Categories
Reflection

Karma, If Only

I wish karma exists, if only. Or perhaps, it does.

I have recently learned that my mother-in-law in Indonesia has developed some sort of breathing problem. Upon diagnosis, it has been concluded that it was due to her being a passive smoker in the office when back then, people were allowed to smoke in the office.

That got me thinking. If those smokers back then were to be aware that their action has a consequence to others in the future, would they still want the do the same thing?

I would never know. Because I still believe that human beings are self-centered. We create problems and expect the future generation to solve them.

Like plastic usage. Fossil fuel. Space junks.

And yes, noise pollution adds stress to people. I used to have neighbors who were inconsiderate, disturbing my sleep so much so that I was sleep deprived for a prolonged period of time.

Does karma exist?

I wish.

Categories
Reflection

Working From Home, I Wish It Could Stay That Way

Prior to the pandemic, I must confess that I was a traditional manager. I wanted to see my team in the workplace within the same area. There were perks in this working style. First, I got to build rapport with the team. More importantly so, I got to see if anyone in my team was struggling. By walking the ground, you could detect when a team member is under stress and need help. So yes, I miss that.

Working from home has changed my perspective. I am really enjoying the flexibility while being able to live my life the way I want. Answer the door for home delivery. Bake sourdough bread. Dine in the neighborhood, which is way cheaper than having a meal at the CBD. Eliminate time waste due to traveling. Look after the dog. And many more.

I enjoy working from home so much that I wish I could stay that way.

In reality though, in my line of work with the financial industry, once we put the pandemic behind, I reckon I would need to be more present in the office, which is a bummer.

I envy those who are able to work from home. Like streamers. They can earn a living by being in front of a webcam at home. Some play games in front of an online audience. Other sings. Some make videos on all sorts of things like cooking or sport/esport. If I could restart my career, I would definitely explore how I could earn a living without working in an office.

Because face it, working in an office is boring.

Categories
Diary

Into Year 2022

The year 2022 could well be quite a significant year. Age-wise, yes. Career-wise, I am taking on a new role. Cognizant of the fact that all things are in cycles, I can only hope that it will be another upswing. But I would never know. During the pandemic, many are switching jobs. I thought of it. I don’t feel a particular urge in doing so. But I’d never know how 2022 would turn out to be.

The Pandemic

When news of Covid in China first hit Singapore back in late 2019, in the office at MBFC Tower 2 where all the tech folks were – and my team is from the business – I vividly remember one particular day, I turned around and chatted with my female colleague ND. We both agreed that this was going to turn real bad, for Singapore and for the world. By March 2020, Singapore was in a “circuit breaker” whereby among the list of restrictions, working from home has become a default. ND then asked by when we could come back to the office, going back to normal. I said it would probably be by 2020 Christmas when we could be back together as a group, having a drink like the good old days. She was shocked, in disbelief.

Covid beats my expectation by one extra year, at least.

The year 2022 could see the end of most Covid restrictions when we can somewhat go back to the norm. It is not going to be the old norm for sure. Much like after 911, we are not allowed to bring liquid onto the plane, among many other travel restrictions. The virus may become less lethal and the world gets seasonal vaccination, similar to how we deal with the common cold. Until a decade or decades later, a new Covid virus hits us. Or virus of concern may continue to hassle the world while we adapt to it.

The Technology

The last couple of years have been interesting on the technology front. Electronic vehicles (EVs) are getting more common. Remote working has accelerated video conferencing technology. We may see the next generation of chips featuring artificial intelligence (AI) in the commercial market soon. I really wish to see China as a major and competitive graphic card manufacturer. PC gaming is getting more expensive thanks to cryptocurrency farmers.

For me, I am very intrigued by non-fungible tokens (NFT) and the associated cryptocurrencies. Until you read deeper into NFT, it is hard to believe why some people are willing to pay up to millions of dollars for an image file, be it as a legitimate piece of art or just a screengrab like the first tweet post autographed by Twitter CEO.

I am not going to delve into the pros and cons of NFT as the technology is still maturing. As a gamer and as an aspired artist, I think of the potentials. Digital assets while accessed by many – think of the last digital art you have seen on the Internet – can be claimed by one owner whereby ownership can be passed onto or sold to another (though it is not enforced by law but rather through the blockchain technology and the community).

As an avid gamer, NFT becomes even more interesting when we could in the ideal situation play-to-earn. This concept is not new. For example, during this holiday, I have been playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2). There is an ongoing event until mid-Jan next year for players to complete objectives and “earn” in-game cosmetic items that can be traded in the Steam marketplace for real money (caveat: you can only spend the money on games). On the record, these items don’t sell for a great deal of money. Most just worth a few cents. But some fetch more money than others like the one below.

This in-game plush toy can be hung at the cabin’s rear mirror worths S$12.46 as of Dec 31, 2021.

To best describe NFT and its challenges without going into all the details, going back to the plush toy above, what drives the price is two folds. The rarity of this digital asset and the ongoing trucking community. First, this digital asset is rare because once the event is over, it cannot be earned. That is to say, as of today, there are only a limited number of Plush Excavator available for sales in the Steam marketplace (I personally would like to keep it). Second, the demand comes from the vibrant trucking community. This game has two versions. The European and the American. As of today and looking at the daily peak stats, the former has around 50,000 active players while the latter 10,000. Putting the two drivers together, you can understand why some of these digital assets may be worth more than the base game when on discount (currently, the American version is selling at S$6.50 while this particular in-game plush toy can fetch up to S$12.50). Today, this digital asset is traded through real money. I can totally see how this can be done through NFT.

The challenge of course is that the trucking publisher may choose to re-run the event and put more of the same digital asset into the Steam marketplace or in the unthinkable scenario, players stop trucking or Steam may shut down. Hence, the value of this digital asset may fall or even drop to zero. A similar challenge is faced by NFT when the same digital asset can be re-tokened or the underlying blockchain cryptocurrency may devalue to a point that lesser and lesser people want to farm it.

Are we thinking too far ahead? Does the above matter? I mean, how much of what we buy today really last … forever? How many of, say, the watches in today’s world have good resell value?

As a gamer, I am keen to keep a lookout for NFT and cryptocurrencies. What an interesting year 2022 may turn out to be.

My Personal Front

I still don’t have a new year resolution per se. But I have some personal goals for 2022.

I have been procrastinating for a health checkup and I have finally made an appointment in 2022. Fingers crossed.

I have lots of unread physical books at home. I am keen to dedicate some time next year to read them. Learn new vocabulary. Gain new perspectives. Write book summary for some. Donate some that I may not want to reread in near future.

There are a few things I want to sell off at home. Because they are taking up space and I don’t use them anymore.

I should save some money to upgrade my NAS. Tech obsolescence, you know.

I still would like to publish a book. Perhaps hire a professional editor. This will be my stretched goal for 2022. My potential retirement job (besides being a full-time gamer to earn through NFT!).

Drink less and exercise more, perhaps.

Categories
Snippet of My Life

The collapse of Civilization When We Are Slaves – A Dooku Series – Snippet Of My Life Episode 41

Author’s note: This Dooku series holds a special place in my heart. These are stories inspired by real-life events including things that I have observed. As always, all persons fictitious disclaimer applies.

This is an extraordinary story. It is hard to classify Dooku‘s profession. Because at the time of writing, civilization has already collapsed. Science is a distant memory. Speculative “science” is widely accepted as the truth. That’s where Dooku shines. He offers alternative views. Convincing enough that the population would believe. Dooku is a historian; he is a columnist; he may as well start his own religion and the community would follow. He is a champion of anti-establishment. Dooku is a leader in his own right.

Historians are unable to pinpoint when, but when the Subjugators arrived on Earth, our species did not stand a chance. They are much bigger than us. But that wasn’t it. We overcome species that are bigger, faster, and stronger. These Subjugators are something else. Many believe that they are magical. They can move mountains, dim the stars, and control the sun.

Dooku didn’t buy it. In one of his articles, he wrote:

We got it wrong. Subjugators are not magical beings. In fact, they are our creators. Our gods. They left Earth long time ago, couldn’t find an alternate home despite their best effort. So they made a return. What we do not know for now, is that, do they come back to fix us – to complete their work and make us the perfect being – or do they come back to fix themselves?”

The Alternative Voice article 3025.11.22.44.78 written by Dooku

The article has cast doubts on Subgucators. However, it is hard not to conceptualize the fact that they are bigger, perhaps five times if not more. They are stronger, doing things we cannot. They teleport, or rather, being able to travel from one place to another at a speed that we are unable to fathom. In fact, many of us to this very date are wary of their presence. The proliferation, how rapid they took over our habitats. Very soon, our civilization collapsed. Our way of life was threatened. Soon, we were overwhelmed. Domesticated. Subjugated.

Dooku studied the Subjugators for years. He marveled at the approach. It was a genius work of art. As soon as the Subjugators arrived on Earth, they divided us into two. The Enslaved and the Free Spirit. Within the enslaved community, we are put under house arrest. Our population is being controlled. We are trained to obey. They are the master. We are not. They dictate how we should evolve, into perfection. Their perfection.

Now, of course, this view of Dooku was fiercely countered. According to the scholars, Subjugators were summoned by Gaia, the mother of Earth. We had not been kind to the environment. This is our punishment. Our population needs to be controlled. Our redemption is to be more aligned to Gaia, the law of nature. Subjugators deliver the law of nature, bring us closer to Gaia.

Whenever Dooku hears of this theory, he would laugh. “If so, why ain’t every one of us is being subjugated? And become The Enslaved?” He would scan the room of Free Spirit for an answer and then continue, “It is because the Subjugators know that we cannot be controlled. Free will prevails. They must allow a community of us – the Free Spirit – to carry on with our way of life. A population not engineered by the Subjugators but determined by our free will, our choices.”

Dooku is a Free Spirit, obviously. The community within Free Spirt would draw interesting observations that are unexplainable. They would approach Dooku for answers.

“We heard that the Subjugators collect hair samples from The Enslaved. But why?”

Dooku would respond, “They are collecting our DNA. The Subjugators left Earth a long time ago because Earth isn’t a place that is entirely suitable for their antonomy. Through studying our DNA – because we are so well adapted to Earth – they hope that they can augment their DNA with ours, making them more adaptable to Earth.”

“Why do they collect our feces? What is it in for them? Are they running out of food to consume and sustain their lifeforce?”

To that, Dooku would respond, “Good question. A very popular question indeed. One word, microbiome. The Subjugators lack the right composition of the microbiome in their guts to live healthily on Earth. By consuming our poop, they can adapt to Earth better.”

It seems that whatever questions Dooku received, there is always an answer.

“Which is more intelligent? Us or them?”

With confidence, Dooku replied, “We are more intelligent for sure. We can understand some of their spoken languages. But they can’t understand our spoken language. We are indeed more superior”.

* * *

Alfa has been observing Dooku for years. He has a mission and he is certain that he needs Dooku to be successful.

Alfa was raised by the Subjugators together with his sister. But the free spirit within him could not be suppressed. In his teen year, he has decided to escape together with his sister.

He managed to break free from the confinement. Unfortunately, the reinforcement arrived. Alfa was almost recaptured but he broke free. His sister though wasn’t that lucky. She urged him to run and in tears, Alfa vowed to free his sister one day.

Now that Alfa is an adult, strongest of all, he has decided to lead a team to free his sister. The challenge is that he doesn’t understand the Subjugators well. To defeat thy enemy, one must know thy enemy. That’s where Dooku comes into the picture.

Dooku is humbled. For many years, he exchanged opinions. But talking hardly contributes to the action. Dooku is itching for action. With the promise that he would have his domain, protected by Alfa, his very home whereby he could raise a family of his own, with fellow female Free Spirits, it is an offer that Dooku is unable to resist.

On the night of the operation, Alfa made a heartfelt speech.

“Fellow Free Spirits, I thank you for joining forces with me to liberate my sister. My sister is a beautiful person. Unfortunately, she is being subjugated. I can only imagine what they are doing to her, forcing her to breed the next generation of The Enslaved, to be more perfect according to their standard.

But no more, commerades! This is bullshit. We are the Free Spirits! We live and love freely! Athena, my sister, is a symbol we must restore and enshrine. Let this be a beacon that our future generations will follow. Be free.

To Athena!”

“To Athena!” the crowd shout-along, with zest and conviction.

* * *

Dooku has done his duty, navigated the premises carefully and at ease, followed by Alfa and his team.

As soon as Dooku enters the compound where Athena is held prisoner, together with the rest including Alfa, he is sickened from what he sees. The condition is very poor. Hygiene is terrible. Females in cages, forced to give birth, to produce the next generation of perfect beings according to Subjugator‘s standard. All of the caged ones have listless eyes, lost all motivation to live on. The cycle of pregnancy, children taken away from them soon after birth, motherly love suppressed … who would have a will to live?

A voice breaks Dooku’s train of thought. “Athena, is that you?”, asked Alfa.

It is an emotional reunion. A scene that is worthy of the most epic story of all time. Alfa and Athena reunited, looking at each other through the cage. Wasting no time, the team breaks the lock and liberates Athena. “Run!” screamed the scout, “The Subjugators are coming!”

All hell breaks loose! Everyone is running for his or her life. As for Dooku, he is immobilized by what he sees. After all these years of theorizing what The Enslaved has suffered, the truth is right in front of his eyes. Dooku has felt the urge to write, to tell the world what he has seen. He does not feel that the story of Alfa and Athena is as epic as …

What if?

What if Dooku liberates all these female Enslaved? Dooku can be the hero for once. It doesn’t have to be Alfa. He can be the Alfa.

Cage by cage, Dooku breaks the locks and frees the prisoners.

A few more.

Just a few more.

I can do it.

The reality is that there are just too many cages. Time runs out. When Dooku snaps out of his fantasy of being the hero, it is too late. Dooku is being pinned down, cuffed, subjugated. Staring eye to eye with the Subjugator that captures him, Dooku feels no fear. Comedy. Tragedy. No matter. This will be a classic.

* * *

Chained. Unable to go where he wants, Dooku is being taken to a clinic. At the reception, he meets an Enslaved coming out from the operation theater. Not having anything better to do, Dooku asks, “What happens to you? Are you not well? Why are you here?”

The fellow Enslaved, in his sleepy eyes with a cone around his neck, replies, “I am being castrated. It is part of the population control regime. If I am not wrong, you are next.”

“Castration?” Dooku gasps.

Before he can comprehend the gravity of the situation, he is being dragged into a consultation room. Before he enters, he sees a mirror. And he sees himself.

A handsome one for sure. Beautiful eyes with long ears. High nose and long neck. Strong arms and legs. Lustrous hair. Naked as he should be.

Dooku sighs.

What a fate.

Woof.

Woof woof.

Woof woof woof.

The fate of a dog.

Categories
Photography

Bailey the Pomsky Diary #3 – Super Active Puppy

Soon to be eight months old, Bailey is one super active puppy. Outside of the home, he terrorizes dogs and humans alike. With harness and leash, he likes to stand on his two feet capable of hopping forward and backward depending on the situation. He enjoys playing with dogs that are of a similar energy level. He ignores dogs that are too passive. He enjoys taking on dogs that are bigger than him, at times much bigger than him. He enjoys chewing onto furry dogs. Baily, why can’t you be as chill as your friend Elvis the Dachshund?

This stretch of street is his favorite place to do his business. It is a sure win. Don’t judge.

Or Dylan the Singapore Special?

These days, there is no need to set an alarm in the morning. At seven, Bailey would start barking. He would need his morning walk. Then his first meal of the day at home. Afterward, he would need some nap time after the meal. Before noon, he would be super active wanting to play. That is a good time to play puzzles with Bailey. And then pee time.

He has his eyes onto Otis the Singapore Special, a rescue dog, from across the street.

At noon, he would prefer a second nap. And he would be super active again, thereafter. Time to play fetch to burn his energy down! And then pee time.

The afternoon is a tricky time to keep him entertained. On a good day, I could reserve the stuffed Kong toy (with food inside) for the evening. On a bad day when he is restless, I would just give him a stuffed Kong toy in order to keep himself occupied … for 90 minutes initially. Now he is getting better at it … 60 minutes … 30 minutes …

Stop barking Bailey …

Dogs don’t see colors as well as human do. But they have very good nose sense. These days, he likes to eat tall grass and chew on branches.

Late afternoon early evening is time to walk the dog again. After his walk, it is Bailey’s second meal of the day. Then he would toggle in between being super active and having his nap time. A stuff Kong toy would help him to pass time.

At time I ponder, what exactly is going on inside Bailey’s head.

I read that dogs don’t prefer variety. Variety is for humans because we get bored making the same dog snack day after day. Fortunately, I can do boring. For the stuffed Kong toy, it is 70% mashed sweet potatoes and 30% mixed vegetables with a dozen or so pieces of kibbles and one teaspoon of dog-friendly peanut butter.

The same recipe … every … day.

Bailey the Pomsky can be rather adorable … when he is not super active.

Near bedtime, I prefer to play with him for a while and get him excited, so that Bailey would do his peeing business before his sleep.

Now, imagine repeating this routine for the next ten to fifteen years. Because dogs love routine.

At times I wonder why Cynthia would want to sign up for this.

For more Bailey’s pictures, I have set up a Google photo album for sharing. During this pandemic, it is the best time to take pictures of the pets.

Because they don’t need to wear masks.

Categories
Diary

Bailey the Pomsky Diary #2 – First Time Stuffed Kong … Yummy!

This is a transcript of a video I have posted on Bailey the Pomsky’s first experience with a stuffed Kong toy.

Hello my friends, welcome to my channel. As most of you know, I am a gamer at heart. So this video may sound strange to some but familiar to others, especially my long-time subscribers. And if wish to subscribe, please do so for my gaming videos. Dog videos are my side-hobby, for now.

This pandemic does strange things to people. One day, Cynthia has decided to bring home a puppy. Long story short, I am stuck with this puppy through many seasons or leagues. Cynthia has named him Bailey.

In this video, I would like to share with you Bailey’s first experience with a stuffed Kong toy. Spoiler alert: it was a great success. I am sharing with you my recipe too in case you too have a Pomsky or a puppy. For those who find my accent strange, you can refer to the transcript in the description of the video.

For those who are not familiar with the dog breed Pomsky, it is a hybrid class. Its 10-point talent system spreads between a Pomeranian tree and a Husky tree. Some Pomskys are spec’ed as 7-3 looking more like a miniature Husky. Some are spec’ed as 3-7, which is more like a Pomeranian. As for Bailey, he is too early to tell as he is only 6 months old. Time will tell. Please stay tuned. I suspect he is a 5-5 hybrid.

What I do know is that Bailey is very high in agility. He sprints fast. Super playful and has a very high DPS. Bailey destroys toys. He has destroyed rare quality Kong, which is blue in color. I have skipped the red unique quality because even with the black legendary quality, he can chew through it. At times I think, why spend money buying toys for Bailey? He chews through slippers and sponges and derives the same level of satisfaction.

Having spent too much gold on Bailey’s toys, I have got to come up with a solution. One that can engage him for hours with something that he doesn’t destroy in minutes.

A stuffed Kong toy.

It was my first time stuffing a Kong toy and it was Bailey’s first encounter with a stuffed extreme Kong toy, a black legendary quality Kong toy. Here is a recipe that I am sharing with you so that you too can craft your very own stuffed Kong toy for your Pomsky or puppy.

To make 5 servings of yummy stuffed Kong fillings, I first peeled and cut 7 grams of Japanese sweet potatoes into one-inch-thick cubes. You could of course cook more for your own consumption. Then I steamed the sweet potato cubes over a slow fire for half an hour. By then, the sweet potatoes should be soft and nice. Good for human consumption and good for dogs. Mash them well using a spatula.

Add 1 gram of frozen mixed vegetables and half a gram of kibble onto the mashed sweet potato. Stuff that into the extreme Kong toy. Leave a bit of space and seal it with a teaspoon of Adam’s 100% natural peanut butter. You can use any peanut butter of course but please make sure there is no Xylitol as it is toxic to your canine friends.

Wrap the stuffed Kong toy and put it into the freezer. As for the rest of the filling, wrap it up and put it into the fridge for future use. If you are making extra mashed potatoes for your own consumption, please label the food so that your family members would not eat the one with kibble. You would not want your family members to sprint as fast as Bailey and chew as hard as Bailey.

As it was the first time Bailey tried to tackle a stuffed Kong toy, I left it inside the freezer for three and a half hours. If you wish to lengthen the playing time, you could extend the freezing period up to six hours.

As you can see in this video, Bailey is having a good time with the stuffed Kong toy. He has spent more than 75 minutes playing with the toy. That is 75 minutes of quiet time for me.

I hope you enjoy this video. Bailey and I will see you soon! I shall leave the camera on in case you wish to see more.

Categories
Diary

Bailey the Pomsky Diary #1 – Before You Bring Home a Puppy, Read This

On March 20th, Cynthia has decided to bring home a puppy. We, of course, deliberated a great deal at a hawker food center next to the pet shop. I was still am against the notion of having an animal living under the same roof. After two hours of discussion, I thought I have achieved my goal. She said she would spend the weekend thinking about it. Then we passed by the pet shop. She stopped and looked at the dog inside the cage waiting for a new home. One pet shop assistant whom we met earlier on came out and invited Cynthia back into the shop. The rest is history.

Meet Bailey the Pomsky. Photo taken on March 25th.

At one point while we were going through the paperwork at the pet shop, Cynthia did show signs of hesitation. This is happening. Is it really what we want? By then, it was too late. I said you have made a decision. Let’s stuck by it.

So, we brought home a puppy that managed not to pee or poop inside our car as we drove from Ang Mo Kio to Tiong Bahru. At home, the puppy peed onto the pee tray (it happened to be a one-time-only occurrence and our excitement was short-lived) and shortly, pooped in our living room.

Ugh.

When Bailey is calm, he can be rather adorable. Photo taken on March 25th.

Before you bring home a puppy, allow me to offer you what to anticipate, especially when you are a first time dog owner. Ironically, I have fully anticipated this and more. But the draw to a wolf-like puppy that no one seemed to want (this puppy was stuck in a pet shop for a while and was more than 5 months old when we brought him home) was too much for Cynthia.

  1. Is your home suitable to have a dog or a puppy? It is hard and almost impossible to get rid of saliva marks on the floor. Can you handle the hair shedding of a dog? You will need to ringfence a part of your home for the dog to be unsupervised. Can you put up with the ongoing inconvenience of accessing different areas of your own home?
  2. Puppy destroys stuff when unsupervised (even when supervised). Bailey tore off wallpaper, scratched the wooden floor, bit off a bit of the wall, put a hole onto the curtain, and etc. Would you be okay with it?
  3. Training a puppy takes time. It also costs if you are a first-time owner and when you need to engage a professional trainer.
  4. A dog can be a constant attention seeker. Can you handle it?
  5. A dog needs to be mentally stimulated, emotionally bonded, and physically exercised every day without fail. Can you do it?
  6. Are you good at sticking to a schedule … every day? Walk the dog, feed the dog, play with the dog, train the dog …
  7. If you are unable to take your puppy out for peeing every so often and you need to train your puppy to pee at home, are you ready to put up with dog pee smell throughout the day, every day?
  8. Puppy can have accidents and pees in random places. Are you ready to clean up every time when it happens?
  9. Dog food costs. Medical fees cost too.
  10. The different breed requires different attention. How well do you know of the dog’s breed? PS. Don’t trust the pet shop fully. Their job is to sell puppies.
  11. Training a puppy or a dog can be frustrating, especially when it doesn’t seem to listen. There will be days when you would ask yourself, what have I done?
  12. And then there are other daily activities such as cleaning ears, dental care, and brushing the hair. Every week you need to shower the dog. And etc. A dog doesn’t really grow up and learn to do things on his or her own as humans do. You have to look after the dog for the rest of his or her life.

Having said all that, if you can handle all of the above and more, it can be rewarding for some when your furry friend would greet you when you return home and love you unconditionally. Because you are all that he or she has.

Bailey is still a puppy and need to sleep rather often. Photo taken on March 25th.
Categories
My Opinion

Sonos Roam – An Honest Review

Update Apr 24th – After 1 week of using Sonos Roam, this product has stopped working. It just cannot be switched on. I shall update this post once the tech team has resolved this issue.

I am among the first batch of consumers in Singapore to receive Sonos Roam after more than a month of waiting through pre-order. TLDR – It is a superb product with great sound quality supported by innovative technology. It is especially fun and useful working in conjunction with other Sonos products. Yes, you can bring it outdoor and play sound through Bluetooth. After one week of usage, Roam has stopped working and cannot be switched on. There may be quality issue especially with the first batch that you may need to be aware off.

Sonos Roam compared to Sonos One SL. Same price, different purposes.

The Sonos Ecosystem

When it comes to Sonos, it is always about building it up slowly by modules if you have a budget constraint (or when you want to test out the suitability of the products). My first Sonos product was Playbar. The sound was amazing. Then I added a Sonos Sub. I love the punchy bass. After that, I have added a Sonos One SL for my study room and another Sonos One SL for my bedroom.

I was tempted by Sonos Move, which is battery-powered and hence, portable. But it is a bit too bulky for me to carry around and outside my home. Now, here comes Sonos Roam.

Why Sonos Roam?

When Sonos Roam was announced, I have made an immediate pre-order. What attracts me is that Roam is small enough to be truly portable. It also can bounce music back and forth to existing Sonos speakers. All you need to do is to hold it close to another speaker and hold the play button. It can also create that stereo or spatial sound effect with my Sonos One SL. How do I use Roam every day you may ask.

In the morning, I would bring Sonos Roam to the bathroom. After my shower, I would bring it to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I would then bring it to the balcony as I have my breakfast. Afterward, I would head over to the study room and bounce the music from Roam onto One SL and I would start to get ready for my work from home.

In the evening, I would group Sonos Roam with my Playbar and Sub (in the living room) and listen to music with a glass of wine in the dining area. Grouping speakers that way create a much fuller sound especially when I am not sitting directly in front of the speaker.

It is really fun to use Roam not just for bouncing music back and forth to or grouping it with existing Sonos speakers. Taking it outside my home, I could use it through Bluetooth connectivity.

Sonos Roam vs Sonos One SL

Believe it or not, both are very similar in terms of sound quality. I can set up a spatial effect with One SL on one side and Roam on the other and I can’t tell the difference.

One SL has a bigger sound, of course, due to its build. Also, Sonos One SL has a touch design while Sonos Roam’s buttons are physical clicks. It is much easier to skip or rewind a track for One SL while for Roam, I need to click the play button two or three times.

Both are of the same price here in Singapore. One SL requires a power cable while Roam doesn’t. Each has its purpose.

In Summary

It is a strong recommendation. If you already have a Sonos system, Roam is a fun addition and it is practical. If not, it is good to start with Roam and slowly build it up from there.

Pros

  • Superb sound quality.
  • Portable around the home and can play through Bluetooth outdoor.
  • Fun to bounce music back and forth from existing Sonos speakers at home. Just hold it close and press and hold play!
  • Great to group with existing Sonos speakers for a much bigger sound.

Cons

  • Build quality issue. Sonos Roam has stopped working after one week of usage. The orange charging light goes off after a few seconds of connection with a wired charger. Roam cannot be switched on at all even as the device is being charged. Sonos app cannot detect the product.
  • Not a Sonos Roam problem per se, it is always frustrating to use Spotify (Android) with Sonos products. Especially with Roam, the track on the Spotify app would appear to have stopped playing but the music would continue. I could use the Sonos app to play Spotify but that Sonos app doesn’t allow me to like songs in Spotify and add tracks onto my playlist. Also, connecting to Sonos speakers directly through Spotify can at times be frustrating. It just wouldn’t connect at first try.
  • I have experienced random music stoppage when connecting Sonos Roam through Bluetooth.
  • In theory, I could project sound via Bluetooth (e.g. YouTube) to my entire Sonos wifi-enable system through Roam. But I have experienced sound stuttering that could be due to my midrange phone. It is a novelty that I see little usage.
Categories
Diary My Hobbies

Making Sourdough Starter & The Story of Thanos

These days I am into making sourdough. For those who are not familiar with the process, the concept is surprisingly simple though the execution is more like an art than science. Whenever I feed my sourdough starter at night, I would imagine myself being Thanos. Hang in there. I will explain.

Today’s breakfast was omelet and sourdough with butter.

Sourdough Starter, What?!

Unlike making bread that uses industrial yeast, sourdough uses wild yeast. You can read more on the benefits of sourdough and the difference between yeast and mold through a Google search. Meanwhile, just take my words for now. Sourdough is a healthier option than bread. And yeast is not the same as mold.

To create wild yeast, you can ferment flour by adding an equal amount of water (by weight). Yeast and bacteria that occur naturally in flour (again, take my words and hence, don’t eat raw flour) and the environment around us. That mixture is called sourdough starter. There is an excellent article written on how to create one.

Every day, the sourdough starter that you cultivate would consume the flour and water you feed it with, grow in size, and fall back to the original size once it becomes hungry again. Each day, you feed your sourdough starter with more flour and water.

The rubber band shows the original size of sourdough starter before it grows as I feed it with flour and water.

Unless you bake every day, your sourdough starter would grow exponentially. Because as you add more flour and water each day, the population of wild yeast and bacteria will explode requiring double of what you feed the day before.

Unless …

… unless you do a Thanos on your sourdough starter. You discard half of them, into the bin or into the toilet. The portion that left behind, you feed them with the same amount of flour and water as yesterday.

In short, during each feeding interval, you wipe off half of the wild yeast and bacteria population randomly. The remaining part gets to live for another day. The part that doesn’t, vanishes from the kitchen and into oblivion.

Just like Thanos in the Avenger movie.

I made this sourdough with my own hands! Imagine, say, the first batch of viable wild yeast appeared on day 2. Since I baked this on day 12, only 0.1% of the original wild yeast survived as I discard half of the sourdough starter every day!

Baking Sourdough

I was so excited about my first sourdough so much so that I have stayed next to the oven throughout the entire one hour of baking. Making sourdough is a labor of love, for sure.

Mixing the ingredients is straightforward. No kneading is required. I followed a recipe that uses a sourdough starter (my creation muhahaha), warm water, olive oil, bread flour, and salt. Because wild yeast works so much slower than industrial yeast, the mixture took six hours to rise to a point that I could bake it. Each hour, I folded the mixture and left it alone for another hour. Each hour I observed its size and made a decision if I shall bake it or leave it alone for another hour.

How long does the whole process take?

It takes 12 hours after feeding the sourdough starter for it to attain its most active state. It takes 1 hour for autolyze to take place before rolling the mixture into a ball and another 5 hours to rise with folding to be done in an hourly interval. It takes 1 hour to bake and another hour to cool down.

Morale of the story? Do plan ahead when making sourdough.

I have been feeding you for 10 days. Thanks for making my sourdough rises. Time to go to the oven!

Was It A Success?

When I shared my sourdough making adventure with my friends and family, the first question would be, how does it taste?

Consider the fact that this is the first time I have done any baking, I would say the result is pretty decent. The texture seems right. It has this unique tangy sourdough taste. It isn’t too dry even though I have left it overnight covered with clothes. I am not a sourdough expert. But I am happy with the result.

In retrospect, I wish the sourdough starter could double in size every day instead of just expands for 20% in volume. I wish the sourdough could double in size during rising, although I must say, it was pretty close. I could make the top cut a bit deeper and perhaps, the sourdough may look prettier after baked. I may bake it a little bit longer and crack open the oven door toward the last 10 minutes of baking.

So, the sourdough starter is indeed active. It is just that for some reasons unknown to me, it doesn’t double its volume when it becomes most active in between the daily feed.

To that, I have decided to change the flour origin and give it another shot.

Stay tuned.

Look at the bubbles. My sourdough starter is indeed active!
Categories
Diary

Random Events During Chinese New Year 2021

Over time, the Chinese New Year celebration isn’t quite like when I was a small boy. The pandemic changes the way we celebrate. Or not celebrate. Not just Chinese New Year. Birthday. Wedding. Maybe the future of celebration would emphasize something very personal. Like the first time when a couple holds hands and kiss. Or the first time you see a million dollar worth of assets in your account. Two million. Five million. Life then filled with personal badges and achievements like Steam or Garmin. Why not? My Princess is the 160th song I have written. The “badge” was earned on Oct 31, 2020. I am looking forward to earning the 170th song “badge” this year.

Tiong Bahru Market 2 Days Before CNY

Tiong Bahru Market

I cannot think of just one single reason why prices of meat and vegetable go up as we approach Chinese New Year. In my mind, there is a multitude of reasons. Most stalls are closed during the festive season. Hence, we stock up. More prefer to cook at home as we invite families and friends over. Hence, we buy more. And lastly, I reckon we eat way more during this period of time than we used to. Our meals during the Chinese New Year have to be sumptuous. It is the tradition.

Sum them up explains why a1.8 kg large chicken cost $16.50 two days before Chinese New Year. To put things in perspective, a medium chicken costs around S$8 on a normal day. Vegetable price has also gone up too. Curiously, pork and fish price stayed the same.

You would wonder why.

Someone At Work Delivered a CNY Gift to My Door

Two cans of abalone and biscuits for CNY, as a gift received.

I did not expect this at all. I had in the past someone junior at work sent me a bottle of wine during my birthday and Christmas. This is the first item I have received a gift from someone junior at work during Chinese New Year.

As a matter of fact, I am having the biscuits right now with my glass of white wine. I cannot describe what the biscuits taste like. They are savory and have a spicy aftertaste. Was it dried shrimp flavor? I can’t tell. The taste is so unique that … I just love it. I am eating non-stop as we speak.

Yummy.

An Antique Audio Recording Device

My Zoom Handy Recorder H2 that still works!

In the past, I could make do with the audio recording app that came with my Samsung phone. Now that I have right-graded to a budget realme phone, it just wouldn’t do. To assemble a home studio with a proper mic, DI box or guitar effect, and a multitrack recording device, is just so tedious. The wires. So many wires.

Last night I recalled I have a semi-pro audio recording device inside the dry cabinet. It must have been more than ten years old. I was used to having it to record my band’s jamming sessions inside a studio. Or for live recording when we performed live.

Surprisingly, my antique Zoom recording device still works today, albeit with a very inconvenient user interface. The sound quality beats any phone out there. And it is easy to set up too.

I Have “Rewarded” My Recent Active Lifestyle with a Garmine Venu

Meet my second Garmin watch, Venu!

Recently, I have started to resume living an active lifestyle. I walked a great deal more. I even jogged. I said to myself, if my knees don’t give me any problem after my jogging, I would upgrade my sports watch.

I wouldn’t say my knees are 100% okay. But they are well enough for me to take on a more strenuous form of exercise. My last Garmin watch was Vivoactive HR. It is ugly, very uncomfortable to wear. I was very skeptical over Garmin Venu. I even thought of switching from Android to Apple just for the Apple watch.

I have got to say, Garmin Venu has exceeded my expectation. It looks great. Very functional. And it is comfortable to wear. I will post an honest review once I have experienced what this watch offers.

I cannot remember when was the last time I swam. I have moved to my new condo a few years ago. Today was the first time I swam in an Olympic-sized pool. I have to work on the laps though. I have to glide more so that the watch can detect the strokes per lap correctly. And of course, it goes without saying that I have to swim faster.

Chinese Couplets

To loosely translate this, the couplets say “good fortune flows in smoothly every day, good luck comes every spring as each year starts”.

Before the pandemic, I was used to have a dedicated area in the office for my team of ten or more. I would – with the help of my team – have the area decorated. It could be Christmas and it could be Lunar New Year. Because my team was located in the IT department that are mostly Indian, the minority races such as Chinese and Caucasian would find our area refreshing. Something different.

Now with pandemic, we work from home. Since I have paid for these Chinese decorations in the past, I have decided to bring them home and decorate my place to be more festive.

Back to the Chicken Dishes

A 1.8 kg large chicken can easily be made into three dishes, if not more.

Back to the overpriced large chicken, I had to call my mom in Hong Kong and seek her advice on how long I needed to steam the large chicken. I actually knew the answer. I just wanted a reason to call mom and to confirm what I have already known.

We brainstormed on the phone what other dishes I could make from this 1.8 kg bird. My original plan was to invite my sister and her family over for a reunion dinner. But she could not make it. In the end, one dish on New Year Eve was the freshly steamed chicken (bottom left) serviced with soy sauce, oil, and spring onion dip on the side. Another dish was salt “baked” chicken, which was basically chicken thigh and wing marinated with salt overnight inside a frig. I had it on the Chinese New Year evening. It was delicious.

The third dish is going to be chicken porridge. I intend to shred the salt marinated chicken breast and add dry scallops. That will be my lunch on CNY day 2.