sixthseal.com

A Skateboard and a toilet mop do the horizontal boogie

On my way back from Caulfield, I saw this guy riding a scooter. Not the motorbike kind of scooter but one of those kick scooters. The kind that looks like the bastard son of a skateboard and a toilet mop. Anyway, the thing is, this thing was motorized. I've never seen those things before, and it seems to go pretty fast. The shuttle I'm on is moving at around 80km/h and I'll say that from my point of reference, the motorized scooter is doing around 20km/h. That guy was riding on the highway! I wonder what will happen if someone riding a scooter gets involved in a collision with another vehicle. Are the fuel tanks protected for that eventuality?

Update: I've found a manufacturer's site for these things. Click here.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 05:32 PM Permalink | Comments (3)

Angelic Layer

My mate Daniel passed along a link to SpinJunction, which is a Singapore run website hosting a couple of music videos and, get this...the whole 26 episode series Angelic Layer! I've only watched up to Episode 14, so seeing this link so close to finals week is...disturbing to say the least. Must...stop...myself...from...anime...marathon...

Tenshi no tsubasa yo! Hmph...she probably raped my grandfather. :)

Picture nicked from the official website of Angelic Layer.

P/S - Don't bother downloading unless you're on a broadband connection coz they don't allow download managers. I can only get around 30kbps sustained, but you can thread as many downloads as you like. I managed to grab episodes 14-26 in an hour (each episode around 180 MB) with simultaneous downloads. It only requires a quick registration.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 08:51 PM Permalink | Comments (21)

St0ked!

Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! The Monash University exam timetable came out today.

10/06/2002

CSE2200 Systems Design & Implementation 09:30AM

CSE3208 Unix Programming 02:30PM

11/06/2002

CSE3510 Documents & Imaging Systems 02:30PM

12/06/2002

CSE3420 Developing Graphical WWW Applications in Java 02:30PM

14/06/2002

CSE3400 Applications Programming with C++ 09:30AM

No one can beat my sweet exam timetable! :) It's perfect! The Monash University exam period is from 10/06/2002 - 28/06/2002. My tabletable allows me to finish everything in just 4 days instead of dragging it over a period of nearly a month. Just the way I like it, baby. Plus, this gives me more than 4 weeks of holidays! wh00t! =D

Posted in by Huai Bin at 08:21 PM Permalink | Comments (1)

Floppies do fail

I have a piece of advice for everyone. When you put important stuff like assignments on a floppy disk, make sure to make two copies or use a web mailing service to mail yourself a copy. I had an assignment due at 2 pm and thus I took the 1:40 pm shuttle to my campus to print it out. Yes, you know what's coming. I didn't realize it at first. I was thinking, hmm...my document is taking a long time to load. But that nasty grinding sound tipped me off. I tried using another computer in the hope that the first one's floppy disk drive is somehow faulty. Nope...it didn't load there too.

Anyway, I signed the pink CSSE declaration forms, handed them to Franky (my assignment partner), took the 2:40 pm shuttle back to Clayton, ran from the bus loop to the halls in 7 minutes (a personal record!) and burst into my room to send the stuff to Franky, who printed it out and handed it in coz I couldn't get back in time. Oh, and much thanks to Franky for the kang tau. ;)

What's the moral of this story? Don't copy that floppy.

Oh wait...that's not it. It's "Always make backups".

Posted in by Huai Bin at 08:17 PM Permalink | Comments (0)

Bananas is the Antichrist

I bought this pack of bananas in a temporary lapse of judgment about one week ago. I still haven't eaten more than a couple in the meantime. Bananas (the candy kind) are not nice to eat. It's hard and crusty and dry. I like the soft jelly type candies, so I don't even know why I got these. Must be those voices in my head again.

Proof that candy bananas are evil:

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Revelation 13:18

I like real bananas by the way.

Posted in Hmm... by Huai Bin at 09:27 PM Permalink | Comments (1)

The Interpretation of Dreams

I had an REM heavy sleep last night. Lots of weird ass dreams, the only one of which I remember is aiming my webcam down at the mound. There was a lunch thing going on, which two tables and people sitting around like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. They were beckoning me to come down and join them but I said I have too much stuff to do so I couldn't. Hmm...this must be the manifestation of my guilt for not fixing the webcam this weekend as promised. =D

Posted in by Huai Bin at 05:58 PM Permalink | Comments (0)

Went off on a tangent

Oh, I was going to update this page about me going to Clayton but I just went off on a tangent and went on about my recurring dreams instead. :) Anyway, I had that new Tandoori Chicken Burger at McDonald's. The one on their New Tastes Menu. It's pretty good, the curry balances well with the sour cream. Heh, I'm talking like its a gourmet meal instead of McDonalds. Oh well, hunger is the best condiment. Eh, I don't think I got the phrase right, but never mind.

Picture from McDonald's Australia

Posted in by Huai Bin at 08:46 PM Permalink | Comments (1)

Deja Vu

Hmm, sometimes I just get this weird feeling of deja vu. I was loading up this page in my HTML editor when I felt that I've done this before. It made me think of something bad - my recurring dreams, of which I have three.

Dream #1: Starts with me looking out the window of my old place in Kuching and seeing this huge mountain with an old library made of large books in the middle. Its literally made of large books, like one large book for each of the sides and the top. I am always 7 in my dreams. There was an old custodian inside who told me I need to walk up to the building at the summit for some reason. Now this was night time, and there was no one around, except for the custodian and he disappeared after I talked to him too. And until today, I still don't know what's on the summit, I can't even see the summit structure in my dreams.

Dream #2: I got locked in the Emporium (?) in Kuching when they closed for the night, you know, that old place opposite the MAS building in town. I am feeling scared coz I was around 7 in my dream and I had to to walk up to the highest floor where they keep the toys. I just HAD to, it was a compulsion and I can't stop the flow, even though I KNOW what's up there and it's not something I want to see. My feet just started walking up and I rounded the last flight of stairs and the door was open and I can see it, and I always wake up then. The thing that was waiting for me is a large doll, the ones little girls play with, with blond hair, eyes that shuts when you put them down, etc but this one was alive and laughing, a creepy laugh. And it wasn't in it's package, it was just sitting there on the shelf.

Dream #3: I am in my Kuching place and this one was when I was 7 too. I kept an aging formula in the fridge, you've seen this stuff in movies, its the type that makes you age instantaneously until death once you drink it. I walked into the kitchen, and there I saw my mom chopping meat and my mom was old, really old with a beard and stuff. I asked her in horror, did you drink that stuff in the fridge? And she replied yeah, there is nothing that can be done now. She said she was going to wash some clothes and when I followed her into the bathroom I saw only her hand there, it was chopped off but in the dream I didn't think that someone had chopped of her hand but that she's gone and only her hand is left.

Frankly, all three of the dreams disturbs me. There are two things in common in those dreams, I'm always around 7 years old and its always in Kuching.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 08:37 PM Permalink | Comments (2)

Fucking incompetent network admins

The halls proxy server goes down something like once a week? WTF? Is it too much to ask that a reasonable quality of service is provided? This is a Uni for Christ's sake. Get your fucking act together. Fuh...this is how I feel about you guys.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 04:13 PM |

Free Banana flavored Big M

at the Roberts Hall shop. I saw that when I went to get a diet coke just now. But go quickly, because there are only a couple left. The reason there are giving them out is because the use by date is today:

Best Before: 26th of April

Posted in by Huai Bin at 08:13 PM Permalink | Comments (0)

The intricacies of the dining room menu

I just went to slops to get something to eat. The meals are around A$3.60 and because I was wearing pajamas (no pockets) I didn't bring along my wallet but just brought A$4 in coins. Now, I had some herbed chicken with rice, and because the dish beside the steamed rice usually comes with rice, I thought that will cost the standard A$3.60. However, at the cashier I was told that rice is extra for the chicken and thus it costs 90c more. Don't ask me why they charge 90c for a scoop of rice, they just do. Anyway, since I only had A$4 with me, I had to go back to my room and get 50c and come back. Hmph.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 07:31 PM Permalink | Comments (0)

Zhang Ziyi is hot

Just watched Rush Hour 2 (minor spoilers) when I was supposed to be working on my assignment. I did watch the first one but it didn't really make an impression on me. This one was great though, it has lots of hot chicks. :) Notice the Heaven on Earth scene and the opening of Red Dragon Casino. Mmm... Zhang Ziyi doesn't get a lot of screen time though, and she gets pretty weak lines. Jackie Chan is great in this movie, I like the guy. He's natural as opposed to people like Jet Li who just tries to look cool. Chris Tucker is entertaining as usual with his borderline racist (but in a funny way) trash talking. The fight scenes are awesome, great choreography especially the one in Heaven on Earth.

Highlight of the movie: The part where Jackie walks right into Zhang Ziyi after escaping from the security guards in the casino backroom.

Lowlight of the movie: That lame ass "Oops...I stepped on a garden rake" death scene.

Picture taken from the official site.

The official site also has a Palm game available for download. Its only 29kb but apparently it does not support color devices. It gave me an error (Failed to initialize graphics hardware -- this device isn't supported. Sorry!) on my m505 so unless you have a monochrome Palm, don't bother installing it.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 07:01 PM Permalink | Comments (2)

ANZAC Day

Today is a holiday so there are no classes. Unfortunately, my Java tutorial has been rescheduled (!) instead of cancelled - to 8 am on Friday. Damn, and I had worked so hard on my timetable to give myself a free day (Friday) even though I'm taking 5 subjects. Guess I'll have to wake up at an unholy hour tomorrow for my 1 hour commute to my campus. Anyway, ANZAC Day is a day where Aussies and Kiwis sit around and eat Anzac biscuits.

Nah, just kidding. It's a war veteran commemoration day. Read more about it here.

Weather : Rainy and depressing and cold

Picture of the Day:

That's food from the Halls dining room. Any wonder why we call the dining room slops?

Posted in by Huai Bin at 02:52 PM Permalink | Comments (2)

C++ Mid-semester test aftermath

Oh, and for everyone that has been waiting with bated breath to hear how I did on my C++ test (yeah, all three of you), I think I did okay, but then I'm an optimist. Unlike some people who always say that they didn't do too good (even though they did) because they don't want brag, I always say that I did pretty good, even though I maybe just barely scrape through. I read a psychology paper some time ago that suggests that people who consistently overestimate themselves are actually less intelligent than people who underestimate themselves. This is because they don't have the correct frame of reference or something. Hmm...does this mean I'm dumb? =D

P/S - I have culled the main page to facilitate faster loading times. Old blogs can be read in the new archive link to your left. If you don't see the archive link, please refresh/reload and it should appear.

Edit: Old hyperlink removed.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:35 AM Permalink | Comments (0)

Only in CSE3510...

do you get marks deducted for doing something extra. Hmph. Oh well, the assignment specs did say to follow everything to the T, but the fields didn't make much sense to me so I added in something extra. For that I got a -1 UNWANTED SCREENS AND ACTIVITIES and -1 Additional fields in ????? ??? (unintelligible). I don't blame the lecturer though, coz he DID say to follow the specs. But that doesn't mean I can't rant a bit. :).

The comments read:

1. Additional Fields in ???? ???

2. Incorrect Layout of Cards

3. NO PRINT FACILITY

4. UNWANTED SCREENS & ACTIVITIES

And I did have a print facility too, and what's more its documented in the User Manual. OK, enough of my bitching. Just felt that I deserved more than an 8/12. Oh well.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:13 AM Permalink | Comments (0)

Diarrhea

I was browsing my C++ subject webpage to look at the sample exam questions. The first one I clicked on nearly made me lau sai, until I read the words FINAL EXAM. Phew...I thought that was the mid semester test.

Word of the Day: lau sai (from Dictionary.com)

Excessive and frequent evacuation of watery feces, usually indicating gastrointestinal distress or disorder.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 10:15 AM Permalink | Comments (0)

Beautiful Day

It's a bright and breezy day today, perfect for studying. I can't seem to take a good photo of the sky though, for some reason, it doesn't look as bright as it does in real life. Oh well, my webcam is not the best device to take photos anyway. I managed to get some breakfast and coffee from the dining hall and I'm all ready to hit the books with my big bottle of OJ and Allen's Party Mix - the confectionary of champions! Or something...that could just be the coffee talking.

Sad looking toasted sandwich               Allen's Party Mix Hand-cam!

Posted in by Huai Bin at 09:03 AM Permalink | Comments (0)

C++ Interview

Just came back from my C++ interview, and I think I passed. Word out to Vivek Asthana (my CSE3400 tutor) for being a cool guy. I'm going to sleep soon, didn't get much sleep last night in a vain effort to read up on my C++. I had to do some Creative Bullshitting (CB) and Pulled Facts Straight Out of My Ass (PFSOoMA) during the interview. Heh. Now I'm going to hit the sack and wake up later to study for my C++ test tomorrow. Constrained Genericity, Orthodox Canonical Forms, Dynamic Binding...oh my.

Envy: NOTHING SHARPENS SIGHT LIKE ENVY (I like this phrase)

Revenge: REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD

Vanity: ONE MUST NOT LET VANITY OVERRULE APPETITE

Four down, three to go. I have to say that Vanity is the best one so far. It has little silvery balls embedded into the outer crust and the ice cream is champagne flavored. If you only get one of the sins, let it be this one. Yeah, I know I sound like I'm on Streets payroll. :)

Posted in by Huai Bin at 05:01 PM Permalink | Comments (3)

The 7 Deadly Sins

Did a late night Coles run with Adrian to boost energy levels (by getting sugary stuff). Magnum is doing a promotion where they have the 7 deadly sins as different types of ice creams. It's supposed to be limited edition, in that it's only available for 4 months. I got all 7 different types and so far, I've eaten the Sloth one. Those who know me will recognize 'Sloth' as my sin. Heh. The ice cream stick even has a phrase engraved into it. The Sloth one goes "IT IS BETTER TO HAVE LOAFED & LOST THAN NEVER TO HAVE LOAFED AT ALL". Amen brother!

I've taken photos of the different wrappers. See them here:

Vanity Envy Sloth Revenge Greed Gluttony Lust

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:48 AM Permalink | Comments (11)

The smell of freshly cut grass

The lawnmower man came today and mowed the grass around the halls. I like the smell of freshly cut grass. That plus a healthy dose of sunlight boosts serotonin levels, I believe.

That's a view outside my window to the area below. It's partially obstructed by the shutter.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 02:17 PM Permalink | Comments (0)

Tiny Windows Games!

Look here, these are actual screenshots taken on my 1024 x 768 desktop. These games are perfect for playing in class or at work for slackers like me. They are so small, you can easily cover it with another window. Some even run on the taskbar! Amazing. As you can see, I'm not the best chess player in the world. Got thrashed on the easiest setting. Go to their web page and download the games, it's all free.

Link: Tiny Windows Games

Space Invaders

It runs right on the taskbar!

River Raid

Shoot 'em up

Chess

Checkmate!

Posted in by Huai Bin at 06:30 PM Permalink | Comments (5)

Sprats are the spawn of the devil

Slept a whole 12 hours and woke up feeling famished so I had 3 packets of Indomie. Opened up a can of sprats to go with it but a fumble with the can opener caused the oil to spill all over my table. I should have done it in the kitchen. All this when I'm experiencing low serotonin levels too.

Get thee behind me Satan! Thou art an offence to me!

Posted in by Huai Bin at 04:05 PM Permalink | Comments (1)

Spoiled rotten by broadband

I've been told that it takes upwards of 1 minute for my main page to load on a normal dial up connection. I'm on a broadband connection (burstable to 10Mbps, normally 400kbps) so I didn't realize that. If you're on a dial up (that is you use a modem and a phone line to connect to the net) please mail me and tell me how long it takes for my page to load so I can optimize the size.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 09:30 PM Permalink | Comments (0)

Double Time Spell

Just caught Sabrina the Teenage Witch on Channel 7. That double time spell sure is nifty. Pretty useful considering I have two assignments due next week and a test as well. Heh. Anyway, my website was down for about 4 hours this afternoon. Apparently the server I'm on had some problems but it's fixed now. My apologies to those who couldn't access the site just now.

As you can see from the picture, I get terrible TV reception. Living in the halls means I don't have access to an external antenna so I have to make do with those indoor ones. That's a screen dump of my TV tuner in action.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 07:45 PM Permalink | Comments (0)

Being a vegetarian must suck

Woke up at around 10 am this morning and decided to get something to eat from the dining room. There is some kind of LAN going in the function hall with an Ausgamers banner. Anyway, I got two vegetable burritos and an orange juice. Now, normally the burritos that the dining room has is really tasty so I was looking forward to eating it. I have to say that the vegetarian kind is nothing to write home about. I had mistakenly assumed that the vegetarian kind tastes the same as the normal kind but as they say, when you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME. I'm feeling queasy now...the burritos was absolutely saturated with onions! The raw kind! The dining hall must own stock in onion farming companies.

The bane of my existence

Posted in by Huai Bin at 01:52 PM Permalink | Comments (1)

Webcam not working

OK, if anyone hasn't figured it out by now, the webcam is not working. I'm behind a really restrictive proxy so I don't have direct FTP access. I do have full access via my Unix account, but to automate my webcam, I need to write a shell script, and I don't have time to do that now. I'm swamped with assignments and I have a test to study for too. I will get it up and working by next weekend the latest. Anyway, I've decided that I've lived in darkness for long enough, which was why I got a table lamp just now. My room lamp is broken, and two trips by the electrician isn't enough to fix it. Apparently the bulb shorts out in a couple of minutes. I don't know what's going on with that, but I'm not going to live in darkness one more day. Its depressing. My lotus lamp casts a nice purple glow doesn't it?

Posted in by Huai Bin at 07:39 PM Permalink | Comments (2)

Let there be light

Just came back from Barning's (Edit: I've been told it's Bunnings) Warehouse with Adrian. Got myself a nifty lotus shaped table lamp. I had to get one of those little E14 40 watt bulbs to go with it. On hindsight, I wished I had gotten the 25 watts one coz 40 watts is too bright. I can't even look at the lamp without seeing one of those worm like things in my eyes. I'm sure that's a prelude to burning my retinas. Anyway, I also got myself an axe. Yes, an axe. No, I don't know what I'm going to use it for but its just so tempting. Its only A$2.95. Mmm, I could do serious bodily harm with this baby.

Listening to: Korn - Untouchables

Posted in by Huai Bin at 07:11 PM Permalink | Comments (1)

sixthseal.com is officially live!

Hello and welcome. This is my webcam and blog. I will update this page at least once a day and probably much more frequently than that. That is the point of weblogs right? Don't answer, its one of them...uh... rhetorical questions (bonus marks if you get the reference). My name is Huai Bin, read more about me in the About Me link on the right. Why sixthseal.com?

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelation 6:12-17

There you have it. Bookmark me, and I shall lead the wild into the ways of the man.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 02:44 PM Permalink | Comments (5)