Free stuff I cannot do without: Firefox

Firefox is a drool-worthy browser. There are so many features that are worth an entire post on their own, such as draggable tabed browsing, the find feature, bookmarks that support a RSS feed, and the wonder of wonders, firefox quick searches.

Tabbed browsing
Firefox allows you to open new pages in tabs which means that you don't have to constantly go to your toolbar to check what pages you have open. The new version also allows you to drag your tabs and rearrange them, which is plan nifty. You can also set your home page to be series of tabs instead of a single page. I love tabs! Tabbing shortcuts:

Ctrl-T	Opens a blank page on a new tab
Click scroll button	Opens clicked page in a new tab
Ctrl-click	Opens clicked page in a new tab

Quick Searches
Ever since I switched to firefox, I do all my searching through the address bar. To set up quick searches, go to the search engine you frequent, for example Google. Right-click on the search bar and choose "Add a keyword for this search".



Type in a name you want to call this search and a keyword (Google, g) and save it under "Quick searches" (that's where I save mine anyway). The next time you want to search for something in google, go to the address bar, type in "g searchterm", hit enter, and you're all set. I've search terms set up for Amazon, google images, google calculator, national library, wikipedia, bible gateway, street directory etc.

Live bookmarks
Live bookmarks are easy to add. Go to "Bookmarks", "Manage Bookmarks", "File", "Add New Live Bookmark". Type in the RSS feed and there you go. (To get the feed, right click on the RSS icon of the page you want and click properties. Copy the link.)

Firefox Scrapbook
ScrapBook is a Firefox extension that helps you to save Web pages and manage the collection. Good for research!

Other shortcuts

Ctrl-B	Opens Bookmarks
Ctrl-F	Opens "Find"
Ctrl-G	Finds next occurrence of search term
Alt-K	Opens Scrapbook Panel

Next post: Google Calculator

Read More!

What's moves you?

Southern Cooking?

Parmesan chicken and freshly baked rolls


Mashed potato, cream corn and green beans


Or, Chinese Wedding Dinner?

"Cold dish", the first dish in a ten course dinner

Read More!

Shoot, where are my shoes?

I have new shoes, but dang it! I miss my old pair. Where are they? Ppppth.

Anyway, I bought a new pair of Asics yesterday evening from Queensway. It looks like this (I am too depressed to take a real picture of the shoes):



The shoes are great though -- I hardly felt them in my run yesterday evening. The store I usually patronise (with the lousy service and good price) actually sold out of the Asics GT-2110, so I tried on the Asics 1110 instead, but it just wasn't as good. Am glad that at least one of the stores had the Asics GT-2110 in stock.

Did you know that Queensway is now fixed-price? I paid about $20 more for my pair of shoes than I did last year, because apparently a new agent has taken over and has decreed that shoes can only be given a maximum of 25% discount. Pppth. Considering that I paid $20 more for the last pair than for the previous pair, and $20 more now for this pair than the lost pair, I would have to conclude that PRICES ARE SKYROCKETING!

Good thing I don't have a gym membership.

I was tempted to get the Mizuno Wave Inspire instead because of the 30% discount for Mizuno Wave Run participants, but it worked out to be only a $20 difference between something I love and trust, and something I'm not too sure about. The Mizuno was okay, but it wasn't the kind of shoe that made you exclaim, "Sweet! You are mine! It's a deal!" the moment you put them on.

I think I will go broke by twenty dollar bills.

Read More!

Army Half Marathon

27 Aug 2006, 5:30am
21.1km

$18 for non-Safra members

A 10km Sheares Bridge Run is also available ($12 each).  Check out their website for more detail.

Registration is open from 3 Jul onwards at all SAFRA clubs.

Read More!

New Balance REAL Run

20 Aug 2006, 7:30am
10km
$25

Run over sand, trail and pavement in this Sentosa 10km Run. At $25 a head, this is a pricey run as far as runs go. But $25 entitles you to entry to Sentosa, a New Balance Lightning Dry T-shirt, Armband Pouch and Goodie Shoe Bag, which is much more than what you get for the Mizuno Wave Run or the Army Half Marathon. Check out their comprehensive website for more info.

Registration open at:

HomeTeamNS Bukit Batok Clubhouse
2 Bukit Batok West Avenue 7 S(659003)

HomeTeamNS-JOM Clubhouse
31 Ah Hood Road S(329979)

New Balance Technical Centre
60 Alexandra Terrace #02-09
The Comtech S(118502)

New Balance Concept Shop
3 Temasek Boulevard #02-057
Suntec City Mall S(038985)

New Balance Concept Shop
252 North Bridge Road #B1-79/94
Raffles City Shopping Centre S(179103)
*Opening July

Liang Court Shopping Centre
177 River Valley Road S(179030)

Century Square
2 Tampines Central 5 S(529509)

Hougang Mall
90 Hougang Avenue 10 S(538776)

Tiong Bahru Plaza
302 Tiong Bahru Road S(168732)

White Sands Shopping Centre
1 Pasir Ris Central Street 3 S(518457)

Sports Fashion
1 Queensway #01-45
Queensway Shopping Centre S(149053)

Click here for registration locations

Read More!

Mizuno Wave Run

23 July 2006, 7:30am
10km
$10 Fun Run; $15 Competitive

This 10km run is supposedly the worst organised and hottest run in Singapore. It is held in the Kovan area: the route starts at Kovan Hub and loops back on Tampines Road. The goodie bag includes a $39.90 Mizuno event tee (which looks lime green in the brochure) and a drawstring shoebag (for competitive runners only). At registration, you will be a given a chance to purchase any full-priced Mizuno product at a 30% discount.

Registration opens from 23 June at:
Mizuno Paragon #04-37/38
Mizuno Marina Square #03-120/121
World of Sports Isetan Orchard Level 4
World of Sports Plaza Singapura #03-13/14
World of Sports Jurong Point #02-29
World of Sports Toa Payoh Blk 192 Lor 4 #01-674
World of Sports Heartland Mall #03-10
World of Sports Takashimaya Level 4
Feder Sports #02-53 Peninsula Plaza
Running Lab #03-20 Funan IT Mall

Click here for registration locations

Read More!

Because a picture is worth a thousand words

Thank you TrainofThot. :)

Read More!

In memory of you

If I ran slow, it was not your fault
For you were sleek and swift
As light as cloud, as fast as wind
A knight's horse with a rubber sole
You wore the garment of elves
Turquoise silver, green and grey
Taking the brunt with every step,
Always selfless, true and kind
Eight months is far too short
To count your days as mine.

(October 17, 2005 - 26 June, 2006)

Read More!

Arrggghhhhhhh!

Arrghhhhhhhh! I left my shoe bag in the bus to work this morning!!!! My Asics are shuttling to Woodlands Regional Interchange even as I blog!!!!!!

Update: Argghhhh! SMRT searched the bus I was on but didn't find anything. Argghhhh!

Update: 24 hours have gone by and the hope of retrieving my shoes is dwindling. I really thought I would get them back too, since I have an ID card with my name and contact number in the shoe bag, and I don't see why anyone should want my used shoes. Aw well. I'm just glad I didn't have my running clothes in the bag as I usually do.

Read More!

Zit explosion

Seven clues for the clueless:

1. Your face feels lumpy and rough, and you can't stop yourself from scratching off the dead skin.

2. When you scratch your face, you are fascinated with the hard, clear, orange bits that you dig out from your skin. You flick and prod them with your fingernails to see how hard they really are.

3. You try on a drop-dead gorgeous dress that accentuates what womanly curves you have and all you can see are the multiplying spots on your face.

4. You leave the changing the room and buy the dress, but all you can think is about getting your hands on some concealer.

5. You let the saleswoman persuade you into buying both concealer and foundation: the first make up you've ever owned in your life.

6. You fall in love with the magic of concealer that very night.

And the clincher,

7. The next day, after the euphoria of compliments that go to the head, you get accousted by a fast-talking salesgirl who wants you to go for a facial `for your own good'. All twenty remarks about your face is prefaced with: "Please don't get angry, ah" and a friendly touch on your arm.

Read More!

The weekend is here!

(This is my sister's dog looking a little high. And that is exactly how I feel right now. Yippee!!)

Read More!

The virtues of keeping a secret

There is a time to tell it all and a time to hold it back.

When Boromir told Aragon in his dying breath that he had tried to take the ring from Frodo, Aragon kept it a secret for a long time to preserve the memory of Boromir. I mean, come on, the guy is dead, isn't truth more important than keeping up appearances? Yet I think there is a virtue in keeping quiet.

At J. Oliver's wedding, P. tutu suddenly sprung on a friend some disconcerting news regarding an ex-boyfriend, and in so doing, cast a shadow over a happy occassion. P. tutu then proceeded ask the friend if she was okay with the news. If you had to ask, you shouldn't have told! Especially when the only reason you know the news was because J. Oliver wanted your advice on whether to put the ex on a far-away table. There is a time for everything, and the time to tell was obviously not then.

Which makes blogging a rather difficult exercise in itself if you have friends and family reading your site. Social interactions are much more complicated than a newspaper. Life isn't a loudhailer! When I talk to a friend, I tell some things; some things I keep to myself; and even when I tell, it ought to be in context.

But I probably err on the side of not telling anything at all. One of my friends overseas lamented that although my letters were a joy to read because they are well-written, they don't tell a thing at all. Heh. Content-free, as Eric would put it, just like the posts in this blog.

Read More!

Work mantra #1

The work week feels so long and intolerable now that I've been away.
My eyes are dry and tired, there is tension in my neck and shoulders,
and I am back on caffeine again after a three week hiatus. But I'm
slowly remembering how to survive an eight-to-five job, and while
brushing my teeth in the office restroom after lunch, this mantra came
to me:

"The office is not just a place to do, but a place to live."

Somehow it makes things better for me.

Read More!

Tiger Balm Power

I smell like an old woman. I have antibiotic breath and reek of tiger balm.

I didn't use to use tiger balm. But ever since the Mt Kinnabalu climb and being wowed by its powess with aching, non-functioning muscles, I've found other uses for it. There is tiger balm smeared on the mosquito bites on my feet and my finger knuckles even as we speak.

It doesn't really relieve the itch, but the sting on cut skin keeps me from scratching more than I should.

Read More!

How to reduce PDF size

I've always been baffled with this one. Usually I use the "Reduce
File Size" under "File" in Adobe Acrobat, but it is woefully
inadequate. A 3MB file is reduced to a bulky 2.5MB, even with the
most cut-throat criteria.

But the solution has all the while been under my nose: Photoshop.

1. Open the PDF in photoshop.
2. Save as "PDF" format.
3. Choose a low quality setting.

What would I do without my trusty Photoshop?

(What do Mac users use to edit photos, btw? Is it good?)

Read More!

The mysterious gravity

For such a small island, Singapore has a mysterious gravity. It tempts you with char kway teow and sambal stingray, enchants you with its cleanliness and efficient public transport, bewitches you with the myriads of nubile young females with their shoulder-length hair and trim figures, then it sinks its claws into you and never lets go. Before you know it, you're working for the same prospects of a 5 digit monthly income, occasional progress package, executive condominium and 2.5 children. Game over. There goes the jet-setting lifestyle; the most you can hope for are business trips to Bali, and occasional road trips to Malaysia or Thailand. Once in a while, you muster enough cash for an exotic getaway to Europe or the Americas, but these are no longer anything more than tentative steps into the wading pool of what these countries have to offer - you get your feet a little wet, then scurry back to your local kopitiam.

http://rambotan.com/

So true, except for the "nubile young females with their shoulder-length hair and trim figures" part, which generally sickens rather than betwitches. He writes well.

Read More!

A token

Here is a token sweet and true
Cambodian silk in green and blue
Soft as a petal, the contours of wind
Strong when tested, still pliable at will.

Read More!

A wedding under the stars

J. Oliver got married this weekend.

She was the most pro-active dater I've ever known. She approached
dating the way she approached just about everything else in her life
-- with down-to-earth pragmatism. What is the use of sitting around
and whining about being lonely? "GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND MEET NEW
PEOPLE!" she would say to me, and generously offer to me the use of
her subscription-based online dating service.

I still remember sitting opposite her and listening to her recount
story after story of horrible first dates. I would cringe and
silently pat myself on the back for being the type that sits on the
couch and whines. (She would kill me if she read this.) Well, she
didn't meet anyone interesting, so she let the subscription for a
month run out.

She had her heart broken once too, but she wouldn't say anything to
anyone about it. We sat on the sidelines and watched her fall in
love, and watched when he rode off on a motorbike with a piece of her
heart. All of us wanted to ride after him with a pitchfork aimed at
his heart. That's what friends are for, but she didn't say anything,
so we just watched and waited.

She became a biker chick, then a sexy babe with curly tresses, then
back to biker chick, then to a dowdy housewife look, then back to sexy
babe with curly tresses, but she was still the same girl through it
all. We kept on raving about curry puffs, eating mee pok, swearing at
the system, dreaming about NGOs, making appointments to run, and doing
what we can while we wait for life to happen.

And it happened for her last weekend, underneath a canopy of orchids,
with vows that bring tears because of everything the words mean.

Gosh I am so happy for her.

Read More!

Back at work

I'm back at work and everything feels surreal.  It doesn't feel like I'm actually here; I can't remember what I'm supposed to be doing; and what in the world did I use to do to pass the time?  I feel sick. Need a painkiller.

Going away brings everything into sharp focus.  I am not only between the proverbial devil and the deep blue sea, there are sharp nails under my feet.  You can make a home of sharp nails, you know, the way a salamader makes a home of consuming fire.  I have uncannily made a home of this uncomfortable place: where there are no ambitions, no dreams, no principles, no hope for a future, just today, tomorrow and everyday after.

Read More!

The Fellowship of the Ring, by J. R. R. Tolkien

I’m re-reading The Lord of the Rings this summer, whatever summer may mean to us over here in Singapore, who enjoy the perpetual delights of sun-bathed shores and sun-kissed limbs, and I say this without the slightest hint of sarcasm, if you take my meaning.

The Fellowship of the Ring isn’t something to analyse or ponder over in a long drawn-out review. Rather, it is something to be carried away by, the way a strong river bears a boat. The story is compelling and the characters so marvellously inventive and believable – it is as good a story as it gets. It is of the calibre of stories that shaped the world – don’t you remember that the world was shaped by a single word? – that kind of story, “stories that make a man grow old”.

I woke up at 7am this morning with the heightened awareness of the cool breeze on my cheek, no doubt an awareness made more keen by falling asleep while the company of the Ring lingered in Lothlorien, where Frodo “saw no colour but those he knew, gold and white and blue and green, but they were fresh and poignant...” (341) Lothlorien was where time flowed both swift and slow, where there was no corruption, no blemish, no evil. But it is surely fading away.

So, rather than a long and tedious review, here is a quiz instead:

1. Who am I quoting in the first line of this post?

Read More!

Truth or Fiction?

That a person has more armpit hair on his or her dominant arm?

Read More!

Timeless suspension

Tuesday, 13 June 2006, between Dallas and Seoul

I close my eyes and I see her -- her geeky smile, tennis ball between her chops. She looks at me and in her eyes she says, "Come play with me!" Her tail is beating furiously against the wall; her golden coat shaggy the way only a dog who loves to play can be. And in the space before I fall asleep, I succumb.

I close my eyes and I hear your voice, as if it were echoing from a different time, when you and I shared a room. It would be 4 in the morning; I would be fighting off sleep with every fibre in me; and your voice would waft into my fading consciousness: "So, Learn, are you -- happy?" I cannot see your face when you say that because we are both staring at the ceiling in the dark, but you say it with such a certainty, as if you were holding the very substance in your hand, as if I knew what you meant. I dart my eyes and you knew that you would have to begin to pry me like an oyster to make me speak.

I close my eyes and I feel your hug, and it feels the way it has always felt, curve against curve, bone fitting bone, and I realise that I am back home again.

And there is you, whom I love and miss in such a deep and horrible way that I pretend that I don't miss you because it is just easier that way. I drag you out to run in the 100F Texan heat at 5:30pm the evening before I leave, and I talk the whole time -- about giving up, about our pace, our distance, and I drive you nuts and you say to me, "You are annoying! Ssh!" the way only a sister can. Yet I smile because I am relishing every moment of this insane run, even when your neighbour drove by and yelled, "You are crazy, woman!" because these are what memories are made of and these are all I've got nowadays.

I am such an incurable sap.

Read More!

Leaving, dying, and finding life again

When I left US six years ago, it felt like I died. I gave away everything I owned -- the little red Honda, the guitar I loved that kept me company on many walks in the woods -- in fact, I gave away both my guitars to dear friends in my time here.  I gave away all my winter clothes, all the money in my bank account, all my knick knacks, settled all my accounts, and said goodbye to everybody dear to me.

 

Now, six years later, on a visit to the US, I find bits of my old life floating back to me.  A throw jamie oliver gave me eight years ago, my plain white dishes that I love, ny old computer monitor, old photos, a metronym from childhood when the fear of piano teachers terrorised.  It is a strange feeling. I meet my friends, hug them, and it is as if the distance and time of six long years melts away into something manageable.  Quickly we fall into old routines: old nicknames, a glance, a question, a comforting familiar touch, staying up all night talking talking and talking because in the morning we leave.

 

The opportunity to connect with another person is so precious.  Sometimes I'm tired, sick and just want to go to bed -- I've unfortunately been sick for about a week now; I hate falling sick on holidays but it seems like I always do, bleah - but the moment is precious and I know that if I don't grab it now, I don't know if it will be there in 5 years time.

 

While I was away, a lady at the church where I was died.  So did the father of a friend.  One had MS, the other cancer.  While I was away, my friends have hooked up, gotten married, and more often than not, a kid, or two, or three, and they are always so adorable.  Suddenly we visit and we are craddling babies in our arms, or watching over toddler boys when there were none before.  Suddenly, a dear friend is struggling with depression; suddenly, I am in touch again.

 

I hate leaving.  It is like being torn up in many pieces and leaving bits all over the place, but this leaving will never be as horrible as that first and final leaving 6 years ago.  That last drive to the airport was like a funeral dirge.  How does a person survive these things?  I suppose God made us pretty resilient.

 

I appreciate those of you who come by here to read, even if I've never met you.  The opportunity to connect with you is precious to me.

Read More!

Sweetheart

Read More!

Texas is hot

100F (37.8C) and not even the peak of the summer heat.  The dog is not coming with us grocery shopping anymore. 

Read More!

Blogging on the road

I am writing this in the car with my sister's Treo. It is a spiffy gadget that is a mobile phone, a PDA, and a portable email machine all rolled into one. The keyboard is QWERTY in layout and it is very easy to type (but my fingers are small). The download time is fantastic, and it isn't too bulky either. Very nice...

Surfing requires an inordinate amount of patience that I don't have though, so websurfing on the Treo just isn't worth it at this point. Email, on the other hand, is hard to fault.

Read More!

Dewitt, Arkansas

I wonder how many posts in the big wide internet are titled "Dewitt, Arkansas"?

Dewitt is home to some of the most sincere, hospitable,
community-minded people in the world. It is a small farming
community. The family we know there farm 21,000 acres of land, and
the road leading to their home is named after them.

(Well, theoretically they are named after the father's aunt who used
to own a bunch of land further up the road, and it should actually be
named the mother's maiden name instead, or so E tells me.)

Life is so real in Dewitt. We sat down and literally spent two and a
half days sitting in the living room, talking about the Uncle D's wife
who is down with cancer, the terrible accident between the two crop
busters crop dusters and how the survivor is doing in hospital, the damage from the
hurricane last month, what Grandma is doing for a job, how the crops
are this year, who is having a baby, etc. etc etc.

When we are not talking, we are helping ourselves to the most fabulous
Southern cooking in the whole wide world. Absolutely fantastic; and
the way Ms V whips it up, you would think that she could do it blind
folded. Over the two days, we had roast beef, grilled pork, green
beans, sweet corn, rice casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, two home
baked cakes (strawberry and lemon), sausage, biscuits, eggs, and I
can't even remember what else. It was heaven on earth.

Ms V tells me that they cook for at least 30 people every Sunday.
I've been there on a Sunday about five years ago. They had enough
card tables open that it looked like a den. Heehee.

It is sweet how old people can talk with young people over cards and
iced tea. I think folks where I'm from lose out on a lot of
hard-earned wisdom because of the language problem -- older people
speak dialect, younger people English or Mandarin. Then again, even
we spoke the same language, we may not necessarily listen...

I will miss them. In fact, I will miss every single one of them.

Read More!

The two of them

The two of them were walking a dog, coming towards us in white dri-fit
shirts and shorts. The dog was white and grey and had pale blue eyes,
her hair newly shorn.

"So who's faster?" one says, even before I told her my name.

I noticed that we were all wearing Asics running shoes with duomax for
overpronators. One of them noticed that both of us had dri-fit hats
on.

"What lovely eyes," I said, in parting.

"Why, thank you!" one says, before smiling and winking, "Oh, the dog you mean?"

Read More!

The darling of her eye

The darling of sister's eye is a large and gentle golden retriever who
is terribly obsessed about tennis balls. We brought her on a 6.2km
run yesterday and all through the run, she was either fighting with us
for the pavement and nosing in between us, or running ahead of us and
looking back, as if saying, "Slow coach! Hurry up!" She managed to
pick up two stray tennis balls too.

Quite the sweetheart really. She is lying at my feet and dreaming of
tennis balls even as I am rushing some work for the office at
midnight. Would I give up my comfy and cool leather couch to sleep at
the feet of someone working late into the night? I doubt so, but I
don't have the heart of a loyal and trusting dog.

Read More!

US immigration is quite the pain

I feel robbed.

After 20 hours of flying, very rude US immigration officials took away
about $70 worth of foodstuff we brought for my sister and her dog.
They took away the chicken BBQ-ed meat (because they couldn't take our
word that it was chicken, not beef), the spinach dog food snack which
had chicken and fish in it, the chicken dog food snack, and the raw
hide (that one I understand). Everything was sealed and vacumm
packed.

They were really rude about it too. It was the way they handled the
contents of your bag, ripping things open and throwing it about, and
talking to you as if you were deliberately trying to lie. If I was
trying to pull a fast one, would I even have declared the food in the
first place? I was so peeved that after they ripped open the stuff in
my face with a knife, I slammed the bag shut and swung the 35kg bag
right off, with my petite frame and all. They knew I was mad, so they
detained me and asked to check my bag pack, although it had passed
through the machine.

So I let them check it. They asked if I was a student -- No, not
anymore, but what do you care? I thought -- I told them all I had were
a packet of biscuits in there -- and they looked anyway, and said,
"Oh. Cookies." And then I zipped up the bag fuming mad and walked
away.

I don't even know why my mum bought $50 worth of chicken BBQ meat in
the first place! I suppose she was just trying to be sweet and to get
my sister some of her favourite stuff -- dang it, we don't even buy it
for our Chinese New Year because it is too `expensive'! Sheesh.

So, 1. Don't bring anything that is not labelled "Chicken" in English.
But, 2. Even if it is labelled chicken in English, no guarantees
mate, especially if it isn't manufactured in the US of A.

Read More!