Shape of my Life

December 4, 2010 Leave a comment

Felicia asked me today “What kind of environment do you want Elkan to grow up in?” I looked at Elkan, he gave me the same cheeky and happy expression. Like many kids today, Elkan is living in a digital era. Computers, iPAD, digital camera, PS3, Cable TV and iPhone aren’t foreign objects to him. Really, I have no answer. Perhaps, a happy environment where my son can explore new things and grow his talents.

Looking back, I wasn’t born gifted. In fact, I must thank my dad and mum for sending me to a private art school when I was only 7. It was quite an investment for them back in those days. We weren’t rich, just average class – but my dad continued to support me in the art classes till I was 12. (And I have also did them proud by bringing back those art trophies). My parents have certainly molded my life.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t just the art classes that made me “creative” today. It was the non-luxury depriving lifestyle that spurred me to be resourceful and creative. My parents were thrifty and they didn’t spoil me with a mountain of toys. LEGO was the best toy Dad got for me. I had limitless imagination and I started building little “make-believe” worlds for my characters. Later, I expanded these “worlds” by modifying discarded styrofoam and corrugated boxes. One of my most memorable and favorite “worlds” was the “ice island” I built. I found a big TV styrofoam box and I created tunnels and caves by burning through the foam. To create the snow effect, I emptied a bottle of body powder into the box. I built modern vehicles with LEGO and parked them inside these “secret tunnels”. There were also trap doors and secret passages for my characters.

My structures started to get bigger. Dad was a wood trader and he brought back a lot of scrap woods from his factory. (Auntie Amy also gave me a lot of tiled teak woods). During my school holidays, I went to Dad’s factory and picked up some basic carpentry skills from his co-colleagues. (In fact, I spent most of my school holidays in the factory with my dad – till the day it closed for good.) Armed with nails, wood glue and scrap materials, I came home and spent numerous days building my next toy world. One of my works caught the eyes of my Secondary School 2 form teacher. She commissioned me to build a multi-stories carpark for her son’s toy cars. I spent 1 week on that project and I managed to complete it before Christmas. It was a massive structure, 100% teak wood and it was good for at least 50 cars. My reward? She gave me an expensive dictionary which I keep till today.

One thing led to another. I soon found myself excelling  in art and design. (And of course, I was never keen in those algebra, chemicals and equations) Eventually, I pursued my diploma, degree and careers in creative. It has been a good 22 years since the day my dad enrolled me in the art school. And it was this unique childhood that shaped my life today.

Strangely, my parents have never tell me what they want me to be. They gave me a strong foundation and let me explore my talents on my own.

Maybe with all my gadgets and high-tech Apple toys, I really hope Elkan is the next “Steve Jobs” in the making. (That means, I just found the excuse to buy more gadgets!)

Filed under Family, Jo's Thoughts

Visiting the Ghost Village of Wong Shek

November 29, 2010 Leave a comment

Yesterday, Tracy organised our 4th Sunday hike. This time, we traveled up north to Wong Shek Pier (黃石碼頭) and hiked the 3.5km Wong Shek Tree Walk Trail. (Check out our trail here: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=896609)


Located at the most northern parts of the New Territories of Hong Kong, this area was filled with hikers and picnickers. There is a direct bus (698R) from Taikoo Shing to Wong Shek Pier Bus Terminal. (The returning bus ride took almost 2 hours!) Unlike the previous 3 hikes, this is a gentle tireless hike with good combination of water, trees, rocks, streams and swamps. There were a few cows wandering freely in the park and that explained why our path was littered with piles of cow dungs. We have to hike carefully to avoid stepping on them. Harshad, Tracy, Elkan and me went off the main path to check out the mini creatures at the mangroves.


There is an abandoned “ghost village” at the end of our hike. The human occupants were long gone and the vacant buildings are now home to a group of wild monkeys. Gone were the old road, leaving only poles of old rusty lamp-posts, outlining its previous path. The entire compound is now taken over by overgrown grass, shrubs and bushes. This must be a big difference from its glory days in the 60s.

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

For Big Suckers!

November 29, 2010 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Giant Chupa Chups Christmas Display, i-Square, Tsim Sha Tsui – Now, suck these!)

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Spirit of Fight

November 28, 2010 Leave a comment

Another great work produced by Singapore’s very own Bettermen, Randy Ang. Since he started his first short film back in 2005, Randy and friends have directed and produced many remarkable works. Shot in 2 days (excellent castings and editing), his latest work (shot using Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EOS 7D and Panasonic AG3D-A1) is a test shoot shot ahead of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) feature film “Spirit of Fight” in tribute to the 70th Birth Anniversary of one of the greatest martial artist known the world over – Bruce Lee.

“Spirit of Fight” will only be in production in 2011. Footage here will not be seen in the actual feature film. The story follows JIN – starring Danny Chan 陳國坤(陈国坤) – a martial artist who yearns to fight in a MMA arena. Learning from both victory and defeat; he learns to exceed himself and truly understand the meaning of the Spirit of Fight.

Bruce Lee and its related entities are the copyright of Bruce Lee Enterprises. SPIRIT OF FIGHT is the copyright of Red Horse Entertainment Ltd and Bettermen Asia Pte Ltd.

Filed under Cool Stuffs

Our Pink Christmas

November 27, 2010 Leave a comment


A touch of love at home – Felicia made us a lovely pink Christmas Tree this year! This is our 5th Christmas Tree outside Singapore.  Still remember we had a “Green Christmas” last year. (See: https://elkanjoe.wordpress.com/2009/12/25/lovely-christmas-at-home/).

Filed under Family, Life in Hong Kong

Hokkaido Rice Pizza

November 27, 2010 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Rice Pizza by Hokkaido Rice Pizza, Causeway Bay – 10-inch crispy rice pizza with tempura prawns on the top. Yummy!)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Erecting the new Statue “Jovidangelo”

November 24, 2010 1 Comment



Thanks to my very creative bunch of lovely colleagues! All I did was to contribute a little token for our afternoon tea break and the crowd “erected” me an awesome statue! I love the copy and my new chiseled body. And yes, LEAF me alone.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Kinecting the Future

November 23, 2010 Leave a comment

After “experimenting” the new Kinect for more than 48 hours, I have a strong hunch that this wireless motion device is definitely more than just a gaming gadget. In fact, for all I could foretell, this could be the next spark for the next wave of home innovations. It is going to be the next big revolution that changes the way we interact with all our home devices.

Kinect is highly “intelligent”, user-friendly and most importantly – affordable! This device not only able to detect movement, it is also has the ability to profile every single users (by body shape, voices and “faces”). Already, Kinect Technology is finding its way into future television. It will be very soon when your new TV screen comes with built-in Kinect sensors. Soon, remote controls will be obsolete. Gesture activations will be the next in thing. Want to switch channel, just wave your hand in a particular direction, the sensors will be able to switch to the next channel or even skip chapters on your blue-ray disc. Volume control will make you look like the conductor of a symphony. It is all about gesture-activation. With these cameras on board, you can now connect your television to the internet. Through WIFI or direct LAN connection, “Facetime-like” communication will be a breeze. Imagine chatting with your friend and watching a soccer match together. And think outside the current TV screen – this can be integrated with projectors and your music player!

If proved popular, this simple device will extend itself outside the TV and gaming console. Just let the mind goes wild for a moment. Imagine installing a 360-degree Kinect sensors in your living room. Your presence will be recognize the very second you walk into the space. Your very own digital home “butler” will be able to greet you and serve your with every gesture of your finger. Point in the direction at the lamp, it will turn on. Gesture at a specific spot of the wall and it reveals the time. Wave your hand and your curtain will be drawn.

In fact, it may be so powerful that Kinect (if connected to the worldwide frame) is able to record and analyze how you spend your day. Imagine it is able to break down the hours you spend at home watching TV, eating, sleeping or on the computer. It is also a handy device that records important moments of your life at home (birthdays, first kiss, dinners). With a powerful sensor, the future Kinect can also be programmed to recognize your everyday items and be able to “locate” their whereabouts in your own messy house. So, you will have no worry where you misplaced your wallet or keys. Scan your space and it will tell you that it is time to water your plants. Or an alert to inform you that a stray rat has just enter your premise.

It will also be a “Green Device”. With its ability to detect motion and heat signatures, it will be able to detect your surrounding and manage your lighting settings & space temperature in your house. Imagine the auto-brightness sensor on your iPhone, the future Kinect will be able to sense the environment/activity and tune the ambiance to suit your needs.  It will be far smarter than the current “motion on/off lights”.

So, don’t just write off Kinect as a toy. These imaginations are becoming real sooner than we expected. The revolution has already begun. This may even replace the big touch screens you see today!

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Jo's Thoughts

Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden

November 21, 2010 Leave a comment

We decided to hike up north at the New Territories today. Felicia recommended a new place for us to explore – “Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden”. This park is located on the northern slope of Hong Kong’s tallest mountain – the Tai Mo Shan. The entry fee for adult is only HKD10 and child under 12 is free. There are 2 ways to explore this big park. You can either take a shuttle bus up the hill or you can walk up the steep forested paths. We chose walking and our hike took us exactly 1:47 hour to cover 3.5km (220m up and down) around the valley. (See: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=890327)

Unlike a typical farm, the park houses several animals like the leopard cat, wild boars, monkeys, birds (owl, eagle), insects and reptiles. Most of the animal enclosures are found at the base of the park. There are also many green houses and small plots of farms at different levels of the valley. There is also a “Butterfly Garden” and a “Bee Farm”. The park owners have done quite a lot of landscaping to make this place neat and scenic. However, some areas (like the mini waterfall and the lotus pond) were overdone and they looked pretty artificial and “concrete” (losing the charm).


Perhaps we came here at the wrong season, there wasn’t much to see at the farm. I don’t know, this place seems lacking (and small) in all aspects of what it is trying to achieve. I was expecting the usual farm tour where you see real farmers at work (and selling their harvest). I am a little disappointed as there isn’t much activities inside here. I was hoping for more “see, hear, touch and taste” farm experience here. Maybe they should hire a guide at key attraction/station to engage with the visitors. Nevertheless, it is still a nice place to explore on a relaxing weekend.

Filed under Life in Hong Kong, Travel

Move aside, Kinect is here.

November 20, 2010 Leave a comment

I cannot resist the temptation of the new Xbox 360 KINECT. In less than 4 weeks after the launch of PlayStation 3 “MOVE”, Xbox Kinect is on its way to dominate the gaming industry with the world’s first “controller-free gesture gaming” experience! When I first watched the Kinect commercial (aka “Project Natal”) on Youtube last year, I was skeptical about its promises. It looked “too-good-to-be-true”. Gesture gaming without any controller – that just sound so far fetched and unreal.

Being the infamous gadget freak of the group, I decided to take a leap of faith and bought Kinect last night. (I was really unsure about this purchase but I must really try it and live to “tell the experience”!) The verdict? Kinect delivers its promises! THIS IS THE BEST MOTION GAMING EXPERIENCE EVER! This is Minority Report Gaming!

Setting up the camera (to the existing console) is a breeze. (I have the 1st generation Xbox 360 and the connection works perfectly!) The Kinect Camera is certainly more high-tech than the PS3 Move Camera. Throughout the game-play, the camera automatically adjust its height and angle to detect the player’s presence. Unlike the PS3 Move which detects only the “light-bulb”, the Kinect Camera detects more points on the player’s body (head, hand, elbow, knee, feet, waist). This allows more actions and fun in the game-play. For example, we have to lift our knees high at rapid speed in order to run fast in a race. It is indeed a different gaming experience compared to Wii and Move. To enjoy the perfect game experience, make sure you have at least 3m space in front of the TV.

One of the best benefits of having a controller-free device is I no longer need to worry about “accidental-flying objects” in the house. (Elkan flew my Move controller across the hall last week!). This also saves me a lot of money. I do not need to buy extra controllers for my friends to play. (And no broken TV screen to replace)

The introductory games are superbly entertaining, exciting and ADDICTIVE! The controller-free gesture game-play is responsively smooth and intuitive. In no time, The entire family (Harshad, Tracy, Felicia and Elkan) was breaking world records in track and field. Elkan was dancing to his favourite Lady Gaga dance track – and it was so contagious that it got Harshad and Tracy partying with him! This is another great reason to buy Kinect. You see your old friends doing all the dramatic poses, shaking all their limbs/butts to win the game. Just watching the players is hilarious and highly entertaining! Not to mention that this is a great way to burn calories! (Just make sure no one is video-taping you when you are playing Kinect! Anyway, Kinect does its own video recording/playback of you in action! So..guess there is no way to escape.)

2010 is indeed the breakthrough year for personal entertainment devices! From Apple iPAD/iPhone 4 to PS3 Move and now to Xbox Kinect! Clearly, Kinect is the big winner in this category. Move and Wii have lots to catch up. If you are thinking about buying one of these wireless gesture gaming devices this Christmas, you can’t be wrong choosing Kinect.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Jo's Thoughts, Life in Hong Kong

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