Shake-Leg

Just Dropping By.

2011-01-17T21:40:00.001+08:00

I should explain the reason of my absence, a week or two back the laptop got wrecked. So.. Yeah. Ha ha! Blogging through my phone now, just feel slightly bad about leaving my blog for so long. But then again, maybe it doesn't make a difference because who reads this anyway? D:

Anyway, I'll definitely be blogging again when I get back on my laptop.

Progress Stats.

2011-01-05T19:29:00.004+08:00

2 months ago, I decided to set some short term goals for my weight lifting. It was,

Reach 70kg bodyweight (61kg)
70kg Deadlift (50kg)
50kg Barbell Bench Press (40kg)
35kg Barbell Curl (30kg)
35kg French Press (25kg)

The number in the bracket is the weights I'm lifting, before the plan. And here's how I fared,

67kg bodyweight
52.5kg Deadlift (12 reps)
50kg Barbell Bench Press (10 reps)
32.5kg Barbell Curl (6 reps)
25kg French Press (8 reps)

Additional exercises,

25kg Barbell Press (12 reps)
42kg Barbell Close Grip Bench Press (10 reps)
30kg Dumbbell Rows (8 reps)

Been training 6 days a week for the past two months, and now I'm taking a full week of any weight training. Letting my body recover from the stress.

HIDUP MALAYSIA!

2010-12-30T02:10:00.005+08:00

Malaysia has won the AFF-Suzuki Cup on a 4-2 aggregate. Indonesia won the second leg of the final 2-1 in Jakarta on Wednesday night while Malaysia had won the first leg 3-0 in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. In light of this, our Prime Minister declared Friday (the 31st) to be a public holiday!

Okay, back to football. I watched both the games at Carlos in USJ, and what I noticed is just great. Every one, no matter what race, religion, or skin colour were there, having a drink, smiling, cheering, for our national team. 1Malaysia? Hell yeah. And a final congratulations to the Malaysian team. You made all of us proud.

Hidup Harimau Malaya!

Okay, on another note, I found this on the net yesterday. Here's the original link.

Usaha ganggu tumpuan pada perlawanan akhir Piala Suzuki

JAKARTA: Aktres seksi terkenal Indonesia, Julia Perez (atas) yang terkenal dengan panggilan 'Jupe' berikrar mengganggu tumpuan pemain Malaysia dalam perlawanan kedua final Piala Suzuki AFF di sini, esok.

Jupe kesal dengan tindakan peminat bola sepak Malaysia mengganggu pemain Indonesia dengan melakukan ‘serangan’ laser ketika perlawanan pertama di Stadium Bukit Jalil, Ahad lalu.
Oleh sebab itu, dia akan membalas dendam dengan mengenakan pakaian seksi yang nampak dada bagi mengalihkan perhatian anak didik K Rajagobal.

Perkara itu disuarakannya ketika dihubungi wartawan Indonesia yang kemudian membuat soalan susulan sejauh mana dia serius dengan hal berkenaan.

“Ya, saya serius. Biar semua pemain bola sepak Malaysia buta. Saya akan pakai baju belahan dada supaya mereka buta. Ini adalah laser ciptaan saya,” katanya lagi.

Hmm.. For those who's BM went off with the wind after SPM, here's the summarised translation. I will try to distract the Malaysian football team with my boobs.

*coughsattentionseekingwhorecoughs*

I'd really like to hear what those sore losers Indonesians want to say now.

Finally, here's to ALL Malaysians who has nothing better to do than bringing the country down by saying "Hah, win by luck, use lasers" or "The AFF Suzuki Cup? Who cares?"or whatever. Are you really that pathetic that you can't give credit to the Malaysian team? You sad sunnavabeech.

Picture Post.

2010-12-19T02:23:00.007+08:00

Taken in Taman Negara, Pahang, on the second peak of Bukit Terisek (344m above sea level). Took us around 2-3 hours to slowly hike up with our guide providing a "tour" and explanation of various trees.

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/1000
Aperture : f/3.5
ISO : 100
Exposure : +0 stops

Editing

Adjusted Curves
Burned certain areas

*what I could have done to make this picture better was to use my 70-200mm lens and zoom in the distance to provide a closer view and a different perspective of the mountains. This shot looks too much like a tourist snap-shot for my liking.

Picture Post.

2010-12-05T03:21:00.004+08:00

Taken at Bagan Lalang, near Sepang, in the late evening after the sun went down.

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 2 seconds
Aperture : f/22
ISO : 100
Exposure : +0 stops

Editing

Boosted Contrast
Rotated the picture to straighten the horizon
Adjusted Curves

Diet And Nutrition.

2010-12-01T01:42:00.001+08:00

So one might be wondering where I went for the past 2 weeks, and the answer to that would be, Penang! Went back for my cousin's weddings. Yeah, you read that right, weddingS. She had two weddings because she's of mix parentage, Chinese and Indian. So one ceremony was for the Chinese side, and the other for the Indian side. Pretty cool. Took about 1,500 pictures of the whole thing, haven't even begun the post-processing! Gah.

Anyway, wanted to blog about this for quite some time now. Diet and nutrition. To elucidate why is it beneficial towards body building, we have to wrap our minds around this first. People don't grow IN the gym, people grow OUTSIDE. Now that its clear, we move on.

Firstly, for body-builders who are trying to pack on the muscle. The golden rule is to get 1.5g-2g of protein per-body weight in pounds. For example, I'm 143 pounds, I should take around 214-286grams of protein a DAY. This amount doesn't need to be coming from 1 meal, our bodies can only process so much protein at one time, and since protein can't be stored in the body, we have to split our protein intakes throughout the day to make sure our bodies has constant supply. Protein can be found in chicken meat, beef, fish, egg whites, protein powders and even milk. Protein is essential in building muscle. There's different kinds of proteins that are suitable for different needs.

An example would be whey isolates, this is a kind of quick-absorbing protein which is great as a post-workout supplement to give the body the amount of protein it needs quickly. Casein on the other hand, is a slow digesting protein. It can be slowly absorbed for 5-7 hours which makes it a great choice for a pre-bed supplement. Casein protein is also a good idea to use during the day to keep you full and to keep a constant supply of protein available between meals or snacks if you have a long period of time between them. The glutamine content in casein is very high which can maintain immune function.

Secondly, carbohydrates, or simply known as carbs. Countless idiots have spread the rumour that all types of carbohydrates are evil, so less-informed people don't take as much carbs as they have to. Carbs are the key source of fuel for the body. Most carbs are either simple (fruits), complex (healthy breads, potatoes), or fibrous (veggies). Simple carbs should be taken earlier during the day, so the body will just burn it away whenever the body needs "fuel", reason why people should stay away from it later during the day is because you might not burn it off and risk the body storing it as fat.

Speaking of fat, get the idea of fat is bad for you out of your head. You need them, period. They can be found in salmon, tuna, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts. Stay away from nonessential fats. The fats you want are called Essential Fatty Acids. They also contribute to energy, diffusion of oxygen into the bloodstream, and they can help regulate moods. There are many more benefits, but these alone should motivate you to eat them.

Now that the essentials are done and over with, we move on to how often does one have to eat. Every now and then, someone asks me, "Harris, I'm eating till my stomach feels like bursting, but I'm not gaining ANY weight!! What to do?". The reason why you're not gaining any weight is because you're not eating enough meals a day. You should be eating 5-6 small meals every 3 hours to keep yourself reasonably full, and not hungry.

Stick with it long enough, and you'll definitely gain weight. Speaking of which, I've reached my target weight for this month, 65kg. Gained 5kg of muscles and fats, which I don't mind right now since I'm bulking. Heh.

Cheers!

Picture Post.

2010-11-11T23:23:00.006+08:00

Taken at Bukit Jelutong this morning (7.20ish)

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/750
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO : 200
Exposure : +0 stops

Editing

Adjusted Brightness and Contrast
Dodged and Burned certain areas
Adjusted Curves

Picture Post.

2010-11-09T00:01:00.004+08:00

Awesome view, eh? Hahah.

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/30
Aperture : f/4.5
ISO : 1600
Exposure : +1 stop

Editing

Adjusted Brightness and Contrast
Adjusted Curves
Dodged and Burned certain areas

The Game Plan.

2010-11-04T22:33:00.007+08:00

Sorry for the long absence, was having my Finals till the 28th, then took 6 days to just bang out some problems and put things into perspective again. Now that its done and over with, life goes on.

Since I don't have to worry about my studies for another month at least, I've been focusing most of my time on working out. I've been on a 6-day-a-week training schedule, focusing on isolation exercises, but incorporating compound exercises such as, dead lifting, squats, barbell rows, bench presses, and pull ups.

Here's a rough outline at what I do, normally aim around 12-15 sets for a body part.

Monday ; Biceps

Barbell curls (4 sets / 30kg x 8 reps)
Concentration Curls (4 sets / 12kg x 8 reps)
21s (4 sets / 10kg x 21 reps)

Tuesday ; Triceps

French Press (4 sets / 25 x 10reps)
Close-grip Bench Press (4 sets / 35kg x 10 reps)
Dumbbell Kick Backs (4 sets / 10kg x 10 reps)

Wednesday ; Back

Barbell Rows (4 sets / 40kg x 10 reps)
Dumbbell Rows (4 sets / 20kg x 12reps)
Deadlifts (4 sets / 50kg x 10 reps)
Pull Ups (4 sets / 15reps)

Thursday ; Chest

Barbell Benchpress (5 sets x 12 reps) (40kg)
Dumbbell Flies (5 sets x 10 reps) (10kg)
Weighted Ultra-wide Grip Push-ups (3 sets x 15 reps) (5kg)

Friday ; Legs

Barbell Squats (5 sets / 20kg x 10 reps)
Calf Raises (4 sets / 30kg x 20reps)

Saturday ; Shoulders

Dumbbell Military Press (4 sets / 10kg x 10 reps)
Dumbbell Vertical Raises (4 sets / 5kg x 12 reps)
Dumbbell Side Raises (4 sets / 5kg x 20reps)

Sunday ; Rest.

The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens", Arnold Schwarzenegger

That all being said, there's no use shedding sweat, tears and blood breaking down muscle if you don't plan on giving them the proper rest/nutrition to grow, which I'll blog about next time.

Picture Post.

2010-10-18T02:34:00.003+08:00

Took this in Melaka when I was there to check out Multimedia University's campus.

Shot settings;

Shutterspeed : 1/200
Aperture : f/6.7
ISO : 200
Exposure : +0 stops

Editing;

Converted to Black and White using the Channel Mixer
Adjusted Curves
Adjusted Brightness and Contrast
Dodge and Burn certain areas
Added Grain effect

Picture Post.

2010-10-17T03:06:00.006+08:00

Picture of the moon taken with my 70-200mm f/4L at full zoom.

Shot settings ;

Shutterspeed : 1/350
Aperture : f/8
ISO : 200
Exposure : +0 stops

Editing ;

Cropped
Dodged and Burned certain areas

Some of you might be wondering how I took this shot, firstly I zoomed in then take the picture, came home, crop the useless parts of the sky out with Photoshop. There you go.

Where Are The Real Guys?

2010-10-07T01:22:00.006+08:00

The other day, while waiting for a friend, I browsed a magazine and found surprisingly insightful article, on how guys are these days. The header for this column was "Since all the guys are getting all touchy, are they really women, just with different "equipment"?"

Evidence for this was the fact that guys today seem to be drawn to things that used to terrify them, like commitment, while women seem happier staying single. Every guy nowadays seems to be more relationship-intent than girls are. Gone are the days where guys did not care what others' think of him, had a huge ego, pay for dinner, watch porn openly, did not bother about brands and designer labels, they did not give a shit about how their hair looked, know the Bro Code- and actually go by it, guys were men.

In today's age, guys know better than to not change themselves to suit others' liking, guys will be sensitive to everything, guys will run their fingers through girls' hair, guys will only look at porn in private and always deny it when confronted, guys complain about every single problem like its the end of the world, guys listen to BIEBER, guys care about dressing well and how their hair looks, guys fight over girls too many times; guys are consumed by trying not to be true to their manly insensitive selves.

Some people call it an evolution, idiots coined the term "metrosexuals" but in reality, they are just, ....I can't think of a less harsh word other than wimps. Guys these days put their girls on pedestals, and can't say no to anything. Where are the guys who did not give a shit? Where are the guys who's best friends with the Iron, instead of the XBox? Where are the guys who cuss in every other sentence? Where are the men?

*I know I'm guilty of some, not denying it.

Food For Thought.

2010-09-29T20:04:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, three of my History classmates were arguing over something one of them said that provokes racial sentiments on Facebook. Anyways, the point I'm trying to raise is that it somehow relates to the right of freedom of speech. People these days always complain about how the Government doesn't really give us that right, which means we do have the right of freedom of speech, but not completely. But then, there's a good reason behind it. Are we, Malaysians, really mature enough to handle that right? To use it responsibly, and not offend anyone? Not to forget we live in a multiracial country.

And even if a person/body choose to abuse the right, to offend, are we really matured enough to let it slide?

Just some food for thought.

On another note, the BlackBerry PlayBook looks neat. Definitely getting one if it is capable of running Photoshop. Love the idea of editing pictures with a touch-screen. Besides, it's called a PLAYBOOK. Not something that sounds like women's sanitary objects. *rolls eyes*

Dropping By.

2010-09-28T03:02:00.000+08:00

Sorry for not updating anything, just so damn busy lately. Will update when I have the time.

Sorry, again.

Lost For Words.

2010-09-16T12:08:00.003+08:00

There's so many things I'd like to say to you, but I don't know how - Oasis' Wonderwall.

The Accident.

2010-09-04T02:24:00.003+08:00

Got into a terrible car accident early Friday morning as some of you might already hear. Car skidded while I was taking a bend at Persiaran Tujuan (the flyover from SS18 towards the Subang Jaya exit). Failed to control the car, so the car slammed the right barrier of the flyover and went into a little drain, which then broke both of the car's right axles. The impact was strong enough for the airbag to open. Most severe damage was at the front bumper and the right side of the back bumper. Fortunately, I got out with minor injuries. Called my parents as soon as I got out. They then called up Kurnia to arrange everything. Took them about 2-3 hours to safely lift and place the car on top of a vehicle carrier (axles broke, couldn't tow conventionally). Settled the police report and stuff at the USJ8 police station by 10 something, went home and just crashed.

Whole thing made me realise how fragile life really is. In that split second, shit can happen. How easy would it have been for the car to flip over, or the barrier to break and the car just fall down 10-20 meters? Always took things for granted, always thought that it'll only happen to someone else, but that's not right. Shit can happen to anyone at any given time.

Anyways, people say that when you get into these kinda stuff, your whole life flashes in front of you. It wasn't the case for me. The things that I thought of in that 4-5 seconds were, what I could have done with my life. And how I've been wasting it on stupid childish things all these while. God. How I haven't been doing my duties as a Muslim. And how ungrateful I can be at certain times for what He already gave me. My family, and friends, and how I take them for granted most of the times. My studies, how I've been lagging behind for some time.

And then there's you. How easy could it have been for me to never see you again. Your smile. Or the sound of your voice. Then there's all the things left unsaid. All the feelings kept inside. So here I am, clearing any doubt, to avoid any circumstance where there's no chance to tell you how I feel. I love you. I'm not saying this with any hope for anything, I just need you to know that.

I can't lie, things between us will never be easy. Can't deny the time difference, and distance. But you know what? You're worth it. Not a day goes by where you're not in my mind. You can't even imagine how much you mean to me. After what happened earlier, I realised that life doesn't always play out the way you want it to be, how everything is uncertain. I'm not sure about many things. But there's one thing I'm sure of, especially now, and it's how I feel about you. I know I'm far from perfect, but I promise you I'll always try my damn best to make you happy.

Picture Post.

2010-08-28T00:38:00.003+08:00

This is the other picture I took the other day at Bukit Jelutong.

Shot settings ;

Shutter speed : 1/250
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO : 200
Exposure : +0 stops

Editing ;

Adjust brightness and contrast
Adjusted the Curves
Dodges and Burned certain area.

Picture Post.

2010-08-26T22:32:00.008+08:00

Finally used my camera again after neglecting it for God knows how long. Drove around Bukit Jelutong for a nice spot to see the sunset, and I have a couple of decent pictures of it. But just thought I'll post this picture first.

Shot settings ;

Shutterspeed : 1/90
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO : 1600
Exposure : +0 stops

Editing ;

Cloned out some distracting details in the picture
Converted to Black and White using the Channel Mixer
Adjusted Curves
Adjusted the Brightness and Contrast
Dodged and Burned certain areas

Nothing Compares To You.

2010-08-21T04:47:00.002+08:00

You know who you are.

Lyrics;

It's been seven hours and fifteen days
Since you took your love away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since you took your love away
Since you've been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whoever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant-but nothing
I said nothing can take away these blues,

'cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

It's been so lonely without you here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby, oh where did I go wrong?
I could put my arms around every girl I see
But they'd only remind me of you
So I went to the doctor guess what he told me
-guess what he told me
He said boy you better try to have fun
No matter what you do,
But he's a fool

'cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

All the flowers that you planted momma
In the backyard
All died when you went
I know that living with you baby was sometimes hard
But I'm willing to give it another try

Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

Oh Astro, thou art a heartless bitch.

2010-08-16T23:54:00.003+08:00

For those of you who's unlucky enough to be on the other side of me bitching about Astro, you don't have to read this post.

The whole problem start approximately 2-3 months ago, in the weeks leading up to the FIFA 2010 World Cup. We rushed moving in our new place in Bukit Jelutong so we can catch the tournament on the new TV with plans to get Astro B.yond.

Called up Astro and arranged for the decoder-satellite dish transfer and upgrading service to B.yond. Then we were told that you can't straight away transfer it to B.yond, you have to transfer the old set with it's satellite dish, and then the B.yond technician will come some other time, and then upgrade everything for you. They said someone will get back to us to arrange an appointment to settle it. So we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited.

Then one fine day while my dad was in Johor, the technician called telling him he's coming tomorrow. My dad told him that he's not free, can he arrange the appointment to be in a few days because he'll be back then. Apparently, you can't request for that, because God created a timetable for Astro to follow, we Men can't change it. So we waited again. And waited some more. And some more.

A fucking awesome World Cup later, they finally called to arrange for the transfer only, because they can't do both, the transfer and upgrading at the same time.

So you need to take two days off work to be home and supervise, I don't see the problem lah, knowing all Malaysians are fucking rich we don't have to work, can sit home and wait for people. So my dad took the day off to supervise the technician doing the transfer work. And then the next day when the B.yond technician showed up, Astro didn't change some address on their application form, so it can't be installed. Once again, God created that form, we Men can't change it.

Then we didn't hear from Astro for some time.

So we signed up for B.yond again, and waited for someone to get back with us. Then we waited longer. And longer. Thinking our application got misplaced or shoved in a closet somewhere till the day it's molecular integrity is gone, and then thrown out, we decided to apply again. Repeat this 7 times. Yes, we applied 7 times with 7 different Astro workers. Lol.

Okay. Then out of the blue, like a knight in shining armor, the another B.yond technician called and made an arrangement on a Sunday, at 1pm. Because my dad had to oversee his new office's renovation, I had to stay home to wait for the man and oversee him till my dad gets back. I had planed to watch Avatar, no, not the giant Smurfs, the Last Airbender, mind you. I waited until 3pm, no sign of the guy. Called my dad telling him I'll stick a note at the gate and I'm heading out. Dad called the guy, the guy said he's not coming. Seriously? What the fuck. You don't want to come, and you don't even have the fucking courtesy to give a fucking call. No respect for others' time.

Note that up to now, 3 months later, I've never called them. Until yesterday. I was looking forward to an exciting match between Liverpool and Arsenal, so I timed dinner perfectly so I can watch while eating. Bought dip and nachos to snack on and stuff. Normally the game is on channel 811, 812, 813, but they changed it to 817 (maybe some time ago, I don't know man). Okay. So either way, there I was. Sitting on my rocking chair, leg up, food in hand prepared for 90 minutes of football. Then when I switched the channel to 817, I realised it's all black with no service, and once in awhile it'll show some still images of the game.

That was the final straw. Picked up the phone, yelled at the unfortunate lady for a better half of an hour. Do I feel bad about it now? No. I'm sorry, it's just fucking frustrating.

The whole problem with Astro now is that it is the only company in Malaysia offering satellite TV. It's not like with internet where you can opt for P1 or something. What are you going to do if you choose to not use Astro? Watch RTM1, RTM2, TV3, NTV7 and Channel 8? No. I thought so. They are fucking monopolising the whole market so they can slack on their service knowing that the customers won't, and CAN'T, run away. Like it's not bad enough we had to wait 5 years of HD channels.

Seriously. It's fucking pathetic. Damn frustrated with Astro now. And the lady said someone's gonna call back to me on my problem within 24 hours, and till now, no call. Sounds like someone's gonna get a yelling again.

MTV World Stage 2010

2010-08-01T03:57:00.001+08:00

Just got home from the MTV World Stage in Sunway Lagoon. Gotta say, the acts were friggin' awesome, but I didn't enjoy most of it since it's not what I usually listen to. For example, Tokio Hotel's performance was par excellence, but since I don't like their music, I didn't enjoy it.

Highlight of the night was Katy Perry's, hands down. She was enthusiastic, energetic and lively throughout her time on stage. She's drop-dead gorgeous too, swear she looks so different from pictures. Her new song, Peacock is damn addictive, have no idea whether it's out or not yet though.

Anyways! I met this interesting girl earlier by the name of Carmen, a cheerleader from KL. Went our different ways after awhile, kinda regretted not asking her number. So I'm just putting up on my blog incase she decides to Google me (I'm being hopeful, shuddup you cynics!). Hahaha.

This is so that it'll appear when someone searches for me, Harris MTV World Stage 2010. Just ignore it. Haha.

Just dropping by.

2010-07-28T20:34:00.002+08:00

It's been awhile. Life's been pretty much a routine now. Wake up at 8.15, shower, have my 5 eggs and milk, drive to class, have 2 hours of History, have lunch, 2 hours of Law, play ping pong, drive back home, curse at other drivers on the way home, shower, have my pre-workout meal, work out, shower, post-workout shake, have dinner, study for a little while while talking to people, eat again, sleep.

On another note, it's kinda sad, seeing people suddenly being nice and sweet because you have something they want. Like for example, you happen to have World Stage X-Zone tickets. Hahah. In a way, it's like prostitution. Instead of money for sex, it's tickets for them. Lol. The levels people will stoop to these days for things.

Left Nothing But Memories

2010-07-12T23:26:00.001+08:00

She came. She charmed. Made me fall in love, all over again. Then she leaves, after a month.

When she came into my life, I felt a sense of belonging, and loyalty. Dropped all my plans, and everything I did revolved around her. Sigh. Looks like she's gone, again. As quickly as it started, it ended. Maybe I made it that easy to walk in and out of my life? Food for thought later.

The last day of that special relationship we shared was filled with violence. It's so saddening to part that way. But I guess that's what makes these things special. Teaches us to cherish all the beautiful moments we shared, for these kind of relationships do not happen often.

*sniffs*

Who's the she? Fifa. World Cup. Haha!

Photo Post

2010-07-09T01:22:00.005+08:00

Took these two pictures about 7 months ago, while I was back in Penang for Qing Ming. It was taken at the old abandoned Balik Pulau wet market in Penang. Was there around mid day, doubt I dare to be in there after the sun goes down. Lol. Anyways, enjoy.

The entrance

Editing

Adjusted Curves
Masked the right corner of the picture
Adjusted the Brightness and Contrast
Created new top layer, painted it black, changed blending options to Saturation, opacity 30-35
Dodged and Burned to bring out some details

The interior

Editing

Adjusted Curves
Adjusted Brightness and Contrast
Dodged and Burned to bring out some details

Some Things Left Unsaid

2010-07-04T02:14:00.002+08:00

Just thought of how when everyone is always busy with their own lives, doing their own thing out in the world, we often forget things that we hold so dear to ourselves. Things like what we promised ourselves we'll never let far out of mind.

It's even worse in today's society, where everyone just looks out for themselves and are always rushing for time. We don't even have time to smile and say hello to people anymore.

The sad thing is, most of these things that keeps us preoccupied are very menial, and a couple of days down the road, you think to yourself, what were you doing at that moment that occupied you so much that you forgot about other things so much more meaningful.

Anyways, here's what made me realise all this. Jamie's birthday. While I'm on that, just wanted to let you know that I'm really sorry. I'm not gonna lie or sweet talk my way out of this, there's no excuses. Promise I'll make it up to you when you get back.

For what it's worth, happy belated birthday Jamie Chen.

I miss you.

Standard Chartered KL Marathon

2010-06-29T18:28:00.003+08:00

Took part in my second marathon last Sunday, still can't complete a half marathon, what more a full one. Signed up for the 10k Men category. Overall, I'm happy with the time I clocked in, just slightly over 50 minutes, considering the fact that I played two hours of futsal the night before and only had two hours of sleep prior to my run.

Came in at the 439th place, out of God knows how many thousand. Lol.

Overall, I enjoyed the marathon, reminded me of the joy/relief you get when you cross the finishing line.

The event was very well managed in my opinion. There is a thing that I'm not satisfied with though, towards the end of the 10k run, there were no more distance markers. This resulted in me sprinting prematurely at the 7.5-8km part. Was practically forcing myself through the last kilometer.

A word of thanks to all cheer leading teams along the route, supporters and not forgetting volunteers.

There's a dark cloud over this whole event though, a man, passed away during the 10k run. My deepest condolences to Mr. Lim, who was in his early 20's.

The New Spanish Supporters.

2010-06-25T03:05:00.006+08:00

Quick update ; Been so freaking busy these past two weeks, here's what I've been up to. Studying (yeaaah, no shit man), working out insanely and running. On top of that, I'm stuffing myself when I get an opportunity.

Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon is coming up this weekend and one of the 16,500 runners taking part in it. Signed up for the 10k run, aiming to complete it in -65 minutes. I'm slow lah, I know. Getting heavier lately, trying to get to 70kg by end of the year.

I'm off GOMAD for those who are wondering. What's my take on it now that I've tried it? It works, definitely, IF you can force yourself to drink 4 liters of milk a day and bear the heavy price tag of all those milk cartons.

Hm, about the World Cup, it seems like there's a lot of Spain supporters this time around. I know it's none of my business, but these kind of people ticks me off. I don't mind the real Spain supporters, don't get me wrong, the ones who stuck with them through thick and thin. These "new" supporters just supports the team because they're winning. For those who don't understand, maybe you just don't get it. Anyways, I guess it's not something new. People have been flocking to support Chelsea/Man United because they are winning all these while.

Guess that's why it's so easy to see how many people are discontent with Lee Chong Wei after crashing out of the whatever-cup, I don't watch badminton, so... go figure.

Dear Wife/ Sweetheart/Girl Friend/ Partner/whomever it may concern.

2010-06-12T00:53:00.004+08:00

1. Between 11 June and 11 July 2010, you should read the sports section of the newspaper so that you are aware of what is going on regarding the World of Soccer, and that way you will be able to join in the conversations. If you fail to do this, then you will be looked at in a bad way, or you will be totally ignored. DO NOT complain about not receiving any attention.

2. During the World Cup, the television is mine, at all times, without any exceptions. If you even take a glimpse of the remote control, you will lose it (your eye).

3. If you have to pass by in front of the TV during a game, I don't mind, as long as you do it crawling on the floor and without distracting me.

4. During the games I will be blind, deaf and mute, unless I require a refill of my drink or something to eat. You are out of your mind if you expect me to listen to you, open the door, answer the telephone, or pick up the baby that just fell on the floor....It won't happen.

5. It would be a good idea for you to keep at least 2 six packs in the fridge at all times, as well as plenty of things to nibble on (excluding your body parts), and please do not make any funny faces to my friends when they come over to watch the games. In return,, you will be allowed to use the TV between 12am and 6amm, unless they replay a good game that I missed during the day.

6. Please, please, please!! If you see me upset because one of my teams is losing, DO NOT say "get over it, it's only a game", or "don’t worry, they'll win next time"". If you say these things, you will only make me angrier and I will love you less. Remember, you will never ever know more about football than mime and your so called "words of encouragement"" will only lead to a break up or divorce.

7. You are welcome to sit with me to watch one game and you can talk to me during halftime but only when the commercials are on, and only if the half time scores is pleasing me. In addition, please note I am saying "one" game; hence do not use the World Cup as a nice cheesy excuse too "spend time together".8. The replays of the goals are very important. I don't care if I have seen them or I haven't seen them, I want to see them again, Many times.

9. Tell your friends NOT to have any babies, or any other child related parties or gatherings that requires my attendance because:

I will not go,
I will not go, and
I will not go.

10. But, if a friend of mine invites us to his house on a Sunday to watch a game, we will be there in a flash.

11. The daily World Cup highlights show on TV every night is just as important as the games themselves. Do not even think about saying "but you have already seen this...why don’t you change the channel to something we can all watch?" because, the reply will be, "Refer to Rule #2 of this list".

12. And finally, please save your expressions such as "Thank God the World Cup is only every 4 years". I am immune to these words, because before and after this comes the Champions League,, Premier League, Italian League, Spanish League, KPL, FAA Cup, Euro Cup, etc.

Ps. If you get stuck on the road call the Police or AAA.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Taken from here.

For those who are wondering, I'm supporting Netherlands. Since 2002.

Can't you people think?

2010-06-06T03:21:00.004+08:00

Classes just started this week, which explains my absence for some time. Will blog about college some other time, have something else I feel like blogging about right now. A couple of days ago, thanks to Sayaka, I woke up hearing really sad news- which without fail cast a dark cloud over my day. A college student lost her life in a fatal road accident. My deepest condolences to the family of the victim, it's such a terrible way to go. Getting burned, can't imagine.

Back to why I'm blogging at 3.30am, the call to sue or take action or to blame the petrol station kiosk owners/workers are just plain stupid. The Facebook group is stupider, filled with ignorant people who can't see two sides of a coin. Firstly, I admire the guy, Mr Teo, for his attempt to save the victim. He acted selflessly and bravely, it's relieving to see there's still these kind of people around. He has my utmost respect.

The argument here is that the workers did not want to give up the fire extinguishers. The people who blame the workers for the death, are stupid because they don't understand that the workers are under strict orders to not open up the doors after a certain time due to the high number of robberies at that hour.

But Mr. Teo showed his ID and offered to buy the fire extinguishers? Honestly, how hard is it to get a fake MyCard? The robbers know these things, so they might try these kind of things to pull of a robbery or kidnapping too. The workers were only following strict instructions given to them by their superiors. Hypothetically, they opened up, and got robbed, who'd be responsible for it all? The workers. So please take into account their responsibility to their jobs too. The fire extinguishers are there in the kiosk for emergencies in the petrol station only, period.

To those who question why the fire extinguishers are placed inside, are you honestly THAT dumb to have to think why? If you leave it outside, I promise you someone will take it away. Robbers will take away the metal drain covers, do you not think they will take away fire extinguishers?

As usual, the stupid people of this country continue making fools of themselves, never failing to blame and point the finger. It was a very unfortunate accident that could be prevented if things happened differently, but it did not. Everything happens for a reason.

Ps. Have you noticed no one is blaming the two 17-year olds who were driving dangerously, causing the accident in the first place?

Our very own Edward Cullen.

2010-05-29T00:15:00.006+08:00

Taken from the Daily Chilli. The direct link to this profile, here.

Check this dude out. HAHAHAHA. WOW. Not only their hair are the same, this guy is as shiny as Edward too!

Note the "glamor name" he has given himself. Sean. LOL. And his dream partner.

Ps. If you people are wondering where I found this picture, someone posted it up on a forum okaaaay.

Pain is good.

2010-05-24T01:08:00.004+08:00

Feeling bloody sore since Friday. Grow muscles GROW!! Here's what Arnold said about the pain.

The only way to be a champion is by going through these forced reps and the torture and pain. That's why I call it the torture routine. Because it"s like forced torture. Torturing my body. What helps me is to think of this pain as pleasure. Pain makes me grow. Growing is what I want. Therefore for me, pain is pleasure. And so when I experience pain, I am in heaven. It's great. People suggest this is masochistic. But they are wrong. I like pain at particular moments for a particular reason. I don't like needles stuck in my arms. But I do like the pain that I get that is necessary to be a champion.

First time in a long time I'm feeling this sore, finally broke my plateau. Feeling the pain in my triceps, back and chest.

Untouched knowledge.

2010-05-19T01:29:00.003+08:00

When you're interested in someone, you try your best to get to know everything there is to know about that special someone. It's like one long lesson about that someone. And then if things don't work out, what do you do with all that knowledge?

Satisfied now?

2010-05-14T02:06:00.002+08:00

I think I witnessed a robbery earlier while heading out for dinner. A robbery did happen tonight, but I'm not too sure whether what I witnessed was a robbery or not though. Lol. Anyways, back to the robbery, a clinic (Mediviron) in SS19 got robbed today by machete wielding psychopaths. It's not a rare case, it happened a few times already this month. Good, now we look like a freaking third world country with idiots running amok wielding weapons.

Now with the public breathing down the police force's neck, they have to be extra cautious when doing their jobs. Resulting in less productivity and bravery. I hope those people who blamed the police for Amiruldickhead's death are happy. Maybe when the police stop doing their jobs, more people can get hurt. Just because of an idiot. That's what you want, don't you?

I've had it with some people's attitudes. Seriously? You are still fighting tooth and nail about it being the police's fault to shoot Aminuldickhead? The mother wants an apology from the police? I say the mother apologises to the public and to the police who is now a victim, getting charged for doing his freakin' job.

And also, not to forget our homegrown politicians who without fail politicized the issue, again, looking for cheap votes. I raise my glass of cold milk to your ever-low moral values!

And not to forget our good friend over at Facebook, who created the group calling the IGP to step down because of what happened. Listen up, this is to you. I think you need a license to think, it's dangerous for bystanders because they'll get stumped by your stupendous logic. Don't let your mind wander, it's far too small to be let out on its own. And good job to making the youth of this country look like immature idiots who can't think well. Kudos.

Blogs.

2010-05-13T01:40:00.002+08:00

It's been awhile since I last ranted.

Too long.

Hahahaha! Have you ever realized how annoying some people's blogs are? I'm not talking about what they blog about, mind you. Here's a list.

Confusing navigation-based home pages with absent minded placed icons.
Advertisements more than a TV program on prime time. The readers wants to read what you have to say, who gives two hoots about the advertisements? Especially those pop-up in front of your face ones with the hidden close button.
Music. Especially the auto play kind and when they place the music player down the page. Who listens to music on other people's blogs?
Small fonts with not contrasting colors (against the background, example, black background with gray words)

You Don't Know Me.

2010-05-12T00:31:00.002+08:00

The lyrics apply.

You give your hand to me
Then you say hello
I can hardly speak
My heart is beating so
And anyone can tell
You think you know me well
But you don't know me

No, you don't know the one
Who dreams of you at night
And longs to kiss your lips
And longs to hold you tight
Oh I'm just a friend
That's all I've ever been
'Cause you don't know me

I never knew
The art of making love
Though my heart aches
With love for you
Afraid and shy
I've let my chance to go by
The chance that you might
Love me, too

You give your hand to me
And then you say good-bye
I watch you walk away
Beside the lucky guy
You'll never never know
The one who loves you so
Well, you don't know me

You give your hand to me, baby
Then you say good-bye
I watch you walk away
Beside the lucky guy
No, no, you'll never ever know
The one who loves you so
Well, you don't know me

Chelseaaaaa!!

2010-05-10T02:28:00.005+08:00

Chelsea won the English Premier League! Not only that;

Didier Drogba won the Golden Boot (although he did not play for a month)
Petr Cech shared the most clean sheets with Pepe Reina from Liverpool.
New highest amount of goals scored in a game in club's history (8 goals)
Managed to score 103 goals this season (average of 2.7 goals a game)

I wanted to type out the Chelsea chant/song, but I don't know it, sue me. I found this on the net though.

Ancelotti whoa o,
Carlo Ancelotti whoa o o o o,
He's Blue, he's Chelsea, he's blue,
And we're gonna fuck up Man U.

LOL. Tough luck ManUre.

Miley Cyrus.

2010-05-05T00:04:00.002+08:00

So, the other day I was in the car and I heard Miley Cyrus on the radio. I can't remember the name of the song, it's stuck in my head though. It sounded something like this.

Somebody. Shoot. Me. Please.

Shoot The Runner.

2010-04-30T02:11:00.006+08:00

The public are generally stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Got it in your head now? Good. Bloody idiots can criticize the police force for shooting 15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah. For those who live under a coconut shell, read this.

Taken from Wikipedia. (yes, you get a Wikipedia page if you get shot dead by the police)

Aminulrasyid Amza, a 15 year old Form Three student from Shah Alam, Selangor was shot by the Malaysian police after a car chase in on morning of 25 April, 2010. The shooting incident has sparked an outcry with opposition and ruling party politicians, non-governmental organisations and the public calling for swift justice to be exacted. Four policemen have been implicated in the shooting of Aminulrasyid Hamzah, and thus have been re-assigned to desk duties pending investigation of the shooting. Aminul's parents and family members have denied the police accounts that Aminul posed a danger to police personnel. These assertions have been challenged by neighbours and an eyewitness to the shooting. There was a mention by the police that Aminul had a weapon or parang in his car. However Aminul’s mother Norsiah Mohamad has said the car belonged to his sister and contained shoes and not a weapon as claimed by the police. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has defended the police action as a form of self-defence.

Why does the parents care now? They only have themselves to blame for letting him take his sister's car out for a spin at that hour. Instead of taking the blame, they are blaming the police officers. Cheers to good parenting.

First of all, why the hell is a 15 year old boy driving a car in the wee hours of the morning? The vehicle was being driven suspiciously, so the police flagged him down, and then he reversed his car trying to knock them. What the hell do you expect the police to do? It's in the wee hours, what logical thinking law enforcement officer would be expecting a 15 year old boy to be behind the wheel. He might be a drug dealer, weapons dealer, thug, smuggler, kidnapper, thief, rapist, terrorist etc etc. The boy tried using the car as a weapon, he got shot. It's his fault. Should just have gotten out the car, and shut the fuck up. I'm sorry to those who expected sympathy from me, this is just plain stupid.

Quote of what Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said;

A teenager has been killed in this incident and this is a tragedy.
“Regardless of whether it is negligence by the family, that the boy had no licence, or that he was afraid of being checked by the police, extra caution should be practised in the usage of firearms.
“Those licensed to possess firearms must follow standard operating procedures. Opening fire must only be as a last resort and in self-defence,” she told reporters at the lobby of Parliament house yesterday.

Okay. So this means people trying to knock you down does not warrant the police to shoot you. Congratulations. Calling all thieves, rapists, robbers, snatch thieves and any profession along that line, feel free to try to knock down police officers. They should not shoot you.

And finally, the quote of the day from the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan;

"If you do not want the police to enforce the law, then say so," he said.
"I can tell my men to not take any action, including conduct inspections on vehicles or arrest Mat Rempit who ride without licences."

Can feel his level of frustration. Pity him at times, his men do their jobs properly and they still get criticized. Awesome.

Photo Post.

2010-04-26T01:53:00.002+08:00

An entrance to a tea house in Jonker Street, Malacca.Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/45
Aperture : F/3.5
ISO : 800
Exposure : +0 stop

Editing

Burned certain areas (the walls) to bring out more details.
Adjusted Brightness And Contrast.

Photo Post.

2010-04-25T01:29:00.003+08:00

It's been awhile since I last posted a nice picture. Taken in Melaka today.
Shot settings

Shutter speed : 1/30
Aperture : F/5.6
ISO : 200
Exposure : 0 stops

Editing

Created vignetting effect (Lasso tool > Select Inverse > Feather (30 pixels) > Levels (push the middle one to the right)
Changed the hue (New Layer > Paint (it all black) > Blending Options(set to hue) > Adjust accordingly.
Adjusted Curves (S shape line)

Hey You Forgot Your Yogurt.

2010-04-24T02:44:00.006+08:00

Blog update.

Created a separate page for my workout journal to record my poundage, size, weight and a physique.

Been sleeping in the wee hours of the morning lately, either watching TV or catching up with some friends. We all know about the volcano in Iceland. But do we all know how to pronounce it? Here is the volcano's name. Eyjafjallajökull. Why make a fool of yourself trying to pronounce it, when you can laugh at others trying to pronounce it?

The Bench Press Tag Team Retards.

2010-04-22T01:46:00.004+08:00

Did some minor adjustments to the blog.

Changed the Next Page, Home, Previous Page icons at the bottom of the blog.
Changed the format to only show 3 posts a page to keep things short.
Added signature at the bottom of posts.

Anyways, went to True Fitness for the first time to work out today, and I met the bench press tag team retards. What is that? The Bench Press Tag Team Retards are two thin guys hogging the bench to perform the bench press. While one of them performs the bench press, the other helps him while saying things like "It's all you bro! It's all you! I'm not doing anything", but the most sad thing is they are actually benching really light weights. Lol. Then they change positions. Repeat for an hour.

Strange ego boost.

2010-04-19T23:52:00.006+08:00

If you're reading this, then you already noticed I changed my blog's theme. I prefer it this way, less cluttered and it keeps things simple. And I decided not to update my other blog anymore. (www.harris12mp.blogspot.com). Not going to post pictures so often anymore for the time being, so I don't see the point in keeping it around. I already imported the photo blog here. So you can still view all the pictures I posted up there, here.

Oh, about the ego boost, I found out someone is using my picture as his profile picture in Facebook. Here's the link. It's fucking freaky I tell you! But I'll be lying if I said it's not a huge ego boost. HAHA. I mean, someone actually wants to use my picture as his profile picture. AHHA. What's happening to people these days.

Random thoughts.

2010-04-16T02:35:00.006+08:00

Here's a really random thought. Did anyone realize that Stan Lee, the creator of X-Men, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four (to name a few), likes to name his characters' first and last names with the same letter?

The man himself, Stan Lee

A few more known examples! Bruce Banner (the Hulk), Peter Parker (Spiderman) Reed Richard (Fantastic Four), Sue Storm (Fantastic Four), Octo Octavius (Spiderman), Silver Surfer (Fantastic Four), The Fantastic Four, Dare Devil, J. Jonas Jameson Jr (Spiderman), Green Goblin (Spiderman), Doctor Doom (Fantastic Four), Pepper Potts (Iron Man).

Less known ones! Betty Brant, Dare Devil, Dum Dum Dugan, Fin Fang Foom, Frederick Foswell, Frightful Four, Great Gambonnos, Grey Gargoyle, Happy Hogan, Junior Juniper, Living Laser, Madame Masque, Man Mountain Marko, Metal Master, Mole Man, Molecule Man, Molten Man, Princess Python.

If you're wondering how I know this, here's the list of characters created by Stan Lee from Wikipedia.

Post inspired by The Big Bang Theory Season 3, Episode 16.

Don't talk about things you don't know.

2010-04-14T23:15:00.003+08:00

You know what pisses me off? Dumb asses talking about shit they don't know dirt about. I got asked whether body building stunts a teenager's growth. For the 625674324562561th time, NO. This is where you start to think this "Who the hell is he to say that?". Well, if you don't believe me, the read the policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

I can stand by my answer because I've been working out since Form 3 and I've been growing steadily.

You don't stop growing because of lifting weights. You stop growing because you don't have enough nutrition. The body needs proper nutrition to develop to its full height. Its proven that malnutrition can seriously stunt growth.

Turning point.

2010-04-13T17:01:00.004+08:00

Been wanting to get back to blogging more frequently for some time now, and now I finally have the time to do so. Besides, I can also blog from my Blackberry. It's really convenient that you can do the exact same things as a normal computer with a phone nowadays.

All my evenings suddenly opened up since I sprained my left wrist last week. Been advised to take it easy for a week at least. Now that I can't work my upper body, my thighs and calves are paying the price. Been squatting more and more lately till the extend that at times I'm walking like a guy who just had a colonoscopy. The more I squat the more I realize how I never paid much attention to my lower body. That's gotta change.

Trying to bulk up now. Gain some weight, currently trying to do the GOMAD. Milk is really expensive here. Costs RM4.99 per liter. I drink 4 liters a day, which comes to RM20 a day. RM140 a week. On top of that, the Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein costs a bomb too. Gonna blow a hole in my wallet all the way through my pants pockets. Pfft. Good thing it'll only be for a month. Two at maximum.

Since college is starting in a few months time, I'm catching up on my reading. Currently reading Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom. This is worth a mention, the hardcover version is really nice. The covers are simple and neat. The pages within has that "torn up old book" look to it.

I'm off for my evening jog.

2010-04-07T22:56:00.005+08:00

Every now and then someone will drop me a message about bodybuilding or working out or getting fit. The questions never varies much, normally it'll be something like "Hey Harris, college is starting etc etc how to get fit? I want muscles, but not so much like those fake-plastic-looking ones those guys in bodybuilding magazines have".

Well, here's the truth. Even if you TRIED and WANT to, most of you can't get this kind body.

It takes years and years of dedication, sweat, technique, genetics, ~~steroids,~~ nutrition among other things to achieve that kind of physique. So you really don't have to worry waking up one day looking like that.

I believe this is what most of you want or hope to achieve.

So you guys go out and buy some fancy-scmancy magic pills that promises so much. The honest truth is, most of that pills are just ingredients for very expensive urine. Your body can only absorb so much, the rest just gets flushed away when you visit the toilet.

I'm not in a position to dish out specific workout plans for people, but I do know my stuff. Though I'm not huge, I read a lot. And don't get me wrong, I'm not blogging about this to complain about people asking me things, I love answering and sharing what I know actually. I'm actually blogging to point out the common mistakes people have when they start working out and why some of you don't see any gains although you work out really hard.

1) You have no REALISTIC goals. Sure, setting goals to be like Timothy Olyphant or Kellan Lutz isn't wrong, but have a reasonable one for the near future, and how long will it take. Your primary goal should be getting stronger on a constant basis. Setting short and long-term strength goals and achieving them is what equals a big strong trainee in the long run.

2) You over train and under eat. These two go hand in hand and both must be balanced or you can forget growth. Eat too little, and you won't grow. Eat too much, and you'll gain fat. Eating does not mean eating shitty food, eating must be done healthily. Make eggs, meat, fish, vegetables your staple food. Eat less per-serving, but more frequently. The idea of having 3 big meals a day is outdated, have 6 small meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, pre-workout, post-workout, dinner and supper.

3) You keep on doing the same things over and over again. Not enough variation. When you first picked up a dumbbell / barbell for the first time, 8/10 people will do the curl. It's the most common exercise and it's easy to do. Besides, it looks good when lifting the weight because your biceps get flexed and your arms look pretty good. But, how long do you think before your body adapts to the curls and makes it not productive anymore? 3-6 weeks. That's how long it takes. The body builds muscle when it has to adapt to the load. So try other types of exercises once in awhile.

4) You don't have enough rest. Your sleeping pattern is a mess, so your body does not have enough time to recover. If you workout at night, you should know that 8 hours of sleep is more important than one rushed session in the gym which will eat into your sleeping time. Besides, do you think you'll still have the energy and mood to work out in the afternoon/evening after class?

5) You don't train hard enough. Your definition of weight lifting is, messing around with random shiny machines scattered around the gym and playing with the pink dumbbells old ladies take out when they jog. If you want to be big, forget about being ashamed of being small and hit the free weights rack. Who cares if you curl or overhead press 5kg? No one's gonna laugh at you. Even if some pricks do laugh, why should you care? You're working out for yourself. Not others.

6) Inconsistency. You work out to your megrim. You sign up feeling enthusiastic and pumped up, throw yourself into working out whole heartedly and start seeing some beginner gains after 3-4 weeks and think to yourself "Hey, this shit ain't that hard! I'm getting bigger". Yeah, you are. But then the beginner gains stop, and here comes the harder part. You gain muscle much slower from then onwards, the results can't be seen so soon anymore. So you give up or start slacking. You don't push yourself as hard as you used to and you start skipping sessions. It's happened to a lot of people I know. There are single mothers who can find the time and strength to pull together their daily affairs, soldiers fighting for their countries, injured, with bits of metal scraps in their skin, and you want to tell yourself that you can't hit the gym because you're a little dizzy or tired?

7) You don't SQUAT and DEAD LIFT. What's squats and dead lifts? Click here for squats and here for dead lifts. Why? Take this for example, doing the dumbbell curls will only engage 3-5% of your body muscles while squatting and dead lifting will engage around 75-80% of your body muscles. Forget about being fit or big without these two exercises. And if you feel your pain in your lower back while doing it, something is wrong with your form.

8) You only focus on one muscle group. Someone once told me that his workout only consists of biceps exercises. Most of you do not know that the biceps is actually a very small muscle compares to lets say, your quads. Sure, having huge guns are great, it is after all the muscle you show off to you friends. But to make your arms bigger, you should actually focus more on your triceps. Maybe not all of you focus on your biceps alone, but a lot of people do forget about smaller and harder to build muscles like the shoulders, lats, traps, forearms and legs. Without all this, your body will look not proportional. Trust me, you don't want to have the Chicken Legs Syndrome.

That's about it. Took me two days to think and type this out. Hope someone finds it helpful.

I have another 2-3 months till college, ANYONE who wants to sign up for a gym membership with me in either Celebrity Fitness or Fitness First please drop me a text. Here's my number. 012-978 2436.

2010-03-22T17:39:00.002+08:00

Lately there's a lot of people who complains about their problems to me. I have no idea why, but I may seem like a good bitching buddy. Maybe, maybe not. Well, the point I'm blogging about this is because that MOST of these people complain and bitch on and on and on again about how life is unfair to them. Most of them are cynics.

That's the problem. Most people nowadays are cynics. Especially Malaysians. What? Don't believe me? Ask yourself whether you agree with this.

- Most people will tell lie if they can gain from it.

- People claim to have ethical standards, but rarely sticks to it when money is at stake.

- It's sad to see an unselfish person in today's world, because most people will take advantage of that person.

- Most people are only interested in personal benefit.

IF you agreed with the majority of that, then you're a cynic.

Cynicism is caused by broken hearts. Sincere belief in someone or something that forces you to put something real on the line, something that tethers to your emotional core. If you offer that up, and you fail- or others fail you- your heart shatters.

Then the choices emerges. Either you fall into a fresh bitch spiral, or you do the most difficult thing any man can do: Believe once again. That means moving forward through the things that broke your heart in the first place: lies, love or whatever.

I should explain, a bitch spiral occurs when like-minded people get together and complain with such intensity that every slight against them becomes a gigantic conspiracy.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying crappy self-help-Chicken-Soup-For-The-Teenage-Soul things like "think-positively" or "be optimistic", what I'm saying is have sincere belief in sincere belief itself. Stop blaming Life for throwing you down on your knees time after time.

I really should stop rambling.

2010-03-21T11:41:00.003+08:00

Feel really bad that I'm leaving both my blogs to die lately. It's not like I want to stop blogging, it's just that the photography "flame" has cooled down for awhile and I'm focusing on other things at the moment. So what I've been up to?

Firstly, I sent my desktop to the computer shop to get it reformatted. Yeah, finally. You might call it slow, not responsive and a pain in the ass, but I'm actually thankful to it. Why? Because it taught me the importance of patience and gave me free anger management classes.

Been hitting the weights 3 to 4 times a week. Bought two new 22lbs (10kg) plates from Kettler, so now atleast I can benchpress heavier. Current personal best is 80lbs (38kg), which is more than half my bodyweight. Speaking of that, really disappointed I droped 2kgs last week for God knows what reason, it's not bad enough that I'm underweight, I'm losing weight?

The anual (I think) Putrajaya Hot Air Baloon event thing is this weekend. Think I'll give it a pass this year, just don't have the mood for certain things lately. Besides, I just came back from Penang two days ago and have been busy with my driving to finish up the required 10 hours of driving time before my JPJ test tomorrow morning. Driving is overrated in my opinion, but the convenience nd freedom it'll allow is just life changing.

Hmmmmm.. Well, life's being an ass for a couple of weeks now. It's just one thing after another, and it's not like other problems that'll just go away eventually, I really don't see how these things will disappear in the near future. Anyways, I'm not gonna bitch about it. Whatever that doesn't kill me, will only make me stronger. I feel cheesy, must be the song I'm listening to. Ahaha.

2010-02-20T01:06:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutter speed : 1/32
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO : 100
Expose : +0 stops

*to achieve a better exposure, a graduated ND4 Filter (Cokin) was used.

Editing

Adjusted Saturation
Adjusted Curves

2010-02-09T16:55:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/400
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO : 400
Exposure : -1 stop

Editing options

Adjusted Hue and Saturation on main layer.
Adjusted Color Balance on main layer.
Converted to Black and White on a new layer.
Applied a Layer Mask to the new layer.
Used Radial Gradient for selective coloring.
Adjusted Curves.

2010-02-09T15:29:00.003+08:00

HAH. Seems like the Federal Court ruled that Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir is the rightful Perak Mentri Besar.

The decision was read out by Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria, who sat with Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff and Federal Court judges Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Datuk Wira Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong.

Now, on forums and blogs around Malaysia, people are complaining that this is not what the Perak-ians want and voted for. The key words are always the same, Perak + People + Don't + Want + And + Didn't + Vote + For + BN. Who are they to deny the other half of Perak-ians who voted for the Barisan National until they got 28 seats out of 59? (PKR got another 28). The Barisan National is the ruling party in Perak now because of support from 3 Independent MPs. Now the main point of their argument is that the 3 Independent Members of Parliament (quitted PKR and now SUPPORTING Barisan National) isn't counted, so the state Government doesn't hold a majority so it isn't valid.

But then, when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim openly claimed that a certain number of MPs from Barisan is going to jump over to PKR last year, I didn't see any of these people complaining now that it's not what the people voted for. So why make noise now? A little hypocritical no?

And then there's the way the media, blogs and certain parties that make the public have the impression that the Judiciary in Malaysia is corrupted. So whenever a judge rules in favor of Barisan, the public will come to think that it's because they are corrupted.

The very best example of this would be IF the court charges Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of sodomising his former aid, you will see ALL PKR supporters rising and challenging the court's decision because it's "corrupted". I have to admit, who ever who thought of doing this is very smart indeed, making the public lose faith in the ruling party. So either way, it's a win-win situation for PKR.

If the court rules Anwar is guilty, people will lose faith with the "corrupted" judiciary and Government.

If the court rules that Anwar is innocent, he gets to walk away scot free.

Malaysia's politics. Tsk tsk...

2010-02-08T16:07:00.014+08:00

Still no Photoshop and Digital Photo Professional! Boo!!

The Putrajaya Night Marathon took place last Saturday night, I think I started the run fairly good. Increased my pace after the half way mark. It was my first serious marathon that I actually trained for, unlike the other ones I took part in which I decided to give it a shot at the last minute or joined because someone asked me to.

For my efforts, I got 97th place out of God knows how many but I'm gonna say 2000 to make myself feel better. Ahaha. My medal and certificate are proudly being displayed on my bookshelf (I have no proper place now because I'm shifting soon). If some of you are interested, this was my 10 track play list.

1) Papoose - Born To Win
2) Nelly - Heart Of A Champion
3) Fatboy Slim - Push The Tempo
4) Fatboy Slim - Rockefella Skank
5) Kanye West - Stronger
6) David Rush ft LMFAO, Pitbull and Kevin Rudolf - Shooting Star
7) Muse - Super Massive Blackhole
8) Muse - Time Is Running Out (live in Wembley)
9) Bill Conti - Gonna Fly Now
10) Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger

I think without these tracks, I wouldn't have finished the marathon. Really kept my mind off my panting breath, aching legs and the hot girls at the side resting. HAHA.

Overall, I'm happy with the run. Next up is the Energizer Night Race 2010, will join the 10km category.

2010-01-28T20:21:00.003+08:00

Somehow my internet is alright tonight, still no Photoshop so that explains why I'm here. Really bored lately, everyone started college already. What's new.. hmm... Apple launched their iPad earlier today (2am) looks like an oversize iPhone to me. Will consider getting it because the price is quite reasonable, starting price is about RM1700 for the 16gb model.

Training for the Putrajaya Night Marathon on the 6th of February is still going fine. Two laps around SS18 in about 45 minutes, trying to cut it down to 42 minutes by this weekend, then less than 40 next week.

Found this song in My Received Files while I was cleaning up my computer earlier, can't remember who sent this to me but it's really good.

Jack Savoretti - One Day

I'm counting the street lights
It's all i can do
While driving myself crazy trying to get to you
Feels wrong at the right time
To reveal my hand
It's like i'm doing the worst i can
To make you understand

Maybe one day you will know
How hard it is for me to show my heart
And all the love
Running through my soul
Maybe one day you will know

I'm hoping you just might
Take a moment to realize
That everything you're looking for
Is hidden in plain sight
I know you better than i know myself
How i feel is the only thing i could never ever tell ya

Maybe one day you will know
How hard it is for me to show my heart
And all the love
Running through my soul
Maybe one day you will know

Maybe one day
Maybe baby one day you will know
Maybe one day you will know.

Maybe one day you will know
How hard it is for me to show my heart
And all the love
Running through my soul
Maybe one day you will know
Maybe one day you will know
Maybe one day you will know
Maybe one day
Maybe one day you will know

2010-01-12T02:29:00.005+08:00

Shot Settings

Shutterspeed : 6 seconds (bulb mode)
Aperture : f/9.5
ISO : 100
Exposure : -1 stop

Editing

Adjusted a little bit of Curves.

2010-01-12T02:29:00.004+08:00

Well, I'm back for the time being it seems. Just felt the need to speak my mind on some current issues going on here in Malaysia. I'm talking about the attacks on churches. I find that acts just stupid, offensive, in-justifiable no matter what reasons those responsible claim are to do so and does not in any way help whatever is going on regarding the court ruling. It will only create racial tension amongst Malaysians. The Home Minister already said that he might use the ISA on those responsible for the attacks OR for spreading rumors. Let's just hope it's not all talk.

Let's start at the beginning. Why did this happen? Because of a High Court ruling on December 31st, that Catholic weekly Herald had the constitutional rights to use the word 'Allah' to describe the Christian God in their Bahasa Malaysia section. Naturally, some hardcore religious nut jobs will of course feel threatened by this because if some other religion uses the word, it will confuse and shake their rock solid faith.

Now, onto the second reason why I am blogging. The attacks on churches. Seriously man. This is no way to act. I am disgusted by it. Even worse than the time they protested with the cow head. What does those degenerates think they will get out of it? To those people, maybe we will never find out who did this, but one day God will meet out the punishment for you. Anyways, this acts are only embarrassing Malaysia in the eye of the world. How can we pride ourselves anymore with being a multi-racial country when this happens?

Third reason I'm blogging. SMS rumors and the picture on Facebook. According to the latest update on The Star online, the police are currently investigating a Facebook posting by an individual saying that he witnessed the making of the explosives that was used in one of the arson attacks on churches over the last few days. A screenshot of this posting apparently shows the suspect claiming that he was around with some other people when making the “explosives” but was not involved when the attack took place. In my limited knowledge in law, even being at the scene of the crime makes you guilty although not involved directly when the attack took place. There's a name for it.. but I can't remember it right now (mind you, it's nearly 4am).

While some others have jumped to the conclusion of "OH MY GOD WE KNOW WHO DID IT SO NOW THE CORRUPTED POLICE CAN BUST THEIR ASS HOORAY!" I decided to think about it. Did you know that DIGITAL photographs won't and can't (not accepted in almost 99.99999% of cases, rare exceptions are known to be made) be accepted in a court of Law as evidence? This is because of that digital photographs can be edited professionally showing no sign of being tampered with. Look at the other facts, a quick search on the person's username on the website's search engine does not show any matches. Besides, why would someone jeopardize his well being by posting it on the net? I am not going to say this is a hoax, but until more evidence and/or authenticity of the photograph is made, I am not going to buy into it.

The SMS' on the other hand, although I never got any.. I heard from some people what it contains. Rumors. Rumors. And more rumors. This is stupid. Who ever that buys into it is even more stupid. Believing someone you've never heard of and being so gullible. Pfft.

If anyone feels like discussing this issue with me or sharing your opinions, please talk to me on MSN. I would love to hear another person's views on things.

Ps. I love reading blog's that somehow can relate EVERY bad thing that happens in this country or to them or to people they know to the Barisan National government. Everything is the Government's fault lah. Sigh. Anyways, that's a rant for another day. Hah.

2010-01-01T13:41:00.000+08:00

So, a year's gone. It's time to reflect on what I did last year that I'm proud of.

1. ~~Graduated~~Survived high school.
2. Became the Head Of Photography for the school magazine.
3. Learned and helped to publish a magazine.
4. Learned how to use my DSLR's functions and settings inside out.
5. Learned how to use Photoshop and how to Manipulate Images.
6. Sold my first picture.
7. Photo blog receiving almost 10,000 hits 8 months.
8. I'm happy with my body and health. Can't remember the last time I was sick.

2009-12-24T02:32:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/1000
Aperture : f/4
ISO : 100
Exposure : 0 stop

Editing

Minor increase in saturation
Adjusted the brightness and contrast

2009-12-23T03:52:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/60
Aperture : f/4.0
ISO : 800
Exposure : +0.5 stops

Editing

Converted to black and white using the Channel Mixer
Dodged and Burned selectively
Adjusted Curves
Adjusted Brightness and Contrast levels

2009-12-16T02:41:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/125
Aperture : f/4
ISO : 800
Exposure : +2 stops

Editing

Changed backgrounds
Converted to Black and White using the Channel Mixer
Added shadows and highlights using Mystical Light Photoshop Plug in
Adjusted curves
Improved contrast

2009-12-09T14:12:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutter speed : 1/125
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO : 800
Exposure : +2 stops

Editing

Converted to black and white using the Channel Mixer
Played with shadows using the Mystical Light plug-in
Adjusted Curves
Adjusted brightness and contrast

2009-11-29T03:18:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/6
Aperture : f/3.5
ISO : 1600
Exposure : +2 stops

Editing

Cropped the bottom part

2009-11-25T04:02:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/125
Aperture : f/4.5
ISO : 800
Exposure : +2 stops

Editing

Converted to black and white using the Channel Mixer
Selective colouring in the rose
Darkening the background
Adjust curves

2009-11-21T22:33:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/125
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO : 800
Exposure : +2 stops

Editing

Converted to black and white using Channel Mixer
Adjusted the shadows using curves
Cloned out some distractions behind him

2009-11-20T23:49:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/125
Aperture : f/4
ISO : 800
Aperture : +2 stops

Editing options

Converted to black and white using the Channel Mixer
Dodged and burn

2009-11-16T00:00:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/125
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO : 800
Exposure : +2 stops

Editing

Increased contrast

2009-11-05T20:06:00.000+08:00

Music

Note : If you're wondering how I did the blood, it's a mixture of ketchup and chili sauce.

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/20
Aperture : f/4
ISO : 800
Exposure : +2 step

Editing

Added vignetting
Added noise
Gaussian blur the whole picture except the hook

2009-11-04T04:33:00.000+08:00

Music

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/4 seconds
Aperture : f/3.5
ISO : 800
Exposure : +2 step

Editing

Cropped
Added vignetting
Adjusted colour

2009-11-03T00:23:00.003+08:00

Before reading, please be aware that there are alot of profanities in this post. Please self regulate.

Some of you might have heard it by now, but whatever. I'm still putting this up on the blog to make people aware of this fucked up place.

Last Friday I played futsal at U-One Sports Center again. Reached there around 4.30. Started playing soon after, around 4.35. An hour costs RM40. First round finished at 5.35. So the worker (the fat one) asked me whether we want to extend our time. Since we were already in the court, we said yeah and we'll settle the bill later.

Started the second game at 5.45 till 6.45. After an hour, the worker came back and informed us that our time is up. He asked us to finish it with another goal. About 5-10 minutes later, we scored and the game ended. Sat on the pitch for another 5 minutes resting and laughing at the other team. The worker came back again to pass us the bill and said settle it at the counter. Ok.

Once we were at the counter, around 7, the worker there, let's call him A said it's RM100. You know why? Because an hour before 7 is 6, so we started a 6. Knn mccb. This is what the conversation sounded like.

Harris : Bro, ni asal RM100 ah?

Worker A : RM100 ah, pasal korang start pukul 6. Lepas pukul 6 dah RM100 per-hour.

Harris : Bro, tadi kita start pukul 5.45. So RM40 je ah.

Worker A : *gives some cibai face* Eh. Korang ni nak bayar ke tak? Ah?

Harris : Bro, kita bukan taknak bayar. Tapi bukan RM100, pasal kita start pukul 5.45. Kita pernah main sini, bukan first time. Memang dah tau. Pasal tu, sebelum start second game kita dah check time, belum lagi pukul 6. Pasal kalau dah pukul 6, memang kita taknak main dah. Pasal pukul 5.45....

*gets cut off*

Worker A : EH. KORANG PAKAI OTAK SIKIT BOLEH TAK?

*all of us, what the fuck?*

Worker A : Korang ingat sapa bayar gaji aku?

One of us : Wei bro, lepak ah. Cakap ah baik-baik.

Worker B : OI. KAU SIAPA? AH?! KAU SIAPA?!

Harris : Lek ah bro, ni cakap je.

Worker B : OI PUKIMAK. KAU INGAT KAU SIAPA? AH? TAK RETI RESPECT KE?

Harris : Wei, lepak ah. Lepak.

*worker B finally shuts up*

Worker A : So ni kira korang taknak bayar la?

Harris : Bro, bukan tak nak bayar, tapi ni kita start sebelum pukul 6. RM40 je.

Worker B : Eh something something bapak kau something something!

Brian : Harris, fuck it. Just pay and we'll never come back.

Worker A : EH KAU. DARI TADI KURANG AJAR AH.

*worker A gets out of the counter area and gets hold back by me*

*gets fed up, collects money and pays*

Worker A to Brian : Eh kau, aku ingat muka kau.. aku ingat muka kau.. kau ingat Subang ni besar? Subang ni kecik je laa.

Brian : Ingat ah. Ingat.

*sometime in there Hardy got choked, I don't know when, didn't see*

The rest is blurry, but a fight did not break out. We just got fed up and paid. I swear to God, that was the first time I got treated like that as a customer. Now is ranting time.

WHAT KIND OF FUCKING IDIOT TALKS TO A CUSTOMER LIKE THAT. PUKIMAK. WHAT? WHO PAYS THEIR PAY? IF THEY DIDN'T FUCKING NOTICE, THE MONEY COMES FROM THE CUSTOMERS. CAN ASK US TO GUNA OTAK? FUCK. MAYBE THAT IDIOT DIDN'T REALISE, BUT HE IS MAKING HIS CAREER IN A FUTSAL CENTER AS A COUNTER GUY CUM BALL PICKER. NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE ALL KNOW WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE THIS IS. I'M SORRY ABOUT BRINGING UP PEOPLE'S SKIN COLOUR, BUT BECAUSE OF FUCKING SHITS LIKE THESE, THE WHOLE RACE GETS STEREOTYPED AND LOOKED DOWN ON.

Today, I am not pissed about the money anymore. It happened on a Friday so I'm writing off the RM60 as charity. Maybe they need it more than me. Willing to bet the place pays peanuts anyways. What I am still angry about is the way they treated us. Like they payed us to play there.

Why am I sharing this with everyone? Because I want everyone to know what kind of place it is. I am asking for a favour, that no one goes there anymore to play futsal and to spread this around to your friends who plays futsal and let that place die. (the pitch there sucks too)

To whoever that shares this around, I humbly thank you.

2009-10-29T15:12:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/1000
Aperture : f/3.5
Exposure : 0 step

Editing

Convert to black and white using Channel Mixer
Adjusted Curves
Dodged and Burn

2009-10-29T00:19:00.004+08:00

Someone woke me up while I was taking my afternoon nap today to show me this video. According to him, it's damn funny how TNB man kena owned and it's all over the internet now. So I thought to myself, what the hell lah? I'll see what the hype's about.

Yes, that's the video.

Here's my take on this. If he really wanted to make a difference, to stop these problems from happening every once in awhile, he should have made a formal complaint. (time, 2.42 in the video. He said that he does NOT want to make an official complaint) Instead he resorted to shouting in the TNB building like an uneducated hooligan. In my opinion, kudos to the TNB man for trying to explain (with some lame but true excuses) to Namewee who was being really unreasonable.

Secondly, how can it be the Government's fault when TNB is a private company? Please do your research before simply bashing certain quarters up. Besides, it's not like some Government bigshot called and said -

Government bigshot : Eh hallo, itu Muar tutup power!
TNB man : Apasal?
Government bigshot : Shyiiiookkk mah.

Third, why was he pissed that the TNB building was light up? (time, 1.22) Haven't he heard of something called a BACKUP generator? If they don't have one, how the hell do you expect them to fix the problem?

Fourth, (time, 2.30) he asked the man working there why isn't there any notification about the shutdown. For your infomation, there's a big difference between a break down and a SHUT down. A shutdown being it's a planned power outage. And a breakdown being an accident happened and they have no control over it. Breakdowns happen due to many reasons, such as a bird getting tangled between the wires or some desperate drug addict stealing some metal components from some electric tower.

Lastly, what did he expect from shouting the vulgar words at the end of it all? In my opinion, it's just reflecting on how he was brought up.

In my opinion, he just wanted to get some cheap publicity. I guess I made my views on this video quite clearly.. and to think I actually liked the dude after he appeared on the 15Malaysia videos. Pfft.

2009-10-18T13:20:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : BULB mode, 15 seconds
Aperture : f/11
ISO : 100
Exposure : +-0 step

Editing

Cropped
Boosted contrast
Boosted colour
Burned to reveal more detail in the mosque

2009-10-14T18:53:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/350
Aperture : f/4
ISO : 200
Exposure : +2 stops

Editing

Convert to Black and White using Channel Mixer
Added some contrast
Brighten the shadows with curves
Sharpened the monkey

2009-10-14T16:49:00.008+08:00

Haha, blogging today since I have some free time on my hands because tutor canceled today's class, and I just realised that the last time I posted something here was last month, during Raya. God. This blog is so dead. ):

Pretty much addicted to Marie Digby's cover of Part Of The List this whole week. Listening to it over and over again.

Okay. The song is nice, and there's no harm about she being uber hot right? -.- No getting wrong ideas here. Pff. Besides, the song means something to me since the person who sent it to me at first is gone now. *emo mode* Hahaha! Shall leave the emo stuff out of the blog.

So... what have I been up to? Erm. Went for Canon's Photomarathon last Saturday at Sunway Lagoon.

Kinda lazy to blog about it, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

The view of the amphitheater

Some Chinaman singing

While most others decided to come with friends, this dude came alone. D:

And this dude here decided to take a quick nap

The sea of red moving towards the starting line

Check out the amount of people

For "nicer" pictures, do visit my photoblog.

Oh, I really suggest you visit the Sunway Wildlife Park atleast once. It's very worth it if you like animals.

Ps. I'm thinking of getting a group to go to Zoo Negara this weekend (Deepavali holiday) or on Monday. Do let me know. Email me or text, whatever.

2009-10-13T02:20:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/500
Aperture : f/4
ISO : 200
Exposure : +2 stops

Editing

Crop
Sharpened the eagle
Blurred the background using Gaussian Blur tool

2009-10-12T02:13:00.000+08:00

Shoot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/1000
Aperture : f/4
ISO : 200
Exposure : +2 stops

Editing

Sharpened birds
Blurred the background
Increased saturation

2009-10-08T02:32:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/11
Aperture : f/3.5
Focal length : 18mm
ISO : 400
Exposure : +2 Stops

Lighting

1 study lamp directly infront of me to brighten me up
1 study lamp on my right side providing side lighting
1 wall lamp to provide some soft light from the top
Window left open to allow some natural light

Editing

Dodged and burn highlight on the shirt
Increased shadows on the face area
Superimposed the subject onto a plain white background

2009-10-04T05:46:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/1000 seconds
Aperture : f/6.7
Focal length : 200mm
ISO : 400

Editing options

Cropped image
Boosted contrast
Darken shadows using curves
Bring out details using burn
Tint the sky a slight shade of blue

2009-09-27T16:39:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : 1/45 seconds
Aperture : f/4.8
Focal length : 18mm
ISO : 100

Used a Graduated ND4 Cokin Filter to overcome the problem of the sky being overblown.

Editing

1) Adjusted curves to brighten the foreground
2) Increased saturation for the sky
3) Enhanced red, blue and magenta tones for the sky

2009-09-26T03:23:00.000+08:00

Shot settings

Shutterspeed : Bulb Mode 7 seconds
Aperture Value : F/8
Focal Length : 18mm
ISO : 100

Used a Graduated ND4 Cokin Filter to overcome the problem of the sky being overblown.

Editing

1)Minor cropping of the left side
2)Enhanced red and yellow tones
3)Added some contrast
4)Brighten up the image using Curves
5)Brought back some detail in the construction site using Burn Tool
6)Added vignetting to give it the Lomo-LCA camera look
7)Added signature

2009-09-23T11:11:00.000+08:00

picture taken by fiona mak.

2009-09-21T03:15:00.000+08:00

It's that time of the year again. In the spirit of Syawal, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any wrongdoings or anything that I have said that might have offended or hurt anyone. I hope you do not keep it in your heart.

From my family and I, Selamat Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir dan Batin.

I won't be updating the blog until later this week when I get back to Subang as I don't have any version of Photoshop with me. Have a great holidays!

2009-09-21T02:36:00.002+08:00

It's that time of the year again. In the spirit of Syawal, I would like to apologize for any wrongdoings or anything that I have said that offended any of you as I know that I may be rash and things happen.

From my family and I, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf zahir dan batin.

2009-09-19T03:13:00.002+08:00

Hey you. I can tell you now that you'll never be as happy with him than with me. You've made the wrong choice. And one day, when you realise that, I won't be here anymore. It will be your loss.

That, is what I should have said to her. Instead I just stood there and watch her leave. What is wrong with me?

Sigh.

harris is listening to Nada Surf's If You Leave.

2009-09-17T00:35:00.004+08:00

It's that time of the year again. Hari Raya is around the corner and like every other major holiday we will see a mass exodus of vehicles on all major highways. That's not the point of this post though, I just want to let know some observations I done for the past few years.

One, cars driving at 110km/h on the right lane, for those who didn't know, yes, it is as fast as you can go legally on most highways. But that doesn't mean 110kmph is fast, it's slow actually. Traffic jams? Half the time it's not because of accidents and bloody idiots slowing down to look, it's because of these shitheads who decides to hog the right lane.

Here is my idiotic-drivers-who-drives-at-a-snails-pace-on-the-highway-diagram

There, if you didn't get it, it's not your fault this is a state of the art diagram created with Paint is too complex and superior to your immature brain. Okay. Seriously now, there are idiots who drive at 50km/h on the highway.

Two, this type of drivers are what I call drifters. They drift in out of their lanes like they are some kind of drunken driving master. Most of the time they are happily chatting away with family members are talking on the phone. How do you overcome this problem? When passing their car, slow down and give them the finger, it won't make the problem disappear actually.. but it'll make you feel a whole lot better. :D

EDITTED.

Three, @#$%ing idiots who drives with their hazard lights on when it rains heavily. On the way down to Penang it was pouring, not surprisingly Malaysians showed off their stupidity again. Dad was honking at every idiot on the road who turned on their hazard lights, you can see their blur expression when they look at you. I bet this was what that was going through their mind at that exact moment. "Why laa that fella horn me? What did I do?" Idiots. Idiots I tell you! And some bitch even had the nerve to give the finger.

For those who don't know why is it dangerous to drive with your hazard lights on during the rain, I'll take 5 minutes to explain it to you. The point of the hazard lights is to alert others that a car is NOT moving. Imagine during the rain with very poor visibility, you see a car with hazard lights in front of you. How the hell should you know whether you have to change lane/brake or just keep on moving

That's about it. Hmm.. what else. Oh, 9 out of 10 times idiots on the roads are from Penang (example number plate Pxx xxxx) If not from Penang, most probably it'd be Johoreans or Singaporeans. Pfffft.

Okay. Next! I will try to justify the need for tail gating. Tail gating is a must. It is a must when the idiot infront of hogs the lane and refuses to budge even after signalling, flashing and honking. What else can we do? Tail gate and pressure him of course!

Okay. I seriously. Need. To. Find. A. Life. Wish me a safe trip tomorrow! Haha.

2009-09-15T15:27:00.002+08:00

Woke up at 8 yesterday to send my EF-S 18-55mm lens to the Canon service center in Peremba Square, Saujana. After writing down the details and stuff, the lady at the counter told me it'll take at least 5 working days to repair and change some parts for the auto focus. Headed down to the heart of KL later that afternoon after tuition with Emir. And guess what? Received a sms from Canon telling me my lens is ready for pickup. I believe it's things like this that matters most, after sales service. I can now honestly say, Canon is delighting me always.

What did I do in KL? The original plan was to park the car at Central take the train down to the city center and then to Emir's dad's office which is on the 49th floor of the Maybank tower and after that walk to Pudu Plaza to visit YL Camera Shop. And of course, take pictures of anything along the way. I think I walked more than 5 km yesterday and got 2 grades darker. Pfft. There are no pictures as I was too scared to take out my camera half the time and nothing really caught my eye. However, a few ideas came into my head and I'll try it out the next time I go down to the heart of KL.

Bought a Cokin Filter Holder from YL and a graduated ND4 filter. Gonna try it out this evening.

2009-09-12T08:42:00.000+08:00

2009-09-10T19:01:00.000+08:00

2009-09-06T03:08:00.000+08:00

2009-09-03T00:29:00.000+08:00

2009-09-02T23:06:00.002+08:00

Okay. Here I am again. I know I said that the reason I'm blogging is to save my thoughts so future Harris can reminisce on them, and me not blogging doesn't mean I have not been thinking! Haha. Days seem shorter now, not any better though. Exams have been depressing.

The protest of the building of the mosque in a majority Muslim area is disgusting. I can understand if they are upset, but till the extent of threatening blood feud and beheading and bring the head of a cow around? I may not be a Muslim scholar nor a really religious person, but I'm certainly sure it's wrong to do that according to Islam. Even the Prophet Muhammad tolerated people from other races and religion during the days when he ruled Madinah. Okay, now to my thoughts of what the people living in the Section 23 had to say..

Quoted from the Malaysian Insider.

"The mother of four stressed that the temple was not in the plans when they bought the house and questioned if the state government can do this. “If there is not any temple, then we won’t buy. The price of our houses will also fall. Khalid wants tolerance but how can there be tolerance when it is near to the surau?” she added"

I'm not a real estate agent, but since when does locations of houses being near temples will cause their price to fall? In my opinion, it should be higher because of prospective Indian buyers may want the convenience of staying close to their place of worship, no?

Tolerance. The mother of four in question never heard of tolerating a temple built in her neighborhood? Is she just asking for people to tolerate with her demands and she is not even willing to tolerate with others? What does it have to do with it being near a mosque? I know a road in Penang where you can find a Chinese temple, Indian temple and a mosque within walking distance with each other.

And yes, I'm actually happy that people are starting to bash the Opposition for a change now. They are going back on their promises. Woahahaha!

ON THE OTHER HAND! The Government has reversed the ban of Muslims from the Black Eyed Peas concert! Woooo!! So now, the question is, Black Eyed Peas anyone?

2009-08-27T02:12:00.000+08:00

2009-08-25T13:17:00.001+08:00

God, this blog is beginning to be a freak with me only posting whenever I find weird stuff on the net. Hahaha! True to that, here's what I just found.

Bumblebee from Mexico.

Sorry, forgot how to put videos in a post. D:

2009-08-25T01:52:00.000+08:00

2009-08-19T22:46:00.001+08:00

School holidays in 2 days! Woo!! Anyways, just blogging to share the stupidest thing ever. See it here.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA. I pity his girlfriend.

2009-08-19T00:02:00.000+08:00

2009-08-17T15:55:00.000+08:00

2009-08-16T12:40:00.000+08:00

2009-08-11T22:11:00.000+08:00

2009-08-10T19:41:00.002+08:00

Trials is starting this Friday. Anyways, just a short post to share what I found on the internet earlier.. you know all the precautions we're supposed to take to prevent the H1N1 virus from spreading?

Taken from BERNAMA : Avoiding masturbation and homosexual activities are among preventive measures one could take against Influenza A (H1N1), according to an eminent practitioner of complimentary therapy.

Dr. V. M. Palaniappan said that such activities caused the body to develop friction heat which in turn, produced acid and made the body hyperacidised.

"Thus, the body becomes an easy target for H1N1 infection," he told Bernama, emphasising however, that normal sexual union between members of the opposite sex was absolutely safe.

What? Don't believe me? Here's the link. Ahah. So guys! You know what not to do. ;p

Ahah. I have nothing to say. Eh no, actually I do have things to say.. but no time. Pff. Wish me good luck studying Chemistry after reading that joke.