Fear Factor - Watch out you iguana!

Yesterday was one of those days that you just feel like jogging your hearts out and flushing away all trash in the brain. So off I went on my usual routine. Alas, I got quite a bit of shock when I almost stepped on one of these. It sure got lucky as I managed to side-step in time....

Singapore sure is a great garden city for these reptiles!

gLoB+OOn fOr tHe dAy - Resume for fee?

Makes me wonder while I'm on my job hunt....

gLoBfO+O fOr tHe Day - Sunriseset?

Is this a Sunrise or Sunset?

Calling All Food Lovers - :: World's 50 Best Restaurants 2005 ::

For all you food lovers out there who has spare cash, check out...............

Here's a menu sample from The Fat Duck Restaurant, the one rated best in Europe and the World this year. Salivate to it people....

MENU SAMPLE FOR A LA CARTE
SIXTY-SEVEN POUNDS AND FIFTY PENCE FOR THREE COURSES

CRAB BISCUIT
Roast foie gras, crystallised seaweed, rhubarb and oyster vinaigrette

CAULIFLOWER RISOTTO
Carpaccio of cauliflower, chocolate jelly

RADISH RAVIOLI OF OYSTER
Goats cheese and truffle,
rissole of fromage de tête

BALLOTINE OF FOIE GRAS
Jelly of mead and Sichuan peppercorn

LASAGNE OF LANGOUSTINE
Pig's trotter and truffle
(Eight pounds fifty supplement)

BEST END OF LAMB
Gratin of potato and confit lamb shoulder, jellied lamb consommé

SADDLE OF VENISON
Celeriac, marron glace, sauce poivrade

POT ROAST BEST END OF PORK
Gratin of truffled macaroni
(Ten pounds supplement per person)

SOLE VERONIQUE
Pont-Neuf potatoes

POACHED SEABASS
Velouté of Borlotti beans with rosemary and vanilla, "Manni" olive oil
(Truffle option, eight pounds fifty supplement)

DÉLICE OF CHOCOLATE
Chocolate sorbet, cumin caramel

TART TATIN
Vanilla ice cream

CHOCOLATE FONDANT
Cardamom, dried apricot yoghurt and harissa ice cream

SMOKED BACON AND EGG ICE CREAM
Pain perdu, tea jelly

MANGO AND DOUGLAS FIR PUREE
Bavarois of lychee and mango, blackcurrant sorbet, blackcurrant and green peppercorn jelly

CHEESE
(available as an additional course at fourteen pounds)

COFFEE, TEAS, TISANES AND PETITS FOURS
£ 4.75

An optional 12.5 per cent service charge will be added to your bill

Trivial Talk #9 - The day I would die

I'm not trying to procrastinate here, but I'm predicted to die on Sunday July 19, 2071, at age of 90, according to Day4Death.com. Is it a good thing to live so long? Guess it's not for me to decide....

Trivial Talk #8 - My New Japanese Name !!

My Japanese Name Is...

Haruki Hayashi

What's your Japanese Name?

My new japanese name... have you got one yet? =P

Trivial Talk #7 - What Year Were You Born Under?

You Were Actually Born Under:

Resourceful and practical, you are a quick thinker. You are very observant - and it's hard to get anything past you! A total perfectionist, you are especially picky about looking your best. You're a big dreamer - such a big dreamer that reality can disappoint you. You are most compatible with an Ox or Snake.

You Should Have Been Born Under:

You are totally loyal, faithful, and honest. However, you don't trust others to be as ethical as you are! Straight forward and direct, you really aren't one for small talk. You are a great listener - and an agreeable companion when you're in a good mood! You are most compatible with a Tiger or Horse.

What Year Were You Born Under?

I must have been too bored and sleepless today. So went around looking for surveys to do. So "zun".... Try it! Tell me if any of yours is not accurate.

Trivial Talk #6 - Which Singaporean Blogger Am I?

Congratulations Alvin, you are...

Scarlett Ting of joewei.blogspot.com

You are independent, smart and beautiful. Its too bad you don't see that yourself because life's little difficulties brought down a lot of your self confidence. As a result, you talk cryptic and you don't trust people easily. You care a lot for your friends and your loved ones, sometimes even more than you care for yourself, although they don't always seem to appreciate it. Don't let that affect you. As the saying goes, you don't miss the water till the well runs dry. So hang in there, you're a star in the making.

Which Singaporean Blogger Are You?

Found this survey on my friend's blog. Moderately accurate for me. But sianzz why is it a gal on the photo.... Anyway, try it folks!

gLoBfo+o for the day - Mother of Pearl Orb

Mother of Pearl Orb
Originally uploaded by amiko in flickr.

Wow..... The mother of all Orbs! Looks creepy though...

gloBgizMo #5 - Nokia 6270 & Sony Ericsson K750i Matchup

I have been looking around at some of the latest mobile phones in the market for quite some time. So far in terms of features and pricing, most of the phones in the market are still not worth the upgrade from my cranky, but still surviving Nokia 7250i. (Lack of funds has been another major holdup).

Recently a star appeared. The Sony Ericsson K750i....

However, just on Monday, Nokia announced 7 new phones in Singapore's CommunicAsia Exhibition. A few of them looks impressive on the surface. One of them is the new 6270....

Looks familiar right? It was supposedly built on the successful slider form factor of the popular 7610, which has been made more famous by Samsung phones. It is a quadband phone with a 262k color TFT, 320x240 resolution screen, FM radio, music player, 2MP camera and weighs 125g. It contains a miniSD card slot, comes with a 128MB card and uses the latest Series 40 OS version 3. However, its internal memory is just 9MB. Bluetooth and USB but no IR. Availability: Q4 2005.

Looking back at the Sony Ericsson K750i which was announced just last month. I wonder which is better. Now let us compare the specs. The K750i is a triband phone with a 262k color TFT, 176x220 resolution screen, FM radio, music player, speakerphone, 2MP camera autofocus with flash and weighs just 103g. It contains a Memory Stick Duo Pro card slot, comes with a 64MB card and has 32MB internal memory. Bluetooth, USB and IR. Availability: Coming very soon. Pre-orders in stores now.

Comparing both phones, I should say that it all goes down to the timing and pricing. K750i has the edge here as it is one of the first in the market with such specs and prices would have gone down by the time 6270 hits the market. Form factor wise, I like the sliding factor better, though the weight is a heavier. K750i also has sliding lens cover which the 6270 don't have. 6270 has a bigger screen but I dont think the difference is that great. Memory-wise there is some difference. I personally think internal memory is important in determining the phone's speed so 9Mb is a bit low. However, the 64MB Memory Stick is really not enough for storage these days but this can be overcome though. Userfriendliness is a forgone conclusion, but Sony Ericsson phones is better in terms of software sophistication and features. Lastly, one big going factor for the K750i.... It looks slicker.

My conclusion at this point of time: K750i is the better choice. Nokia is reacting too slowly. It takes them half a year to roll out a new product.

I shall review again as the battle of the phones develops.

Shock of the Day - Disgusting Photo on Flickr Badge

My jaws almost dropped when I saw this disgusting photo (could have disappeared by the time this post was published) appearing in the Flickr Badge on this blog while I was adding the URL to another hottie... Sarong Party Girl. WTF.... Anyway do check out our dear SPG as she has been the talk of the local globs for the past few days.... (Please note it is for mature audience only)

Trivial Talk #5 - A Wild Trolley Escapade In Suntec

Organising any event is never easy, especially one that requires lots of logistics and manpower. I was in Suntec helping out in NUSPS's Montage 2005.

Imagine for a seminar for a few hundred participants, you need to clear the leftover stuff like goodie bags and you have limited manpower. It does not help when the establishment is having an anniversary upstairs with thousands of people upstairs and due to security reasons, you need to clear up asap. Some brilliant person came up with the idea of using Carrefour trolleys. Applause please...

Just when you thought the problem is solved, you go down to the basement carparks to find them blocked and reserved for VVIPs, and the lorry you finally managed to secure to pick things up cannot come down. Suck thumb... In the end you still need to use the service lifts and push carts of stuff through the Great Singapore Sale-crazy crowd before reaching a safe pickup point. Faintzzz... You would have wished you never have secured so much freebies for the participants. And thank God no one suspected us of being terrorists...

Geek Speak #8 - Challenging online games

Some mind-challenging games for all those restless souls out there:
Game On | Chasm


Crimson Room


Do share here with me any other interesting games.

Philo can kill #1 - Aristotle's Doctrine of the "Golden Mean"

Lately, I have been reading this colourful book called The Story of Philosophy by Bryan Magee. Of course, its another book full of pictures from one of my favourite publisher, DK books. Or else, it would have been really a torture to read a book on such a dry topic. I shall share here with everyone something I have learn from this book.

Aristotle, one of the four great Greek philosophers, came out with his famous Doctrine of the "Golden Mean", which is quite interesting. According to his doctrine, a virtue is the midway point between 2 extremes, each of which is a vice. Examples:

Profligacy --> Generosity <-- Meanness

Foolhardiness --> Courage <-- Cowardice
Vanity --> Self-respect <-- Self-abusement
Shamelessness --> Modesty <-- Shyness

The aim always is to be a balanced personality. And this, he thinks, is the way to achieve happiness.

It seems to me that the line between vice and virtue is very thin. Perhaps, as Aristotle suggests, moderation is the key to happiness. Brilliant doctrine.

How Hitler Became a Dictator

Interesting article about "How Hitler Became a Dictator". Sacrificing liberty for security.... hmmm.... Does it seems familiar? Singaporeans?