Sunday, November 01, 2009

Windows Live Writer

 

No kidding, this is a slick native desktop blogging client for windows. Able to automatically pick up the blogger CSS styles for a truly WYSIWG experience.

Usually, you get software like this on the Mac, its quite refreshing to have something like this on Windows. Makes for a very nice companion for netbook computers which are ubiquitous nowadays.

And the best part of course is its FREE. Get it now!

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Long time no post again.

Its been eons again since I have written a blog post. Even 140 character updates are rarer nowadays.

It could either mean too busy at work or more interested in real life (IRL) activities or both.

For some reason, I do like to write. Its just I find it hard still to write cohesive sentences. Explaining /dev/brain contents that mildly conforms to the rules of proper grammar. I always admired people who have that gift. The gift of writing.

Its not hard to find where the weakness lies. Its the inability to focus on writing one topic from start to end. The mind wanders off too frequently in the blink of an eye. Hyper active mind leads to fractured blog posts 99.999% of the time.

But as always, optimism is always there. Will never get tired of trying. :)

Friday, May 15, 2009

N95 and Garmin Mobile XT

On a quick note, N95 + Garmin Mobile XT loaded with Malaysia and Singapore maps really rocks! Even better than the bundled GPS on our Persona. All searches by default is based on your location. For example searching for a Shell station, you would see it searching within 5km, 10km, 20km... radius. That said it makes a two year old phone an extremely practical all in one mobile device.

When will Google maps make its data available offline? An off-line version would make LBS dreamers/developers extremely happy.

Malaysia is more travel-able with a GPS device. Makes you more confident to drive to places you had never been to. We went to Blue Lagoon in Port Dickson without getting lost. If you are a foreigner in Malaysia, a GPS device is one of those must have gadgets to enjoy travelling the country. Like the Philippines, lots of tourist spots to visits. Its ironic actually that we haven't explored home as much as we have here in Malaysia.

HP Mini and Nasi Kandar

Saturday morning with a mini and maggi goreng.

Surprisingly wifi is available as auto detected by the mini. For the first time am blogging in this indoor Nasi Kandar.

Anyway, its been a while since we have the mini, my daughter uses it regularly at home for school homework and general surfing. It seems to hold up to the task. Was keen on trying it outside and see how long the battery holds up and see how suitable it is for occasional blogging and surfing un-tethered.

Performance is not that bad. The only bummer is the glass covered screen. While it makes pictures pop indoors, it reminds you how impractical it is to use under direct sunlight. Even using it under the shade makes it hard to read things due to the screen reflection.

Planning to test it also for mild Java happy coding sessions. Installed trial version of Idea and Glassfish Prelude v3 and see if the atom processor bundled with 2GB RAM is up to these tasks.

Aside from these, you got to love the keyboard. Its a joy to use. Not too cramped as the other netbook these days. Pretty much comfortable to touch type.

Oh, we also remove the thin plastic film covering the webcam. Now the video sessions with Skype doesn't look too dark and crappy. Bluetooth works without a hitch with our Nokia phones. Audio is better than expected. The weird trackpad takes a bit getting used to, but since am not a mouse person, am not that bothered.

On the Nasi Kandar side of things, the daging goreng is not so good as it once was. New cook perhaps? The one we got today is a bit hard to chew. Hmmnnn... Maybe time to try out other menus.

Note to self, teach the kids to touch type. An invaluable skill when using glass covered screens. :)

Live long and prosper, as Dr. Spock would say. The new Star Trek movie rocks!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Oracle Buys Sun!

WTF???

What is the future of Java and Glassfish?

Interesting times to be a Java aligned technologist...

Sunday, April 05, 2009

My love, my life...


_MG_0631
Originally uploaded by nocs
Had a great time this Sunday. Took the lovey and kids to Pantai Morib for a much needed break.

Beach was ok, but food was fresh and delicious! We had grilled fish, fried prawns and calamari cooked kampung style? I could still imagine the taste of the prawn somewhere there in my tastebuds. It was really good and am not even a prawn lover to begin with :).

We also had a blast with kite flying. For RM8, you have a ready made kite to go along with the fresh sea breeze. It got stuck to one of the trees in the end tho. And am afraid we did lost one of Janro's slippers stuck in the sand somewhere.

Planning to go to nearby tourist destinations every once in a while on weekends. Hope it helps lovey recover faster from the recent surgery. Its surprisingly cheaper than going to malls and its just feels great to bond with the family this way.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Diets and dogs


Our dog
Originally uploaded by nocs
Surprised to know there is a free book for dieting... Named as The Hacker's Diet aimed primarily at geeks perhaps.

Overweight and a bulging beer belly (ironically I rarely drink beer or alcohol for that matter), its those odd moments in time when you want to write something about it. In the futile hope to keep that motivation to get fit even for just a while.

Alright, probably just an excuse to blog some nonsense and just let the fingers do the typing.

Anyway, just watched Marley and Me with the lovey and kids. Even our dog was probably touched by the story. The sad reality of life. More sad is the fact that we do have a dog, and I could just imagine the pain it would cost us, especially my daughter when its life span would near its end.

Some great lessons there. Give the dog your love, and it will love you till the end. Nothing fancy, just love, pure love. Something thats becoming rarer nowadays.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Red Guitar


Red Guitar
Originally uploaded by nocs
Cause we were born upside down.

Trying to find beauty amidst daily challenges life throws at you.

Seeking refuge behind the sound of the shutter.