Lately I have been engaged in defining my wife’s marketing management for their line of high power LED lights. Yesterday, she asked me if I want to come aboard in their group to do the marketing for their overseas operations.
I am thinking of getting this opportunity to add it in my list of experiences. This could be my ticket for a career shift.
2009 has arrived. Time flies so fast! For most of us, the new year is associated with change. Keeping in touch with tradition and trend, I have decided to change the theme of my blog, as well as change the direction of my posts. In particular, I want to be as thought-provocative with hints of positive outlook as much as possible.
New ambitions - yes, better health, better pay, and better wheels!
By the way, thanks to Michael Tyson for producing a very nice Wordpress theme for the whole world to use.
Ever since Ubuntu’s switch to Pulseaudio, many people lost the ability to record Skype calls. I am very much affected - and it is really annoying to dig into your system’s settings and overhaul the sound drivers (especially for Linux newbies). Some advocate the removal of Pulseaudio and having it replaced with Esound, but that’s a solution that is not very pleasant - you are bound to break your system as the removal of Pulseaudio will also remove the ubuntu-desktop metapackage, which is responsible for making “smart” updates.
I found a very good solution just recently - Skype Call Recorder
After installing the software, go to Applications > Skype Call Recorder. The software will automatically configure itself with the settings that you already have (assuming that you have your Skype call settings right - the sound in, sound out, and ringing settings). The Skype Call Recorder will prompt you to record all conversations that you will accept or initiate, and save it as a MP3 file in the ~/Skype Calls directory.
This has made my day! Rock on, GNU/Linux!
Got my hands on a brand new battery for my Yingqi’s old notebook - a Hasee Q310N. After my wife’s “forceful” negotiations, this is now my main battle gear.
This notebook runs on Genuine Intel T2300 Dual Core CPU (1.66 Ghz), Intel GMA 950, 80 GB of hard disk space, and 1 GB of RAM. I upgraded the few bits that could be touched - the hard disk (basically, I swapped the original hard disk of the SL300 since my Yingqi is not known to consume that much virtual real estate… hehehe…), and the RAM (this unit is capable of up to 4 GB, but I opted to only have 2 GB. If only this baby had its own graphics card…).And of course - my favorite part: install Ubuntu Linux 8.10 as the OS.
Everything is well except the clumsy keyboard - sure, you can type on it, but man… it sucks! After a few weeks using the SL300, I feel sorry for letting it go. The keys jump around so much - you can see it bounce together with the frame of the computer. The best solution would be to put some reinforcement from behind the keyboard set - I’ve seen the technician lift it off during the RAM upgrade and I think I can experiment a little bit on it.
Performace wise - it is perfect for a road warrior like me. Using Ubuntu 8.10, everything works perfect out of the box. The footprint is smaller compared to the SL300 (well, you have a monstrous graphics card underneath that machine so you’d expect that it should have more space and vents!).
The one thing that amazes me is the battery life - I did not expect this unit to be running more than 3 hours off a single charge. Perhaps it is because of the generic ACPI that the unit uses which in turn the Linux Kernel effectively exploits. Now I can enjoy doing something on a long trip - like work on my blog, play some games, watch movies, etc.
Will be posting some more observations as time goes by. I might consider having the old battery module repaired and exchanged with good lithium cells to make my mobile fun go to six hours!
My Haima Family car (it is literally named that way) a.k.a. Mazda 323 reached 45,500 kilometres a few days ago. Went to the Haima Chaoyang Service Center yesterday to have it checked and serviced.
A few quirks after reaching this milestone:
1. Fuel tank cover hard to open, as a result: broken fuel tank cover latch. I broke it while refuelling in 4th Northern Ring Road.
2. Bad sound produced at the rear right speaker - dirt comes in to the speakers, producing the unwanted crackle whenever you turn on the volume.
3. Loose belt drive for the air-conditioning freon pump in the engine - that’s to be expected… for economy cars at most…
Even after reaching 45,500 kilometres, this car still acts like brand new. The value I get for the price I paid is unbelievable.
I’m uploading ALL of the pictures I have taken so far ever since I got my D70 to my gallery. Oh boy, what a pain… I think it will take me a million years before I finish uploading all of them.
It’s all a matter of internet connectivity speed…
Nonetheless, it will be completed, as long as I keep my vigilant about it!
…is to resign from ATC…
The changes that are happening in ATC is messy and frustrating. I am no longer happy with what I am and with what I do. On the personal side of things, everything is OK, but on the flip side, the environment only makes me worse than before. What’s the point on lingering around when nobody appreciates what you are capable of?
I will move on… bringing the experiences and ideas I have accumulated during my four years of service, to a company that can support my career motivations.
There’s a saying that the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t. I would like to challenge that view. Even if it means venturing to another field, I would gladly do it, as long as my new work environment motivates me to become a better person.
Bought a new Lenovo Thinkpad SL300! Yehey!!!
It’s unfortunate that Lenovo does not release a high-end SL300 without an OS. Windows Vista comes pre-bundled with the machine. How unfortunate…
First thing I did after I got the laptop was to get rid of Vista, and install Ubuntu 8.10. Everything works well out of the box except wireless connection and the Thinkpad specific buttons. Had to disable the suggested wireless driver (madwifi) and go back to using the linux-backports-modules-intrepid-generic package in the Ubuntu repository (ath5k). As for the Thinkpad specific buttons - well, I could be lucky to have it working in the next kernel update.
What can I say? Lenovo got this machine right… except for the touchpad. Like all other SL300 owners, I also feel that the touchpad lacks the “touch” and “feel” that Thinkpad owners are already used to (well, this is my first personal Thinkpad, but I do fiddle other people’s Thinkpads quite often).
For Ubuntu - the latest version, 8.10, rocks! I have to say - Ubuntu developers made it a lot easier this time for people on the go like me, thanks to the updated Network Manager (version 0.7). Also, the OS makes the rather so-so speed of the SL300 very snappy! Indeed, I can testify that 8.10 is faster than all other Ubuntu versions I have tested.
If there is one area that Ubuntu developers should work on… I think that would be power management. I mean, the SL300 should be able live on batteries for at least 3 hours (right now I am only getting 1.5 hours of juice, throttle down the processor manually plus the reduced brightness of the LCD monitor gets me to at least 2 hours).
Work… work… work!!!Technorati Tags: Ubuntu 8.10, Lenovo, Thinkpad SL300
…Or else you’ll end up with 7 stitches in the face…
Ouch…
It’s a long story, but to sum it up, it was my fault. I was cruising in my mountain bike in excess of 30 km/h going uphill when I encountered an incoming bike that swerved right in front of me, going to my right. My bad for hitting the front brake after I hit wheels - that ensured that I got catapulted out of my seat and over the handle bars. I landed squarely chin first on the ground.
Why the mess up with the front brake? Because my bike in the Philippines has the brake levers reversed with functions (that is, my front brake is actuated in the left hand, while my rear is actuated in the right hand). I carried the bad habit with my new bike here in Beijing which was fully stock.
Moreover - what I didn’t like was the fact that nobody cared while I was sprawled on the ground. There was this lady just beside me, up on the sidewalk, sending SMS on her phone, and not giving a damn about what just happened in front of her. Also, the guy that got me into the accident fled the scene (he was on a motorized tricycle).
I am recovering now. The intern who attended to me in the ER did a good job on the suture - just hoping now that infection won’t make the best out of the scarring that will occur.
Peace with all Chinese bikers!
My Yingqi’s Evolution Sent Items Folder hit 1.5 GB… after sending a message last Saturday, Evolution can no longer display the Sent Items Folder. I am not sure what are the causes, but whatever it is it’s a major no-no…
Scouring the internet for answers, there seems to be no cure for this bug. My not-so perfect solution - switch back to Mozilla Thunderbird. Copied the files located in the “mail” folder under .evolution to Mozilla Thunderbird’s user local folder, and manually deleted the unnecessary files (you’ll get to see them once you start-up Mozilla Thunderbird).
One caveat - how do you manage transferring your addressbook and settings?!? Argggh!!!