Heroes Season 2 Finale

Months ago, I downloaded Heroes season 1 from emule which taken me ages. Mid way through season 2 I found some sources to watch it without needing to download it.

There's youtube from the US which was always my favourite to find all sorts of interesting video clips, too bad you can't find the latest Heroes series on youtube I guess because of the copyright issue. Then there's youku from China, which copyright isn't a big issue there and Chinese makes or copies everything including the fake eggs.


There's a better DivX video from HERE.

Season 2 has been annoying to have many stupid characters which doesn't really make sense. Peter was used by Adam but why he didn't use his mind reading power to read Adam? Maya helped Sylar to regain his power and got her own brother killed; Monica I thought she's suppose to be smart as she learns things fast but she caused Nikki's death (?); Angela Petrelli killed Nathan to keep the company's secret...

So the two heroes who fall are Nikki and Nathan, did they died? "Powerless" refers to Peter after absorbing the virus?

Hiro is again the only hero who has the clear direction and buried Adam underneath his dad's graveyard. I hope the script writer hasn't reach his bottleneck when it comes to Season 3.

Bicester Village

2 weeks ago went to Bicester Village at Oxfordshire. It's a designer outlet village selling luxury and premium brands at discounted prices.

Imagine all the branded outlet shops in a village like layout, a very special shopping experience indeed despite of the shitty weather.

A nice Starbucks at one end of the village, it would be nice to have a sip of a hot cup of coffee if the weather wasn't that cold.

Nearly 2 hours driving journey did pay off which I bought 2 pairs of diesel trousers originally priced GBP85 at only GBP15 each! Also bought 2 CK undies but I think it wasn't really cheap but I was a bit over excited to make the harsh decision.

The x'mas lighting isn't that great but the atmosphere is there.

Taken this at Piccadilly Circus while on our way for dinner, ISO 800, F3.5, 1/8 sec hand held, I wish to have the A700 soon for the high ISO performance!

Heroes To Zeroes

Been addicted to the TV series 'Heroes' since last month, season 2 is getting more and more excited as more questions answered. Adam survives to the present day for the revenge, Matt's ability has developed that he can control people's actions now, Noah was shot dead by Mohinder but regenerated with the transfusion of Claire's blood... can't wait til next Tuesday for Episode 10 - Truth and Consequences!


The EP10's trailer! Santi virus threat, Claire vs Elle, Sylar is back, Hiro's sword is on Peter's neck...

Sadly, 2 more episodes and it's end of Season 2... However, new series 'Zeroes' is coming!?


Damn kelakar!

Autumn

Autumn is near end and winter is approaching and I hate the weather. Been busy during the weekdays and lazy during the weekends and been not processing the pictures taken few months back.

The spider 'Maman' by Louise Bourgeois displayed outside Tate Modern in October. If you look carefully its belly contains eggs. This is a popular photography object for the Londoners lately. Apparently there's a 'Maman' group in Flickr with hundreds of photos for the spider, see here.

Another view of the 'Maman' in front of Tate Modern.

There is a line of crack in the turbine hall inside Tate Modern - the Shibboleth by Doris Salcedo.

I don't know how she did it and how is she going to fill the gap back when the exhibition is over, or are they going to change the whole granite floor?

Tonite, England screwed up big time by losing to Croatia and didn't make it to the European Cup next Summer. After watching the game, what I can say is England doesn't deserve to go to the final. What a shame after Russia handed them the life line last week and they lost it in their own hands.

Tomorrow, as Steven McClaren said he won't resign, I expect to see him gets sacked by the FA and Mourinho to come into the picture.

Onitsuka Tiger

I love sneakers and trainers than all the other type of shoes, just like I love jeans than trousers.

I miss my Air Kukini, my personal favourite of all time and wish I can own it again and I found it here! It has becomes a vintage collection and selling for nearly 20,000 yen (about GBP 90... bloody hell...).

The last pair of sneakers I bought was the yellow Adidas Tuscany GP which I had big problem cleaning the suede material, and that was 2 and half years ago.

Been looking for a replacement which is light weight and comfort and when I saw this, I know I wanna own it.

The dark brown/beige colour Onitsuka Tiger Runspark.

Onitsuka Co. Ltd. introduced its first sport-specific shoe in 1949 and now better known today as ASICS, re-introduces an original collection of Onitsuka Tiger footwear.

FYI, the brand was little-known until Uma Thurman wore the yellow shoes in the movie Kill Bill in 2003 (Timesonline). That's one huge re-branding success in the fashion industry.

It comes with two pairs of shoes strings, another look with the yellow strings. What do you think?


The only thing I hope is don't let me find it cheaper in KL when I go back in December!

Magnificent 7 of United

Cantona 7 - the legend of United, purely genius. The French man is ugly but damn yao yeng! Check out the song in this clip!


Beckham 7 - the world best set piece and free kick specialist, it was really sad when he left United. I was still hoping for him to come back when he left Real Madrid. Lesson of the story: don't marry a wrong woman, it ruins your life! Not matter what, he deserves the respect well.


The best replacement yet for the No. 7 jersey.

EOS Discovery

Signed up for the EOS Discovery event as Alan just got his 30D and keen to see more on the Canon products.

Before the event, I went to the Sony Centre at Tottenham Court Road and finally get a touch on the GBP1,000 Sony A700, with the GBP250 tagged vertical grip. No way I am going to get it in the UK for that price but just to get a feel of it to decide whether or not to upgrade when I go back to M'sia this December.

First impression, it's solid and looks great with the function packed VG, the AF is much faster than the A100 and the 3" LCD Bravia like screen is absolutely amazing. Although the noise at high ISO seems much improved now but at the same time it becomes my worry that it could be over processed for the on-chip noise reduction.

Come back to the event, To be honest I don't have plan to switch brand yet at the moment but no doubt Canon is the major player in the DSLR market and I don't mind to have a look on the system. I did owned a EOS 50 many years ago and do have some product knowledge on Canon range.

The event is hosted by professional photographers, Drew Gardner is one of them which has some amazing works (found his website online, ehhh... how come he's the Nikon featured photographer of the Year???). I am quite attracted by his philosophy that don't set a limit in photography and try to catch as much in the camera rather than post processing (more than agree as myself is taking ages to process the photos...).

Photographs submitted by participants online were presented and discussed and it was really interactive. Alan got his baby's photo shown on the projector screen at last. The event is mainly promoting the new EOS 40D, and now I realised how useful the 'live view' function is especially for macro photography when they demonstrate it on stage. The event also covered portrait photography using wireless Speedlite flashguns. All done professionally.

After the seminar was the Product Touch and Try, with coffee and cookies provided! Initially I thought it's only for the new 40D but apparently it's the whole range of Canon products, with models and objects for participants to shoot, freely! I was happy enough playing with the top 1Ds MKIII, 5D, macro ring flash, top lenses like 600mm/F4, 300mm/F2.8, 85mm/F1.2 etc etc. You won't be treated this way if you're going to a camera shop! We even got a goodies bag before we left.

I was quite impressed indeed. How I wish Sony UK will spend some money organising this sort of events.

So... after touching both on the same night, 40D or A700? If I can afford those top glass I'll definitely go for Canon. But if it's 40D vs A700, the answer is obvious - A700 is still my choice, even though it's without live view but it just gives me the right feel ;-)

Lost in Translation

Previously I thought of taking the cheap China Airlines back home until I watched this...



It was an incident happened in New York Airport April this year where the China pilot struggled to communicate to the ground control tower. Damn funny but imagine this could cost hundreds of life if thing goes wrong.

Check out how the pilot who has 20 years flying experience who just passed his English oral exam answered the question.

Interviewer: "Have you ever had problem talking to the tower?"
Pilot: "Yeah.. ahh.. we ahh.. flew ahh.. to ahh.. American.. Europe.. just pilots.. eh.. usually speak English.."

Dare you take China Airlines anymore after watching this?

A week in Reading

Attended the first module of the course for a week in Reading last week. It was really tiring as I have to wake up at 6+ in the morning to catch the 8am train from Paddington. It only takes 25 minutes on a fast train but that cost more than 20 pounds for the return fare. Public transport in the UK isn't the best but the most expensive! Sometimes I don't even get a seat during the peak commute hours!

First module was on the Principles of Project Management, where we combined with the students taking MSc Project Management, met one of my colleague Anita in the lecture and got to know some friends from different backgrounds and companies. That's one of the advantages taking a MSc - get to know more people in the industry.

Overall the module lectures are ok, with lecturers from both academic and private/public sectors sharing their knowledge and industrial experience. It's amazing to meet some of them whom I read their books many years ago.

It's a smart move to put it as the first module especially to me as I manage people and time poorly. It did motivates and inspires me a bit. Basically 'project' can be about anything, is to "achieve an objective with a start and end time".

There are several projects ahead which I need to close, either short or long term...

• The master degree of course.
  
• Assessment of Professional Competence, that's on the critical path too as I hope I can complete it together with the MSc.
• After I achieve the above, hopefully within the planned period of time. I plan to do an 1 or 2 months back-pack/bike tour across Asia, China to be exact to find my roots. (My colleague Francois inspired me, he'll be on a 3 months bike tour going back to his hometown South Africa). It'll be tough but that's something I must achieve when I still have the energy.
• The fitness project, I had gained 2kg successfully for the past 2 and half month, targeting another 2 kg before December holiday break and to hit 70kg before March 2008. Of course it's not just about the weight but for the health.
  
• Last but not least is the project woman, a bit complicated at the moment but hopefully can sort it out soon.

2 years used to be quite long when I was younger but now it seems I have too little time to hesitate any longer.

Fontana de Trevi

Located at Tridente district, one of Rome's more surprising sights, easy to stumble upon by accident - the huge and magnificent Fontana de Trevi (Trevi Fountain) was completed in the 17th century. It is the most beautiful fountain I'd ever seen.

Picture taken at 18mm, ISO 100, F22 and 30 secs exposure - the surrounding was packed by tourist and it was really hard to find a spot to set up the tripod.

The theatrical design incorporated the entire Neoclassical facade of Palazzo Poli as the background and containing a figure of Nepture in the centre.

No way to set up tripod in front of the fountain. Picture taken hand held at 18mm, ISO 800, F3.5, 1/5 sec exposure. The A100 built-in anti-shake works perfectly well and the noise level at ISO 800 is not too bad!

People surrounding the fountain - 18mm, ISO 400, F3.5, 1/4 sec exposure.

There's a rooted tradition - if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain before you leave the city it'll bring good luck and ensure your return.

The Colosseum Part II

The interior of the Colosseum - the arena. HDR technique is used as the sunlight was too strong to capture the details on the top part of the picture.

The substructures beneath the arena (hypogeum) provided space for the mechanism by which scenery and other apparatus was hoisted into the arena and lifting caged animals to the surface for release. It makes me want to watch the Gladiator starring Russell Crowe again.

It could probably hold more than 50,000 spectators.

View of the Arch of Constantine from Colosseum.

It's hard to imagine how it was built nearly 2,000 years ago.

One of my favourite picture taken inside the building. It was near evening when most visitors have left.

I appreciated the moment of quietness where no tourists can be seen in a clean picture.

Back to the real world, the area outside Colosseum is crowded with tour groups, souvenir stalls and noisy Roman 'gladiators' who keep persuading tourists to take pictures with them.

It's Italy, they have super cool Alfa Romeo 159 as police cars! (As Malaysian have the not-so-cool Waja). I like new Alfa's head lamps! FYI Carabinieri are the military police in Italy.

The Arch of Constantine, the triumphal arch which was erected in AD 315 and located right next to the Colosseum.

What is a triumph? The original triumph was once stipulated that you have to kill 5,000 of the enemy in a victory to bring a war to an end.

A couple taking the wedding photos around the area.

Another view from lower Palatine Hill.

See the moon?

The journey in Rome has just begun.

I wandered around the area until late and took this picture at 35mm, ISO 80, F22, 30 secs exposure.

The Colosseum

Anyone who goes to Rome can't miss The Colosseum - the emblem of Rome, and the largest amphitheatre ever built by the Romans.

It's located right in the middle of the city, Colosseo station on metro blue line.

It's one of the most colorful train I'd seen among the Europe metro/underground, covered with graffiti arts.

Exterior view of one of the best preserved section.

One of the many pictures I took at the Colosseum, processed in HDR.

Rock Climbing @ YMCA

For the past few Mondays, I kept watching the rock climbing group practicing in the gym. Finally today I stepped up and asked the instructor whether I can join or not.

I was given a declaration form to confirm that I am doing this willingly and will be responsible for any consequences at my own risk...

To be honest, I am very scare of height and will feel dizzy and my legs will become strengthless when I look down from tall buildings. It's a challenge for myself to overcome my fear. The instructor Andy is very experienced and he guided me and the other newbie Mark on the safety rules and various basic rope knots tying techniques.

Climbers usually work in pairs, with one climbing and the other belaying. The role of the belayer is very important and must be alert at all time to 'lock off' the rope in case the climber falls. I was surprised that I managed to climb up the 5-6m wall at different difficulty levels without falling even once.

It's a sports where strength, endurance, and mental control, as well as agility and balance, are required to cope with tough, dangerous physical challenges. I enjoyed it very much and think I will join the class regularly.

I love YMCA~

HDR: 1 London Bridge

A lot of people have often mistakenly referring Tower Bridge as London Bridge, simply because to many people's surprises, London Bridge looks too ordinary than its name.

It's easier to recognize London Bridge by one special building sits right at the south end of the bridge - known as 1 London Bridge.

Taken this picture beneath the building on Thames Festival 2 weeks ago, with an idea ready in my mind.

Picture shot in RAW, at 18mm, ISO 100, F10 and hand held 1/25 secs. It's difficult to get a perfect picture in situation where a lot of details are shadowed beneath the roof and the side of the building will often becoming over exposed.

Picture processed in Photomatix merging 3 pictures at 0, +2 and -2 exposures. The details of the reflection stands out more and it looks much balanced at all area.

Thames Festival

Thames Festival is an annual end of summer event with food, drink, arts, crafts and activities for children by the River Thames.

This guy (I think he's a guy) enjoyed attention from the crowd very much and pose a lot for the photographers.

Live performance at The Scoop, More London.

Always try a different angle for a different view.

The little drummer.

Minolta colours.

Taiko drum performance.

I like the enthusiasm and excitement shown on the drummer's face.

The female drummer.

Walking pass the bridge to the other side of the river in the evening. I am confused by the names of the bridges along River Thames. Moreover this one is called Hungerford Bridge or known more as Charing Cross Bridge but actually the 2 pedestrian bridges on the 2 sides which shared the foundation of the main railway bridge are called Golden Jubilee Bridges.

The parade started from the North bank of the river, with some interesting groups such as this one.

I am not quite sure this is HMS President or HMS Wellington.

I named it "The Coconut Tree" fireworks - taken at 18mm, ISO 100, F8.0, 10 secs exposure.