The Thomas and Uber Cup - whither are we to go?

Well, that's it. Malaysia's out - again. Three games to nil. What a whitewash considering all the talk during the build-up to the competition. So, it'll be another two-year wait before the chance comes again for Malaysia to attempt to win the Thomas Cup. And when that time arrives, it'll be more jittery nerves and tension, and maybe even a few more finger gestures directed towards the crowd.

I have not been able to watch a single game of the on-going Thomas and Uber Cup matches until today. All this while, my only updates came from friends and the daily news reports in the papers which, while they allow myself to broaden my imagination by picturing the games when they happened, is hardly heart-stopping and exciting stuff. So, when I finally managed to find a web-link that offered live streaming of the games, that just made my day. If you're interested you can find the live-streaming of the games here. It's actually linked to TV1, so it comes with all the ads (and news) that come with the channel.

I wonder if this link will continue to work right up till the time of the World Cup...imagine all those games.

*rubbing hands in glee*

Oh, just in case you're wondering why I don't just watch the games on television, well it's like this. The idiot-box I have isn't connected to the aerial. Thank God for the internet.

A smoother drive?

Let me just say on the onset that I'm not a car expert. I can tell different models or makes of cars apart, but if you asked me how powerful a car was, or what year model a certain car is, I wouldn't be able to tell you. Neither am I an engine expert. If I took apart my car's engine, I might as well buy a new car as I'd never be able to put the engine back together. Oh, and one last thing - I'm in no way affiliated to any of the brands I'm going to mention later in this post, though I wish I was so that I'd get paid megabucks for it.

Okay, now that that's out of the way - let me ask in introduction what petrol brand do you use? When I first got my car about 9 years ago, I was a Shell user through and through. I guess it was because my parents used it and nothing else, so I was just sort of continuing the tradition. Yes, yes...lousy reason, I know but that's what it is.

But, then a friend told me about how Esso fuels were much better - your car had more power, and the drive was smoother. I didn't try it then and there, but I eventually did. And what did I find out? True enough the car responded better, and the drive was smoother. It was almost as if I had just had the car serviced. And ever since then I used Esso almost exclusively. But, just last week I filled up with Shell again as no Esso stations were open on my way to work, and the car was running dangerously low on fuel. And since I'd pass a Shell station on my way, so that's where I filled up. No perceptible difference...

until...

with the tank about half full, I filled up again at Esso yesterday. So, in my tank was half Shell, half Esso. I can't say whether the drive felt any different then, but just this evening, it did - quite perceptibly. The car was quieter, and smoother. I told my wife that it felt just like the first time I filled up with Esso.

So, here's the thing. Each fuel company promotes its own fuels saying how good they are and I suppose each adds their own special formula of fuel additive as well. But, I'm just wondering if mixing those two will actually give 'better' performance. My wife suggested that I try filling up using alternate brands next time. I suppose I'll try just to see if this continues.

Now, I must say that what I've said is just based on my observation and 'feel'. It'd be interesting to know if anyone else has a similar experience. Drop me a comment if you do or don't think that mixing different brands of fuel has resulted in better performance for your car.

It could be just that I'm imagining things.

The box

I think of the most fundamental electrical appliances that people in just about any household is that one that possesses the ability to provide you with endless hours of entertainment: the television. Sure, with all broadcasting stations slowly moving towards digital transmission nowadays, I guess more televisions will be sold to be on par with the technology.

But, what's a television without a good and reliable service provider, right? Here, we have several pretty reliable free-to-air channels, but I think that's hardly enough for programming for the discerning tastes of today's tv viewer. Of course, we have our very own satellite tv provider, but the kind of service is still somewhat wanting - just look at what happens when it starts raining.

Wouldn't it be great if we had more choices than the seeming monopoly of our single service provider as in the US? Then, we can sign up with companies such as Direct Satellite TV and at the very least provide some much needed competition. From their website, they offer free equipment, and free installation! Nothing boosts the quality of service like a little competition. While I'm no television fanatic, the service provided by the likes of Direct Satellite TV sure makes me want to stay in front of the tv, though that may not be entirely healthy.

But, the best thing (if you just can't live without your daily dose of tv) is that you don't have to worry about moving even to a different state. You'll have your uninterrupted Direct TV in Florida, even if you moved from New York!

Now, I wonder if our sole nationwide satellite tv provider provides this kind of service.

Hmm....

Facebook musings

Not too long ago, keeping track of your friends from your primary school and secondary school days was next to impossible. I mean how do you even begin to search out for that long-never-seen friend of yours if you don't even have an inkling where in the world that person is right now?

But, times have changed...oh, boy how times have changed.

The social-networking website phenomenon that is Facebook is radically changing the way we connect to people. Long-lost friends suddenly appear out of nowhere, and before you even realise it, a friend you know is a friend of a friend of a friend. Then you begin to realise how small this world actually is. Sure, great distances may separate physically separate you and your long lost buddies, but in cyberspace, that's nothing. Your friends are only a poke away!

I'm no Facebook nut, but I find it a usefool tool for looking for people whom I've lost contact with, and vice versa. Through it I've come into contact with people whom I've not met for over 20 years! People who I thought I'd never ever meet ever again; people who I've basically stored in the "Perry's Past Friends Box".

Like I said in my previous post, technology never ceases to amaze me.

Yet, despite all its wonderful bells and whistles, technology is only as great as the people who created it. And there lies the problem. People are flawed, and so technology can only be that way as well - flawed.

How else do you explain the reason for the mighty Facebook to lump people from all parts of Wales under England? Facebook says it was due to a 'bug', which is a pretty convenient way of saying that it was a technical glitch, and error in the programming code, in short, it's all the computer's fault.

But, I suspect the 'bug' was faulty human beings in the first place.

You can read the whole story about this 'error' and people's reaction to it at the BBC website here.

Techno-wonderment

The wonders of technology.

It just keeps reminding me every now and again how amazing are the myriad of technological stuff we surround ourselves with every day. Take for example the hand phone. I remember the time in the not too distant past when hand phones were still not very common, and about the only common variety was the one where you had to carry a box-like base which served as both the battery and the transmitter. My dad had one and on more than a few occasions I had the "privilege" to carry it, and boy, compared to the mobile phones we get today, those things weighed as much as a tank!

The tank

Then, came that tank of a phone evolutionised. It shrunk. Still a whole lot chunkier, and boxier than the phones of today, these phones were never less much much more lighter and mobile. I used to call them the "water-bottle" mobile phones. I don't remember now what gave me the idea to give them that name, but that's how I knew them. My dad had one, and I think the only manufacturer of such devices was Motorola. By all means, these things were tough and solid. I think even if a car went over them, they'd still be intact!

Do you still remember one of these? It was all the rage then!

But, nowadays, mobile phones are all about sleekness, rounded edges, simplicity in design, and killer functionality. No more is a hand phone just a means for communicating. I think we've passed that threshold a long time ago. Now, your average phone is a picture taking-music playing-life organising-alarm ringing-movie playing-digital file storing-web surfing-message sending-game playing little piece of wonder. And that's just your mid-range phone. The high-end ones, I'm told, are even more spectacular.

But I like having devices that are meant for what they do best. Having all the other extras a cool. And sometimes I get a bit green with envy when I look at all the cool phones that my friends (and even my students!) have. But I figure, I wouldn't use all those extra functionality very often, and so it wouldn't justify the extra cost in getting such phones. So I'm pretty contented with the one I have currently - a sub RM100 phone. It does what it's supposed to do pretty decently - to call and send sms-es.