily, some where in the comments section of BlogsDNa, someone found a place where I could download an alternative. Phew! And from there, just continue the steps in BlogsDNA and reboot with the thumbdrive.

But it was a bummer to find that one of my buds couldn't download Windows 7 RC and asked me to burn him a copy. @#$$#%#!!!

Vista Supremacy!

What will happen if you run Internet Explorer 8 on Windows Vista capable of Aero? This!

Creamy, Creamy, Creamy, Chewy Creamy Cream Puff

My cousin bought cream puff and shared them with us last night. At first glance, they looked like ordinary cream puffs with extra cream topping but after reading the instructions off the box (below), and after the first bite, going in for the second bite, a whole lot of cream came out. Yum, yum. I think the cream inside the puffs was some form of cheese while the topping I do not know but it was sweet. I got a salty cheesy kinda taste mixed with sweet cream sensation. Yay! Apologies that I did not have time to snap a photo of the half eaten cream puff that was oozing with cheese and cream. I had no choice. My mouth was way too fast for me.

A quick Google action gave me the link to the website with a "sg" suffix. The about page had this to say:

The puffs were an accidental creation by founder Kevin Ong, who had experimented with a blend of recipes from two different countries. Thereafter, it took him two years to adjust the processes and bring the puffs to perfection. The result is a healthier version as the puffs are baked and not fried, and use only the finest ingredients and pure dairy products from mother’s nature!

Woah! There's also a Facebook fan page! Anyways, if you are interested, check it out at Pavillion KL. I personally have not been there but if anyone of you do, do not hesitate to drop a line. :D

Are Mothers-In-Law Evil?

According to data from a Malaysia Community and Family Study in 2004 by the National Population and Family Development Board, mothers-in-law are the top factor for Indian divorces and the top three factor for Malay and Chinese divorces. No indication of fathers-in-law, though.

Meanwhile, other factors include infidelity (of course!), incompatibility, abuse, gambling, etc.

via Star Online.

Yellow, Yellow, Yellow Rubber Duckie!

I have this love thing for yellow rubber ducks. Don't tell anybody, but I actually took one home from a hotel... AHEM! Anyways, there's a huge Rubberduckzilla out there and here's proof:

via Super Punch.

V Returns...

Most of us would remember V as one of our favourite television series. This is one that I had always wanted to watch but only managed a few episodes because the timing is about the same as my tuition time during school days. Now I get a second chance watching the remake! Yay! The following's the trailer with a good looking smiling alien PR (or leader?) and very little ripping of the human skin to reveal green lizard skin underneath. There's also no sign of the evil Diana) played by Jane Badler) eating rats from the head.



The only scene showing what lies beneath is here:
via Discover.

Bread, Bread, Bread! Toast 'em, Steam 'em, Spread 'em!

Taken while having lunch with a bud at 32 Square. I'm really enjoying having a camera phone! I'm sure you can tell. Now I am getting greedy - lusting for a better camera phone. :P

Cold, Cold, Cold. Cultured Milk with Bacteria!

Just had a double dose of Yakult cultured milk with the Shirota (or someone's name that sounds like that) strain of the acidophilus bacteria that is good for our intestines. Tastes just like Vitagen and Nutrigen (sorry, don't know the website for this) but Vitagen is probably the least sweet (and could be most liquid).

Hot, Hot, Hot. Such hot weather!

News keeps cropping up to remind us how hot the weather is and going to be until September. Sigh...

Rice, Rice, Rice. What a lot of Rice!

Beras, beras, beras. Banyaknya beras! First blog post of a photo taken by my almost one week old Sony Ericsson T303.

MMS Working

Ah! At last I've got MMS working on my (ahem!) newly acquired phone. I've tried calling Maxis a couple of times and they've sent me settings that supposedly auto install into the phone but it did not work. I was also taught to try *100# but that did not get me any settings either. What to do? Went to Google and typed "maxis mms settings" and was brought to some Maxis & Me phone settings website.

After going through some keying in of my mobile number so that Maxis could send me an SMS with a verification code which I then typed on the website, I got the message that there were no settings for my phone. After that, a manual setting page popped out. Keyed in the MMS settings manually and tested it out with my buds. Phew. It worked! But I did find out that my phone can't play *.3gp files nor can it save that kind of files when my bud sent it over via MMS. Might as well since it can't record videos. :(

Swine Flu Influenza A (H1N1) Up Close

Take a really close look at the virus formerly known as the swine flu - the flu that began in Mexico and further spread to the whole world, causing some major panic. It was associated to pigs and caused massive culling of the animals in Egypt in which WHO labeled as an act due to misinformation. There is no confirmation that the virus was transferred from pigs to humans. FAQ on WHO's website here and a full coverage with updates here.Photo from National Geographic News.

Third Blender Movie Codenamed Durian

I couldn't be more excited when I read that the Blender community will work on a third movie with the codename Durian. To me, it marks the emergence of powerful Asia as this fruit is most famous in parts of Asia. The Durian website has this to say:

Durian is an Asian fruit, ugly and smelly but delicious. That’s a perfect code name for a movie project aimed at adolescents mostly; with an epic fantasy theme with lots of action, monsters and a girl hero!

I can't say I agree with the fruit being ugly and smelly. Delicious is accurate. I love the fruit! It is more like dangerous and pleasantly pungent. :D

If the sketch of the girl hero is any indication of what's to come, we could be looking at Final Fantasy-kind of 3D animation here. After watching the first two Blender movies, Elephants Dream and Big Buck Bunny, I am optimistic that Durian will not disappoint in this aspect.

However, also after watching the first two movies, I worry how the new story might come out to be. Elephants Dream I was totally confused with while for Big Buck Bunny, I felt was too simple. Maybe there will be a balance with this third movie. :D

Found out about Durian via BlenderNation. Work commences this September.

While we are at it, I might as well mention that there is also an open platform game made with Blender called Yo Frankie! The game is based on characters from the Big Buck Bunny movie. You might want to check it out. Can't comment on it as I have not played the game.

Darth Vader Presents Nokia E52

The E52 looks mighty slim and promises long battery life but the reason I am posting the video below is, I hear Darth Vader breathing in the background...

What You See Is What You Get

Gee, I don't know. On one hand, there's "What you see is what you pay" but on the other, there's the "From" just before the price...

Be A Politician*!

Looks like DAP is getting really serious about living the reality kinda thing. 10 youths aged 18 to 30 will get the chance to attach themselves to, well, 10 members of parliament for at least a month. Get to know the MPs! See how they sacrifice for the people! Get down and dirty on politics! Ok, I added the last one.

Interested candidates, visit Tony Pua's blog.

* Be a politician... 's assistant.

Uh oh... Prepare for the Heat and the Haze

Oh no! Screen captured from The Sun E-Paper. Couldn't find it in the website.

INSANE: Glowing Puppies

Previously, scientists modified the genes of a mother pig who then in turn gave birth to 11 piglets with two of them inheriting that trait. Now, scientists have moved on... moved on to puppies. Korean scientists have implanted fluorescent genes into beagle egg cells and then further cloned them. Next up, cloned, glowing humans.

Tune in to Fashion

More fashion stuff. These were taken yesterday at 1 Utama shopping complex. Had to go to an air-conditioned place due to very hot weather in Petaling Jaya since the past week. The first two photos feature Lewre shoes and handbags while the last one with the rather interesting scuba diving tee was from French Connection or also known as FCUK. Wait, did I spell that right?

Labour Day @ The Federal Highway

This is what it looked like early this morning. There was no traffic... almost deserted. Totally the opposite from normal weekdays at the same time.

Fatty Food is Good for the Brainsssss

What better way to start May than to blog a little about the benefits of fatty food? YES! Fatty food is good for us! Hormones called oleoylethanolamide (OEA) released during digestion of certain fats will improve long-term memory formation in rats. Since humans are also animals, it is believed that we will also feel the same effect. Can't wait for lunch. I'm gonna go boost my memory a bit.

Source: National Geographic News "Fatty Foods May Boost Memory"