Long Journey

Wow, I'm feeling the Thursday blues... luckily they're sending me out, I would rather be dead than staying at the office. And guess what, they're sending me to Tg. Karang. What a long way to go... it took me almost 2 hours.



What does this look like to you? Sunny weather, small trunk roads & coconut trees.



Had to drive slowly all the way, cause some folks told there are plenty of speed traps. Then, I saw this Police watch tower, I think along the Sg. Buloh stretch. I don't think they built this thing to bust speeding cars, do they?

Alright, finally, I was at my destination. The workshop was just sitting by a speeding corner, and I nearly missed it. How am I supposed to park my car at such a narrow and dangerous corner? Plus, the vehicles behind me are speeding, and they won't be able to see me. WTH...

Went to the office, grabbed some documents and was ready to survey the car , only to find out that the garage where the car supposed to be at was at another spot. After taking some directions from the clerk, I made my way to the garage, by foot; it was about 20 meters away, no big deal.



Living next door to a garage... now how would that feel? The foreman next door?



A so-called garage under some self-made zinc ataps... Cool! At least it was airy. The owner/driver of this car was said to have avoided a dog wandering at the middle of the road at night, then lost control and hit a road sign post. Kind of lucky to get away with such minor damages.

The Transformers

Tonight is the premier of The Transformers! We are watching it in June, while the rest of the world catches it in July. How cool would that be?

This live-action movie is based upon the popular line of robot toys produced by Hasbro since the early 1980s that "transform" from recognizable machines into giant robots. Those were the days, man. I've been watching and admiring this since my childhood.

I think I needn't say much bout this movie. If you grew up in the eighties with Transformer toys and cartoons, you are going to relive your childhood fantasies with this one. Go on, knock yourself out!

*Some interesting facts [taken from Wikipedia] that you might want to know about the voice of Optimus Prime:

• Peter Cullen is best known for providing the voices for Optimus Prime, Ironhide and Slugslinger in the various Transformers television series.

• He has also played Coran and King Alfor in the Lion Voltron series, Commander James Hawkins in the Vehicle Voltron series, Eeyore in Winnie-the-Pooh, KARR in Knight Rider, Antor and Bomba in Dino-Riders, and Mantus in The Pirates of Dark Water.

• Through out the 80's and 90's Peter Cullen appeared on a number of television shows, including My Little Pony, Filmation's Ghostbusters, The Smurfs, Dungeons & Dragons as Venger, The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry Kids Show, DuckTales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,The Challenge of the GoBots, Rude Dog and the Dweebs as Herman, Rainbow Brite as Murky Dismal, The Biskitts as Scratch, Robotix, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (as the original voice for Monterey Jack), Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, and The Jetsons. He also had a voice part in Gremlins as a gremlin.

Other Ways of Using Condoms

I found this in my Inbox few days ago, and still finds it quite hilarious...

Shrek the Third

Only managed to catch this yesterday evening at GSC Mid Valley. Waited quite some time, like 15 mins or so before the actual movie started. It wouldn't be that bad if it was movie trailers... it was the ads.

Finally, the movie starts... and it's the first in the series to not have a "storybook" opening!

I have been excited about this movie for weeks. As a huge fan of the first two movies, I was sure this one would not disappoint. But, it didn't turn out to be as I had expected. While not as bad as many a film out there, the third saga is yet a 'normal-laugh out' type of its series. I wouldn't be spilling much of the story plot. This film misses the sparkle of the first two installments, IMO. It is as though they're just attempting to continue the series, aiming for money.

The Canon PowerShot A640

I came across this cam on a TV ad, and decided to check it out. Let's just look at what it boasts...



Lens and Image Quality

Megapixels	10 Megapixels
Optical Zoom	4 X
Digital Zoom	4 X
Image Sensor	CCD
Max Aperture	f/2.8
Min Aperture	f/4.1
Max Focal Length	29.2 mm
Min Focal Length	7.3 mm
Maximum Shutter Speed	1/2500 sec
Minimum Shutter Speed	15 sec
Image Format	JPEG
Focus Modes	Automatic, Manual
Exposure Settings	Program, Automatic, Manual, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority
ISO Equivalencies	100, 800, 400, 200, 80, auto
Metering Characteristics	Evaluative, Center-weighted, Spot
Macro Focusing Range	1 cm
Minimum Focusing Range	17.7 in
CCD Size	1/1.8"
Number Of CCD Pixels	10.4 Million

Features

LCD Screen Size	2.5 in
Viewfinder	Real-image zoom
Shooting Modes	Frame movie mode
Self Timer	Yes
Self Timer Delay	10 sec, 2 sec
White Balance	Custom, Automatic, Presets
Continuous Shooting Speed	1.5 fps

Memory

Flash Memory Type	32 MB flash
Recording Method	SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital (SD) Card

And the manufacturer's description...

The PowerShot A640 bursts with creative options. Use its 10.0 Megapixels to shoot poster size prints with fine detail. Discover new possibilities with the vari-angle LCD and optional accessories.

Print high quality poster size images with all the incredible detail of 10.0 Megapixels. Crop and trim to create new compositions while keeping your photos extra large and razor sharp.

A 4x optical zoom lens gives you the flexibility to frame shots up close or at a distance without sacrificing quality.

The large 2.5" Vari-angle LCD twists in all directions - ideal for self-portraits and creative shots at unusual angles. Night Display mode aids visibility in low light while a selectable Grid Line display helps with composition. A useful 3: 2 ratio overlay indicates the printable area for standard photo prints.

Canon's DIGIC II image processor manages all camera functions and processes images at high speed for excellent responsiveness and extended battery life. iSAPS is a built-in assistant that uses scene information to optimize camera settings before the shot is taken.

Rely on 9-point AiAF to keep even off-center subjects sharply in focus or use FlexiZone AF/AE to manually select a focus point.

21 shooting modes include a full creative zone for manual control and 10 Special Scene modes for tricky lighting conditions including Snow, Beach and Underwater. My Colors allows color effects to be applied to images and movies.

A high-speed ISO 800 setting allows you to shoot correctly exposed images in low light conditions without using a flash. ISO 800 also enables shooting at higher shutter speeds reducing the risk of image blur.

Safety Zoom offers extra zoom magnification without affecting image quality. Use the Digital Tele-Converter for extra reach on every shot - just like adding a teleconverter lens to the camera.

Focus as close as 1cm and capture all the intricate detail of tiny subjects.

Shoot extra long 30fps VGA quality movies with full audio. View them on the camera's LCD screen or connect to a TV or PC for full screen playback.

Overall speaking, this is just the right thing that I need most for my everyday job; a not-pro photographer. Easy to use, great features and good image quality.