Better fuel consumption, reduced impact to environment, these are some of the promises of driving a hybrid car. But after more than 8 years of driving Mazda 3 2.0L model, with 2 failed capacitors after a mileage of 60,000 km – and they are expensive to replace (S$2k or US$1.5k each) – I’d rather drive a regular car. Here is why.
Yes, it is annoying.
Have you ever received an email, with a request. And the sender copied Tom, Dick, Henry, and their relatives, and said, “do this on priority.”
That always triggers me. Why?
These days, I feel that I am constantly be reminded of time. It gets worse after the start of the pandemic. In the past, when I worked in the office and when there was a meeting, we had to book a physical meeting room. Participants could be from different buildings. Few turned up on time, unless it was a very important meeting. Back then, people needed to walk from one building to another, take a lift from one floor to another, or stopped by the bathroom and/or pantry. Now? People work remotely. Meetings are setup remotely. Once the meeting notification appeared, people join the meeting online. When I had a take a bathroom or water break, even with 1 minute late, people start to get impatient and message me if I am joining the meeting now. Right now!
What happens to the good old days when people chit chat before the meeting started while waiting for the rest to join?
I had one of the most humiliating experiences at MUJI Plaza Singapura, no fault of mine. It was so absurd that it took me a meal’s time – not at MUJI – to internalize.
I enjoy the food menu at MUJI. It strikes a good balance between tasty food and healthy food. The price is more premium. But once in a while, it is OK.
It was during a weekend. Faced with a table shortage during lunch hour, I joined a queue. In front of me was a big group of young people. Further down, there were tourists from Indonesia. The queue was long. And I was queuing alone. Since I had no one to talk to, I looked at my phone most of the time. I recalled the waitress passed by and asked, “Table for how many?” I said two. She quickly moved on. She looked stern, in her late fifties. Highly efficient.
To control the crowd entering the cafe, there was a barrier. It was closed when the cafe was full. And it was open when tables were available.
I was looking at my phone when I sensed the big group before I had entered. I saw the barrier was opened. I presumed that it was my turn. So I entered, looking for a table. But there was none. The cafe was full.
Naturally, I returned to the front of the queue. The barrier was opened. As I rejoined, a woman in her thirties stopped me and accused me of queue jumping. Then out of nowhere, the waitress appeared and testified that she did not see me in the queue! I was speechless. I told my side of the story. The barrier was opened. I thought there was a table available. Hence, I walked in.
It is a common struggle. Should I spend more money to get 32GB of RAM or would 16GB suffice? Today, I played Diablo 4 while letting my video editor run in the background. Yes, my laptop utilized more than 16GB of RAM. I suppose, 32GB RAM is … justified?
For 12 years I have been an Android user. Who would have known that my very first Apple product purchase is an iPhone 14 pro max? Here is a little story of my migration from Android to iOS.
Let’s get right to the point. Despite all the innovations Android and the hardware companies have over the years, despite all the years of denial, Apple simply makes better products. The followings are the specifics after 12 years of using Android products.
Lately, I have watched a good number of Chinese TV dramas. While I enjoy the shows – more because of my Chinese background and I can relate better – most of them tend to be too lengthy.
Take Eternal Love (2020) as an example. 58 episodes equate to 58 hours of entertainment. I reckon a number of subplots could easily be edited out into perhaps 30 episodes (or made optional maybe… imagine a future of TV viewing whereby viewers get to define how concise the show they wish to watch).
All in all, story writing is top-notch. Chinese TV dramas are prone to plot flaws or plot holes. This love story spans over “three” lifetimes by and large makes sense. For those who are familiar with Chinese fantasy such as the path to immortality, the trials that entail, cultivation and essence, etc., Eternal Love is authentic.
The real gems of this TV drama are the leading actor and actress Mark Chao and Yang Mi. Their onscreen chemistry is believable. Yang Mi is such an elegant actress. Every bit of her acting I can see was carefully orchestrated. I look forward to their scenes, which is where the problem lies. The rest of the scenes are just not as good. Most of the supporting actors are just not as good. Hence my first observation, this TV drama is too lengthy.
Another flaw I would like to call out though is that the women of this TV drama are not well represented in today’s world. Men are too dominating. Most if not all the battles are won by men. Women are either hopelessly not as useful or purely wicked. In today’s standard, I am finding it hard to relate. Most of the time, I would just sigh or facepalm.
Also, if I were the scriptwriter, I may have wrapped up the story in a more grand and triumphant way, one that is worthy of 58 episodes of wait. Then again, I am not.
And why ain’t there more Yang Mi’s work on Netflix or Viu? That is disappointing.
I am mostly into Korean drama. But once in a while, I indulge myself in Chinese drama. I am not going to lie. I have always been wanting to watch a TV series with Dilraba Dilmurat as the main actress. She has unique facial features that make her look Asian but not Chinese (she is actually of Uyghur ethnicity). Should you watch 49 episodes of The Long Ballad (~37 hours)? Part 1 is a spoiler-free review. Part 2 has spoilers.
Set in the Tang dynasty, Princess Li Changge (played by Dilraba, also hence the drama title) escaped the Palace and the capital due to court politics. She faked death, disguised as a man, and promised herself to return one day and seek revenge against the new emperor. What follows was a series of life-changing events for her and the main cast.
There is a good amount of plot and acting brilliance that would make you fall in love with the series. I cried at a number of scenes, was awed at some of the very clever plot tweaks, loved some of the military strategies, and I mostly binge-watched the entire 49 episodes in just a few days.
There are also moments of very good cinematic whereby you witness a vast size of armies in conflict. The cinematic also at times supplements with the comic-drawn scenes, which tell a pretty good story (where the root of the series belongs).
I particularly love the character development. Each main character grows into a different person. There are moments of heroism and sacrifice, intrigue and danger. The main difference between Korean and Chinese drama is that Chinese writers don’t seem to hesitate to kill off characters. That makes Chinese drama very memorable.
The Long Ballad is not without its flaws. In my mind, the entire series is roughly divided into 5 chapters. The first chapter was great. The second chapter is amazing. The plots are so clever. You would get to love the characters (even the villains). The problem is, this drama peaked too soon. From the scale of physical and emotional conflict to the cleverness of plot tweaks, nothing follows can compete with the second chapter. This drama also has a number of glaring plot holes that made me shake my head.
I like the concept of Central Plain versus Grassland versus Desert tribes. The story backdrop could have been so much more powerful had the final chapter been the climax of all. What a missed opportunity.
While some have great acting, most are average or one-dimensional. Personally, I think Dilraba acts well, but not exceptional. But her physical attractiveness and the exceptional heroic plot opportunities make up for it. I do enjoy watching Zhao Lusi played as Princess Li Leyan (cousin of Princess Li Changge) and she has acted in The Romance of Tiger and Rose, one of my favorite dramas.
All in all, an enjoyable watch that I don’t regret watching.
Warning: Spoilers follow.
Following is a list of observations I have made while watching the drama, which made me face-palmed or in awe. If you have watched this drama, you should be able to relate.
People in the past were used to ask me this question a lot, especially during the days when I was actively running my YouTube channel playing the game Marvel Heroes.
As you may know, each superhero comes with unique abilities. There is one hero whom I really want to be. I will get there in just a bit. Let’s talk about fortune-telling for now.
Do I believe in fortune-telling? I tend to think that there are gifted people in this world who can reveal a glimpse of our future. Chinese believes that the future is a secret that has to be kept within the heavens. Those who reveal the secret would have to pay with self-sacrifices depends on how big the secret is. Hence, real and good fortune tellers are often well compensated by their clients.
Is fortune telling a self-fulfilling prophecy? Does that mean that our fate is sealed before we are born? Knowing our future, can we change the course? I will get there in just a bit. Let’s talk about quantum mechanics for now.
The first time I have encountered the topic of quantum mechanics was not from books nor classes. It was during my university days in the UK, my friend Trevor from Hong Kong was obsessed with physics. We would play arcade games, Street Fighters or Mortal Kombat (by that, I meant I watched him playing it). And he would talk about all things physics. We bonded so well that we have decided to cycle from Oxford to Edinburgh together. Side-track to this topic, going on a trip with someone is a true test of a relationship. Unfortunately, the relationship between Trevor and I didn’t survive the trip. We could barely survive day one of our trip.
Quantum physics is a heavy subject. What is relevant to this post is that quantum physics is probabilistic. We can’t predict the outcome. But we can predict the probability of finding each of the particular possible outcomes.
So in my mind, there is no one future but rather, a wide spectrum of futures. Each future has its own probability. In the concept of the multiverse, who knows, we may have to live through each of these futures.
And so, when a fortune-teller shares the secret of the heavens, he or she may refer to the most probable future. For example, one time, I was told that I have two windows of opportunity when it comes to marriage: marry young, marry old. Was there any chance that I could marry somewhere in between young and old or not at all? I guess so. But the fortune-teller must have sensed that it was highly improbable.
I tend to think that our actions today can help to charter towards a future we desired – no guarantee that we will reach there, of course (think quantum mechanics). There are versions of the future that we may not be able to choose, determined by just a toss of a coin. If there is one Marvel superhero I could become, right now, I would like to be Dr. Strange (think Avengers: End Game).
Right now, I not only wish to see my future, but also the probability of each.
Smartphone prices vary a great deal. As of today, it ranges from S$2,888 (US$2,200) for a Samsung Fold2 to Xiaomi Redmi 9A that costs only S$139 (US$100).
A S$299 phone is not exactly a cheap entry level phone. But on paper, it is a pretty decent phone compared to the phones of a similar price point. The full spec is here.
My last phone was an old Samsung Note 8. It broke and the new models are due to be out soon. So I need a phone as a stop-gap measure. Or if it is any good, I could use it for a longer-term. How do I like this realme C17? Read on to find out!
Again, read the following in the context that my previous phone is an old Samsung Note 8, which back in its time was a premium product. If you can’t live with some of these observations, you may consider spending a bit more and get a mid-range smartphone instead.