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Shanghai Shanghai


Shanghai is one of the biggest, brightest and busiest city in China. With a population larger than the whole of Australia, this big, vibrant city was where I was born and raised for the first five years of my life. To be completely honest, I don't remember much. Most of my memories from childhood was about my life here in Sydney but that doesn't mean I remember nothing about the place where I came from.


Shanghai, from my memory, was a place that was ashy and weary by day....


But vibrant and full of life by night...

You could say that the city itself is a reflection of the people. Hardworking parents commuting by bus at the crack of dawn to their individual work stations, students on the pedestrian crossing massaging their necks from their late night's studying and even the senior members of the community are up early in the parks, practicing Tai Chi with their friends of many years.

Then at night, the lights come on and the workers shed their working clothes. The city comes to life and it celebrates well into the dead of night. I've been there, many times and I love that side of the city.


Then there's the 'The Bund', a strip of buildings alongside a harbour. I was told by my mother that Shanghai's 'Bund' was the inspiration to the all-time-greatest-drama 'The Bund' starring Chow Yun Fat (that Singapore pirate lord from Pirates of the Caribbean).

THIS GUY
It's a story involving the Shanghai triad who ruled Shanghai during the Republican era and about how one guy worked his way from a nobody all the way to the top. There's been a lot of remakes but the most Classic edition will have to be the one starring Chow Yun Fat. 

You're suppose to feel intimidated by this stance!
This picture screams GANGSTER.

oops, I'm straying from the main point. To show my appreciation to Shanghai, here's a quick little something...



"Start spreading the news, I am leaving today. I want to be a part of it, Shanghai, Shanghai.
These big neon lights, are beckoning me. Shed off your dirty, working shoes. Shanghai, Shanghai.
I want to commute, to a workplace at six a.m. and get a promotion yeah! Maybe a raise...(too).
Then night comes along...The lights flicker on...It's time to celebrate this news...
Good old Shanghai...
Call up all my friends.Shout them beer! Shop all night in Shanghai, Shanghai.."


Bonus picture of Cinney and I in Shanghai (2009). Yeah...Cinney is the lady inside the bucket and I'm the pirate guy with the hat near the steering wheel.
Why are we the only ones on the ride?! 
Because everyone else in China was either working or at school FOREIGNERS GET DIBS!

End

Don't forget to comment and follow this blog for more madness :D
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Sydney Design Week Event

Hello everybody!! Join us in celebration of Sydney Design Week by visiting the UTS DAB Interior and Spatial Design exhibition! We're showcasing some of our work at the UTS Architecture Warehouse on Friday the 5th of August 2011 so you should come along and join in the fun ;)

If you can't make it to the opening night then drop by between 2pm to 6pm on any day before the 14th of August.

Opening Night
5th August 2011, 6:00pm~8:00pm 

Location 
 UTS Architecture, Kensington St Warehouse
42 and 50 Kensington Street, Chippendale

Visit the Facebook Event Page for news and more details about the event: CLICK HERE.

Note: Also, I added a top bar to the blog layout if you haven't noticed =D Have a read of everything and tell me what you think!
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UBER CUTE: Pug Head Tilt



I don't normally like posting videos but this one is a MUST. UBER UBER CUTE! Posted by youtuber bedrock4u :D I'm totally teaching my dogs to do that =D
Check out more of those videos here: CLICK 
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DONT PUT ALL THE EGGS IN ONE BASKET!

After watching so many disaster and expedition films, I noticed two things that really annoyed me that I wanted to rant about. Of course, I'm aware they're only FILMS...but still...

Don't take me too seriously though :)


Don't put all the eggs in ONE basket!
That's right! NEVER leave ONE person in charge of single type of thing. What do I mean by that?
E.g. a group of survivors are salvaging provisions after a disaster and they decided to share it with each other. One man gets the bag with all the food, one man gets the bag with the tools and one man gets whatevers left to get.

FOR GOODNESS SAKE.

Don't leave one person in charge of ALL the food! Split it into different portions for each person to carry. Each person should be carrying a portion of EVERYTHING (food, batteries, matches, equipment) so that if one person "disappears" or "falls into a hole" or "fall off a cliff and have to abandon their bag to get up", the rest of the group will still have the remaining portions.

You have no idea how many times I've heard the lines "Oh no...all the _____ was in ______'s bag" and "But we can't..._____ had all the _____".
Seriously people...if you all carried a bit of it you wouldn't have this problem!!!! I always rage when this happens. But I noticed this only happens to civilian characters. At least the military/trained characters don't have this problem.


STOP STARING AT THE @^#@%!@ TSUNAMI/LAVA/ALIEN LIGHT AND RUN! 
Another serious problem in these types of films (especially in disaster films such as 2012, The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day). The people get so "hypnotised" by the awful thing that they stop what they're doing (running for their lives) and STARE at it.

Now I know they can't help it in those kind of situations and I'm not saying I'll do anything different. BUT IT REALLY BUGS ME. I'm always screaming "RUN RUN RUN RUN" in my head because it's the most OBVIOUS thing to do. STOP LOOKING AT IT AND RUN!

 DO

 DON'T
 But yeah. That's all. End Rant.
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N3DS + Netgear + Software Update = FRUSTRATION

This is just gonna be a quick post about how I RESOLVED the software update error situation.

Why am I bothering with this? Because I spent 1 HOUR online this morning trying to find ways to troubleshoot. And then 2 HOURS trying to disable my firewall on my router.

All the advice out there is doesn't work for me because they're telling me to disable my firewall via WAN setup but that option does nothing. I think I may have a different model. But anyway, here's MY STEP BY STEP guide to troubleshooting the N3DS Software Update problem.

It will come in 2 parts. The first part will be what you need to do first via the N3DS. And then the second part will be -> HOW TO DISABLE FIREWALL ON NETGEAR Wireless Cable CG814WG.

PART ONE
Part One was taken from the Nintendo Tech Support page, which you can find here.

1) From the Nintendo 3DS settings option, select "Internet Settings" then "Connection Settings" (NOT THE Nintendo Connection Settings) and choose the connection file (1, 2 or 3) you currently use.

2) Choose "Change Settings"

3) Click the right arrow (>) and select "DNS," then choose "No" under "Auto-Obtain DNS."

4) Select "Detailed Setup," then "Primary DNS" and enter: 008.008.008.008

5) Select "Secondary DNS" and enter: 008.008.004.004
Please note: These are public DNS's provided by Google and are subject to Google's Terms of Service. If you prefer to not use this service, doing an Internet search for "public DNS" will provide you with several other options you can use.

6) Save your settings, then select "Test" to test your connection and make sure it works.


PART TWO
This part is MY GUIDE how you disable your NETGEAR firewall. YOU MUST DO THIS IF YOU HAVE A NETGEAR CG814WG Wireless Cable Router like I do. Otherwise it won't work. Trust me.

My Modem Model: Netgear Wireless Cable CG814WG
My Service: Optus
Internet Type: Cable

1. Open your internet browser (on any computer that's currently connected to your Netgear) and type http://192.168.0.1/RgServices.asp on the url bar. The normal 192.168.0.1 admin page does not allow you to disable your firewall.

2. Log in using the default username and password:
Username: admin
Password: password

3. Untick the first box that says "Firewall Features" (this will disable the firewall).

And VOILA.

Yeah, that took me 3hrs all up to do >_>. Maybe I'm just bad at everything..
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Gillard - It's time to leave her alone...

Most Australians who read the newspaper, watch the news and listen to the radio will know that there has been a lot of commotion involving our prime minister Julia Gillard and her Carbon Tax Policy.

I'm not claiming I know the whole story nor am I trying to be sympathetic, but I just want to say that I feel sorry for the lady for constantly being targeted by the slanderous reports on the media. It makes me wonder how much of it is really true.

Firstly, a recap of the issue:
After pulling Kevin Rudd off the chair, Gillard ran for PM while telling the nation that there will be "no carbon tax under the government [she] leads". But the moment she assumed the position, she announced that she WILL introduce a Carbon Tax, leaving many voters angry and annoyed.


Understandably, the nation's angry because she broke her promise and did the exact opposite of what she promised. Her supporters turned on her, attacked her with questions and insulted her. I understand the passion and grief these people feel but some people go too far.

Yesterday, Gillard defended her Carbon Tax Policy while breaking down in tears in front of the media causing voters to accuse her of crying "crocodile tears" and doing it for "sympathy". These accusations are a little unfair. No one has the right to assume whether or not her tears are genuine unless they have definitive evidence PROVING that the tears she shed were for strategic use.

Even if she broke her promise, she doesn't deserve this kind of treatment. This isn't the first time a PM broke a promise. The only reason why this became such a big deal was because all the angry people out there fed off each others anger, egged on by the media. I admit, for a short period of time I was one of them (not that I was angry...just annoyed) but I'm starting to believe otherwise (no, not because I've been brainwashed).

So here's a few points I'd like to rant about.

But before I begin...

Disclaimer: 
1) I'm not a Carbon Tax supporter nor do I feel it's necessary.
2) I don't really favour any particular political party.
3) This is not a propaganda or a post to convince you to change your mind. 
4) I was once just as angry and critical as the people out there. That's why I understand why people are angry.
7) THIS IS A RANT so it's my PERSONAL OPINION.

Okay,  let's begin
 
1 - Just because she promised it, doesn't mean she has the power to execute it. No one is perfect.
Indeed. No one is perfect, especially when you're in parliament. People think Gillard lied to them, but are they really lies?

While defending her policy, the Prime Minister explained to the media that she had meant what she said when she stated there "will be no carbon tax". So,...let's think about it.

How many times have YOU promised something but had to break it because of unforeseen complications? Does that make YOU a liar too?

Of course not. That's silly. It just means you're a victim of Life. Things don't always go the way you want it to.

Therefore, when the Prime Minister said she DID mean what she said at the time, I believed her. I believe that at the time of her campaign, she sincerely wanted no tax.

But after the election, the power in parliament shifted towards the Greens so it wasn't up to her anymore whether or not a carbon tax will be introduced. The Green Party's power and control over the parliament forced her to break her promise and compromise with the thing she originally rejected.

Sure, a lot of people said that she did it to keep her seat as Prime Minister, but again, let's think about it. Wouldn't that be the most logic thing to do for anyone in her situation? It makes no sense for her to resign her seat as PM just so she doesn't have to go through with the carbon tax. That's not what a leader's suppose to do. Instead, she opted for the best option given to her at the time by the Greens which was the Carbon tax. Chances are, even if she did resign, the Greens would have influenced the next PM to introduce it. Besides, if she did resign, the next PM probably would have ended up being Tony Abbott and with all the rivalry going on between them, I don't think Gillard gave it a single thought.

Also remember that she's the first Female Prime Minister of Australia. That's a lot of pressure for her to be under seeing as her name will undoubtedly go down in history. Would you want to be known as THE FIRST FEMALE PM OF AUSTRALIA - Resigned within the year?

Of course, that doesn't justify what she did nor does it offer her redemption but hey, isn't she already paying the price? Enough is enough. I don't think she was TRYING to deceive the country. It sounds to me like the only mistake she made was assuming she would have the power and liberty to do what she wants. That's a mistake we've seen before in MANY previous PMs.

Kids, that's why we don't assume. It makes an ASS out of U and ME. Even so, you can't call her a liar because lying wasn't her intention. I don't think she was trying to deceive anyone. Things just got out of control.

Naturally, I could be wrong and Gillard COULD BE lying. Everything she's done so far could just be a part of her plan. I wouldn't know because I'm not her. But in the end, doesn't everything come down to what ME and YOU believe in? Whether she's a determined, scheming, lying woman or if she's just another prime minister who meant well but couldn't perform, in the end, it's just our perception of the same person. 

In the end, it comes down to what the voters believe in. A PM's worth is what the nation thinks of her. If you believe she's a lying bitch then to you she will be one. But if you have faith, then maybe you'll start to see her as someone more competent than you think.

2 - The position of Prime Minister does not entitle her to absolute power over the parliament.
As I've mentioned above, it's not up to her what policies get passed. That's not the point of a democratic government. If people want someone who has control over everything then what they're looking for is a SOVEREIGN not a Prime Minister. Sure, if Gillard was Queen Elizabeth I (they both have red hair!) and went back on her word, then sure, accuse away! But she's not. She doesn't have absolute power. 



I understand that the Prime Minister's job is to make sure his/her policies DO get passed but it's more difficult than it sounds. Just because Julia Gillard wanted no Carbon Tax doesn't mean the rest of the government will let her have her way. 

As we have seen in the past with many ex-prime ministers, a policy proposed by the head of the House of Representatives (a.k.a PM) csn be rejected by the Senate REPETITIVELY. This happened to Gough Whitlam when he was trying to push through with his policies but was constantly rejected because of the power the Opposition had over the Senate (my year 10 history is coming back to me!) creating "a deadlock". His policies continued to be rejected and nothing was passed. To the public, he was incompetent but if you were in his shoes, what COULD you have done? The whole deal ended with The Dismissal.

Of course, Gillard isn't really facing this problem at the moment but I think she's trying to avoid a situation like this by not agitating the Greens. Particularly now, seeing as Gillard's position as PM was made possible because of the Green's votes and also because the influence of the Green Party over the Senate has increased significantly following the recent election. 

House of Representatives


The Senate


Gillard told the media that the Carbon Tax was never suppose to be a PERMANENT plan for the future of Australia because she favoured the Emissions Trading Scheme (a market-based approach to reduce emissions) over the tax. But due to complications within the parliament she was forced to come to a compromise with the Greens. 

Because Gillard use to oppose the ETS, people are accusing her of using it now as an excuse for her actions. That is a possibility but wouldn't it make more sense that she just simply...changed her mind? Or are politicians born differently from the rest of us and are not subject to changing of minds? Could be. What do I know right?

The PM did say however how she hopes that with time, the Tax would open the doors to the ETS. Sounds to me like she's trying to fix her mistakes.

Let's just move on and try to do what we can with what's left? 


3 - Even if Global Warming and Climate Change isn't true, what's wrong with trying to cut pollution and save the environment? 
There's a lot of people out there who think Global Warming is rubbish. I'm neutral because I do believe that EVENTUALLY something like that would happen but I'm undecided as to whether or not it's happening NOW. Nevertheless, I hear people constantly complaining about how the fact that there's no evidence of Global Warming means that we don't have to do anything about it right now, that the Carbon Tax is unnecessary and that Gillard is wasting her time and the country's money.

In case people hadn't noticed, trying to save the environment is GOOD and even if climate change/global warming is not true, do we really need something drastic like that to happen before we start taking care of the environment? Are we so self-absorbed that we can't be bothered with something that COULD happen in the future, even if it's not immediate? 


I'm not trying to preach but environmental awareness is important! Hasn't Blade Runner taught anyone ANYTHING?  

I do agree that the Carbon Tax IS unnecessary. But why condemn the PM for wanting to save the environment even if right now, she's doing it in a way that's a little more controversial? Why can't we just have a little faith (even if she did let us down once)? 

Even if worst comes to worst she never gets through with her plans, I would cut her some slack anyway. People, if you hate her that much, don't flame or curse at her. Just calm down, bite your tongue and vote for someone else in the next election. But for now, give her a chance.  


I was skeptical about her before too and complained to my friends constantly but now that I know more, I apologise for it because it was wrong of me. I'm not trying to convince anyone that she's a good PM but what she's trying to do is NOT WRONG OR POINTLESS. In fact, I respect her for it. 

Why?

Because she's determined to do something about the environment even though all her predecessors failed to do so. SOMEONE has to take the first step and that's always the hardest thing to do. If each Prime Minister thinks..."Oh, the environment? Nah, we don't need to do that right now. The next Prime Minister can worry about it." then it will NEVER GET DONE...until one day BOOM, something does happen and then maybe it will already be too late.


What do they say? PREVENTION IS KEY.


4. The Media can be misleading! 
I thought that's pretty obvious by now. Newspaper companies need to sell papers and how do they do that? They need HEADLINE material and they need it EVERYDAY! So what do they do? They write about things that they know the public wants to hear. 
I'm not accusing of them of fabricating information but I do think that they do sometimes misinform others or exaggerate situations. What you hear is not always what you get. 
Here's a few things you need to know about the Carbon Tax (I didn't know about this until I visited the site). 

1) The main purpose of the Carbon Tax is not to tax ordinary Australians. The most impact will be on the BIG businesses and companies who uses A LOT of Carbon in their line of work. It's an attempt to make THEM cut down. 

2) For those who complain that low-income families and pensioners will suffer greatly from the tax because they won't be able to afford electricity etc; the Gillard government stated that payments to pensioners and family benefit payments will be INCREASED so that they can afford the rise in bill prices. Where does the money come from? From the Carbon Tax of course (paid by the BIG companies that use tonnes and tonnes of carbon). Not all families will benefit from this but it's a start.

3) To prevent shops from over-pricing products with carbon tax as an excuse, Gillard has introduced investigation teams to catch these instigators and fine them SEVERELY. 

Everyone seems to be blaming everything on the Carbon Tax these days. I mean, it's true that it has caused a stir in the economy but I can't help but feel that Julia is becoming the scapegoat of everything that goes wrong.


- -

Personally, if someone is to be blamed, then Bob Brown (the leader of the Green Party) should take more blame than Gillard. Afterall, he's the one behind the veil, the one with all the power. People on the net often compares him to Hitler (who also deceived the world with his ambitious causes but later became a walking nightmare). To me, this is a bit of a stretch but I can see why they would make the parallel.

For one thing, they both started their careers as someone powerless but ambitious and constantly craving for control. They both came into power bringing with them a noble cause that will "change the world". And for both of them, as soon as power was within their grasp, things started to get out of control. Negatively. 

The only thing is, Hitler achieved things Brown would probably never achieve. Hitler took the fragile, defenseless and crippled Germany under his wings helping it rise from the ashes, stronger and more powerful than it has ever been. For that, Hitler ought to be congratulated. But ofcourse his general conduct in the second half of his life was too terrible for him to be considered a great person in my eyes. Sounds kind of like Voldemort. Both had troubled childhoods, both deceived others around them, both had a terrifying period of rule with vicious followers and both tried to stamp out "impure bloodlines" but was not pure themselves. [We'll talk about this in another post soon ;D]


"For Hitler did great things. TERRIBLE! Yes...but great."

But yes, I'm straying from Bob Brown a little. All in all, he's not on par with someone like Hitler...not as GREAT nor as TERRIBLE...at least not yet. I'm sure he has his reasons for doing what he's doing, it's just that he's not revealing it just yet. I'll also reserve my judgement of him for later.

But regarding Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her Carbon Tax, well, I'm still undecided. But I do want to believe that she can make things better. For someone like her with the pressure of being the first Female Prime Minister and wanting to achieve something during her post, mistakes are understandable. 

You don't have to support her. But don't flame. Leave her alone.
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Green with Envy

Finally! Some photos from the caps photoshoot with Leona :)
I didn't have time to upload them because I was so busy with everything. I went to Canberra a while ago with my parents...but that's another story!!

Here they are! :D If you remember, the last photoshoot was like this.

Bunny ears picture with Leona's hands :D 
I reckon this is one of my favourite ones. Hehehe, I should have added whiskers =]
This is our Puppy Dog picture. (Yes, we're starting to warm up) 

Mustache Women :D Yes, we look very manly. 

We are such camwhores XD there's more photos but I really can't be bothered uploading!! Too big :D and it takes too long hehe.

Anyway, here's a few photos of what we had at Passionflower!! The photography is by Leona, I just "upped the delicious-ness factor with ps". For reviews etc, check out her blog: The Daily Leona


Chocolate Waffles
These waffles are DELCIOUS. I'm definitely gonna have this again. Mmmmm....
The waffles are hot when they bring the dish out and it tastes superb with the melted chocolate and the ice cream sides :D
Lost
This dessert pack is called Lost and it's really good. Unfortunately by the time we started on this dessert, both Leona and I were really full from the waffles already. The strawberries and pancakes were nice! But we didn't finish them.
All in all, it was a FANTASTIC day! I'll definitely do it again ;) Until next time =)

I'll upload the night photos with Queenie etc. later on!!! 
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Going Classic to Achieve Elegance


That's right boys and girls!! I've decided to shed skin and pursue the world of Hepburn elegance. Why? Because she's one of my most-admired old-time starlet. For me, she's the epitome of what it means to be beautiful. 

Obviously I'm not trying to become Ms. Hepburn. There can never be a second Hepburn. But what I'm trying for is her sense of style and of course the way she treats everyone around her (Audrey Hepburn was said to be one of the most down-to-earth starlets of her time).

So...
Goodbye mini-skirts, orange dyed hair and contacts :)

and...
Hello cascading curls, chestnut brown and ivories.


Goal 1
Softness starts with Cascading Waves
Also known as...I want a perm. Not those super curly afro perms...but a subtle wavy one. 
It's just a vanity thing. To me, softer looking hair equals a softer disposition. That's not always the case but it definitely is for me and cascading waves will achieve the softness I crave for my hair. I want softer looking hair. 
Ever since I started using the Herbal Essence Tousle Me Softly conditioner (click here for a post about the conditioner), my hair has definitely gotten softer. But I want it SOFTER! Cascading curls (or waterfall waves) will do nicely.
Softer hair makes my personality soft too. That's good, right? 


Goal 2
Chestnut Brown over Amber Brown
Yup Amber Brown is the colour of my current hair colour but I'm going to go a few shades darker and maybe go with a hue closer to chestnut. 
Why did I choose chestnut brown? Because in my opinion, it's one of the best shades of brown around and that's actually the colour I wanted when I first started dying my hair. Obviously the hairdresser didn't understand what "chestnut brown" meant because instead of that, I got the Amber I have now. I'm not complaining though, that colour's been growing on me. BUT IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE!


Goal 3
1000 Shades of Brown!
CLOTHING!! Not literally but yes, as many shades of brown as possible. Also not to forget the other classic colours such as black, ivory, vanilla and grey. If you want a splash of colour, try mustard yellow, olive green and crimson. 
In the end, it depends on what sort of style you have originally. If you've always been a colorful person then a sudden change like this would be quite bad. Just play down the colours and try more of the tones.


Goal 4
Accessorize Smartly
That's right...accessories! No more Paris Hilton white sunnies! Go for the classic black wide-rim. You can try other colours but black is always the safest beat if you don't think you can pull off coloured sunnies. 
Pearls are always a nice touch but for those under 20 (such as myself), it might be a little too sophisticated. So no pearl earrings!!! But pearl necklaces? Go ahead!! 
Rose gold is a beautiful colour so instead of getting plain gold accessories, go for rose gold (the gold with a slight pink tinge to it). Silver items are classic so go crazy with those.
But remember. Accessorize too much and it makes you look cheap so when dressing up, have one piece that stands out the most (e.g. an extravagant necklace) and dress down the rest of your accessories (e.g. small studs, small ring etc.) 
You don't need to spend a gazillion dollars to get a lot of HIGH QUALITY jewellery but a few pieces of good quality jewelleries are usually a MUST. Try Swarovski for their beautiful crystal range. 
Also note that since we're all still young (if you're under 50 you're young!!!)
we don't want to look TOO mature so as I mentioned above, try not to wear too many pearls, brass coloured earrings and lace. I guess lace looks nice if it's in your hair. 


Goal 5
Genuine Smiles
Obviously don't smile randomly at thin air especially when you're sitting on the train because that's just pervy and weird. But DO smile at passer-bys whom you make eye contact with. Smile at retail salespeople even if they're being a pain. Smile at elderly people when they come to sit next to you. Smile at bus drivers when you get on and off the bus. 
Basically, smile at everyone whom you come into contact with. You don't need to keep it up 24 hours a day but do make sure that when you do smile, it's a genuine one. Make sure your eyes are smiling too.
Believe it or not, it makes a world of difference. And yeah, I'm learning to smile =D 

So yup. These are my goals for the next 6 month for a better me :D
Hope it was fun to read. If not, then blah. 
Until next time x]
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