Pre-GST upgrades

So after ages of tax free computer components (plus smartphones & tablets), the GST is finally going live from 1st April 2015. Now I do not want this post to be politicised so here are my PRE-GST UPGRADES for my gaming desktop.

Note: This post is due to Andrew Chang's persistent NECRO-ING of my blog. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. CHANG.

Have purchased:

Dell U2415 - slim bezel, 16:10 aspect ratio, 99% sRGB coverage...what's not to like? Replacing my ol' Dell 2407WFP-HC (7 years of service).

Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SSD - more space equals more win...
Replacing my Intel 520 120GB SSD (top of the line when I got it).

To purchase:

GALAX GTX970 HALL OF FAME EDITION (ALL CAPS FTW!!!)

Not to mention that sexy white PCB...

 

Creative SoundBlaster Z

A better match for my Logitech Z680s...

PRE-GST SPENDING SPREE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
 

Water rationing for the win?

In relation to yesterday's post...

Conserve water from now, Klang Valley folk warned

By TEH ENG HOCK

PETALING JAYA: Water rationing could start next month for Klang Valley residents if they do not conserve water from now.

Drainage and Irrigation Department hydrology and water resources director Datuk Lim Chow Hock said water shortage would be more critical in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur due to the dense population.

He said those in Penang and Kedah should also brace for dry tap days if the current hot weather persisted.

On Tuesday, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas had asked Malaysians to prepare themselves for hotter days over the next three months with the return of the El Nino phenomenon.

So far so good: The water level as seen at the Kuala Kubu Baru Dam at 5.15pm yesterday. If residents do not save water, rationing may be necessary.

Lim said that drastic measures like water rationing may not be necessary if consumers did not waste water. “When you wash your car, use pails instead of a hose. Water your garden less frequently. Do not let the water run when you are brushing your teeth,” he said.

At the moment the water levels at most dams in the country have not reached the critical mark.

In the Klang Valley, the Sungai Langat, Klang Gates and Batu dams were at full capacity, while the Tasik Subang dam was at 87% yesterday.

Puncak Niaga forecasts that the dams would have enough water for 161 days or 5.4 months even if the dry spell continued.

A Meteorological Department spokesman said that there would be more rain in September, during the inter-monsoon period, and heavy rain during the North-East Monsoon.

In Johor, the water levels at nine river dams was stable despite the possible threat of a drought.

Syarikat Air Johor Holdings head of communications Jamaluddin Jamal said the company had contingency measures should the level begins to fall.

In Malacca, the water level at two of the state’s dams in Alor Gajah and Jasin was also reported to be within healthy levels.

“Although we are experiencing a dry spell, there is sufficient water supply to meet the state’s need as we process about 118 million litres of water a day from the dams,” said Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd chief executive officer Mohd Khalid Nasir yesterday.

The problem is...will Malaysians listen? Usually we'll just wait until it's too late and then when water rationing actually starts we'll start blaming everyone and everything...LOL!

Typical really...

Oh yes, article is from the Star (11/6/09) and the sauce is here!

Here we go again...

Last year was relatively haze free. This year however...

OH NOES HAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZE

'Nuff said. And now back to your regularly scheduled coughing and choking!

Iphone 3G? Now it's Iphone 3G S!

So WWDC has come and gone and well, as predicted by almost everyone (and their psychic pet) Apple has announced the next gen Iphone.

The Iphone 3G S. Whoa? I suppose S stands for Speed, seeing that Apple is saying that "on average it's twice as fast" as the Iphone 3G. No processor details for the time being though.

That being said, I want one. 3 megapixel camera with auto focus and video recording capabilities, on board compass, Nike+ support, voice control and longer battery life, what's not to like? However

1. When will Maxis actually bring it in?
2. How will Maxis price it?

Seriously the Iphone 3G packages that Maxis previously offered bordered on the ludicrous. No unlimited data packages right off the bat, no packages for casual users. Maxis needs to provide more variety in their packages if they want to increase market penetration. Or else users would simply buy from a neighbouring country...doo dah doo dah *whistles*

Here's hoping that Maxis bucks up this time around because many many people are going to want this sexy piece of hardware. Unless Maxis has always been targeting those with fat wallets all this time...

Sauce here (Apple official press release) and images here.

I'm Popeye the sailor man

Yes first up a thousand apologies for slacking off. December 08 and Jan 09 were really busy months, due to all the festive occasions.

Anyway, since Chinese New Year ain't over yet I would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous 'Niu' (Chinese for cow, pronounced as new) year. May everyone be blessed with good health, good luck, good everything!

You might have heard that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has opened a branch here in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. It currently occupies the lot which previously housed Shakeys. Right across the road from KFC actually...so I can see the competition between these two will heat up in the near future.

Bonafide!

Three piece chicken set, comes with a biscuit and two sides

Biscuit!

Coleslaw

Mashed potatoes

Let's compare Popeyes with KFC shall we? In terms of taste and texture I would probably be hard pressed to choose a winner since there's not much difference. If I were to nitpick I'd say Popeyes is less oily than KFC. Unfortunately Popeyes spicy version is actually more salty than spicy so KFC definately wins here.

Popeyes excels in their side dishes though. The biscuit is crunchy on the outside, savoury and crumbly on the inside. This definately beats out the KFC bun in terms of tastiness. Popeyes coleslaw doesn't feel as 'limp' as KFC's one, probably due to the fact that the vegetables aren't shredded too finely which means there's more crunch. As for Popeyes mash, the texture of the potatoes is nothing to shout about but I really like the spicy gravy with bits of chicken in it. Appetizing!

As for the price, both of them are basically equivalent. But Popeyes does offer ice lemon tea as an option for your drink with no extra charge so I guess there's some savings there.

What can I say? KFC better watch out because there's a new competitor in town! Oh yeah!

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is located at Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 1 at TTDI.

I'm back! And also, a visit to Café Serena Brasserie...

Yeah so we scored a 50% discount voucher for buffet dinner at the said cafe from a fellow running 'kaki' quite a while back. Seeing that the cafe would be undergoing renovation soon (15th Dec) we decided to use the voucher ASAP.

To our surprise (and delight) the voucher was valid for the entire bill (not for one person as we initially thought) so the total cost came to around RM52 nett instead of the usual price of RM103.50.

Once again I'll let the pictures tell the story...

The oysters were fresh but only average size wise. However I have to say that the lemon wedges here are sized just right. Most restaurants slice them so thinly that it's almost impossible to squeeze any juice out of them. LOL!

Fresh prawns. Also average size wise and some how not as crunchy as the ones we had at Cinnamon (One World Hotel). The dip (located in the upper part of the pic) certainly helped liven up the taste though. No idea what ingredients were blended together for the dip but I did detect a hint of Thousand Island...hmmm...

Assorted cold cuts, smoked salmon and sea bass and some cold salad. Unfortunately everything here was pretty much tasteless. The smoked fish was the exception though as it was very salty. I'll pass.

Here we have some Asian and Western (European?) delights. Venison (Chinese style), pan pizza (which was actually rectangular), slipper lobster Mornay, veal sausage and mackerel in teriyaki sauce. Venison was tender but bland and the pizza tasted like something you would get at Pizza Hut. However I found the slipper lobster, veal sausage and mackerel to be very flavourful. Not much flesh in the slipper lobster though.

Wei Siong's keen eyes spotted two very pricey items on the buffet menu, namely abalone and pacific clams. So here we have a full on Asian attack with roast duck with Mongolian special sauce, abalone with smoked chicken and winter melon, pacific clams with assorted mushrooms, celery and tofu and glutinious rice HK style. I would say that this round proved to be the most rewarding of all, with all the dishes tasting real good. Just skip the duck, it was cold and the special sauce didn't go well with it at all.

I was pleasantly surprised (yet again!) to find that they serve salmon belly (and also the usual salmon) over at their sashimi corner. Two thumbs up for the salmon belly as it was oh-so-smooth and oh-so-fatty. The salmon sashimi wasn't too bad either. The chunk of meat you see at the back is actually sirloin. Unfortunately it was overcooked (well done) and cold. I would have preferred it to be medium rare...wouldn't be so dry then.

Here we have vanilla and strawberry sorbet (made in house) with a variety of toppings. The sorbet was smooth and pretty good. Could do with more choices of flavor though, only two just does not cut it.

Say cheese! These are Ritz crackers topped with both cream and blue cheese. Yummy! I also spotted cheddar, edam and brie on the cheese platter.

Lychee and jelly dessert. I loved the huge juicy sweet lychees. The water is just plain sugar water though while the jelly cubes were tasteless.

Close up of the slipper lobster Mornay. You definately have to take more than one due to the small amount of flesh inside one of those.

Chocolate fondue is a must. Now those round things are actually very small (and very sour) strawberries. Not terribly exciting I must say. But I liked those triangular crackers (the one you usually have with ice cream) as they went very well with the chocolate.

So would I return? Sure, if I got my hands on the 50% voucher again...lol!

Fark. This. Shit.

Seriously. Somebody told me last night that spoiling a girl during the courtship phrase is a must. I don't see what does the whole 'spoiling a girl' thing have to do with a relationship. You don't take the phrase 'spoilt brat' as some sort of compliment do you?

To think that I always thought a relationship was built on mutual understanding and 'liking what you see in your partner'. No wonder I can't get a girlfriend. It's all about 'spoiling the girl and making her more of a princess than she already is'.

Sorry but I'm definitely not the type that would go around 'spoiling' girls. Wow! It looks like I've been going after the wrong type of girls all these while! The problem is, what am I supposed to do if the majority of girls are already locked into such a mindset? And please don't bring up the "you are too choosy". Stupid phrase has been done to death already. I'm not too choosy. The girls are.

Rant ends here.