Bye Bye R3

After more than a year, I've finally just sold off my Ricoh R3 to a fellow ClubSnap member today. So here's goodbye to superb 1cm macro shots for now, or at least until my next Ricoh or I get enough $$$ to invest in a DSLR with a proper Macro lens. :-)

USB FM Transmitter for Car

Got this interesting gadget which I bought from eBay today. Essentially it is an FM Transmitter which fits into the vehicle 12V socket. The transmitter has a USB port which is meant for plugging in USB Flash Disks (i.e. Thumb Drives) or any portable disk supporting the USB interface.

What this means is that you can copy your favourite songs into your USB flash disk, go to the car and plug it into this gadget. Then this device will play your songs on the USB flash disk and transmit it wirelessly via FM to your car radio. It also comes with a small remote control so that you can easily scan << or >> for your songs!

I've configured it for frequency 88.0 FM and it works perfectly for Singapore. Sound quality is as good as radio quality or even slightly better. Looks like I have more use for my USB flash disk now :-)

There are a number of models to choose from, some even have an LCD which displays the info of the song currently playing. As I wanted to try out the quality, I bought the cheapest which only has a simple LED display.

Oh yes, it also has an audio input cable to which you can plug your MP3 player (such as an iPod) and it will transmit the audio to the car radio.

Can easily find them on eBay, like THESE.

My First Earthquake ...

--- PART 1: 1150 hrs ---

I was sitting in my cubie doing some work when all of a sudden I felt "giddy". Felt like I was on a boat or something. After that I looked around and saw a couple of puzzled faces. Asked my neighbour and he said he felt it too. There was a fish tank behind me and at one point it was so bad that the water was almost spilling out of it. Some of the lights were swaying too. We were only on the 8th floor, wonder how much difference it would be in a much taller building.

Since it was almost lunch time, all of us evacuated the building. Quickly took the car out of the basement car park and went somewhere far away for lunch. :-)

Anyway, back in the office and think it should be safe now.

--- PART 2: 1350 hrs ---

Just felt an aftershock, people wanted to "evacuate" but most of us decided to stay since it only lasted for a few seconds. :-)

Sai Kung (西貢) Seafood

I am finally back from HK after business. Things went as well as we could hope for. Anyway, after the official business was done, we had a mini celebration/thank you dinner at Sai Kung Town, famous for their seafood.



Although I am not a seafood fan, I was impressed by the variety of live seafood on display. I don't think you will ever see such a sight in Singapore or Malaysia. It looked more like an aquarium than a seafood restaurant. They even had Moray Eels and Stonefish for the picking! All these washed down with several glasses of TsingTao. Check out more photos of the restaurant HERE.

After the seafood session, it was down to the local pub for some drinks. Not very happening though. Anyway, since it was mainly guys, it was Darts and Pool all evening.

Chinese New Year 2007

It's been a pretty eventful Chinese New Year, with the pre-New Year trip to Paris, the New Year visiting, food and gambling. The last week was quite relaxed too as many are still in the New Year mood.

Anyway, CNY is not over yet but I'll be off to HK for business. Hmm, would be good to catch a glimpse of how CNY is like over there. Finished packing most of my stuff already as the flight is at 1630. Today is 初八 and I should be back by next Sat (初十四) before 元宵.

Here's wishing one and all ...

新年快乐，万事如意！