One Week in Greenhills

Did pretty much what we did in Shanghai - shopping and eating.

Not much shopping on day 1 as we had to start with basic stuff like converting our money, doing the laundy, buying groceries, etc. Lunched at Shakey's, then dinner at MoA. Well, the wife had dinner at MoA; I had to stay behind to take care of the baby.

Day 2 we got down to serious business - dental appointment. Went to SM Megamall to have lunch at Pancake House, then dinner at C2 with the family.

Spent the next day shopping for shoes at Shoppesville. Had lunch with the wife's aunties at Gerry's Grill, then tea at Coffee Bean. Dinner at Bizu where it's less crowded.

Day 4 is BarKD Day at Jollibee (EDSA Ortigas). The old kids and the young ones had lots of fun taking pictures and playing games with the dancing Jollibee. As expected, our kid was mortally afraid of the mascot, but warmed up to him very quickly as he was exiting the venue. After party is at the adjoining Cafe France till late afternoon. No chitchat for me, as I was the designated yayo. There's only so much you can do with a balloon and the birds outside. Late dinner at Crystal Jade with the family.

Day 5 saw us having brunch at UCC. Yummy! Dropped by the old house for a short tour/inspection, then off to Resort World Newport City. Not too many shops, and not too many gamblers in the casino. Went to Glorietta for some Red Ribbon cakes and Fino leather goods. After a short rest at the hotel, went to Virra Mall for takeaway Chickenjoy and bought an SGY on the way back.

Day 6 - Raisin bread for breakfast and Starbucks for mirienda. Went to Cubao to have the baby checked out. The Aussie GPs are saying that the sniffles is normal, but it's always good to have a second opinion. Left the clinic with bottles and bottles of medicine. Lunch at Pho Bac at Centris Walk, then mirienda at Angelicum. Went to Trinoma in the afternoon to kill time. The lines at M&S were so long, the baby and I got bored walking round and round the block. Farewell dinner at Okegawa in Tomas Morato.

One Week in Shanghai

Our whole stay in Shanghai can be described in just two words: shopping and dining. First night we arrived in Shanghai, we trooped down to the nearest Chinese restaurant for late dinner. The weather was fairly cold, but I had a sleeping baby wrapped around me for warmth. And with the wife feeding me tasty morsels, I can't complain, except for the locals smoking cigarettes beside us.

Strangely enough, I woke up quite early the next day, so I went out to buy a big pack of bottled water and an electric toothbrush. We were told the local water supply is not suitable for foreigners. As for the electric toothbrush, that's another story. Had breakfast of some pastries we bought last night. Off to Super Brand Mall to have lunch at Chamate. Killed time at the arcade for a while, then the group broke up. Some went for more shopping. Some wanted to visit the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. I and the wife and SIL brought the kids to the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium. It presently has the longest underwater tunnel in the world. Entrance fee for adults is RMB160, kids under 1 metre go free. Went to Xintiandi for some Bavarian fare at Paulaner Brauhaus. Haven't had iced tea for a while, so I ordered Long Island iced tea for drinks. Tasted a bit bitter, so I had to dilute it with some Coke.

Day 3 found us buying breads and pastries and coffee at Apple Garden for breakfast. Spent the day at Xu Jia Hui district. SIL was looking for a new SD card for her digicam, so we went to one of the tech malls there. If I'm not mistaken, it's probably the Grand Gateway. Since we're already there, I bought a case for the wife's new Ixus. Cost me RMB100, which I'm sure is a rip-off. The other guys were on the hunt for iPhone 4s, which I'm told is currently very hot and very rare. Lunch is at this old traditional restaurant at the basement for some authentic Shanghai dishes. Spent the afternoon looking after Aidan, while the wife did some shopping. Passed by FIL's favourite DVD store for the latest TV series and movies (ahem!), then dinner at Heng Shan Xiao Guan for some HK cuisine. The guys later went out for a massage. Me, I took a stroll along Jin Ling Road until I got to The Bund. The night is a bit cold, but magnificent views on both sides of the Huangpu River. Too bad I only brought along the wife's Ixus instead of my proper DSLR. By 10pm, the buildings started turning off their lights. Took a left at Nanjing Road, and headed back to the hotel. Things got scary when I got the pedestrian street. This may be Shanghai's main shopping street, but at this time of night it's a bit deserted. Some guy would approach you with flyers or stuff they want to sell. I was later approached by a smartly-dressed woman asking for directions. I admitted that I'm a tourist myself, and can't really help her. This doesn't seem to deter her, as she struck up a conversation asking me personal questions. She then invited me to join her (and her friends) for some coffee. Right. Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not about to pay for overpriced drinks for you and your partners in crime. Giving her a lame excuse about meeting my friend back at my hotel, I went my own way.

The next day is FIL's birthday. Had birthday lunch at the posh Royal China on the top floor of the Jiu Guang Shanghai. The kids went to sleep after lunch. Bought some training chopsticks and lucky charms to entertain them. Took a tour of Jing An Park across Nanjing West Road with MIL, then went to Jing An Temple by myself. Entrance fee is RMB30. First time I saw an 800-year Buddhist temple beside a shopping mall. Main attraction would probably be the Jade Buddha Hall on the west side, which houses the 3.8-meter jade Buddha, the largest sitting jade Buddha in the country. (Not to be confused with the other jade Buddhas in the Jade Buddha Temple along An Yuan Road.) More shopping at Nanjing Road. Dinner is at Moon's Steakhouse in Xintiandi.

Day 5 saw us having a photo session at Barefoot Portraits along Huaian Road in Jingan. Took us a while because Aidan was sleeping and we can't risk waking him up. Finished late, so we just had a quick pasta and sandwich at the Italian cafe downstairs. Then off to Han City (a.k.a. Taobao City) for some cheapo shopping. The locals can immediately tell you're a foreigner, so have your bargaining skills ready. From the first quoted price, divide it by ten. Yeah, it might be too low, but the saleslady will let you know anyway. Name a price which you're comfortable with. Be prepared to walk away. The saleslady usually will give you her best price by then. If not, you can always still ask around, and come back later. That's how we got Crocs for RMB30, sweaters for RMB50, rubber shoes for RMB50, and three T-shirts for RMB100. Note that these are all kiddie/toddler items. Nothing for the adults. Dinner at Maboonkrong Restaurant.

Did some major shopping on day 6. Went to Shanghai Times Square and after some deliberation, the wife finally decided which Coach bag she wanted. Lunch is at Lisboa. Went back to that tech mall at Xu Jia Hui for some iPhone4s and laptops. Word of advice, the next time you want to buy a Sony Vaio S (or Acer Aspire S3), just get one back in Sydney or online. At the very least, you get the official English version of Windows 7, not some Vistalizatorized Chinese version, which took literally hours to complete. And you don't get shonky excuses like "Oh, the laptop you wanted was actually out of stock. Why I don't I give you one with a slower CPU and chipset and smaller hard drive, but I'll give you an extra 2GB RAM. Heck, I'll even throw in a free 4GB USB stick?" Supposed to have dinner at Din Tai Fung, but the place was packed. They're willing to open a function room for us, for a minimum consumable charge of RMB3000. No thanks.

Spent the last day in Shanghai packing. Went to Raffles City for some more shopping, then lunch at Watami.

Movie 2011.11.26 - Exam

Suspense-thriller with a nice plot twist. So there are eight people in a bare classroom during the final round of selection for a prestigious job with a mysterious and powerful corporation. They were given three rules and 80 minutes to answer one question. The only problem - their questions sheets are all blank. What follows is an extended character study on how individuals react in stressful situations, as they try to figure out what the heck is going on. In the end, the CEO was after a person with the right moral fibre and compassion for his/her fellow man, as the company was about to introduce a new drug for the current pandemic(?). Quite liked the movie as it kept me guessing.

Hardly Normal Ixus

Cocky fat salesman either doesn't know his stuff, or trying to push me to buy a higher-priced item with a higher commission for himself.

Was after a 115HS for $148, but he was recommending the 220HS, which is priced at $70 more. According to the guy, compared to the 115HS, the 220HS has a better processor, full HD recording, and dual-core. Wow! But wait, there's more! He's also throwing in a 4MB SD card $40, a carry case worth $25, and extended warranty worth $100. All this for an extra $70! Man, I would be crazy if I don't take this deal!

Well, call me crazy, but I know for a fact that both cameras use the same DiG!C 4 processor. Heck, even my 550D DSLR has the same processor. Dual processor? We're talking about an ultracompact IXUS here. Only the EOS 7D and the EOS-1D Mark IV pack dual processors. As for full-HD video recording, both models support it. It's even written on the body of the camera. Did I point these out to the salesman? Of course not. Gerry Harvey is not paying me to educate his staff.

Even at the last minute, the guy was still pushing me to get the $100 extended warranty. For a $148 camera? No, thanks. I have a feeling the salesman might pull a fast one, so down at the cashier, I quickly opened the package to make sure everything is there - camera, cables, battery, etc. Only when I got home did I found out that he slipped me a blue camera, instead of the silver one I asked for. It's a good thing the wife is not too fussy.

Movie 2011.11.25 - Shaolin

From what I heard, this is actually a remake of Jet Li's film debut, The Shaolin Temple. It was just after the breakup of the Qing Dynasty. The local warlords and the foreign powers are fighting among each other for power and wealth. Warlord Hou Jie (Andy Lau) chases down rival Huo Long to Shaolin Temple, and shoots him dead, despite the monks' pleas for mercy. Afraid that his sworn brother might want to share in the spoils, he hatches an assassination plot. He finds out too late that his brother has no such plan. Worse, his own right-hand man Cao Man (Nicholas Tse) betrays him, and turns the assassins on him and his family. His daughter dies during the ambush, and his wife eventually leaves him. The cook (Jacky Chan) in Shaolin takes him in and teaches him compassion and enlightenment. Hou Jie later discovers that Cao Man has been selling relics to foreigners in exchange for arms. He hires labourer to dig up these relics, then kills them off after the job. Cao Man eventually locates Hou Jie and send his army to catch him. The foreign powers decides it's a good time to wipe out everyone and starts bombarding Shaolin. Hou Jie sacrificed himself to save Cao Man from certain death from a falling beam, thereby repaying an earlier debt. The monks managed to fight back to foreign devils, but the temple is left in ruins.

Movie 2011.11.24 - The Sorcerer and the White Snake

Reworking of an old Chinese legend where a herbalist meets and falls in love with a thousand-year old white snake, who has accumulated enough XPs to be able to transform itself into human form. Eva Huang plays the sultry white snake, while Raymond Lam plays the herbalist. Jet Li plays Abott Fahai, who goes around catching demons. He makes it his mission to capture the White Snake, even though she is doing any mischief and her only crime is to liaise with the herbalist.

The original Legend of the White Snake is more of a love story, but that aspect takes a back seat in this movie. Here, it's more about the CGI and the extended fight scenes. The scriptwriters should've stuck to the original story.

Google Music

Been hearing some much about Google Music, I decided to join in. It came out of beta a few days ago, but it's still US-only. Engadget has a good article on how to bypass this restriction.

Basically, you use a Tor browser to sign up for the Google Music service. Make sure you use a US exit node, so Google won't complain. Once you've signed up successfully, download the Music Manager to start uploading some songs. The upload process is a bit slow, so don't try to upload your whole music library now. A few choice songs will do just to test out the service.

You can listen to your online songs via any browser or using the native Android app. Again, the app won't be available to you unless you're in the States. In this case, Market Enabler is your friend. A quick search for com.google.android.music.4.0.9.apk is also bound to get you some hits.

Having a cloud-based music locker that stores 20,000 songs for free is nice, but I don't listen to that many songs, and I can simply dump them on my microSD card for fast and local access without eating up my data quota. Anyway, free is free.

Movie 2011.11.12 - Leaves of Grass

This is one messed-up movie. I had no idea what it was about, so I didn't know what to expect. You have this esteemed Ivy League classical philosophy teacher on his way up. Then you have his identical twin brother who designed and manages this state-of-the-art hydroponic drugs glasshouse. The loan sharks are hot on his tail, so he cooks up a plan to lure his good brother to come visit, while he goes to Tulsa to finish off the loan sharks. So I was thinking something like The Hangover. Not.

The bad brother and his sidekick kill off the loan shark and his goons in cold blood, then rushes back to town pretending nothing ever happened. Just as the good brother is about to leave for the airport, some depressed Jewish dentist saw through their scheme and came to the house with a gun to blackmail them. Good brother stepped up and managed to diffuse the situation. Bad brother made a sudden move, so the dentist shoots him. Outraged, the good brother fires back. A few seconds later, the police came. The dying bad brother took possession of the incriminating gun, so good brother is not implicated.

To pay for the funeral costs and support his widowed pregnant SIL, good brother talks to the remaining goons if they're willing to buy off the greenhouse. Say what?! The bad boys reckon they should have it for free. Good brother turned and left, but not before getting hit with a crossbow arrow right through the chest. The sidekick killed off the bad guys and took him to the hospital. The Hangover this is definitely not.

Movie 2011.11.04 - Gran Torino

Great acting from Clint Eastwood as a grumpy old war veteran. Wife has recently passed away, so it's just him living in a predominantly Hmong suburb overrun by youth gangs.

He started getting close with his neighbor's kids and fought off the gang members when he can. Obviously, the gang didn't like his meddling, and took some tough measures against the kids. Feeling guilty for the gang's retaliation, he went to the gang's lair for a showdown. Before he had a chance to take out the cigarette lighter from his breast pocket, the gang members opened fire, witnessed by all the neighbors. The bad boys are hauled off to jail, and there is peace in the community again. Such a sad movie.

Audiobook 2011.10.28 - iCon: Steve Jobs

Full title is iCon: Steve Jobs, The Greatest Act in the History of Business. The unauthorized biography written by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon tracks his rise from making and selling blueboxes with Wozniak to founding Apple Computer, to getting booted out of Apple, to founding NeXT Inc., to buying Pixar from Lucas, and back to heading Apple and unleashing iPod into the world.

Main takeaway from the audiobook is that all you need is one hit, and everything is forgiven. You can produce flops like the Macintosh, the NeXT Computer, the NeXTcube, the Pixar Image Computer, etc. As long as you have the iPod to save the day, then it's all good.

JVP to JVT

Firmware releases for the SGS is becoming less and less. I feel JVT is going to be one of the last. Instead of waiting for ICS, I bit the bullet and flashed (again) my SGS to JVT.

Same procedure as before:

1. flash stock JVT ROM from sammobile
2. flash CWM-enabled kernel (I chose Semaphore)
3. do a couple of wipes, do a couple of formats
4. flash the Romkitchen ROM

Phone is much faster and responsive than before. Only issue is that the Gingerbread keyboard goes FC every time it's called, and I get restarts once in a while.

Movie 2011.10.23 - Hannibal Rising

I can't imagine Hannibal Lecter as a sword-wielding teenager traveling from country to country hunting down his enemies. And a Japanese aunt in France from a samurai clan? That's a bit of a stretch.

Movie is a bit boring as we know nothing bad is going to happen to Hannibal. The SS guards are not going to eat him up, so obviously we know it's the little sister who gets sacrificed. Police inspector Popil is not going to put him behind bars. The baddies are not going to shoot him by stealth as he works at the autopsy room. He gets shot from behind in the spine by Grutas, but we all know he's got a wakizashi hidden in the back, which he uses to mutilate his archenemy.

Movie 2011.10.21 - Get Smart

The movie plot is not that smart, but I have to admit there are times when I laughed out loud. Steve Carrell is funny because he's such a clueless guy. Dwayne Johnson is funny because of his deadpan lines. Masi Oka and Nate Torrence are funny because their acting is over the top.

Heck, I can't even remember the plot, but I remember the part where Max was on a plane and he gets some matches to burn off the gum on his shoes, and he gets attacked by the air marshall. In the toilet, he tries to cut the tiewrap on his wrists by using the mini-crossbow on his Swiss army knife and proceeds to shoot arrows into himself. Another arrow hits the eject button and away he goes without a parachute. The ballroom dance sequence is also quite entertaining, although not really necessary.

Audiobook 2011.10.14 - Beethoven's Piano Sonatas

With classical music, I tend to listen to the parts I like (the familiar ones), and skip through the slow, boring, unfamiliar ones. With this audiobook playing in the car, I'm forced to listen through all of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas.

The audiobook is an extensive academic discourse by Professor Robert Greenberg on each of Beethoven's piano sonatas. More than that, the lecturer goes beyond the music and expounds on the life and times of Beethoven, how the music came about, how it works, some funny anecdotes and metaphors here and there, etc.

By the end of the course, my head is full of movements, cadence material, modulating bridge, coda, tarantella, gigue, fugue, adagio, allegro, pianissimo, bel canto, open cadence, theme and variation, trills, major/minor keys and chords, etc.

Din Tai Fung at The Star

Went to the city to look at QVB's new light show projected on the central dome. Had a bit of time to kill, so ended up at The Star. Didn't know the renovation work on the facade is already completed. Mighty impressed with the clean open design. Some of the boutiques like Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Salvatore Ferragamo are not yet open, but you can still window-shop at Chanel, G-Star RAW, and CK Jeans. Food court open, too. There's Flying Fish and Chips, Kampung, Messina Gelato, and Din Tai Fung. Adriano Zumbo's Patissier is also supposed to be around, but I don't see it.

Upgrading the Huawei U8300

This little beauty running on Eclair is just begging to be upgraded. Out of the box, it came with build U8300 V100R001AUS C34B257SP01. Latest official build available is U8300 V100R001AUS C34B271. Interestingly, Huawei's pulled it off their website. Good thing someone made a copy and is hosting it.

To install the firmware:

1. create dload directory on SD card
2. extract UPDATA.APP from the ZIP archive and copy to dload folder
3. go to Settings --> SD card and phone storage --> Software upgrade --> SD card upgrade --> Confirm

If you're still not happy with that, you can go all the way and install a custom ROM like Adrenalin 2.3.5.

1. Root the device with z4root. It's not in the Market anymore, but Google can help you find the apk. Root process takes a while to complete.
2. Install ROM Manager and flash CM Recovery. When asked, choose Huawei Ascend.
3. Copy Adrenalin RC1 and updates to SD card.
4. Reboot into recovery mode, and do a full backup of your current ROM in case something goes wrong.
5. Do a wipe data/factory reset.
6. Install Adrenalin 2.3.5 RC1, then fix permissions.
7. Reboot the device.
8. Reboot into recovery mode, and flash Adrenalin 2.3.5 RC1 Update2, then fix permissions.
9. Reboot the device.
10. Reboot into recovery mode, and flash kernel patch (optional).
11. Clear Dalvik cache.

The only thing not working for me after the above procedure is the WiFi. Workaround is to flash back to the original firmware, then do the upgrade again. This time, RC1 , then Update1, then Update2, and it works perfectly. I guess some stuff were in Update1 that were left out in Update2.

First impressions. Screen is a bit small compared to SGS, but everything works as expected. Images and text are crisp and clear, better than I expected. System a bit sluggish, so I overclocked it to 710MHz, which seems to help a bit. Quite hard to pull down the notification area. Phone's default orientation is landscape, so apps that work in portrait mode are rotated the wrong way. Built-in camera app also has this 90-degree bug. More testing to come.

Huawei U8300

What do you expect to pay for an Android smartphone that has the ff. features:

• Android 2.1 (Eclair)
• 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7225 processor
• 256MB RAM, 512MB Flash
• 320x240 pixel QVGA, 2.6-in resistive touchscreen with 256k colours
• 3.2MP camera with LED flash
• gravity sensor, digital compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor
• dedicated torch key and trackball
• GPS
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• microUSB 2.0
• 3.5mm jack
• QWERTY keyboard

Thanks to OzBargain and Optus/Boost, I managed to snag a Huawei u8300 for a measly $50 (RRP $150). All it needs now is a bit of hacking to bring it up to Gingerbread.

Whole-Day Sunshine

Customer tried to do a remote upgrade and failed. Now the system is in a funny state, and the only way out I can see is a clean install. Bootloader-based FTP install doesn't work possible due to VLAN issues. What do to? Tried calling my colleague down in Melbourne. No answer. Boss says worst case I have to fly down first thing in the morning. After having only three hours of sleep during the night?! Sure!

So there I was at the domestic airport waiting for the last possible moment to check in. Final call to Melbourne colleague - no answer. Sunshine, here I come. Just before I turned off my mobile inside the plane, I get the call. See you soon, dude.

Spent the rest of the day doing backups and clean installs and restores. Customer finished their checks by 3:30pm. Got back to Sydney by 8pm.

Churros at the Baby and Toddler Show

It's a day of discounts. Went down to the city for the Baby & Toddler Show at Sydney Exhibition Centre. Parked at the newly opened Wilson Parking at Darling Quarter for $9 flat-rate. Entrance to the show was free as we got complimentary tickets from Coles.

On our way out, we were offered complimentary tickets to MasterChef Live. Went to the nearby St. Moritz at Harbourside for $5 churros and hot chocolate for two - courtesy of Groupon.