Going to Thailand for a few days.
I'll be back soon. Hopefully with interesting stories in stock, and swords. Yes, swords! mwa hahahahahahahahahaha
December 30, 2008
December 28, 2008
Ip Man
We went to see the movie Ip Man tonight.
I was excited to see this as I used to study Wing Chun.
When I was a teenager the only martial art available where I lived was Wing Chun. Sifu Jerry Bolding is the head of the school. He studied under William Cheung. William Cheung studied under Ip Man.
As you can see, my teenage training is not far removed from Ip Man himself and I was curious to see what they would put into the movie.
I thought it was great. Donnie Yen did a very good job sticking to techniques, although ironically I didn't see much Chi Sau (sticking hands technique) used in this movie.
I quit studying when I was at level 4, Sifu wanted me to test for level 5. Level 10 is instructor level (kind of like black belt). I am not sure why I quit, but I did. Worse, I stopped practicing. Now I can't even remember the Sil Lum Tao.
What's Sil Lum Tao? It's the first form in Wing Chun.
*sigh* Oh well for now. It was a good movie. I definitely recommend it.
I was excited to see this as I used to study Wing Chun.
When I was a teenager the only martial art available where I lived was Wing Chun. Sifu Jerry Bolding is the head of the school. He studied under William Cheung. William Cheung studied under Ip Man.
As you can see, my teenage training is not far removed from Ip Man himself and I was curious to see what they would put into the movie.
I thought it was great. Donnie Yen did a very good job sticking to techniques, although ironically I didn't see much Chi Sau (sticking hands technique) used in this movie.
I quit studying when I was at level 4, Sifu wanted me to test for level 5. Level 10 is instructor level (kind of like black belt). I am not sure why I quit, but I did. Worse, I stopped practicing. Now I can't even remember the Sil Lum Tao.
What's Sil Lum Tao? It's the first form in Wing Chun.
*sigh* Oh well for now. It was a good movie. I definitely recommend it.
Computer utility worth noting.
Eraser is a useful program.
It's an open-source program that actually erases what's deleted.
"What?!" you ask. "When I empty the recycle bin things are deleted!" you exclaim.
Well, listen up my naive friends! I have news for you.
Windows does NOT delete things when you delete them and empty your recycle bin. This includes contaminated files (virus, trojan, spywre, etc.)!
You don't believe me? Well then please read on. When most Operating Systems delete data they do not really delete the data. Instead the data is flagged as a space that can be written over. This allows data to be recovered by people who want to do so.
How does this affect you? Well, let's say you have a file that contains your personal bank account information and you delete it. It's gone, right? Wrong. Let's also say someone happens to have their eye on your fancy laptop and steals it. Now, if they're savvy enough they can retrieve that important file that you "deleted" and have access to more information than you thought you had on the computer. Double whammy!
You still don't believe me?! Jeesh, ok ok. Read this. I would also recommend that you do more research on your own, never trust just one source.
This is were programs like Eraser are so important. They do multiple passes of overwriting to make sure the data is actually deleted. This is important for your security, but also for protecting your computer.
Why? Well, if a malicious person writes a virus that can remain active in that deleted limbo state. . . it won't go away. That's not a comforting thought.
How do I prevent this? What about Anti-Virus?
You prevent it by using Eraser or something like it.
Anti-Virus is important, but it may let things slip through the cracks. Many people use the most popular anti-virus programs like Norton. They think this keeps them safe from all threats. This is not the case.
An AV program is only as good as its scanner and detection list. If someone write a completely new virus, you have no protection.
Scary? Well, here's some good news. You can prevent things like this by following safer computer use practices.
Don't surf recklessly. Use a "safer" browser like Firefox. That's not enough by itself though. You have to be very careful about visiting sites without thinking about what kind of nasty person has embedded something to steal your information through a virus or a trojan.
I suggest using these 2 Firefox extensions:
Not only does using these help speed up internet page loading, but they also help protect you from virus/trojan infection and help you to avoid unwanted advertisements.
Don't install applications without scanning them first. Applications that are infected and installed just gave you a friend that's hard to get rid of. Use a virus scanner before installing, always. There are tons of free scanners out there, but even those can be a problem sometimes. Some people make scanners that say that you have an infection, but you need to pay to be disinfected. This is a scam! They just want your money.
No legit scanners will do this. The companies that make legit scanners want you to buy the full version, of course!, but they do not require it. Here are some free anti-virus programs:
Personally, I use Clamwin. I do not like active background scanners. You can stop gasping now. Seriously.
Here's why: I practice what I preach. I'm careful about what I look at and what I install. I run Clamwin occassionally and I also run online anti-virus scans. These are beneficial as they can catch things that other programs might have left out. I like F-Secure's online scan. I do want to point out that F-Secure's online scanner does not work in Firefox. I have to use Internet Exploder (Internet Explorer to most of you) for this scan. That's the only time I ever use that craptastic browser.
Other things that will help protect you. Avoid using E-mail programs. Things like Outlook, Eudora, Thunderbird, Inredimail, etc. are open doors to virus and trojan infections.
Why?
Look at this way. Someone sends you an e-mail. To open that e-mail with one of these programs you have to download it to your computer. So you download and open the e-mail. SOME of these programs are set automatically to open all attachments. This automatically installs any happy little virus or trojan on your computer. You're inviting disaster much more easily this way.
Here's what I do. I leave the e-mail on someone else's computer.
Again with the gasping! Stop that!
I don't expect to receive anything so important in e-mail. If I do then the person sending it is stupid.
I use e-mail for communication, but I avoid anything that is really really important in that means.
This keeps me and my expensive computer safer.
What else can you do? Stop using Windows.
What? How?
Use another operating system. Computers have other options like using Linux or switching to Mac. Personally I'd rather saw off my own leg. But there are some twisted people out there who like Macs. Seriously, they're just twisted.
Linux has so many different builds that it's hard to write virus or trojan software that will have any effect on these systems.
Mac has very few virus or trojan threats, but that's because it's not as commonly known, and it's better designed than Windows.
I like Ubuntu. It's a nice, easy to use, Linux Operating System.
Oh, Linux can be installed on a Mac as well.
Anyway, get some protection. Let Eraser help you really delete those files when you delete them. Also, once in awhile, allow it to erase free space.
Why?
Agh, so many questions!
Ok, ok, I'll tell you. It'll make sure anything you deleted is really gone, any lurking nasties are gone, and help clear up any other clutter that might cause your computer issues. This saves you money and time.
It's an open-source program that actually erases what's deleted.
"What?!" you ask. "When I empty the recycle bin things are deleted!" you exclaim.
Well, listen up my naive friends! I have news for you.
Windows does NOT delete things when you delete them and empty your recycle bin. This includes contaminated files (virus, trojan, spywre, etc.)!
You don't believe me? Well then please read on. When most Operating Systems delete data they do not really delete the data. Instead the data is flagged as a space that can be written over. This allows data to be recovered by people who want to do so.
How does this affect you? Well, let's say you have a file that contains your personal bank account information and you delete it. It's gone, right? Wrong. Let's also say someone happens to have their eye on your fancy laptop and steals it. Now, if they're savvy enough they can retrieve that important file that you "deleted" and have access to more information than you thought you had on the computer. Double whammy!
You still don't believe me?! Jeesh, ok ok. Read this. I would also recommend that you do more research on your own, never trust just one source.
This is were programs like Eraser are so important. They do multiple passes of overwriting to make sure the data is actually deleted. This is important for your security, but also for protecting your computer.
Why? Well, if a malicious person writes a virus that can remain active in that deleted limbo state. . . it won't go away. That's not a comforting thought.
How do I prevent this? What about Anti-Virus?
You prevent it by using Eraser or something like it.
Anti-Virus is important, but it may let things slip through the cracks. Many people use the most popular anti-virus programs like Norton. They think this keeps them safe from all threats. This is not the case.
An AV program is only as good as its scanner and detection list. If someone write a completely new virus, you have no protection.
Scary? Well, here's some good news. You can prevent things like this by following safer computer use practices.
Don't surf recklessly. Use a "safer" browser like Firefox. That's not enough by itself though. You have to be very careful about visiting sites without thinking about what kind of nasty person has embedded something to steal your information through a virus or a trojan.
I suggest using these 2 Firefox extensions:
Not only does using these help speed up internet page loading, but they also help protect you from virus/trojan infection and help you to avoid unwanted advertisements.
Don't install applications without scanning them first. Applications that are infected and installed just gave you a friend that's hard to get rid of. Use a virus scanner before installing, always. There are tons of free scanners out there, but even those can be a problem sometimes. Some people make scanners that say that you have an infection, but you need to pay to be disinfected. This is a scam! They just want your money.
No legit scanners will do this. The companies that make legit scanners want you to buy the full version, of course!, but they do not require it. Here are some free anti-virus programs:
Personally, I use Clamwin. I do not like active background scanners. You can stop gasping now. Seriously.
Here's why: I practice what I preach. I'm careful about what I look at and what I install. I run Clamwin occassionally and I also run online anti-virus scans. These are beneficial as they can catch things that other programs might have left out. I like F-Secure's online scan. I do want to point out that F-Secure's online scanner does not work in Firefox. I have to use Internet Exploder (Internet Explorer to most of you) for this scan. That's the only time I ever use that craptastic browser.
Other things that will help protect you. Avoid using E-mail programs. Things like Outlook, Eudora, Thunderbird, Inredimail, etc. are open doors to virus and trojan infections.
Why?
Look at this way. Someone sends you an e-mail. To open that e-mail with one of these programs you have to download it to your computer. So you download and open the e-mail. SOME of these programs are set automatically to open all attachments. This automatically installs any happy little virus or trojan on your computer. You're inviting disaster much more easily this way.
Here's what I do. I leave the e-mail on someone else's computer.
Again with the gasping! Stop that!
I don't expect to receive anything so important in e-mail. If I do then the person sending it is stupid.
I use e-mail for communication, but I avoid anything that is really really important in that means.
This keeps me and my expensive computer safer.
What else can you do? Stop using Windows.
What? How?
Use another operating system. Computers have other options like using Linux or switching to Mac. Personally I'd rather saw off my own leg. But there are some twisted people out there who like Macs. Seriously, they're just twisted.
Linux has so many different builds that it's hard to write virus or trojan software that will have any effect on these systems.
Mac has very few virus or trojan threats, but that's because it's not as commonly known, and it's better designed than Windows.
I like Ubuntu. It's a nice, easy to use, Linux Operating System.
Oh, Linux can be installed on a Mac as well.
Anyway, get some protection. Let Eraser help you really delete those files when you delete them. Also, once in awhile, allow it to erase free space.
Why?
Agh, so many questions!
Ok, ok, I'll tell you. It'll make sure anything you deleted is really gone, any lurking nasties are gone, and help clear up any other clutter that might cause your computer issues. This saves you money and time.
Damned good anime
I started watching Busou Renkin on the recommendation of a co-worker.
I downloaded all of it a lot time ago while I was still in the states but never watched even part of one episode.
I have a lot of fan-sub anime that way actually. I have around 760gig of fan-subs that I have only watched MAYBE 25% of despite continuing to download. I left at least 30% more in the states on dvd-data backups. Hopefully Chris is enjoying everything!
Busou Renkin is about a boy who dies trying to save a girl who is attacked by a monster. It turns out she hunts these monsters and uses a kakugane (alchemic weapon) to save his life. After that he ends up helping her to fight these monsters.
The animation is pretty good and the story is addictive. It may be a bit banal for shonen, but after awhile all shonen seems similiar. However! Not all shonen is as addictive as this. Bleach and espcially Hunter X Hunter have this kind of addictive quality as well.
Last night I worked out almost all of the rules for my board game. Once I'm finished with the rules I'll start making the cards themselves. After that it's print and cut time. I'm not sure if I want to use pictures for the cards or not at this point. It would be nice, but it's a lot more work, so we'll see. I might do that anyway since it'll give the game more polish, and help to explain things that not everyone knows the words for here in Malaysia.
I can't assume everyone's a sci-fi geek like me. I'm trying to make the game as quick and simple as possible to make it more appealing. We'll see how well I do when we get around to trying it out.
Well, I'm going to watch more Busou Renkin now, bye bye.
I downloaded all of it a lot time ago while I was still in the states but never watched even part of one episode.
I have a lot of fan-sub anime that way actually. I have around 760gig of fan-subs that I have only watched MAYBE 25% of despite continuing to download. I left at least 30% more in the states on dvd-data backups. Hopefully Chris is enjoying everything!
Busou Renkin is about a boy who dies trying to save a girl who is attacked by a monster. It turns out she hunts these monsters and uses a kakugane (alchemic weapon) to save his life. After that he ends up helping her to fight these monsters.
The animation is pretty good and the story is addictive. It may be a bit banal for shonen, but after awhile all shonen seems similiar. However! Not all shonen is as addictive as this. Bleach and espcially Hunter X Hunter have this kind of addictive quality as well.
Last night I worked out almost all of the rules for my board game. Once I'm finished with the rules I'll start making the cards themselves. After that it's print and cut time. I'm not sure if I want to use pictures for the cards or not at this point. It would be nice, but it's a lot more work, so we'll see. I might do that anyway since it'll give the game more polish, and help to explain things that not everyone knows the words for here in Malaysia.
I can't assume everyone's a sci-fi geek like me. I'm trying to make the game as quick and simple as possible to make it more appealing. We'll see how well I do when we get around to trying it out.
Well, I'm going to watch more Busou Renkin now, bye bye.
December 26, 2008
My own board game
I have an idea that popped into my head for a board game of my own that has cyborgs as its topic.
I have a lot of the basics worked out already. It will take a bit to make everything but I think it should be faster than me trying to write my story ideas into stories.
I had another story idea the other day that would be really interesting. . . I guess that means I should try to at least make it into a short story. *sigh*
Anyway, I think I can work on the game on my upcoming vacation to a certain degree. I'll keep a pad and paper with me to write out details, component ideas, etc.
Today's the last day of school for the month and year. The students are supposed to bring in breakfast foods from their own countries and share with one another. We have no classes, only "graduation" ceremonies today.
Maybe I am boring, but I think that this school attempts too many activities. The students are mostly 18-25. They shouldn't need activities to help them stay focused.
Oh well, whatever.
I have a lot of the basics worked out already. It will take a bit to make everything but I think it should be faster than me trying to write my story ideas into stories.
I had another story idea the other day that would be really interesting. . . I guess that means I should try to at least make it into a short story. *sigh*
Anyway, I think I can work on the game on my upcoming vacation to a certain degree. I'll keep a pad and paper with me to write out details, component ideas, etc.
Today's the last day of school for the month and year. The students are supposed to bring in breakfast foods from their own countries and share with one another. We have no classes, only "graduation" ceremonies today.
Maybe I am boring, but I think that this school attempts too many activities. The students are mostly 18-25. They shouldn't need activities to help them stay focused.
Oh well, whatever.
December 25, 2008
Arena Maximus rounds III and IV
Huey came back today.
Tonight four of us played two rounds of AM. It was a lot of fun!
I got this because it's something a little more interesting than Monopoly is for our youngest brother. He is enjoying it. :-)
Later we'll start adding the optional magic rules to the game.
Today was the last day of exams for the month. I'm off work tomorrow, 12-25, and then I have a few activities for the end of the month on Friday. After that I am free until January 5th when the new semester begins.
I'm looking forward to our trip to Thailand during this break. I haven't really been to Thailand and look forward to seeing a new place and spending time with my beautiful wife.
Goodnight everyone.
Oh, and BAH HUM BUG!
*****Nevermind that we bought small gifts for our family here.*****
Tonight four of us played two rounds of AM. It was a lot of fun!
I got this because it's something a little more interesting than Monopoly is for our youngest brother. He is enjoying it. :-)
Later we'll start adding the optional magic rules to the game.
Today was the last day of exams for the month. I'm off work tomorrow, 12-25, and then I have a few activities for the end of the month on Friday. After that I am free until January 5th when the new semester begins.
I'm looking forward to our trip to Thailand during this break. I haven't really been to Thailand and look forward to seeing a new place and spending time with my beautiful wife.
Goodnight everyone.
Oh, and BAH HUM BUG!
*****Nevermind that we bought small gifts for our family here.*****
December 23, 2008
Arena Maximus, re-match!
Before we slept Siew and I tried playing A.M. last night.
We figured out the rules and played one round. Siew won the game, I couldn't compete. My chariot was broken so it was out of the arena for repair. During that repair time Siew easily galloped to the finish line.
It was pretty fun, I think it will be a lot more fun with more players, you can have up to 5.
We figured out the rules and played one round. Siew won the game, I couldn't compete. My chariot was broken so it was out of the arena for repair. During that repair time Siew easily galloped to the finish line.
It was pretty fun, I think it will be a lot more fun with more players, you can have up to 5.
December 22, 2008
Arena Maximus
We just got done getting Arena Maximus ready.
We'll have to play it later.
What's Arena Maximus? Well, take a look at this review: Arena Maximus
You can buy it here, if you are the sort who likes to do that sort of thing. . .
Our copy isn't as professional as that version is.
Hopefully everyone likes it.
I didn't realize how many board games can be printed and put together! I have a few that we can try out later if we like this one. I found a few here that seem to be interesting. I'm not ready to dive into making new games just yet however.
I'll let you know, later, our reaction to this game. We'd better like it, after all the print, pasting and cutting!
We'll have to play it later.
What's Arena Maximus? Well, take a look at this review: Arena Maximus
You can buy it here, if you are the sort who likes to do that sort of thing. . .
Our copy isn't as professional as that version is.
Hopefully everyone likes it.
I didn't realize how many board games can be printed and put together! I have a few that we can try out later if we like this one. I found a few here that seem to be interesting. I'm not ready to dive into making new games just yet however.
I'll let you know, later, our reaction to this game. We'd better like it, after all the print, pasting and cutting!
December 20, 2008
Christmas gift shopping & a shitty place to eat
We went out today to do some C-day gift shopping.
My wife's family doesn't celebrate C-day, but they bought a small re-usable tree and some decorations. I thought it would be interesting to buy everyone some small gifts so that the bottom of the tree doesn't look so barren.
Today we went out to look for gifts.
We managed to buy gifts for most of the people we want to get things for.
On a whim we decided to go to the newly opened Pacific store in Komtar.
Normally Komtar is nearly deserted. There are not many shops in this mall. Apparently Pacific decided to try and re-vitalize the place and opened up their department store.
The location is very strange. Komtar is a mall. Across the street is another mall, Prangin. Komtar was first, when Prangin opened Komtar quickly became a void. Correct my history if I am wrong Penangites!
Anyway, we spent some time walking through Pacific but didn't find it all that special.
We decided to go and eat. We picked Georgetown White Coffee.
The place was crowded when we went in. They have lots of seating though, so it wasn't an issue to sit down. After looking over the menu I had a question about White Coffee versus Heritage White Coffee. We picked out what we wanted to eat as well.
It took a bit to get a waiter. Once we had one Siew asked him about the coffee. He didn't know. I said nevermind and ordered the white coffee. Siew had Kopi-O and we ordered food. Siew had Nasi Lemak and I had Rendang Curry Chicken.
The coffee was . . . mediocre. For the price we paid we could have had 2 cups each of the same stuff from a hawker.
The food was horrible. The rice was CRUNCHY. The cucumber bitter. There was a large serving of crunchy, deep-fried fish (small fish to be eaten bone and all, like minnows) and some peanuts.
The place is horribly overstaffed. I counted 20 waters/waitresses! Everything was an organizational nightmare. After finishing we never got a bill so we went up front to pay. There was confusion because their system was down so all items were being written on paper slips to serve as bills.
The queue to pay was long, the staff more interested in chatting and jumping in front of people who are waiting to pay than they were in helping customers.
Anyone going to Komtar I wish to issue you a warning. Do not waste your money or time on Georgetown White Coffee.
My wife's family doesn't celebrate C-day, but they bought a small re-usable tree and some decorations. I thought it would be interesting to buy everyone some small gifts so that the bottom of the tree doesn't look so barren.
Today we went out to look for gifts.
We managed to buy gifts for most of the people we want to get things for.
On a whim we decided to go to the newly opened Pacific store in Komtar.
Normally Komtar is nearly deserted. There are not many shops in this mall. Apparently Pacific decided to try and re-vitalize the place and opened up their department store.
The location is very strange. Komtar is a mall. Across the street is another mall, Prangin. Komtar was first, when Prangin opened Komtar quickly became a void. Correct my history if I am wrong Penangites!
Anyway, we spent some time walking through Pacific but didn't find it all that special.
We decided to go and eat. We picked Georgetown White Coffee.
The place was crowded when we went in. They have lots of seating though, so it wasn't an issue to sit down. After looking over the menu I had a question about White Coffee versus Heritage White Coffee. We picked out what we wanted to eat as well.
It took a bit to get a waiter. Once we had one Siew asked him about the coffee. He didn't know. I said nevermind and ordered the white coffee. Siew had Kopi-O and we ordered food. Siew had Nasi Lemak and I had Rendang Curry Chicken.
The coffee was . . . mediocre. For the price we paid we could have had 2 cups each of the same stuff from a hawker.
The food was horrible. The rice was CRUNCHY. The cucumber bitter. There was a large serving of crunchy, deep-fried fish (small fish to be eaten bone and all, like minnows) and some peanuts.
The place is horribly overstaffed. I counted 20 waters/waitresses! Everything was an organizational nightmare. After finishing we never got a bill so we went up front to pay. There was confusion because their system was down so all items were being written on paper slips to serve as bills.
The queue to pay was long, the staff more interested in chatting and jumping in front of people who are waiting to pay than they were in helping customers.
Anyone going to Komtar I wish to issue you a warning. Do not waste your money or time on Georgetown White Coffee.
December 17, 2008
Bolt
After work today Siew and I went to see a movie.
We watched Bolt.
Siew liked it. I loved it.
It was better than I expected and I really laughed hard while watching it. My throat started to hurt from laughing.
I definitely recommend this movie to anyone of any age group.
We watched Bolt.
Siew liked it. I loved it.
It was better than I expected and I really laughed hard while watching it. My throat started to hurt from laughing.
I definitely recommend this movie to anyone of any age group.
December 16, 2008
It's about bloody time!
I have my BlackBerry 8110 back. Finally.
When we first got to Malaysia we took our phones to a shop to have them sim-unlock the phones and/or flash to Chinese language able software.
Siew's phone was easy. They did it for 80RM and it was set. About a day, I think it was, to finish.
My phone, however, proved to be difficult for them. It took them 2.5 weeks to make it work, but they didn't unlock the phone. Instead they used a sim-bypass chip for the sim card itself.
This worked until we made our trip to KL. Then it stopped.
When we got back they said that it happens sometimes when they use this method. We argued with them about how long it would last this way.
I didn't pay them to bypass. I paid them to unlock the phone.
The senior tech, asshole that he is, came out scolding us and his coworkers, taking none of the blame for what he himself had worked on!
They took the phone back to unlock it. They did nothing. We wanted our money back. We went to get the money and I noticed that the phone's housing was scratched up badly and even melted from exposure to excess heat! I would have taken the phone and the money back if the asshole would have just apologized but he wouldn't. I wouldn't tell him what I wanted either. I shouldn't have had to. They damaged the phone AND didn't make it work. I could have sold the phone on ebay, but the scratches prevent that from happening for the price I could have asked.
We managed to get him to give us the number of someone above him and complained to him directly. He said he'd take care of things.
3 weeks and more later I have my phone back, with scratches unfortunately, UNLOCKED correctly.
It only took them almost 2 months to unlock my phone.
Hopefully, now, it has no other problems from their "care."
Oh, I contacted my previous phone company about the phone and asked for the unlock code. They said they'd get it. Later I got an e-mail from them saying either the phone'd be unlocked or because the phone had been reported lost (another story) they couldn't provide the unlock code.
Apparently it was because it had been unlocked already.
It's nice to have my phone instead of a crappy lender phone.
When we first got to Malaysia we took our phones to a shop to have them sim-unlock the phones and/or flash to Chinese language able software.
Siew's phone was easy. They did it for 80RM and it was set. About a day, I think it was, to finish.
My phone, however, proved to be difficult for them. It took them 2.5 weeks to make it work, but they didn't unlock the phone. Instead they used a sim-bypass chip for the sim card itself.
This worked until we made our trip to KL. Then it stopped.
When we got back they said that it happens sometimes when they use this method. We argued with them about how long it would last this way.
I didn't pay them to bypass. I paid them to unlock the phone.
The senior tech, asshole that he is, came out scolding us and his coworkers, taking none of the blame for what he himself had worked on!
They took the phone back to unlock it. They did nothing. We wanted our money back. We went to get the money and I noticed that the phone's housing was scratched up badly and even melted from exposure to excess heat! I would have taken the phone and the money back if the asshole would have just apologized but he wouldn't. I wouldn't tell him what I wanted either. I shouldn't have had to. They damaged the phone AND didn't make it work. I could have sold the phone on ebay, but the scratches prevent that from happening for the price I could have asked.
We managed to get him to give us the number of someone above him and complained to him directly. He said he'd take care of things.
3 weeks and more later I have my phone back, with scratches unfortunately, UNLOCKED correctly.
It only took them almost 2 months to unlock my phone.
Hopefully, now, it has no other problems from their "care."
Oh, I contacted my previous phone company about the phone and asked for the unlock code. They said they'd get it. Later I got an e-mail from them saying either the phone'd be unlocked or because the phone had been reported lost (another story) they couldn't provide the unlock code.
Apparently it was because it had been unlocked already.
It's nice to have my phone instead of a crappy lender phone.
December 7, 2008
You can have your brush and eat it too.
Thursday was a terrible day for me.
I went to school as normal. During lunch I was given my pay check. I'm part time at this moment and I calculated that I have 99 hours of pay coming. When I see what they are giving me (77 hours) I was mad. I asked why it was so low. I was told that I do not get paid for monitoring the computer lab.
That's a crock of shit. I was never told that at any point. If I had known that I would not have performed those duties.
I was so livid! I asked for the contract (they previously refused to give me a copy). The contract states classroom hours are what is paid. . . I pointed out that if I am teaching then it is a classroom and it has been required for me to help students during the computer labs. That means they owe me for that time. Additionally, they require that teachers be there for observations and for workshops. Unpaid.
After arguing for a little about this I completely lost my temper. I grabbed my things. Sent a message to Siew saying "come get me" and told the person who was doing this bullshit that I'm leaving, now.
The situation there is a bit rough. They are short on teachers. I am the only native speaker there as well. I have a better position there than they think. They seem to have the perception that I need the money they're giving me. I don't need it. I can earn it elsewhere. They, on the other hand, need me.
Just before I completely left I asked the person to talk, alone. I told her everything that she's done that has bothered me and explained that I do not like to be treated this way. I do not need this job. I do not want to quit, but I will.
Siew showed up during this meeting and sat in for a bit.
While we were in the meeting one of my students wanted to talk with me. I asked him to wait in the computer lab for me.
We talked things out and I am still employed, and they understand, I hope, that they need me more than I need them.
After the meeting Siew took my pay check and went home. I spoke to my student. He wanted to apologize to me.
The previous day he had been late to class and refused my punishments (dance for 15 seconds, sing for 15 seconds or do 10 push-ups). I do not make the punishments difficult, but they keep people from taking advantage of me. Since he would not do them, I sent him to the computer lab and counted him absent.
He and I talked a bit and I re-assured him that I am not angry with him. I was disappointed in him for being late. He said he felt shy to do the punishments, that he doesn't like those things. I understand that, but I did not choose punishments because people LIKE them. The purpose is that you do not like it and learn from it.
I had him in a class last month as well, so he knows my rules. I hold myself to the same rules. If I'm late I do the same thing for the students!
After school we went to Tesco and bought a few things and then went to a festival here in Penang.
We looked at a few of the shopping booths and spoke to someone selling local brand cars (we're thinking of buying a car in the very near future). Then we went to eat.
We sat down at a table, ordered drinks. The menu had something I've been wanting to eat for a long time. Nasi Pattaya!
Nasi Pattaya is basically fried rice inside of an omelet. I've been wanting to eat this for more than a year already.
Of course I ordered Nasi Pattaya. Everyone else ordered their food. Everyone's food was brought out, except for mine. So I waited. And waited. And waited.
Finally they brought out my NP. I started to eat. It wasn't the best NP I've had, but it seemed to be ok.
Then I cut a piece off and flipped it over, ready to eat it. I saw what looked like some black hairs on the back of that piece. I didn't think much of it, took them out of the food and ate. After that I flipped each piece over. And started to find more of the same. I stopped eating (I had eaten about 1/3rd of it at this point).
We called someone over and showed them that it had whatever in it that shouldn't be there. They asked if we wanted it replaced. I said no. They took it away and refunded our money.
End of story? Not quite.
I started to cough and feel irritation in my throat. Apparently I had EATEN some of these think hairs. Later my wife suggested that they were bristles from a scrub brush!
I do not know how I didn't feel it and managed to swallow, but I did.
We went home and I tried drinking a lot and eating some bread to push it down. That didn't work.
When I got up the next day it was still there! I woke up around 3:45am. I read things online to find a solution. I tried eating bread with peanut butter, but that didn't help either.
I went to school. It's hard to teach lessons with a bristle rubbing your throat! The school, because of the previous disagreement, had someone observe me for a class so they can try to get me a work contract and work visa. They couldn't have had worse timing!
After my last class, I felt that the bristle had moved. I told Siew that I need to go to the doctor. I needed to get it out of me.
We tried going to a clinic, but it was closed. We found one that was open, they said we need to go to ER because a clinic doesn't have the facilities for that kind of thing.
We went to a government hospital and paid 1RM (apparently I get government benefits to a certain degree since my wife is Malaysian :-) ). We went into te waiting area and waited. And waited. And waited.
There were people who'd been there 5 hours waiting already. Since it's ER, anytime an ambulance comes in that gets priority. That day a lot of ambulances were coming in!
Siew managed to get ahold of the doctor who helped me when I was sick previously. He said that since it had moved, it wasn't likely that the bristle would hurt me. That it would be ok for it to go into my stomach, be digested and passed on out.
I said fine, let's leave. We don't need to wait forever here. We lost 1RM and a several hours. I didn't want to lose anymore.
When we got to the vehicle I ate another piece of bread and drank some water. Siew was also hungry so we went to Gurney Mall to eat.
I said we should eat at Kim Gary in honor of our dentist friend (she previously used to be an un-official spokeswoman for Kim Gary). I said I would eat Cheese Rice in her honor as well.
We ordered, Siew's food came out. I waited for a long time, again. Finally they brought out our Cheese Broccoli and then my Cheese Rice.
We commented on one of the staff to one another. He was horrible! Still in training, but grace is not something he has any ability in at all.
Clang! Bang! Thump! Anytime he put a dish down I was worried it might break!
After that we spent a little money buying a new powered tooth brush because we have the same brand but our chargers do not work here (wrong voltage) and an adapter we had previously broke. A new adapter : 50RM, a new tooth brush with charger: 129 - 10% = 116RM. Nothing else we have needs a voltage adapter. So, this gives us a backup toothbrush an extra brush head and the right charger so it's a better option.
My throat was still irritated, but I couldn't tell if this was because of scratching or the bristle itself. I felt that it had passed out of my throat by this time though!
I went to sleep.
I woke up around 4am, again. This time I couldn't sleep because my right side was hurting. Laying on my left side made the right hurt, it hurt laying on my back. I got out of bed.
Searching online for a bit revealed that location to have three possible organs (I only knew for sure that the liver is there, that's from martial arts though) being there that could cause me pain. Liver, kidney or large intestine.
Great.
I had taken a lot of things to numb my throat (most of a small bottle of breacol, 2 sore throat tablets and 2 throat numbing "candies") which could damage my liver, although not so likely that it would happen so fast.
I drink quite a lot of water and the pain was in front not towards the back, so I doubt it was my kidney.
That leaves me with large intestine. Great, that fucking bristle is still at it. I really want to kill the people who served me bristle NP.
Any movement of my body makes it hurt. I sat watching tv for a while, then played a game on the computer. Anything to avoid moving my torso, since that hurt.
Siew was really worried, but I didn't want to go to the doctor. I felt bad though. I know she is worried and cares for me and I was being insensitive to her. I was causing her more worry. She said that when I move I was showing a lot of pain on my face.
I took 2 of the pain killers that the doctor gave me when I was sick previously (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) and rested as much as I could.
I didn't rest around lunch time however. I had agreed to make lunch for the family.
I made a soup using a little bit of fatty pork (less than what most people who call one serving) then added potato then mushrooms and a little seasoning then some butter.
They seemed to like it. I had a separate bowl because I like Tobasco but didn't think they would like it much that way.
I drank a lot of fluid yesterday as well as resting.
Siew wanted me to go to the doctor. I told her that there's not a lot they can do at this point, not yet. I didn't have a fever. The area that hurt was not warm to the touch. It was inflamed, but not infected, or much infected. So, I'll be ok. This didn't really re-assure her, but she stopped trying to take me to the doctor. I still feel bad for that. I know she cares. I love her all the more for it, but I don't like to cause her any sort of discomfort.
By night I felt somewhat better, but very tired from too many nights without enough sleep. I slept early and woke up this morning feeling a lot better.
It still hurts but not as badly. I'm getting better on my own.
Luckily this is a 3 day weekend so I have an extra day of rest, hopefully I can manage not to look like a fresh surgery patient to my students!
I went to school as normal. During lunch I was given my pay check. I'm part time at this moment and I calculated that I have 99 hours of pay coming. When I see what they are giving me (77 hours) I was mad. I asked why it was so low. I was told that I do not get paid for monitoring the computer lab.
That's a crock of shit. I was never told that at any point. If I had known that I would not have performed those duties.
I was so livid! I asked for the contract (they previously refused to give me a copy). The contract states classroom hours are what is paid. . . I pointed out that if I am teaching then it is a classroom and it has been required for me to help students during the computer labs. That means they owe me for that time. Additionally, they require that teachers be there for observations and for workshops. Unpaid.
After arguing for a little about this I completely lost my temper. I grabbed my things. Sent a message to Siew saying "come get me" and told the person who was doing this bullshit that I'm leaving, now.
The situation there is a bit rough. They are short on teachers. I am the only native speaker there as well. I have a better position there than they think. They seem to have the perception that I need the money they're giving me. I don't need it. I can earn it elsewhere. They, on the other hand, need me.
Just before I completely left I asked the person to talk, alone. I told her everything that she's done that has bothered me and explained that I do not like to be treated this way. I do not need this job. I do not want to quit, but I will.
Siew showed up during this meeting and sat in for a bit.
While we were in the meeting one of my students wanted to talk with me. I asked him to wait in the computer lab for me.
We talked things out and I am still employed, and they understand, I hope, that they need me more than I need them.
After the meeting Siew took my pay check and went home. I spoke to my student. He wanted to apologize to me.
The previous day he had been late to class and refused my punishments (dance for 15 seconds, sing for 15 seconds or do 10 push-ups). I do not make the punishments difficult, but they keep people from taking advantage of me. Since he would not do them, I sent him to the computer lab and counted him absent.
He and I talked a bit and I re-assured him that I am not angry with him. I was disappointed in him for being late. He said he felt shy to do the punishments, that he doesn't like those things. I understand that, but I did not choose punishments because people LIKE them. The purpose is that you do not like it and learn from it.
I had him in a class last month as well, so he knows my rules. I hold myself to the same rules. If I'm late I do the same thing for the students!
After school we went to Tesco and bought a few things and then went to a festival here in Penang.
We looked at a few of the shopping booths and spoke to someone selling local brand cars (we're thinking of buying a car in the very near future). Then we went to eat.
We sat down at a table, ordered drinks. The menu had something I've been wanting to eat for a long time. Nasi Pattaya!
Nasi Pattaya is basically fried rice inside of an omelet. I've been wanting to eat this for more than a year already.
Of course I ordered Nasi Pattaya. Everyone else ordered their food. Everyone's food was brought out, except for mine. So I waited. And waited. And waited.
Finally they brought out my NP. I started to eat. It wasn't the best NP I've had, but it seemed to be ok.
Then I cut a piece off and flipped it over, ready to eat it. I saw what looked like some black hairs on the back of that piece. I didn't think much of it, took them out of the food and ate. After that I flipped each piece over. And started to find more of the same. I stopped eating (I had eaten about 1/3rd of it at this point).
We called someone over and showed them that it had whatever in it that shouldn't be there. They asked if we wanted it replaced. I said no. They took it away and refunded our money.
End of story? Not quite.
I started to cough and feel irritation in my throat. Apparently I had EATEN some of these think hairs. Later my wife suggested that they were bristles from a scrub brush!
I do not know how I didn't feel it and managed to swallow, but I did.
We went home and I tried drinking a lot and eating some bread to push it down. That didn't work.
When I got up the next day it was still there! I woke up around 3:45am. I read things online to find a solution. I tried eating bread with peanut butter, but that didn't help either.
I went to school. It's hard to teach lessons with a bristle rubbing your throat! The school, because of the previous disagreement, had someone observe me for a class so they can try to get me a work contract and work visa. They couldn't have had worse timing!
After my last class, I felt that the bristle had moved. I told Siew that I need to go to the doctor. I needed to get it out of me.
We tried going to a clinic, but it was closed. We found one that was open, they said we need to go to ER because a clinic doesn't have the facilities for that kind of thing.
We went to a government hospital and paid 1RM (apparently I get government benefits to a certain degree since my wife is Malaysian :-) ). We went into te waiting area and waited. And waited. And waited.
There were people who'd been there 5 hours waiting already. Since it's ER, anytime an ambulance comes in that gets priority. That day a lot of ambulances were coming in!
Siew managed to get ahold of the doctor who helped me when I was sick previously. He said that since it had moved, it wasn't likely that the bristle would hurt me. That it would be ok for it to go into my stomach, be digested and passed on out.
I said fine, let's leave. We don't need to wait forever here. We lost 1RM and a several hours. I didn't want to lose anymore.
When we got to the vehicle I ate another piece of bread and drank some water. Siew was also hungry so we went to Gurney Mall to eat.
I said we should eat at Kim Gary in honor of our dentist friend (she previously used to be an un-official spokeswoman for Kim Gary). I said I would eat Cheese Rice in her honor as well.
We ordered, Siew's food came out. I waited for a long time, again. Finally they brought out our Cheese Broccoli and then my Cheese Rice.
We commented on one of the staff to one another. He was horrible! Still in training, but grace is not something he has any ability in at all.
Clang! Bang! Thump! Anytime he put a dish down I was worried it might break!
After that we spent a little money buying a new powered tooth brush because we have the same brand but our chargers do not work here (wrong voltage) and an adapter we had previously broke. A new adapter : 50RM, a new tooth brush with charger: 129 - 10% = 116RM. Nothing else we have needs a voltage adapter. So, this gives us a backup toothbrush an extra brush head and the right charger so it's a better option.
My throat was still irritated, but I couldn't tell if this was because of scratching or the bristle itself. I felt that it had passed out of my throat by this time though!
I went to sleep.
I woke up around 4am, again. This time I couldn't sleep because my right side was hurting. Laying on my left side made the right hurt, it hurt laying on my back. I got out of bed.
Searching online for a bit revealed that location to have three possible organs (I only knew for sure that the liver is there, that's from martial arts though) being there that could cause me pain. Liver, kidney or large intestine.
Great.
I had taken a lot of things to numb my throat (most of a small bottle of breacol, 2 sore throat tablets and 2 throat numbing "candies") which could damage my liver, although not so likely that it would happen so fast.
I drink quite a lot of water and the pain was in front not towards the back, so I doubt it was my kidney.
That leaves me with large intestine. Great, that fucking bristle is still at it. I really want to kill the people who served me bristle NP.
Any movement of my body makes it hurt. I sat watching tv for a while, then played a game on the computer. Anything to avoid moving my torso, since that hurt.
Siew was really worried, but I didn't want to go to the doctor. I felt bad though. I know she is worried and cares for me and I was being insensitive to her. I was causing her more worry. She said that when I move I was showing a lot of pain on my face.
I took 2 of the pain killers that the doctor gave me when I was sick previously (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) and rested as much as I could.
I didn't rest around lunch time however. I had agreed to make lunch for the family.
I made a soup using a little bit of fatty pork (less than what most people who call one serving) then added potato then mushrooms and a little seasoning then some butter.
They seemed to like it. I had a separate bowl because I like Tobasco but didn't think they would like it much that way.
I drank a lot of fluid yesterday as well as resting.
Siew wanted me to go to the doctor. I told her that there's not a lot they can do at this point, not yet. I didn't have a fever. The area that hurt was not warm to the touch. It was inflamed, but not infected, or much infected. So, I'll be ok. This didn't really re-assure her, but she stopped trying to take me to the doctor. I still feel bad for that. I know she cares. I love her all the more for it, but I don't like to cause her any sort of discomfort.
By night I felt somewhat better, but very tired from too many nights without enough sleep. I slept early and woke up this morning feeling a lot better.
It still hurts but not as badly. I'm getting better on my own.
Luckily this is a 3 day weekend so I have an extra day of rest, hopefully I can manage not to look like a fresh surgery patient to my students!
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