Loneliness Syndrome

No, I'm still married if that's what you're asking. However, working night shifts pretty much leaves my mind with, a LOT of time to wander.

So I read a couple of blogs, forums yada yada and finally ran out of stuff to read. I even read random stuff in Wikipedia to kill time. I'm bored of reading gory and sordid tales from the online Crime Library. What else was there to do? Google your name of course!

I typed in Nawooz and hit the Search button. Nice to see my two blog sites listed at the top. Then came the flood of comments I've posted in the blogs I lurk in. Out of nowhere, I suddenly stumbled on the one blog I forgot to bookmark. Emmanuel. Dude, I'm so sorry for leaving your blog out of my Bookmarks man. Rest assured this has been rectified and I'm glad to have new reading material. I'll strip it down from top to bottom tomorrow night.

My wanderings have led me back to a long lost friend. A very productive night I would say.

Note to self

Must.Add.More.Pics. This is what I've noticed after reading many many many blogs. People like pictures even absurd ones.

So, Nawooz is going to start posting more pics on this blog! Wish me luck...

*goes off to hunt more pics for blog posting*

Customary Chinese New Year post

Wahey! Seems that Opera solved the haunted blog thingie.

I'm sure many of you have read the news on the government banning fireworks, firecrackers etc. Offenders will be slapped with a RM100 on-the-spot fine. Did that deter any of the Chinese from enjoying a little boom-boom this new year.

Apparently not. I am still greeted with the ungodly booms late at night whilst trying to catch some Z's. Then there is the thunderous train of explosion due to the infamous "hong pau" or red crackers. This is especially important during the lion dances. Nothing demonstrates your wealth to the public like a good 16 feet ending with a nice resounding boom eh ;)

So what's this banning I hear on crackers??!! You can never take the Chinese out of a Chinese. Watch out for Chap Goh Meh or the Hokkien Chinese New Year people. It gets better then.

Happy Prosperous Piggie New Year to all you folks out there <(^@^)> *oink oink*

Linking Madness

I have linked all the usual blogs I frequent. All of them are bookmarked on my notebook and I religiously check on them whenever I'm at work. I kid you not.

Some people may wonder how come I'm missing some of the famous bloggers, but it's all about personal preference. Like how I read and warmed up to Joyce @ KinkyBlueFairy's blog compared to Wendy Cheng @ XiaXue. It's not like I hate XX's, but I dunno...I prefer Kinky's style I suppose. Like anyone cares about my preference lar!

Sadly, my old blog buddies from http://nawooz.blog.com/ never quite fluorished. Shan's been missing for sometime now. Thankfully, I still have Yvy, BlowFly @ Krabby Pattyand a couple of others. Then again, I have new blog buddies like Aaron, Wingz and Earl. Go ahead, click on them and lemme know what you think of their blogs.

I'm a blogreadingholic.

wordstickytrend

I was bored and decided to revive my old trend called wordsticky. I now use this on MSN and I find it addictive. It all started out of boredom, but now I do it to save my SpaceBar. The poor lil thing has been abused so much so that it has become all shiny whilst the rest remain a matte black. So, what's word sticky you say? Here goes:

thisisthe2ndpostingiammakingfortoday.ifyouareabletoreadthisthenyouarepartofthewordstickygroupnow.yay!asyouprobablynoticeistillmaintaintheusageofpunctuationstomakereadingalittleeasierforyouguysandgals.sowhatdoyouthinkofwordstickynow?perhapsyouwouldliketojoinmyquesttopromotewordstickytoday?tryitonyourfriendsandletmeknowwhattheythink.itisannoyingashellbutthenthinkaboutwordstickyusageinsmsmessages.itsavesyouthetroubleofusingthespacecharacterandyoucanincludemorewordsin1textmessage.coolaintit?okiguesssomeofyoumayhaveaheadachereadingthisbynow.

There, that was basically wordsticky in it's truest form. Like it? Try it!

Music Tastes

Been a while since I last posted. As usual, working on a public holiday sux to the max. However, I get sometime to update my lonely blog.

What music do you listen to? Pop, hip-hop, country, house? Many people have asked about my personal music preference and I find it hard to give them a specific answer of a genre. Basically, I like what I like. It's like Nawooz-kinda music man. Hard to explain. Sometimes, I would be driving and listening to Fly.FM and go whoa, what the fork was that song?!

There is a particular genre, which I have slowly picked up over the years. I would attribute it to my anime (Japanese animation) watching. I started to be exposed to numerous J-pop singers or bands from the animes. My personal favourites are listed below based on the anime title:

FLCL - Furi Kuri
1) The Pillows - Crazy Sunshine
2) The Pillows - Hybrid Rainbow
3) The Pillows - Ride on Shooting Star
4) The Pillows - Happy Bivouac
5) The Pillows - Runner's High
6) The Pillows - Little Busters

Serial Experiments - LAIN
1) Boa - Duvet *not the same as the Korean singer BoA*
2) Boa - Duvet (Acoustic)

Ah! My Goddess
1) OST - Congratulations

Naruto
1) Toshiro Masuda - Naruto's Theme
2) Akeboshi - Yellow Moon
3) Hearts Grow - Yura Yura

Loveless
1) Okina Reika - Tsuki no Curse (Kaasu)

Patlabor
1) OST - Midnight Blue

Vandread
1) Salia - Trust
2) SiLC - Himegoto

Bleach
1) UVERworld - D-tecnolife
2) Orange Range - Asterisk
3) Rie Fu - Life is Like a Boat
4) Shiro Sagisu - On the Precipice of Defeat

There are so many more to list down, but I really need to start getting back to work. Hehe. I wonder if there are other bloggers out there, who enjoy anime OSTs as much as I do.

New Toyota Corolla Altis - 10th Gen?

I was checking out some autoblog I found previously only to come across a picture announcing the European version of the 10th Gen Toyota Corolla. Not sure if this is old news, but my dad has been waiting for the new Altis to be launched since...forever. The last we got was just a face lift. Instead of getting half-ball LED rear lights, you got a full ball instead. Real...creative? That aside, I'm guessing Malaysia would be getting something similar since we share most European models, as opposed to the American marketed models.

I'm just curious to see what Toyota has under it's sleeve to rival Honda and it's new Civic. What engine variants will be offered? What extra techno-goodies can buyers expect? Last but not least, every Malaysians focus point. The price. The 1.8lt i-VTEC Civic goes for around 115-117k OTR, if I am not mistaken. So the Altis should be around this price range as well, if not slightly more. Same as the current Accord vs Camry pricing structure.

Based on the picture I got of the autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/04/finally-toyota-shoots-the-corrola-10th-generation-corrola-deb/), it does have the styling cue of the current Malaysian '07 Toyota Camry. Not surprising with most car manufacturers these days. An interesting thing I noticed was the tail-light, which seems to be a little pronounced (read bulging). It's almost like what Ferrari did to the F430's tail-lights, if I must say.

Only time will tell when Toyota will unveil this on Malaysian soil, but many are awaiting with anticipation and I pretty sure sales will be breezy. Handpicked pictures (courtesy of autoblog) are below and you can read more about the European launch at the link I listed above:

Camry-esque front-end


Rear-view shot


Close-up of the rear


Side-shot

Watch War and Play War

How many people out there enjoy watching war movies? As in WW1 and WW2 stuff. I won't say I'm a die hard fan, but it is something that peaks my interest. My favourite so far has been the HBO Original Miniseries titled, The Band of Brothers (BoB), Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gates etc. BoB, in my opinion, is one of the BEST movie on wars I have enjoyed. The narration and realism is unparalleled, thanks to the dedication of the producers, directors etc.

I went on a war movie DVD hunt previously and ended up with 3 new titles. Old school stuff, but still enjoyable. Just finished "The Last Drop" and "Green Berets" this Christmas. Have another one waiting and it's about Operation Market Garden. Excellent stuff!

I guess all this interest in war movies came about after playing a PC game called, Battlefield 1942 (BF). They had a few expansion packs (Road to Rome, Secret Weapons of WW2, Vietnam and the latest, 2142). My clan [aSa] mostly trained on Road to Rome maps. Our usual favourites were Monte Cassino, Salerno, Omaha Beach, Market Garden and Anzio. Settings were: 100% AI, Ratio: 3:1, Tickets: 1000. There were only 3 members for BF [aSa], Shum, Thiru and I. That meant a ratio of 10 AI players to us 3 at max intelligence and we had to kill 1000 of them to win the game. Suffice to say, this maxed us out on all fronts and only the leanest, meanest gameplay could save mankind(tm). The easiest map to conquer under 15 minutes was Omaha Beach. Thanks to a strategy I helped hatch named, The Medic Pack Rush (MPR).

It involves landing on the beach and pushing back all the way to the 1st spawn point, where a Sherman is up for grabs. No time to waste, the 3 heroes push on to the right side of the map behind the buildings. We made sure to make full use of the heal and ammo point in a bunker before proceeding for the final rush. Fire in the Hole before swapping to the Medic Packs and run like hell for the wall on the opposite end. Keep spamming the heal and forget about fighting back. Jump the wall and start laying it thick with your Thompson. Kill any strays and head for the 1st bunker. Ammo reload is a God-sent feature here. Keep grenading the entrance whilst you regroup. At this point, the final flag would be neutral (white) and the ticket count will start dropping in your favour. By now, you will only need to handle the stragglers as the enemy have no spawn point. Caution, there maybe some enemy units, who are able to capture other spawn points. Speed is the essence of MPR. Make sure you grenade both the big gun turrets to kill of the last one or two enemy units. Now you are free to kill one another with tanks, machine guns or anyway you want it. The game is over.

The toughest map so far has been Anzio. It's one of the, if not most, bitchiest maps for the 3 heroes. Our last record was about 35 minutes, which is an amazing feat if you knew this map. There are so many spawn points to be captured and the enemy tank units are tough. Not forgetting that [aSa] still does not have the elusive 4th member, who should specialize as air support. The best strat so far has been of speed and perseverance. Pushing upwards into enemy territory on both sides and securing the spawn points along the way. We could have won in under 30 mins if not for the ONE stray idiot, who happened to be in a plane. The mofo jumped, parachuted [sic] and made his way over hills to capture the radar station. It was a real pain capturing that point back. It's also worthy to mention that it is the only map we have not won 100% of the time. The other maps were equally engaging and deserves mention, but it would take too much time.

Due to this game, I have read up on the actual wars in those places. Fascinating and deadly. I joked with the other [aSa] members, that the Allies may have won the war a little faster if we had our way with the strategy.

Sadly, BF 1942 in our favourite expansion pack Road to Rome is now "extinct" from cyber cafes, but I heard one in Subang SS15 area still has Secret Weapons of WW2 and the others. I'm itching for a game now, but it's hard getting the other 2 heroes since one travels so much. Small pleasures in life people. Go try it and if you like it, we may have found the 4th member or more!!!

Mumbo Jumbo post

Tell me if you get this often. You are strolling along and bump into an old friend. The usual "Hey, how are you doing" is exchanged and then the same stuff is asked. What are you doing now? Where are you working now? Are you married yet? Did you hear so and so is doing so and so. It's almost like a broken record playing again and again.

Having been "actively" back to blogging lately, I have started to know more bloggers around KL. Surprisingly, there is always some connection to them even if I don't entirely know them. One such person is, Aaron (http://aaronho.bloglogo.com/). Found out that we are both APIITians and somehow this small bit of thread connecting us, opens a whole new dimension for a conversation. I like to catch up on the latest whenever possible, seeing how bad I am with my old friends.

Now, a quick update to my Asian blog ghost. Still faced with the Japanese fonts issue when trying to login. I am now skilled at predicting the links and choosing English as my language of choice. For my readers, here is the ghost in action:



I wish IT could blog for me. Sadly, it only likes to change my language preference. As EddyHan (http:/www.eddyhan.com) would put it, ask it for 4D!!! Looking at the hits my blog has, it's safe to say that I will be the only one striking it rich if the numbers come up.

Anywayz, I was going thru my mountain of e-mails today and got this gem from an ex-colleague of mine. Not sure where these pics came from, but maybe PaulTan (http://www.paultan.org) can validate it. It came in an e-mail titled: Perodua Bego - OTR RM 55892.88 Coming soon I viewed the pictures and clearly it's a Daihatsu-badged vehicle. Looking at it kinda reminds me of a Toyota RAV4. If Perodua is really planning on launching this to replace the outdated Perodua Kembara, I'd plonk down the downpayment for one in a heartbeat. Pictures below (I do not take any credit whatsoever for these pictures, mind you):


Frontal-side view of the Bego. Note the Daihatsu badge


Rear-right side view


Rear-left side view

Keeping my fingers crossed, but I'm not hoping too much. There was talk of a new Kelisa replacement based on the Daihatsu Mira Gino (or was it plain Gino) and we ended up with the Imago instead. Big letdown if you ask me. I did spot an odd car the other day that I have now come to know as a highly possible Kancil or Kelisa replacement model. It was on the way to Rawang town and was covered with black tape in certain areas. Most probably heading to the Perodua plant in the Serendah area.

UPDATE: I was checking out PaulTan's blog and come across an article with pictures of one Daihatsu Terios. It looks the same to the Bego in my post and I swear he had the same thoughts of the RAV4 as well. No plagiarism, really! Find out more in his post:

http://paultan.org/archives/2006/12/02/new-daihatsu-terios-announced-in-indonesia/

That's all the blogging I can slot in for now. Time to go back to work. I love night shifts....not

Musings and Rants - Part Uno

1) If your blog is haunted by a japanese ghost like mine, surf on to http://beta.blogger.com/ and login from here instead. Odd thing is, I think Google is also haunted by this same cheeky spirit. Always defaults to Japan or China Google.

2) People will find all sorts of excuses and timing to pick their noses. In the car waiting for that Green Light, in the washroom waiting for a free cubicle. Of ALL the time and place for this "gold-digging" activity, nothing beats this Indian lady in Carrefour at the check-out counter. I guess she must have been so bored and the booger was soooo big that she JUST HAD TO DO IT THERE AND THEN. It wasn't even one of those discreet and intimate moments man. It was done in broad daylight, in front of an audience. I guess she must have been very satisfied as she had this look of bliss whilst admiring the fruits of her labour. My eyes were assaulted by the dreaded nose-digga

3) To the impatient Perdana asshole, who high-lighted me this morning, STFUMOFO. I was in the correct lane (right-most) for SmartTag users and I had to slow down for the people, who don't understand the concept of drive through. If you are going to take a ticket (left-most), kindly stay the FUCK on the left lane and quit bitching people on the right. ASS! You think you only pay roadtax izzit?!?!! TIUUUUUUUUU...these type of moronic drivers, make my blood boil with rage.

4) To Majlis Perbandaran Selayang, it was nice you guys booked rooms and meeting halls in Awana Gentings. Now can we please have better roads that don't have potholes waiting to swallow unsuspecting motorists. I have already spent a fortune changing my un-evenly worn tires due to this. Not to mention that my rims are bent as hell. If I wanted potholes this big, I would have moved to Batu Arang instead mmkaaaayyyy.