n-w-n. Translated.

G.I. Joe : The Rise Of Cobra

2009-08-12T20:41:00.006+08:00

Too late for reviews and nothing exceptional for a summer popcorn flick. Kudos for going to hell with the plot and story, this type of movie shouldn't even bother about the plot, just go for stylo fights and you have a winner. Michael Bay you hear that, screw the storytelling and focus on fights, yeah?

Exo-suits' screen-time too short and too meh, they should've scrap it altogether and kept them for any upcoming Crysis movie. There were only 2 good duels, both over too soon, which is real shame.

Reasons to watch:

Ray Park as Snake Eyes
Sienna Miller looking all stylo in leather.
Shirtless Lee Byung-Hun (Storm Shadow). I found his spoken parts pretty good too, way better than some other non-native English speaking Asians.

There will be a second G.I. Joe movie, its a no brainer. They better give Snake Eyes more screen time especially the duels and bring back Lee Byung-Hun.

First Attempt At Soldering

2009-08-09T22:36:00.016+08:00

Success, except for mixing up the position of two different colored LEDs. Ah well, at least it still worked. Will need to pick up some solder wick next time, couldn't remove a small but significant amount of solder from the incorrectly soldered LED(s). And one LED wasn't working...

Pardon this newb here going all hooha over soldering, but it's a new thing to me. It felt like brain surgery, you gotta keep a steady hand when feeding the solder wire to the iron. Oh, and the melted solder, LIQUID METAL!!!
I think I was supposed to have done soldering in Living Skills (Kemahiran Hidup) aeons ago, but being the lazy student I was(WAS!), I skipped class and left the solder parts in its packing collecting dust in some obscure corner of my room. I certainly regret throwing the whole packet away, now I have to buy them with mah own dough.

The ugly, and amateurishly soldered back of the circuit.
It's a flip-flop circuit, whatever that is. While I recognize the components, I have no idea how a bunch of resistors and a couple of capacitors & transistors work together. The LEDs form a heart shape and blinks. Need to redo another set to display in my car and room door. And, also understand what & how a flip-flop circuit works.

What I learned:

Tie up hair - My soldering iron has severely burnt hair on it.
Ventilation - I hadn't realized this until I left and re-entered my air-conditioned room, naturally it reeked of solder fumes.
Wet sponge and thinning the solder iron
Clear/Neat table - Bro very nearly touched the hot solder iron. *gasp*

DEFCON 17

2009-08-05T16:35:00.005+08:00

Was held from 31 July to 2 August in Las Vegas. Makes me sad all the interesting stuff happens in places I could never go, would've been nice to attend the speeches, though it wouldn't be of much use to me since I have no hack skills, code or otherwise. Hopefully I'll have the time (and the discipline) to learn C-prog before the year ends.

A bit sad I missed the dates, assumed it was in mid-August or something, had planned to follow updates. Something always happens there.

In case you were wondering, Defcon is an annual tech & hacking conference. It has its own set of really unique events (eg coffee wars?) , but the main draw to me would be the guest speakers and badge hacking, and the occasionally 'happenings'(this year's was a fake ATM in the hotel spotted by a con-goer, among others).

July to August

2009-08-05T01:29:00.006+08:00

I shall have to content with oogling at the TopGear calender since my main computer has been down for the past 2-3 weeks, courtesy of Virut. Missed 4 episodes I think, and there's no one to leech from =( Good handling pwns drag-racing anyday, L-Ferrari Scuderia & D-Dodge Challenger.

Gadget Woe : iPod Touch 2G

2009-08-02T15:24:00.005+08:00

Said gadget is starting to freeze regularly, giving me an assortment of freeze sequences and patterns, very unlike computers that have specific symptoms. First started when I tried to play a video on low battery, then it kept getting more frequent. Not jailbroken, only music and minesweeper. Multiple hard reboots(sometimes it takes a handful before it finally works again...), restore imminent. Probably time to spring-clean my apps, music & videos anyway.

iPod-kun, don't die on me yet. But if you do, please do so before my warranty expires, kthxbai.

Very Much More Computer Woes

2009-08-02T14:18:00.007+08:00

I shall wait for holidays to commence in a weeks time before attempting to restore that infected PC to working condition again. Reformatted, reinstalled, only to find out that my installers were infected too. PC has bricked, again. Maybe I'll just move on to Ubuntu since that PC is only used for web browsing & torrenting. Meanwhile, plugged in on rig instead.

Opened case, lots of HDD connecting and disconnecting. Careful not to spill chilled barley drink.

Keyword : Virut

Much More Computer Woes

2009-07-26T13:30:00.005+08:00

I've gotten OS working on another partition, but its still infected, though haven't gotten the fatal explorer.exe error, which will be so sooner or later. This virus starts from , its found in the Windows>system32 folder. From what I've read, this virus variant modifies .exe programs, saved webpages and screensavers. Even goes through zipped/compressed files. So far I've managed to nominally block net access for it and 1.exe through a firewall, but I can't get netstat to stay open long enough to check my connections.

Here what happens, reader_s connects to net, downloads more malware. Your temp folder in Windows will be filled with illegible files(each prolly meant to send out spam), and multiple copies of InternetExplorer and svchost.exe show up in the task manager processes. But that's not all yet, since it modifies any ***.exe, its just a matter of time before it gets to crucial OS executables, then you'll have a corrupted OS. In other words, (as someone put it) a glorified lit-up brick.

Hopefully the computers stays in working condition until my hols, infected or not. Will try cleaning the registry in Safe mode without networking, if not then there's only zero-fill(HDD) left. Till then I just hope it doens't gain the ability to infect media files. Will also get Ubuntu asap.

ARE YOU INFECTED?

More Computer Woes

2009-07-26T00:24:00.003+08:00

So I just wasted 10 hours of formatting and installing OS/drivers. After the mandatory restart from Service Pack 2 installation, OS was screwed. First it wouldn't boot normally, so I went into Safe mode to do a system restore. Next thing I knew, no OS detected.

Have installed OS(again...) on a second partition. My deduction is that some malware interfered the SP2, possibly carried over from the data copied from the infected HDD. But virus scan came back with nothing. It could be possible the OSes with the same serial clashed, I had a slave HDD with the same serial OS. But then again it was OK until SP2 was installed.

Another estimated 2 hours before SP2 finishes downloading. Got a fresh SP2 installation from microsoft site. Funny I couldn't access MS official site all this while until this OS install, malware again?

Computer Woes

2009-07-24T23:17:00.003+08:00

The last month or so has brought an onslaught of tech woes, mainly computer-related. I'm typing this post as I'm in the midst of backing up a whopping 40GB of my mum's stuff on DVD.

So, what happened? A lot.
1) Serious virus infection.
2) Dying HDD.
3) Formatted the wrong HDD.
4) Ultimate, unremovable virus(es)

Solved (1) with simple scan through Spybot to remove system.exe

(2) was the source random freezes, finally escalating to a reboot loop. Bought new HDD, but it doesn't end there.

After making sure that all data were safely on the slave, I went through the motions of formatting the new drive. Scroll down, choose partition, press 'D', ENTER. I can't remember the exact sequence of events, but what I do remember is when I loaded a fresh OS, the first thing I did was check the secondary drive, only to be greeted by a pop-up asking me to 'Format drive to use'. Which meant that I had deleted the partition, which meant the HDD was blank, which meant every single bit of data accumulated over the past few years are gone, zilch.

So on to the web to look for ways to recover data. HandyRecovery4 worked well except for some files with name too long. Happiness.

Now onto (4), this batch of viruses, infected through USB drives, disguises itself as New Folder. Disables task manager, connects to the net on its own, and finally, screwed explorer. Impossible to do anything since its always running, including in Safe Mode. Only option left is a full format.

Building The Rig - Part 4

2009-03-08T12:56:00.002+08:00

Part 1 - Pre-shopping Research
Part 2 - Buying & Assembling
Part 3 - Troubles
Part 4 - Look! It Runs Crysis!!1

Bro's blog has a trove of screenies.

Building The Rig - Part 3

2009-01-16T20:22:00.004+08:00

Part 1 - Pre-shopping Research
Part 2 - Buying & Assembling
Part 3 - Troubles
Part 4 - Look! It Runs Crysis!!1

My personal adage, fortunately or unfortunately, never fails. When it comes to computers, nothing ever goes smoothly. After the assembling, it was time get those some juice into our rig. Lots of excitement on my bro's part, I tried to warn him.

To make things easier, I've arranged our woes in chronological order.

Booting up the tower
Since we only had one monitor, we had to switch VGA cables. (A VGA cable connects your monitor to your CPU.) Ready to plug into the new rig, only to find out that the new PSU only had one slot, already connected to main power line.
Solution: Bought a VGA-to-3pinplug, the same one that connects the PSU to the electrical socket.

No video input when the old comp was working 10 mins ago?!?
Before we went out to buy the VGA cable, I wanted to use the old computer. CPU boots ... "No video input" No way a perfectly fine computer could die in a space of 10 minutes. Panic & frustration on my part after an exhausting night assembling, sms-ed big bro. Opened the casing to reseat all the cards, while taking the opportunity to clean the CPU fan(which has since stopped its loud humming sound).
Solution: Bro had connected the VGA to the onboard graphics(which I assumed is spoilt or smtg) instead of the graphics card.

Formatting and OS installation went fine. Drivers and apps followed suite.

Every single game crashes
By this time, my bro and I were stressed out to the max. Plonking down RM3000, we envisioned the perfect gaming rig, capable of running the latest game engines smoothly and on high graphics settings. Horror of horrors, not one game could run longer than 30 mins. Its like buying a Lamboghini only to realise you can't drive it for whatever reason..
Awfully dreadful feeling, took the mood out of everything.

We spent about a few days scouring the web for solutions, updated drivers, tweaked with clockspeed and fanspeed, all to no avail. We reached our final straw and implored our dad to take us back to Low Yat to let the professionals handle it.

Culprit: Faulty RAM, unstable OS and the most crucial, I hadn't used the screws to separate the motherboard from the casing, resulting in the current getting grounded. In other words, the computer crashed due to insufficient power, especially when runnning games that stressed the system.
Switched to Kingston RAM as recommeneded, though Corsair's RAM looked cooler, but anything goes as long as the rig works.

Building The Rig - Part 2

2008-12-28T22:26:00.012+08:00

Part 1 - Pre-shopping Research
Part 2 - Buying & Assembling
Part 3 - Troubles
Part 4 - Look! It Runs Crysis!!1

Bought everything from the same shop in Low Yat Plaza on the Monday after PC Fair, avoided PC fair like the plague. While PC Fair is a good place to get peripherals, gadgety knick-knacks and whatnots, a common misconception is buying computer hardware there. Prices are no different from what one usually gets at LYP, and the crowd, omg, the crowd.

Bungled up the fitting of the CPU stock fan, big thanks to my bro for pointing out the mistake. The graphics card was the most expensive and impressive component, and way bigger than expected. Our Palit HD4870 was about 4cm thick, complete with 2 fans and metal coils that wouldn't look out of place in a kettle. Relief on my part that PSU had enough PCIE plugs for the graphics card.

CPU Box

Motherboard

Power Supply Unit

Glorious Palit 4870 Sonic Dual complete with two fans.

Picture does not do justice to the actual card - can't see the metal coil.

I can now officially say that I've built a computer from scratch. Half the fun came from selecting and assembling the parts. Never will I buy pre-built ones like those from DELL, god knows what they put inside those towers.

Geek cred +1

Building The Rig - Part 1

2008-12-22T02:15:00.007+08:00

Part 1 - Pre-shopping Research
Part 2 - Buying & Assembling
Part 3 - Troubles
Part 4 - Look! It Runs Crysis!!1

This has definitely got to be one of those defining moments - building a rig from scratch. And a high-end gaming rig, no less. It sure has been an emotionally filled week, from deciding the hardware specs all the way to getting it to run smoothly, without crashes.

The sole purpose of the rig is gaming. With a clear objective, choosing the parts was just a matter of making sure everything works well together and within budget. Got onto lowyat forum to get opinions, especially for mobo(motherboard). Got the lowest clock speed for the best dual core processor series, quad-core was out of the question since games are optimized for dual cores. RAM was performance stuff, big no to value RAM. Choosing PSU meant looking for reputable brands and calculating power needed.

After giving rough estimates, providing we didn't get a monitor, graphics card fund was at RM1000, which was enough to get us the best single core GPU. But Kenn reasoned that if we chose the lower end GPU, we could still get an LCD. In the end, however, we decided the monitor could wait, graphics would come first.

I proudly present my rig's specs, along with the price o.O

Hardware
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 RM600
Gigabyte EP45-UD3L RM399
Kingston HyperX 2GB RM210
Palit HD4870 Sonic Dual RM899
Gigabyte Odin Pro 550W RM380
CoolerMaster 334 casing RM150
Seagate SataII 500Gb RM185
Samsung DVDRW RM 80

The price was rounded up to RM3000 including a surge protector. Don't be jealous, you're now RM3000 richer than me and my bro.

Now, on the fund. There was absolutely no way we could've gotten such an expensive rig if it wasn't for the money that was supposedly for a trip to Bali. Kenn & I had a RM1000ea, but early on, we knew we'd pass the Bali trip for a rig. I mean, you go to Bali for, what, 3 to 4 days, get darkened by the sun, take some pictures, then come home and forget about the trip in a couple days time. A gaming rig with the price tag of RM3000 on the other hand, will have a gaming lifespan of up to 4 years, 2 years if you're a graphics whore. With a windfall of 2k, we each added another RM500 of our savings, and whala, the gheyest gaming rig amongst everyone else we know(for now, at least).

And for the very first time in our gaming life of 12 years, new releases.

More Books, and Some Soldering Equipment

2008-12-08T00:50:00.015+08:00

Friday
Pay Less Books Warehouse Sales @ 3K Inn, Subang Jaya. Picked 5 fiction, mum bought some cheapass music books and a couple extras. Just getting William Gibson's Pattern Recognition was worth the trip to Subang (50km to and fro, the petrol...).

Saturday - 'Book Fair' at Atria, Damansara Jaya & a stop at electronics shop is SS2. Misaa says the 'book fair' is an all-year round affair. Brand new novels, and just slightly more than what I pay for secondhand books at normal price. Book-buying spree, naturally. Moved on to SS2 for lunch with parents, before that, stopped at the electronics shop to buy soldering equipment. Had prepared a list of components for a couple electronic projects, but joy of joys, the shop had beginner kits.

All the books. Couple months of book supply. Bye bye, studies.

Clarkson's book for RM8, way lower than Kinokuniya's price. Just finished the fourth Artemis Fowl at time of posting. Need moar Artemis Fowl books!!!

3 more Neal Stephenson novels, bringing the count of Stephenson novels to 5.

The gems, Cryptonomicon and Pattern Recognition.
Very nearly overlooked Cryptonomicon, and was the last available one. Close call there.

Brand spankin new soldering equipment.

This week's loot.

5 December 2008

2008-12-06T00:27:00.004+08:00

3.00am - Heard the resident cat fighting with another stray. Rushed down to check on the cat(who's having a litter of 3 kittens), caught a glimpse of the stray catnapping one of the kittens, ran away with the kitten in its mouth. Another kitten's was motionless on the floor, with a slash wound across the body from its shoulder to the hind leg.

4.00am - Another round of catfight

9.00am - Kitten's body gone, presumably taken when the stray came back at 4am to get(eat?) it. Not sure whether the third kitten is still around.

10.00am - Pay Less Books warehouse sales at 3K Inn, Subang Jaya. Grabbed an absolute gem - William Gibson's Pattern Recognition.

1.30pm - Somewhat lost my way around Sunway while trying to get from 3K to Inti. Returned/borrowed books at college library.

3.30pm - Resident cat sniffing at kitten blood stains and spot where dead kitten was. Siesta.

8.00pm - Siesta end.

9.30pm - Went out with Aliaa & my bro to BSD McDonalds for ice-cream. One wrong turn, 2 helpings of strawberry Sundae and one small fries for me. Another round of successful parallel parking.

11.15pm - Balik. Missed a turning coming home. Tyre screeched from sudden braking, speeding downhill, didn't see the humongous hump, tyre gonna spoil again. Luckily wasn't driving my brand spankin' new Saga BLM. -.-"

I have no sense of direction...
I waste a lot of petrol by taking wrong routes...
Nvm, petrol cheaper now...
Then again cheaper petrol means more cars on the road...
Slow moving traffic...
*sigh*

Snow Crash

2008-12-02T02:46:00.006+08:00

Author : Neal Stephenson
Genre : Science-fiction, Cyberpunk
Pages : 468
Notes : Times 100 Book List

Net diving, online community MMO-style, hacking by coding, what more could I ask for?

Stephenson seamlessly weaves in Sumerian mythology into the story. Throughout the book, you'll come across whole sections quoting and explaining Sumerian myths. No surprise that the story is pro-altheism. In the story, the Christian ideology of speaking in tongues is thrashed. Well, it was a good story anyway.

I did, however, find some characters loosely tied-in to the plot. Perhaps I hadn't been thorough enough, but felt the supporting characters' motives, or lack thereof, odd. I'm the type that likes details like these to be made clear. Oh yes, and there's the no-nonsense ending, which doesn't give us any epilogue or anything.

Spinach Mee

2008-11-30T21:31:00.009+08:00

Apparently, the youth from my mum's church loved this dish. It supposedly detoxes.
The mee is made from wheat and spinach, has a fistful of spinach leaves in the dish, and the broth is made from spinach juice with too much mint. SPINACH JUICE. I abhor leafy greens (vegetables), but my mum bought the dish for me anyway. Needless to say, I didn't touch it. Neither did anyone else.

Exhibit A

Self-explanatory.

The Blind Assassin

2008-11-26T00:13:00.001+08:00

Author : Margaret Atwood
Genre : Fiction
Pages : 538
Notes : Booker Prize 2000

The Blind Assassin is a story within a story, much like a nesting doll. There are three distinct stories, all which will late relate to each other. Summary here.

It was all good, but I have to admit that it was a weary read midway through the novel, where we have a very cynical old lady narrating about her marriage. Maybe I have had too much of a dose of strong-willed characters, which might explain why I was quite annoyed with the novel's protagonist. She seemed so complacent, leaving everything to run its course while her (evil, duh) husband & sister-in-law usurped every aspect of her life.

Needless to say, persevering through the novel had its rewards. Towards the end the paces picked up really fast, as Atwood reveals the connection between all the different story lines and presents really nice plot twists. In terms of writing, it was definitely enjoyable, Atwood's prose was what kept me reading during those dreary middle chapters.

First Post

2008-11-24T03:08:00.000+08:00

I had a personal blog at Friendster, but since that's a networking site, and as we know networking sites get outdated very fast, I've decided to move to blogspot. Decided against combining personal blog material with my pure tech blog at n-w-n.blogspot.com

Opinions, events(not much, boring person here), photos, rants(hopefully not much), diary material, you know the drill.