Songs

你的眼睛 - 熊天平／許茹芸

你的眼睛 - 熊天平／許茹芸

平:爱你 忘了苏醒
我情愿闭上眼睛
任凭此生此世长睡不醒
你就是我的来生

芸:爱是绝境 幸福的人不远行
断了春去秋来苦苦追寻
宁愿和你飘忽不定

平:不让你的眼睛 再看见人世的伤心
投入风里雨里相依为命
用我的痛吻你的心

芸:看着你的眼睛 有太多太多泪不停
心疼你每一步爱的艰辛
苦难的梦特别真心

合:心疼你每一步爱的艰辛
合:苦难的梦特别真心

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3-mOKFlD5IA

Wondering...

Don't know how your life has been recently. Hope you have been happy and well.

Been hard to contact you, and yet I'm tongue-tied whenever I see you, online or face-to-face. I just don't know what words I should use. Can't find the words to even type this post.

Hope you like the present, and take care of yourself during your camp.

Wondering whether you'll ever know, ever see this...

DNS-323

Finally decided to buy the D-Link DNS-323 after such a long time (3 months of consideration and such).

Bought it at the PC Show, 14th June 08, 1630 hours. That was after I decided I don't want to wait anymore for the HP MediaVault 2120 to be released in Singapore. :P The HP people don't even know about this product line. LOL. Rather than order from US just cause it looks nicer than everything else, might as well buy DNS-323 with more features and more customisability + more errors ironed-out already.

Got a Seagate 500GB HDD with 32MB cache today too. And a Kingston 1GB DDR2 667 RAM yesterday when I went with KK.

After the shopping trip, went Xinkai's house with Raymond to install the graphics card he bought. Then adjourned to Jon's house for cookie-making and sampling :P Apparently it was quite a failure >< Watched the other guys and Jon's girlfriends play the WII and laugh their heads off. LOL.

We went KAP after that, eat MACS. 11:22:33:44:55:66. Yup. 7 ppl squeeze into 2 tables. After that I left the group, and waited around the area for a while. At 10pm I finally decided to leave for home.

Happy Birthday!

生日快乐！

原先本想给你个惊喜，但就不知道为什么总是没法办到。

或许我总迟了一步。

无论怎样，生日快乐 :)

NAS, WHS and many more...

I've long been searching for an object that serves the function of a file server in my home network. Having a total of 5 computers in the house (including my sister's and father's laptops and an almost-dead system), it's really a mess finding files. (I think I already lost all my CHS files. Or they might be on some obscure hard disk lying arond.)

Since last year (I think), I've been following the development of Windows Home Server (from their start as betas, RTM, and various bugs), saw the appearance of several NAS systems in Digital Life, and I knew I needed one =P.

Here is my opinion on 3 existing + 1 future products...

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HP MediaSmart Server EX470

The most costly of all. This costs USD $579, translating to SGD $790. Does not include shipping costs etc.

Runs on Windows Home Server - derived from Windows 2003 Server, with all but the core functions (required to provide the basic file-serving and backup capabilities) stripped out.

Sleek design, shipping with 1 x 500GB HDD with WHS preinstalled. Has automatic backup via WHS, with versioning on file basis.

FTP access - no.
HTTP access - yes.
Print server - you'd require a WIN 2003 Server driver... though drivers for XP might work as well...
RAID 1 - does storage balancing instead. Files might be lost though.
USB Ports - 4 - for storage expansion, can be used for print server as well though.

WHS has a data corruption bug that occurs if you have more than 1 disk and use something else than EXPLORER.EXE to transfer your files onto it. SIGH.

HP MediaVault mv2120 NAS

Another one by HP with a nice sleek design similar to the MediaSmart Server. This one comes with 1 x 500GB HDD with the Linux OS embedded on the hard drive.

Costs USD $299, translating to SGD $408.

There's a community of Linux pros out there that fiddle with (ie hack) the Linux OS to give it more capabilities.

This sems to be not a fully-developed product - basic functions that I'd expect to find are just not there - FTP and print server. And some errors I've heard made this a bit dangerous - some bugs made it unable to accept files beyond a certain GB...

FTP access - no - can be installed though.
HTTP access - yes.
Photo album - yes - though I wonder what I'd use it for.
Print server - no - there's some talk about installing it... how you check the print queue then I've no idea.
RAID 1 - fully supported.
USB Ports - 2 - for storage expansion, can be used for print server (if hacked).

D-Link DNS-323 NAS

Costs SGD $240. Does not include hard disk - another SGD $150-$160 for a SATA 500GB. Total cost is about SGD $400 then.

Seems to be the most complete of all, with most functions I want built right in. However, the look can be far from perfect, and setting rights on folders I've heard is terrible. But works anyway.

FTP access - yes - only one here with built-in!
HTTP access - yes.
Print server - yes - but no idea whether this one on my table works with it.
RAID 1 - fully supported.

Had a bug regarding international file names - ie all my chinese files all cannot go on it. Apparently it's fixed already though.

Would've bought this if not for the fact that it looks super toot compared to the HP products.

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D-LINK DNS-321 NAS

YET TO BE RELEASED.

Functionality wise like DNS-323. Costing - no idea, approximately SGD $220 - $240 I guess - on par with DNS-323.

LOOKS much better than 323, however it's lacking in one thing - USB PORTS! There's not a single USB port on the whole box!

This means print server is out of the question I guess.

十四天

再多十四天...

Weekend

The weekend is finally here. After so many long days this week, finally it's ended. Been tired, stressed, mentally exhausted and pushed to the limits of sanity.

Tasked to organise a NSF dialogue for my unit in a short frame of one week. Wonders why a silly spec got such a task. Managed to delay it by an additional 5 days to get more breathing space. Gotta manage the logistical and administrative issues. I'm hoping nothing will go wrong then.

On leave 2 weeks away. A Friday. Hahahahahahaha. Why that appeared, is a mystery. I do not currently have the mental capacity to look into it. Probably those specific keys encountered abnormal levels of gravity, localised into a cm²'s area. I'm so weird - testing the limit of sanity.

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Hopefully I can go shopping tomorrow. 5 "W"s: What, who, where, when, why.

I have this feeling that it's eventually going be: nothing, nobody, nowhere, never.

Why... remains as why. The reason will not change.

I'm so looking forward to my leave =)

When You Say Nothing At All - Allison Krauss

Allison Krauss - When You Say Nothing At All

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
try as I may I can never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

All day long I can hear people talking out loud
But when you hold me near you drown the crowd
Try as they may they can never define
What's been said between your heart and mine

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

Sentosa!!!

23 May 08 - Updated with more pictures :)

2 decades. That’s the amount of time that has passed… Some short (ok not really) updates for the past few weeks…

5th May 2008 (Monday)

I PASSED MY DRIVING TEST!!! YAY!!! I got test route 3, but the tester modified it a bit, such that I didn’t have to go through street 61. It was seriously a blessing :)

10th May 2008 (Saturday)

Got my triangle at AMK Hub, and went bugis to meet enqi for lunch. :) The place was quite messy but we did manage to find our way to the food court on level 3. Then we went to simlim square to look for some things – which failed quite miserably. We decided to leave and took the MRT back to Bukit Batok. (Thanks for your present!!!) :)

Went library and later met Ningfei for dinner… Talked cock and went to look for speakers for him to blast music during the Sentosa outing. Haha.

11th May 2008 (Sunday)

Drove to lunch, and then to Causeway Point to get a Mother’s Day present for my mother :) Haha went to Civic Centre instead :P. Longest ever distance driven. Average speed = 50kph :P

17th May 2008 (Saturday)

SENTOSA OUTING!!! [photo link here :)] ok long post :P

We arranged to meet at 9am at BB MRT, but only enqi turned up. Ningfei was still at home, and felicia was trying to get out. So the two of us set off for Vivocity. Reached there with 10 minutes to spare before 10am, and waited for Giant to open. Haha. We rushed in to get the drinks (pepsi, sprite, chrysanthemum tea, etc) once it opened. Thus ended up loaded with 7 bottles of drinks, which we carried around while waiting for ningfei (who decided to give us a workout by getting us to street level and back to the same place we were).

The sentosa express station was at level 3, right in front of the escalator exit. Tickets were $3 each, and we couldn’t reuse them for entry once we got out. Hmph. After the girls finished with the sunblock, we boarded the train. The monorail ride passed by this "station" that was dismantled to build the IR. Quite a waste of money imo zzz.

Set up our base HQ in one of the big pavilions. While ningfei went to get the other guys to come in (we ran quite late), the 3 of us went walking around the beach. There was this little breakwater island (I think it’s called that) that had a bridge to it. We went over there and found this nice little spot that provided us with a view of the sea beyond. Ships and boats of all kinds were anchored in those waters, and in the distance we could see several of those large water-processing cylindrical towers. The sun was rather strong, but there was a consistent breeze. We took several photos there :)

We went back and I started attacking the tidbits ningfei brought :P. Haha. Lunch arrived with the rest of the lunch people, and we had a light lunch consisting mainly of fried rice. I would had preferred fried beehoon lol. Visited the latrine and returned to find enqi and felicia out on e beach ready for another excursion to the little island. Took many photos including some of ourselves :P.

We returned for a sip of water and went on another excursion on the beach tram. Toured around for one loop and decided to get off. Majority of the people were away already, leaving a few playing cards (which I snapped on the moving tram :P)

A while later, just before 3pm, enqi had to leave to go home in time for her guitar lesson. So they snapped photos :P The 3 of us walked to the monorail station, where they bought some juice from the 7-11 before departing... Felicia and me then went up this staggered slope where we could see the monorail very close up, passing by us. After the train passed us, we decided to go exploring the island (in a bid to escape the pavillion), however we went back to take my camera along.

We went all the way back, and up the same slope, where at the top was this metal cage thingy. Beyond that was this eerie-looking "pond" or "river" that smelt strongly of chlorine. We took some stupid pictures here lol.

On and on we walked, till we saw the backside of the merlion. It was really a colossal structure, and we thus snapped some photos (as usual). Up this stairs to a colonial-looking building (which was closed), then back towards this "Images of Singapore" exhibit. There was this truck that looked antique and we climbed onto it to get a photo (courtesy of some tourist :)). Right in front of it and below a small cliff, was the giant expanse of land that was to become Sentosa's IR. You could see the construction, the Sentosa Causeway, and the monorail tracks snaking across the land. Needless to say - photos.

On we went till we met a hole in a ground and a column rising upwards. Looking upwards was the Carlsberg Revolving Tower. $12 I think for a ride up and down. WOW. Trigger happy again. Next to this was a souvenior shop that was small and cosy. NO PHOTOGRAPHY PERMITTED. Haiz.

Outside the shop, we walked on to pass by several attractions - Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom, 4D Magix, Cineblast etc. Went past this bus interchange where we decided to walk back instead of taking the bus. Down this long slope, across a junction, and down a long and winding path. From the point we left the monorail station, 1.5 hours had passed :P

Finally saw buildings and then another bus interchange at the far end of Siloso Beach. We then decided to walk back instead of taking the tram, walking along the beach back to the pavillion. Took a rest for some time and sat down to talkcock. :D At around 5+pm we went on another journey to the island, where we snapped some pictures before sundown.

Returned, and all the people present took 1x BIG photo.

Then were the section and batch photos.

After that, Ningfei, Libo, Jiankai, Derek, Andrew and me went to collect pizzas and buy water for the rest. We went to the monorail station, where I met Minghan while queueing for the monorail. Ningfei, Libo and Jiankai exited the system to collect the pizzas while the 3 of us stayed behind to conserve money ($3 per re-entry). They returned with the pizzas after 1/2 hr, and promptly left for the drinks. We thus delivered back the 8 bags of pizzas back to Siloso Beach.

It was night when we reached the pavillion (7:20pm approximately). Finished dinner in the cover of darkness, and many jokes about how this seemed like field camp abounded around us. The water party returned carrying lots of water, which we annihilated quickly :P

At around 9pm, a few of us left to go home. However, by the time we reached the monorail, only Daoteng, some cello junior, and Felicia were left. The night scene as we took the monorail back was quite nice, however pictures would turn out bad cause of the long exposure time required. Dragged Felicia to Daiso to buy 8 AAA batteries for my MP3 player, after which we left on the MRT, back home...

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Part 2 of remaining updates will come after book out :) will also update this post with more pictures :)

558

The day has come. Once again.

Let it be successful...