amin-like-things « WordPress.com Tag Feed

Happy Birthday Amira!

Amin — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:47:15 +0000

Happy birthday Amira!

Hope you had fun yesterday.

Sorry I can’t be around today but I hope you can go on that adventure

In any case, I’ll see you soon.

You’re doing well for a 20 year old. So proud of you.

Don’t ever change k.

Love you loads.

Here's Johnny!

Amin — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:30:20 +0000

As I get back into blogging, an old friend and ex-colleague on mine begins his journey into blogging.

Have a look at his blog HERE – interesting perspective.

Looking at John’s first posts, I can’t help but to look back at my first blog post.

Welcome to the blogosphere Johnny!

Check out my other friends and family who are blogging HERE.

Super Bowl: Big Money, Big Ads

Amin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:30:09 +0000

Check out the AdBlitz channel HERE

Ad spots during Super Bowl could very well be amongst the most expensive in the world. Up to USD100,000/second!

Let’s do some math, the Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen teaser trailer that aired during Superbowl was 30sec long. Multiply that with the going rate (USD100,000/second) and you come to a whopping USD3mil for one 30sec spot!

USD3mil is close to RM11mil, that’s the year’s marketing budget for some Malaysian companies! And here’s the clincher, some ads run for a minute of even longer. That’s big money for some big ads man.

I personally don’t watch American football (or any other American ball games for that matter) but as always, interesting ads intrigue me and usually the best and the worse appear during Superbowl time.

Check out YouTube’s Super Bowl AdBlitz channel where you can see and vote for your favourite big budget ad.

Have fun!

Related stuff:

Check out all the trailers that appeared on Super Bowl XLIII HERE
For car fans, check out all the car ads that appeared during Super Bowl XLIII HERE
Forbes reviews all the big ads on Super Bowl XLIII HERE

Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen Teaser Trailer OUT!

Amin — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:53:11 +0000

The teaser trailer is out in full HD glory HERE!

Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen Teaser Trailer

Ok, so it’s only 30 seconds long but boy does it tease. Already you can expect so much from the sequel. At 0:10 you will see a new canine looking robot (I’m thinking it’s most probably a Decepticon), at 0:16 the Audi R8 Decepticon makes an appearance and people are saying there’s a glimpse of what could be Arcee in the background, at 0:21 Optimus gets clobbered big time and at 0:23 you see a massive new Decepticon that makes Optimus look like Frenzy (the Decepticon radio robot from the first movie).

TFW2005 breaks down the trailer into pictures HERE.

The next big date is 02-13-09, Friday the Thirteenth. This is when the full length teaser trailer will be released. 26 June cannot come any sooner!

More Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen stuff on Amin Ashaari.com:

He's a Kicker!

Amin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:00:03 +0000

Narisha blogged about it first HERE!

Our boy is a kicker! I finally got to feel him kicking, bumping and wiggling in his mommy’s belly. This was the first time for me and try as I might, I can’t really explain how it feels…how it made me feel. All I could do was laugh. No, not because it was funny but because I really don’t know how to react. It was really a special moment, a wonderful moment.

Before this the baby’s bumps and wiggles were exclusively Narisha’s to experience. Every time the baby kicked, she’d tell me and I’d run over to put my hand on her belly and every time, I can’t really feel anything.

For this one, I could really feel it, even if was only a few bumps. I felt him move around too! Narisha said that our baby boy was bouncing around in her belly for almost 20 minutes!

From the monthly ultrasounds, we’ve kinda figured out that our baby boy will be a bouncer, a very active baby. Now with this latest session, it’s pretty much confirmed.

I’m counting the days for this bundle of joy of ours to arrive.

Check out more posts on me becoming a father:

Transformer 2: More Cool Stuff!

Amin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:30:45 +0000

Imagine this in its full CGI full motion glory on ROTF. Picture credit Transformer Live Action Blog.

I can’t stop digging up stuff about Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen (ROTF).

One of my favourite Decepticons – Devastator – will appear in the sequel! Here are the details. True to the cartoon rendition, Devastator will consist of 7 construction vehicles. Though some quarters are saying that it could all be a rumour.

Whatever it is I don’t care. I just want to see Devastator in action. Here’s a thought, in the cartoon series, Devastator always battled the Dinobots – could this mean the Dinobots will be in the sequel as well?

Hmmm.

In addition, MovieTome has put out a list of Autobots that will be joining the battle against the evil Decepticons. Again, it’s too early to confirm anything but the site’s list looks convincing.

Returning characters:
Safe to expect Optimus Prime coming back as leader of the Autobots in the sequel, though no one can tell if he’s getting any upgrades.

Lots of sites are saying that Bumblebee will be getting upgrades to make him more manly but MovieTome is saying that the pictures you see HERE could very well be a bizarro Bumblebee.

Ratchet, the cool looking Hummer will also come back for the sequel though apparently he will be watered down to a standard Hummer H2 rather than the decked out Search and Rescue Hummer in the first Transformer.

Ironhide. No change to the big badass GMC Topkick C6500 pickup

Many will be happy to know that Jazz the smooth, cool Autobot in the form of a hardtop Pontiac Solstice GXP is making a comeback for the sequel.

New for Revenge of the Fallen:
There’s Arcee the movie’s first female Autobot in the form of a pink/purple Buell Firebolt sportbike. Originally slated for the first movie, she was canned because the makers thought it would take too much time to explain her gender.

Stinger, an all new character in the form of a Corvetter XR1.

Wheeljack which originally appeared as a Lancia Stratos in the cartoon serieswill make his silverscreen debut in the form of the prototype Saab Aero-X.

There will be a new Decepticon in the form of an Audi R8!

Check out the toy.

Unconfirmed
Chevy’s new line of city cars the Beat and Trax will play a group of Autobots that can join together to make one giant robot. Or they could just be the Twins.

Apparently there’s also an Autobot disguised as an ice cream truck. Again, no one can confirm this yet.

There are so many rumours and reports on the movie that I’m blowing my mind! Amin’s geeking out on Transformers 2!

More Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen stuff on Amin Ashaari.com:

6-26-09: Mark Your Calendars Everyone!

Amin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:30:25 +0000

OMG! OMG! ZOMG!

Sequel to the best movie ever is coming this year! Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen will hit theaters June 29, 2009! I really hope this will be a worldwide release.

The official trailer will make it’s debut on Superbowl Sunday, February 1 which is this weekend! Looking forward to that but I reckon it’s going to be a teaser trailer rather than a full on mouth watering one. But hey, I’ll take whatever comes my way.

Empire! got the scoop on and showed the first official pictures of Soundwave. Obviously this movie’s rendition of the faithful Decepticon servant of Megatron is totally different from the ones that we’re familiar with (i.e. It’s no longer a boombox). Though I’m hoping in spirit, it will be – just like how Bumblebee was in the first movie! For the sequel Bumblebee gets a shot of robot testosterone to bulk him up a tad.

Official Soundwave pictures. Looks different, see HERE for comparison from the original Soundwave. Picture Credit: Empire!

Rumour has it Megatron will be making a comeback as Galvatron but no one can confirm this as yet. In one form or another the Decepticon leader has to make an appearance in the sequel. Else, Soundwave has no purpose! There’s also apparently a new robot that will be key to the plot, it’s the one you see on the official poster.

I didn’t expect the sequel to arrive so soon. Definitely THE movie to watch for 2009. I can’t wait! Maybe in the meantime I’ll browse through the leaked movie treatment found HERE.

Thank you Narisha for pointing this out. I love you!

Ask her how she found out about the movie

More Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen stuff on Amin Ashaari.com:

Alex, let's go do this!

Amin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:30:04 +0000

If I had the opportunity, Wonder what I’d program the sign to read.

According to i-hacked, LED road signs you often see near roadwork areas are super easy to hack.

Malaysia could use pranks like this. Everyone’s so uptight nowadays.

Alex, you know what I’m thinking. Let’s go do this!

Shoe Shopping

Amin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:12:50 +0000

One weekend about two weeks back mum told me Timberland was doing a stock clearance sale.

Having being the victim of a shoe theft recently I thought it be a good idea to get a new pair of shoes that I can use to go to work with.

Marlyne talked about how badly worn her trainers are so I thought I’d do a shoe story of my own.

I didn’t tell you guys this but I got two pairs of shoes swiped at my apartment a couple of months back. One was a fairly used but still in good condition all terrain Pumas and the other was a sleek looking grey and purple Nike Air Zoom TI Street that I got as a birthday present from mum.

Really sad to loose that because I just got it and they practically looked brand new. I was just about to finish breaking them in too. I take really good care of my stuff so you can imagine my frustration.

It happened while I was at work and what peeved me off the most was the jerks that took off with my shoes stole my shoe horn as well!

We’ve been staying at this apartment for nearly 3 years now and never had any problems. We leave nearly all our shoes outside (but within the grilled area of our unit), everyone does it as well. I guess it could be a new tenant trying to be funny.

Sad gits. I hope the get their legs broken or something.

So back to my shoe story…it’s nothing much really, it’s just that I thought I’d with you what’s in my shoe cabinet at the mo.

Shoes with stories and soul. Hehe!

Ok, so here’s my stash of shoes. It’s not much, I know, but there are some interesting stories behind each and every one of the soles. Come take a walk down memory lane with me and my shoes…

My SPDs hide my regret swapping two wheels for four and manpower for horsepower

These are my mountain biking shoes. My mum bought this for me when she was at Vienna (my fav bike shop in Tmn Tun didn’t stock the model I wanted). I still have an IOU out to my mum for this pair. I’ll pay you when I get my promotion ok ma. So pray hard!

Those in the know call em’ SPDs. Strictly speaking SPD stands for Shimano Pedaling Dynamics and though other brands make cycling shoes as well, most riders just refer to them as SPD. It’s like you or me referring to photo film in general as Kodak or toothpaste as Colgate or like the makciks referring to comforters in general as Toto.

During my mountain biking days, I was among the best. Competing competitively locally and also in Australia where I finished my high school and uni days. Now I struggle to clock 100KM a week. I regret so much selling over RM20k worth of cycling equipment right after I got my driving license to soup up my GTi. I don’t regret having the GTi but do regret so much selling off my Foes and Kona frames.

I was the first to bring in and use Foes bicycles in Malaysia. I had a Foes Weasel custom painted blue and yellow (something like the Renault F1 team colour today). The Weasel was spec’ed for one purpose — going downhill, fast. That bike was top of the line and cost AUD$5k second hand! It had a Foes F1 upside down, triple clamp forks with 7in travel up front (looks something like this), a Fox coilover shock with remote reservoir and 6in travel at the rear, Formula hydraulic disc brakes and the list of exotic parts goes on and on. I’ll need a dedicated post just to list them all down!

That bike was so advanced that the local bike shop didn’t even know what to do with it when I sent the Weasel in to get it’s brake lines bled.

In case you’re wondering my other bike was a Kona AA and the bike that got me started riding was a Giant ATX 890, I got it as a gift for my 15th birthday from who else — my mum.

*Sigh.

Oh well, at least now I’m back on the saddle, riding bicycles again. It’ll never be as serious as before but boy does it bring back memories and the feeling I get from riding is the same now as it was before. I love it!

On to the next shoe.

These shoes ripped the Sepang F1 track with me in a Lotus Elise, survived three 2 hour go kart enduros, went over 200km/h in my GTi and was my companion during those early Sunday drives up Ulu Yam

Narisha bought these Puma racing shoes a long while back for my birthday circa 03/04 . We got into an argument a few days before the big day and it dragged on and on. She had originally planned to buy the shoes as a surprise. Being a jerk, I told her I’m not interested in any surprises. She went on a bought it anyway. I’m so thankful that she did.

These shoes have been on countless motoring trips with me that I can’t remember them all. I tried to keep them as pristine as possible but as you can see, its showing its age peppered with racing track gunk and motor oil. They’ve served me well and till this day they still make me feel like Schumacher everytime I wear em.

I love this pair to death!

Next shoe.

Easy in easy out. My favourite go anywhere shoe!

Mum bought me these while she was in Singapore. One of my favourite go anywhere footwear.

I don’t usually wear flip-flops or slippers especially when I’m driving so this pair makes a good substitute for when I need to go out but can’t be bothered to wear socks or shoes.

The soles grip rather well, especially in the wet and this makes them good for going to the beach and to the pool as well.

Unfortunately I think these ones are up for replacement soon, the soles are wearing thin and just recently, the right one has sprouted a tear just near the middle section. A tear that will only get bigger and bigger as I wear them more and more.

Next shoe.

I wore this as my team — Team Proton R3 — won the Merdeka Millennium Endurance overall champion for the first time

This one I bought myself at a small corner shop in One Utama about three years ago. Not too sure what the brand is but I like the design and the cutting.

This was once my daily shoe and they are as comfortable as they look. So comfortable in fact that this I wore this shoe for over 24 hours without taking them off. This was during the 05 Merdeka Millennium Endurance where I was the hospitality liaison for Team Proton R3. It was also the year where we clocked the fastest qualifying time ever for the race, lapped the most number of laps ever in 12 hours and naturally won the race.

With that in mind, this pair still looks good, don’t you think? Its still white predominantly white at least

Unfortunately I don’t wear this pair that much anymore, not at all actually. The sole has worn down so much that it’s a hazard and the insole has lost all its cushioning. This one, sadly, is going to the bin soon.

Next shoe.

A skate shoe for the skater boy in me

I bought this at the same time as the white one and at the same place. It’s DC replica but hey, it could have fooled anyone.

As you can tell by looking at the sad state that this pair is in, it lived a hard life. I wear it often, to the office, on the weekends, everywhere, all the time. It didn’t stand a chance.

Two years back I wore the pair all the way to Segamat for Hari Raya and a cat peed in it but that’s not the disgusting part. I only realised there was cat pee in my shoes after the two hour plus journey back to KL when upon reaching home my feet and socks reek of the pungent stench of urine. A quick smell around revealed that the source of the smell were the shoes, which of course was left out at night when I was in Segamat. Making it fair game for any manner of cats, dogs, monkeys, lizards, snakes and creepy crawlies that was local there. I had it coming.

Note to self for the trip to Segamat next week: bring shoes inside at night

I cleaned the shoes but there’s still a lingering urine smell in one of them. Despite this I still wear them once in a while but this one, like the white one will be binned soon. Just look at it. I’m doing it a favour to take it out of its misery and it’s high time I make room for more new pairs in my shoe closet

Next shoe.

A good shoe that is rendered useless well ahead of it’s time

This one I bought in Batu Pahat at some obscure mall after a trip for the engagement of one of Narisha’s cousins. The DC replica was on it’s way out and I was in the market for a new pair to wear everyday to work. Like the DC, these Vans are also replicas but you gotta admit, it does look real

Anyway, I love these shoes, they feel good and matches just about everything I have in my wardrobe. If not for the big gaping hole on the right one, I’d still wear it to work and for a while I did but the hole was getting bigger and bigger and it was getting kind of embarrassing to go into meetings with a shoe that had a very noticeable hole in it.

I still wear them to everywhere else once in a while but even for that the hole is getting too big. I’m still keeping these though while I find out if I can get a cobbler to mend it. I hope one eventually can and if you know a good one do let me know ok.

Next shoe.

Despite being a croc, this one doesn’t go out when it rains

Another birthday shoe from Narisha. This time it’s a pair Crocs.

This is my coolest pair ever. Everytime I wear this to the office everyone talks about them, looks at them and tell me I look fresh! Ahaks!

On the weekends when I wear this I get stares. Yes, I love the attention and you can only pull it of if you’re as cool as I am haha!

The Crocs are also the most comfortable shoe I’ve worn in a long time. I mentioned before that the soles wear out very quickly so I don’t wear these very often, only once in a while and I don’t wear them when it’s raining or wet out. I want to keep them looking as fresh as possible as long as possible.

Next shoe.

The most expensive thing I dare put my feet in!

This is the crème de la crème of my shoe collection. A pair of Salvatore Ferragamo loafers I got as one of the hantaran for my wedding.

I’d hate to ask how much it cost but I have an inkling that it’s RM2k upwards.

Shoes wear out and get thrown out. That’s what they do and I dare not think of it for this pair. That’s why they only get worn on very super-duper special occasions and then get stored right after. This one I will make last my life time.

If my future permits, I’ll return Narisha the favour and get her a pair of Ferragamo of her own.

One day ok baby!

Next shoe.

You’ll never know what you’ll find at a warehouse sale

And we’ve arrived to the reason of this post. My new pair of Timberland I got at a warehouse sale the other weekend.

Since all my shoes are either too worn out, torn or not suitable to wear to work I set out to look for a suitable replacement and since I was on a budget, the warehouse sale was a good opportunity to score some good bargains.

And did I find one.

The one you see here retailed for RM499 and I got it for a smidgen under RM200. If you don’t call that a bargain then I don’t know what is

Actually, by the time we got there, there wasn’t much left to trawl through but there were a few good looking pair of men’s shoes left and this one is the best of them all, to my eyes at least.

It’s a unique design and you’d never think that it’s a timberland. My favourite part is the missing laces, they are actually deliberate. It’s part of the design. Though laces are optional, I like it without. For one it’s a conversation piece and for the other, it reflects my rebellious, mischievous, non-conformist personality. The earthy colours are universal too, I can wear em with almost everything I have.

The shoes are sooo me!

I’m happy that I found a pair that I really like because if you know me, it’s almost impossible to find a pair of shoes that I like. I’m going to make this one last.

I’m also in the mood for a pair of Nike to replace the one that got stolen. I’ve been window shopping and the new range of Nike Free are looking rather interesting. Perhaps after the Raya rush I’ll pop in a Nike store and see if there’s anything I like.

Peeps tagged me

Amin — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:09:12 +0000

Peeps is playing this chain blog game where he posts a series of questions, answers them and then name people he would like to answer the same series of questions. The game called Blog Tag.

Blog Tag is something like answering the surveys you get on Friendster and then passing it on to your friends for them to answer. It’s an interesting way to know more about your friends.

Here’s how you Blog Tag:

Answer the questions and post them up on your blog (sorry, non-bloggers will need to get a blog first )
Once you’re done, tag your other friends and get them to tag their other friends. You can’t tag the person who has already tagged you.
After that, put a comment on the blog of person that tagged you and link back to your blog. You do this so that once everyone has tagged everyone, we’ll be able to create a Blog Tag tree like this.
Remember: link the people you’re tagging back to his/her blog. For example, if you tag me then link my name back to my blog like this: Amin Ashaari
Originally it should be five questions and tag five friends, but what the heck no one’s keeping score so tag away!
More reading on Blog Tag here and here.

Enough talk about Blog Tag, let’s start tagging people!

Four jobs I have had in my life:
Freelance contributor for Asian Auto
Scriptwriter and researcher for TV1 (RTM)
University librarian (Murdoch Library, Murdoch Uni)
Bicycle shop grease monkey (KSH Taman Tun)

Four movies I would watch over and over:
LOTR – The Trilogy
Back to the Future – the whole thing
Lars and the Real Girl
A really good horror movie – haven’t found one yet, but The Shutter comes pretty close

Four places I have l lived:
Perth
Ampang
Damansara
Kelana Jaya

Four TV Shows that I watch:
House
Scrubs
Simpsons
The Nanny

Four places I have been:
Bali
Perth
Pulau Pangkor
Mekah

Four people who email me most:
Alex
Colleagues at office
Narisha
My mum

Four favourite things to eat:
Pizza
Japanese Food
Big Juicy Steak
Sandwich

Four places I would rather be right now:
Nowhere
Already here
Perth
Heaven

Four Things I am looking forward to this year (2008):
A good job that pays well with colleagues you can trust
A big bike!
Buy a laptop for Narisha
Build a workstation and photo editing studio

I Blog Tag: Narisha, my mum, Jessie, Alia, Rudy, Vernon and KJ.

I was tagged by: Peeps

Web Faves - Special Edition - Narisha's Blog

Amin — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:02:23 +0000

Narisha’s blog finally goes public after nearly three years of existence. Take a look here

Have you heard?

Narisha has just made her blog public!

She started the blog way back in 2005 but didn’t want to make it public for I don’t know what reason.

It’s now available for all to see and I’m so excited for her.

To commemorate awanpurple going public here’s a Web Faves special edition featuring blogs created by some of the people I know.

My mum – thischildaintyours.blogspot.com

Yeap, my mum blogs!

Mum mostly talks about mum stuff. About my sisters, about the interesting things that happen to her and the interesting things that she sees. Oddly enough my mum’s time and my time don’t seem to sync. She claims I’m always late for appointments with her. In my defence, no I’m not

Marlyne, my sister – redialthisnumber.blogspot.com

~~I keep dialing but no one’s home. The glamour diva is out doing charity work~~

Marlyne is a confused glamour diva. She’s studying medicine now but wants to be a world class chef after that. It all starts with a dream I guess. Like all glamour diva she likes doing charity work and sometime don’t make much sense. Don’t believe me, check out her blog.

I’m not allowed to talk about her.

Alia, my cousin – aliaillana.blogspot.com

Alia, the nerd look is sooo you!

Alia’s blog is cute just like her. She write about missing us all here while she’s studying hard in Doha with her family. I can’t recall exactly but she hopes to get a place in a good university somewhere — Australia, I think. Yes Alia, we miss you too and my god you really look like a nerd. Don’t wear that look for too long though or it’ll stick.

Jessie, my other cousin – masokiss.blogspot.com

Jessie’s cool. Her blog is a good read as well.

The only blog on this list that shows a content warning before you can enter. Ganas!. Jessie is finishing her studies in Melbourne — jealous! She writes well and is fun to read. And Jessie, don’t forget — you have the power to make my wish come true. iPhone 3G.

Mah boyz!
Peeps – peepspense.blogspot.com
Rudy – rudyazwan.com

The art director waiting to break free

Rudy’s got a dream job — a professional photog

Peeps and Rudy, bad boys for life. Not really la.

Peeps is an art director working hard to free himself from the shackles of working for a boss. Currently he’s working on a secret project and he hopes to amass a wealth amounting to RM16.5 million (don’t forget me when you’ve collected enough) In his dreams, he wants to be an underground indie band hero but we all know that’s not going to happen.

Rudy is a professional wedding photog and is already living the life Peeps and I are dreaming off. Running a successful wedding photography business, Rudy is his own boss and is doing what he enjoys for a living. The recently married fella is luckier than he could ever imagine.

I think that pretty much covers it. Yeah it’s a short list but it’s a great list.

So get acquainted everyone and I hope you enjoy browsing through each other blogs.

For the ones mentioned here: guys, please let me know if I’ve left anyone out.

Weekly Web Faves Vol#3

Amin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:49:05 +0000

It’s that time of the week again where I’m happy to share with you a few more eye catching sites I visited last week.

Enjoy!

YouTube of the Week
Ninja Cat – watch how he get’s closer without actually moving. Hehe

The Boston Globes’s The Big Picture

My eyes feast on wonderful images such as this. Many more on The Big Picture

If you have the time to click on only one of my Weekly Web Faves this week. Click on this one. Stunning picture stories that really take you breath away.

Last week The Big Picture showcased unbelievable images of the aftermath from Hurricane Ike. The pictures so vividly capture the magnitude of the destruction caused by the hurricane that you can’t help but get emotionally involved.

This week, The Big Picture showcases a selection of images that reveals the multitude of cultures and countries observing Ramadhan.

Again, if you only have time to click on one of my links this week. Click on The Big Picture.

Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2008

Do you know what is the best brand in world? Interbrand’s report gives you an insight

As brand an PR practitioner, this is one of my must reads every year. Even if you’re not in the same line as I am, the insights presented by Interbrand’s Best Global Brand report year after year makes for an interesting read.

Among the top ten best brands for 2008, Google made the biggest leap. Ranked 20th last year, Google is ranked number ten best brands for 2008. As expected Coca-Cola maintained top position for 2008. A position the brand has been enjoying since 2001.

The coolest places to work in the world

With office spaces that stimulate the body, mind and soul who wouldn’t want to go to work?

Most of us work in bland offices stuck in a small cubicle day in and day out. In a way, your work environment does influence your performance and productivity.

I guess I can consider myself lucky to have an office that promotes a casual and open working culture and the decor is not too shabby either. But even my office pales in comparison to some of the coolest places to work in as showcased by this website.

You’ll be surprised to see what some very lucky people are calling their office nowadays. Also check out this site for more cool places to work around the world.

Graphjam

Funny charts make good time killers

A collection of funny visualisations for people who love charts. Some are funny, some don’t make much sense, some are — oddly enough — very true. All, however, are excellent time wasters for you to share with your friends.

Superuse

Look at recycling not as a way to reuse, look at it as a new way of living

A great online community of designers, architects and everybody else who share the passion to share inventive ways to recycle. Yes, saving the earth shouldn’t be boring.

Online Portfolios – dlanham.com & manipulator.com

David Lanham (dlanham.com)

Jill Greenberg (manipulator.com)

Most of my time last week was spent browsing through a number of online portfolios looking for inspiration and to kill my boredom.

Here are two of the more notable ones that I came across last week. For some reason, both made me stop and stare at their artworks. I like the kind of thought and thinking the designs provoked.

David Lanham (dlanham.com) is a illustrator and sketch artist with a fascination for traditional and digital arts. His vector works really appeals to me. The fantasy land creatures theme that is repeated in most of his works bring out wonderful emotions.

Jill Greenberg (manipulator.com) is a photographer with big names clients under her. What interests me the most about this artist is her intense images that is soaked with realism and imagination. Her End Times series is my favourite.

Doctor2008

What’s better than a good doctor? The good doctor’s blog that’s what

Written by a very experienced cardiologist trained in Malaysia, UK and the US, this blog provides insights into how healthcare has changed in recent times and perhaps suggest how individuals, organisations and countries could benefit, even in a small way.

I find some very useful information occasionally browsing through his blog.

Finally, FAIL Blog of the Week

Not exactly the most ideal location for a wedding

More Weekly Web Faves:
First edition
Volume 2

Earlier web faves:
Imagination Run Wild
Impossible is Nothing
Here in my home
Egotastic is Fantastic
Something’s Not Right – WARNING! Not safe for those who are fasting. After break fast ok

Sign the petition - it's the least that you could do

Amin — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:19:13 +0000

#3437, I’ve done it. I urge you to do the same.

There are currently 65 citizens of this country being detained without trial under the ISA.

Show your support and sign the petition for the unconditional release of all 65 detainees. It’s the least that you could do. It is the first few steps in ensuring a better Malaysia soon.

Click here sign the petition.

If you need more convincing here are some compelling reasons:
A Raya greeting card for an ISA detainee
List of known detainees as at 13 September 2008
Pakatan Rakyat, see the agong now!

Spread the word and tell your friends, they need all the support we can give.

ISA is a bitch!

My favourite teppanyaki place at the moment

Amin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:32:44 +0000

Japanese food have always been my favourite. I love its simplicity and it’s so easy to enjoy! I can eat teppanyaki this good everyday and not get bored.

the other day I went for berbuka with Peeps and another friend — Razali, from our SavOC days. We headed to Pavilion as there’s plenty food choice to — erm — choose from.

Typical to hungry men making decisions with their stomachs rather than their brains, we had a big problem coming to a consensus on where to eat. We contemplated having Carl’s Junior, but I’m not sure about having fast food for berbuka is a good idea.

This based on the experience we had when we went to the McDonald’s berbuka buffet a few years back and all of us didn’t feel too good after that. I think it had something to do with having too much fast food in one sitting. I guess that’s always not going to be a good thing to do especially on an empty stomach.

Nando’s was also on the options list but the peri-peri sauce and spices upsets my tummy. When I eat Nando’s with an empty stomach I often get diarrhea. Sometimes I’m willing to risk it but considering the fact that I might not be able to make it home in time, relieving myself in public toilets is not an option even if it’s in Pavilion (which have quite pleasant toilets by the way).

Ok, Enough about relieving myself.

Since we can’t really decide on what to eat I suggested teppanyaki, they all agreed and I thought I’d share with you my favourite teppanyaki place at the mo.

These snaps were taken earlier when I took Narisha out for dinner.

Narisha waiting the her meal to be prepared right in front of her. Good thing about this place is the preperation. It’s really top notch!

I stumbled upon this teppanyaki joint while looking for a new lunch spot near the office. I tried it out and thought that it was pretty good.

Since Narisha is also into Japanese food, I thought I’d be good to see if she’ll enjoy it too. Narisha is a big fan of Japanese, perhaps even a bigger fan than me and she’s picky too, so it’s not easy to please her when I comes to food.

If she likes it. It’s good.

Like the food the setup is pretty simple with a single sheet of aluminium foil serving as a serving dish

Like other teppanyaki joints, you get a side serving of bean sprouts. Not like other teppanyaki joints, you get some other pan fried greens (Sawi I think) and chicken broth as sides as well. Narisha and I usually don’t take the broth but if you’re interested, it’s nothing specially lah. Tastes like any other broth made out of chicken.

This is what makes teppanyaki special. Your food cooked right in front of you. From kitchen to your plate in no time! You’ll also be happy to know that the place is certified halal.

For me the part of the appeal of teppanyaki is the novelty of watching the cook prepare my food right in front of me. Some of the higher end Japanese restaurants really make a show out of it but even then its becoming a rare occurrence. Most now cook teppanyaki without much flair, actually often with no flair at all. It’s sad really. Everyone likes a good dinner and show combo, I know I do.

This teppanyaki place in Pavillion, the cooks go about cooking in the normal fashion, there’s not much of a show but I don’t really expect much considering that it’s not one of those high-end Japanese restaurants.

Vegies, fish, squid, mussels, beef – what’s not to like!

So on to the food then.

I had Special Set A and Narisha had Special Set B (how original with the names). It’s essentially the same thing both with fish and beef but Set B swapped the squid and mussels with prawns and the beef is cooked in a pepper sauce compared to a chilly based sauce in Set A.

Special Set A: Fish fillet, mussels, squid and sirloin steak in chilly based sauce. RM32.00 with taxes. Comes with a side of veggies, bean sprouts, rice and soup. Drinks seperate.

Special Set B: Fish fillet, prawns and sirloin steak in pepper sauce. RM32.00 with taxes. Comes with a side of veggies, bean sprouts, rice and soup. Drinks seperate.

My mouth still waters when I look at these pictures!

Overall, it’s pretty good. Better than most I would say and comes close to the more expensive high-end Japanese restaurants. The meat is cooked just nice, making it juicy and tender. Same goes with the seafood as well, especially the squid.

Narisha likes the place too. Though she wasn’t a fan of the black pepper sauce. The chilly based sauce is much better and compliments the beef and seafood just nice.

All done. Narisha’s not a fan of sprouts. Told you she’s a picky eater.

If you’re nearby, drop by for taste. I think it’s pretty good. Narisha thinks so too.

The place’s located in the Food Republic section, level 1 at the Pavillion. It’s all the way at the other end of the food court closer to the mynews.com newsstand.

Yes, RM32 for a meal can be a bit on the high side for some, especially if you’re bringing the whole family along. I know it is for me. You’ll be happy to know that the teppanyaki place have cheaper set on the menu to meet various budget.

If you’ve already tried it out comment me and let me know what you think. For those who’s trying it our for the first time. Hope you have a nice meal.

And no, this is not a plug.

Check out my other Japanese restaurant review HERE. This time it’s Kura at One World Hotel.

All pictures by Amin Ashaari.

Weekly Web Faves Vol#2

Amin — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:33:09 +0000

It’s that time of the week again. Here’s my list of the 10 cool websites that caught my eye last week.

Enjoy.

YouTube of the Week
Seinfeld and gates talks about shoes and wearing clothes in the shower? — I don’t get it

This week it’s a couple of ads from Microsoft.

Microsoft spent a reported USD$300mil for a new advertising blitz dubbed “Windows not Walls”. The campaign is supposed to be a response to Apple’s Mac Guy vs Windows Guy series of ads and is Microsoft most expensive ever. Seinfeld apparently was thrown USD$10mil for his bit in the campaign.

The thing is, with the Apple ads I get what the ads are trying to say without thinking too much. With this one, I’m still not sure what’s going on. Apparently the ad sells Windows as “soft and chewy and delicious(?)”. Though my hat goes out to the advertising team that pitched the concept and sold it!

The second ad of the series looks better but it’s still trying too hard methinks.

Perpetually connecting? More like perpetually confusing

Sticky Posts: Cool New Feature on WordPress

Amin — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:04:03 +0000

For those of you who frequent forums, you’ll be familiar with the term sticky.

Guess what, the same sticky feature is now available on WordPress.

I think it’s a cool feature. Find out more here.

Introducing: Weekly Web Faves!

Amin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:33:44 +0000

Browsing through my blog stats a lot of you who visit my blog go straight to my FAIL Blog entry. Since I posted about that funny blog there’s been over 5000 views on that entry alone.

Thanks guys!

Curiously the top searches that lead to my blog included the key words “FAIL”, “fail” and “fail pictures”. I really want to know what are you guys looking for.

Anywho…

I take it that you — like me — find tremendous delight looking for and finding curious things on the web.

To see if I’m right on this, every week I’m going to share with you my weekly finds of the many wonderfully curious things on the web.

I call it my Weekly Web Faves.

Here’s volume one (presented in no particullar order):

Fail Blog Entry of the Week

My fave this week: Suspicious Balloon Fail

Tribute to the blog that probably led you guys to my blog in the first place.

YouTube Video of the Week
OMG! Rejected big time!

This week’s entry is also from FailBlog.

Look out for more funny/weird/crazy videos from YouTube every week.

Ikea Hacker
This one is full of good ideas, especially for Ikea lovers. Find new ways to use your old Ikea furniture. I like the DIY light tents and the router storage box hacks.

Take on Bolt

Are your fingers faster than the fastest man on earth?

Take on Usain Bolt. Addictive and very viral.

Just Bicycles

I get inspiration out of all this.

Lovely pictures of bicycles. It may sound simplistic but take a look anyway, it’ll put a smile on your face. Trust me.

I Love Cats

Sooo adorable

Funny pictures of cats for when you get bored.

Real Fakes

I thought it was real

A picture say a thousand words, or so they say. Nowadays you have to look real hard to see the truth. Here’s 20 of the world most popular fake photos.

There’s sooo much you can do with paper

Make your own Monday buster monster.

Simple website that shows you can have lots of fun with simple paper. Good for those who are having a sucky Monday.

Toilet Rolls: Over or Under? That is the Question

Over or under? It does make a difference.

How do you hang your toilet paper? Roll side up or roll side down. You may think it’s trivial but this site presents a convincing and thorough argument that your preference makes a considerable difference.

Shutter Speed

Click! Snap!
Take a look at the inner working and ingenuity of Nikon’s D3 shutter mechanism in all its super slow motion glory. I don’t know what’s the point but it’s definitely cool to look at.

Back to the 80s
The 80’s is arguably the coolest period of the last century (don’t think so? Comment me.). Here’s a collection of some of the coolest 80’s music videos. All my favourites are there — A-Ha: Take on Me, Asia: Heat of the Moment, Aswad: Don’t Turn Around, Beach Boys: Kokomo, Beastie Boys: You Gotta Fight — and this list goes on and on.

There you have it the first volume of Amin Ashaari’s Weekly Web Faves. Hope you like it.

Other Weekly Web Faves on AminAshaari.com:
Weekly Web Faves #2
Weekly Web Fave #3

Earlier web faves:
Imagination Run Wild
Impossible is Nothing
Here in my home
Egotastic is Fantastic
Something’s Not Right

Google Chrome: This is exciting stuff!

Amin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:33:48 +0000

I’m stoked!

Why?

Because Google has just launched an open source web browser. It’s something like Mozilla’s Firefox 3 (which is supported by Google) which I’ve been using but from the looks of it, Google Chrome appears to be far more advance and could be better.

Google says the Chrome is build on the best programming elements out there and it is perfectly adapted to add value for users who use the web for nearly everything.

I like the way Google pre-launched the browser with a comic drawn by none other then Scott MccLoud. Makes the advanced stuff behind the the development of the browser somewhat easier to understand.

It’s 38 pages long, if you don’t have the time you can check out a shorter version here

Google Chrome was build based on the the fact that the internet has changed so much from where it began. In the early days it was just simple text pages and then we had pictures and flash, multimedia came into the picture soon after with videos and music. After that the floodgates open and we see interactive applications running on web browsers.

The thing is, web browsers haven’t changed that much. That’s were Google Chrome comes in. It’s not just a web browser but rather a modern platform for web pages, applications and more.

Google says the Chrome interface is going to be something that we’ve become very comfortable and expect from Google. It’s going to be clean, easy to use and fast.

Here are some features I’m looking forward to try out on the Google Chrome:

The new way tabs are being used where each tab is its own process
The Omnibox: where the address bar functions as a search as a search box. It’s something like on Firefox 3 but more enhanced. With the Omnibox you can search within sites as well – see page 20 on the comic and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Opening a new tab on Chrome: Google has designed Chrome to display a grid of the sites you’ve visited the most everytime you open a new tab. It may sound weird at first but take a look at page 21 on the comic and you’ll see how it makes so much sense!
The Incognito mode is cool too. As it allows you to log in a do your thing (bank online, buy stuff, check your email bla bla bla) but erases all the data after the session has been terminated.

All this is very useful to a user like me who surfs the web, opens multiple browser windows and then opens multiple tabs within the multiple windows and eventually gets lost in the clutter or has his browser eventually crash due to prolonged use.

Google Chrome is available in 100 countries today. You can download your version here.

By the way, did any of you noticed the mysterious dot in GMail that was visible about a month back? That could be a clue for this! Smart.

And in other web browser news:

Mozilla with the help of the citizens of the world made Firefox 3 a Guiness Book of World Record entrant by being the most downloaded software in 24hrs with over 8 million downloads in that time period.
Last week, Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 (*yawn).

Click! Snap! Again

Amin — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:18:40 +0000

The gang again – LtoR Meor (new addition), Peeps, Rudy and Me! (Click on picture for more freaky snaps)

I didn’t know what the event was all about and I didn’t care. Important thing was I had fun.

It’s been too long since all of us got together and did stuff. We had fun back then working long hours in a small studio in Bangsar. After I left the place, we did work together once in while on ad-hoc projects but ultimately we all went our separate ways.

Now, since we all have the same hobby, outings like this will be more frequent.

In fact we’re planning one soon. Updates as it happens. Then Rudy can teach me more stuff. Then I can be the kind of photographer I’ve always wanted to be – a better one.

Also, Narisha likes photography too. It’s unfortunate that we only can afford one D-SLR at the moment. Let’s see if things get better in the comming months, I would really love to get her one.

Then we can go out photography outings together, just like how we did during her college days.

Can’t wait for that to happen again.

Friends with Benefits

Amin — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:30:23 +0000

Friends with benefits – best of both worlds? (Click for enlarged view)

It’s Friday, the weekend is just around the corner and I thought that this is funny.

Enjoy.

Chupa Chups

Amin — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:30:14 +0000

Chupa Chups turns 50 this year. Who would’ve thunk.

Hey did you know that the world’s favourite sucker turns 50 this year?

Yeap, the lollipop – Chupa Chups – the one that I am pretty sure all of us grew up with was invented exactly 50 years ago.

The year was 1958 and a Spanish dude by the name Enric Bernat found out that parents were going nuts with their children getting all sticky and messy after eating ordinary sweets. The problem was that the darn kids kept playing with the sweets, popping them in and out of their mouths, putting them in their pockets – you get the whole idea.

So he invented the lollipop. It’s like a “sweet you eat from a fork” – he rationalised.

It such a simple idea that it’s sublime. It’s straight forward, cheap, easy and most important of all, it solves the problem. What else could you ask for from an idea?

For any great invention to take off it’s going to need lots and lots of good marketing to get the momentum going. Bernat had thought of that as well.

He’d tell shop owners selling his lollipops to place them near the check out counter, closer to the register so that it would be exactly at eye level with candy addict kids. For the kids, Bernat’s “Chups” were a no brainer as back then all the candy was stashed behind the counter – out of the kids’ reach.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Today, it’s amazing to see how little Chupa Chups have changed.

Since we’re on the subject of Chupa Chups, I want you guys to have a look at their new website created especially for the company’s 50th anniversary.

I love the rich, vibrant colours and cheeky renditions of icons throughout the years. There’s the Spice Girls, Harry Porter, Doc Brown and his DeLorean time machine from “Back to The Future”. The Rolling Stones and Forrest Gump are in there as well.

Have a look and play around with the time slider thingy, it’s going to be fun.

Dedicated to Narisha Ishak.

Click! Snap!

Amin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:01:33 +0000

Since just recently I’ve reclaimed a commodity I am much in need of – free time – I now have the freedom to do some of the things I enjoy doing.

Like taking photographs.

Take a look at some of the snaps I took at an event last week. Peeps and Rudy were there as well. Check out Peeps’ snaps here

Considering I didn’t have a flashgun, shooting in low light was really a challenge. Hence the lack of sharpness. I’m not going to make excuses though, I know it could have been better.

Let’s see if I improve from here.

We did it!

Amin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:09:29 +0000

I got a cert. Woohoo!

I have been harping about Download Day since the day I found out about it.

I’m happy to tell you guys that the Mozilla community has succeeded in setting a world record, making Firefox 3 the most downloaded software in 24 hours on 18 June.

From 18:16 UTC on June 17, 2008 to 18:16 UTC on June 18, 2008, over 8 million people downloaded Firefox 3 and its kind of fulfilling to know that I am a part of that.

Since then, Firefox 3 has been downloaded by over 28 million people across the globe.

Closer to home, 163,433 Malaysians downloaded the latest internet browser from Mozilla to date.

Have you tried Firefox 3 yet? Even since I made the switch from Internet Explorer, I’ve never looked back. Suggest you give it a go.

Download Day 2008 - TODAY!

Amin — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:01:53 +0000

I talked about it in my earlier post here, today I’m going to be a part of history and I hope you’ll get in on the action too.

Straight from my Gmail.

Today you’ll make history with Firefox

Are you ready to make history? Are you ready to set a World Record? Today is Download Day. To become part of the official Guinness World Record you must download Firefox 3 by 17:00 UTC on June 18, 2008, or roughly 24 hours from now.

This is going to be first world record of its kind and it might just go in to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Be a part of it. All you have to do is download Firefox 3 now.

Make sure you do it before 0100hrs Malaysia time.

Download Day 2008 - Spread Fire!

Amin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:07:36 +0000

The one that started it all

Mozilla, the makers of Firefox is using the power of the web to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. The record will be the first record of its kind too.

The official Mozilla blog says that “it’s a whole lot easier and safer than donning a beard of bees or underwater jump roping” and I couldn’t agree more.

All you have to do is download the latest, faster, smarter and safer version of Firefox, Firefox 3 – now with over 14,000 improvements – when the download becomes available sometime in June.

In the meantime, I suggest you check out the official website and pledge to download the new Firefox version. Once you’ve made your pledge, Firefox will send you a reminder when the record breaking attempt will begin.

Making a pledge is easy, all you need to do is click on the pledge now icon, select the region you’re in, key in your email address and you’re set!

The Download Day 2008 website has suggestions on how you can help in the run up to the very special day.

You can also get some very nice looking Download Day 2008 buttons and banners here. Cool!

Exercise your right as global netizens and be a part of history!