A bunch of parties! Pre-season 2008

There had been quite a lot of parties / BBQs lately that I've not been able to keep them posted as fast as they happen. But yeah, that's how it is in the summer month here, when everyone wants to make use of the warm weather. Hard to blame us, since summer can be so unpredictable that you don't want to regret not enjoying the sun as much as possible when it's shining.

And sad enough, it seems that the rain and cold has returned :o(. Thought I would not need my warm jacket anymore, but alas! I had to put it on again last Saturday. That's why I never pack away my winter clothes - they can sometimes still be used in the summer.

Anyway...let's start with my company's pre-season party. Didn't take many pictures this time, and some of them can be "blackmail-type" pictures, so for the sake of protecting "innocent" parties, I'll allow for a negotiation period on the price to purchase these pictures ;o).

Did my nails to match my dress.


At the office with my summer helper for 4 months, Roongrat (or Toey).


Sabrina and Shi Hua looking happy.


Why does Toey want to shoot me? Is it because I make her bring me tea all the time??? ;o)


My starters - assorted cold antipasto. Was so good that I had it twice (Toey didn't want hers, but I did give her another dish I had that I didn't like but she liked).


Yeah, that's the 2nd dish I had that I didn't like (Garganelli pasta with lobster and brandy), so gave this to Toey in exchange for her 2nd dish that was the same as my 1st dish.


Main course - Tenderloin of beef with rosemary, pancetta and balsamic vinegar sauce. The beef was good, but the potatoes and cheese thingy wasn't that yummy, so I left those in favour of dessert... .


Mmm...tiramìsu :o). It was ok, but to be very honest, I prefer the one I make, and I'm not saying this in a conceited way because I do get very good feedback from people who try my tiramisu, and have had it requested a few times at parties.


Andreas and Nina. Btw, Nina's from Finland and she speaks really good Mandarin! How cool is that? She's actually better than me...which makes me wish I had paid more attention during Mandarin lessons while in school.


Rune trying to be metrosexual in women's sunglasses.


Rune about to eat the dangerous passion fruit.


Passion fruit kicking in. Does anybody wanna kiss him?


Hands down, Shi Hua!


Wannabe rocker chicks.








Rune eyeing the Tequilla shots... .


"Where's my Tequilla shot?"


"Who took my Tequilla shot?!?!"


Wild hair day

This party was uncharacteristically on a weekday, and even though we had 2 shifts the next day due to a public ½ day holiday, I was going to work in the morning shift from 9am to 1pm. On this night, I had 1 glass of white wine, 1 glass of Pina Colada, 1 x Dooley's shot, 2 x Russian strawberry vodka shots, and 1 x Fisherman's shot. The Tequilla shot, I had to pass because if I had taken it, I would definitely not show up for work the next day, and it would be all Andreas' fault because he had bought them.

And no...funnily enough, I didn't have a hangover the next morning, so I was even able to show up at the office at 9am, and that is quite a feat because I normally show up only at 10am.

Building the ultimate HTPC

I have a guest blogger today! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my hubby dearest with his nerdy contribution to the ever evolving world of computer technology! Girls, this may not be so interesting for you, so I won't blame you if you decide to go surf another site like e-bay or something... . But I did promise Martin a guest spot on my blog (since he doesn't have a blog of his own), so here's his exciting post to all nerds out there! Enjoy... .

***********************************************

- By Martin -

When building an HTPC there are many things to consider, one of the more important ones, if not the most important one, is the WAF (Wife Approval Factor). This is an item that will be just as visible as the TV and therefore must be presentable, something that, over time, wont stick out like a soar thumb.

To accomplish this its important that it looks good, that is not too nerdy, no women want a piece of clunky technology in the living room – married men will testify to this! Choosing the right case is paramount, but equal important is the noise level – you don’t want something that gives you a headache when its time for bed, if you know what I mean…

A gadget that will be on for many hours a day should also be very energy efficient, if the energy bill is too high at the end of the year you might come home one day finding the HTPC in the garbage, next to the moose head – she’s your wife, what can you do?

Ease of use shouldn’t be taken lightly either, fortunately there are many alternatives, just make sure its something that appeals to your better half too. Also make sure that *if’ there are problems, that its something you can actually fix relatively easy – or at the end of the day you will find it, again, next to the moose head…

So in summary:
#1 – Nice looking case
#2 – Silent
#3 – low power requirements
#4 – ease of use

This wont be my first time assembling a computer, by far – but it’s the first time I had to get something WAF certified so it could be in the living room. Fortunately today’s technology (2008) makes it possible to obey all requirements without compromise and without breaking the bank.

CASE
For the case I chose the Silverstone LC20. This company makes many HTPC cases in all shapes and sizes, the quality is really good so the slightly higher prices are justified – you don’t want something plastic-fantastic in the living room :). As you can see it has a very sleek design, only the power button is visible drives and connectors are all hidden behind two push doors.

MOTHERBAORD + CPU + RAM
As of this writing, the most “green” CPU available is from AMD. Their new CPU called 4850e is a DualCore @2.5GHz that uses a maximum of 45Watt!!! Combined with the latest “green” motherboard from ASUS we got ourselves a winner!

I had looked at the 780G chipset from AMD, but this is a two chip solution. A bit more research revealed a new chipset from NVIDIA. The nForce750A(8300), is a single chip solution – less chips, less heat and therefore reduced cooling needs.


Memory is also important, sure you can choose any run of the mill DDR2 PC6400(800MHz) *but* most of these don’t run at the standard 1.8V, many actually requires 1.9-2.0V thus increasing the power consumption and heat production.
Also its quite warm in such a case, since airflow is kept to a minimum to reduce noise, so passive cooling is very important – large surface area or heat pipe technology will do the trick. CORSAIR have some excellent memory on the market, I found these 2GB modules which operates at 800MHz @ 1.8V *and* they have a very nice heat spreaders!


HARDDISKS + RAID
My case of choice allows for up to 6 internal 3.5” drives, 2 external 5 ¼” and 1 external 3.5” – enough storage space for most people.






Two slow moving 92mm fans will keep the 6 drives cool. I’m using the new Western Digital’s “green” 1TB drives, they are virtually silent in operation and power consumption is at a record low!





For the OS I chose to utilize one of the 5 ¼ bays and combine it with a HDD cooler from ZALMAN, this frees up all the internal bays for storage and allows me to use a slightly faster drive for the OS and still keeping the heat to a minimum. Using a SSD would have been preferred, but unless you have too much money its not recommend just yet…



With all that storage some form of protection will be need to have, not nice to have! So a RAID5 configuration is a *must*, using 6 1TB disks in this configuration will give ~5TB of storage and the possibility to loose one harddisk without loss of data.
You can use the onboard RAID controller as it supports RAID5, I just happened to have an eight channel Promise EX8350 I could use…


CONNECTIVITY
HDMI is probably the easiest way to get video and audio from the HTPC to your amplifier (or TV) as both signals are combined into the same cable – keeps the cable mess to a minimum! Only problem with this is that you need a rather expensive amplifier that supports TrueHD audio :( …but most amplifiers do, however, support S/PDIF using a COAX (electrical) or TOSLINK (optical) cable. This is also digital so its good enough, unless you are really an analogue audiophile.

Digital is cheap and easy to use, to get good or better quality using analogue you need… …to get married, too much time on your hand! :)

I did replace the onboard audio (Realtek® ALC1200 with a Creative X-FI PCI-express as this has a TOSLINK interface and slightly better quality.


COOLING
Since this is a HTPC its location will be in the living room. This is a regular PC and as such it has the same problems – two of which are heat and noise!
Heat can be combated by using power efficient components, these gives of less heat and thus requires less cooling which translates into less noise!
Heat pipes and low rpm fans will do miracles in keeping your HTPC’s components cool without the noise!

The final result: Wife Approved!

Kylie's X Concert

My mum and sisters are back in Copenhagen! What perfect timing too, because I could treat my sisters to Kylie Minouge's concert on the 8th of June at Forum. I actually didn't know that she was coming here to perform. I knew that Celine Dion was coming on the 5th of June, but not Kylie. Not until a friend wrote on his Facebook status that he had 5 Kylie tickets for sale.

Well, it was actually a friend of his who was selling them, so I was able to get a good price for 3 tickets...and a better price for 4 (@400kr/S$100 each). Martin agreed to join us in the end, so it was perfect. Didn't ask him at first if he'd like to join me and my sisters because he said he doesn't really like going to concerts anyway...but yeah, I guess it really depends on who's performing... .

Anyway, the ticket said that we're not allowed to bring cameras, so the pictures taken were from my mobile phone. Good thing it has a 3 mega pixel camera, so the pictures are decent enough. Did see quite a lot of others who brought their cameras in anyway...so I guess next time, I'll do the same.

They actually also wrote that we're not allowed to bring bottles or drinks in. I don't see what the problem is with plastic bottles (can't really hurt anyone with those, unless you're planning on shoving it up someone's behind or something), but of course, it makes a lot of sense when mineral water there costs 25kr (S$6.50) per bottle! That's a lot of money for a concert on a hot summer day with a crowd of around 10,000... .

Oh, Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary were there too, but we didn't see them. Princess Mary's from Australia, so seeing Kylie (who's also Australian) was something special, I guess.

Anyway...here are pictures from the concert:

Kylie's #1 fan


Kylie's #2 fan


Kylie's FAVOURITE fan


Kylie's stalker fan


There she is!!!


Yes, it really is her.


She's only 152cm tall, btw. Shorter than me (and I'm not that tall)!


Cheerleader Kylie


I'm impressed that this 40 year old can do splits!


Come closer!


Ah, that's better.





Yes, that's Kylie too, in another costume. Very different and entertaining sets throughout the concert.


Sexy Kylie


The last scene before her 3 encores

And here's a video of her singing a song I'm sure you know:

She does sound like Kylie indeed.

Regarding "encores", I wonder if there has ever been a concert that was so bad, that the audience didn't want any extra numbers and just wanted to go home. These performers...when they're done with their last official song, do they go to their dressing room and start preparing to come out again because they expect fans to want more "by default"? Would just be "funny" if they get all ready to do the extra numbers, but come out from behind the curtains to an empty concert hall ;o).

Oh, and I was a little disappointed that Kylie didn't sing "Red Blooded Woman" :o(. But she did do "I Should Be So Lucky", so a good oldie indeed.

Red Blooded Woman

Anyway...there are actually a few more famous performers coming to Copenhagen this year, but none whom I'll bother to go watch. Hmm...I should make a list of concerts I've been to!

1993 - Michael Jackson (Singapore)
1997 - Michael Jackson (Copenhagen) - yeah, I know. I was a big fan of his.
2000 - Tracy Chapman (Copenhagen)
2000 - Simply Red (Copenhagen)
2001 - U2 (Copenhagen)
2001 - Texas (Copenhagen)
2002 - Bryan Adams (Copenhagen)
2005 - Mariah Carey (Copenhagen)
2008 - Kylie Minouge (Copenhagen)

Yeah...I think that's about it for now. Would like to see Madonna at least once, but the last time she was here, she was in Horsens, which is a couple of hours from Copenhagen by train...so I hope she'll come to Copenhagen next time...if there is a next time.

"Straight from the mouth"

While eating ice-cream and chatting in the sun with my 2 sisters... .

Old lady approaching us (to Martin): "Er det dig, Sonny?"
Martin: "Nej, det er det ikke."

Translated:
Old lady approaching us (to Martin): "Sonny, is it you?"
Martin: "No, it's not."

After a couple of hours, while eating pizza in the common garden downstairs... .

Same old lady (looking from her balcony this time, and again to Martin): "Er det dig, Sonny?"
Martin: "Nej, det er stadigvæk ikke mig!"

Translated:
Same old lady (looking from her balcony this time, and again to Martin): "Sonny, is it you?"
Martin: "No, it is still not me!"


Funny to see an old lady having a crush on my hubby ;o). She had actually invited him over to visit her for coffee, and when he politely turned her down, she upped the offer to a beer ;o).

Mind going blank

2½ weeks ago, while out grocery shopping for tiramisu ingredients, I was at the cashier and was ready to pay with my debit card (or "Dankort", as it is called in Denmark). As the cashier was busy "beeping" my items away and I had my Dankort in hand ready for payment, I started to feel my mind slowly blanking out of numbers. Particularly, my PIN number to my Dankort!

PANIC!!! Well, not really, because I do have a backup card that I luckily remember the PIN number of. But yeah, the only number that kept coming to my mind was my old PIN number, even though I had used the "new" PIN already a few times before (mainly before Spore/Australia trip, and then once after returning back to Denmark).

But yeah, as expected, the transaction did not go through because it was indeed the wrong PIN I had punched in. That was Failed Attempt#1.

On the way home, I tried to think of what my number could possibly be. The thing was, out of the 4 digits, I did remember the last 2 very positively (because they are the exact same numbers as the 1st two digits of my old PIN). So all I needed to do was to "crack" the 1st two digits of my new PIN, and all would be good again.

Also, I knew positively that the 1st two digits were higher than the last 2 digits, so I could already rule out a lot of numbers. Anyway, a week later, I needed to get money out the ATM, so I decided to try out what I thought could be the correct PIN.

Unfortunately, it didn't work... . However, my backup Dankort didn't work on that ATM either, so it meant that there was a chance that the PIN could be correct after all. Anyway, it didn't change the fact that that was Failed Attempt#2. Had to be careful by then.

A few days later, I had the chance to try out that PIN again, this time at the kiosk. I confidently punched in the number...waited...and then came that dreaded sound of a failed transaction :o(. Backup Dankort worked, but it was Failed Attempt#3 on the 1st card. I was ½ expecting the kiosk guy to take my 1st card and cut it up in ½ in front of me, but he didn't so phew!

By now, I was quite desparate. I mean, sure...I could still use my card for payment, as long as it's only a signature that is required of me...but that's just like using a handicapped card! I tried to find if I kept the PIN letter in my files somewhere, but I remember smugly thinking "Oh, I'll be able to remember this number," so I was quite sure I had torn up and thrown away that letter.

Finally, I decided to write to my bank to ask if they can send me a new PIN. How hard could it be for them to just reset my current PIN and give me a new one, right? WRONG!

"Your card is still open, but it is not possible to get a new pin-code for the card.
In case you can´t remember the code we have to order a new card.
Please advise us, if you want us to order a new card for you"

Right... . Well, it was great to know that my card was still opened (had asked them about it), but it would be nice to know why it is not possible to just send me a new PIN (security reasons?), and it would also be helpful to know if ordering a new card would cost me anything. Anyway, I was more concerned about the cost at that point, so I asked them if there was one.

"This will cost 150,- kr.
Do you accept that ?"

Hell no! I might have been uncharacteristically forgetful regarding this PIN code, but I'm not stupid! Since my card was still opened, it meant that I could just as well keep trying possible number combinations until my card gets eaten up by the machine. Then and only then, will I be willing to pay 150kr (S$38) for a brand new card with a brand new PIN.

So yeah, that was what I told them I would do, and thank goodness for that, because I REMEMBERED THE NUMBER TODAY!!! WOOHOO!!!

No, it didn't come to me in a dream and it wasn't like an epiphany moment or anything like that. Like I said earlier, there was only a couple of numbers I needed to play around with in combination, so since the one I was so confident about didn't work twice, then there was only a couple more combinations I needed to try out.

As I had to go to the ATM today to get some money again, I had the opportunity to try out a new combination. I wasn't 100% sure of it though, so was already prepared to have my card getting eaten up this time if it was wrong. I punched my 4-digit code in, selected the amount I needed, and waited... . The machine asked if I wanted a receipt, I punched the "Yes"...and waited some more. Finally, I heard the comforting sound of money rolling in the machine, and then saw money getting spat out!!!

Woohoo! It was the right PIN! Didn't need to spend 150kr on a new one after all :o). Damn, what was the PIN again? No, just kidding - I really do remember it now :o).

So I took my 2000 DKK (S$500) and spent 1600 DKK (S$400) within 10mins :o). Yup...the money I needed to withdraw was meant to be for 4 x Kylie Minogue concert tickets :o)! She'll be performing on Sunday, so will treat my 2 sisters + Martin to it.

Should I write my PIN code down somewhere and file it away in case I forget again? Nah...I'm pretty sure I'll be remembering it for good now ;o).

I love global warming!

Somebody tell me again why we are fighting global warming? I mean, if it gives us a fantastic Danish summer like the below, then shouldn't we encourage it instead?

The weather station said that the sunshine hours in May 2008 is a new record. It beat the previous record in 1947 by a good 17 hours!

Compare this year's Danish summer to warm and tropical Singapore in the same week:

Very wet, but the temperature's more stable (as it should be) compared to Denmark's.

Anyway, I hope the Danish summer continues like this, with maybe slightly warmer nights so that I don't have to bring my sweater when I go out in the evenings. It can get too warm to sleep sometimes, but that's only because it's not normal for us to have an air-con at home, so if there's no breeze, then it's almost like sleeping in a sauna... .

With a summer like that, I don't understand why people want to leave Denmark and go south for their summer vacation. I mean, it gets waaaaaaay too hot down south, waaaaaaaay too many people and waaaaaaaay too expensive! If you don't stay in Denmark to enjoy the great summer, then you're only missing out on a very big positive thing about this country. It's summers like this that helps me stay sane in an otherwise cold, dark and depressing country. Sane Dane... ;o).

So yeah, I'm not sad that I'm not allowed to take summer vacations at work because I'd much rather go on vacation to a warm country while it's cold and freezing here. And I guess it helps that we don't have kids such that we have to plan our vacation according to their school vacation in July.

Was out at a vodka tasting party yesterday. It's like wine tasting, just with vodka instead of wine. I woke up with a slight headache this morning. Not sure if it's because I had too much sun, too little sleep, or too much vodka. Maybe all three. But seriously, I wasn't drunk, so it couldn't have been the vodka. If it was, then it must have been the very bad one we had tasted first.

Oh! I had joined my colleague, Shi Hua, at her mahjong club last Thursday! That was quite fun, but I'm still so confused with all the combinations and the different points they get. I do know how to play the game, but not how to count the points, nor any fancy combinations.

But ok, they say it's normal in the beginning, so I will just have to put my memory to the test then and memorise the key combinations to at least get the minimum number of points. I did win the first 3 rounds though (beginner's luck), but then I went on a losing streak... . You know what's funny though? That most people in this mahjong club are Danes...and that it was a Dane who was teaching me the different combinations and rules.

Will definitely go there again...since it's close to home anyway.