Author Archive

Posted on October 5, 2007 - by Abner

HKFixed : Scans from MILK… supposedly

This is a follow up of my previous Hong Kong Fixed Gear Crew : HKFixed blog post.
After much bugging, Calvin Che from HKFixed.com finally sends me the much awaited scanned images. It seems that a popular Hong Kong lifestyle/fashion magazine MILK got them for an interview. I am unable to read chinese, only simple characters so you are on your own.

Click the for larger image.


Ok. If you are looking at the red shoes and wondering why would he be folding up one side of his jeans… it’s because he don’t want it to get stuck in the chainwheel and getting oil on it too. Right Cal?
Cheers HKFixed!

Check this out :
HKFixed The Official Site
HONG KONG FIXED GEAR ???? Blog

See also the anatomy of a bicycle. Image taken from City of Toronto website.

Posted on October 4, 2007 - by Abner

Shopping days are here

More reasons for you to go get your ass out and about now. For the past 2 weeks, Pavilion, The Garden and Sunway New Wing has opened. All wanting to be a part of your Hari Raya or more appropriately want you to part with your Hari Raya dough.
I have only walked on Pavilion’s pavement on a late Monday night. No dead skin cells left at The Garden yet. And yeah, was at Sunway New Wing yesterday night and not much shops are open yet. Most are under renovation so expect to snort in dust particles. Did not bother to look around as it was already 930pm and I was cold, hungry and sick.
Sick again probably due to the bbq I had last Saturday… was flaming the charcoals the whole night. Or was it the lack of rest from climbing too much. The regular absence of H2O? Anyway I am better today so I will be going climbing tonight. Ha.

With so many new outlets to splurge, one might consider some wiser alternatives for ones hard earn money sometimes. For those who have never heard of Cheras’s Queen’s Park, this is news for ya. For those who have… please skip this post and go read some old post of mine.

Queen’s Park is an area with quite a number of warehouse outlets. Some of the familiar brand names.

Someone I know skipped lunch for this and went foraging at MNG. And it was a fruitful trip I tell ya. But I never got the fashion show I was promised. Boo hoo.

Easy to spot. Queen’s Park is located at Jalan Peel, opposite of Carrefour.
Got this map from MimosaFlora. Click to enlarge.

Self : I am wondering how to fry chicken wings. My new PorkTrot are comfy.

Posted on October 4, 2007 - by Abner

She is no sweet old lady

All hail the crazed old woman.

This noisy old hag here has definitely gone bonkers. She has been making a racket everyday for 2 years from blasting her boom box to beating the hell out of her rugs. I think she is quite good with cuss words too judging by her expressions. Her nonchalant ways in greeting her neighbors amazes me… look at the way she beats the crap out of the woven fabric with glee. Bet she can’t have a good night sleep without having to make others a living hell. The authorities took a back seat for quite a while before taking action.Two years of suffering under “The Witch with the Rug-Beater” is enough to make me go crazy too. I wonder whether the folks there did anything to bring her down. Cos, “If you can’t beat them, join them!”
Any of you have “outstanding” neighbors? I personally have a bit to share on this. But it will be another post. Mmm… but my housemate experiences are more “Freddie Krueger” worthy.

Heads up JapanProbe.

Posted on October 2, 2007 - by Abner

Buffet : Häagen-Dazs Bangsar Village II

This post is solely dedicated for those individuals who are born with unsatisfiable sweet tooth cravings for sinful desserts or those whose dreams are of happy times skiing down Caramelized Pear & Toasted Pecan and even boyfriends/husbands who would enjoy watching their beloved slurp/lick away at any expensive subzero dairy product without fearing the frozen dessert burning a hole in your pocket.

Give me a five now! Your wish has been granted.

This promotion is only valid till the 31st of October 2007 and available only at Bangsar Village II. No tapau allowed. But I suppose you could wash your face with the rich creamy dairy product.

Click here for a larger image. Check the terms and conditions.

For evil boyfriends/husband… you could wish that your other half would eat till their sweet tooth/teeth comes off or feed them till they puke and forever have a phobia for ice creams.
Enough said… have a romantic time with your loved ones. Or girls, bring along your girlfriends and gossip and giggle over free flow ice creams. Indulge as they say…

Check : Häagen-Dazs Official Site
The list of ice creams alone is enough to make me dizzy. Argh. Admittedly, its quite informative.

Posted on October 1, 2007 - by Abner

Movies Mania

Incredible Hulk 2… bah the news did not generate enough excitement for me. This is because the previous Ang Lee’s bastardize version of the green monster totally blew it for me. All the hype built up around the famed director and the movie never lived up to it’s name, so naturally the second installment did not made me look. Lo and behold was I wrong. I sat upright when I saw Edward Norton’s name in it. It made me look twice. One of my all time favourite actor is in it. And he is also involved in the screenplay. How rad could it be…

I first noticed this dark versatile actor in American History X. Then there came Fight Club which solidify his presence. Enough about him… do a google search on him if you want to know more. I am waiting for June, 2008. Thump thump thump. No trailer found yet.

Oh and it seems Robert Downey Jr. has taken the helm as The Ironman. Another superhero movie to watch. Check out the trailer.

For Pirate’s fan, mmm… rejoice as Captain Jack Sparrow will be back in his quest for Fountain of Youth. The rumored fourth spin-off of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise will see Johhny Depp reprise his swash buckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow but without Keira and Orlando. For this I think we will have to wait with bated breath. Won’t be happening next year I am sure.

Ali Larter, the hot girl from Heroes series will be taking over the starring role from Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil 4th installment. Rat tat tat. Chop chop chop.

Seems like the trend for superhero roles is no longer an opening for up and coming/unknown/struggling actors/actresses but a chance for established ones to save the world.

Posted on October 1, 2007 - by Abner

Chipster.com.my – {noTHing eLse maTTeRs} Contest

Managed to get everything done and upload it to the server yesterday nite… 30th September. Around 45 minutes before midnight. It was the closing date for the Chipster – {noTHing eLse maTTeRs} contest. I thought of joining in it earlier, but always finished my packet of Chipster before I could reach for my camera. Anyway I picked up 4 packets of Chipster in the morning before I went climbing. Already had an idea how I want my shot to be. I love the Hot & Spicy flavor. And got one packet of Sour Cream to try. Tried Original – did not like it. I missed the Chipster’s Blogger-verse Bonus though… sigh. Procastination is the thief of time people… big thief. Photo session was funny as we had to do silly poses. Mine was done lying on the cold hard floor while stuffing my face with chips.

Here are my two entries for Chipster contest.

#1 That’s me. Getting it down with Frankenstein.

#2 That’s my gf, whom I coerced into posing for me. Hugs… thank you dear.

And as many of you would have guessed it, here comes my shameless self-promotion earnest request for you guys and girls to vote for me so that I could at least win something from this contest. Voting starts today and ends on the 15th of October. Its a vote per day so “Vote wisely! Vote for abnerd! Vote everyday!” Hehe…

Update : For voters who have no idea how to go about this, please check below.

#1 – Click on the Chipster ‘noThing eLse maTTeRs contest button. (It may be slow… be patient while it loads. If all fails, press refresh F5)

#2 – Click on View Gallery & Vote

#3 – Vote “abnerd” till the 15th October 2007

So what are you waiting for? Click : Chipster – {noTHing eLse maTTeRs} contest
Gracias amigos.

Posted on September 28, 2007 - by Abner

Pirated Fake Artifical Egg… Yucks

What in the hell…!
I am not sure that I am proud of their scientific achievement but apparently it seems China has somehow managed to produce fake eggs. Its only one-tenth the cost of a normal egg but it makes me feel nauseous just thinking of it. The main ingredients are food additives, resin, starch, solidifier, and pigments and tests shows that over consumption will damage the stomach and cause symptoms such as loss of memory and mental retardation, etc. It’s like dying a slow death comparable to smoking.I don’t think it’s worth it for cheaper raw material.

This phenomena is not new to them as courses in making artificial eggs are widely advertised online and the classes could take one or two days. Some training centers even boasts that “You can hardly tell the difference in appearance and taste between our product and real eggs.” Gosh… It won’t be long before someone makes a huge ass fake egg posing as Humpty Dumpty at a low cost. No worries about him having big falls anymore then. Hahaha…

And I am starting to suspect my recent spate of forgetfulness. I might be consuming dirt cheap chemical made eggs all these while for all I know. Oh no…

I did a Google search on “making artificial eggs” and sure enough there are some explanations on how-to. You could learn and start to poison people with your dishes. Evil… and they won’t know.

Read : China’s Artificial Foods Spotlighted in Korea

Learn : Method for making artificial egg yolks in the form of a cylinder

My search on ways of telling difference between real eggs and artificial ones did not show any dependable results. It may be because it’s not a widespread thing yet or they are becoming so retarded. Anyone has any idea?

Be forewarned as this is not the only artificial food available…
A research center based in Fengtai, Beijing, claims that “Our company has been spreading the technology in making artificial eggs. We trained over 70 thousand students in over 20 provinces in the country. We also provide technologies to make “artificial grapes,” “artificial beef and chicken,” and “making hawthorn flavored candied fruit without using hawthorn fruits.” Duh…..

Update :
False alarm on this issue. It seems that it was a hoax just like the China cardboard bun issue.

Read : What Tian Has Learned – Hoax Chinese Counterfeit Eggs

Thanks Yvonne

Posted on September 28, 2007 - by Abner

Cheer Bear Glitter Series

Finally I got my hand on a Cheer Bear from the New Glitter Glow-A-Lot series. Yup its a plush toy that glows. A cute one to boot. When I got it I had doubts that it was a fake as I could not find it in the PlayAlongToys website. They had a Glow-In-The-Dark Cheer Bear but the design are different without the ribbon on the head, the rainbow across the chest is bigger, the colour was light pink and the eyes were different. Damn… It had me going into a search frenzy in Google and what a relief when I finally saw it staring back at me from the screen. The same Cheer Bear I had in my arms.
Got this from AllAboardToys.com
Check out the gif animation I did. It might take some time to load though.

For those of you who wants to get hold of a Care Bear figure, it’s kind of hard to get it in Malaysia as I have tried going to quite a number of departmental stores and toy shops but came out empty handed. Well can’t blame them because Care Bears series has not been aired on our TVs for a long time. This will be a present for dearest. Mission Extract Care Bear has been accomplished and the secondary mission is to launch a surprise. How shall I present it? Mmm.

Note: Was interrupted during this posting by housemate to catch a cockroach. Kill! Kill!

Posted on September 27, 2007 - by Abner

Japanese High On Cellphone Novels

It’s really an eye opener to read about this, keitai-shousetsu (mobile phone novels). The tech-savvy Japanese nation has once again ventured into a realm of internet literature that I had not the faintest inkling about. And yet the latest entertainment fad has been floating around in the web sphere seven years ago. A Japan community-based Web site, Maho i-Land brought this idea online when it made it much easier for the hidden novelists in us to turn our stories into a real book complete with cover page and chapters. But it wasn’t till telco companies in Japan offered affordable rates and high-speed mobile Internet when it really fuelled the craze bringing it to its current status. Fat chance for us, Malaysians though as our technology are still a far cry from the Japs and the eye-popping charges our telco charges are enough to make us, the commoners cry. Boo hoo.

Since it’s a community based thing, mobile-novel writers get instant feedbacks from their readers which egg them on and even plays a part in changing the course of the stories. But with every hand trying to get a dip in the bottle of honey, it almost always creates some sort of negativity. It might tighten the creativity rein of the writer who now have to write to please and that’s not fun. Chaco felt pressure that’s for sure. She is the writer for “What the Angel Gave Me“. Another writer, Satomi Nakamura even broke a blood vessel on her right little finger while tapping away on her tiny cellphone screen. Ouch…

Publishers are even cashing in on the mobile-novel genre. To date, it has been over two dozens of popular stories on Maho i-Land being printed. And it seems to be turning into collectibles too. Cool idea into a  money-spinner.

Go read the whole article by Yukari Iwatani Kane – Ring! Ring! Ring! In Japan, Novelists Find a New Medium at Wall Street Journal site.

Other reads :
O’reilly Radar – A mobile read (with white spaces)
Cellphone novel downloads outstrip paper books in Japan
Cellphone novels bring kinky storytelling to the hard of seeing – 2006 news

Posted on September 27, 2007 - by Abner

Transformer : Bumblebee Recycled

This is way sick… the way this fellow WonderDasher, did to his recycled packagings. Check out his process. Though its not that detailed but it’s still a good read. Am sure his upcoming projects will be archived in a more descriptive manner. Keep a tab on him. His site is mainly in Chinese but this project has translation.

The final ‘product’ Transformers : Autobots Bumblebee