Welcome To Andy Lo's | By: Lo Tern Chern

2009-11-13T00:32:00.000+08:00

Hi guys, I'm trying to build a blog community here. So perhaps one of the ways to do it is by linking bloggers with bloggers and by following each other's blogs.
Click HERE if you would like to follow my blog.
You will be required to login into your account.

Thank You.
Let's see how much we can build. :)

*Do let me know if the link is broken.

Sesame Street Wallpaper

2009-10-23T04:09:00.004+08:00

2560 x 1600
CLICK TO ENLARGE

Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Street is well known for its Muppets characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children's program on US television.

Elmo

The show is produced in the United States by the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers.

Created by: Joan Ganz Cooney & Lloyd Morrisett.
Original run: November 10, 1969 – present.
No. of seasons: 40.
No. of episodes: 4,187.
Awards: 118 Emmy Awards.
Viewers: An estimated 77 million Americans.

Sakae Sushi Tea Time Buffet

2009-10-14T03:54:00.000+08:00

Teatime Buffet
3pm - 6pm Monday - Friday
(Not valid on weekends, public holidays & eve of public holiday)
Adult RM27.90++
Child RM17.90++
Student & Senior Citizen RM22.90++

Buy 2 Free 1 on all RED plates.
Free dessert at Sakae Izakaya @ Cineleisure, Damansara (Selangor) or Auto-city (Penang) with any Sakae Sushi receipt.

Terms & conditions:
1. Drinks not included in the buffet.
2. All RM1.90++ Green and RM3.90++ Pink Plates only.
3. Buy 2 free 1 on all Red Plates valid only for the buffet diners only.
4. Redemption of 1 free dessert per receipt per customer at Sakae Izakaya is valid 1 month from the date of receipt.
5. Complimentary bowl of Wakame (seaweed) Udon per pax upon order only.
6. Last order for the buffet is at 5.30pm.
7. Sakae VIP member privileges are not valid during buffet.
8. Separate settings for buffet and non-buffet customers.
9. This promotion is subject toe amendment by Sakae Sushi without prior notice.

Anybody want to go??

TAR College 40th Anniversary Photography Competition

2009-10-10T01:53:00.001+08:00

In conjunction with the 40th Anniversary Celebration, Tunku Abdul Rahman College and its School of Arts and Science Alumni Society is jointly organizing a photography competition entitled, “TAR College Campus Life”.

“I am sincerely calling on all TAR College alumni of all years to visit and recapture the fond memories that you have of your much changed alma mater which is now 40 years old.”
– Dr Tan Chik Heok, Principal of TAR College –

This competition is open to all TAR College alumni, students and staff. There are attractive prizes up for grabs. Just snap photos that best depict TAR College campus life and submit your entry now. Hurry! This competition ends on 31 October 2009! Just click on the link below to download the competition form. For more information, please call 03-41450123 ext. 456 (Serene Ong) or ext. 477 (James Lee) or e-mail us at alumni@mail.tarc.edu.my.

Download Entry Form Here

2009-10-09T02:01:00.000+08:00

The new Windows Live Messenger 2009 looks very nice but unfortunately it is very fragile. Very lucky few users have no problems at all connecting and using Windows Live Messenger 2009. I consider myself very lucky because the only problem I have is with the webcam and I managed to find a workaround to get it working. For those that could not get Windows Live Messenger 2009 to work, here are a few things you can do.

Try to uninstall and then reinstall, hoping that it would work but the truth is it will never work. Another possible solution is to uninstall WLM 2009, download an older version of Windows Live Messenger 8.5 and try to install. This won’t work as well because you’re going to end up with the error “Your computer has a newer version of the Windows Live product(s) than the one you are trying to install. To install an older version, first remove the current version.” You can also try to install MSN Messenger 8.0 which would work and seemed to be connecting but you’ll end up with a popup asking you to upgrade “A newer version is available. You must install the newer version in order to continue. Would you like to do this now?” Click Yes and it brings to install the buggy WLM 2009. Hit No and it won’t connect.

You can’t use new WLM 2009 nor the old WLM 8.0 or MSN 8.5. So the only workaround now is to use Meebo, Digsby, eBuddy, ILoveIM, KoolIM, IMhaha to connect to .NET Messenger Service. Not to worry because here is a tip on how to use an older version of Windows Live Messenger 8.5 or MSN Messenger 8.0.

First of all, make sure that Windows Live Messenger 2009 is totally wiped off from your computer. Use ZapMessenger to remove any trace of WLM 2009. Then download Windows Live Messenger 2008 build 8.5.1302.1018 from here. Install and you should be able to connect without problems and without forcing you to update to the latest WLM 2009.

Yes it’s that simple and it works on my side. However if somehow you are still being forced to update, here’s a simple hack on how to trick MSN servers into believing that you are using the latest Windows Live Messenger 2009. Let’s go through step-by-step on how to hack MSN Messenger 8.0 to connect without being forced to update.

1. You can download MSN Messenger 8.0.0812 from OldVersion.com

2. Use ZapMessenger to uninstall any version of Messengers on your computer.

3. Install MSN Messenger 8.0.0.0812.

4. Download Resource Hacker, extract and run ResHacker.exe

5. Go to File > Open and browse the following location C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\msnmsgr.exe for MSN Messenger 8. For Windows Live Messenger 2008 build 8.5, it will be in C:\Program Files\Window Live\Messenger\msnmsgr.exe

6. Expand Version Info and expand 1.

7. Click on 1033.

8. Look for the line VALUE “ProductVersion”, “8.0.0812″ and change the 8.0.0812 to 14.0.8089.0726.

9. Click the Compile Script button.

10. Go to File > Save and close Resource Hacker.

Try connecting now and voila! .NET Messenger service server thinks that you’re connected using Windows Live Messenger 2009 build 14.0.8089.0726 when you are still using the good old MSN Messenger 8! OK using an older version of Windows Live Messenger is probably not the best solution but treat this as a temporary solution until the Messenger developers release a not-so fragile version of Windows Live Messenger 2009.

Note: If somehow you could not install the older version of WLM even after cleaning it with ZapMessenger, then please try the other cleaner called Messenger Deep Clean.

*Update:

If the problem still persists after some time, then you will have to repeat the procedure.

1. Exit MSN.

2. Run reshacker.

3. Revert the 14.0.8089.0726 value back to 8.0.0812.

4. Compile & save.

5. Open MSN, try logging in, when prompted to update, CANCEL. Exit MSN.

6. Back in reshacker, change the 8.0.0812 value to 14.0.8089.0726 again.

7. Compile & save.

8. Launch MSN.

This should work hopefully. It happened to me and I managed to get MSN8 running again through these procedures.

Good luck!

Introduction to Photography

2009-10-03T02:22:00.000+08:00

Starting out in photography is a wonderful time full of creativity and discovery. Unfortunately, for many "baby photographers" their first introduction to photography is a time of wrecked nerves, confusing advice from friends, and frustration as you learn a new camera and try to capture on film or digital media what you saw with your eye. Let me assure you, it does not have to be a traumatic experience.

The following information will guide you through that first "baby photographer" phase and familiarize you with basic concepts so you will be ready to take your next steps with as few stumbles as possible. Even more experienced photographers will find good information so read on.

Composition
WordNet Search defines composition as "something that is created by arranging several things to form a unified whole". That is exactly what it is. The composition of your photograph is the combination of elements coming together to create the whole image.

Subject
What is your photograph about? Without knowing the answer to this question you image will never work. Your subject is what you want the viewer to see first when they look at your image. It can be small or large, sometimes your subject will be a spider, other times it may be an entire mountain. No matter what your subject is, you must consciously choose a subject in order to make your image work.

Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds explains where to place your subject in the image. Imagine that your image is divided into nine equal squares, basically a tic-tac-toe board with the lines equally spaced. The four points where the lines cross are the strongest focal points of your image. The lines that make up the squares are secondary strong points. The human eye is naturally drawn to these spaces within a frame, not the center of the frame. Make use of this to maximize the impact of your images by placing your subject along one of these lines or intersection points. If you are doing a portrait "head shot" of someone, place their eyes along these points and lines.

Background and Foreground
A photograph is a 2 dimensional representation of a 3 dimensional scene. This means that the camera effectively "flattens" the scene. Background is anything behind your subject. If there is a tree directly behind a person's head it will appear that the tree is growing out of their head. Likewise, a fence could seem to grow out of the side of a person. Foreground is anything in front of your subject. Foreground is just as important. If you are shooting a beautiful lake sunset but there is an ugly tire in the water's edge the photograph can be ruined.

Focus
Will your subject be sharply focused or fuzzy? Will you have the foreground and the subject in focus but the background fuzzy? How fuzzy will the background be? Focus will make or break your image. This is where aperture, F-Stop, and depth of field come into play. Aperture is the size of the opening inside you lens that lets light to the film or digital surface. F-Stop is the measurement of the aperture. Depth of field is a term telling you how much of your scene will be in focus or blurry. This is how you begin to control how your camera flattens the scene. In general, you want the subject and a small part of the foreground in focus but the background blurry. This helps avoid distracting lines around your subject. However, there are times you will want the entire scene in focus, such as landscape scenes. A good rule of thumb regarding your F-Stop is to remember that the larger the F-Stop number, the more of the scene will be in focus and the more light you need to record the image. Conversely, the smaller the F-Stop number, the less of the scene will be in focus and the less light you need to record the image.

Lighting
Lighting is photography. Photography is the art of capturing light reflected from subjects onto a film or digital surface. Always be aware of your lighting. If your subject is your child but his or her face is too dark to see, the image will not work. When you look at a scene, your eyes constantly adjust for the different lighting situations in the scene. When you take a photograph, the camera only records one light situation. Every camera is slightly different on how it "meters" or reads the amount of light in a scene. This is one reason why you must know your camera. Some general rules of thumb are: avoid harsh light behind your subject, watch out for dark shadows, and watch out for whites that glare in the light.

Color
The world is in color. Sometimes the colors are white, black, and grey, but it is still color. While your subject will already have a color of its own, pay attention to how that color interacts with your background and foreground. If your subject is green and the background is green, your subject is liable to be hard to see in the image. In contrast, if your subject is red and the background purple, you may be able to see the subject very well but the clashing colors can distract from the subject.

Motion
There are two choices with motion in a scene. Freeze it with a fast shutter speed or let it appear as a blur on the image by using a slower shutter speed. Either choice is just that, a choice. A waterfall can be a beautiful image with the water blurred in motion or with the water frozen in midair. A baseball player hitting the ball can be a great image with the bat and ball blurred or with them frozen in time. The choice is up to you but you should always make that conscious choice of which type of motion you want. Also, remember that if you have a camera that your viewfinder shows you the actual view through the lens, what you see if the viewfinder is not what you will capture. As the camera records an image your view will be blocked for a fraction of a second. It is that fraction of a second your camera records. The best advice I ever received with sports photography was to remember that if you see it in your viewfinder you missed it.

Source: About.com

So analyze your photo and ask yourself, are you a photographer?

Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration

2009-09-21T02:15:00.000+08:00

If you know about movies, then watch this.
But if you cannot name the movies, then you know shit about movies.

Stan Munro - Toothpick City

2009-09-15T13:41:00.000+08:00

A former television presenter has spent six years building famous landmarks - out of six million toothpicks.

Stan Munro used more than 170 litres of glue as he worked full time on buildings such as Big Ben, Tower Bridge and The Vatican.

He has also recreated Sydney's Opera House, the Taj Mahal and Cutty Sark in 1:164 scale.

The married 38-year-old can take anything from one day to six months to make each building with the majority of his time going into research.

He downloads as many technical drawings and satellite images as possible from the internet and scales the rest himself.

Stan's buildings are largely hollow, with just a few structural supports - also made from the toothpicks he buys direct from a wholesaler.

The larger models are made in separate pieces so they can be moved with less hassle.

His latest exhibition, called Toothpick City II - Temples and Towers, features more than 40 famous religious and tall buildings from around the world.

He has been working on it for four years and it is due to be completed in December.

Stan continues to work on his models at the Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse, New York, United States.

He has built structures out of toothpicks since his school days when he was asked to build a 6-inch tall structure that could hold an egg.
His was so strong it could hold his desk.

He combined his childhood passion of toothpicks with his more adult interest in architecture in 2003, following three months of unemployment.

His first Toothpick City, called History of Skyscrapers, was sold to a museum in Mallorca, Spain. It took two years to build and has 50 buildings.

Stan said: "Toothpick City was so much fun to build, I decided to build another one. This one is bigger and much more detailed.

"I want this exhibit to be a celebration of religious diversity, architectural achievement and historical accuracy - or just 'wow, that's a lot of toothpicks'.

"No one has built all these buildings to the same scale and put them side by side before - let alone out of toothpicks.

"I really wanted to see what it would look like.

"If you can't travel the world, I want people to see this exhibit and think they just did.

"I'd much rather be known as an architectural historian than an artist."

So, this is Stan Murano.

More images & info can be found at Toothpick City II.

How A Tyre Is Constructed

2009-09-11T04:13:00.000+08:00

Tyres. They're wonderful things, all black, round and pretty. Many people believe a tyre to be a simple rubber creation which pops out of a mould and onto your wheel but in reality, the modern radial tyre is a complex piece of engineering.

To help you understand just how many layers there are to the modern tyre, below is a cut away of our example tyre, a Goodyear Optigrip. Currently this is one of the latest tyres to market and uses a unique dual compound construction to improve longevity and performance over the life cycle.

1. The inner tyre. This is the tyre's version of an inner tube and stops air escaping. Usually constructed from a simple rubber.

2. The casing ply. These are fine cords, usually made from aramid fibres such as Twaron and Kevlar. These are laid in straight lines and sandwiched in rubber. The cords are key to the tyres construction, providing shape and strength to the tyre.

3. Bracing ply. The bracing ply is usually constructed of a very fine steel cord in a rubber sandwich. Two or more plies are stuck together across the tread, at opposing angles of around 60 degrees. When the tyre is cooked (cured) the opposing steel cords form triangles which keep the tyre rigid. The formation of this structure is key to the tyres characteristics as they have to be strong enough to resist the forces generated by driving but supple enough to absorb lumps and bumps in the road. To make this work, steel has to be bonded with rubber which is a very difficult process

4. Safety ply. This cord keeps the tyre in shape at speed and reduces the effect of friction heating.

5. Tread. This is the top layer of the tyre we all know. Not only does the rubber have to be soft enough to generate grip by "keying" into the road and clearing water, but it also needs to ensure it doesn't heat up too much to avoid unnecessary wear. In the example tyre the blue layer is a softer compound rubber, designed to ensure the tyres grip stays constant as the tread wears away.

6. The shoulder / sidewall. Moving round to the side of the tyres these further help absorb bumps and give the tyre it's turn in characteristics.

7. The bead. The bead is where the tyre joins the rim.

How To Check Genuine Windows

2009-09-04T04:17:00.000+08:00

Piracy war should be fought with digital tools. I request all of my visitors to use genuine softwares. If you dont have money to buy genuine softwares, use open source softwares.

Okay..now How do you know whether you have a genuine copy of windows or not?

To know whether you have genuine winows copy run this command in run dialog "oobe/msoobe /a" without quotes. If you get a dialog box saying that "Thanks for using our product" then you have a genuine copy of windows.

Run > oobe/msoobe /a > OK

If the dialog ask you to activate the product then you own a pirated copy of windows.

Lets fight against piracy and suport open source softwares.

Converting FAT32 to NTFS File System

2009-08-30T04:28:00.000+08:00

FAT32 and NTFS are file systems that may be used on a Microsoft Windows hard disk partition.
NTFS provides a number of improvements over FAT32, including:

Second copy of boot sector for improved reliability.

Compression .

File permissions.

Improved recoverability.

Improved performance on large volumes.

Improved efficiency in disk space utilization.

More info HERE.

Improved fault tolerance.

How to convert FAT32 Disk to NTFS in Windows Vista and XP with the Convert utility?
Back up data in the partition or drive that you want to convert, to another drive or partition or another computer system or PC or any other storage media.

In Windows XP:

Click [Start], then [Run].

Enter “cmd” into the text field labeled “Open“.

Click [OK] button.

If you want to convert drive D (D:), enter the command “vol d:” in the command window, to find the volume label for the D: partition.

Then enter the command “convert d: /fs:ntfs” to convert the D: partition from FAT32 to NTFS.
When prompted, enter the volume label for the partition.

In Windows Vista:

Click [Start] sphere.
In the Start Menu search box, simply enter “cmd” and hit enter.
If you want to convert drive D (D:), enter the command “convert d: /fs:ntfs” to convert the D: partition from FAT32 to NTFS

You can use the “convert /?” command to bring up information on how to manage the conversion.As long as the drive or partition or disk that you want to convert is not in use, FAT32 to NTFS conversion will happen without any issues. Otherwise, the conversion must be postponed for the next time you reboot the computer system or PC.

On Windows Vista start up, you will be prompted to either cancel or carry on with the conversion. The FAT32 to NTFS conversion process is fully automated and it involves a couple of restarts.Let Windows vista or XP to do the conversion.

I converted my FAT32 to NTFS of my external drive because I needed to transfer files that are bigger than 5GB. Well so do you need to do it? You decide.

UPDATE:
To find the volume label (if there is one specified), go to ‘My Computer’, right-click the drive you’re trying to convert, select Properties. In the General tab, the volume label is the name in the first field.

TARC Orientation Week 2009/2010

2009-08-20T01:05:00.001+08:00

A very very delayed post...

MONDAY
Day One - New Faces In The College
18th May 2009

Today's the first day of Tunku Abdul Rahman College's (Penang) Orientation Week. Weather was good, and students arrived punctually before 9am. The photographers arrived at 8am with their gears, about an hour earlier for a quick briefing. There were only about 900 students who enrolled themselve this year, compared to last year's 1500 students. Huh...

Photographers on duty today:
Myself
JJ
KSP
Aik Wei
Mr. Calvin Chuah

The scene outside the college auditorium (CA) at 9.00am.

Students gather for a short briefing on what will they be doing this week and how will the campus life be like. How?

Well campus life is mayhem like this as demonstrated by the SOT leaders.
SOT = School Of Technology.

And also leaders from SBS Team.
SBS = School of Business Studies.

After the briefing, students were divided into their teams and groups. Here seen in the picture, students gathering at the foyer before the end of the day.

Seen here, Doraemon cheering up the crowd!

End of DAY ONE at 5pm.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TUESDAY
Day Two - It's All About Fun & Energy.
19th May 2009

The main agenda for day two is the sports challenge. Students were required to wear sports attire and shoes. They again gather at 9am in their rooms, and armed themselve for the battle.

Students ready for WAR!!

So are the photogs!!

And the flag is raised......

SILENCE...

RAAWWRRR!!!!!

As the energy and teamwork builds up, so is the sun.

By noon, students are already at full throttle and focused into the games.

While some sweat under the sun, there are still some fortunate ones that played un the shade.

In this game, students were required to join straws, then suck water from this bottle, and transfer the water into another container. Well I personally find it very disgusting and unhygienic.

And in some cases, not all games are played alone. Teammates have to coorperate to score big.

A game not for the western culture. Picking marbles with chopstick.

And a game for those who like to look ~~fair~~ white.

Victory!!

Bowling with cans? Yes. And with a paper ball.

And it's a S T R I K E.

Besides all those high energy physical games, there were also some mind games which got the students' minds working.

Time to get wet. Water Bloons!

But sadly, last year's orientation received numerous complains from parents about their kids getting wet and falling sick after being drenched in water. So this year there will be no more wet kids going home. Students were not allowed to get themselve wet.

And thanks to this sporting team, they posed for a good shot for us.
T-A-R-C
Thank you!

And neverheless, the best team of the day...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WEDNESDAY

Day Three - Practice Makes Perfect.

Day three will see the rehearsals and the qualifying of teams for the Variety Show.

Only the 10 best performances will be selected to the final.

Here we even have our dear Santa Claus. Sweets for Christmas anyone?

At the LB.

Girl, slap him harder!

Then noon was spent at the CA again where we can see the BLACK SBS and RED SOT teams.

There were more games prepared after lunch. Teams gather again and race for more points.

A classic Chi Ku Pang is always ideal and simple.

Coin Tossing. Well, if you have longer arms, it really does help.

1 more shot please...

Day 3 ends with a short gathering at the foyer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THURSDAY

Day Four - Get Fit, Stay Fit.

The agenda for day four is seperated into two, morning for sports, and afternoon for a society briefing in the CA.

Among the sports played are volleyball, which many students struggled in perfecting it.

And basketball which many chinese students are good at it.

The counter where all results and progress are recorded.

Our male and female sports photographer in action.

And a scene is sometimes made complete with the presence of a model. :)

Tug-Of-War - A game not for the ladies!

Afternoon..
Students gather after lunch at the CA for the society briefing. They were introduced to the societies and clubs available in the college.

Some societies even took the opportunity to showcase some performances to add some excitement to the boring afternoon.

JJ, Chairperson of the Photography Society, presented the students with a speech introducing the society and followed by 2 videos (Available at end of post).

The society introduction session ended with more shouting and cheering.

Flags, Fists and Screams filled the hall.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FRIDAY

Day Five - Judgement Day

Fifth day and also the last day of the orientation week. Most students were already exhausted and tired. But that doesn't hamper the students' spirit.

Everyone gathered at 9am in the CA for the finals of the Variety Show and for the prize giving ceremony.

Oh sadly, our photog JJ is down with fever and flu today.

Before the performances began, a token of appreciation is presented to the principal, Mr. Amos Teoh Eng Hock.

And of course, you cannot avoid the wackiness of some.

And even the super wacky.

And the hyper wacky ones.

Variety Show

Some groups sang, while some danced.

Ha! This is what disco is all about. Even in college, have a Carlsberg.

It grabs attention.

But neh, the play is about the disadvantages of drinking and fighting.

Say goodbye to boring acts when the crowd got a suprise performance from these 2 girls in pink and purple.

Oh yes they danced very well.

And their group who backed them up during their performance.

Besides dancing and singing we have sktch play here as well.

And another Tarzan.

And a romance performance! This is GOOD.

After the performances, the winners were announced and prizes were presented.

And this wraps up the TARC Orientation Week 2009/2010.

Total photos taken in 5 days by Andy Lo = About 3500.
Total photos taken by all official photographers in 5 days = About 10000.

Videos:

Orientation Week Teaser.

Introduction to TARC Photography Society.

Update:
On friday night after the Orientation, the SWC (Student Welface) members partied at Sunrise McDonald's and a had a barbeque party at the beach a week later.
Photos can be found HERE.

Goo Goo Dolls - Iris

2009-08-05T00:51:00.005+08:00

And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I dont want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later its over
I just dont want to miss you tonight

And I dont want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everythings made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive

And I don't want the world to see me
cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everythings made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everythings made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everythings made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am.

2009-08-02T02:35:00.004+08:00

Crossing The Road

2009-07-15T14:51:00.002+08:00

Next time before you cross the road...
Look LEFT, Look RIGHT, Look LEFT, Look RIGHT, Look LEFT, Look RIGHT, Look LEFT, Look RIGHT, Look LEFT, Look RIGHT, Look LEFT, Look RIGHT, Look LEFT, Look RIGHT, Look LEFT, Look RIGHT, Look LEFT, Look RIGHT, Look LEFT, Look RIGHT,
Then only you CROSS...

*I didn't kill the rat!

Michael Jackson (1958 – June 25, 2009)

2009-06-27T05:36:00.000+08:00

Born as a black, died as a white.

He is the King Of Pop - Michael Jackson.

'Time Eater' Clock

2009-06-15T00:40:00.000+08:00

Wow been a month since I last posted. Sorry!! Was very busy with lots of stuffs - PR Fairs, assignments, this and that and all.

Anyway, here's something interesting that you might like. A £1m clock called the "time eater" has been unveiled at Cambridge University by Professor Stephen Hawking.

They call it the time eater. With every snap of its fearsome jaws, sting of the tail and release of the claws, it devours another second.

This gold-encrusted monster - part grasshopper and part locust - advancing around the golden disc to measure the passage of time cost over £1million to make and seven years to build.

Unlike conventional clocks, the Corpus Clock does not use hands or digital numbers.

Instead it uses a series of 60 slits cut into the face, each six degrees apart, which light up to show the time.

The seconds are counted down by each step of the mechanical insect who crawls around the disc edged like a lizard's spine.

Its movement triggers blue flashing lights which dart across the clock-face, running in concentric circles to mark passing seconds before pausing at the correct hour and minute...

Top 5 Laziest Invention

2009-06-12T00:49:00.001+08:00

COOL... BUY IT!!

TAR College Photoshop Edition

2009-06-11T01:00:00.001+08:00

*For entertainment & educational purposes.

(Click to enlarge.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2009-06-09T00:50:00.002+08:00

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY ANDY LO

Author of Welcome To Andy Lo's.

SWC@McD & TARCian BBQ Photos

2009-05-29T03:55:00.000+08:00

Photos of TARC SWC Party at McD Sunrise can be found here:

http://swcatmcd.blogspot.com/

Photos of TARCian BBQ at Paradise Beach can be found here:

http://swcbbq.blogspot.com/

Camera Lens - Front Element Scratches

2009-05-15T09:03:00.004+08:00

Its amazing how much dust or how many scratches a front element can take without significantly impacting image quality. Here are a couple of images taken with a lens with a fairly bad front element.

You’ll notice they’re a bit soft and underexposed, but there’s no ‘image’ of the scratch, just like a dust particle can’t make an image on the sensor: the light bends to much through the subsequent elements for the dust or scratch to be visible in the image.

And the lens that took the images above:

As you can see, scratches and lots of dust in a lens may cause loss of contrast, loss of light gathering, and lens flare, but even so, will not be visible on the image. Dust on the sensor may show up on an image, but a bit of dust within the lens or scratches on the front element really aren’t something to worry about.

As a couple of people pointed out, that shattered lens did behave completely differently when we stopped it down and shot into the sun. The next shot is backlit by angled sun, stopped down to f7.1, and a pretty refracted rainbow shows up, along with a further loss of contrast. The last shot is directly into the sun, which would cause some flare with any lens, but nothing like this :-)

BTW – one interesting thing was when aiming into the sun the lens lost the ability to autofocus entirely, not surprising I guess when you see the final image.

Update:
Article from LensRentals.com

BMX & Inline Freestyle Battle @ Queensbay Mall

2009-05-13T08:33:00.001+08:00

DOWNLOAD REGISTRATION FORM

RULES AND REGULATIONS / SYARAT-SYARAT
1. ‘BMX & INLINE freestyle battle’ is organized by Penang Extreme Sports Association (PEGA).
2. This competition is opened to all.
3. The contestants will be responsible for any injuries/accidents that occur during the competition.
4. The contestants will be responsible for their own belongings. The organizer will not be responsible for any losses.
5. The judges decisions are final. Any appeals will not be entertained.
6. The deadline for registration is 16th May 2009 and email your form to coollen@hotmail.com
7. Confirmation of registration is from 5:00pm – 6:00pm on 17th May 2009. The organizer reserves the right to disqualify any contestant who is late or has failed to attend the registration.
8. The organizer reserves the right to disqualify any contestant that does not abide by the rules and regulations stated in the registration form.

SEMESTER BREAK!!!

2009-05-03T12:39:00.000+08:00

What would you do at home during your 3 weeks semester break?
A. Sleep in the morning and wake up at night.
B. Play games 16hours a day.
C. Eat all you want, everything is free!

[D.] All of the above. Muahahaha!!

TAKE 2 of MALAYSIA

2009-05-02T12:14:00.001+08:00

Took these photos while I was reading the newspaper last Saturday at McDonalds.
I find some of the articles very interesting at times...
See the relationship/similarity between them?
Source: The Star newspaper - 26th April.

They always say a picture can tell a thousand words, so I'll let the pictures do the talking and you do the thinking.