I need a camera

My digital camera finally gave up the ghost and died on me. Which is bloody annoying considering that I'm currently trying to cut back my spending and save money!

The model that I used to have was the Canon Digital Ixus 430. It was a 4 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom. The camera itself was quite small and handy to take out and about. I have to say, I quite liked that camera. It was small, easy to use while still being able to take some pretty good pictures.

So I'm now in the market for a new digital camera. Can anyone recommend me one?

My required functionality is quite simple. Similar to my old Ixus 430, I would be looking for something relatively small and handy (so no digital SLRs!). Naturally, I would also be looking for an upgrade in quality. I guess a 7 megapixel camera would be the minimum that I would be looking for.

Anyway, if you have any recommendations, please post in the comments and let me know. Even if you don't, please post and let me know what model you are currently using and whether you like your current camera.

Liverpool

As you already know, I am a Liverpool fan. Which can be quite frustrating as arguably in recent years, the team hasn't been highly successful in the Premier League. Rafa Benitez has done a great job in building the team with the resources he has and with his tactical acumen, I think he has been able to get some great results in cup competitions (particularly in Europe).

However, I suspect that many Liverpool fans (myself included) won't really see Liverpool as a successful club until they win themselves a Premiership. So the question arises whether Liverpool can use the new money they have access to and buy enough better players to win the Premiership.

Admittedly, Liverpool have gone and bought some pretty good players over the summer. Fernando Torres and Andrey Voronin both look to be pretty good strikers. Together with Ryan Babel, I really think that Liverpool have done a great job this summer in shoring up their team. Furthermore, based on their recent showing in Hong Kong, it looks like they are gelling well with the rest of the team.

However, are they good enough to win the Premiership?

Unfortunately, I still don't think they are yet (although I hope I am proven wrong). I think they will make a much better challenge than they have in recent years - but I still think they will fall short.

Part of the reason for this is the strength of Man Utd and Chelsea (although I still feel that Man Utd don't have a strong enough backup squad to deal with injuries). Part of the reason is that I'm not sure if the new players signed by Liverpool will be able to adjust in time to the Premiership. For some reason, I get the feeling that Liverpool will start strongly but will drop off towards the end of the season.

As I said, I hope I am wrong. But either way, I will be revisiting this post come May 2008.

Baby Dreams

I have been in an insufferably good mood all day. People at work have had to put up with this all day and now its your turn!

Anyway, onto the story. Picture the scene.

Its late at night. The clock chimes twelve. I glance at the clock, just to make sure I got the time right. I look at my wife, sitting next to me on the sofa and say "its late, time for bed". We get up and start moving towards the bedroom (don't worry, this post isn't rated XXX although it might seem like it from how its starting!).

I turn off the living room lights. The only source of light is now the small light in our bedroom. Its a long walk down the corridor before we get to the bedroom and passes both the study and Gerry's bedroom. Being so late, Gerry is fast asleep. However, as we pass by his room, we hear him mutter one word.

"Daddy".

My wife and I pause. Did we hear that incorrectly? Is Gerry actually awake?

No - Gerry wasn't awake. But he was dreaming. And he was dreaming of me.
:)

Murder over a game

This is really really sad.

Basically, two brothers were at home playing video games. Apparently, there was a house rule that said that your turn ended after you lost. The older brother lost but didn't give the controller to the younger brother. Not sure what happened after that but it ends with the younger brother stabbing and killing the older brother with a steak knife. It seems this was done in the heat of the moment (the article says that the younger brother was crying that he had stabbed his brother when the police showed up).

I recall when I was younger all the times that I used to fight with my (older) brother. As the younger one, I can tell you that you believe (nay - demand!) you should get equal treatment. For example, I would always demand 50% of any ice cream, soft drinks, games etc. Even though, in hindsight, this was highly unfair to my brother, the thing is that as a teenager, you still feel that the world owes you.

So in one sense, I can understand why the younger brother felt outraged. But to grab a steak knife and stab your brother?

Hey bro - aren't you glad I was a well adjusted kid now?

I'm dieting (no, really)

I went to the hospital recently to do a checkup. One of those "annual" things except that I never do them annually. In fact, I never do them full stop (this was my first ever checkup)!

As expected, my level of cholesterol and fat completed freaked out the doctor. After the requisite widening of eyes in shock and double checking to make sure she read my weight right, the first thing the doctor did was to look at me and say "umm ...". Just in case you didn't know, this is a very bad sign as it means that the news is so bad, the doctor has to think for a while before knowing how to break it to you.

Anyway, the upshot of all this is that I need to get my weight down to 66kg which is the upper weight limit for a "normal" guy my height. Any higher than 66kg means that I am overweight (and I'm not even gonna go into what category my actual weight puts me in!). And before you ask, no I don't recall the last time my weight was 66kg - it was too long ago.

So I am on a diet. Again. Except this time, I mean it! So far, in the last week, I've been slowly cutting down my amount of meat intake. My idea is to slowly cut back the amount of meat I eat (not including fish in this which apparently has essential omega 3 fatty acids!) and then slowly cut down the total amount I eat. At the same time, I intend to start doing more exercise (went to the gym today!).

To be honest, I have no idea if I can ever hit 66kg. That number is so far away at the moment that it seems like an impossible dream. Still, for the sake of my doctors sanity, I at least have to give the pretense that I am trying to achieve that.

What would you do?

What would you do if you met a robber and he pointed a gun at the head of your loved one?

I guess this is a nightmare scenario for many people. I figure that this is actually more scary for most people than facing a gun themselves. Its one thing to face death but its something entirely different to see one of your loved ones face death.

In the past, I'm not sure I fully understood this. But after seeing Gerry and seeing how cute and lovely he is, I believe I would be much more scared of someone pointing a gun at Gerry than of someone pointing a gun at me. Or have I just been watching too much Hollywood?

So the question arises, what would I do if I met a robber and he pointed a gun at Gerry?

Obviously, until this situation arises, I will never actually know (and I sincerely hope that I never have to find out). However, I believe that I would comply with whatever the guy wanted. I don't think that I would try to be a "hero" and wrestle the gun from him (just in case the gun went off accidentally).

I will admit though, I had never considered offering the guy a glass of wine.

Where's Gerry?

Does everyone remember the book "Where's Wally?". Basically, the book was a series of big picture and somewhere in that picture would be Wally. The point of the book was that you had to find Wally in each picture.

Well, here is my version titled "Where's Gerry?".

Psychology and me

I love this article primarily because it is politically incorrect. What's great is that it is (apparently) all 100% true in that the statements can be confirmed by scientific evidence!

Anyway, according to documented scientific evidence, I am likely to be sexist, ugly and only got a wife because all the better guys were already taken. I am likely to cheat on my wife possibly during my mid-life crisis - and its her fault for not being blonde. Luckily for me, despite the above, it is unlikely that I will be divorced.
:)

Just in case you didn't get all that, here is a breakdown:

• Point 10 says that men sexually harass women because they are not sexist. To my knowledge, I have never sexually harassed anyone (male or female!) so I guess that makes me a sexist.
• Point 6 says that beautiful people have more daughters. Currently, I only have a son and no daughters hence I am ugly.
• Point 3 says that men benefit from monogamy because even ugly men can get (relatively) better spouses. Its already been established that I am ugly.
• Point 9 says it is normal for men to risk everything for an affair. Besides, according to point 2, I'm naturally polygamous. So this means that I am likely to cheat on my wife (maybe cos I prefer blondes as per point 1!).

Despite all the above, point 5 says that having sons reduces the likelihood of divorce. Saved by Gerry!!

Woohoo! Time to go philandering!

Die you corrupt official!

For the second time in just 3 months, China has sentenced one of its government officials to death for corruption (you can refer here for an article about the first instance). On the face of it, this may seem like harsh punishment. However, was the sentence justified? Obviously, there are a whole raft of arguments in support of banning capital punishment - so many in fact that I don't intend to go over them here.

The official in question was a high ranking official at China's State Food and Drug Administration. This is the body that approves new drugs for distribution on the market. One of the things the article mentions is that over the course of just 3 months, a team of 12 people approved over 14,000 drugs.

Clearly, these people had very little regard to the health and wellbeing of other people.

Sitting here impassionately, I can almost understand the argument in support of banning capital punishment. However, I can't help but think - what if someone I knew and loved took some Chinese medicine and died as a result of it? Could I be so dispassionate then? Or would I be clamoring for the death penalty for the person responsible?

The honest answer is that I don't know. I don't know if I could be the "bigger" person and forgive in that situation. I don't know if capital punishment should be banned. More importantly, I hope I never have to find out.

However, one thing which does "cheer me up" is that, at the very least, China officials seem to be taking the issue of food and drug quality very seriously. Two top ranking officials sentenced to death in just 3 months - a very clear signal to everyone else in China.

Extreme weight loss

Check out this article about a guy called David Smith who lost 401 pounds in 3 years - and all done naturally (ie without using any surgery or pills).

I generally make a big deal about the fact that I am fat. Having said that, I know I am not obese - just fat enough for it to affect my health and fitness. I really don't know what it would be like to be obese but I can imagine it would be very unpleasant. Looking at this story just fills me with awe that someone could lose so much weight through sheer force of will (and help from the Stax system).

Incredible.

There really isn't much for me to add to that.
Respect.

Mo Mei Juk

You're probably wondering what the hell my header means. Well, its my pathetic attempt to give a phonetic translation of the name of the restaurant I went to last night.

You see, I've been in Guangzhou for a couple of days and in fact, only returned to Hong Kong today - hence the delayed post. While I was there, my host (and chauffeur) for the evening took me to a restaurant called 母米粥. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the English name of that restaurant is but Mo Mei Juk is how the characters sound in Cantonese (and as you know, GZ is in the Canton province).

The place is a hotpot restaurant. If you have never had hotpot, then you are really missing out on one of lifes pleasures. Basically, a hotpot is just that. You get a pot which is hot - and filled with hot soup. That pot is placed on a stove in the middle of the table so that the soup is kept at boiling point. Then you order various meats and vegetables which you cook in the soup and then eat. By the end of the meal, the soup has become really tasty due to all the nutrients from the various food which was cooked in it. In fact, the soup is so nutrient rich that you can't drink too much of it as your body can't take that much nutrition in one go!

In a hotpot restaurant, two things are critical. The food has to be fresh. This is of utmost importance as due to the method of cooking, you won't be adding much flavoring to the food which means that you need the food to have its own flavor which can only occur if the food is fresh.

The second critical component is obviously the soup base. The food will pick up some flavor from the soup base as you cook it and you would also drink some of the soup as well. Clearly, if the soup doesn't taste nice, this removes a lot of the point in the hotpot.

What makes 母米粥 special is that instead of your normal soup base, the restaurant uses congee as the soup base. Quite an interesting choice and one which I've never seen in HK before so I was very eager to give the place a try.

The place itself is apparently a really popular restaurant in GZ especially during the winter months. I was told that during the winter months, there would be huge queues of people waiting to get into the restaurant (as you can imagine, a nice hotpot is just what the doctor ordered if the weather is cold!).

Having been there, I can say that I enjoyed myself. The food was fresh and the congee makes a very nice alternative to your normal soup base. Having said that, I would really love to go back during the winter months when the weather is cold. I can imagine all that lovely hot congee warming my big fat belly! Delish!
:)

Definite thumbs up and definitely worth giving it a try if you have never been before.

Gerry - 18 months and still cute as a button

As you know, we have been in Phuket for a week getting a massage everyday. Did you know that the enjoyment of massage is hereditary? Here, you can see Gerry climbing like a monkey for the purpose of getting into the massage chair!



One of the games we play with Gerry makes him very happy even though it doesn't actually involve any toys. For this game, Gerry stands at the main door while I stand in the living room corridor and just out of Gerrys sight. Of course, he knows where I am as we play this game quite often. In this first picture, you can see him straining to catch a glimpse of me.



Then I'll suddenly jump out and Gerry will burst into a fit of giggles. Look at how cute he is!



We repeat this until he decides to run upto the corridor where I am hiding at which point I jump out, grab hold of him and give him a big kiss:



And last (but not least) - does anyone know where I can get an iPhone? I think Gerry wants one: