Thursday, April 30, 2009

T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake - Dead and Gone

Another nice song to share with...


Ay, lemme kick it to you right quick punk
Not on some gangsta or grown man
What matter is the more mistakes you made
Is which the way you learn from
Big Phil, this is for you baby

(Chorus)
Oh hey, I've been travelin' on this road too long
Just tryin' to find my way back home
But the old me's dead and gone
Dead and gone
And oh hey, I've been travelin' on this road too long
Just tryin' to find my way back home
But the old me's dead and gone
Dead and gone, dead and

Ever had one of them days wish you would have stayed home
Run into a group of niggas who gettin' their hate on
You walk by, they get wrong, you reply then shit get blown
Way out of proportion way past discussion
Just you against them, pick one then rush them
Figure you get jumped here that's next
They don't wanna stop there now they bustin'

Now you gushin', ambulance rushin'
You to the hospital with a bad concussion
Plus you hit four times but it hit yo spine
Paralyzed waist down and ya wheelchair bound
Never mind that now you lucky to be alive
Just thinkin' it all started fussin' wit three guys
Nigga pride in the way but your pride is the way you can fuck
Around get shot down any day

Niggas die everyday, all little bullshit
Dope money, dice games, ordinary hood shit
Could this be cuz of hip-hop music
Or did the ones with the good sense not use it?
Usually niggas don't know what to do when they back against the wall
So they just start shootin'
For red or for blue or for blow I guess
From Bankhead at the old projects

No more stress, now I'm straight
Now I get it, now I take time to think
Before I make mistakes just for my family stake
That part of me left yesterday
The heart of me is strong today
No regrets I'm blessed to say the old me dead and gone away

[Chorus]

I ain't neva been scared, I live through tragic
Situations could been dead lookin' back at it
Most of that shit didn't even have to happen
But you don't think about it when you out there trappin'
In the apartments hangin', smokin' and rappin'
Niggas start shit next thing we know we cappin'
Get locked up then didn't even get mad
Now I think about that what a life I had

Most of that shit look back just laugh
Some shit still look back get sad
Thinkin' my home boy still be around
Had I not hit the nigga in the mouth that time
I won that fight I lost that war
I could still see my nigga walkin' out that door
Who would of thought I'd never see Philant no more
Got enough dead homies I don't want no more

Cuz a nigga his jump cost me more
I'd a took that ass whoopin' out for sure
Now think before I risk my life
Take them chances to get my stripes
A nigga put his hands on me alright
Otherwise stand there talk shit all night
Cuz I hit you and you sue me
I shoot you get locked up poor me

No more stress now I'm straight
Now I get it now I take time to think
Before I make mistake just for my family stake
That part of me left yesterday
The heart of me is strong today
No regrets I'm blessed to say the old me dead and gone away

[Chorus]

I turn my head to the east, I don't see nobody by my side
I turn my head to the west, still nobody in sight
So I turn my head to the north, swallow that pill that they call pride
That old me's dead and gone but the new me will be alright
I turn my head to the east, I don't see nobody by my side
I turn my head to the west, still nobody in sight
So I turn my head to the north, swallow that pill that they call pride
That old me's dead and gone but the new me will be alright, 'cause

[Chorus]

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Canon (O2Jam Version)

What a masterpiece from Dr. Flowershirts, cool melody which brought back a lot of O2Jam memories. Canon is always my favorite tune. Post me the URL if you know where can I download this tune :) Thanks in advance!


Saturday, April 25, 2009

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within + Celine Dion's A New Day Has Come

Another nice clip to watch. Great song, a great movie that brought back a lot of memories. A touching movie indeed. At 3:07, Gray said: "I love you" to Aki before he gave his life to the Phantom. Touching scene.



A new day, oh oh
A new day, oh oh

I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear

Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you

(Chorus)
Hush, now
I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
If I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun

A new day has come, oh

Where it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy

[Chorus]

A new day has

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun
A new day has come, oh

Hush, now
Well I see a light in your eyes
All in the eyes of the boy
I can't believe
If I've been touched by an angel with love
I can't believe
If I've been touched by an angel with love

Hush, now
(Ahh, ahh)
A new day
(Ahh, ahh)
Hush, now
(Ahh, ahh)
A new day

The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Move



Going Back to the corner where I first saw you
Gonna camp in my sleeping bag I'm not gonna move
Got some words on cardboard, got your picture in my hand
saying, "if you see this girl can you tell her where I am"

Some try to hand me money, they don't understand
I'm not broke I'm just a broken hearted man
I know it makes no sense but what else can I do
How can I move on when I'm still in love with you

(Chorus)
Cuase If one day you wake up and find your missing me
and your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be
Thinkin maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet
And you'll see me waiting for you on our corner of the street
So I'm not moving, I'm not moving

Policeman says, "son you can't stay here"
I said, "there's someone I'm waiting for If it's a day, a month, a year"
Gotta stand my ground even if it rains or snows
If she changes her mind this is the first place she will go

[Chorus]

I'm not moving, I'm not moving

People talk about the guy that's waiting on a girl
There are no holes in his shoes but a big hole in his world

Maybe i'll get famous as the man who can't be moved
Maybe you wont mean to but you'll see me on the news
And you'll come running to the corner
cuase you'll know it's just for you
I'm the man who can't be moved

[Chorus Repeat x2]

Going Back to the corner where I first saw you
Gonna camp in my sleeping bag I'm not gonna move

Shayne Ward - No Promises



Hey baby, when we are together, doing things that we love.
Every time you're near I feel like I’m in heaven, feeling high
I don’t want to let go, girl.
I just need you to know girl.

(Chorus)
I don’t wanna run away, baby you’re the one I need tonight,
No promises.
Baby, now I need to hold you tight, I just wanna die in your arms

Here tonight

Hey baby, when we are together, doing things that we love.
Everytime you're near I feel like I’m in heaven, feeling high
I don’t want to let go, girl.
I just need you to know girl.

[Chorus]

I don’t want to run away, I want to stay forever, through Time and Time..
No promises

I don’t wanna run away, I don’t wanna be alone
No Promises
Baby, now I need to hold you tight, now and forever my love

No promises

[Chorus Repeat x2]

Here tonight.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Dollar Cost Averaging

Here's another financial tip. Dollar Cost Averaging or DCA in short. Which is a terminology that says one should invest into the market bit by bit instead of putting one lump sum, because the former ended up produced more shares/units which yield to higher in return.

Let's say Andy and Tony would like to invest $3,000 into the same fund. Andy make it a lump sum investment at the beginning of the year, while Tony spreads his investment into 12 payments, which equivalent to $250 per month.

Believe it or not, at the end of the year, Tony will have an investment that is worth more than Andy although they investment in the same fund and enjoying the same buy price and sell price throughout the year.


Andy:
Lump Sum Investment
Tony:
Dollar Cost Averaging
Average Price/Share$10.00$9.25
Shares Accumulated300332.94
Current Value (12 months)$3,000$3,329.37

What actually happening is when the share price drop, Tony able to absorb more units and while the share price rise, Tony will buy in less units since he invested in a bit by bit manner. Perhaps you can have a better illustration from the image below :)


Infernal Affairs + CDPro2

These spoofs were quite some time ago, yet still very funny.

CAUTION: These clips consist of strong languages









What a good laugh after watching them again. If my memory serves me right, there're supposed to be one or two more episodes where Sammi Cheng and Leon Lai featuring in the clips. Still looking for it :)

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Power of Compound Interest

"The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest." - Albert Einstein

Yes. As what Albert Einstein said, we should not under estimate the power of compound interest. Many knows how it works but not many actually knows it's power is strongly related to the time you start putting in your capital. In other word, WHEN you actually start your saving? Let's take a look at the example below:

Let's say Albert and Einstein both are 22 years old and wanted to retired at age of 65. Albert saves $2,000 yearly into the account which produce 12% of interest. This account will compounded it's interest yearly and added on top of Albert's next year savings. Albert only planned to save for 6 years period which is a sum of $12,000 and he did not put in another single cent from 7th years onwards. However the account will keep compounding the interest.

As for Einstein, he decided to save into the same account which produce the same 12% annual interest, but he only started the saving 6 years later, which is after Albert has stopped the saving. Knowing that he's a bit late compare to Albert, Einstein decided to save in $2,000 every year until his age of 65. His total saving capital will be $2,000 x 38 years = $76,000. However, due to Einstein started the saving few years later than Albert, although he saved 6 times more than Albert, yet he is only getting the similar amount as Albert's retirement fund.

AgeAlbertEinstein
22$2,240$0
234,5090
247,0500
259,8960
2613,0830
2716,6530
2818,6522,240
2920,8904,509
3023,3977,050
3541,23325,130
4072,66756,993
45128,064113,147
50225,692212,598
55397,746386,516
60700,965693,879
651,235,3391,235,557

Now you can really see the power of compound interest. The moral of the story is: Save early better than later, every single year counts.

The Rule of 72

Always wanted to share with people what I have known about some basic financial knowledge. In this case will be The Rule of 72. This rule is a simple yet accurate formula to calculate interest rate or period as in year.

For instance, by knowing the annual average interest rate of a bank is 8%, the period that it will take for your capital to double up will be 72 / 8 = 9 years.

Similarly, by knowing the average inflation rate is 6%, the period of a product that will raised from it's initial cost to a double will be 72 / 6 = 12 years.

Of course you may also calculate the interest rate or inflation rate base on the given period. Let's say you can actually know what is the interest rate have to be if you would like to have your capital to be doubled up in 24 years time. Just simply apply 72 / 24 = 3%

As I said, this formula is rather simple yet useful :)

My Brute

I was recently playing this cute lil fighting game call My Brute, which introduced by CyChew (MyBrute Nick: xoxgod). It is an automated fighting which you just need to lay back and watch how your character battle with another. Kindda new and fun concept where weapons and skills will be added to the character randomly as it levels up. Worth to give it a try if you have spare time :)

My Brute in Action



My Brute: Yaviel



My Brute: Gray Dante



My Brute: Cruxes



My Brute in Dojo (those are my pupil)


Looks fun right? You may challenge my character anytime by clicking on this link http://yaviel.mybrute.com. No worries about the level gap, the first challenge is just a warm up, later on you may pick any character in the game to challenge at :)

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Who Moved My Cheese?

This is really a good book to read on. It only took me an hour plus to finish yet very meaningful. Just in case you don't have time to read. Below are some summary of it.



Cheese: Represents what we want to have in life. It could be relationship, job, money, and etc.

Maze: Represents where you spend time looking for what you want. It could be the relationships, the community you live in, as well as the organization you work in

Quotes in the Book:
  • Having cheese makes you happy
  • The more important your cheese is to you the more you want to hold on to it
  • If you do not change, you can become extinct
  • What would you do if you weren't afraid
  • Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old
  • Movement in a new direction helps you to find new cheese
  • When you move beyond your fear, you feel free
  • Imagining myself enjoying new cheese even before I find it, leads me to it
  • The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese
  • It is safer to search in the maze than remain in a cheeseless situation
  • Old beliefs do not lead you to new cheese
  • When you see that you can find and enjoy new cheese, you change course
  • Noticing small changes early helps you adapt to the bigger changes that are to come
  • They keep moving the cheese
  • Get ready for the cheese to move
  • Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese
  • Move with the cheese and enjoy it
Some quotes are really meaningful to me, and guided me on a lot of decision making :)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Legend of the Syra

This was my Diploma project back in year 2004. A shoot 'em up fully developed by using Macromedia Director 8.0 - Lingo Scripts

CD Front Cover


CD Box Cover



Monday, April 13, 2009

My Chemical Romance - I Don't Love You




Well, when you go
Don't ever think I'll make you try to stay
And maybe when you get back
I'll be off to find another way

And after all this time that you still owe
You're still the good-for-nothing I don't know
So take your gloves and get out
Better get out
While you can

(Chorus)
When you go
Would you even turn to say
"I don't love you
Like I did
Yesterday"

Sometimes I cry so hard from pleading
So sick and tired of all the needless beating
But baby when they knock you
Down and out
It's where you oughta stay

And after all the blood that you still owe
Another dollar's just another blow
So fix your eyes and get up
Better get up
While you can
Whoa, whooa

[Chorus]

Well come on, come on

When you go
Would you have the guts to say
"I don't love you
Like I loved you
Yesterday"

I don't love you
Like I loved you
Yesterday

I don't love you
Like I loved you
Yesterday

James Blunt - 1973



Simone
You're getting older
Your journey's been
Etched on your skin

Simone
Wish I had known that
What seemed so strong
Has been and gone

(Chorus)
I would call you up every Saturday night
And we both stayed out 'til the morning light
And we sang, "Here we go again"
And though time goes by
I will always be
In a club with you
In 1973
Singing "Here we go again"

Simone
Wish I was sober
So I could see clearly now
The rain has gone

Simone
I guess it's over
My memory plays our tune
The same old song

[Chorus Repeat x3]

And though time goes by
I will always be
In a club with you
In 1973

Friday, April 10, 2009

You know its 2009 when...

You know its 2009 when...

1. You never send letters to your friends. (Always Email)

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. The reason for not staying in touch with your friends is that they don't have Email.

4. You'd rather look all over the house for the remote instead of just pushing the button on the TV.

6. Your evening activity is sitting at the computer.

7. You read this list, and keep nodding and smiling.

8. You think about how stupid you are for reading this.

9. You were too busy to notice number five.

10. You actually scrolled/looked back up to check if there was a number five.

11. And now you're laughing at your stupidity.

12. Put this in your profile if you fell for it. You know you did. (I did)

Object reference not set to an instance of an object for File Text Box

I was programming an image uploading function by using File Text Box recently in ASP.NET with AJAX and happen to bump into this error below when I try to submit my file path:


I actually reused the code that I've did for another system in ASP.NET 1.0 and even tested again in the system and it works perfectly, but it just doesn't want to run in ASP.NET 2.0. Spending the entire night of pondering the cause of this, still no go until one of my Indonesian friends told me that the cause of this problem was actually from AJAX's Update Panel. O.o

What happen was I actually have a Label in an Update Panel which I used for error checking just in case the user posting incomplete information for file uploads, until now I have no idea how does the Update Panel react to the File Text Box and produce such error, but it works perfectly after I remove the Update Panel tag, which left the Label alone in the page.

In case you wanna know how File Text Box works, below are some of the useful codes:

HTML File Text Box Control:
<input id="Filetextbox1" style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 22px" type="file" size="16" name="Filetextbox1" runat="server">

VB.NET Import Class/Library:
Imports System.IO

VB.NET Button Click Action:
If Page.IsPostBack Then
Dim filetextboxPath As String = Filetextbox1.PostedFile.FileName
Dim i As Integer = InStr(1, StrReverse(filetextboxPath), "\")
Dim fileName As String = Mid(filetextboxPath, (Len(filetextboxPath) - i) + 2)
Dim file As String
file = "http://localhost/freestyler/image/products/" + fileName
Filetextbox1.PostedFile.SaveAs(Server.MapPath("image/products/" + fileName))
Session("file") = file
End If

By doing so, you may insert the Session("file") into your DB as the image path :)