Tangle no more! Hassle-free Music and Phone Calls

While normal earphones with their wire (frequently) constrain movement or get caught up in something, and untangling the wire can be a (painful) hassle, it never really occurred to me how much more enjoyable music can be wire-free. So when I first heard of and received my Plantronics Backbeat GO 2 Wireless Earbuds, the first thing that came to my mind was, “Why didn’t I not think of getting one before? They are a God send!” 

Normal earphones have the tendency to get tangled easily, especially when they are not connected to the phone or mp3 player (nicely coiled and/or corded up). It’s a mess having to just rummage through a vast bag, and a torture having to untangle the wire (especially when you are up and about in a crowded place). Even when the wire is nicely (as much as possible) coiled around the phone or coiled inside a case, it is a nightmare having to uncoil it (holding on to both phone and bag) on a crowded moving bus or train.

Just to get music into the ears or even answering the phone with normal earphones can be a challenging affair, especially when in a crowded and/or moving platform (regardless whether the earphones are connected to the device). There are also just too many steps! You have to:

1. Take them out of bag and/or casing
2. Untangle or unwind them
3. Plug the earphones into device (e.g. phone or mp3 player)
4. Maneuver the wires around/into your bag or pocket
5. While you have music piped into your ears, you are still subjected to the constraints of the (slightly short) wire getting in the way (dangling from the ears all the way to the bag or pockets) and risk any device connected to it to accidentally drop.

However, with Plantronics Backbeat GO 2 Wireless Earbuds, listening to music and being on the go is much simpler. Minus the maneuvering constraint of (sometimes) short wires and headache of tangles. All you have to do is:

1. Take out the Plantronics Backbeat GO 2 Wireless Earbuds from bag / casing. 
2. Connect the earbuds to the music device via Bluetooth and you are done!

Pairing the earbuds with any Bluetooth enabled device (e.g. phone or mp3 player) is straight forward and simple to understand. All that is needed is to hold the center button till it says "PAIRING" (of course you have to also turn on the device’s Bluetooth function). Click “Pair” on the device... Read more>>

Hotel Equatorial Melaka (Review)

The lobby

Was in Malacca recently and stayed in Hotel Equatorial Melaka for 5 days (for a church camp). Hotel Equatorial Melaka claims to have a 5 star rating and its décor is on the vintage side (it has been around for some time and its age does show). Fortunately some areas seem to have undergone some refurbishment, but unfortunately the hotel ends up with what seems like an identity crisis: while some areas retain its old vintage-ness (and tired chairs / sofas / carpets), other areas attempt to be modern (but both not complementing each other in any.. Read more>>

That Girl in Pinafore - 我的朋友，我的同学，我爱过的一切 Movie

[Review>>]

Should you follow your heart or your head? That Girl in Pinafore is a coming-of-age tale set in 1993, Singapore, about dreams, friendships, and first loves. The story follows four teenagers' efforts to bring business back to a struggling folk music pub, and the blossoming love between Jiaming and May, both fans of Singaporean folk music.

1992 - Singapore is on the verge of electing its first President, and chewing gum has been banned. Hope and rejuvenation is in the air, everyone believes in the Singapore Dream. Young musicians strive to give birth to a local music industry, creating local music at a rapid pace. Music cafes spring up everywhere alongside the hot new trend, karaoke. Jiaming is a free spirited teenager who has never taken school seriously. His parents own a music pub called 'Meng Chuan', and Jiaming feels schooling is useless as he wants to help out at the business. True enough, Jiaming flunks his 'O' level exams and drops out of school. Jiaming's buddies Caogen, Haoban and Xiaopang pass their exams and move on to Junior College. But they are caught renting porn magazines by the principal and are suspended for a month. During this month, the boys take part in a local music competition, have a taste of first love, and work hard to bring business back to the struggling 'Meng Chuan'. 

This coming-of-age tale sees Jiaming and gang learn the harsh realities of pursuing dreams in the real world. In growing up, the boys learn that choosing between your heart and societal expectations is akin to losing your innocence to the adult world. The eventual closure of the pub 'Meng Chuan' paralells the real world demise of the 'Xinyao' movement around the mid-90s. It signifies the lost of youthful innocence to the necessities of growing up.

[Review>>]

Singtel Bridge DataRoam 5 Days Plan for France (Paris)

SingTel has 2 plans for its Bridge DataRoam Unlimited: the monthly fees and the one that you need to activate for the amount of days or hours that you need it for, from 0000 to 2359 of the end date regardless of what time it is activated. But it seems that the rates have gone up, if you compare it with last year.

 Singtel Bridge DataRoam Plans as at 2012

Not wanting to incur an exorbitant handphone bill when I went to Paris late last month, I applied for Singtel’s Bridge DataRoam plan for France. It was S$100 for unlimited 3G access for 5 days on... Read more>>

Earl Grey Lavender (Artisan Selection – Blend 086)

Description
This blend consists of high grown Celyonese black tea that is delicately fused with lavender blooms and oil of bergamot, creating an Earl Grey tea with finesse.

Character
Medium bodied. Brisk Liquor with bergamot taste

Aroma
Light citrusy-floral on the nose

Excellent with pastry, chocolate and dessert

Time for tea again! It has been a long time since I last tried the tea from my staycation at Capella Singapore earlier this year. For those new to Earl Grey, the intensity of the bergamot is as the description says, delicately fused into... Read more>>

Paris to Singapore on Singapore Airlines: The Economy and Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 1 Experience (Review)

Checking-in online and printing out the boarding pass for the return trip back to Singapore was as easy as the trip from Singapore to Paris. The only constraint is that you can only check-in online (at most) 48 hours before the flight actually departs.

• Getting to Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 1 via taxi

As the flight was departing at 12 noon, I left Paris at 0830 in the morning and it took about 45 minutes by taxi to the Charles de Gaulle Airport. The taxi fare was 58.90€.

• Checking-in Luggage at Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 1

Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 1 Singapore Airlines Counter

Fortunately for me, although the queue at the check-in for Economy Class was long it was completed within 15 minutes. By the time I was in the queue, the people were starting to pile up and the line behind me was only getting longer and longer. Having a printed boarding pass and checking-in onlin...Read more>>

Appshopper: App Review

Inspired from the website of the same name (AppShopper.com), the app AppShopper from the Apple Store is one of those apps that you simply must have if you are obsessed with downloading apps, or if you just simply want to have a better deal when downloading (purchasing an app)! If you did not know already, the Apple Store is constantly having sales and promotions for apps. The AppShopper is a universal app; it is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

The AppShopper is designed to show the apps on the Apple Store and helps you keep track (of the ones you are interested in) of any change in pricing. With this free app, you are able to find and track apps that you are interested in, and get notified when if there is a price change (sale, discount, price increase or free…. yes free). Sometimes developers offer the app for free, or a discounted price, in return for reviews. There are many categories and options to choose from, with the default option show everything...Read more>>

Review of Thai Restaurant: Sakon Thai (Singapore)

Sakon Thai is a "restaurant", more like open air cafe? It is located in a quiet part of Singapore along 77 Jalan Wangi, Macpherson. Initially what attracted me to this place was the reasonable pricing. However, standards don't seem to be consistent and fluctuate each time I go there. I have been to this restaurant a couple of times already, but today might be my last.

When my group of 4 arrived at the restaurant, business was rather good with a crowd forming a queue waiting to get seated. So we joined in the queue and waited patiently, however when it was our turn we were conveniently ignored by the restaurant staff and had to find our own table ourselves. Disaster soon ensued after we seated ourselves, despite our waving and calling the waitresses totally ignored us. It took some for time to take our orders and the food to actually arrive (45 min!). The drinks arrived first, however they were blend and tasteless. I had ordered an iced lemongrass drink and it tasted more like flavored water, it tasted better the first time I had it. Even my friend, who had previously ordered the lemongrass drink commented that the drink was much more blend and tasteless then the previous time she had ordered it.

After waiting (patiently) for 45min close to an hour, and some serious prompting the food arrived.  We had reminded them and asked about our order 3 times, each time they replied that the food was coming. There was a group that ordered after us, but by the time our food arrived they had already eaten, paid and left. All my group of 4  ordered was one tom yup seafood soup with rice (which they forgot and we had to remind them twice, which ended up in two plates of rice), one rice with bail leaf beef and egg, and 2 phat thai noodles.


It would be interesting to note that there was a lady seated at another table who demanded a change of her drink. She was asking the waitress why the drink tasted horrible when it had (previous) tasted fine. The waitresses were non-apologetic when it came to the appalling service and sub-standard drink quality. Neither were they friendly or helpful. Maybe it was because of the high influx of guests, but service standards nonetheless should not have been so deplorable to such an extent. Perhaps there was really too many people that the staff cannot cope with, perhaps we were just "forgettable" customers. Who knows?

Maybe the food is ok, maybe the pricing is reasonable (no 10% GST...yet), but the inconsistent service and drinks, on top of the bad attitude make it not worth the while. So either you avoid this place, or you may want to try this restaurant when there is no crowd. Now if the food was worth the wait and the waitresses approachable and friendly... that would be a totally different story altogether...Whichever the case, do let me know if you visit this place and is the service and food have improved.

Manhwa: Cutie Boy by Hwang Mi-ri

Cutie Boy is another of Hwang Mi-ri’s creations spanning 8 volumes. The story revolves around Lee Han-Ah, a girl who happens to be the leader of her high school gang and her mishaps at her attempts to look for a pretty boyfriend.

When Han-Ah was in grade school, she was bullied by a boy called Yoo-Min. Yoo-Min had made fun of her and commented that she had a “wide and flat” butt; it left a scar in her heart, not knowing that it was actually Yoo-Min’s method of expressing his affection. Now in high school, Han-Ah has become the leader of the gang at her school. Although she is not a talented fighter, she wins fights by using the ‘innocent’ girl act. Although she is not that enthusiastic about her new role, her friends push her to do so as she is seen as their only hope. As her school is an all-girls school, the girls were once bullied by the boys from a nearby boy’s school, until Han-Ah became the captain and started to win fights.

On day, Han-Ah meets Yoo-Min on the streets and starts dating him without knowing that he is the same Yoo-Min that had bullied her in grade school. She soon finds out that his true identity and becomes scared of him. However, after a series of encounters with Yoo Min, she begins to realize that he truly cares for her. During the exams terms Yoo-Min takes her to meet his family, and his grandmother tells him she won’t allow him to be with Han-Ah because her narrow hip is not suitable for bearing children (the root of all the tormenting). They start going out again but due to some misunderstanding, Han-Ah becomes Mi Yoo’s ‘girlfriend’, because he realizes she is his ideal type of woman...Read More>>

Smile, Honey

Smile, Honey is a family Korean drama that revolves around 2 families and their interactions. First, there is the Suh family, who owe their riches and prestige to the now-deceased CEO/father/grandfather. There are 5 members in the Suh family: Suh Jung-gil who is the head of the family, his wife Ju-hee, Sung joon the eldest son who went to U.S. to become a pro golfer, Jung-Kyung the second child in the family and Jung-in, the youngest daughter.

Jung-gil is a snobbish man and looks down on people who have no money, his wife is more of an air-head that only cares about her nails and feels faint at the slightest sign of trouble of hardwork.

Bascially, the whole Suh family, except for Jung-kyung are snotty and out of touch with reality. Jung-kyung is the only one in her family that is rational. However, she is a little too rational and practical; that it would seem that she lacks emotion: she’s cool, professional, and detached. Her attitude causes strain to her relationship with her younger sister Jung-in. Jung-kyung chooses to focus on her career and at the start of the show, interacts or spends very little time with her family, preferring to stay at the hospital than go home. She does not think too highly of her younger sister who is the princess of the family and only dreams about getting married into a good rich family.

Then there is the Kang family. Kang Man-bok (Grandpd Kang) has been the driver to the Suh family since Jung-gil’s father’s time. Jung-gil is rude to Man-bok and disrespectful to him; he even fires Man-bok one morning because he felt that Man-bok was nagging too much. Gandpa Kang is not necessarily the lead character but certainly the central one who holds the rest together...Read more>>

Disposable (Daily) Contact Lenses: Acuvue Trueye Review

There are many reasons why you would want to wear contact lens in place of your usual spectacles: you might want to look different or you simply want to have the convenience and practicality of contact lenses. Contact lenses are less prone steaming/fogging up as with glasses. They are also less affected by wet weather (no more droplets!), provide a wider field of vision, and are more suitable for a number of sporting activities.

If you are not intending to give up glasses for good and just want to look different once in a while, daily disposable contact lenses are a very good solution: they require no cleaning as they are thrown away daily after use and are convenient. The only downside is that they are more expensive than those weekly or monthly lenses.

Being a first time user of contact lens, it took me about 1 hour to learn how to insert and remove the contact lens. After that it was just a matter of practice. The type of contact lens that I tried was Acuvue TruEye. After telling the optometrist Ihad never traied contact lens and wanted to, was given a 5-day trial along with a 1-hour tutorial on how to use (insert and remove) them during a scheduled fitting session...Read more>>

Sachoom - Korean Dancical

A short review of Sachoom or Love Dance is the abbreviation of "Dance When You are in Love" in Korean, a Korean Dancical.

Sachoom or Love Dance is the abbreviation of “Dance When You are in Love” in Korean, is a unusual non-verbal musical production about the story of three friends, Jun, Sun and Bin. It depicts their lives and their interactions, from the time they are babies all the way to their twenties. They take us through their life experiences through various genres of dance such as hip-hop, jazz, techno, break dance, pop dance, modern ballet, contemporary dance and much more. Although it is a non-verbal musical production, there are a few songs sang by the dancers. The entire story is expressed through dance movements that are vibrant and powerful, with no dialogue throughout the story... Read more>>

Website reviews: TasteofHome.com

www.TasteofHome.com is a comprehensive website for topics related to food, from recipes to cooking, where visitors can learn and share about cooking and recipes. The layout of the site is easy on the eyes, with topics categorized into tabs for easy navigation. There also has an easy to locate search function, which allows vis... More>>

Virtual Villagers: The Secret City

Virtual Villagers: The Secret City is the third sequel of the saga from Last Day of Work. The game features some new twists taking you to a new place and telling you a new story but it still has its old well-known play mechanics.

Embark on a new journey with a group of villagers in search of a new part of the island to populate. Land on the hidden shores of the northern side of Isola and explore what was once a secret city. Who lived here before? Where have they gone? What is the secret of Isola?

Review:
If you're one of those people who likes to play games that are moderately challenging and yet not too tiring, you should try this game out. Basically it's a game in real-time where you grow your little villagers to re-populate the city ruins of Isola. And while you're at it, you have to solve puzzles and find new sources for your villagers to grow and survive. You'll also be able to make a variety of unique potions from hidden herbs.

The interesting thing is that if you leave them for some time, you'll find them working upon your returning as this is after all a real-time game which goes on even if you off your computer. But if it's too long then you are risking to find them all dead from starvation and you might have to either start all over again. In my opinion, it can be addictive.

Play this game FREE for an hour

or

Order the FULL version

Hints and Guide to playing the game: I found this pretty good site. Don't click here if you do not want to be spoilt!

Official Site: http://www.virtualvillagers.com/index.html

CJ7 the movie

CJ7 - The latest comedy from Stephen Chow, CJ7 is a fantasy tale featuring state of the art visual effects. A poor laborer father (Chow) and his young son’s lives are turned upside down when a fascinating and strange new pet enters their world. Amid the resulting comic mayhem, they ultimately learn a poignant lesson about the true nature of family and the things money can't buy.

At least that’s what the synopsis says. Today was the first time I watched a late night movie on the eve of Chinese New Year, and to say the least the movie was sorely disappointing; even “Underdog” was better than this. There was very little plot throughout the movie, and the transaction of character growth and change was simply non-existent.

There was no indicator of the bonding between the new pet and the humans, so it was hard to understand why the pet would go through so much trouble to please and save this father and son pair. The son was portrayed as this really good little boy, who was hardworking, considerate and understanding. And when he got the pet, he suddenly became more greedy and selfish overnight. Speaking about the pet, there was no clear explanation or indicator of its origin, how it got found after the boy practically threw it away in a moment of anger, and in the end what was up with a look-a-like pet running towards the boy together with a bunch of similar creatures in an array of colors? What poignant lesson did they learn and what were the things they realized couldn’t be bought with money? It also seems that they couldn't decide whether to make the pet organic or mechanical, or a combination of both.

Although there was comic mayhem throughout the movie, the part about the true nature of family and the things money cannot buy was almost close to nil. Even “Underdog” had a more satisfying plot and ending.