the wacky wombat weblog

I’ve lived on this wee bit island for close to 7 years now. I’ve not always loved it, especially in the beginning. But if there’s one thing I like about Singapore, it’s how ‘walkable’ it is.

It’s pedestrian friendly. Like the city streets of Tokyo and NYC, except without the pesky cyclists (Tokyo) and filthy sidewalks (NYC). It’s safe to walk around on your own, train stations are near everything, so you can just basically take the train somewhere and spend the entire afternoon walking around doing nothing — which is something that I can’t do when I’m back in KL unless I’m hoping to get mugged or leered at by weird sleazy people and pollute my lungs with exhaust fumes. yuck.

So yes, despite the stiffling weather, random walks around the city is something I enjoy doing on some weekends. Once in a while, I’ll bring my lil’ camera around and take random photos of things. Kinda like a tourist. Except I don’t do those stand-in-front-of-merlion-and-do-the-peace-sign shit. That’s for real tourists.

My favourite building is the Gateway, near Bugis. It’s just awesomely sharp. It’s like, you can cut yourself by just looking at it.

Sometimes the best views are just outside my window. Being on the 16th floor has its perks (besides being mosquito-free).

I think it’s the practice for national day or something.

For more snapshots of my random walks, just go to Photo Gallery, and look for the album “Look Up”.  Click and view!

Okay, this is something from like over 2 weeks ago: I was back in Malaysia and my mom was driving me and my sisters to 1 Utama. We were headed there for shopping and dinner. And while on the road we spotted a tow truck towing a very odd-looking car.

Not sure what kind of car (vehicle? can we call it a car?) that was. So since I had my camera with me, why not snap a shot. My mom happily obliged by following behind the tow truck so that I can get a decent shot of the strange car. She even pulled up right alongside it so that I can get this shot:

Those seats look like some kind of race-car seats? Check out the seat belts, and the old-school stick shift heh. But hey, it’s still a pretty cool car — or whatever it is. :p

Saw this today when trying to run the Remote Desktop Connection beta on my Mac:

Download Lastest (sic) Version? Seriously?

But that wasn’t bad enough, having clicked the link to download the “lastest” version, I came across this:

RDC 2 Beta Update

Please note: the beta expired on March 31st, 2008. Although the beta period has ended, you will still be able to use it by simply dismissing the pop-up beta expiration message. The new version of Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac 2 will be available for download in April or May.

Microsoft… sheesh

There was a lot of shopping during my last trip to Tokyo and I came back hauling a bunch of stuff. Including things I bought on a whim. Which I’ve decided to sell it off since I haven’t worn them yet.

Here’re some items from United Colors of Benetton. They’re all brand new (price tags still attached). Some are still wrapped in plastic. lol. All items are in XS size and I only have 1 unit for each item.

If anyone is interested in purchasing and plumping up their wardrobe, please contact me on this blog or e-mail to tsewei [AT] wackywombat [DOT] net.

Here goes!

#1. Long-sleeved collared shirt in eggplant purple

• Original price: 4,900 yen (~S$68)
• Now selling for S$50

Click to see details.

#2. Sweater jacket in white cotton

• Original price: 8,900 yen (~S$123)
• Now selling for S$90

Click to see in detail.

#3. Cardigan in deep forest green

• Original price: 4,900 yen (~S$68)
• Now selling for S$50

#4. Pink wool turtleneck sweater

• Original price: 2,900 yen (S$40)
• Now selling for S$23
• Wool, 3/4 sleeves

#5. Knee-length skirt in navy blue

• Original price: 5,800 yen (~S$82)
• Now selling for S$60
• Front zip with button, slit on the front, pockets on the back and front.

Click to see in detail.
#6. Handbag

• Original price: 6,900 yen (~S$96)
• Now selling for S$80
• Canvas with leather trimming, zip-top closure.12″ (L) x 6″ (H) x 5″ (W).

Click to see in detail.

* 100 yen = 1.39 SGD

Amat memalukan angkara SPR kini menarik balik penggunaan dakwat kekal di pilihanraya umum (PRU) ini. Alasan yang diberi SPR memang tidak masuk akal. Mempermainkan parti pembangkang dengan isu ini adalah perkara yang remeh. Tetapi, pembaziran wang ringgit rakyat membeli dakwat kekal ini tidak boleh diambil ringan.

Semasa diumumkan yang SPR akan menggunakan dakwat kekal, mereka berkata dakwat ini perlu ditempah terlebih dahulu dan hanya dibeli berberapa hari sebelum hari mengundi. Ini adalah kerana dakwat ini mudah kering dan tidak boleh digunakan jika ia dibiarkan kering. Jadi, apa akan terjadi dengan stok dakwat hitam yang telah dibeli? Jual pada orang lain? Pakistan baru saja habis mengundi. Ataupun SPR tidak langsung berniat untuk membelinya dan wang yang diperuntukkan telah ditelan?

Haih tak kisahlah, BN nak main kotor dengan isu dakwat (dan pelbagai lagi isu - undi pos, undi hantu, undi sogok). Yang pasti kita yang tenat letih dengan perangai BN ini, hantar pesanan kita dengan tulisan pangkah dalam kotak yang betul pada kertas undi hari Sabtu ini. Kalau nak hantar juga perasaan marah ataupun dukacita terhadap SPR, tunjuklah jari anda kepada pegawai-pegawai SPR selepas mengundi. Terutamanya jari hantu

So it’s election time again for Malaysia. Alas, I wasn’t that politically-aware back when I was still in Malaysia so I did not register to vote. Not like I’d want to cast postal vote in case it get ‘manipulated’ on its way home to get counted. But here’s my 2 yen for the upcoming election:

I sure hope that Malaysians would vote wisely this time. With higher Internet penetration, blogs and alternative news media is more relevant than ever before. I hope every voting Malaysians would be able to exercise the right with utmost care for the country’s future. If you think things have been bad, this is high time to make it right.

If you’re worried about voting the opposition for their lack of experience in running the Government, it’s not like BN was very experienced since the independence. Both sides started with no experience at all. And after 50 years, the country is tilted so much to one side that if it continued without any balancing force, it will soon tip over and go backwards. We don’t want our country to go backwards, do we? But if you think it’s not gonna happen, well you’re wrong. It is already in motion, if you’re aware of the recent issues on almost everything - prices, policies, racial discrimination, etc.

And look at the capabilities of the current Government. Ever since the landslide victory in GE2004, Pak Lah’s administration have lowered and lowered the bar further. Who knows, if given yet another massive victory this time, Pak Lah will actually go limbo under the said bar and maybe even fall asleep under it!

Maybe it’s time to give the opposition a chance - it’s up to you. Come to think of it, will the opposition do much worse than what the current administration is capable of?

As for me, I’ll be sure to register myself to vote for the next election. It’s about time I exercise my right.

So Demonoid is back, well at least the tracker is. And it’s now hosted in Malaysia. Malaysia truly boleh. And we’re moving up the chain, aren’t we?

No longer do we need to rely on manufacturing pirated CD/DVDs late nights at the factories, we’re now attracting foreign BitTorrent trackers to setup shop site in the country. So even if Google don’t end up setting up their big data-centre here, at least we can brag that the best BitTorrent tracker is now in town

Inspired by the upcoming General Election 2008 in Malaysia

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous Year of the Rat
from the wonderful folks here at
the wacky wombat weblog

(no, that’s not a rat in the picture - it’s the late Gigi the Pug)

You know those O’Reilly IT books that always feature a grayscale illustration of an (often time unrelated) animal on the cover? Make your own here at O’Reilly Maker. Here’s my very own cover:

If you’re unfamiliar on who is George Agdgdgwngo, check out this Wikipedia entry on Fonejacker.