AR Drone 2.0 Test Flight (Splash & Crash)

July 30, 2012 Leave a comment

Yesterday weather was terrific! Blue sky, good sunny day! I decided to take my AR Drone 2.0 out for a test flight. The last 2 test flights weren’t ideal as I had only 1 battery (which lasted about 12 minutes). This time, I armed myself with 4 batteries. This will give me at least 45 minutes of good fun.

It is challenging to find an ideal space to fly the drone in Hong Kong. There isn’t much open space in the city. Too many people. Too many buildings. I have thought of going up to the Peak but was worried about the strong wind condition. Also, it will be almost impossible to recover my drone if it falls over the hill. There were at least 2 times when I am so tempted to fly the drone out of my balcony. My common sense stopped me. It is too early to retire my new toy.

There is a new waterfront promenade near where I stay. The new Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park (opened June 2011) is just located beside the Central Fire Station, facing Victoria Harbor. Lots of big space. Perfect for my test flight.

The waterfront promenade is awesome! It is very beautiful and quiet. There were people suntanning on the green,  couples jogging round the park, families angling by the sea and photographers waiting for the golden sunset. The place was pretty peaceful until I came along with my noisy drone. It was like a big irritating buzzing mechanical bee flying above them.

I certainly attracted a lot of unwanted attention. (I don’t really like such attention cos’ I suck in piloting this toy.) There was a small group of people surrounded me when the drone took off. I tried to be as discreet as possible – just in case my drone landed on some poor man’s head, I can disappear easily. Anyway, it was pretty easy to spot the “pilot”. Who in the world will look at the sky while playing the iphone in his hand?

The AR Drone is amazing. It makes flying so simple (via an iPhone or Android app)! Elkan mastered it within 2 minutes! It comes with auto-stabling sensors that balance the drone in mid-air. Landing the drone is no-brainer. The auto-landing function slows the drone down for a smooth landing. The AR Drone comes with 2 cameras (HD front-facing camera and normal VGA underbody camera) which transmit realtime video to the phone screen and record the flight footage into the phone memory. Depending on the WIFI range, it can fly up to 100m high and 50m radius. In the event when the drone loses the WIFI signals, it will hover in midair until it reconnects with the controller’s signals. WIFI signals are pretty unstable out here in the city. My advice is to keep to 50m range (in public places) as there are quite a lot of unexpected interference.

I was flying good with my drone. There were a couple of times when I flew the drone 30m out in the sea. It was pretty difficult to record a smooth aerial video due to the strong wind condition. The drone was swaying side to side and I have to pilot it back.

Yes, accidents do happen. I crashed my drone into the water fountain. Guess the sensors went wild near choppy waters and I lost total control of the drone. Thanks to the foam-body, it floated back to me. (Did it survive the crash? Watch the video below.)


For those who are thinking to get the AR Drone. It is a little costly (SGD380) but I say “Buy it! It is worth the fun!” And it gets addictive along the way. Now, I am buying more parts for my night flights. And yes, more juices (batteries) and no more reckless water stunt. Till my drone lasts.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Australia Trip Video HD (2011 June)

July 30, 2012 2 Comments

Yes, I know it is one year late. I have been too lazy to edit and put these footages together. Here is something special for the family (and Lionnel’s girlfriend, Joey! Now, you know what you have missed! You should see how Lionnel was tortured by Tracy at 5am at Gold Coast!). Guess it is a good feeling to watch this video 1 year after. Well, at least it is nicely edited and it is in HD quality! So enjoy.

Filed under Family, Travel, Wahbiang

Dumplings Mates

July 30, 2012 Leave a comment

It has been almost 4 months since Harshad visited our apartment. Usually, Harshad visits us when Elkan is in town. Last evening, out of the blue, Tracy decided to invite Harshad to our house for dinner. She was preparing a big feast in the kitchen. Okay, not really a “big feast” but she was preparing Harshad’s favorite dish – Dumplings! Out of curiosity, I asked, “What’s the occasion? Harshad’s birthday is not here until end August…” Being Tracy, she replied candidly, “He just won an award. Let’s celebrate for him.” 

When Harshad turned up at our door with premium desserts, he was pretty surprised. In his usual greeting “Wow…What’s up guys?”. I snapped “Cos’ you just won an award and now I have nothing but dumplings for the whole weekend. Thanks, buddy!” Looking at the many many dumplings leftover in my fridge, I guess I am going to have dumplings for the next few days. (Congrats my buddy for kicking start the award season in Asia! Great Stuff!)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Dark Days at Gotham City

July 25, 2012 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken by Istagram: Dark and gloomy week, 23rd – 28th July 2012. Last Tuesday, Hong Kong was hit by the biggest typhoon since 1999.)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

The Big Reveal – The Making of Women Generation and Super Senior

July 5, 2012 Leave a comment

I am sure the new members of Women Generation and Super Senior are going to slaughter me for this post. Remember the fancy photographs in my earlier post? Now, revealing the secrets of “digital cosmetic surgery” makeovers (by Kalinda, Mann Chuan and Felicia). From these “behind-the-scene” images, I was very impressed by the level of re-touching! I can imagine the amount of coordinations and hard work put in by the clan to create the birthday cards. Once again, thanks guys for your effort and tireless photo-shoots. I am sure you had lots of fun doing this! At least, the makeover experts did you justice… I can see all of you had a pretty convincing and fancy upgrade! These are superb face-jobs! Really, I start to believe we can create our own S-Pop soon!

Enough said, see the “before” and “after” touched up works below. (Gosh, my head looks really tiny there…like one of those escaped alien convicts from MIBIII.)

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Singapore, Wahbiang

A Walk in the Gardens by the Bay

July 3, 2012 2 Comments

I am so glad to be back in time to visit the newest Singapore’s attraction, Gardens by the Bay. Opened on 30th June 2012, the world’s largest column-less greenhouses (Flower Dome and Cloud Forest) attracted over 100,000 visitors in the first two days. The iconic egg-shape domes possess both external and internal beauty. As today’s Youth Day (no school for Elkan), I brought Elkan to the new attraction. (Tracy, who missed my belated birthday party yesterday came to join us! Thanks to her “Passion Card”, we got 10% discount.)

My first impression… It is stunning! Beautiful and spectacular. Unlike the other greenhouses I have visited which are often warm, stuffy and humid, the domes at the Gardens by the Bay provide visitors a very comfortable cooling environment. Temperature in the enclosures are kept between 23˚ – 25˚C. Air current in the domes are well circulated, the air is fresh and not stuffy at all.

Inside the Flower Dome, there are lots of odd-looking plants (from all parts of the world). There are lots of colorful flowers and strange-looking trees. There are cactus that look like pebbles and ferns that look like dead leaves. The friendly volunteers did an excellent job introducing the specialities and uniqueness of each plant. Before exiting the dome, there are giant touch screens and 3D holographic displays for visitors to interact and learn more about these amazing plants.

The Cloud Forest Dome is my favorite enclosure. The 35m waterfall “Cloud Mountain” is spectacular. The mist from the waterfall forms a perpetual rainbow under the bright sunlight. Visitors enter into the mountain and take a lift up to the peak of the structure (Lost World). There, visitors “spiral down” the manmade mountain on suspended metal bridges (perhaps not for those with height phobia). There are a lot of cavities inside the mountain for us to explore and discover. Do check out the natural limestone stalactites and the giant multimedia wall.

Overall, it is an amazing experience. It exceeds my expectation. I believe this will be a top attraction for many tourists. It takes about 3-4 hours to complete all the enclosures. Don’t rush through the attractions. Spend more time and take a relaxing pace to explore the domes. Best time to come will be between 4-7pm (when the Supertrees lights up enigmatically at dusk and enjoy the nice sunset by the bay).

How to go there: (It is about 12-min walk from Bay Front MRT Station to the domes. Visitors can take the overhead bridge connecting Marina Bay Sands Casino to the park. Tickets priced differently for local Singaporeans (SGD20) and overseas visitors (SGD28). There are discounts for senior citizens and children. Check the website for more information: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html) 

Filed under Life in Singapore, Travel

Funtastic Party with “Women Generation and Super Senior”

July 2, 2012 Leave a comment

Yes, you read it right. It says “funtastic”. Great fun and tasty BBQ by the beach, this is an unforgettable belated birthday bash with my very own newly created W-Pop Bands – Women Generation and Super Senior! (That is the power of great cosmetic surgery and photoshop skills!) All thanks to my sweet and lovely Wahbiang buddies and family, they organised a “surprise” party for me this evening. (Supposed to be a foolproof surprise party for me until a few accidental leaks of information to me last week. It wasn’t difficult trying to piece all the missing puzzles together.)

This is my 1st birthday celebration with my Singapore’s family and friends since 2005. Gosh, I have been away for such a long time. They put in so much effort just to make this a special occasion for me. 1 week before this big day, they conspired over hundreds of whatsapp messages. It was a well-organized party – great food, great company and very very special birthday gifts.

Most importantly, we had great fun together. My friends are like my very own family. They complete me. They are  my most important asset. They are always there for me whenever, wherever I need them. I am very blessed with their presence and love. Despite my absence, they keep the clan intact over the past 7 years. Many of them put in extra effort and flew in to spend many important occasions and festives with me overseas.

So, bear with me with the long “Thank you list”. Thanks for all the hard labour and good spirits. Thanks for spending your precious Sunday with me. Plus the wonderful and special birthday gifts. Karen, we love your chicken wings! And your excellent skills controlling those young rebels. Auntie Amy, you should really consider starting your own BBQ bean-curd business. They are really tasty! And if you do, I will fly home to help your business! Charlie, thanks for bringing in the food and got drenched in the thunderstorm. Jimmy and Gareth, thanks for the great brotherhood love, be it here or in China – and keep it that way. Joey and Meijie, thanks for babysitting Elkan and me from Friday to Sunday, enduring all the late nights (oh yes, thanks for stopping my impulse purchase of another Apple product). Kalinda, thanks for the beautiful songs last night! And remember our next trip to you-know-where. And not to forgot to thank you for keeping those cards safe and dry. Joanne, thanks for capturing this evening’s beautiful photos (you have redeemed your fiasco on my wedding proposal night when you shot blank).  Juliana & Duuk, thanks for participating in the evil plan of the card making. It will take me quite a while to reset my beautiful impression of my favorite K-pop idols. It took me so long to identify you Juliana – must be a big cosmetic job. Tracy, your AR Drone is superb! Well tested and flown (up to 6m high). The drone frightened the old boys for a second but it is a great gift! MC, it is great seeing you after 6 years! You never aged! And I look forward to see you out there with me! And sister, thanks for the great gift! Exactly what I wanted to get 3 days ago. Last of all, thanks my wife for the card designs, cosmetic works and fine touch ups. You have given us stardom! Thanks for enduring my years of nonsense and snoring. And not forgetting the children for destroying the bedroom, in exchange for the peace they gave to their parents. (The younger boys did a great job for inspiring Elkan to cycle. Now, he can ride a bike finally!)

Enjoy the very exclusive limited edition “Super Senior and Women Generation” pictures. Till we meet again.

Filed under Jo's Thoughts, Life in Singapore, Wahbiang