Quite frankly, this is incredible.
The below is a quick excerpt from a show called Beautiful Minds detailing the incredible ability of Stephen Wiltshire. Stephen is autistic and he is nicknamed "The Human Camera" for his ability to draw detailed pictures of cities from memory.
And for some local flavour, here is a video of him drawing HK (I don't know when he was here - however, I recognise IFC in the video so it can't have been that long ago).
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Gerry and the bubble blower
And so we reach the final part of Gerry's Easter vacation!
I mentioned last time that we took Gerry to Stanley. Before we went to Stanley, we went to Toys'r'Us and bought a bubble blower. Nothing fancy - just the cheap version which you have to blow manually (admittedly, I much prefer this version. I see some really fancy bubble blowers in the shape of a gun where all you do is press a button. Quite frankly, whats the point? Surely its much more fun to blow the bubble yourself?!).
Anyway, Gerry really loved the bubble blower. At first, he had some trouble blowing bubbles as he couldn't line up his mouth properly. However, after a while and a bit of guidance from his mother, he was soon blowing bubbles like a pro!
And a quick video of Gerry running around, blowing bubbles and then trying to burst them. He so cute!
What you don't see in the video is another older boy who wanted to play with the bubble blower as well. The other boy was slightly older and taller than Gerry but quite broad in the shoulders. At first, he would run after the bubbles to try and burst them as well and he crashed into Gerry (or vice versa) a couple of times during this. Naturally, Gerry always came off worst in the encounter as he was smaller. However, Gerry would always grin and stand back up to continue chasing bubbles.
I mentioned last time that we took Gerry to Stanley. Before we went to Stanley, we went to Toys'r'Us and bought a bubble blower. Nothing fancy - just the cheap version which you have to blow manually (admittedly, I much prefer this version. I see some really fancy bubble blowers in the shape of a gun where all you do is press a button. Quite frankly, whats the point? Surely its much more fun to blow the bubble yourself?!).
Anyway, Gerry really loved the bubble blower. At first, he had some trouble blowing bubbles as he couldn't line up his mouth properly. However, after a while and a bit of guidance from his mother, he was soon blowing bubbles like a pro!
And a quick video of Gerry running around, blowing bubbles and then trying to burst them. He so cute!
What you don't see in the video is another older boy who wanted to play with the bubble blower as well. The other boy was slightly older and taller than Gerry but quite broad in the shoulders. At first, he would run after the bubbles to try and burst them as well and he crashed into Gerry (or vice versa) a couple of times during this. Naturally, Gerry always came off worst in the encounter as he was smaller. However, Gerry would always grin and stand back up to continue chasing bubbles.
Harmless enough right? Not quite. I noticed that the other boy wasn't just running into Gerry - he was actively, yet surreptitiously, sticking out a hand to push Gerry over! The first time I noticed this, I asked him to stop. However, he chose to ignore me. As they were running around chasing bubbles, I saw the other boy run up behind Gerry and try to push him over again. Just like before, he tried to do this very sneakily and pretend that it had nothing to do with him.
Naturally, I wasn't going to stand for this. I grabbed the other boy by the arm and pulled him aside. I then gave him my patented Jokemeister grimace (and if the expression looks familiar, it's because I practice that snarl by looking in the mirror and pretending I'm constipated...) and growl at him:
"I already told you not to push my son. Don't do it again. I will not warn you a third time. Do you understand?"
The boy gives me a frightened look before stammering out "yes". As I let go of his arm, I can't help but smile as he immediately runs off while yelling out "Mommy!".
Of course, the funny thing is that this kind of threat really only works on small children. Anyone smarter will know that there is nothing that I can do - I mean, its not like I'm gonna beat up a 3 year old kid now am I!!
Still, he doesn't know that does he.
>:D
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Gerry in Stanley
For the second part of our Easter celebration, we took Gerry out to Stanley. We had initially planned to take him the day before. However, as it started to rain, we had quickly changed our plans and taken him to the airport instead.
As before, we took along his Buzz Lightyear trike and you can see him here riding around happily in Stanley.
While we were in Stanley, we headed over to King Ludwig (a german restaurant) for lunch. They had a special Easter lunch buffet which looked nice so we ended up having a buffet for lunch - which basically meant lots and lots of german sausages!
:)
One of the highlights of lunch was the dessert. They actually had a nice selection of desserts including cream puffs (which we covered in chocolate sauce), a light cheesecake and some chocolate mousse (always a fav of the missus). Gerry in particular enjoyed the mousse - particularly as he had his own cup.
All in all, it was a really fun day at Stanley (coupled with a hilarious incident which I'll talk about next post!). Anyway, some more pictures of Gerry to round out the collection.
As before, we took along his Buzz Lightyear trike and you can see him here riding around happily in Stanley.
While we were in Stanley, we headed over to King Ludwig (a german restaurant) for lunch. They had a special Easter lunch buffet which looked nice so we ended up having a buffet for lunch - which basically meant lots and lots of german sausages!
:)
One of the highlights of lunch was the dessert. They actually had a nice selection of desserts including cream puffs (which we covered in chocolate sauce), a light cheesecake and some chocolate mousse (always a fav of the missus). Gerry in particular enjoyed the mousse - particularly as he had his own cup.
All in all, it was a really fun day at Stanley (coupled with a hilarious incident which I'll talk about next post!). Anyway, some more pictures of Gerry to round out the collection.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Gerry and the Easter Bunny
Happy Easter!
I certainly hope you enjoyed yourself over the long weekend. Gerry certainly had a great time!
To start our Easter celebrations, we took Gerry to the airport. Not only that, but we took along his Buzz Lightyear Trike so that he could ride around the airport.
Here are a couple of pictures of Gerry on his trike.
As it was Easter, the airport hired a couple of Easter Bunnies to help with the festivities. When Gerry saw the huge bunny, he gave a squeal of excitement before running over and hugging the bunny. Luckily the bunny was very friendly.
According to the missus, it was a female bunny. She says that she could tell as she saw the wrist and it was a feminine wrist. I guess I should have known from Gerry's reaction - he really likes the girls! In fact, he liked the bunny so much he didn't want to leave! In this next picture, you can see Gerry waving goodbye to his mommy (out of frame)!
By the end of the day, Gerry was absolutely knackered. We had spent all afternoon at the airport so he didn't have any time to nap until he got to the car. As you can see, he is out cold.
:)
Lastly - here is a quick video of Gerry riding his trike. As you can see, he can ride it very easily now (in the past, he would use his feet to move rather than using the pedals).
I certainly hope you enjoyed yourself over the long weekend. Gerry certainly had a great time!
To start our Easter celebrations, we took Gerry to the airport. Not only that, but we took along his Buzz Lightyear Trike so that he could ride around the airport.
Here are a couple of pictures of Gerry on his trike.
As it was Easter, the airport hired a couple of Easter Bunnies to help with the festivities. When Gerry saw the huge bunny, he gave a squeal of excitement before running over and hugging the bunny. Luckily the bunny was very friendly.
According to the missus, it was a female bunny. She says that she could tell as she saw the wrist and it was a feminine wrist. I guess I should have known from Gerry's reaction - he really likes the girls! In fact, he liked the bunny so much he didn't want to leave! In this next picture, you can see Gerry waving goodbye to his mommy (out of frame)!
By the end of the day, Gerry was absolutely knackered. We had spent all afternoon at the airport so he didn't have any time to nap until he got to the car. As you can see, he is out cold.
:)
Lastly - here is a quick video of Gerry riding his trike. As you can see, he can ride it very easily now (in the past, he would use his feet to move rather than using the pedals).
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bear Stearns
Anyone with any interest in the financial markets will know that Bear Stearns is the current hot news topic. One on hand, I fully understand why the Fed decided to bail out Bear Stearns (I think they were terrified of a market crash).
Having said that, I really can't agree with their decision.
In my opinion, Bear Stearns is (or should that be "was") in the position it is in for one reason only - bad management. The top brass at Bear were paid millions in wages and bonuses and they completely f$#ked up (to be fair, they weren't the only ones). Personally, I think Bear should have taken the consequences and died (I would say that I hope the Street would learn something from its demise but I know better).
Too many times, we've seen "top" CEOs get paid millions for running their companies into the ground. They then get paid millions more to leave their post early. Meanwhile, investors are left holding the can. Why should Bear be any different?
Obviously, the argument here is that if Bear does die, and a market crash occurs, then the general public will be the ones who pay. Well, where do you think the government gets its money from in the first place?
There are too many f$#king losers with no brains spending their money on investments with no idea what they are doing (baa). Of course, these are the same guys who are doing everything they can not to pay taxes to the government and bitch about it bitterly for any small tax payments that they actually make. And when something goes wrong? These same f$#king losers run to the government asking for handouts. If you ask me, they deserve to lose their assets. Personally, I agree with this guy - F*** Wall Street.
Having said that, I really can't agree with their decision.
In my opinion, Bear Stearns is (or should that be "was") in the position it is in for one reason only - bad management. The top brass at Bear were paid millions in wages and bonuses and they completely f$#ked up (to be fair, they weren't the only ones). Personally, I think Bear should have taken the consequences and died (I would say that I hope the Street would learn something from its demise but I know better).
Too many times, we've seen "top" CEOs get paid millions for running their companies into the ground. They then get paid millions more to leave their post early. Meanwhile, investors are left holding the can. Why should Bear be any different?
Obviously, the argument here is that if Bear does die, and a market crash occurs, then the general public will be the ones who pay. Well, where do you think the government gets its money from in the first place?
There are too many f$#king losers with no brains spending their money on investments with no idea what they are doing (baa). Of course, these are the same guys who are doing everything they can not to pay taxes to the government and bitch about it bitterly for any small tax payments that they actually make. And when something goes wrong? These same f$#king losers run to the government asking for handouts. If you ask me, they deserve to lose their assets. Personally, I agree with this guy - F*** Wall Street.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Hong Kong is small
Despite living in HK for over a decade, I sometimes forget how small HK actually is. And then there are days like today which help remind me.
Sometime ago, I had gone to an italian restaurant near SoHo with a friend called Steve (not his real name - however, this story has a lot of people involved so we'll call him Steve so its easier to keep track of people!). Although the place wasn't fantastic or anything, the food was okay and not too expensive ($80 for a set meal including the tip). In short, the kind of place that I would return to.
So today, I go back to that italian restaurant with Steve and another of our friends called David. As we near the place, David says, "I think I've been here before. Melinda brought me here once."
Steve looks at David and says "Really! It was me who brought Melinda here!"
At this point, we kinda all laugh at the coincidence. However, halfway through the meal, Steve's girlfriend shows up.
That's right! Steve had also taken his girlfriend there as well - and she chose today to bring one of her friends to the place!
As I said above, HK is a small place. It's amazing how easily you can run into people you know and how quickly word of mouth about a restaurant can spread.
Sometime ago, I had gone to an italian restaurant near SoHo with a friend called Steve (not his real name - however, this story has a lot of people involved so we'll call him Steve so its easier to keep track of people!). Although the place wasn't fantastic or anything, the food was okay and not too expensive ($80 for a set meal including the tip). In short, the kind of place that I would return to.
So today, I go back to that italian restaurant with Steve and another of our friends called David. As we near the place, David says, "I think I've been here before. Melinda brought me here once."
Steve looks at David and says "Really! It was me who brought Melinda here!"
At this point, we kinda all laugh at the coincidence. However, halfway through the meal, Steve's girlfriend shows up.
That's right! Steve had also taken his girlfriend there as well - and she chose today to bring one of her friends to the place!
As I said above, HK is a small place. It's amazing how easily you can run into people you know and how quickly word of mouth about a restaurant can spread.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Bungie - awesome customer service
This is a totally cool example of customer service which shows that a little cost at the right time and in the right place can generate a huge amount of goodwill for your company.
A while ago, a gamer called Nathaniel loved his Xbox 360. He loved it so much that he took it everywhere hence managing to get loads of signatures and even a drawing from various personalities in the gaming world. Alas, all good things come to an end. His Xbox 360 suffered death and he sent it in to Microsoft with express instructions to keep the case untouched.
Microsoft promptly wiped off all signatures and drawings from his Xbox 360 (real classy move that!). After telling his tale of woe, Bungie (developers of Halo 3) took pity on this poor gamer and sent him a bag of Bungie signed gear to make up for the loss.
Awesome!
This is a great PR move by Bungie. The screwup by Microsoft had nothing to do with Bungie. Nevertheless, they decided to take action to help the poor gamer. Naturally, nothing will ever replace some of the signatures that Nathaniel lost - still, its a great gesture from Bungie. It has also created a lot (and I mean a LOT) of goodwill in the gaming community for Bungie.
As for Microsoft? They are still "investigating" to determine what went wrong...
A while ago, a gamer called Nathaniel loved his Xbox 360. He loved it so much that he took it everywhere hence managing to get loads of signatures and even a drawing from various personalities in the gaming world. Alas, all good things come to an end. His Xbox 360 suffered death and he sent it in to Microsoft with express instructions to keep the case untouched.
Microsoft promptly wiped off all signatures and drawings from his Xbox 360 (real classy move that!). After telling his tale of woe, Bungie (developers of Halo 3) took pity on this poor gamer and sent him a bag of Bungie signed gear to make up for the loss.
Awesome!
This is a great PR move by Bungie. The screwup by Microsoft had nothing to do with Bungie. Nevertheless, they decided to take action to help the poor gamer. Naturally, nothing will ever replace some of the signatures that Nathaniel lost - still, its a great gesture from Bungie. It has also created a lot (and I mean a LOT) of goodwill in the gaming community for Bungie.
As for Microsoft? They are still "investigating" to determine what went wrong...
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Earth - Air and Water
This is a really interesting picture.
The picture on the left shows what you would get if you took all the water on Earth and put it into a ball. For comparison, a picture of the Earth (to scale of course) is also presented.
The picture on the right is the same idea but for all oxygen in the atmosphere. As you can see, the total volume of water and air really doesn't amount to much relative to the size of the planet!
Whenever I think of the Earth, I normally think of a mass of water with the occasional land mass peaking out. After all, Earth is considered a blue planet because of the majority of the surface is covered by water.
However, while that is true, when you take all that water and put it into a sphere - it really doesn't seem to amount to much!
The picture on the left shows what you would get if you took all the water on Earth and put it into a ball. For comparison, a picture of the Earth (to scale of course) is also presented.
The picture on the right is the same idea but for all oxygen in the atmosphere. As you can see, the total volume of water and air really doesn't amount to much relative to the size of the planet!
Whenever I think of the Earth, I normally think of a mass of water with the occasional land mass peaking out. After all, Earth is considered a blue planet because of the majority of the surface is covered by water.
However, while that is true, when you take all that water and put it into a sphere - it really doesn't seem to amount to much!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Improv Everywhere
I'm not feeling very well so you'll have to do with a cheap link instead of a real blog post.
:p
Improv Everywhere are a group of pranksters (primarily in the US but they have a group of global participants as well). Their pranks generally operate by causing a variety of different scenes in public, the basic aim of which is to make passers-by think "what just happened?"
Not all of their stuff is funny. In fact, some of it would actually be pretty annoying. However, once in a while, they do something which is good enough and creative enough to make it all worthwhile.
Their latest stunt, the Food Court Musical, is one such example. Singing in public in itself isn't particularly creative. However, their ability to write a new song (which was reasonably entertaining) and integrate the actors so well into the audience brings a couple of real laugh out loud moments.
The video is well worth a watch if you can spare the 5 mins. While you're there, browse some of their other missions. The McDonalds Bathroom Attendant is another good one.
:p
Improv Everywhere are a group of pranksters (primarily in the US but they have a group of global participants as well). Their pranks generally operate by causing a variety of different scenes in public, the basic aim of which is to make passers-by think "what just happened?"
Not all of their stuff is funny. In fact, some of it would actually be pretty annoying. However, once in a while, they do something which is good enough and creative enough to make it all worthwhile.
Their latest stunt, the Food Court Musical, is one such example. Singing in public in itself isn't particularly creative. However, their ability to write a new song (which was reasonably entertaining) and integrate the actors so well into the audience brings a couple of real laugh out loud moments.
The video is well worth a watch if you can spare the 5 mins. While you're there, browse some of their other missions. The McDonalds Bathroom Attendant is another good one.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax has passed away and an entire generation of nerds is mourning his passing.
For the non-nerd members of the audience, Gary Gygax was one of the co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons. If you don't know what D&D is, then this post won't mean much to you. Suffice to say that D&D has had a profound impact on my life.
I still recall the first time I came across D&D. We had just moved to our new house to the east end of Glasgow - I can't remember when this was but I guess it was around 1985 or 1986. We didn't know anyone else in the estate we had just moved to but we knew there were a couple of other chinese families so my brother and I wandered over to say hi to some of the other kids.
While we were there, we noticed a box lying next to the sofa. "What's that?" my brother asked.
Our new friends replied "Thats Dungeons and Dragons. Its a role playing game."
"What do you do?" we asked.
And so began my journey into RPG nerddom. For years, we spent every Sunday huddled round the dinner table as we went on incredible journeys across foreign lands, a place where swords and magic were commonplace, a world where Gods walked the earth. Every Sunday was spent defeating monsters and saving damsels in distress, villages or even continents from evil sorcerors and bandits as our heroes grew in power and stature.
There are simply too many good memories of that time to go over in this limited blog. I still recall our first ever game, where all of us had chosen Elves (both sword and sorcery in 1 package!) and consequently died a horrible death as our party was too one sided. Or how in our next adventure, I lost two fighters (one fell to his death while climbing up a mountain, the other fell to his death while climbing down the other side!) before ending up with the party cleric who then stayed with me until the very end. I also recall how every time my cleric cast a healing spell, I would always roll a 1 for the amount of hp healed which made me really popular with the rest of the group.
I can't even imgaine what my life would be like if D&D had never existed.
Gary - thanks for the memories.
For the non-nerd members of the audience, Gary Gygax was one of the co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons. If you don't know what D&D is, then this post won't mean much to you. Suffice to say that D&D has had a profound impact on my life.
I still recall the first time I came across D&D. We had just moved to our new house to the east end of Glasgow - I can't remember when this was but I guess it was around 1985 or 1986. We didn't know anyone else in the estate we had just moved to but we knew there were a couple of other chinese families so my brother and I wandered over to say hi to some of the other kids.
While we were there, we noticed a box lying next to the sofa. "What's that?" my brother asked.
Our new friends replied "Thats Dungeons and Dragons. Its a role playing game."
"What do you do?" we asked.
And so began my journey into RPG nerddom. For years, we spent every Sunday huddled round the dinner table as we went on incredible journeys across foreign lands, a place where swords and magic were commonplace, a world where Gods walked the earth. Every Sunday was spent defeating monsters and saving damsels in distress, villages or even continents from evil sorcerors and bandits as our heroes grew in power and stature.
There are simply too many good memories of that time to go over in this limited blog. I still recall our first ever game, where all of us had chosen Elves (both sword and sorcery in 1 package!) and consequently died a horrible death as our party was too one sided. Or how in our next adventure, I lost two fighters (one fell to his death while climbing up a mountain, the other fell to his death while climbing down the other side!) before ending up with the party cleric who then stayed with me until the very end. I also recall how every time my cleric cast a healing spell, I would always roll a 1 for the amount of hp healed which made me really popular with the rest of the group.
I can't even imgaine what my life would be like if D&D had never existed.
Gary - thanks for the memories.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Star Wars: The Ultimate Collection
This is not awe-inspiring. It is so far beyond awe-inspiring that we are into scary.
Right now, I'm not sure if I can look anyone in the eye anymore while saying that I'm a Star Wars fan. I'm not sure I qualify...
Right now, I'm not sure if I can look anyone in the eye anymore while saying that I'm a Star Wars fan. I'm not sure I qualify...
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Four Seasons Hotel
The Four Seasons Hotel in HK (not to be confused with the Four Seasons Hostel) opened in 2005. Despite working in Central and being very close to the hotel, I've never actually been inside until last night.
A friend of mine had his wedding reception in one of the ballrooms there last night. As you can imagine from a luxury hotel which charges HK$4,200 per night, the place is sickeningly opulent. Alternatively, you could say it was the perfect spot to house the reception for a high ranking Senior Manager (and hopefully soon-to-be partner)!
As can be expected at a chinese wedding banquet, many of the dishes are fairly standard (eg roasted suckling pig, crispy skin chicken etc). It's times like this that the skill of a chef can really shine through. When a particular type of food becomes so common that it can be acquired virtually anywhere, the chef which can make that dish stand out really deserves plaudits.
The banquet food last night, as can be expected at a top hotel, was nice. Admittedly, it wasn't blow-me-away brilliant but I suspect this is as much my fault for having ridiculously high expectations in the first place. Certainly, the only fault I can find was that the chicken was a bit too salty (admittedly a question of preference).
Anyway, lots of highlights for the evening. However, if I had to pick three, I would go with:
Baked avocado - This is the first time that I have ever had a baked avocado stuffed with seafood at a wedding banquet. At a time when all wedding banquet menu's seem to be standardised, a change from the norm is extremely refreshing!
Groom's speech - My friend last night was both hilarious and very touching in his speech. Normally, he is a very serious guy whose laugh is more like a quick smile together with a sharp "ha". Caught me completely by surprise.
Partner speech - One of the senior partners at my firm was invited to give a speech as well. The partner in question is very senior. Despite this, his speech was hilarious with lots of personal and extremely well thought out comments. I was very impressed by his ability to connect with the audience while showing a funny and sensitive side.
A friend of mine had his wedding reception in one of the ballrooms there last night. As you can imagine from a luxury hotel which charges HK$4,200 per night, the place is sickeningly opulent. Alternatively, you could say it was the perfect spot to house the reception for a high ranking Senior Manager (and hopefully soon-to-be partner)!
As can be expected at a chinese wedding banquet, many of the dishes are fairly standard (eg roasted suckling pig, crispy skin chicken etc). It's times like this that the skill of a chef can really shine through. When a particular type of food becomes so common that it can be acquired virtually anywhere, the chef which can make that dish stand out really deserves plaudits.
The banquet food last night, as can be expected at a top hotel, was nice. Admittedly, it wasn't blow-me-away brilliant but I suspect this is as much my fault for having ridiculously high expectations in the first place. Certainly, the only fault I can find was that the chicken was a bit too salty (admittedly a question of preference).
Anyway, lots of highlights for the evening. However, if I had to pick three, I would go with:
Baked avocado - This is the first time that I have ever had a baked avocado stuffed with seafood at a wedding banquet. At a time when all wedding banquet menu's seem to be standardised, a change from the norm is extremely refreshing!
Groom's speech - My friend last night was both hilarious and very touching in his speech. Normally, he is a very serious guy whose laugh is more like a quick smile together with a sharp "ha". Caught me completely by surprise.
Partner speech - One of the senior partners at my firm was invited to give a speech as well. The partner in question is very senior. Despite this, his speech was hilarious with lots of personal and extremely well thought out comments. I was very impressed by his ability to connect with the audience while showing a funny and sensitive side.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
