Technophobe

So here I am, sweating buckets on an afternoon like most others, except that I have absolutely nothing to do. Work has stalled, if you could call it work to begin with. Hence I decided to escape into the ether, right here, cool as hell. Escape......

It wasn't that long ago that I was here. I had an excellently written blog entry just 2 days ago, and when I clicked the "Publish Post" button, the muthafucka ate up my Pulitzer-worthy entry, and somehow a webpage that was biblically themed appeared. No numerical representation could safely justify the level of contempt I had for that webpage, whatever techno-wizardry that allowed it pass my blockers and proxies, and the ether in general for being so unforgiving. I lost my post. The deed was done. After some major dialectic entries into various chat windows, the trader in me took hold. Look past a bad trade. Learn, and move on.

Hence, my trusty Microsoft Word shall be dusted off the electronic shelf, and will find a 2nd life as holder of my typed word, before entrusting the blogger interface to share my shallow wisdom to the hungry masses. Ahhhh, my adoring, patient public. Yes, my legions of fans. All 3 of you. Ha-fucking-HA.

Recently, the writing bug has bitten me in the ass again. I have been putting it off for the longest time, as my trading business gained prominence and priority. It took a string of losses to jolt me back to reality, after a wave of good profits. Nothing like a wake up call to emphasise my predicament to my proud self. Nothing like failure to instill humility.

So I’d decided that perhaps I need proper working conditions to be in my peak form. Even though I would be going to the office more often, but when the writing needs emerge, I would need a proper desk to store my research, and organize my thoughts and ideas tangibly. Ever since I got El Cheapo, I had moved my desktop into the family area, desk included, so that my ENTIRE family could have access to it anytime they want, without feeling that they have encroached into my personal, private sanctum. It also allows me to sleep better. And therefore, I have been working on the stools and sitting on the floor in my room, papers strewn all over the floor as well. Hardly feasible in the long run. And my wrist would ache from the weird angles that I put it through. While using the mouse, not the joystick! GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE GUTTER!

Anyway, El Cheapo is serving me well. At times its memory is a little strained, when I have too many programs running. Well, in the first place, the supplier installed way too much junk for my liking. I shall have to remove them, once the warranty is up that is. Can’t afford to make that null and void that soon. The cream coloured border around the keyboard is also quite irritating. Perhaps I should’ve gotten some colour kits when I was doing the purchase. Yes, they have kits for laptops now. Wonder how else I can zhng my dear El Cheapo. Then it’d be El Presidente or something grander sounding. Yeah, that sounds good. El Presidente! Si Senor, mucho grande. Me Like.

Ok, side note. Now I remember why I had so fuckingly hated Microsoft word. It’s the goddamn spelling and grammar checks. They constantly remind me how many liberties I take with my sentence construction, our various local colloquialisms and the fact that we use the Queen’s English. Should we be proverbially finger-pointed for being differently correct?

So I’d been surfing more lately, as the markets seem to have fallen asleep on me, or rather, I know not how to beat them, and they appear to be gibberish and random to me right now. I’ll get the feeling back though. Anyways, there’s a shitload of crazy stuff out there. I mean, just from the usual news websites alone, there’s lots of interesting reportage and articles. I’d been sending cool links to my friends, and they say I’m so damn free. In a sense I guess I am, but I am also gathering research for my future writings. I miss reading. I’d been doing more lately. I miss the written word. I definitely got the bug back. The whole year when I was in the slave camp, I totally neglected this part of my development, and had resorted to audio tapes while I commuted in my slave car through hour long jams. In a sense, at least I took that step to further myself, although it doesn’t in the least bit atone for the disregard I placed on myself in that aspect.

Hopefully it will translate into better writing here. This shall be my testbed for my ideas. And you shall be my best/worst critics. How cool is that? Also, I shall be sprucing up this blog with pictures soon, once I figured out this html shit, and flickr. Damn, I;m so far behind. Well, at least I figured out the home networking thingy all by myself, in double quick time I might add. I guess that thing they call a degree was useful after all. Where is it anyway….. oh yeah, over there, under the table’s leg. Well, I had to prop it up with SOMETHING!

Till next time folks. The Truths be with ya!

Dell Hell

So my laptop came the other day.

I had ordered it online sometime around the middle of last week. Picked an affordable model, added all the features that I love, and bought it with a credit card. Even with a public holiday inbetween, they took less than the stipulated 5 working days to deliver it. An idiotic delivery guy sent it over. But nothing could jar me from the good trades I had just done before his arrival.

As it happens, I was so busy that I didn't open the box till the next evening. Quite amazing, considering how much the bloody thing costs. Although, comparing to whats out there in the market, it is pretty affordable.

Hence I have named it, "El Cheapo"!
Also a stab at my own frugality (if you can call it that, purchasing a laptop is no small matter to someone like me, not being gainfully employed).

Anyways, I took it out and started reconfiguring it. You get so used to your usual set up on the desktop that you are almost lazy to change everything on the new laptop to what you've been using all along. It is an arduous process that will take days to accomplish and weeks to fine tune (yes, I can be quite anal about some things, if you haven't noticed).

Another mind-boggling thing is setting up all the usual software that I use, and files that I need. Could someone please teach me how to connect my lappy to my desky? I could never figure out home networking connectivity. And yes, I am a graduate of NUS, Computer Engineering at the School of Computing. Doesn't really count for much, does it? Check
this out.

Overall, pretty happy with El Cheapo. Hopefully it will serve me well. For a long time to come. I don't ask for much, just perform as well as my desktop and I'll be happy. Muhahahhaaa!

My Voice is Huskie

What a tumultuous week it has been. Or rather, month, or even year. The end of the month has come and gone. A third of the year has come and gone. April used to be my favourite month, as it contains my birthday and all. But I think it won't be my favoured 30 days of the year anymore. Not in the near future anyway.

A year of great change, as my sis-in-law said. And it feels fun, to a certain extent. A real shot to the arm of my life. Wonder when these self-destructive, chaos loving tendencies will subside and give way to reason and order.

So I got a new dog this past Wednesday. My elder bro said over dinner that he was gonna check out a huskie later in the evening. It got me all excited, yet bittersweet. For so many reasons. But it was time to get a new dog. My previous dog had passed away late last year, and in a sense, I've been longing for a new one, after a proper period of mourning. After all, she had been with me for 20 years. She was a mongrel, strong and stubborn, yet loving and protective. She had spunk. She had character. She had the most amazing brown eyes that spoke volumes to me. Her name was Mickey.

So we went all the way to Choa Chu Kang, one of my most hated places on this tiny island we call home, and hated for so many reasons. Those in the know would know why. We met up with the owners, who were first time pet owners, and it is such a sin to keep such an active dog in such an enclosed space. He bore a fine stance, evidence of his pedigree. He was proud and playful. A pup at a mere 7 months of age. We fell in love with him at once, and also for the fact that we'd be getting a fine animal at a fantastic price. For Free! We did give a customary Ang Bao, and hastily retreated to the car with our prized possession.

Its been quite a few days. He has settled in. Notice how I haven't said anything about a name. That's because we can't make up our minds on one. A few that stuck harder than most; Max, Eiffel, Tiki (Stubborn in Teochew, my personal favourite), Lucky, Ah Gao and an assortment of Russian names. He loves to nibble on human flesh, pounce, shed fur, sniff assess, poke groins and hump.

All dogs go to heaven. Because they are so true to themselves. If only we humans did the same.

Please post some ideas for names. Thank you.