E V E R Y D A Y . B E A U T I F U L . P U R P O S E F U L
September 11, 2012 Leave a comment
(Photo Taken: Macau Tower, Macau – It is funny that the Chinese translation for Bungee Jump is “Stupid Pig Jump” 笨猪跳. Surely not the version we had back in Singapore. We call it “蹦极跳” But again, Macau is just famous for all the pork buns.)
September 11, 2012 Leave a comment
Alright. Budget cut. No fancy overseas trip this year for our team building. We decided to plan our Team Building Day somewhere closer to home. We couldn’t think of another better destination. Certainly not Shenzhen or Lama Island. Macau seems to be the perfect choice. It is Asia’s most flamboyant SinCity and I am sure there is a place for Action Heroes like us.
At first, I was skeptical about this destination for team building. It was just a short 1 day + 2 nights trip, how is it possible to achieve any decent team bonding? Surely not card-counting over blackjack tables. Or pimping our younglings. Thanks to Chowpo, Mayee and Kelly, they made Macau as exciting and meaningful as our last team building trip! Thanks to the generosity of the team, Felicia and Elkan were able to join me in our team building trip.
First stop – Macau Tower. This is where notorious Edison Chen broke the world record attempting the world’s tallest bungee jump back in 2006. Nope, we were unable to attempt any record-breaking stunts (thanks to the budget cut, we can’t afford the HKD3,000/head jump). Instead, we suspended ourselves, like puppets out on the ledge 233m above ground. The only things which prevented us from doing our own free-fall were two 1cm-thick ropes. It was a walk of faith. We could trust no one but the ropes.
Elkan, being the youngest and smallest-sized in the group, was instructed by the guide to lead the SkyWalk. Having no concept of fear, he was like a hyperactive monkey out on a leash. He was screaming in ecstasy, jumping and running freely out on the ledge.
For the some of the other adults (I was forbidden to mention any names), fears and anxieties sipped in. High life at the top of the world wasn’t as glamorous and indulging as they expected. I was thankful for this experience. I witnessed the weaknesses, strengths, courages and transformations of my team. And how they overcame fear with courage and determination. It was this moment when all of us stood as equals, watched each other’s back and walked the talk together as one united team – under the rain on the pinnacle of Macau. Bravo!
After our successful (disruptive and noisy) stunt outside the tower, we went a storey down to the 60th floor to enjoy a sumptuous lunch at 360° CAFÉ – Macau’s highest revolving restaurant. It was certainly a much more relaxing and cozier way to enjoy Macau. I am sure David, Wing, Mayee, Clara and Stephanie fully agreed with me. Opps, I wasn’t allowed to mention any names.
Our next stop – Casino Wine and Gourmet on the 59th floor! We grouped ourselves into 3 teams. Each team was given a bag of chips. We were given 1 hour to win as much chips as possible. The team with the most chips win! There were 3 casino tables in the room. For each station, we were asked to taste different types of wine or cheese. Through tasting, we have to bet our chips on the right answer to win! It was certainly not an easy task for the Asians. (Harshad and I cried “Kelong”!! This game is 100% setup for the Guai-Los to win!). My team decided to focus all our resources on one particular table which gave us the best winning chance. Our strategy paid off! The team of Hongkies, Singaporeans and Indians won the English-French team by a big margin of 9,000 dollars! Sweet!
Our last stop just before dinner, we “chilled out” (literally) at Asia’s largest Ice World at Venetian. Under -15 degrees Celsius, we braved through the 45-minute exhibit. It reminded me of the Harbin trip we had last Christmas except this time, I was in shorts and sandals. Even with the blue overcoat, it was freezing cold! For a minute, the team packed ourselves in a small igloo. It was so warm and cozy inside. The igloo actually worked!
Dinner was at a Brazilian restaurant, FogoSamba where it offered “eat-&-drink-all-you-can”. The “eat-all-you-can” offer didn’t really appeal to me. After 5 servings of roasted meats, I decided to call it a day. It was just too stuffy and oily for me. For once, I complained having too much meat and I went to get more vegetables to balance off the meaty meal.
It was a superb team-building day. Overpacked with activities but the programmes were all very very interesting, refreshing and meaningful. Felicia, Elkan and I took the 1030pm ferry back to Hong Kong right after dinner. Thanks David and the organising team for planning such a wonderful trip for the company and my family. I look forward for another great year. And next time, we shall conquer Mount Everest/cage diving/dance with the crocs and bet on the different Indian curries and durians. Just let Harshad and me do the planning.
August 23, 2012 Leave a comment
Footage taken by AR Drone 2.0 HD Camera – I was on the boat, flying the drone about 20m over the sea. The wind was pretty strong. In less than 1 min (about 50m away from me), I lost total control of the drone. Good thing that the drone hovered steadily over the water. However, the wind blew the drone further and further away from the boat, towards the trees. To conserve battery life, I disconnected the camera recording. It was difficult to reconnect to the drone unless I get boat to sail closer to the drone (which is quite impossible). After a few minutes, I lost total visibility of the drone. It was hovering within the thick vegetations. I thought I lost the drone forever.
Miracle happened! After about 2 minutes of lost connection, the signal came back and the drone was up in the sky! I managed to land the drone on the beach 150m away. My colleague and I have to swim to the beach to recover the drone. Amazing recovery!!! My good old drone cheated its 2nd watery death.
August 7, 2012 Leave a comment
I can imagine my wife shaking her head when she reads this. Even my receptionists and colleagues are making fun of my weekly eBay explorations. My gadget-addiction is getting worse. “It is part of my work. It ignites my passion.” I defended. Of course, no one buys that story. Honestly, it does. Hahaha, like it or not, check out some of the hottest toys this season! And yes…more “poisons” to come this Sept when Apple will be announcing the new iPad Mini and iPhone 5. And not forgetting Google Glass and Leap Motion in December! Watch the videos below:
August 1, 2012 Leave a comment
Personalisation isn’t a new thing. But to impersonate a superhero is a great ego booster. Meet my new alter ego – Lutetium-Man! Actually, my head is resting on a 12-inch Ironman Mark II body but I got to find a metal name “more precious” than iron. My colleague Valerie pointed out that Lutetium is the rarest and most precious metal. (And Titanium-Man is a Marvel Super Villain.)
That’s My Face.com (http://www.thatsmyface.com) is the company that produced my 3D head. It is a US-based company and the friendly staffs offer great services! Simply submit your head-shots online and let them do the rest. I submitted my photos 3 weeks ago and I received the heads today. (A sweet surprise when I opened the parcel! I paid for 1 head but they gave me 3 different heads!) That’s My Face offers many different sizes / formats of heads – for different sized figurines. Price varies depending on your final configuration. I ordered the typical 12-inch figurine head (as most of my superheroes collections are in that size). This is a great gift idea for friends or colleagues. (We made a Superman birthday gift for my boss David last month! Opps…we haven’t paid Tracy the present money!)
Once you have paid for your order, the guys at That’s My Face will email you a couple of hi-res 3D images for your approval. They will not proceed to production without your approval – so you can be ensure of the quality of your 3D heads. I have tried other “personalisation” companies that produce cartoonish clay characters, they did not allow me to “preview” my head before/during production. Most of the times, the resemblance rate is fairly low.
Clearly, I have chosen a different hairdo for my 3D head and made some “cosmetic” improvement. I got rid of my chubby neckline for a more masculine jawline. It is an alter ego, why not make it more stylo, right? I customised a long-hair version for my “Ah Beng” character. Unfortunately, That’s My Face couldn’t provide me a pair of glasses for my 3D head. On second thought, no superhero wears glasses in their suit anyway. The guys at That’s My Face kept as much details as possible – they managed to retain my skin-tone, lips, eyes and my moles! I gave them a high 90% rating (honestly, it is difficult to be 100% especially when this is done over photographs submitted online). The only small thing I didn’t like is the rough texture. It is not the typical smooth rubbery, waxy figurine material. But that is not a big issue for me.
The initial response at my office? My colleagues thought I cheated with my 20-year old photos. One loved it so much that she wanted to customise a Transformer Bumblebee for her son. My wife texted me “Huh…Is that you in long hair????” My boss was quite worried about the new supersize me, he asked me to take a good break from work.
Well, I love it. I bet Elkan is screaming for his alter ego right now! Love to make 1 for him and Felicia. Maybe it is time to assemble my own “Incredibles” members. (Some suggestions: Kalinda as Cat Woman, Lionnel as the Elastic-Man, Harshad as the Hulk, Tracy as Alice of Resident Evil, Joey as Spider-girl, Karen as Green Lantern, Felicia as Wonder-Woman, Joanne as Black Widow, Jimmy as Thor, Gareth as Hellboy, Duuk as Wolverine and Juliana as Electra!) Of course, it is good to become an Action Hero and there can be only 1 “Lutetium-Man”.
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.
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.)
June 17, 2012 Leave a comment
(Shared by Martin – The girl who levitates – Natsumi Hayashi. She made it so effortless and natural. Amazing.. she defies laws of gravity in all her levitating shots. Some are almost impossible to mimic. All the photos are very beautiful composed and shot. Very arty and sensual. Her blog says: “Lives in Tokyo with two cats. Photographs mainly levitating self-portraits (and cats not levitating). yowayowa is a Japanese term meaning “weak” or “feeble.” Since I’m yowayowa, it’s really heavy to carry SLR cameras around.” See her beautiful portraits here at: http://yowayowacamera.com/)
April 15, 2012 Leave a comment
Meet “Lyuba” (meaning “Love” in Russian is a 42,000-year-old mammoth) – She is the world’s most valuable archeological discovery of our times. She is very special and unique as she is the most perfectly preserved baby mammoth ever discovered. She provides archeologists a never-before-seen view of prehistoric life in Siberia. Discovered in the frozen soils of north-west Siberia by a reindeer herder, Yuri Khudi in May 2007, Lyuba was found lying along a riverside 42,000 years after her birth. However, Lyuba mysteriously disappeared the next day. She was stolen when Yuri and the archeologists arrived. It took the government and army lots of effort to rescue Lyuba from the poacher who intended to sell her to a merchant.
Mammoth died out around 8,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Injecting the mammoth DNA into an egg of today’s modern elephant, a team of Japanese scientists are now on their way to bring back the long-extinct mammal back from the dead. It was reported that we will be able to see a living mammoth clone in the next 5-10 years. (Haaa…Big Bird and Wooly from Sesame Street will have a real friend to play with!)
It took IFC 2 years to bring Lyuba to Hong Kong. The exhibition opens from 12 April to 10 May 2012 (and it is free!). Unlike previous exhibitions at the IFC which were more commercial/brand-driven, this is one very rare, valuable and educational archeological showcase for the public. It took me a long time to squeeze through the crowd to come face to face with Lyuba. Check out the amazing discovery and recovery story of Lyuba’s below. For more information, visit: http://ifc.com.hk/lyuba/
January 7, 2012 1 Comment
Above: Elkan and Harshad rocked their way in China! Enjoy the video and their funny dance moves! Just uploaded the full clip of our China holidays (below). Some of the key moments: [1:28] Felicia was nervous on the chair-lift. [2:26] The 3 girls disrupted such a nice morning Great Walk walk. [5:50] Poor Harshad clearing snow for the group. [10:35] Poor Harshad again..hahaha.
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