Weblog Wannabe

“Ondine” trailer (via Annusia1986) Oooh, a new Neil...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:56:04 -0800

“Ondine” trailer (via Annusia1986)

Oooh, a new Neil Jordan movie!

Hey, What's Up?

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:41:13 -0800

Wow, it’s been awhile since I posted an update here! But if you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll know that I’ve been blogging somewhere else. I fell in love with Tumblr. It reminds me of the good, old days of blogging where it’s all about sharing cool stuff on the web. I really wish I could do the things I could do with Tumblr here but Movable Type’s bookmarklet is just not as capable as Tumblr’s. But then again, my blog is not running the latest version of Movable Type. They might have improved the bookmarklet with the latest version. I don’t know. Can any Movable Type users running the latest version verify this?

Anyway, more than one exciting things happened since my last posts. In chronological order:

I finally bought my dream digital SLR camera, a camera I’ve been wanting since it came out in 2005: the Canon EOS 5D! Yay! I bought it used because I wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise and it’s just as awesome as I thought it would be.
We got our oil-powered furnace and water heater replaced with gas powered ones. The new high-efficiency furnace does a better job heating up the house and, most importantly, doesn’t stop working while we’re sleeping at night like the oil furnace did.
We got a new niece! She is my younger brother and his wife’s second child/daughter and our third niece, and she’s beautiful. I’m sad that I’m hardly part of my two of my three nieces and one nephew’s lives since I live on the other side of the planet from them but I’m always happy to see them happy in their Facebook photos. (I find that last part really depressing, by the way.)

I’m almost sure there are other exciting things that happened last month that I failed to mention but I really can’t remember. But then again, it could be just because I found last month anything but boring.

Currently, I’m trying to make my own designs of soft toys. I have this idea to start my own one-of-a-kind, handmade, soft toy online store. I’ve never sold any soft toys that I made except for one sock monkey so we’ll see how this plan goes. I’m really excited about this and really hope that it’ll work out. I’ll keep you posted!

Bleeding Cool Comic Book News and Rumors » Neil Gaiman To Write Doctor Who Episode – Official

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:24:00 -0800

Bleeding Cool Comic Book News and Rumors » Neil Gaiman To Write Doctor Who Episode – Official:

Sweet Jebus! But 14 months? Can I wait that long?

anti-theft lunch bags

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:44:57 -0800

anti-theft lunch bags

Mixtape - Luke Snellin (via lgfilmfest) A really cute short...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:48:20 -0800

Mixtape - Luke Snellin (via lgfilmfest)

A really cute short film.

Exit Through The Gift Shop - A Banksy Film (via banksyfilm)

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:01:39 -0800

Exit Through The Gift Shop - A Banksy Film (via banksyfilm)

Why those fat thighs may help you live longer | Reuters

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:51:25 -0800

Why those fat thighs may help you live longer | Reuters:

People with fat in their thighs and backsides may live longer because the fat traps harmful fatty particles and actively secretes helpful compounds, according to a report published on Tuesday.

Ha! If that’s what it takes to live longer then I’m in luck.

"The Drake Equation is used to estimate the number of highly evolved civilisations that might exist..."

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:41:08 -0800

“The Drake Equation is used to estimate the number of highly evolved civilisations that might exist in our galaxy. I have used this approach to estimate the number of potential girlfriends in the UK. The results are not encouraging. The probability of finding love in the UK is only about 100 times better than the probability of finding intelligent life in our galaxy.”

- Why I don’t have a girlfriend: An application of the Drake Equation to love in the UK by Peter Backus

Wired 9.12: Take The AQ Test

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:23:00 -0800

Wired 9.12: Take The AQ Test:

“Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher.”

I scored 34.

LackRack - Eth0Wiki Apparently those cheap, square Lack tables...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:06:00 -0800

LackRack - Eth0Wiki

Apparently those cheap, square Lack tables from Ikea can be turned into a data centre/server rack quite easily. Who knew.

"An intentionally vague Facebook status update, that prompts friends to ask what’s going on, or..."

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:21:27 -0800

“An intentionally vague Facebook status update, that prompts friends to ask what’s going on, or is possibly a cry for help.”

- Urban Dictionary: Vaguebooking

Supermarket Sarah What a great idea for an online store! The...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:54:12 -0800

Supermarket Sarah

What a great idea for an online store! The items in the picture are for sale and clickable.

Pictured: Three cheetahs spare tiny antelope’s life…...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0800

Pictured: Three cheetahs spare tiny antelope’s life… and play with him instead | Mail Online

Except the Daily Mail doesn’t show the real ending.

(Hint: It’s not a happy ending.)

SimplyNoise.com - The best free white noise generator on the Internet.

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:30:00 -0800

SimplyNoise.com - The best free white noise generator on the Internet.:

Troy can’t sleep without white noise in the background. No silent night sleep for me!

Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: Physicist Discovers How to Teleport Energy

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:58:55 -0800

Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: Physicist Discovers How to Teleport Energy:

Still waiting patiently for the Star Trek-style teleporter.

Survival Tracking Guide

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:56:27 -0800

Survival Tracking Guide

further cat adventures | Johnny Wander

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:43:55 -0800

further cat adventures | Johnny Wander

How Tough are NES Games? (via rinrygamegame)

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:26:00 -0800

How Tough are NES Games? (via rinrygamegame)

Which Media Center Is Right for You: Boxee, XBMC, and Windows...

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:39:00 -0800

Which Media Center Is Right for You: Boxee, XBMC, and Windows Media Center Compared - Media Centers - Lifehacker

XBMC works just fine for us.

Teenager invents low-frequency radio for underground...

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:35:39 -0800

Teenager invents low-frequency radio for underground communications — Engadget

Students failing because of Twitter, texting

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:28:00 -0800

Students failing because of Twitter, texting:

Ontario’s Waterloo University is one of the few post-secondary institutions in Canada to require the students they accept to pass an exam testing their English language skills.

Almost a third of those students are failing.
“Thirty per cent of students who are admitted are not able to pass at a minimum level,” says Ann Barrett, managing director of the English language proficiency exam at Waterloo University.

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich (via @Loobylu) I know at least one...

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:27:00 -0800

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich (via @Loobylu)

I know at least one person who would appreciate this tumblelog.

xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By...

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:53:00 -0800

xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe

Poor Spirit Rover. :(

TV FOX - TV Add-on for Firefox

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:48:00 -0800

TV FOX - TV Add-on for Firefox:

2780 Live TV Channels sorted by country & category, the TV-FOX allow you to watch thousands of TV channels freely available on the internet, powered by the biggest and most up to date database (Google - Wikipedia - YouTube - Torrent - eBay & Amazon Search engines included).

I wonder how and how well it works. I guess there’s only one way to find out.

"Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused..."

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:29:00 -0800

““Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.””

- “The Catcher in the Rye”, J.D. Salinger (1919-2010)

First Sighting of Auroral Light Bouncing Off Satellite? : Big Pic : Discovery News

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:40:38 -0800

First Sighting of Auroral Light Bouncing Off Satellite? : Big Pic : Discovery News:

Mysterious shape observed in an Aurora picture. The best theory is auroral light bouncing off a satellite. What’s your theory? Looks like a space jellyfish to me!

LOST: Flight 815 Crash in Real Time (via pyram1dhead) That...

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:52:40 -0800

LOST: Flight 815 Crash in Real Time (via pyram1dhead)

That must’ve been a lot of work! There were scenes that I don’t remember ever seeing, but I must have. New and final season starts next week. Yay!

The Known Universe by AMNH (via AMNHorg) Will have to try not to...

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:46:00 -0800

The Known Universe by AMNH (via AMNHorg)

Will have to try not to think about this tonight before bed or I’ll be up all night and potentially go crazy.

Philip Guo - Geek behaviors present during conversations

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:30:00 -0800

Philip Guo - Geek behaviors present during conversations:

I’m guilty for at least two of these behaviours: “struggling with turn-taking” and “preferring exact numerical responses.”

"The person who wrote the advertisements is without doubt the most ignorant person now alive on the..."

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:23:00 -0800

“The person who wrote the advertisements is without doubt the most ignorant person now alive on the planet; also without doubt he is an idiot, an idiot of the 33rd degree, and scion of an ancestral procession of idiots stretching back to the Missing Link.”

- Mark Twain, Letters of Note

Happy Seamstress » Blog Archive » The Nerdiest Sweater...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:56:00 -0800

Happy Seamstress » Blog Archive » The Nerdiest Sweater Vest in the World

The knitting pattern is also available for download. I’d knit it for my nerdier half if I knew how to knit.

The Pac-Man Bookcase Gobbles Up Your Wall-Mounted HDTV

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:16:55 -0800

The Pac-Man Bookcase Gobbles Up Your Wall-Mounted HDTV

Twenty Ten

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:03:24 -0800

It’s a new year! Woot woot! And the decade with the lowest low and and the highest high I ever had had come to an end. And it ended with one of the worst months ever. Basically any month where I don’t get to spend much time with the dearest, darling husband, sprain an ankle and is sick with a nasty flu bug is not a good month in my book.

This year marks a decade of blogging for me. At least in this incarnation. If you counted the time I was journaling at Diaryland, that would add one or two years into the decade. And oh how time has changed. No more GeoCities. Kids don’t need to sweet-talk domain owners for hosting anymore because domain names and web hosting come cheap. Web rings are practically dead. And everyone and their dog have a blog AND a Twitter account. Awesome.

I don’t like making resolutions but I like setting goals for myself. This year I’d like to write more about my childhood in an attempt to dig out good memories about my dad, just to be able to say that once upon a time, my dad was a cool guy, and maybe eventually forgive him. So far, no such memories have surfaced but I’ll keep trying.

I’d also like to finally own a full-frame digital SLR camera. And no, as much as I want a Canon EOS 5D Mk II, I can’t justify the cost of buying one. I just want a used, original 5D so that if I get tired of digital photography as I often do, I won’t have a $3,000 camera lying around gathering dust.

And last but not least, I’d like to learn to do more new, useful things. Last year I learned to develop colour film and to develop b&w film with a combo of coffee, washing soda and vitamin C. That was fun. I haven’t figured out what I want to learn to do this year but I will.

Anyway, I hope this year has been good to you so far and will continue to be. May your chocolate be plenty! Mmm, chocolate…

To Be Unholy

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:49:38 -0800

My dad is selling our house, the house in which I grew up in Indonesia. The house of pain as I like to think of it. I swear if you were there, you’d be able to feel unhappiness emanating from every corner. I haven’t been in that house in over 5 years and yet I don’t miss it. It isn’t home anymore. Not since my mother passed away anyway. And I’ve never been a big fan of the nosy, meddling neighbours.

I was just thinking about the neighbours we had growing up. The couple living next door were devout Muslims. Once they complained to my mother about me playing Silent Night — a Christmas song — on the piano which they thought was inappropriate and un-Islamic coming from a Muslim household. I guess they picked the wrong parental unit to file such a ridiculous complaint. My mother told me about it and we had a giggle. It was our little secret. She never told me to stop playing the song. Whatever I liked to play on the piano was fine by her. Since then, whenever I felt like playing the piano and I knew the neighbours were home, I’d play Silent Night just to be annoying. If I felt generous, I’d play the only other Christmas song I knew how to play, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, which I doubt the neighbours knew was a Christmas song.

Had it been my dad they had complained to, it would’ve been another story. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear would’ve been the only Christmas song I’d be able to play at home, because to him, the neighbours were always right.

I miss my piano. I hate that the last memory I had of it is of the smell of the cigarette the man who bought it smoked inside our house when he came to pick it up. No one had ever smoked inside our house when my mother was alive.

For Goodness' Sake

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:55:08 -0800

I have issues with religion. I really do. It’s never been my thing, mostly because I hate being told what to do and I like to think for myself. I know religion works for some people and all I can say is more power to them. But I’m not going to go into the heavy stuff with this entry. I just need to rant about a few things that have been bugging me for awhile.

Since I was raised in a family of Muslims, let’s start with Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Adha is a holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. To make long story short, God — who apparently has strange sense of humour — replaced his son with a sheep. And so began the tradition of sacrificing livestock to feed the poor on Eid al-Adha. It’s all good, except they do the slaughtering in public, and parents actually take their little kids to witness the bloody murder! So wrong! Don’t they know what a traumatizing experience it could be?

And then there are people who disagree with the whole slaughtering animal thing. They ask, why don’t they replace the animals with fruits and vegetables? Well, it’s because meat is relatively expensive and therefore less affordable to the poor than fruits and vegetables. The animal slaughter is for a good cause. I’m okay with that, but I’m not really okay with the evergreen tree slaughter happening around Christmas time because it’s solely for decorative purpose. Nothing higher than that. And yet, people who complain about the animal slaughter on Eid al-Adha have no issues with the chopping of the trees. What’s up with that? Is it because trees don’t make noises, nor do they look at you with mournful eyes?

Last but not least is my Santa Claus rant. What’s with all the lying to the little kids about presents coming from Santa Claus? Would it be wrong just to tell them instead that the presents come from their parents because their parents love them very much? Don’t you think that maybe it would make kids respect their parents more? I also find the whole sitting-on-Santa’s-lap thing kind of creepy. Creepier still is when it’s grown-up women who do the sitting. How could you be sure that underneath his big, red pants Santa isn’t having an erection while you’re doing that, because it is Fake Santa after all, i.e., not really a saint?

Okay, I’m feeling better now that I’ve got it all off my chest. Move along!

Sure Sign of Twitter Overdose

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:21:17 -0800

The thing about online presence and social networking is this: sometimes you get to read too much about someone. Their whereabouts, the music they’re listening, the food they are eating, are posted there on Twitter, and we really couldn’t care less about it. Yet when they’re absent and we haven’t seen any status updates for awhile, we sort of, kind of, miss them. Does it mean that you’ve been conditioned to care after undergoing the torture of reading TMI updates for so long or is it just in us to care? Or should I search and replace the “we” and “us” in this paragraph to “I” and “me”? Because that’s how it gets with me.

I really don’t care about the minor details, but I do need to know that the people I know — even if I only know them virtually — are fine. Sure you might think I don’t care about you because you probably don’t care about me or my well-being, but somehow, in a way I can’t quite explain, I do care about you. I just don’t need to know where you are or what you’re doing every frickin’ minute! I’m sure your stalkers would appreciate such updates but please, just think about the common, non-stalkerly population, mmmkay?

Ouchie

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:46:34 -0800

We got our H1N1 flu jab on Friday. We came in half an hour before the clinic started but the queue was already twice the length of the hall, and it was a pretty big hall. Fortunately, there were about 6 or 8 arm-jabbing stations (for lack of better terms) so the line was moving at a decent pace.

Watching the people in the queue was kind of interesting and a good distraction for me. My hands got cold just thinking about the prospect of having a needle penetrating my arm. Anyway, the old man in front of us was a social butterfly and he occasionally would leave the line to say hi to some people, including an actor he didn’t really know. The old man behind us talked in a Scottish accent and he was kind of gossipy. And yes, there were a lot of senior citizens.

After standing in line for about an hour, our turns came. First we had to answer some questions and then off to the arm-jabbing stations! The nurse asked me if I’d had a flu shot before. I said no and she said, “You must be very healthy!” Ha! I have a pretty good immune system, that’s true. But if by healthy you mean fit, I am so unfit it’s not even funny.

The arm-jabbing part took only a splitting second but man, even now, four days later, my upper arm is still tender to the touch. But at least I can now lay on my left side without hurting (too much). The first couple of nights were no fun at all and I had trouble sleeping. Mind you, the left side is my favourite side to sleep on. But eh, I guess it’s a small price to pay considering the alternatives.

Blogging Under Pressure

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:40:16 -0800

I didn’t get the cold. As usual, an Advil, a Strepsil and a good night’s sleep fixed it. I’m really thankful for my immune system.

I’ve been browsing property listings obsessively. The last time I did that, we ended up buying a house in another town. Not sure if it’ll come to anything this time around.

I’ve been finding it hard to blog. Blogging used to be easy when I knew that only strangers read this crap. Now I’m always worried I’d offend anyone I know if I spoke my mind.

Sometimes I wish there were a million other Firda Bekas in the world instead of just me, the one and only.

Weathered

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:02:12 -0800

Yesterday, it was a beautiful, sunny, t-shirt kind of day. Today, it’s back to the grey, one-digit-temperature kind of day. I guess the change is a bit too much for my body because I’m not feeling too great right now. I hope this won’t turn into a full-blown cold.

We went thrifting yesterday and I went all girly-like and picked up two blouses, one hooded cardigan and a pair of shoes. I get a kick out of hearing nice comments about what I’m wearing and I’m always proud to say I got it from a thrift store. Salvation Army chic doesn’t have to mean bag lady-look. ;) Mind you, I’m far from being trendy. I don’t even wear make-up. But I like feeling good about what I’m wearing. Though admittedly most of the time I care more about comfort than fashion. As long as it’s comfy, I don’t care if it makes me look fat.

Ugh, too headachey to write more.

Uninterestingness

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:02:49 -0800

Pictures that I really, really like are usually ones that nobody else really care about. The picture above is one of them. Pictures I don’t really like, on the other hand, seem to be well-liked on Flickr. It’s weird. Maybe if I only posted pictures I don’t really like to my Flickr account, I’d become a Flickr superstar. Heh.

Expired Memories

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:44:19 -0800

I shoot expired/out-of-date film exclusively because I wouldn’t be able to afford film photography otherwise. I like to check the expiration date on the film packaging and try to recall memories from that year. Today I shot and developed a roll of film that expired in 1992. So, 1992. I was entering my second year of college and remember feeling like I was wasting my time for some reasons. Not really one of my favourite years, but eh, still better than my second and third years of high school. And of course, the best thing of all, my mum was still alive.

Good Grief

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:57:31 -0800

We buried Grandma D today. I hope those closest to her are there for each other. I’m sure they are. When my mother died, I had no one to console me. I grieved alone. Maybe that’s the reason that even now, 6 years later, I’m still mourning her death.

Long Day

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:50:47 -0800

It’s been a long day. Spent most of my time today at a funeral home for Troy’s grandma’s visitation, during which we got news that Troy’s aunt’s brother. who had been living in the same nursing home as Troy’s grandma, just passed away. “Someone is always dying here,” said grandma once when we went to visit. I can’t imagine living in a nursing home. I hope I’ll never have to live in one.

Somewhere Out There

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:17:10 -0800

You know what? I think we’re really spoiled living where we are. We have a beautiful downtown area, awesome Shakespeare Festival (and no, they don’t perform Shakespeare’s plays only), a grocery store across the street, free access to a heated, indoor swimming pool… When we finally move out of this town (not sure when it will happen), I know I’m going to miss those things. What am I not going to miss? The winter! This town always gets a boatload of snow in the winter, which means a lot of shoveling. I like snow, but not in excessive amount. Tourists seem to think this town is heaven, but that’s because they never experienced winter here. Still, we’re lucky to live on one of the main streets. The city plow our street early and even plow the sidewalk as well sometimes, and when they don’t do the sidewalk, one of the neighbours will.

This town is not a bad place to live in, but why do I feel like my heart belongs somewhere else?

Nothing Too Exciting

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:50:52 -0800

Not being a conventional picture-taker, I feel like a big weirdo when I’m out and about shooting with some film cameras that look nothing like modern-time digital cameras. I said “like a big weirdo” because I already feel like a weirdo just by being me. That’s why I rarely go out to shoot alone. I have to take Troy with me because he looks somewhat normal and I’m hoping he somehow neutralizes my weirdness, or at least makes me look a little less weird. Why I care about what some strangers think of me, I have no idea.

I bought two African violets yesterday because they were on sale for $1.49 each at the grocery store across the street. I’ve had one African violet before the addition. I’ve had it for a little over a year and it’s been a really good plant, blooming every now and then. I thought I could adopt a couple more. I read that your age is measured by the number of African violets you have and that you should only have one African Violet for every decade you’ve been alive. I have three. I’m good.

You know it’s PMS-time when you feel blah for no apparent reasons.

Tired, Sleepy, and Can't Think

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:36:44 -0800

Since it’s late and I’m sleepy, I’ll just leave you with one of my favourite photos, taken on a roll of film that expired in 1977 and developed with coffee and washing soda. Goodnight!