Beijing 2012 with Olympus OM-D E-M5

Loving my first mirrorless micro 4/3s camera - the Olympus OM-D E-M5. It's light and the lens available are of amazing quality. Though the prices of the lens are similar or more expensive compared to my Canon lens. So no savings there...but the weight and handling of the camera is worth every penny. Perhaps with the next release, I can let go of my DSLR and have both bodies as my travel photography companions.

Here are some of my black and white filter pictures I took in my recent trip in Beijing.

Return to the Great Wall

Mutianyu Great Wall

The last time I was in Beijing climbing the Great Wall was about 14-15 years ago. It was repeatedly told to us from the local guides at the wall as well as fellow visitors, that there is a Chinese saying "不到长城非好汉" - meaning "He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man". So for this trip...we became men 3 times over as we went to Badaling Wall, Mutianyu pass as well as Jinshanling. The view was spectacular despite having climbed once many years ago. So am I 4 times a man? Haha


After about 80,000 steps,and about 2000 shots later. I realised that the OM-D is a great travel camera and my Air Jordan 1 Low is a great travel pair of shoe; having climb Angkor Wat and its temples 4 years ago and this time it even managed a run down the Great Wall.

Singaporean These Days

...are damn Guniang.

And this is the proof.
Cut hair call police.
The mollycoddling mother and child team 

Back in the days when I was schooling. Never wanted my parents involved in the shit and stunts I pulled in school. One unfortunate incident when my mom had to register for my sister in primary school and the Vice Principal exclaimed to my mother, " LL is your son?". And of course, I had a earful of questions when my mother came home.

In my time, no one wanted their folks in school. Everyone had a reputation at stake to uphold. These days, all we hear are kids calling for mommies. When I left secondary school for about 5 years, I heard incidents of my junior scouts calling in their parents after they did push ups as punishments. OMFG! We once did 1000 push-ups, non-stop because a fellow scout letting our troop flag touch the ground. I suffered cramps for hours and I was pretty sure the ground had a hole dug out as well.

In my recent gathering of JC classmates at my place, 20 sweet years of memories....a prison officer mentioned a funny incident. That one of those hooligans or gangsters these days who got jailed for gang related fighting, was overheard saying: "If I don't get my milk today, I complain to my mom!" OMFG!

Seriously, Singaporean men these days..I am pretty ashamed of their farking "macho-ism". Is it just the kids in Singapore or has everyone gone soft these days?
Parents - seriously stop your mollycoddling! You don't know the repercussions you have in your kids' lives in the future. They must be strong enough to learn to live on their own. Spare the rod, spoil the child.

47 years of what?

So National Day just breezed by..though I was in Singapore these couple of years, before that I was away during National Day period for 5 consecutive years. I doubt missing National Day made me less patriotic; but definitely the quality of Shitty Times/Papers these days have diluted a lot of nationalistic pride.

So besides having BBQ on a roof top of a wife's friend condo and watching the partially blocked fireworks - I have missed 7 years of the parade on TV. Did I miss much?

Food for thought with a quote by George Carlin.

Saw this on limpehFT's blog - love that guy, not just because we were actually schoolmates.

But he made a whole lot of sense which many Singaporeans need badly.

New toy - OM-D

Loving my new Olympus EM-5 - National Day at 730am

The Simple Things

Where have you gone? Can't the simple things stay forever?
Taken using my new GS3. Just met up with a friend whom I haven't seen in at least 10 years, and the events surrounding her baffled me, scared me and worries me.

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Batman's real name is called Lenny..haha

Batman mania...this is so cool. A man was pulled over dressed as the caped crusader in Montgomery County, Maryland, because his car had invalid numberplates. He was told to put real numberplates on the Lamborghini, rather than a Batman sign. He said he was on his way to cheer up children on the cancer ward of a local hospital. The driver was not charged.

In just 2 weeks

Just realised in a short 2 weeks since we moved, my wife figured out how to use the washing machine, dryer..without instruction manuals; and figured out how to cook a meal for 2 using a steamer. Now I feel so inadequate in the kitchen and have been banished to doing cleaning up duties. Haha...amazing for a lady who used to burn a brownie she was going to surprise me with when we were dating. I just figured out, how to use the Roomba and if prices of potato chips are cheaper in the Cold Storage opposite our home or NTUC down the road. Time to play catch up!

It is finally completed - Our Home

As the contractor finished putting up my hangers and fabricated my side couch table, and I finished painting some minor touch ups. It is finally done! Slowly the journey begins living in our humble abode with my wonderful wannabe-chef wife and our helpful robot which a buddy bought for our housewarming gift...awesome, I am feeling lazy again with no projects at hand.

More WANTS!

Coming soon...cool technology which would change how we use our computers.
My company was supposed to develop something similar, but looks like this would be easier adoption.
I wish they can work with Command and Conquer or StarCraft games!

Read between the lines

Messages or anything written without sound or body language; without the ability to evoke emotions or intention, is often the reason for miscommunication. A simple " Don't be silly!" Can be spoken in jest or in contempt, with humor intentions or with disrespectful feelings. But how can that be avoided?

People management

Lately I have been so busy with the renovations of my new abode, I actually lost some weight, given I have to still work and managed the contractors, painters, carpenters, electricians, plumber etc.

Why we must Serve?

This March ICT (In-camp training) has been quite a memorable experience. I went in thinking of the song I've belted out during route marches for my NSF days - " Have you ever wondered, why we must serve?". At 18, looking around you, Singaporeans alike have to do this mandatory duty for 2 years 4 or 6 months, it is easily acceptable, though I have friends who ran away and migrated to other countries.

Asus support

Getting another firmware update for my Asus tablet as of now... awesome! And the new waiting android is so cool! The irony of updates... fixing a flaw or putting in new features? Go for vanilla or a popular device which will have support due to a huge user base?

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New toys for Photography

Was using a Manfrotto 486RC1 which was lightweight enough for travel but it was slipping especially during moon shots. It was getting very frustrating trying to adjust the moon which was a constantly moving object.

As you know the moon orbits around the Earth and though it is about 400k km away, it moves at 1km/s thus a moving subject at a few angles per hour. So here we go, a search for a suitable replacement. There were many choices but I decided to go with Arca-Swiss style, because of another new toy purchase of the Capture Clip system by Peak Design.

I decided to go with something affordable and suited to my current camera gear. When I was in Hong Kong, Man Shing Camera shop folks let me try out many different ballheads from Gizmo to more expensive Manfrotto, but this Swiss made FOBA brand caught my eyes with the suitable price range and weight of the ball head.

Testing at home finally after a month, the FOBA Superball M-1 is an absolute delight. At 405g, it is lighter than my 486RC1 (460g) and the ball has awesome friction.

Here's it absolutely holding up my configuration of full Canon 7D with battery grip and 70-200mm F2.8L lens. This was easily at least 3kg worth of load. To test it, I did not bother to move the plate to the lens which I did previously with my Manfrotto set up. With Live View enabled and 10x zoom, I tried many different angles, and the model in frame is still with no vibrations or slipping detected.

My tripod is an Induro AT013 tripod which only handles about 6kg worth of load making this cheap magnesium alloy a delight for travel at only 1.1kg. So now my setup is about 1.5kg and suitable for my moon shots.

My earlier in the year shot -  "tough" Lunar Eclipse capture with a slipping Manfrotto ball head.

Big Bang!

My wife and I enjoy watching Big Bang Theory on our lazy nights. Already finished season 4 and still wanting more. Our favorite character? Sheldon of course!

Sheldon: That's no reason to cry. One cries because one is sad. For example, I cry because others are stupid and it makes me sad. - From the episode "The Gorilla Experiment"

New Gadgets for 2012?

Just watched Asus's Chairman Shih released the 2012 line of products for Asus at ASUS press conference on February 28th during MWC 2012 in Barcelona. Having bought 2 of their 2011 cool products last year, one being Transformer TFT101 tablet and the other is the Zenbook ultrabook. They have been rather great with support and rather well made devices. After watching the below videos, it does get one more excited about what is to come but yet I am hesitant to jump into getting more gadgets till the house is done. Wanted to get the new slimmer Transformer Prime but got my colleague to get it instead, just to play with it. Wondering who else I can convince to get the PadFone!

Go watch the crazy Asus chairman...though he does seem a bit cool and passionate but he ain't Steve Jobs, the marketing guru in delivering product announcments.

LINsane

This is just LINsanity.

My picks for this NBA season to watch for both eastern and western conferences was Knicks and Clippers.
Because I love Billups and Melo. But with injuries plaguing both but Clippers still have Chris Paul whereas Knicks was suffering from no leadership. They now have a new Hero and in just a week, he has made headline news everywhere. Jeremy Lin RAWKS!

Reflections of another HK visit

Just got back from my Dinner and Dance party in Hong Kong and stayed at Happy Valley near the racecourse, where the event was held. I noticed on one of my cab ride, just located nearby is the Hong Kong Sanatorium. The rent in the shopping areas of Causeway Bay is known to be one of the highest in the world, near that of London's Sloane Street and New York's Fifth Avenue.

It was peculiar to me as in why did the Hong Kong Government build a Sanatorium in a prime area whereas in Singapore our Sanatorium otherwise popularly known as Woodbridge Hospital or IMH (Institute of Mental Health) is thrown as far as possible to a secluded area called Buangkok. If you are living in Singapore and have not heard of it, well SMRT build a subway station there but chose to keep it close for years until the population can support the cost of maintenance/operation there(try googling "White elephant cardboard Singapore") - Now we know how they made their millions.

Does the mentally ill have less rights of a normal person and they should be flung into far away, obscure places? Why is it so hard for Singaporeans to accept foreign workers dormitory around their neighbourhood or even a elder care facility in their void decks of public housing? Worried that their property prices will be affected? I guess this is what you call leading by example. I am slowly seeing the waterdown effect of our governing body to its people, where money and power is so important, we choose elitism over integrity. No wonder these days we hear of top civil servants or teachers and principals; educators who are suppose to lead, educate and protect our children; caught up in the web of deceit, sex and immoral activities. With a first world parliament taking days to debate over their million dollar salaries, while the real important issues take a backseat. Why did no one argue about where to locate a sanatorium? Or argue about the rights and subsidies for the less privileged classes of citizens?


 Yes, pay me first before we talk. Gone are the days of real passionate civil servants. We have MPs talking about being paid high or risk upholding their lavish lifestyles. I wonder how DISgracefuL one civil servant can be, and how their kids will grow up? This is a sick disease which came from the very top and is now seen fusing with our society today. Money and profits are more important than catering to the society, to the public. Why make a difference in the society, it's on its way down to hell anyway.

 I hope someday, somehow, our government can understand what they have created, and we pray that they have time to undo the damage they have created. Feeling sick (sniffles and coughs) after I got back from Hong Kong, not sure if was the weather or just the sick environment I am living in these days.

Happy Chinese New Year

Yes it is that time again for bah kwa, for pineapple tarts and for friendship...and not forgetting the time for weight gain. Just not too long ago we celebrated New Year and before that Christmas, hardly any chance for enjoying a break from good food and good company. As I get older, I am starting to realise that good company is hard to find. I am starting to get bored. Some reunions or gatherings started to become all too obligated. Not sure why I am feeling like that. Perhaps I am getting older and time is becoming a precious commodity? Or have I been filling my head with more info and out seeking for better advice or better conversations? Life is an every changing process. Some people are meant to drop off; we are suppose to make new friends, meet new people, learn new things. And every one of those experience can be a positive or negative experience. The most important thing is knowing which direction do you want to go. Because the journey is not over till "The Fat Lady sings". Like my driving in a foreign country, often I get lost, make a U-turn or reroute or find a new road to get to my destination and sometimes, it brings happy experiences perhaps a more scenic drive. All in all, you never know what you are going to get, till you make that journey. Good or bad, we have to take it all.

My drive towards Dufftown with my wife as we missed a turn but we saw snow-capped mountains!

Benchmark

All the talk about bench-marking ministerial salaries. Here's the new bench mark for MPs. Now step down disGRACEFUl, money driven civil servants!

Misunderstood

Everyone and anyone can get misunderstood. I wish people can take time to see things, smell the roses. I bet God has his little secrets and ways to show the world that there's hope, if we take our time to find it.

New Year resolutions

Was told I haven't been blogging much about myself lately and unlike previous years, I seem to have not made any New Year resolutions. What's different from previous year is that my resolutions will be closely tied with someone else. Looking back

2011 2009

Seems like I forgotten to write one in 2010. Now what happened in 2010? I guess this year, I resolute to talk less and think more as all married men should be. And also make more resolutions which is for couplehood and family. To get my new place up and running and also to ensure my whisky collection grows! That's all with keeping it simple and of course, not forgetting to love my wife and always keep a bag of tricks up my sleeves to surprise her and always there to make her laugh. That is what all married men should do as well. ;)