who is +Steve Kondik ?

best. 'i-just-woke-up' early morning laugh. ever ..

i'm trying to take a nap when i read this on my fb feed. i can't stop laughing now and i just have to share this ...

i'm back in Perth. it was pretty cold for me this morning at 4+ when i arrived, but body seems to be adjusting well to this nice weather after a nap.

i just opened up my luggage, and to be honest, this is the first time in ages that i'm actually looking forward to unpack my luggage!

for my last foodie post of this holiday, i present you rojak char kway. used to love them when i was younger, but totally forgotten about it since i moved to Perth.

but second SIL ordered this the other day for lunch at the Ayer Rajah Food Centre. i tasted it, and like .. oh i'm so having this every time i'm back in Singapore next.

my own Saturday Mornings Cartoons at home for this morning .. old skool styles.

(edit) i just realised its a pretty big file. wonder how long it will take to finish this upload ...

is it just me who wishes for giant sizes of Yakult?

i mean, gone in 60 milliseconds. seriously. why you no sell big big size ...

two takeaway egg pratha.

topped with some heated canned sardines stirred with some fresh onions and extra tomato sauce. and then garnished with an omelette mixed with more onions, potatoes, and fresh green chillies.

breakfast is served.

ps. i just checked my weight. but unfortunately, after 3 weeks, i've only gained a kilo. which means i'm currently at .. ladies look away .. 50kg.

times have changed, over at IKEA.

i have a POANG set (the arm chair and leg rest). got it when i was in the army, making it more than 10 years now. its still in good condition, except for the cushions. so thought i'd go head down IKEA to get a replacement.

and only later at home, did i noticed the difference in the labels.

chicken porridge at KFC.

it may sound and look 'cheapo', but frack i say its really bloody awesome. coupled with a cappuccino (which is unfortunately not that good) as a set, its a simple hearty breakfast to last you till at least 10am.

chomp chomp.

chapati. meet kemah. and make love in my mouth. nescafe will be here soon to complete this simple after breakfast before lunch threesome.

Madini Food Stall
this really is the best chapati in town. i'm always here everytime i'm in Singapore. but if you've not tried it yet, head on down quick cos word is, buildings in this area are to be torn down soon, to make way for new establishments. so this stall and the food centre may no longer be here after.

while green may be back in my music && mobile department [ http://goo.gl/5o0pK ], its going away from my shoes department. i needed a new pair to replace both my old green addidas and new balance everyday shoes.

hence this other new acquisition from yesterday's shopping ...

yeah. uh huh. you know what it is. black and yellow. black and yellow. black and yellow. black and yellow.

sorry. couldn't help it!

i could. not. help. myself.

needed a new daily headphone, and i only trust Audio Technica. so looked for the entry level ATH-SJ11 (to replace my ATH-SJ1), and found the white version, which would be the perfect companion for my white s3.

but then i saw this green-black one, and remembered seeing a matching s3 cover earlier.

resistance was futile ...

although, cousin just told me this model apparently has a well known issue after only a few months of use. my SJ1 lasted about 5 years, hence the trust in the SJ11. here's hoping my cousin's SJ11 was just a bad batch.

(update) as with the SJ1, ear cups are still damn comfy, and bass is very balanced, if not leaning towards the deeper end. so fingers crossed this SJ11 will last just as long.

while i thought this would have happened much earlier, its better late than never i guess. it makes everyday life in Singapore so much easier, which i thought not possible, what with every father mother son daughter already using some form of "unified" card.

so i don't see the adoption of mobile NFC devices, into their everyday lives, to be an issue here.

too bad i'm not living or working in Singapore, but maybe +Skye Harris may want to move to here .......

spent my day at Sim Lim Square and all i got was two S3 covers for only $10, a USB OTG cable, and Burger King snacks.

how times have changed.

oh and +Diana Chan what Garnet Red .. mine now is awesome Purple Passion with kickstand!

because +Haroon Malik started it ...

this was my office, taken from a few years back. and oh, here's a close-up shot of my favourite uhm .. inspirational quotes [ http://goo.gl/N0NVc ] that you see pasted on my wall.

dinner preparation for tonight .. sambal fish (if you can call it that)

all prepared by mama, I just err .. supervised. not sure of the ingredients but I believe it involved some pounded chillis, blended onions et al, some kind of cube stock, grated coconut, and plenty of love.

now, its just letting it sit till dinner time, and then we need to decide to fry it, or chuck it in to the oven.

deep fry chicken briyani takeaway lunch.

not sure if you can tell from the photo, but the amount of rice they gave me is more than any quantity i've ever had, both here and in Perth!

and the oiliness, oh-em-gee. it even went through the packaging. i most definitely need my gym membership after this holiday.

but its all yum nonetheless. and had no worries finishing it.

i don't think some people here realise that ..

when you comment on a public post, its still public for all father mother son to see. and when that post has an attached location, everyone with access to the Nearby can read it too.

meaning its easy for the rest of us to see your trail of only commenting on the ladies, with the obvious mentality of using g+ as a dating site. and when we view your profile, its all the female of the species in your circles, with little circling back.

normally it doesn't bother me, cos it provides the rest of us with a sideshow to laugh at. but, when you're circling the girls from my Perth peeps, obviously from a previous post of mine where i mentioned them, i sit up and take notice enough to warn that ..

you better not be creeping and trolling any of my Perth peeps.

homemade laksa.

i still have not found the perfect laksa (to my taste) in Perth. so when i mentioned it earlier to mama, she decided to cook some, the way i like my laksa to be.

yum yum thanks mum.

homemade breakfast kacang pool

broad beans with gee (or butter) in low heat and smashed up. chopped up raw onions. sliced green chillies. little limes. and prawns (my own addition).

fry an egg (or two), put them all together, and serve with whatever bread you like.

enjoy.

ps. i'm not sure of its origin. but its either Malay or Arabian or somewhere in between

spent yesterday hanging out with bff PP at her new DBSS apartment. the whole block was like 40 stories high, and her unit is in the middle on level 22.

it was pretty scary at first, cos its been awhile since i've been to a home that high. but after getting err .. high .. on prawns and tiramisu cake, sitting and chatting away on the balcony while enjoying the cool breeze (which became hazy though, late arvo) it started to feel real comfy and cosy, and i found myself entertaining the idea of hopefully owning a similar high rise unit in the near future.

time to save money
....... to buy a million lotto tickets.

me. mama. home. hungry. bus. steamed fish.

burp ...

sorry. only now tummy full did i remember the obligatory "asian taking photos of food" post.

growing up a Teban Gardens kid, i never fail to visit the Ayer Rajah Food Centre every time i'm holidaying in singapore, at least twice.

this was dinner earlier at my favourite stall #49 ... beefsteak goreng, mutton soup with bread, mutton chop.

i have at least 7 different hats, and i take every single one of them off to salute all the teachers of special kids.

i personally know how difficult it is to not just look after normal kids, but teach them the basic things like how to talk and walk. so you can imagine the special care and extra patience needed for special kids like my niece.

so again. my major respect to all you teachers of these special kids, not just at the place my Supergirl Princess attends, but all around the world.

i decided on takeaway Roti Prata for breakfast this morning. but goodness i never realised how much the prices have risen.

normally when i'm on holidays in Singapore, my cash flows out like i'm playing Monopoly. but for this trip, i had to be more calculative.

so fracking hell was i surprised that a kosong prata was a dollar each, and its like the standard price in Singapore these days, compared to the 40 cents that i can remember!

but oh well. at least the prata still tastes as good, especially with the fish curry.

i do get sick of the (almost) same traditional Malay food being served at most relatives' houses we visit.

but sometimes you do get served with such "specials".

look +Heather Bailey and +Kristina Sestan . i'm thinking of you both with every bite. oh yummy ...

cheese fries

its on the menu in the KFCs in Singapore, and the image explains it all. i only found out about this late last night, after all these years making an annual trip here and not knowing about it.

i have so much cheese and fries to catch up with ...

oh. i almost forgot my obligatory flight photos post. here's one that was taken about 15 mins after takeoff from Perth International Airport on Wednesday arvo.

I really love my Galaxy S3, especially the gorgeous screen. apparently, so do my little nephew and nieces ...

with their chocolate, sweets, and whatever else sticky stained fingers.

oh my poor screen.

background
how it (similarly) used to be.

foreground
how it is now .. 23 years later.

Casio G Shock. time tested. eff yeah!

trip to the post office .. free.
the smile from the girl in the suit .. free.

that momentary depressed look on my face after paying my council rates in full, just before my holidays?

priceless.

i was asked why did i not include my all time favourite in the list from my last post. simple. i did not forget her at all. its because

Beth Gibbons

is in a totally different class. she's the mama of them all. coolness personified. i leave you all with my favourite clip of her with Portishead, the perfect tune to go to bed with.

good night world.

today, someone reminded me of her. the way she sat, dressed and looked. i honestly almost freaked out ...

anyways. on a lighter note. the last day of work before my holidays, is finally over. one more day to finish up my shopping list, and then its slobbering kisses for my nephew and nieces!

I can't decide if I should stay up tonight to catch the Spice Gir... err I mean the Olympics Closing Ceremony .......

Dwight Howard a Laker.
McKayla is not impressed ...

when a +Google+ post has a location attached, it appears in the Nearby stream. and when that post gets reshared, the location of the original post is locked to it, hence the reshared post will also appear in the Nearby stream, no matter which part of the world you reshared the post from.

which is cool.

but not when the post gets reshared multiple times. cos 99 posts in the Nearby stream and a non reshare ain't one .......

finally some taekwondo action!



and just when was about to post this, telecast was switched back to a preview of what's coming up tonight, and back to the studio.

Channel 9 fail.

its been too much talk. too much hype. too much advertisement. not enough action.

ok. I think I'm finally awake and have come to my senses, after this morning's uhm .. playlist choice.

time to turn this up!

Athletics.

it has finally begun. the main sport I've been waiting for this Olympics. so glad I have an ultrabook now. so I can enjoy sitting back on my couch enjoying the action while still working away ...

unrooted. no third party launcher || custom rom || kernel. and no custom icons.

yup. i've been with my Samsung Galaxy S3 for exactly 2 months today. and its very unlike me to still be using an Android phone as stock as possible. the only "non-stock" elements are the stock unbranded UK firmware (flashed over the original unbranded AU firmware) and the flipfont (Futura Medium LT).

i'm still very happy with it (TouchWiz) that i don't find the need to do stuff the masses would not normally do. and while it still has its flaws, i think this says a lot of how much Android and TouchWiz has progressed together.

and i personally feel that when an Android smartphone needs no rooting or custom work done, in order for the masses to enjoy using it daily, its when it has truly become a successful phone.

for some reason, i find this to be awesomely cool. it displays your g+ (public) post photos in a Pinterest styled layout. to view your own, copy the URL below and replace my g+id (that looong number) with your own.

http://www.googleplussuomi.com/thumbs.php?id=112147446066393414735

you can also set a desired width for the thumbnails by adding (example) &width=300 to the end of the URL.

via +Ehsan Ahmadi Gharacheh

back to the Olympics for me. i got a feeling i'll be an expert in Equestrian by tomorrow morning .......

and then there was Justine .. my teenage crush.

Elastica

one of my favourite bands && albums of the mid 90s.

i'm in a 90s mood at the moment. happy weekend y'all ...

i was going ..

frack yeah. can it be? please be an official S3 JB

and damn was i excited while staring hopefully at the android getting electrocuted.

but unfortunately, no Jelly Bean. but hey, so glad I flashed the UK (unbranded) firmware and now being 2 updates ahead of the Australian (unbranded) firmware.

update: definitely addresses some bugs, and added minor feature tweaks. and new camera firmware confirmed too - dial *#34971539# to check camera firmware. but i seem to have WiFi dropout issues though.

our own backyard cafe table by the heater.

lol. my first cut in ages, after helping +Haroon Malik move the fridge and washing machine to his new place.

i feel like a man again ...

updated the gmusic android app the other day. but since i'm still very happy with the gs3's music player, i didn't really give the updated gmusic app a go.

until now.

when i realised, other than the minor visual tweaks here and around, there is now an equaliser with the app!

can't wait to reach home and do a proper comparison between the two players now!

i'm so proud of myself cos i just unlocked my first ultrabook achievement.

i've been busy with two sites past few days. with no desktop, and my first time working with an ultrabook, it took awhile to get into my usual groove, even though i had my favourite keyboard and two mouse to help me out.

after the site implementation, it was followed by the usual email marketing template. so thought i'd take the chance to get more cosy with my trackpad, and spent last night whipping up the email template with only the ultrabook's keyboard and trackpad.

and i managed to complete the job in almost my usual time frame!

anyways. its a two day break before work on the next big site. but i need to research for a convincing answer to a question i've been looking into ...

Smarty (v3) or Twig

i needed a break last night. so turned the TV on, and Batman Begins was showing. so i was thinking ..

hey. time to test my ultrabook out. you know. doing work while watching tv.

and then came the scene where Katie Holmes was protecting the boy near Arkham Asylum. and it was only then did i realise who that boy was.

bloody Joffrey. puuii.

i was hoping there and then that this Batman Begins was some special edition where Katie Holmes suddenly turns around and stabs the boy in the heart ...

this is simply a courtesy posting to say that i'm still alive and kicking ... and busy with work.

that is all.

this morning's shuffling .. to test the new firmware's camera, with both a centered focus shot and an off centre focus (on the shoes instead of the gloves) shot.

flashed the (just released) uk unbranded firmware (XXLFB) for my galaxy s3 - from my original australian unbranded firmware (XXLE8). i've not really gone through it all, but so far ..

- new brightness slider in notification drawer
- keyboard updated (look) and more responsive
- folders no longer reset its items after a re-draw
- no re-draws! (after heavy use of an app) .. yet

and the main difference between the unbranded uk and aus ..

- camera shutter can be muted
- gallery images can auto rotate

and note that since its still an official stock rom, my self imposed 3 months to use this device as is, still stands.

dear TortoiseSVN, Google Drive and Firefox Sync.

if you were a girl, i would buy you each a new pair of shoes and a chocolate ice cream right now ...

android app: TrackID

i don't like SoundHound (ugly) and i'm anti Shazam. so when JB's Sound Search was ported, i was thinking of giving it a go. but it works through widget only (apparently), and looks meh.

and then i remembered TrackID. used it awhile back on my Xperia X8. so i googled, and lo and behold, its available in Google Play .. for free!

installed this version. love the interface. its simple. no ads. and works. it recognised a malay, japanese and italian song. remixes of Bush and DM. and found The Buzzcocks. but it could not detect any songs by The Kominas ..

so if you want a free, gorgeous music recognition app, give TrackID a go at http://goo.gl/fyn4C

(update) there is a widget, and it looks absolutely gorgeous too. i just don't like how it cycles through the history.

my early dinner on this cold mundane monday

android widget: Tagy

after a week of using it, i'm very happy to keep Tagy as one of my homescreen widgets (which is rare for an anal homescreen visual geek like me)

Tagy allows you to select installed apps (bookmarks & contacts too) to be displayed as a tag cloud. the more the app is clicked, the bigger it gets.

but the best thing i like about Tagy is that you can fit in more apps in the same real estate as your normal shortcut icons grid.

some issues/wishlist ..
- no way to save your configuration
- "usage state" is based on clicking the apps displayed in the widget, not when the app is loaded in some other way
- coupled apps can't be added individually (eg. g+ will add g+messenger too)

but otherwise, its definitely a widget i highly recommend you at least try out - http://goo.gl/tCghy

LOL.

guilty!
via +The Food Pornographer

(edit) note that the post navigation is pretty tiny. its the small little arrows centered at the bottom of the page.

eff yeah google
is what i always say everytime i restore my account after a wipe or factory reset, flash a rom, register a new android device, etc.

BUT

eff you google
is what i always say after i sync down my google contacts. no, everything is fine - phone numbers, details, etc. its the profile images that is not.

not everyone has a "suitable resolution" as their profile pic. so i add my own to replace theirs, and for those that don't have a profile pic, i painstakingly took the time to find a good one for them. its something i'm very anal with, cos i hate to see a pixalated buddy face whenever i receive a phone call on my mobile.

a long long time ago, in a far far away internet era, i've always uploaded a photo through Gmail's contacts interface. but i wasn't happy with the compression then, even after they increased it over the years.

so ever since my first android device, i've used the device's contacts interface instead, and then sync up to the Google servers. these days, i've gone for a 400x400 dimension - which i personally find to be just the right size to fit most mobile devices, while not being too big in filesize.

its apparently a known issue to Google, who "has been looking into it". yes, i know there's workarounds, like connecting contacts to their google profile. but not everyone has an account, and not everyone has a profile pic that i like or suit my devices.

but this has gone on for way too long. its about time it gets fixed. not everyone is as anal as me in terms of dimensions. but i do know i am not the only one who hates the pixalated end result after a sync down. and these are people who are not "tech-savvy".

how to fix it? i don't know. have an option, force a resolution selection on download, etc. you decide, Google. just get it done. please.

</sundayrant>

time to take it easy and shoegaze away for the rest of this lazy sunday ...

i'm still so not used to in-ear earphones. although the one thing they do pretty well is clean my ears out .......

ps. this #galaxys3 supplied earphones are surprisingly pretty good. though i wish the controls allowed me to skip next track, instead of just pause and volume control.

its been a week since ( http://goo.gl/L88oV ) so thought i'd share some of my impressions and experiences with the #galaxys3 so far.

note. i've decided to use the phone as is for at least 3 months, so no third party launchers, root, or custom roms. (update) for a HTC One XL review and discussion, visit Andrew Melder at http://goo.gl/lhAv2

build. it is big and long, but doesn't feel like it at all. unlike many others (it seems), i actually like the design. the curves are just right, and it seems like +Samsung Mobile has focused more on the ergonomics of the phone, because it feels absolutely comfortable resting in my hands.

its thin and light, slim and sexy (hey, just like me) but not too light that i have to go "oh frack, did i forget my phone again". and slim enough that when kept in my pants, she doesn't take the spotlight away from my uhm .. other bulge.

battery. uuh-maay-ziing. i've not used her as i always do so far, what with playing around with the settings and stuff. but add that to my daily g+ surfing, synching of 4 email accs && Google (full) && Whatsapp, ~5min Person Of Interest clips, ~5min calls to Singapore, ~30mins of Flipboard, ~10mins of Whatsapping, and ~3hrs of music .. i still end up with an average of 14hrs discharge with 4hrs screentime at 7%.

screen. pentile issue? well i don't go around using her with a magnifying glass. i can read (my tiny font setting) text without the need to squint. Paul Pierce still looks like The Truth in the browser. and my wallpaper of Hayley Williams still displays her orange hair as orange, red lipstick as red.

although, my brightness setting is set to always 40% (my Nexus S was always on 10%). in the sun, i can still read pretty clearly, but at certain angles, i do find the need to shade it with my hands sometimes.

but overall, no major dramas with the screen really. while the OneX does seem to have an amazing screen, the S3's is honestly not the worse.

buttons. the power and volumes are placed perfectly. i was initially afraid it might have been closer to the top of the phone, which would make it difficult for me to reach with my thumb (power) on such a big phone. but no, i can easily reach it without the need for any thumb or finger gymnastics.

physical home button. i love it. makes using the camera feel so much easier without accidently pressing on the non camera buttons. and it needs to be pressed hard enough that i never accidently unlock the screen when she's in my pockets.

more importantly though, the button gives me a point of reference when in the dark or low light.

earphone jack. don't like it at the top. i have her top side down in my pocket so i can easily reach her and use only my elbow as the main fulcrum. now, if i have earphones plugged in, it has to be top side up in my pants, making me apply some wrist action whenever i whip her out. that's too much work for a lazy old man like me.

notification led. there's red green blue and white. love how it looks hidden when not lighted. but one issue is - i can't seem to get it to work for g+ notifications.

camera. i won't go into details since there's plenty of reviews out there. but its quick to load. fast to snap. and the editable setting shortcuts to the left is handy. some sample shots can be found at http://goo.gl/FmZmA and http://goo.gl/WNPVJ

one thing though. you can't mute the shutter sound (or at least decrease the volume). not sure if its the law in Australia (it is in Asia) but i'm hoping there is a way without the need to root.

front facing camera. i joined a hangout the other night with her and +Andrew Melder was immediately impressed with it. so you just have to go by his word on the quality. ( http://goo.gl/BpOgB )

video recording. the recorded audio doesn't sound too good. but picture-wise, i'm pretty happy. best feature for me is the ability to trim a video (when in the gallery). i used to use VidTrim. but now, i'm happy to stick with the one that comes installed.

video player. love how with auto rotate disabled, you can still switch to landscape mode on playback with a simple press of an on-screen icon.

pop-up play. surprisingly useful. initially thought it would be too gimicky, but hey, lunchtime breaks watching POI clips while catching up on external emails is productive for me.

music player. the interface, i like it. the widget, meh. sound quality is amazing (to my ears) and having an equalizer is awesome. the included earphones are surprisingly good too. unfortunately, no music widget in lockscreen (but yes in notification) and i wish there was an official way to connect to my google music account to this player.

touchwiz. i surprised myself by actually liking this new cut down version, despite having a sense of an inconsistent overall experience.

i can hide apps in the drawer, and order them to my liking - a plus for muscle memory. spacing between icons (and dock and homescreens) is pretty big, but now being used to it, i quite like it cos it does seem much easier to scroll through busy homescreens, and allows me to utilise the space below the dock to scroll (the homescreens, not the dock). but i wish there was a setting to disable the infinite scroll and allow wallpaper scrolling.

folder image is butt ugly, and bloody annoying to create. plus, items in the folder gets re-organised after heavy use of an app like Flipboard (when the system clears memory and the screen re-draws for a second)

update. the items in a folder also seem to get re-organised if you reboot the phone

hate the bubble SMS conversations. i would have preferred it clean and plain. you can change the bubble type and colour though (from a list) but they all look the same to me .. ie. ugly.

having the toggles in the notification is a biggup for me. i've always used the Notification Toggle app, but not anymore now. although, one thing i don't like is everytime you pull down the bar, the toggle starts from the right end and animates back to the left - wish there was the ability to disable this, and to also organise and add/remove toggles.

Samsung keyboard. its not Swype, but similar, and pretty simple to use. but its predictions are a little .. funny. and i hate not having that "instant" ability to add your own words to the dictionary.

motions. its cool, but i find myself struggling to perfect some motions, especially the swipe palm for a screenshot. maybe i just need more practice.

smart stay. works well, but the eye icon is kinda Supernatural scary. don't seem to work in the dark though.

s voice. gimmick. i disabled it. may try it one of these days when i'm bored, lonely, and ran out of money to call any sex chat lines.

and finally (this is becoming longer than i wanted to) ...

the Google+ app. with a much much bigger screen now, i thought i can finally see more of a single post in the stream view. but no. its still two lines of text overlaying a badly rendered thumbnail image. </sarcasm>

so there. my impressions of the S3. would i recommend her to anyone? i would, but again, its all down to personal preference. my advice is to still have a play and feel with your own hands before you make your decision.

feel free to ask questions about her, or if you have any tips for me

·!¦[• ® •]¦!·

here are some test shots from my S3. i will add more photos if and when i take more shots.

note:
- shots taken with 3.2mp at 2048x1536 so that it gets uploaded here as is
- front facing camera uses the full 1.9mp
- only 2 video settings. so full resolution version is compressed
- mostly auto settings used cos i'm a camera noob

my first S3 shuffling on this public holiday in Perth where most people are probably still sleeping while i'm busy cursing and swearing at Transperth's public holiday timetables

it was big. and long. but soft on the hand. so i stroked it gently, and it came to life. i went into immediate ecstacy. it was love at first touch.



Samsung Galaxy SIII

you are definitely the droid i have been looking for

i just discovered Ellie Goulding.

got stuck with some animation (jQuery) last night, googled, and somehow found my way to her. got her Lights album, and its a surprisingly good listen. i wonder though if she has an album of her live or acoustic performances.

oh and my work? not a problem. good music while coding always help to quell all issues.

i love my stock Android, especially 4.0+. but i do agree, some features definitely needs to be included in the stock versions, if Android is ever going to sway more of the iMasses over to its side.

i agree with the five listed here, but i also wish for the ability to change individual icons (subset of theming i suppose) ...

woohoo it's raining !
oh wait. its not ...

update
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/13800643/burst-water-main-causing-havoc-in-cbd/

g+ android app v2.6 (including the minor update). irony ftw.

cos it does seem this new UI is focused on accentuating the stream with images (photos). yet, while in stream view, because of the limited and shit arse thumbnail, you have to click on it to go into post view .. and you get presented with the same limited, shit arsed thumbnail, hence forcing you to click on it to view the full image (or to get a better view).

and worse, if a post has more than one photo, there is no way to tell on the mobile app. for me, that's a UI/UX fail.

Do more, in less time was the quote. really? cos it feels like Do more, for the same thing, in more time, using more mobile data usage.

its back to the browser and the old version for me ...

because of events in my social life (not me directly), i have been in the mood for such videos like the one i shared this morning (what uncanny timing).

i'm off to bed soon, but to sign off for the night, here is another surprise proposal video from last year. i mean, flashmob + proposal == an obvious favourite of mine. (i've linked it to where the dance first begin)

with the moves this dude has, who could say no. and oh those twins at the beginning ...

i rarely visit the what's hot stream, but so glad i did this morning .. cos this is absolutely amazingly awesome that i just had to share (especially after last night too)

i love the google+ app from the very beginning. simple, clean, no frills. in fact, my first ever post here was about the app ( http://goo.gl/8kcuW ). there's been a few updates since then, and while they all do have some issues here and there, they were no where near enough for me to hate it.

but this new update, version 2.6, is an effing piece of shit. all bells and whistles. and very un-google like - Google for me has always been about a clean and simple UI

and apart from the visual issues that go against my own principles of usability and simplicity (and readability), it seems g+ has now been funneled to cater to a different group of users.

google+ for me has always been about (reading) the content. my main stream are plussies who write a variety of good commentary, or work related codes. photos or links that came with the posts was to accentuate the point being made. and even their re-shares came with their own worded thoughts.

i know there are many others who simply posts funny pics or links or empty re-shares, and in turn, like to see them in their stream. i have nothing against that, but its not for me. and that is the beauty of Google+. we don't need to conform to what others tell us how g+ is supposed to be used, or to follow how everyone else uses it. and we are given pretty decent tools (circles and filters) to tweak our g+ enjoyment.

this new update though, seem to cater for the group that simply only post photos and links where commentary is not important, and not for plussies like me. only two lines of the commentary, truncated and paragraph-stripped, and over-laying the accompanying photo, forcing us to go into post view for every single post just to be able to read more.

so (no) thank you, version 2.6, my g+ mobile experience is now a photo news feed instead of the previously non-truncated news reader.

very disappointing.

and i think when +Vic Gundotra wrote in his post "Do more, in less time", i think he meant to say "Use more data usage, in less time".

i finally found a "near perfect" note widget for my android mobile. simple, free, and no permissions needed at all (which should be the way - unlike my previous favourite)

one setting i still wish for though (which i have not found in any of the other note widgets) is to be able to set the line-height of the text.

edit
i forgot to mention, its resizable, and unlike most older note widgets, it does not clutter the add widget screen with its multiple sizes.

Person Of Interest

season 1 final episode
where you just want to

$>su root
>#root amy acker

that. is. all.

The Legend of Korra

i love the original series, Avatar The Last Airbender, so when i first read there was going to be a sequel to the series, i was excited, and its probably the only cartoon sequel i've ever waited for in such high anticipation.

ps. the movie was a huge disappointment. how could they not have Toph?

it finally (first) aired on the 14th of April, but i was busy then, and its only now i have the time to catch up. and wow it has not disappoint. its got more action, kick-ass baddies, awesome storyline, and i love the artwork. all these while maintaining the right balance of comical elements.

its now 5 episodes in, and if you've not watched it, i highly recommend you do.

here's another hands on video of the SGS3 at CTIA. nothing most of us have not already seen. but check out the 4:08 mark onwards, where an iPhone user was taking photos of the S3, and she finds it really pretty. and even though she need to think hard about this, oh man you can tell she was impressed with the Samsung Galaxy S III

good video +Robert Nazarian !

good morning Perth. hope everyone is having a good day so far at work. i'll be thinking of ya'll while i spend today at the zoo. and ... oh wait, be right back. looks like someone is eyeing my coke ...

waiting for Race 3 of the main V8 supercars category in the sun after 2 days in the wet .. cos the weekend would not be perfect without a shuffle

the big boys finally come out to play

fitted bedsheets ...

are an absolute man's best friend. oh the joy when you're so tired and need new sheets. just swoosh it out, pull here, pull there, and bang, its la la land.

BUT

folding them is a frackin nightmare. no matter how many times i replay this video, my folded fitted sheets are still so puffy and ugly. grrr ...

its after lunch, and back to some (my) mainstream music with Girl in a Coma. i've shared this video before, but i just have to share it again, cos ...

Nina Diaz .. is. fuckin. awesome.

two more hours to go to hometime. followed by two more sleeps to Tash!

Evil is Back. are you prepared to start the end of days on May 15th yet?

for those who are not looking forward to their partners being glued to the game, well you always have uhm .. NKOTB + Backstreet Boys to look forward to - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/boy-bands-unite-for-grown-up-tour/story-e6frfn09-1226342330732

avengers shuffle ...

went to bed early (by my standards) last night after giving up trying to get in to battle.net servers.

woke up fresh this morning. first try. i'm back in.

goodbye Sunday .......

dear Social Life. it has been a good run. but unfortunately, we have to break up. yes, i admit. its someone else. Diablo3 her name is. i've been seeing her for awhile now, behind your back. its been weighing heavily on me, but with me and her having a special date this weekend, i decided i need to make a decision to call it quits with you.

please forgive me. but i know those words would not heal your wounds. so if it makes you feel any better, i am more than happy to continue our relationship at a much slower pace, till it fades out by the 15th of May.

HTC One X !! but .. <sadface>not for me</sadface>. its for +Stanley Nugroho

i was really tempted to get it too, after having a play with it. but somehow managed to hold myself back, to give myself the opportunity to compare with the new galaxy first before deciding on my next droid.

enjoy the phone mate!

getting my 2Pac fix on this slow boring wednesday afternoon. thanks Coachella, +Nicole Gardiner and +Andrew Melder for reminding me ...

i got a notification saying someone did something. errr did what !?

new profile photo.

i decided to stick true to form with my cover by using the same image as always - since it does detail what i do day in day out. and i thought my new profile should somehow look as part of the cover.

it took awhile to finally get them to align proper. and i was really happy with the result when i viewed my profile page ... until i mouseover me and realised they don't share the same alignments between main and mini profile. sighs.

i thought i'd give the bankwest android app another go. did an update, fired it up, and everything looked to be working fine.

till it reached the screen which showed my account balance.

definitely a major bug there. sighs ...

first day back at work, after a long weekend. slow, mundane, sleepy, boring. and i ran out of sites to uhm .. research. what else can i do? why, enjoy some awesome videos of course .......

thanks +Dale Christine Crocker for somehow reminding me of this video!

Mary Poppins. a glass shattering musical experience.

sighs. you're officially old when even after a number zero shave down the sides and back, you still find some whites sticking out.

anyway. time to tune in to one of my all time favourite albums on this lazy tuesday ...

nothing else to do in perth on a Monday morning except to queue for the Dick Smith specials ...

thursday. excited to install 4.0.4 but had issues updating because of a bug in 4.0.3 recovery mode for the Nexus S SLCD version. tried the adb way. but my device could not be detected.

friday. factory images released. but did not have time to sort out why my device still could not be detected. resigned to wait till OTA update.

saturday. woke up and saw 5 g+ peeps already on 4.0.4. frack my work. sorted out my device with a wipe and clean install. and after 3 hours, 4.0.4 is now on my n[x]s. whoopee!

just back from Hunger Games with +Haroon Malik . meh. not hungry for the next 3 movies

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Reshared text:
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glass door 1. grandma 0.

now this is what being glassed really should mean.

last night, we had our first perth circle meet-up at the Aviary. it was good to put faces to some names, and meeting others in person. but we kept it a small group, since the original idea was to welcome a fellow circle member - who would be making the move from Scotland to Perth in a few months time - and did not want to overwhelm them.

and based on the success of last night, plans are already in motion to have a bigger (and better organised) g+ perth circle meet-up soon. i'm definitely looking forward to it.

ps. we managed a shuffle post - http://goo.gl/oPjmq - coincidentally a few metres from the bus stop where it all began!

i was listening to System of a Down earlier today. watched some videos. got inspired. went home. scissors out. visually measured up my beard. snip snip snip. snip some more. and .. oops.

i gave up.

got the shaver out and shaved .......

don't you wanna dance. say you wanna dance. don't you wanna dance

good morning perth!

yup, for some strange reason i'm extra bubbly this monday morning. i feel the need to dance. i hope y'all feeling as good as me. have a great week ahead!