Tuna! Took me quite a while to catch this fish. :D
12/6 Update -
Today i caught my 2nd Pike! PSYCHED. XD
Dec 3, 2008
Animal Crossing in Progress
Tuna! Took me quite a while to catch this fish. :D
12/6 Update -
Today i caught my 2nd Pike! PSYCHED. XD
Oct 28, 2008
What a drastic change...
Couple days ago i was enjoying weather in the mid-80s back home... today I saw snow flurries and the high was only 39. Yikes~
Aug 5, 2008
Um...snacking at work...
Did I ever mention that there are Haagen Dazs ice-cream bars for sale at work? They're a buck each and I've been getting one every day since last week for my afternoon snack. Costly...yet so delicious...
Jul 25, 2008
Today is one of those days...
where i was mentally exhausted (technically it was yesterday since it's 3a now). It is funny because I didn't do too much "intensive" programming or designing today. I guess the trouble-shooting was just too frustrating - especially when you're relying on other team to get some of the issues fixed, before you can do anything. Anyway, hopefully tomorrow will be a better day - and I have a build for my product. :P
Jul 21, 2008
崖の上のポニョ
宫崎駿新片~!
Let us sing along~~~ But be careful not to let this song get into your head. XDDDDD
Hopefully it will be shown in HK during the Chinese New Year holiday next Jan.
Also, I got to have the puppet that this guy's holding - it's just too cute ^o^:
More in action
Let us sing along~~~ But be careful not to let this song get into your head. XDDDDD
Hopefully it will be shown in HK during the Chinese New Year holiday next Jan.
Also, I got to have the puppet that this guy's holding - it's just too cute ^o^:
More in action
Jun 19, 2008
Upcoming Toysrus Deal
Hold off your DS game purchases till next week... at least according to this site. It looks like Toysrus is doing the buy two get one deal again. Unfortunately, I have 4 games that i want to get. Fortunately, I think Toysrus only carries 3 of them.
So..
In case you didn't notice, let's take a look at the publisher, should we? It's SquareEnix, SquareEnix and SquareEnix. What can i say - i'm a big fan. :D
The game which was not sold by Toysrus:
The game's from Atlus, which only means that I have to get it now (though I might not have time to play it once Tactics comes out) otherwise it will be out of stock. :P
And yet more RPG coming this summer (also from SquareEnix):
Hence why my Wii probably won't be getting much play time this summer... kakakaka
So..
In case you didn't notice, let's take a look at the publisher, should we? It's SquareEnix, SquareEnix and SquareEnix. What can i say - i'm a big fan. :D
The game which was not sold by Toysrus:
The game's from Atlus, which only means that I have to get it now (though I might not have time to play it once Tactics comes out) otherwise it will be out of stock. :P
And yet more RPG coming this summer (also from SquareEnix):
Hence why my Wii probably won't be getting much play time this summer... kakakaka
Jun 15, 2008
Jun 9, 2008
Rare article about my company
Yeah my company is a bit mysterious, so it was quite a surprise when I found this article: Behind the Curtain
It's decent read - plus some photo of our Verona campus (they should have taken some photo of our Campus 2's construction site - especially the big hole for the 4-level underground parking garage).
It's decent read - plus some photo of our Verona campus (they should have taken some photo of our Campus 2's construction site - especially the big hole for the 4-level underground parking garage).
We found ourselve a dessert wine
Was planning to have dinner at Lombardino's Friday night but they are fully booked except for the 5:30 or 9:00 spots. So instead, we went on Saturday. We have 6 people (Chris B. was planning to join us as well, but apparently he overspent on our Friday night dinner - XD). Well, I don't know about the others but it's definitely one of my favorite Italian restaurant here in town. However, parking was horrible as Lombardino's is located close to the campus area on a tiny corner lot.
The restaurant was really packed this time. Last time Konphused and I went there, it was rather empty. I think the service was above average. The waitress was quite nice and friendly. The food is good. I originally thought about ordering the Linguine di Mare, but had a change of heart and ordered the summer linguine from their special menu instead. I have to say this was indeed a smart choice. Konphused ordered linguine di mare and it turned out to be a heavy tomato-based pasta. Mine was more of a wine/cream-based, which suited my taste better. For the record, Lombardino's changes their menu throughout the year, and according to the waitress, the Summer Linguine I ordered will be on their regular menu starting next week.
While I've been dining out with these folks for like three to four years now, Saturday night was the first time we ordered a full bottle of wine split 4 ways (since I picked, so i stick with Chardonnay. wakaka)WeAlfred and I probably could have ordered a 2nd bottle, but I don't think Konphused and King Snort were that much of a wine drinker so we just ordered a follow-up Prosecco by glass instead. In hindsight, i should have ordered the Prosecco first with the lighter appetizer and the Chardonnay with the meal. Anyway...
Tiramisu is a standard with an Italian meal, but we also ordered a bottle (it's only of those smaller, 375mL bottles) of Moscato D'Asti. Man that Moscato was some good dessert wine. It's definitely sweet, but not too sweet like the other D'Asti I bought earlier. I would prefer the alcohol content to be a bit higher, but nonetheless it was a great wine. For those curious, it's a 2006 Saracco Moscato D'Asti. According to many wine selling site, we definitely got ripped off (we paid like $18 for 375mL, internet sites have the 750mL bottle listed for $13 - 16) - but hey, it's the experience that matters right? Will definitely again buy in the future.
So 3 glasses of wine + pasta + appetizer + dessert came out to $50, a pretty good deal to me. =D
The restaurant was really packed this time. Last time Konphused and I went there, it was rather empty. I think the service was above average. The waitress was quite nice and friendly. The food is good. I originally thought about ordering the Linguine di Mare, but had a change of heart and ordered the summer linguine from their special menu instead. I have to say this was indeed a smart choice. Konphused ordered linguine di mare and it turned out to be a heavy tomato-based pasta. Mine was more of a wine/cream-based, which suited my taste better. For the record, Lombardino's changes their menu throughout the year, and according to the waitress, the Summer Linguine I ordered will be on their regular menu starting next week.
While I've been dining out with these folks for like three to four years now, Saturday night was the first time we ordered a full bottle of wine split 4 ways (since I picked, so i stick with Chardonnay. wakaka)
Tiramisu is a standard with an Italian meal, but we also ordered a bottle (it's only of those smaller, 375mL bottles) of Moscato D'Asti. Man that Moscato was some good dessert wine. It's definitely sweet, but not too sweet like the other D'Asti I bought earlier. I would prefer the alcohol content to be a bit higher, but nonetheless it was a great wine. For those curious, it's a 2006 Saracco Moscato D'Asti. According to many wine selling site, we definitely got ripped off (we paid like $18 for 375mL, internet sites have the 750mL bottle listed for $13 - 16) - but hey, it's the experience that matters right? Will definitely again buy in the future.
So 3 glasses of wine + pasta + appetizer + dessert came out to $50, a pretty good deal to me. =D
Jun 2, 2008
People on the move
Have heard from a few people switching jobs or planning to switch jobs/move to different place. I guess summer season IS the time to move. My team at work was hit hard, there are a few people leaving or has left. Considering the fact that my team is a small team to start out with, i expect things will get worse before it gets better. Yikes!
On similar note, my brother also got an offer with some company north of Chicago. Since his new salary is much more in tune with his necessary expenses, I am foreseeing that my days at supporting him might be coming to an end - which of course is fabulous news for me. To put it in perspective, I can pretty much get a new Dell 27" monitor each month with the money i am lending him, or buy a new MacBook Air every quarter. XD
On similar note, my brother also got an offer with some company north of Chicago. Since his new salary is much more in tune with his necessary expenses, I am foreseeing that my days at supporting him might be coming to an end - which of course is fabulous news for me. To put it in perspective, I can pretty much get a new Dell 27" monitor each month with the money i am lending him, or buy a new MacBook Air every quarter. XD
I just have to share this...
I bought a tasty watermelon this weekend - sweet & juicy =D Hopefully, it's a good indication that the melons i picked this summer will be great. Hohohoho...
May 12, 2008
罪過罪過
岩岩先話今個 weekend 駛o左唔少錢係 dining 方面... 但今日我又走o左去買o左兩件衫~ Oh well... 支持美國經濟!
[Edited]
Memorial weekend... 又執多兩件... 一一"
[Edited]
Memorial weekend... 又執多兩件... 一一"
May 11, 2008
Pricey Weekend
Good news - I tried a new restaurant this weekend
Bad news - I spent $75+ on Friday/Saturday dinners
Seriously, if I don't think the US would be in a recession if everyone is spending like King Snort, MyEvilInsideMe, Alfred and I did this weekend. XD
MyEvilInsideMe found a Brazilian grill place last week, but King Snort wasn't up for it (since it's a buffet style) so we decided to do it this week instead. Originally we thought it would be our regular Friday night dinner, but that place is booked this Friday & Saturday, as well as next Saturday during normally dinner hours. So instead of doing it on Friday, we decided to make a reservation on Saturday at 9 instead.
Since we knew the price range of the new place would be a bit above our normal (it's $33 but all-you-can-eat), we thought we would have something cheap on Friday night... or so we thought. The place we ended up in? Olive Garden. We did consider going to the mall's food court at one point. We just didn't end up there. :P Despite my best effort (I skipped the Tiramisu), I still ended up with a $24 - ordered a glass of Prosecco - it was better last time. I think my glass was the last glass in the bottle so the waitress just emptied it out, but it also meant that a lot of the bubbles are gone already :(
Saturday night's dinner, well, what can I say. The whole experience was neat - having the people bring you the meat and slice it off the skewer is nice. However, I do think the price is a little too high. A $28 tab would make me go back more often. At $33, it will be one of those once is 6 months place. Alfred and I ordered drinks (Mango Mojito for him and a Sangria for me). Comments? I've had better Sangria. We even ordered dessert (they have a very good hazelnut gelato). To my surprise, King Snort even ordered a dessert wine (so did Alfred) - it's a surprise because he always says wine at restaurants are over-priced. I think they liked the D'Asti and I am tempted to buy a bottle next time I get wine. So how much does a Sangria + Main course + dessert cost? $52 - definitely one of the more, if not the most, expensive dinner I've had at Madison.
Bad news - I spent $75+ on Friday/Saturday dinners
Seriously, if I don't think the US would be in a recession if everyone is spending like King Snort, MyEvilInsideMe, Alfred and I did this weekend. XD
MyEvilInsideMe found a Brazilian grill place last week, but King Snort wasn't up for it (since it's a buffet style) so we decided to do it this week instead. Originally we thought it would be our regular Friday night dinner, but that place is booked this Friday & Saturday, as well as next Saturday during normally dinner hours. So instead of doing it on Friday, we decided to make a reservation on Saturday at 9 instead.
Since we knew the price range of the new place would be a bit above our normal (it's $33 but all-you-can-eat), we thought we would have something cheap on Friday night... or so we thought. The place we ended up in? Olive Garden. We did consider going to the mall's food court at one point. We just didn't end up there. :P Despite my best effort (I skipped the Tiramisu), I still ended up with a $24 - ordered a glass of Prosecco - it was better last time. I think my glass was the last glass in the bottle so the waitress just emptied it out, but it also meant that a lot of the bubbles are gone already :(
Saturday night's dinner, well, what can I say. The whole experience was neat - having the people bring you the meat and slice it off the skewer is nice. However, I do think the price is a little too high. A $28 tab would make me go back more often. At $33, it will be one of those once is 6 months place. Alfred and I ordered drinks (Mango Mojito for him and a Sangria for me). Comments? I've had better Sangria. We even ordered dessert (they have a very good hazelnut gelato). To my surprise, King Snort even ordered a dessert wine (so did Alfred) - it's a surprise because he always says wine at restaurants are over-priced. I think they liked the D'Asti and I am tempted to buy a bottle next time I get wine. So how much does a Sangria + Main course + dessert cost? $52 - definitely one of the more, if not the most, expensive dinner I've had at Madison.
May 4, 2008
Mario Kart Wii
After skipping out on a few other games (Okami, The World Ends with You, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - don't worry my little games, someday, i'll get to you guys), I picked up Mario Kart Wii last week and is currently having a blast with the same. I actually picked up another SRPG game, Rondo of Swords, a week or two before MK:Wii came out, but i'll leave that to another post.
Overall, I would give the game a solid 8. It's Mario Kart so you should know all the mechanics to it. The game tries to refreshen up a bit by adding bikes to the mix - which at times were quite fun but sometimes frustrates me because I uses light bikes that get knock off pretty easily.
Races are sometimes crazy/hectic - getting hit by a red shell, followed by a blue shell and then a bomb probably would drive you crazy. But hey, if you get a Bullet Bill, that should make up for it.
Online game play is phenomenal. There is essentially no lag at all even when I am playing a worldwide match (unfortunately can't say the same for Smash Bros. That's why I mainly stick to offline mode for that game). Although I did get disconnected from the Nintendo WFC network for a couple times, it's a smooth sail most of the time. In fact, other than the time it takes to prepare the match, I can't really tell between an on-line and off-line game. People online aren't too bad either - I've had my wins/losses, but they were all fun. It's also nice that you can join games in which your friends are playing. One of my friends in HK and I are trying to see if we can get enough people to create our own 12-player room (so far we have 4).
If you're a Wii owner, I don't see the reason not to get this game. And when you do, leave me a message in this post with your Friend Code so I can add you. Mine is 3866-8414-7951
Overall, I would give the game a solid 8. It's Mario Kart so you should know all the mechanics to it. The game tries to refreshen up a bit by adding bikes to the mix - which at times were quite fun but sometimes frustrates me because I uses light bikes that get knock off pretty easily.
Races are sometimes crazy/hectic - getting hit by a red shell, followed by a blue shell and then a bomb probably would drive you crazy. But hey, if you get a Bullet Bill, that should make up for it.
Online game play is phenomenal. There is essentially no lag at all even when I am playing a worldwide match (unfortunately can't say the same for Smash Bros. That's why I mainly stick to offline mode for that game). Although I did get disconnected from the Nintendo WFC network for a couple times, it's a smooth sail most of the time. In fact, other than the time it takes to prepare the match, I can't really tell between an on-line and off-line game. People online aren't too bad either - I've had my wins/losses, but they were all fun. It's also nice that you can join games in which your friends are playing. One of my friends in HK and I are trying to see if we can get enough people to create our own 12-player room (so far we have 4).
If you're a Wii owner, I don't see the reason not to get this game. And when you do, leave me a message in this post with your Friend Code so I can add you. Mine is 3866-8414-7951
Apr 7, 2008
Weekend Recap
In short, there was lots of traveling involved. I mean, 4.5 hr drive isn't something I would normally do myself. =D
The whole thing started when my friend told me last Monday that there will be a soccer tournament between the various HKSA around the Midwest region. He was hoping to get a ride from local UW's HKSA to go down and meet his UMich friends (he graduated from there), but it turned out that the UW actually asked him to help with the car-pool. And since he will be driving down, I tagged along to visit W. Lafayette.
The soccer tournament didn't interest me much - mostly because most people that I knew already graduated last year, and i would need a miracle to find Ronald. XD Just introduced myself to this year's P and have some brief chats. I believed i actually talked more to the UMich undergrads than Purdue's. XD
Since I didn't stay to watch the tournament, I took off and walk around campus. There are new buildings and constructions everywhere. However, i think it still manage to retain the same ol' atmosphere (which is a good thing). On a side note, I still think the new Discovery Park is "too modern" to blend with the rest of the campus. The Union definitely underwent some major remodeling. There are now multiple restaurants replacing the old "food vendor" (well, image you walk into the union from the south entrance close to Heavilon...once you get it, you used to get food from the place on your left...that area's what got axed and replaced). I kinda missed my standard "Quarter dark chicken with 2 sides" lunch (especially since one of the newer vendor is Mexican food). There's also a StarBucks in the Union now - fortunately there wasn't one when I was at Purdue - Can't imagine what much my lunch would cost each day. XD
I did a lot of walking as well. Basically back and forth between the soccer field outside of the Purdue Airport (so basically a bit further than Purdue West) and Chauncey. And i did that twice since the soccer tournament took forever with 7 teams participating (they were supposed to have 8 teams, but ND didn't make it). Even lounge a bit at Vienna on the 2nd trip. Good old times...
OK now, I remember someone told me that Harry's and Village Coffee shop both went out of business? Both seems to be opened yesterday. My friend and I actually drove around the campus on Friday night before we went back to the motel. There was this huge crowd outside Harry's. Though i don't go to bars, I am still happy to see it "re-open" (can anyone confirmed whether it really went out of business?) I do know that Boiler Room is out though - that spot is now occupied by a tattoo shop.
Here's the Flickr photo set from my trip. Let see if I can try to get people to go back in the fall for football games. =)
The whole thing started when my friend told me last Monday that there will be a soccer tournament between the various HKSA around the Midwest region. He was hoping to get a ride from local UW's HKSA to go down and meet his UMich friends (he graduated from there), but it turned out that the UW actually asked him to help with the car-pool. And since he will be driving down, I tagged along to visit W. Lafayette.
The soccer tournament didn't interest me much - mostly because most people that I knew already graduated last year, and i would need a miracle to find Ronald. XD Just introduced myself to this year's P and have some brief chats. I believed i actually talked more to the UMich undergrads than Purdue's. XD
Since I didn't stay to watch the tournament, I took off and walk around campus. There are new buildings and constructions everywhere. However, i think it still manage to retain the same ol' atmosphere (which is a good thing). On a side note, I still think the new Discovery Park is "too modern" to blend with the rest of the campus. The Union definitely underwent some major remodeling. There are now multiple restaurants replacing the old "food vendor" (well, image you walk into the union from the south entrance close to Heavilon...once you get it, you used to get food from the place on your left...that area's what got axed and replaced). I kinda missed my standard "Quarter dark chicken with 2 sides" lunch (especially since one of the newer vendor is Mexican food). There's also a StarBucks in the Union now - fortunately there wasn't one when I was at Purdue - Can't imagine what much my lunch would cost each day. XD
I did a lot of walking as well. Basically back and forth between the soccer field outside of the Purdue Airport (so basically a bit further than Purdue West) and Chauncey. And i did that twice since the soccer tournament took forever with 7 teams participating (they were supposed to have 8 teams, but ND didn't make it). Even lounge a bit at Vienna on the 2nd trip. Good old times...
OK now, I remember someone told me that Harry's and Village Coffee shop both went out of business? Both seems to be opened yesterday. My friend and I actually drove around the campus on Friday night before we went back to the motel. There was this huge crowd outside Harry's. Though i don't go to bars, I am still happy to see it "re-open" (can anyone confirmed whether it really went out of business?) I do know that Boiler Room is out though - that spot is now occupied by a tattoo shop.
Here's the Flickr photo set from my trip. Let see if I can try to get people to go back in the fall for football games. =)
Apr 6, 2008
Long Day
but quite fun just walking around the campus. Too tired to write up anything now, but I'll part you with my newest wallpaper on my desktop:
Let me know if you want the full 2.5M version.
Let me know if you want the full 2.5M version.
Apr 5, 2008
An unexpected trip
Location:
2030 Northgate Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47906
The HKSA is having a soccer tournament tomorrow (today). One of firneds at work is going down to cheer for his UMich friends, so I decided to tag along. So here I am in one of the motels in West Lafayette.
It's also funny that the UMich and IU teams are also in the same motel. The U-Wisc (two of their members rode with us) team actually is staying on the east side close to Meijer. There are a few more schools participating, but just don't know where they're staying.
We drove past Lafayette/West Lafayette/campus a bit (since we didn't arrive till like midnight). I couldn't imagine how many things have changed. There are new buildings everywhere, and a lot of places where we used to go closed down.
I probably will be a fun day tomorrow - ain't planning to stay at the tourney at all, but kinda walk around instead. Borrowed King Snort's camera for the purpose, so let see if I can get some photos. :)
Mar 31, 2008
The Purdue stadium has been renamed!?
From one of the HKSA photo galleries (dated back to 2005), I found this rather funny - especially with the choice of words. On the other hand, I was quite disappointed that the current HKSA did not take the time to update the site.
Oh... I just found out that a friend of mine at work know one of the guys in the picture. Small world~
Mar 16, 2008
Okay...that was a weird phone call...
Guess who just called? HKBN! Yeah, HKBN just called me asking me whether I want to join their $24/month unlimited call plan. First of all, how did they get my number? Are they that desperate to sign up new customers that they're willing to call internationally?
Anyway, I never called that much anyway (I think i used about $5 - 10 per 3 months with my calling card). If it were something like $5, i might be interested, but at $25, definitely no deal for me!
Anyway, I never called that much anyway (I think i used about $5 - 10 per 3 months with my calling card). If it were something like $5, i might be interested, but at $25, definitely no deal for me!
My weekend schedule is a wreck!
Fortunately, it's just that schedule that's wacky - the weekend itself is fine. Hohoho!
Since I stayed my pretty late on both Friday and Saturday, it wasn't until like 3 or 3:30 before I got up. On Saturday, that didn't leave me much time to do my weekly grocery. As for today, I was planning to go back to my office to wrap several things up and get a head start for next week. Now I have to rearrange my plans. :P
Part of the messed up schedule was contributed by the following:
The 14th Wii game in my collection (who says the Wii has a low attach ratio! ha ha ha). King Snort and I went over to Dinj's place & played a couple hours (those guys are good and King Snort obviously couldn't divide his attention between SSBB and FFCC:RoF) before having dinner at a burger place in the UW campus. (Side note 1: It really has been a while since I last went to the campus area; note 2: Dotty's Dumpling has a decent steak burger - wouldn't mind going back more often; note 3: lucky that we found a parking this time). Afterward I went back to my place and pretty much just played the game till like 4 or 4:30. And since i tend to sleep for at least 10 - 12 hrs on the weekend to catch up with all the missed sleep time during the week. No surprise that it was 3 when i woke up (Actually King Snort called for lunch around that time. Otherwise, I think i probably would stay in bed for another hr or so).
For those who own SSBB, my friend code is 0860-2925-8328
Since I stayed my pretty late on both Friday and Saturday, it wasn't until like 3 or 3:30 before I got up. On Saturday, that didn't leave me much time to do my weekly grocery. As for today, I was planning to go back to my office to wrap several things up and get a head start for next week. Now I have to rearrange my plans. :P
Part of the messed up schedule was contributed by the following:
The 14th Wii game in my collection (who says the Wii has a low attach ratio! ha ha ha). King Snort and I went over to Dinj's place & played a couple hours (those guys are good and King Snort obviously couldn't divide his attention between SSBB and FFCC:RoF) before having dinner at a burger place in the UW campus. (Side note 1: It really has been a while since I last went to the campus area; note 2: Dotty's Dumpling has a decent steak burger - wouldn't mind going back more often; note 3: lucky that we found a parking this time). Afterward I went back to my place and pretty much just played the game till like 4 or 4:30. And since i tend to sleep for at least 10 - 12 hrs on the weekend to catch up with all the missed sleep time during the week. No surprise that it was 3 when i woke up (Actually King Snort called for lunch around that time. Otherwise, I think i probably would stay in bed for another hr or so).
For those who own SSBB, my friend code is 0860-2925-8328
Mar 9, 2008
Give me back my hour!
It's that time of the year again. Spring - forward = an hour loss. Not pleasant when you thought it's only three in the morning but realize that it's 4 already.
I missed my hour...
I missed my hour...
Feb 24, 2008
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Professor Layton is the 17th DS game in my collection. I finished the games in about 4 - 5 days (but i did stay up till like 4am one night), totally about 13hrs of game play. In my opinion, I think it's kind of short and wish it would be more like a 20hr game. But at least we know it's a trilogy so there are two more Layton games coming (the 2nd, titled Professor Layton and the Devil's Box, is already out in Japan. Hopefully it can make it to the stateside this year).
It's a collection of puzzles and brain teasers string today with a fairly good story. With the hint coin system, i didn't have too much trouble figuring out all the puzzles. Though at times it got frustrating because you've used 3 hints coins (the max per puzzle) but none of them give you really useful tips. Fortunately that wasn't always the case.
The art style is exceptional and i really dig it - absolutely loving the cute cartoonish look. The cut scenes are pretty neat, though i do think some of the voice acting could be better. All in all, Professor Layton is definitely the type of games where you keep telling yourself "Just one more puzzle, just one more" and finally realize that you've spent an awful amount of time in it. Well, in my opinion, that might not be a bad thing. =)
Lastly, I will be patiently waiting for the release date of Professor Layton and the Devil's Box.
P.S. I actually remembered seeing a couple playing this game (the "unofficially-translated" Chinese version) in the MTR once during my vacation.
It's a collection of puzzles and brain teasers string today with a fairly good story. With the hint coin system, i didn't have too much trouble figuring out all the puzzles. Though at times it got frustrating because you've used 3 hints coins (the max per puzzle) but none of them give you really useful tips. Fortunately that wasn't always the case.
The art style is exceptional and i really dig it - absolutely loving the cute cartoonish look. The cut scenes are pretty neat, though i do think some of the voice acting could be better. All in all, Professor Layton is definitely the type of games where you keep telling yourself "Just one more puzzle, just one more" and finally realize that you've spent an awful amount of time in it. Well, in my opinion, that might not be a bad thing. =)
Lastly, I will be patiently waiting for the release date of Professor Layton and the Devil's Box.
P.S. I actually remembered seeing a couple playing this game (the "unofficially-translated" Chinese version) in the MTR once during my vacation.
A typical weekend
My normally weekend finally returned! Ever since I came back from my vacation, my weekends were either spend at work, or something unexpected happened.
So it was nice sitting in my favorites Starbucks for an afternoon yesterday (despite it was a 15 minutes drive, and there are other Starbucks close by), taking my time to do grocery, and sleep-in on Sunday (didn't get up till like 3:30p today...Mwahahaha).
Second week in a row I made soup. Last week I made 雪耳 + 紅蘿蔔, and this week is 西洋菜 + 紅蘿蔔. Since I still have some 紅蘿蔔 left over (I use about 2/3 bags each time), probably next week will be 青紅蘿蔔 or 妅蘿蔔 + 蘋果. By then I'll be sick of 煲-ing 紅蘿蔔 and switch to something else. :P
So it was nice sitting in my favorites Starbucks for an afternoon yesterday (despite it was a 15 minutes drive, and there are other Starbucks close by), taking my time to do grocery, and sleep-in on Sunday (didn't get up till like 3:30p today...Mwahahaha).
Second week in a row I made soup. Last week I made 雪耳 + 紅蘿蔔, and this week is 西洋菜 + 紅蘿蔔. Since I still have some 紅蘿蔔 left over (I use about 2/3 bags each time), probably next week will be 青紅蘿蔔 or 妅蘿蔔 + 蘋果. By then I'll be sick of 煲-ing 紅蘿蔔 and switch to something else. :P
Feb 4, 2008
There Goes Another Weekend...
But the good thing is that, this was a relaxing weekend (well, not really relaxing) and not one of those "wake up at 3p, grab something to eat and head straight to work till mid-night" weekends I had couple weeks ago. We are at the tail end of our release cycle, so in terms of development, things pretty much quiet down a little. There probably will be some fixes here and there, plus a lot of catch up with reviewing documentation, but "shouldn't" be too hectic.
So back to this weekend. Saturday was a trip to Chicago for haircut. I figured it probably would be nice to get one before the Chinese New Year. Normally if I am going to Chicago for a haircut, most likely it would just be me since it's difficult to convince King Snort and MyEvilInsideYou to come along (let just say oriental food is not their type of cuisine). However, this time, I actually had a travel companion. He started at my company in January, also from HK, and driving 2.5hr to Chicago for a haircut totally make sense to him. Perfect match for me. Ha ha ha. So that was what we did on Saturday: Dim Sum > haircut > Mitsuwa > WoodField > Bowl House (dinner). I think we were seriously short on time - didn't even get a chance to hit Ikea. Maybe we'll need to cut WoodField next time.
Sunday of course was the Super Bowl Sunday. Jamie once again organized a Super Bowl party at his place. Like he mentioned in his invitation e-mail, it was the 3rd year he organized the party (can't remember whether I was at the first one though). See Faith running around was cute - it always amazes me how quickly she grew up. :P There were a bunch of no shows, so we even ended up with packed sandwiches to take home. So let me take this opportunity to thank Jamie once more for the hospitality.
The game was quite fun to watch. I seriously thought that the Giants would be dominated by the Patriots, but apparently that wasn't the case. Tom Brady really couldn't do much throughout the whole game. And the last quarter was absolutely amazing.
2:45a already? Definitely my regular time to head to bed. :P
So back to this weekend. Saturday was a trip to Chicago for haircut. I figured it probably would be nice to get one before the Chinese New Year. Normally if I am going to Chicago for a haircut, most likely it would just be me since it's difficult to convince King Snort and MyEvilInsideYou to come along (let just say oriental food is not their type of cuisine). However, this time, I actually had a travel companion. He started at my company in January, also from HK, and driving 2.5hr to Chicago for a haircut totally make sense to him. Perfect match for me. Ha ha ha. So that was what we did on Saturday: Dim Sum > haircut > Mitsuwa > WoodField > Bowl House (dinner). I think we were seriously short on time - didn't even get a chance to hit Ikea. Maybe we'll need to cut WoodField next time.
Sunday of course was the Super Bowl Sunday. Jamie once again organized a Super Bowl party at his place. Like he mentioned in his invitation e-mail, it was the 3rd year he organized the party (can't remember whether I was at the first one though). See Faith running around was cute - it always amazes me how quickly she grew up. :P There were a bunch of no shows, so we even ended up with packed sandwiches to take home. So let me take this opportunity to thank Jamie once more for the hospitality.
The game was quite fun to watch. I seriously thought that the Giants would be dominated by the Patriots, but apparently that wasn't the case. Tom Brady really couldn't do much throughout the whole game. And the last quarter was absolutely amazing.
2:45a already? Definitely my regular time to head to bed. :P
Feb 3, 2008
MacBook Air is Nice...Real Nice
I've been to the Apple store last Thursday AND Friday, hoping to find the MacBook Air on display but to no avail. Well, small town in Wisconsin, not much hope anyway.
But today it was a different story. I finally got my hands on a MacBook Air at Woodfield's Apple Store. And it sure is lovely, and definitely has the "Wow" factor that I am looking for. It was so tempting to see if they have one in stock and just hand over that little plastic card (XD). Luckily (Unfortunately) I haven't done my tax refund yet so I really don't have the extra cash laying around, otherwise, I might be an owner of a Mac today.
I was debating between the MBA and MBP earlier, but after holding one, the scale's leaning towards MBA. Well, it's rumored that MBP is going to get a update soon, so maybe i'll just wait a bit longer. Like I said earlier, the computer budget is still with the IRS now. :)
But today it was a different story. I finally got my hands on a MacBook Air at Woodfield's Apple Store. And it sure is lovely, and definitely has the "Wow" factor that I am looking for. It was so tempting to see if they have one in stock and just hand over that little plastic card (XD). Luckily (Unfortunately) I haven't done my tax refund yet so I really don't have the extra cash laying around, otherwise, I might be an owner of a Mac today.
I was debating between the MBA and MBP earlier, but after holding one, the scale's leaning towards MBA. Well, it's rumored that MBP is going to get a update soon, so maybe i'll just wait a bit longer. Like I said earlier, the computer budget is still with the IRS now. :)
Jan 28, 2008
SVN
Why is TortoiseSVN called TortoiseSVN?
Because it makes your system crawl!
Merging stuff into QA and running web Wilma should not be done at the same time. My computer was totally locked up for an hour or so. Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!
Because it makes your system crawl!
Merging stuff into QA and running web Wilma should not be done at the same time. My computer was totally locked up for an hour or so. Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!
Jan 21, 2008
又無緣
發覺同某 d 人同某 d 事真係好冇緣嘅... 今次又冇我份~~~
如果今年10月或者下年2月再有就好喇~~~
btw, 一峰隻新 EP 值得買架 (雖然係國語! 我未買...因為佢個 payment processing system 好似唔收 foreign 發咭銀行咁啵~) 同時佢亦都好似好耐冇出過廣東碟~~~
P.S. 搵o左好耐嘅歌詞...
起點
我生命裡第一次感到遺憾
是我和你擁有不同的起點
所以今天牽著你的手開始
我會努力追回失去的時間
我會努力嘗試忘記你的缺點
直到發現它們本來是優點
如果我不能為你改變我的缺點
就請你笑一笑 親一親我的臉
路很遙遠 躲不過雨天
當雨水打在我們的臉上
快樂 不快樂 卻由我們來選
我們也許會忘記玫瑰的顏色
香檳的甜 還有淚的鹹
長路盡處我仍會 牽著你的手
微笑看著同一個終點
微笑看著一起的終點
如果今年10月或者下年2月再有就好喇~~~
btw, 一峰隻新 EP 值得買架 (雖然係國語! 我未買...因為佢個 payment processing system 好似唔收 foreign 發咭銀行咁啵~) 同時佢亦都好似好耐冇出過廣東碟~~~
P.S. 搵o左好耐嘅歌詞...
起點
我生命裡第一次感到遺憾
是我和你擁有不同的起點
所以今天牽著你的手開始
我會努力追回失去的時間
我會努力嘗試忘記你的缺點
直到發現它們本來是優點
如果我不能為你改變我的缺點
就請你笑一笑 親一親我的臉
路很遙遠 躲不過雨天
當雨水打在我們的臉上
快樂 不快樂 卻由我們來選
我們也許會忘記玫瑰的顏色
香檳的甜 還有淚的鹹
長路盡處我仍會 牽著你的手
微笑看著同一個終點
微笑看著一起的終點
Jan 19, 2008
New monitor at work
Yeah! Someone from CaTS (I think the acronym stands for Computer and Technical Services, but not very sure. Anyway, it's our internal IT team here) knocked on my door the other day and left me with my new monitor. I didn't get one with their last batch so I am quite excited.
It's a 20" wide screen monitor from HP (model L2045w). I got used to my Dell wide screen at home so this is definitely a welcomed upgrade. I think I can also tilt the monitor to have it display it portrait mode (vertical) - should make it easier when going through pages of codes. =)
It's a 20" wide screen monitor from HP (model L2045w). I got used to my Dell wide screen at home so this is definitely a welcomed upgrade. I think I can also tilt the monitor to have it display it portrait mode (vertical) - should make it easier when going through pages of codes. =)
Midwest in Janauary ...
See how "lovely" it is...
Luckily there isn't any snow or wind chill. For those living in a metric country:
Luckily there isn't any snow or wind chill. For those living in a metric country:
Jan 14, 2008
Light at the End of Tunnel
With a bit help from the IRS, I should be able to achieve one of my financial goals this year, which is also one of the prerequisites if I were to move back to HK (this is getting more tempting the more often I go back for vacation). It took me almost five years but hey, at least now the end should be near. =)
Since we are talking about prerequisites, another one would be becoming a US citizens. I think I already fulfilled all the necessary residency requirements, it's just that I don't feel like paying several hundred bucks right now. I was going to naturalize a few years back when i was searching for a job - since some of the job openings required a security clearance. Since I don't think I'll be leaving Madison for some time, getting my U.S. citizenship becomes less urgent. Though the only downside is that I'm still not able to vote. :P
Since we are talking about prerequisites, another one would be becoming a US citizens. I think I already fulfilled all the necessary residency requirements, it's just that I don't feel like paying several hundred bucks right now. I was going to naturalize a few years back when i was searching for a job - since some of the job openings required a security clearance. Since I don't think I'll be leaving Madison for some time, getting my U.S. citizenship becomes less urgent. Though the only downside is that I'm still not able to vote. :P
Brief HK Trip Recap
I will keep better track next time with my new MacBook! Bwahahaha... Until then...
* Definitely not enough time this time around. Last year (2006) I was back for 4 weeks and was bored for a week or so. This time I thought 3 weeks should be okay but apparently that wasn't the case. I didn't have time to meet up with all my friends - considering the fact that: i. Vincent wasn't in HK ii. Big Den also wasn't in HK iii. 老大要陪阿嫂 iv. Richard went to 深圳. Why didn't I have enough time (Though I was sick for a few days)!!!! So when people asked me how was my vacation, my answer? Two weeks too short. >_<
* Since no need to get any electronics this time, my shopping list was mainly clothing. Similar to above, I think I did not get all my target items at well. I should have go shopping alone in the afternoon of 29th (the day before I came back) instead of having a family day. Having mom right next to me slightly affected my "shopping mindset" (Really should have bought that tee and shirt from Zara). I think many sales people would be very happy to see me in my last week of vacation - since basically it went like this: "Well, let me try it on. Well I guess it's okay, keep it at the counter for me while i shop around for more"
* More on clothing. Biggest disappointment this time: French Connection. Number of items I like: 0. Biggest Winner: Izzue & Muji. Muji was really a big surprise. Never thought I could get like 5 - 6 items there. The rest was pretty average (2%, 5cm, etc), a couple items here, several items there. In general, the style this year was average.
* Newsgroup friends: A house warming party at Pak's and a CWB dinner. Had a great time in both occasions. Only hope that we can meet more often.
* Christmas Eve at Jasper's: Is it becoming a tradition? Well, I won't be back next (this) year during Christmas though. Maybe Vincent can pick up slack. XD
* Yuen Long: Since Jasper mentioned it in her latest blog. One of my conclusions in this HK trip is that normal dim sum restaurants no longer have 蓮蓉飽 - I'm not even talking about 白蓮蓉飽. Apparently they all switched to selling 流沙飽 instead. What a shame! I had to go to Yuen Long's 大榮華 for my 白蓮蓉飽 (but they were good - Yum). On the other hand, i definitely had enough 碗仔翅. =9
* Speaking of Dim Sum, I think there were only 3 days in my whole vacation where we didn't have dim sum. For those who are surprise, my parents do go to have dim sum almost every day since I was little (my dad's work schedule was rather atypical). So to me, daily dim sum breakfast/brunch/lunch was pretty normal. Oh, those couple days I missed? It's because I stayed up all night the night before. XD
* It was nice not having to drive. Considering the fact that I live in Fanling, a normal trip to Kowloon would at least take an hour. However, it felt much more enjoyable since there wasn't any need to pay attention to the road condition etc. Only need to remember to get off.
* Getting Back Home after mid-night. Not having to drive was nice, but finding public transportation back home was a pain once past midnight. However, I did figure out how to get home from CWB and Kowloon Bay via red/green van. I think i've seen signs for over-night green vans in MongKok. I'll try to figure that one out next next time.
* Gift for folks at work: another snack pack from 奇華 but don't know how they fared with last year's 鳳梨酥. Next trip might be tricky. Um...
That's it for now~
* Definitely not enough time this time around. Last year (2006) I was back for 4 weeks and was bored for a week or so. This time I thought 3 weeks should be okay but apparently that wasn't the case. I didn't have time to meet up with all my friends - considering the fact that: i. Vincent wasn't in HK ii. Big Den also wasn't in HK iii. 老大要陪阿嫂 iv. Richard went to 深圳. Why didn't I have enough time (Though I was sick for a few days)!!!! So when people asked me how was my vacation, my answer? Two weeks too short. >_<
* Since no need to get any electronics this time, my shopping list was mainly clothing. Similar to above, I think I did not get all my target items at well. I should have go shopping alone in the afternoon of 29th (the day before I came back) instead of having a family day. Having mom right next to me slightly affected my "shopping mindset" (Really should have bought that tee and shirt from Zara). I think many sales people would be very happy to see me in my last week of vacation - since basically it went like this: "Well, let me try it on. Well I guess it's okay, keep it at the counter for me while i shop around for more"
* More on clothing. Biggest disappointment this time: French Connection. Number of items I like: 0. Biggest Winner: Izzue & Muji. Muji was really a big surprise. Never thought I could get like 5 - 6 items there. The rest was pretty average (2%, 5cm, etc), a couple items here, several items there. In general, the style this year was average.
* Newsgroup friends: A house warming party at Pak's and a CWB dinner. Had a great time in both occasions. Only hope that we can meet more often.
* Christmas Eve at Jasper's: Is it becoming a tradition? Well, I won't be back next (this) year during Christmas though. Maybe Vincent can pick up slack. XD
* Yuen Long: Since Jasper mentioned it in her latest blog. One of my conclusions in this HK trip is that normal dim sum restaurants no longer have 蓮蓉飽 - I'm not even talking about 白蓮蓉飽. Apparently they all switched to selling 流沙飽 instead. What a shame! I had to go to Yuen Long's 大榮華 for my 白蓮蓉飽 (but they were good - Yum). On the other hand, i definitely had enough 碗仔翅. =9
* Speaking of Dim Sum, I think there were only 3 days in my whole vacation where we didn't have dim sum. For those who are surprise, my parents do go to have dim sum almost every day since I was little (my dad's work schedule was rather atypical). So to me, daily dim sum breakfast/brunch/lunch was pretty normal. Oh, those couple days I missed? It's because I stayed up all night the night before. XD
* It was nice not having to drive. Considering the fact that I live in Fanling, a normal trip to Kowloon would at least take an hour. However, it felt much more enjoyable since there wasn't any need to pay attention to the road condition etc. Only need to remember to get off.
* Getting Back Home after mid-night. Not having to drive was nice, but finding public transportation back home was a pain once past midnight. However, I did figure out how to get home from CWB and Kowloon Bay via red/green van. I think i've seen signs for over-night green vans in MongKok. I'll try to figure that one out next next time.
* Gift for folks at work: another snack pack from 奇華 but don't know how they fared with last year's 鳳梨酥. Next trip might be tricky. Um...
That's it for now~
Return to the Blogosphere
Dev deadline? Over
Trip to HK? Over
Year 2007? Over
Well, finally have time AND mood to start blogging again! XD
Things finally settled down from my HK trip. My work schedule is back to normally and my sleep schedule is getting there as well (actually it's a bit healthier as is right now - comparing to going to bed around 3 before).
This year, my blogging resolution will be having more post than last year, which was 68. This should be a modest goal - let see whether i can achieve that or not. Speaking of blogging, Apple is rumored to announce a slim/ultra compact MacBook this coming Tuesday at MacWorld. I am extremely interested. Hopefully it's be in the right price range for me. Wondering what this has to do with blogging? Having a MacBook = able to blog in wifi-available cafes = definitely more blog post since I like hanging out at coffee shops on weekends anyway. My company does offer interest free computer loans, but i need to pay off my current PC first (since you can only do one at a time and i have ~$600 remaining with my current one).
Trip to HK? Over
Year 2007? Over
Well, finally have time AND mood to start blogging again! XD
Things finally settled down from my HK trip. My work schedule is back to normally and my sleep schedule is getting there as well (actually it's a bit healthier as is right now - comparing to going to bed around 3 before).
This year, my blogging resolution will be having more post than last year, which was 68. This should be a modest goal - let see whether i can achieve that or not. Speaking of blogging, Apple is rumored to announce a slim/ultra compact MacBook this coming Tuesday at MacWorld. I am extremely interested. Hopefully it's be in the right price range for me. Wondering what this has to do with blogging? Having a MacBook = able to blog in wifi-available cafes = definitely more blog post since I like hanging out at coffee shops on weekends anyway. My company does offer interest free computer loans, but i need to pay off my current PC first (since you can only do one at a time and i have ~$600 remaining with my current one).
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