Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Lady Luck's Feint
Lady Luck's thrown me a curveball that I managed to hit, if you know what I mean. Probably not, though.Anyway, I took my recently condemned CPU all the way down to Melaka where I managed to find a supplier (who was a friend of a cousin-in-law) who had a processor that fit my motherboard's socket type, albeit one that was slower than the current one. When I got there, I asked the guy to double check if my processor was really broken. He removed the thing, reattached it and booted the computer...
AGAINST ALL ODDS IT CAME ALIVE!!!
Turned out that I didn't actually reattach the processor properly (stupid me, but it's also partly thanks to Ivan's incomplete instructions). The guy was nice enough not to charge me anything for telling me how idiotic I was, and I went home a happy man.
Happiness was multiplied manifold due to the fact that some of the processor pins were actually bent due to misattachment to the motherboard, and I had to use a sewing needle to realign them. And yet, it still works!
That, plus the fact that I actually have an active love life now (long story, plus I'm not one to kiss and tell... not too much, at least) makes me a very, very, happy man.
This is the life~
Zhen was here at 12:45 am,
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Sunday, August 13, 2006
One Sentence Movie Reviews
In the previous month, I watched a bucketload of movies, whether at the local cinema or through the wonders of broadband. This post merely serves as a reminder of how many I've actually seen. Plus, I was pretty bored...So here goes, the one sentence reviews of movies that I've seen in the time period of 12th July to 12th August:
1. Superman Returns:
A fun ride that went downhill pretty quickly because the new Lois Lane is such a friggin' square.
2. Just My Luck:
A bimbotic Lindsay Lohan movie that was actually more fun to watch than Superman (what the hell?!).
3. Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest:
Was much funnier than the first, although the plot kinda ran aground (har har) towards the end.
4. The Lake House:
A romantic comedy with a strange time-travelling twist that actually worked out quite well.
5. Wayne's World:
Super cheesy, weird, funny, and laden with jokes that almost no Malaysian, me included, will understand ("Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?").
6. Click:
An Adam Sandler movie that toned down on the absurd slapstick, raised the bar on the drama, and had Christopher Walken, Henry Winkler, David Hasselhoff, and above all, Kate Beckinsale(!), resulting in an overall rockin' movie.
7. Gone With the Wind:
Very good show and story, although it was a little difficult trying to keep awake throughout the entire four hours.
8. Casablanca:
Very romantic, deep, dark, and funny (loved Humphrey Bogart and his one-liners), all at the same time; definitely lived up to its name.
And that's it. Eight movies a month meant that I averaged two a week; not bad for a mild movie aficionado like myself. Doing this made me realise that I make a pretty terrible reviewer, because I'm easily entertained by most movies. Proof: When I first saw Ju-On 2, I actually thought that it wasn't too bad. Then I saw it again, and realised what an idiot I was.
From then on, I became extremely biased towards horror films. The original Exorcist made me go "Eh".
And you guys must be wondering what the heck I was doing watching Gone With the Wind and Casablanca (and Wayne's World, if you count that as old, too). The thing is, I have a soft spot for good, old movies. And I think that those of you who don't, should, too. Would you rather spend RM 8 on some random, foreign-language horror movie about cameras, handphones, wigs, etc. that comes your way or on Singin' in the Rain? Thanks to the aforementioned wonders of broadband, the latter would probably come free, too.
Plus the best part about these old movies (at least in my case) is that I watch them in my cozy, air-conditioned room on my 17" computer monitor with my significant other by my side.
Then again, any movie would be good with your significant other by your side.
I absolutely love old movies.
Zhen was here at 12:28 am,
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Thursday, August 03, 2006
This Birthday Blows
Another year of my life just raced me by, speeding down the fast lane on the highway of life, and it didn't bother waving as it passed.Terrible, terrible metaphor!
But seriously, I was never the type who looked forward to birthdays. I probably did when I was younger, because back then I could look forward to shiny new toys and great boardgames (I had plenty of fun with Cluedo despite nobody in my family ever learning the proper rules... Scrabble and Monopoly, too).
And then I grew up.
Well enough of that. I'm pretty pissed off with what luck or fate or whatever has thrown in my way ever since I blew the candles on my cake. For those who aren't close to me, allow me to inform you that I rarely spend money on anything except food and the occasional movie ticket. And once I've saved up enough, I'll splurge my money on two things: books and electronics. The latter moreso than the former.
So, I get very agitated and angry whenever one of my electronic gadgets get damaged, especially because they're usually rather expensive. Within the space of 24 hours after blowing that cursed cake, I've managed to, directly or indirectly, ruined my computer's processor and my brand new, month-old Koss KSC75 earphones (it's a very long story that pisses me off further everytime I think of it).
That's about RM 400 worth of plastic, metal, silicon and solder.
And now I have to replace them. There goes an entire chunk of the money I earned from Synovate and from clowning earlier this year... Goodbye digicam... I won't be able to touch you until the day you become obsolete.
But thankfully, clouds have silver linings. The night before my birthday I had a blast with a certain someone who gave me certain somethings that really made up for all the petty (but expensive) shit I've been through in the past day. To that certain someone (you know who you are): Thanks a lot. You've really made a difference.
EDIT (4th August 2006): I went to Lowyat Plaza with my best friend today to buy a new processor, and then after the Lowyat trip, we'd attempt to repair the earphones with his soldering kit. I lugged the 7kg plus CPU all the way down there by public transport, and once there, the salespeople tell me that they don't sell processors for my motherboard's socket type anymore, telling me that it's obsolete already (the stupider thing is that they still sell the motherboard that I'm currently using)!
Imagine going shopping for artificial legs, and when you find one that you like, they tell you that it's not compatible with your knee, so you've to replace the knee as well; it's something like that. A motherboard's gonna set me back by another RM400 at least. So if I were to buy one, I might as well just add RM2,000 and get a friggin notebook instead...
And we tried soldering the earphones. It didn't work.
I've wasted an entire day and came to the conclusion that money hates me and tries to escape my pocket at any possible opportunity.