Archive for June, 2003

The Energizer Fan

Published by
James
at 14:28 HKT Jun 30, 2003 in Gadgets and Arts&Crafts. 0 Comments

Enerfan.jpg
Click on the photo for a larger view

This came with a HKD$38 package of 12 Engergizer Max AA or AAA Alkaline batteries. I noticed this package long time ago but never took a second look at it until mom showed it to me a couple of weeks ago.

As opposed to most handheld fans, this one actually comes with a built-in stand with tilt function. You could set it in 4 different angles for positions such as on the desk or above the computer moniter to suit your needs. It can even be hung on the neck and it would still point directly at your chin instead of foward like most other handheld fans do. It takes 2 AA batteries.

Jerks at Large

Published by
James
at 12:38 HKT Jun 30, 2003 in News. 0 Comments

A few days ago, I wrote this.

Whitehead Golf and Fun driving range, a private enterprise, though on land rented from the government, still makes it a non-public area. Yesterday, there was a family there washing their shoes in the sink that clearly stated it was for washing hands only and not for any other purposes. I happened to be playing golf right in front of that sink which has an open drainage, and it stunk.

When confronted by the guard, the family refused to listen and continue with their chores which by then extended to washing their feet. The silly guard said to the family that since they were not playing golf, if everyone just come and do their washing, they would be losing money. A member of that family simply reply by asking how the guard would know if they would not be playing golf later.

Losing money is not the point.

The point is, when clearly stated as it does, absolutely no one is to use that sink for any purpose other than washing hands, regardless if the person had paid for golfing or not - period.

Seems like the guard did not know better either. But I pitty the guard, ’cause if he’d forced the family away, they would be very unhappy thinking they have the right and freedom to do anything, anywhere, and anytime they wish to, which they don’t have that right nor freedom, and would make a big fuzz about it.

It is jerks like these here that really pisses me off!

The Great Montoya Does it Again

Published by
James
at 21:22 HKT Jun 29, 2003 in Sports. 0 Comments

Montoya may have just saved Kimi’s race for the Championship points. After the 2nd pit stops, Montoya was in 3rd place just a couple of seconds behind Michael Schumacher. Montoya gained on Michael and went a clean pass over Michael! Which only a couple of drivers are capable of doing in the game. But Michael did not want to give up the position and hit his front wing side of Montoya’s front tire and spun off. With his rear wheels got stuck on the sand traps just outside the track, Michael waved for some help from the race marshals for a push and got back to the race. Michael is still listed in the 6th place now, but will he be disqualified for receiving outside help?

Meanwhile, Alonso in a slower car in 4th place is toying with DC in 5th.
Update (21:36): Extremely poor driving on Alonso’s part, braking in the middle of the straight forcing DC off the track almost tumbled!

Update (21:39) Ralf, Montoya, Barrichello finished the race in that order.

Details of the race and other Formula 1 information can be found here.

The Finn Blowups

Published by
James
at 20:57 HKT Jun 29, 2003 in Sports. 0 Comments

Just what is it about Finn Formula 1 drivers. 3 seasons ago, Mika Hakkanan had a some 30 second lead over the second position Michael Schumacher with just a couple of laps to go. While Michael stop chasing Mika, Mika was still driving at lap record time, and eventually Mika blew up his engine with just 1/2 a lap to go!

Just now, Kimi Raikkanon in Pole Position led over 6 seconds towards his first pit stop and came out with a 4 second lead after all the front runners had their pit stop. Kimi was make lap records just about every lap all the way. Just a few laps after his first pit stop just now, he blew his engines!

From hero to zero as they say in the game.

Back to the race with Ralf in the lead.

One Fine Day

Published by
James
at 18:35 HKT Jun 29, 2003 in Arts&Crafts. 0 Comments

Here are some more photos from the Whitehead Golf and Fun driving range today…

Click on the photo for a larger view

Whitehead1.jpg Whitehead2.jpg Whitehead3.jpg

Outdoor Blogging

Published by
James
at 16:09 HKT Jun 29, 2003 in Computing and Arts&Crafts. 0 Comments

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I am at the Whitehead Golf and Fun driving range right now. The LCD screen of the Fujitsu P5010 is viewable at its brightest setting under open shade in bright sun light. The screen reflects my white T-shirt and the blue sky right behind and above me. I suppose a black T-shirt might help. Detail image color manipulation is not possible, but unsharp masks and auto leveling results are noticable. Directly under the bright sun is about the same as under open shade. While typing this, my eyes have adjusted to the open condition from the in car condition and the color becomes much more visiable than the beginning. Not bad at all !

WiFi detected some sort of connection, but I haven’t tried connecting to it.

Discipline

Published by
James
at 9:57 HKT Jun 29, 2003 in Thoughts. 0 Comments

Something that locals really need to practice more often.

The Master Control Program

Published by
James
at 2:19 HKT Jun 29, 2003 in Computing. 0 Comments

Let’s see if Tron could beat this one, which is supposed to crack down office cyberslackers.

A Night at the Festival Walk

Published by
James
at 19:39 HKT Jun 27, 2003 in Family and Arts&Crafts. 0 Comments

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I am at Dan Ryan’s, a Chicago style restaurant, located within the Festival Walk, a local shopping mall right now.

GPRS blogging is slow but not too bad. Hotspot WiFi Broadband is just that, hotspots only - not available at the Dan Ryan’s. It is good that I haven’t subscribed to the WiFi Broadband service.

In 5 days, the parking lot at the Festival Walk no longer accepts cash payments. They will only accept Octopus card or Visa. How does one suppose to drive-in with one’s spouse and then let the spouse drive away alone without parting with one’s Octopus card or Visa.

We don’t even have the rights to choose to pay by cash now, or what?

Update (23:37): The Fujitsu P5010 was just how I think a notebook computer for true portablity should be. The B5 footprint was much more convinient than an A4 notebook both on a dinner table at a restaurant and to carry around in a knapsack. Plenty of battery power with or without the 2nd battery. GPRS was OK for blogging, but too slow for web surfing. Hotspot WiFi Broadband is too isolated that it doesn’t worth the while to subscribe to, unless you are a religious coffee drinker. I think a Netvigator landline subscriber can logon in a pay-as-you-go basis without the need to subscribe to their WiFi service.

How to Follow James Mok’s Soliloquy

Published by
James
at 16:52 HKT Jun 27, 2003 in Computing. 0 Comments

Many friends have asked me how to read, follow, and comment in this site. Let me try to explain…

I post my views on a topic of interest in an article and saved the article here at the time stamped below each article. The time stamp itself contains the link to that particular article. You may copy the link and use it to refer back to the article elsewhere. Beside the time stamp, there is a “Comment” and a “TrackBack” button.

You may enter your comments or view comments from other readers if any, by clicking the word “Comment”. Once you have clicked the word “comment”, a pop-up window appears and you will see comments from other readers as well as a few boxes where you can enter your name, email address, an URL to your website, and any comment you may have related to the featured article.

The “TrackBack” button, once clicked, will pop-up a window which contains a link or links to other websites. It is for viewing articles written by other bloggers (writers), which are related to my particular article you’ve just read, but are contained within their own websites. Sort of like comments that is kept within their own websites instead of mine, but usually the writer doing so instead of writing a comment has more of his own point of view than just a simple comment on mine. You can not write directly within the “TrackBack” function, but you may comment on other bloggers’ articles within their websites just like you could with mine.

On the side bar, there is a Calendar. Each underlined day links to articles posted within that specific date. Simply click on the date to get to those articles.

Below the Calendar, there is the Archives. Achieved articles are grouped here by their respective months that were written. Simply click on the month to get to those articles.

Following the Archives are the Recent Entries. These are just recent articles written within the last few days.

Then, there are the Links to the websites that may be of interests.

And if you ever wanted to create your own weblog like this one, simply click on the “Powered by Movable Type” link. The website explains everything you would need to start your own site.

No you may not start a new article here, but you may email me if you have any new thoughts that might interests me, and I’ll decide whether I want to post your thoughts.

Happy Blogging.

Update (01July03 03:15): I have successfully added the Category Archives, in which you may click on and view entries listed within specific categories.