I am announcing that I will turn this blog into my personal lifestream. For an example of what a lifestream is, look at your Facebook wall. I will still blog every now and then, just not as often (which is exactly why I’m doing this). I will also be dropping the name “Life is Just” as it was used to serve as a blog title and the site is no longer a blog.

This will be the biggest revamp since I started using WordPress instead of Dreamweaver many years ago. Oddly enough, my lifestream will still be powered by WordPress. WordPress is awesome, shut up.

As my priorities in life evolve, so must the purpose of my domain.

Upon arrival, I was informed that the turnout of Intermediate players was too small to play amongst themselves; we would have to play with the Masters (and place among ourselves at the end of the tournament). That’s when the nightmare began.

Not only was I severely outmatched, I ran into an uncanny string of bad luck. It is bad enough to be the losing player to the highest-scoring game of the tournament, it happened twice: two players scored the high game of 619 against me.

Sure, I’m playing with Masters, what would I expect? Unfortunately, my spread (cumulative score) was pretty low, that it meant the difference between me in 5th place (out of 7 intermediate players) and 3rd place as we have the same number of wins.

Bingoes that I have placed:
SALIVATE, SPARRED, POPULAR, LICENSES, SHRIVEL, THREADS
I can’t remember the other half.

Well, my rating stands at 1534 as of date. In all likelihood, I will be MIA for a year and my rating will disappear again.

The sound quality of the speakers is rather remarkable for a phone; at maximum volume, it is loud enough for you to have to raise your voice to converse inside a car. The headphone jack is a welcome feature, as it breaks you free from proprietary Nokia earphones. Plus, the Music Player app functions well for the average music lover. Nokia has succeeded in delivering on its asserted strong points.The 5800 XpressMusic handles differently than an iPhone as its screen is pressure-sensitive and not touch-sensitive, which people can get used to with time. However, the interface is not as fluid and fast-loading as the iPhone, despite having sufficient processing power and RAM. The tiny vibration, emitted every time an on-screen button is pressed, does help to some extent. Nokia goes all out on making this phone as usable as possible; you can use your fingers, the stylus or the included plectrum to type on up to four different virtual keyboards.

Generously included with the phone are some starter accessories. The rubber pouch proves to be stylish and functional, but tends to attract dust that sticks to its insides. The plectrum seemed to be a good idea at first, but it gets in the way if you place it in your trousers pocket. I have yet to find a practical real-life use for the video-out cable, which is almost a waste. On the other hand, the stand can be handy, if you bother to bring it around with you. Note: after the price drop in September 2009, the video-out cable, additional stylus, pouch and stand are removed.

One of the biggest caveats of this phone is the limited availability of applications, an aspect that other smartphone manufacturers have an edge on. Developing an app for the 5800 XpressMusic requires an accommodation of the touchscreen, which makes older Symbian apps either unusable or difficult to operate. Running old Java-based apps is accompanied with an awkward on-screen set of directional buttons and softkeys. However, some enterprise apps such as Adobe Reader LE and Garmin Mobile navigator are already fully compatible. Hopefully, Nokia will see to it that the developer community for their touchscreen smartphones will grow.

Nokia’s effort to present a viable camera is very noticeable on this phone. The 3.2 megapixel camera features Carl Zeiss lenses and even a flash (which can be turned into a handy torchlight with a third-party app). Also, there is a camera button strategically placed on the side for easy app access and picture-taking. However, the color quality of resulting photos leaves much to be desired. Also, deleting multiple photos from the gallery turns out to be a tedious chore.The in-built assisted-GPS capability is a great addition to the Nokia Maps app. It’s a shame that it takes a while to get a signal lock to tell you where you are, possibly due to a weak antenna. I believe that it is for this reason that Nokia released the 5800 Navigator Edition. Then again, it is better than having no GPS at all. Out of the box, the phone includes two games (a platformer and a racing game) which demonstrate its graphics capabilities very well. However, you will run into some trouble looking for games that makes use of its 3D rendering or accelerometer features, or any quality compatible games, for that matter.My verdict: if you need a phone that doubles as a good portable media player and not much more, then this is the phone for you. I recommend that you buy this as cheaply as possible; if you have a little more money to fork out, then go straight for the 5800 Navigation Edition.

First a brief introduction. I am an amateur actor born and raised in Malaysia, which makes me an Asian actor. While I am all for ethnic equality and all, I think you are ‘bending’ the issue out of proportion.

The characters and setting of Avatar: the Last Airbender are based on Asian/Oriental backgrounds. But think about it: Aang the cartoon character is pale, has big eyes, capable of martial arts and even speaks in an American accent. In my opinion, Noah Ringer fits the description, and more so if he has good acting chops.

As for the Prince of Persia, Jake Gyllenhaal also more or less looks the part and has good acting chops. To me, that is good enough for him to carry the role and entertain me in his adventures (whether the movie is great or not is a different story).

You must understand, the creators of Avatar the cartoon series are white Americans, and so are the majority of its viewers. It is normal for them to cast white actors, also because the pool of talent in America/Canada are mostly white. In other parts of the world, the same ‘phenomenon’ also occurs: in a Hong-Kong made Street Fighter movie, Chinese actors are cast as Guile, Dhalsim, Bison and Blanka. Who can blame them?

It seems that the ‘racebending’ issue only surfaced upon the impending release of The Last Airbender (correct me if I’m wrong). When other ethnicities are affected, did anyone say anything? How about the time when an Irish played a German Nazi, or when a half English played Gandhi, or when a Korean played a Japanese (twice), or when an English played a Polish Pope, or when an English- Scottish-Finnish-Swedish American played a South African Afrikaner athlete, or when an Irish-Slovak-Swiss American played Jesus Christ? Did anyone have any problems then?

Sorry, but I would be more sympathetic to the cause if somebody can name an ‘Asian’ actor who can carry the role just as well, if not better, than Noah Ringer. I understand the plight of Asian American actors seeking equality in casting, but a boycott of The Last Airbender is not going to help that much. At the very least, you should watch the movie and see for yourself whether or not Noah Ringer is worthy of the role. If you deem him unworthy just because he is white, then isn’t it you who are racist?

Oh by the way, I quit my job.

Getting things done never felt this good.

Stay tuned for awesomeness.

Here I shall list some, in no particular order. Lame answers in italics.

*Warning: there be spoilers*

1. How did James Rhodes get access to Tony Stark’s lab and to wearing the suit?
Maybe Jarvis let him?
2. How can James Rhodes fit into the suit when it was built for Tony’s body?
Maybe the Iron Man suit is just awesome that way?
3. How did James Rhodes know how to use and fly the suit on the first try?
4. How did James Rhodes take off the suit after flying it to the US Army camp? There were no robotic arms! Plus, it was even intact after he took it off! How did they know how to assemble/disassemble it?
5. Why did they allow Justin Hammer to make modifications to the Iron Man suit when the US Army has canceled their relationship with his company?
6. Why did the War Machine appear in Justin Hammer’s presentation when it is the property of the US Army?
7. Why did Pepper Pots and Natalie Rushman attend Justin Hammer’s presentation?
Because it is still part of the Stark Expo?
8. What purpose did Tony Stark’s company serve? Didn’t he shut down the weapons division and blew up the arc reactor in the first movie? It seems that the only work Pepper Pots did as CEO is to take care of Tony Stark’s property and scheduling.
9. How did Tony Stark leave his house without being detected by Agent Coulson?
10. If keeping Tony Stark at home is so important, why was Agent Coulson suddenly reassigned without a replacement?
Maybe the “incident after the credits” was far more important and they became shorthanded?
11. Howard Stark wanted the secret undiscovered element to change the world by using it as a power source. Why did Tony Stark keep it to himself?
To prevent other people from building their own Iron Man suits?
12. Why didn’t Justin Hammer see the potential in the many miniature arc reactor cores that Ivan built other than the purposes of powering the armored combat robots?
Maybe all he wanted is to just put Tony Stark to shame and nothing else?
13. How did Ivan build his final Whiplash suit without Justin Hammer noticing?
14. Why did Ivan ask for his bird when he is eventually happy with the ‘wrong’ one the Justin Hammer provided him anyway? And how did Justin Hammer find out the exact species of the bird?
15. How did SHIELD find out about his Palladium poisoning? *Courtesy of Kevin Khoo*
Maybe Natalie Rushman spied on him?
16. How did SHIELD find out how to temporary cure his Palladium poisoning? Heck, how did they even know that Tony can find the answer in Howard Stark’s old stuff when the real answer is in the scale model?
17. How did Tony Stark buy the doughnuts in his suit without his wallet?
Maybe they gave him the doughnuts out of admiration? Or maybe he has his wallet in his suit?

Yeah, I’m anal like that. I bet none of you can find anymore plotholes other than these.

If you don’t know how French Boule is played, it is basically betting on a tile that represents numbers 1-10. And a ball will be rolled to land on a random number. It’s like a simpler version of Roulette, see full info here.

Allow me to illustrate with the following table. The row denotes the number tiles you place your chips on. Assuming you place one chip on one tile every round, there is a 10% chance to win 8 times your bet, and a 90% chance to lose one bet. This means in a simulation of 10 rounds of flatbetting, the odds are that you will lose one bet.

. Number of tiles Chance.. To Win Chance.. To Lose Winnings every 10 rounds . 1 10% 8x 90% 1x (1×8)-(9×1)=-1 . 2 20% 7x 80% 2x (2×7)-(8×2)=-2 . 3 30% 6x 70% 3x (3×6)-(7×3)=-3 . 4 40% 5x 60% 4x (4×5)-(6×4)=-4 . 5 50% 4x 50% 5x (5×4)-(5×5)=-5 . 6 60% 3x 40% 6x (6×3)-(4×6)=-6 . 7 70% 2x 30% 7x (7×2)-(3×7)=-7 . 8 80% 1x 20% 8x (8×1)-(2×8)=-8 . 9 90% 0 10% 9x (9×0)-(1×9)=-9 . 10 100% -1x 0% 10x (10x-1)-(0×10)=-10 . . For three-numbered tiles . 1 30% 2x 70% 1x (3×2)-(7×1)=-1 . 2 60% 1x 40% 2x (6×1)-(4×2)=-2 . 3 90% 0 10% 3x (9×0)-(1×3)=-3

As you can see in this table, the more bets you place on the tiles, the more you will lose in the long run. Even the three-numbered tiles will not help you one bit. I mean, what do you expect? In every game, the house always wins.

The best strategy that I come up with is this. Place a consistent bet amount on a single tile in every round (this is called flatbetting) and just hope for the best. After you have lost exactly seven times in a row, stand up and walk away. This way, the most you will lose is 7 times your bet; the smallest amount would be RM5x7=RM35. This will maximize the potential of your bad odds.

Here’s a better strategy: don’t play anything at the casino at all.

“Do I need painkillers?”

The bleeding was bad enough. I discovered the hard way that the worst part of it all was not the procedure itself, it was the pain that emerged after the local anesthetics wore off. It was the first time I ever longed for an injection.

Eating became hard, as every swallow brought pain. Even today when the pain decreased, eating is still an ordeal because I can only chew on one side.

So remember kids: take care of your teeth so that your dentist won’t have to.

Other things I hmph at:
Coca-Cola/Pepsi (It’s bad for you)
DotA
Internet Explorer 6
Friendster
McDonald’s (In the past three years, I’ve only been less than five times)
Plastic bags
Heroes (The TV show. It’s so bad I’m surprised the ratings are not…. zeroes)
CRT Monitors
Lets see.. dial-up internet
Wait that’s it? I still use everything else? I am such a whore.

Lady Gaga – Just Dance
“Where are my keys? I lost my phone.”
This song encourages you to not give a damn should you be in such circumstances.

Black Eyed Peas – My Humps
“My humps, my humps, my humps, my humps, my humps.”
The language used in literary arts hundreds of years ago is more civilized than this.

Police – De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
“De do do do, de da da da. Is all I want to say to you.”
I’m not from the era so somebody tell me what this means.

Usher – Yeah
“Yeah.”
No.

T-Pain – Can’t Believe It
“Put you in the mansion, somewhere in Wiscansin.”
What, you can’t find another word that rhymes with ‘mansion’, that you have to make one up?

Nelly – Hot in Herre
“It’s gettin’ hot in here (so hot) So take off all your clothes”
There no subtlety in this world anymore.

Kanye West – Diamonds are Forever
“Now all I need is y’all to pronounce my name. Its Kanye – But some of my plastic – they still say Kane”
Way to place a plug in about yourself in your own song, dude.

Jonas Brothers – Paranoid
“That’s why my ex is still my ex”
How insecure does the listener have to be to warrant such an assurance?