same.or.different

Was that really it? Will wondered. Was that what they were all doing, looking for someone less different? Was that what he was doing? Rachel was dynamic and thoughtful and focused and caring and different in more ways than he could count, but the whole point of Rachel, as far as Will was concerned, was that she wasn't him. There was a flaw in Katrina's logic, then. This thing about looking for someone less different... It only really worked, he realized, if you were convinced that being you wasn't so bad in the first place.

The above excerpt came from Nick Hornby's book [About A Boy].

On the author of the book - Hornby's style of writing goes easy on your eyes and mind, very contemporary, very everyday. And the fact that his novels are usually not more than 2cm thick (paperback, all of them, or at least I never saw his literature bound in hardcover) made it easy to stash in the bag as a 'spare-time-filler' entertainment. Having said that - it still took 2 months for [About a Boy] to fill in all my little spare minutes. Talk about being a slow reader. =)

Same or different? That is the question for today.
So do/did you spend your life (or the earlier part of it for those who have committed to matrimony) looking for a person who's similar or different from you, to spend the rest of your life with?

My rating: 7/10

new.stare.girl

I once knew a girl
who would just stand there and stare.
At anyone or anything,
she seemed not to care
She'd stare at the ground,
She'd stare at the sky.
She'd stare at you for hours,and you'd never know why.
But after winning the local staring contest,
she finally gave her eyes
a well-deserved rest.

mac.vs.pc

If you are ever stuck in the dilemma of choosing between a Mac or a PC - do take a look at these videos.

Networking

Gaming

Performance

ILife

I doubt they'll help you much anyway. =)

a.fish.out.of.water

That was the exact feeling I had this afternoon.
I felt like a 'giam herh' (salted fish).
At the inter 'cheng-hu' boards swimming meet.
I wonder what on earth ever allowed me to be persuaded to participate - I was neither a natural swimmer nor ever received training for this purpose.
Nevertheless, I went. I saw. I was totally and mercilessly conquered.
But for an afternoon of 5 hours I received a t-shirt, bath towel, and $35 in grocery vouchers - not bad indeed. =)

On to another topic - a movie actually.
Pirates of the Carribean - Dead Men's Chest, was rather enjoyable, even though I never watched the first movie that preceded this sequel. The characters and sets reminded me of my younger days when beckoning fantasies of being a pirate felt a lot more real then.
Anyway - after hearing so much about this bloke's locker and how it relates to ominous signs, if I finally have a face to the name 'Davy Jones'. Here's a link to tell you more about the origins of the phrase - Davy Jone's locker.

cute.overload

If you have had a bad day and are feeling crappy - here's a page full of stuff that'd make even the hardest skeptics of life go "awwwwwwwwwww" - cute.overload and perhaps allow you to forget your woes... at least momentarily.

And on the upcoming English Premiership season, here's a little titbit.
Only 3 people have scored twice in a game against Mourinho's Chelsea.
Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Craig Bellamy.
And one of them is in Liverpool now.
Things are looking better than ever.

do.you.really.think.you.know.her

just when you think you have known her a long time, sometimes even your whole life - the most unexpected and unpleasant surprise comes along.
(this might take a while to load - be patient!)

luckily for these guys this was just a joke - but you can never be too sure! =)

m.o.s + mitsubishi.i

Was down at M.O.S. (Ministry Of Sound) earlier to witness the launch of Mitsubishi's new car - the Mitsubishi i. Personally, I think the letter 'i' has been over-used as a prefix since Apple came up with the Ipod. Then came the likes of I-squeeze. Urgh.
But as a suffix for the new Mitsubishi 660cc bubble automobile - I am more partial as the cute little vehicle does look like it belongs to the family 'i', if you know what I mean.



Priced at $48k, it's a car that screams - "Me! Look at me! Cute little me!" - or at least that was my first impression at the launch (as for the hot models adding a little glitz to the event - those impressions are of a slightly different nature - perhaps the word 'cute' might be substituted with 'hot').

For the technicalities - A 660cc turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine mounted above the rear wheels produces 64bhp and 69lb-ft of torque, delivered to the road via the rear wheels. The adorable Mitsubishi 'i' has a four-speed automatic gearbox to make the most of the engine's limited output. For the normal city dweller nipping through the streets it should be sufficient - but it hardly does highways as the top speed is something like 90mph. The back seat is surprisingly spacey for such a small car, but it comes at the cost of nearly next to none for boot space. But if you imagine it as a 2-seater and fold down the rear seats for storage - there you have a workable solution. After all, with such low power, it is probably better used as a 2-seater.

And no - I don't get any commission by posting this here. =(

definitely.not.blue.balls

Whatever was Nike thinking of? =O

Perhaps in the near future we'll see more hot babes playing the beautiful game. =)

pitch.fighter

The following picture is an interesting representation of Zizou, or Zidane as he is commonly known. The Frenchman was sent off 10 minutes before the 2nd half of extra time ended for the FIFA 2006 World Cup Final, for head-butting Italian opponent Materazzi in the chest. It was believed that Materazzi had called Zidane a terrorist, or insulted his wife or sister.

Here Zealous Zidane is represented by Dhalsim, the classic Indian yogi from the Street Fighter games. Muttering Materazzi is seen as Sagat, the Thai kick-boxer from the same game series.
Violence on the pitch is undesirable - and mars the beautiful game.
Personally I am guilty of anger whilst playing my religion out from time to time - perhaps it's time for anger management counselling? =)

italia

Who'd have expected that they are the champions of FIFA World Cup 2006.
But good job lads - holding on till the end wasn't easy, but with the right amounts of determination, resolve and belief (as with all other things in life) - they have done it.
France was probably gutted to lose through penalties - but life's like that - you don't get to win all the time!

Forza Azzurri!!!

twenty.one.liners

Wise words come in small packages as well:
1. Regular naps prevent old age... especially if you take them while driving.
2. Having one child makes you a parent; having two makes you a referee.
3. Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right and the other is the husband!
4. They said we should all pay our tax with a smile. I tried- but they wanted cash.
5. A child's greatest period of growth is the month after you've purchased new school uniforms.
6. Don't feel bad. A lot of people have no talent.
7. Don't marry the person you want to live with, marry the one you cannot live without... but whatever you do, you'll regret it later.
8. You can't buy love. . But you pay heavily for it.
9. True friends stab you in the front.
10. Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate you for hurting me.
11. Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.
12. Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
13. My wife and I always compromise. I admit I'm wrong and she agrees with me.
14. Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others.
15. Ladies first. Pretty ladies sooner.
16. It doesn't matter how often a married man changes his job, he still ends up with the same boss.
17. They call our language the mother tongue because the father seldom gets to speak.
18. Saving is the best thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you.
19. Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.
20. Real friends are the ones who survive transitions between address books.

pass.by.by.pass

A few days back my dad went for a minor heart bypass surgery. It involved insertion of a metal cylinder of sorts via the thigh all the way up to the heart. Apparently he had a minor heart attack a few months back after a supposedly happy family dinner event.
It struck me suddenly that he is really old and age has really caught up with him.
And unlike the average dad out there who probably could choose to retire by now with their painstakingly accumulated reserves - he is still working hard to sustain himself.
Well my mom is still working as well.
It pains me to see both of them still struggling at this age.
But I take consolation that at least they are still with me, and at a fundamental level, still healthy.
Recently there have been news of people coming and going, serving out their term on this earth.
Before it gets too late for regrets - I shall resolve to treat my parents better.
And so should you. =)

afternote: Why, I do believe I wrote about this just a couple of months back! Perhaps I am subject to age catching up as well - awakening to the rude realisation that I will be hitting the big figure 3 in the not so long future.

france.italy

Germany is out.
Italy is in.
Portugal is out.
France is in.

France vs Italy for the finals of World Cup 2006.
This year's finalists have proven beyond skeptics' expectations.

On another Red note - I am delighted to see new Chilean international Mark Gonzalez and Brazilian Fabio Aurelio arrive at Anfield.

This bodes well for a new age to dawn upon Liverpool under Rafa Benitez. =)

6-0

That's the scoreline for this morning's match.
It's the 1st time in my life that the team which I am on won by such a resounding margin.
Of course the opponents weren't top dogs, but still, it's quite an impressive win.
The only downside of this was that my team was actually not mine, but belongs to a group of guys whose lineage comes from their best being yet to be.
But 6-0 is already my best game so far in my life, so I am not complaining! =)

free.booze

Went for the hansgrohe+ish world cup party last night.
Free booze, hotdogs, chips and free screening of Argentina vs Germany.
Now that's the sort of parties that we should all be having! =)
(Though in its own ways a tad poseur/wannabe, but nonetheless it was good catching up with many old friends whom I haven't seen in a while.)

And as luck would have it - Germany won.
Even though I was more pro-argentinian - but hey, my free booze came from a german company, so I guess they have amassed all the good karma for the home team to achieve sucess! =)

And on another note, I received a hardcover of Tim Burton's "Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and other stories" from the Girl. It's a really pretty book - thank you Girl! =)