Gmail chat 28 February, 2007
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear1, For Him For Her, Internet & Blog, Slice of Life.add a comment
This feature can really be a lifesaver when u can’t use MSN in the office. Over the last decade, people have really become more and more connected. Connected by indirect or inpersonal bonds that is the mobile phone and the internet. Nowadays, most modern people can hardly survive a day without his/her mobile phone and also opening up their MSN just to see which of their friends are online.
But what if the company policy or company culture doesn’t allow u to switch on MSN during office hours? Then Gmail comes to the rescue. I know of workplaces where MSN is disallowed, I personally have worked an intern at such a company before. But then, there’s usually no restrictions regarding emails since emails are such an essential part of a company’s operations now. Employees are expected to turn on their favourite email client and tune in to the company intranet email system for all the latest news and gossips anytime they are in the office. However, there’s no restrictions on checking other emails like hotmail, singnet mail, gmail, etc. This is where gmail comes in.
There’s a buddy feature within gmail itself, sorta like a mini MSN within the gmail web client. This buddy list features just the basic requirement of any messenger service, that is text messages. So, as long as ur buddy is also checking their gmail at the same time u r checking ur gmail, u can see each other in the gmail buddy list. And, u can chat. Simple as that. So now, using gmail, u can check ur emails openly without people thinking that u r lofting off and still chat with ur buddies. Good ya? I really wonder if the people behind this gmail service had this idea all along. Perhaps they did. Maybe there’s an unwritten rule within Google that says “128. Thou shalt not use Microsoft products”. That’s why they have to come out with something uniquely Google. Who’s know? But it’s a great feature and it benefits Dear1 and Dear2. It’s a simple service, so dun expect much, yet when u dun expect much, u get so much more in return.
-Dear1
Warbears Mission 2 walkthrough 27 February, 2007
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear1, Internet & Blog, Leisure & Games.13 comments
I’ve managed to solve all the puzzles and completed the game. Here goes walkthrough.
- Use Steve to shoot the bulleproof glass. Hit it the 1st time for a bonus.
- Use Ryoh to use his sword to the left on the tree. Click when the power bar reaches the middle section to alert a squirrel in the tree. Quickly his the left sword again and click on the middle section again. This will make the squirrel jump onto the roof top. Now, use the left sword again, this time click when the power bar reaches the tip of the sword. Do these 3 actions on the first rising power bar to get a bonus. Next, use Ryoh’s right sword to collect the rope.
- Use Kla to walk right. Press the button. Walk left. Pick up a stone. Walk right. Do not use the stone yet. Walk right again. Walk diagonally right and up. Open the door once, it’s lock, and quickly open the door again. This will cause the squirrel to scream, which will in turn cause Steve to start recklessly shooting at the squirrel and open a roof latch.
- Use Lucas to walk left, and walk left again. Here, he just manage to escape being shot. Have Lucas walk right and talk to Steve. Steve will recommend a headbutt on the wall. Have Lucas walk left and headbutt the wall. Steve will come running towards Lucas only to be trapped by the falling bulletproof glass dome. Have Lucas talk to Steve again and choose ‘Get him out’ for some friendship bonus. Now, have Lucas climb up the pipe and into the building, killing a target board. Press the button, solve the puzzle (2341), then walk left. Open the door, it’s locked.
- Use Ryoh to walk up the fallen tree.
- Use Lucas to radio Ryoh, then use the bomb. Walk left through the destroyed door and pick up the key. Walk right and right again, then open the door. Go down the stairs. Upon reaching the basement, quickly hover ur mouse over Lucas and click the move left arrow for a reflex bonus. Walk left, get the fuse.
- This part is a combination play with Kla and Lucas. Have Kla walk left down the front steps, then press the button to open the basement vent. We call this Vent1. Kla walk right, then open another basement vent. We call this Vent2. Also, lift up the fallen metal pipe. Have Lucas pass the fuse to Kla through Vent2. Kla walks left and left and use the fuse. Kla use the computer panel and solve the puzzle. This one is a colour matching puzzle and it randomizes with each game. Once solved, open the front door and the basement door. Kla walks right and diagonal right-up to the door and open it. Do not enter. Lucas walks left to arrive just below Vent1. Kla walks left, left and remove the fuse, then right and pass the fuse to Lucas via Vent1. Lucas uses the fuse, then walks left and press button, button again. Then walk right, remove the fuse and pass it up Vent1 to Kla. Kla walks left, use the fuse, use the computer panel and open the basement door. Lucas walks right through the basement door. Kla removes the fuse, walks right, right and pass the fuse down through Vent2 to Lucas. Lucas uses the fuse, then walk right.
- Use Ryoh to move right up the roof and right again to the right lower roof of the house and use the rope.
- Use Lucas to climb the rope up and exits the house through the 2nd floor window and saving Steve in the process.
- Use Steve to move left and end up at the doorway, enter it. Targetboard will begin shooting at Steve but do not worry, Steve will never be shot. For the first 2 targetboards, aim and shot them down at ur first shot to earn bonus points. For the third targetboard, do no shoot the bullseye yet. Instead, aim for a small target slight below the bullseye. This will shoot the vase instead. After that, shoot down the third targetboard. Let Steve pick up the shining object.
- Use Kla to move into the house and use the button.
- Use Steve to move outside the house and shoot the circuit box. Next, shoot the second blue switch from the right, which is exactly the centre switch. Again, one shot one kill earns bonus. At around this time, a madman enters the screen from the left side and starts fighting with a dressed up tree. Ignore him.
- Use Kla to click on MP3, which will revive one of the targetboards. Wait for the madman to leave the screen before clicking on MP3, this will reduce dialouge time wastage for the next important step. While the targetboard is being revived, quickly hover ur mouse over Kla and quickly use the rock from earlier to kill the targetboard. If u r successful, u get a bonus. If u fail, the mission will fail and u’ll have to restart the game. Next, click on Escape Procedure.
- Use Ryoh to cut the safe and tie the rope. Wait till the countdown is over. The safe becomes a rocket and blasts off into the sky. Have Ryoh walk up the tight rope to the safe. Solve the colours puzzle with the left half all red and right half green. I have not found an exact method for this yet.
- End of mission. Enjoy the closing showcase. :D
So that’s it for warbears 2. The above walkthrough does not give u a 100% score. I think a 100% can only be achieved if u replay many times and find out all possible moves for every warbear, including moves that lead to mission failure. All in all, a fun episode, even though I do prefer warbears mission 1 more.
-Dear1
Toto Hongbao Draw 26 February, 2007
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear1, Dollars & Cents, Leisure & Games.1 comment so far
It’s that time of the year ago, for the legal gaming provider in Singapore to make big bucks, and hopefully for the owner of the lucky winning ticket to make big bucks as well.
The Toto Hongbao Draw has become an annual event that features extra big winnings, up to 10 times more than a regular Toto draw. It also receives wider publicity as well as various special Prosperity Packages that are said to bring one luck and increase ur chances of winning. However, if u think about it logically and from a theoretical viewpoint, ur luck doesn’t change just because ur tickets comes in an angbao. Neither does ur luck change whether u buy a ticket from the most 旺 ticketing booth in Singapore. But then again, if probability theory has any influence on Toto, it would’ve been discovered a long time ago and the game of Toto won’t even exist cos the company will be losing money instead. So let’s face it, the people behind Toto are the true experts in probability and statistical theory and we as consumers are probably not going to beat them in their own backyard.
Still, buying 1 Toto ticket for 50 cents gives u a 1 in 8145060 chance of winning $10 million in this Hongbao Draw. Not forgetting that normally this type of high winnings draw will invite even more participants to join in, thus resulting in even more winners than usual. Even my colleagues who dun usually buy Toto tickets are investing $20 worth (that’s 40 tickets) of tickets each. Therefore, when the top prize is divided equally amongst all the winners, each bring home significantly lesser than a regular winner on a regular draw day. Such is the irony. There are quite a number of these big winnings draw each year, I can’t really recall exactly, but 3 times a year sounds like a good estimate. So for 3 times a year, an extraordinarily large number of people will start to buy Toto, even if they dun normally buy Toto, for a smaller chance at smaller winnings. Hmm…
Of course, Dear1 and Dear2 are going to join in the fun. It’s just like that. Gaming is more for the fun and for a livelier lunch conversations rather than for the money. If we do win the top prize, then it’s a big big bonus. Properly investing this bonus is going to bring back a lifetime of wealth. That said, Dear1 and Dear2 are going to invest in $4 worth of quickpick since 4 is our lucky number in the lucky year of the golden pig.
Huat ah!!!!
-Dear1
Doing housework together 25 February, 2007
Posted by dear1dear2 in Around the House, Dear1, For Him For Her, Slice of Life, Sports & Health.add a comment
It’s normally during weekends that a couple is more free to do household maintenance, and it’s the same for Dear1 and Dear2.
Early this moring, we woke up at 7am for a morning jog. Haha… Dear1 and Dear2 haven’t been jogging for a mightly mightly long while. I think the last time we jogged was at the Standard Chartered Marathon. Now that really is a long time ago. At first, we were motivated to continue our marathon training as part of a healthier lifestyle after our run, but the bad weather took control in late December last year and ruin our jogging plans. Come January, we became slightly unmotivated and postponed our run until today. Haha… but we did it! Finally, we picked up jogging again. Let’s hope to make this a regular training and work towards the Sheares Bridge Run this year.
Once we reached home, it’s time to start our housework day. Today, we planned to do painting touch up. Remember our reno contractor had a lousy sub-contracted painter and we were utterly dissatisfied with the work. And since we lost confidence in the professionalism of the painters, we decided to do the touch up ourselves. Second on the list is sweeping the floor. It has been about 2 weeks since we last mopped and the floor is surprisingly dusty. I say ’surprisingly’ because, one, we haven’t moved in yet, so on most days the windows and doors are closed. Two, our block in Bt Batok isn’t located very near any industrial area, so where did the dust come from? Finally, our third task is to mop the floor.
So it started, Dear1 touch up the ceiling with white paint while Dear2 inspect all ceilings so we can one shot touch up all the ceiling paint. Once all the problem ceiling areas are identified, Dear1 continued with the touch up while Dear2 used the Daiso brand Magic Kleen lookalike dust wiper to broom the floor. When Dear1 is finished with the ceiling, Dear1 took over the brooming of the kitchen area while Dear2 began painting touch up on doors, door frames and pipes with brown paint. Meanwhile, Dear1 completed brooming the kitchen and started the mopping. By the time Dear1 finished mopping the study room, Dear2 is done with the painting works and took over the mopping of the master bedroom. So, Dear1 took this opportunity to go downstairs to dabao lunch. When Dear1 reached home, Dear2 had finished mopping the MBR, living room and dining room and was halfway thru the kitchen. Dear1 took over the mopping and Dear2 went to bath first. Once Dear1 completed mopping the kitchen, clean up the pails, wash the mop and hang it out to dry, Dear2 stepped out of the bathroom clean and smooth. Now is Dear1’s turn to bath while Dear2 goes about general tidying up of the house. When Dear1 finished bathing and is also clean and smooth, Dear2 had lunch readied on the new dining table. It’s Dear1 and Dear2’s first meal on the new dining table. After lunch, Dear1 and Dear2 washed the plates together. Being tired from all the activities beginning from the morning jog, Dear1 and Dear2 took a nap until 4.30pm. Zzz…
Haha… never knew doing housework can be so fun. Actually, doing housework is no fun at all, rather, doing housework together with Dear2 is so fun. Especially when we help each other, split the workload and do things together efficiently. It’s tiring, but it’s enjoyable because we are both working towards our common goal, that is to build our new home. Things are still simple now, just wait till laundry kicks in… omg. New photos are up, check out the Flickr sidebar. Of course, the pictures were taken *after* the clean up. See if u can spot a plastic bag of rubbish that was accidentally captured in one of the photos. Haha…
-Dear1
Warbears mission 2 is out 24 February, 2007
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear1, Internet & Blog, Leisure & Games.add a comment
Yeah… Warbears mission 2 is out. Maybe it’s old news but I just found out yesterday. Warbears is a flash game where u control 4 secret polar bear agents to solve a crime. In mission 1, the warbears go against a mob of bank robbers and to rescue the hostages. Very cute and fun. But just a bit too short. Since it’s a kind of puzzle game, there’s no replay value once u have completed the game once.
So, finally, Warbears mission 2 is out and we get to see the polar bears in action again. This time, it’s a training mission and the bears are up against some cardboard targets that shoots paintballs. Again, cute and fun and a little bit frustrating becos sometimes u just dun get the logic of the puzzle at all. I’ve yet to complete this mission yet, but I think I’m pretty near the end having gotten into the house and ‘killing’ all the make believe target boards. Haha… actually, it’s just as fun to complete the game and to learn how to not complete the game. Sometimes, u get ur bears into hilarious situations and it’s just a joy to watch. But having to replay the game all over from the beginning when the mission failed can be an annoyance.
For now, go visit the website and play the Warbears Mission 1 and Mission 2. I’ll try to publish a walkthrough when I completed them.
-Dear1
Just Follow Law review 22 February, 2007
Posted by dear1dear2 in Dear1, Moving Pictures.add a comment
Dear1 and Dear2 went to watch this movie on a Wednesday for the cheap tickets, and we’re relieved that we did, because it’s only worth the ticket price on the cheapest day.
Plot: This movie tries to market itself as exploring the ugly side of civil service in Singapore, yet I feel that it didn’t achieve this because of the poor script writing. The whole movie lacks cohesiveness, lacks a continuing flow. It feels like many short scenes being force together to make a full length movie. The rough, unsubtle and over usage of plot devices really ruin the movie for me. A particular scene which I really detest is where Lim suddenly receives a phone call informing him that his daughter met with an accident and is hospitalized. This phone call is purely used to break up the argument Lim is having with Chua and to bring us to a hospital counter scene. Subsequently, there is no further mention of the accident or the recovery process of the child. It really makes me as a viewer very disappointment at the way the story board is laid out. Scenes wise, Jack Neo’s ideas are get old and boring. Sure, things were a great hit with I’m Not Stupid, scenes that mimic real life political situations are only funny when used sparingly. If u go to every Jack Neo movie and receive the same onslaught of political parodies, it’s just lame and demonstrates a lack of creativity. In fact, I feel that the movie is made up of a string of jokes rather than telling a story. It feels like the parody scenes were decided before the movie and the plot is somehow weaved and twisted to incorporate them. The lack of a binding plot is a major failure of this movie.
Humour: Not too bad. I did have a good laugh at various points of the show. As usual, this JTeam production displays tons of real life parodies. Some of those that stand out are the huge amount of ’smoke’ thrown during the career fair, the infamous Gomez incident and a test in which Lim’s daughter scored 66.6 marks. The actors and actresses also have their fun which created many laughable moments. But some jokes again become over used and lose their appeal midway thru the show, eg. ‘Lim’ having fun with Chua’s boobs. Personaly, I feel there’s too much boobs groping, but Fann’s breakthrough performance here is a joy to watch. I shall not spoil the plot here.
Actors and actresses: The two major characters are the only ones that received character developments during the movie. Lim and Chua were from different ends of the corporate ladder and often disagree in the way they work. Lim is also given the role of parenting the younger generation while Chua depicts her relationship with the elder generation. There isn’t much I can say here without spoiling the plot but let’s just say that by the end of the movie, both come to better appreciate and cherish the people around them, young and old. Gurmit’s performance is as his usual high standards but his role really limited his room for performance. In contrast, Fann’s role has almost a limitless potential and she really made her character come to life, again a spectacular display from Fann, and probably is the saving grace of the movie.
Animation: I want to make a brief mention of the animation quality here. JTeam is not well verse in realistic life-like animations and should try to avoid venturing there. Instead, they should stick to cartoon animations that were so well executed in I’m Not Stupid 2. In Just Follow Law, the explosions and burning fire is particularly poorly done and falls into uncanny valley every single time. Whereas, I thought the ‘arrows’ animations are good and well suited for the scenes. So, the animation team should know their strengths and weaknesses and work from there, cover weaknesses and extend strengths.
Verdict: Poor plot but some nice laughs and outstanding performance from Fann. Catch this show only on the cheapest movie day or if u r a Fann fan. 2 out of 5 popcorns.
-Dear1
New Mitsubishi Fan 21 February, 2007
Posted by dear1dear2 in Consumer Electronics, Dear1, Shop till you drop.add a comment
We bought a new Mitsubishi standing fan, R12-ZH, on the 3rd day of Chinese New Year from Harvey Norman. Usual price $129, offer price $79. Quite a good deal ya, although there’s another made-in-china Cornell fan that costs only $39, but it’s sold out.
The fan that we bought is from the Desk series, but for some reason, the Mitsubishi Singapore website doesn’t showcase this model. Nevertheless, it’s covered under 1 year warranty from Mitsubishi. I’m quite confident that this fan will stand the test of time, unlike some china made fans that I’m currently using. Apparently, the standing fan in my room right here right now cost $120, and it is unbranded. It’s about 2 yrs old but it doesn’t blow much wind out. No wind, no wind! Think something is wrong with the motor or the blade. Yes, it’s clean, no dust on the blades and the metal frame, but still no wind. Make a lot of noise yes, but wind, no. I can only guess it is due to poor engineering. However, Dear2 is using a Mitsubishi fan for the past 10 years or so, and it’s still good and quiet too. So that’s why I’ve come to trust Mitsubishi as a good fan maker. And a good fridge maker too. We’re putting our new fan in the living room. It has 12 inch blades but I think it’s just nice for our living room with being too overwhelmingly large. The standard size is 16 inch. Dear2 and I considers our fan to be medium size.
Hmm… has been quite a while since I last took pictures hor. Tomolo, when I visit BB, must remember to take some pictures and upload. It looks so different now after we mopped the floor, set up some furniture, unpacked the sofa, 扑 the bedsheets. Hehe… must remember to take peektures. The fan power is quite good, sitting on our sofa about 2 meters away, we still can feel the wind at medium speed. Much much better than no ventilation at all. Our single air con blower unit in the living doesn’t really cool the room quite well. It’s cool, but not cold enough. So I think with this fan, it can better circulate the air and the overall coolness of the living room can be greatly improved. Initially, we thot that our air con is faulty as it doesn’t really feel cold in the living room, but after several visits to our relatives’ houses over the Chinese New Year period, I’ve come to realized that all their air cons in the living rooms also not cold one, and they use a fan to help the cooling too. Haha… so it’s normal lah, not spoilt. This fan is really going to help alot.
After we bought this fan, suddenly we seem to be a Mitsubishi and LG fan. Of the 5 electrical appliance we have in the house right now, we have 2 Mitsubishi, fridge and fan, and 2 LG, air con and Lcd Tv, and 1 Sona electric kettle. Haha… Dear1 and Dear2 are people who go for value for money items, so that must speak volumes for these 2 electrical brands. Remember, Satisfaction = Quality / Cost. :D
-Dear1
Good Neighbourly Relationships 20 February, 2007
Posted by dear1dear2 in Around the House, Dear2, Slice of Life.add a comment
Today is the third day of the golden pig year, and today is the day when Dear1 and Dear2 paid our first time visit to our new neighbours.
Dear2 read from somewhere that, out of politeness, new occupants in the block ought to visit and notify the immediate neighbours prior to renovations works. Imagine the months of incessant hacking and drilling noise that the current occupants in the block will have to bear, not to mention the multitude of dust and dirt flying around by the workers’ 5 1/2 days of mini construction-site work. Hence new owners ought to pay a courtesy trip to notify the neighbours of such renovation works, with the primary purpose of the visit of course is to get to know your neighbours. However, due to multiple reasons, Dear1 and Dear2 were always unable to find the time nor the opportunity to pay this courtesy visit, hence it was delayed from the start of the works till the day when we finally paid up the full balance.
Taking the chance of the festive season, Dear1 and Dear2 decided to drop by our neighbours place with two good luck mandarin oranges and a box of new year goodies. What better time to do the visit than during the celebratory Chinese New Year, especially when the neighbours are Chinese families? So off we went, jittery at first, cos afterall, going up to a total stranger’s place and introducing yourselves is not something that Dear1 and Dear2 have ever done before. Plus, the occasional glances by the unfamiliar neighbour makes us all too worried of the possibility of getting fierce next-doors. With the determination to take that step forward to creating a friendly and neighbourly friendship, we mustered our courage and went knock-knock on all the three doors down our corridoor.
Surprise surprise. The seemingly unfriendly faces turned out to be pretty warm people. All our neighbours returned our good luck oranges, a symbol to represent that the elders has accepted us juniors’ good wishes, and in turn wish us well as well. The biggest surprise came from the ang baos that we recieved from them. The amount may be insignificant, but it is the good intentions and well wishes that matters most.
Up ahead, we really do not know how things may proceed. Who knows if our neighbour will one day find fault with our dripping drying laundry (if any, please do let us know k). Life is like a mirror, you get what you give. To want to have good relations with other people, one needs to take the initiative and be nice to people first. Though some people or situations will not reciprocrate the good intentions, but you at least know that you have done your part in starting that friendly atmosphere and maintaining it. Courtesy begins with me. :)
- Dear2
