dimanche, juin 28, 2009 The strings on my Taylor Big Baby have been discoloured and looking a little frayed around the sound-hole area, and so I decided that it was time to restring the entire thing, as well as giving the guitar a good wipe. Here are some photos on how it went - nothing earth-shattering, just a normal restringing that I feel like documenting.Three pictures on the "naked" guitar:    The tools for re-stringing: pliers for the stubborn string-nuts (I don't know what's the technical term for these things that hold the bottom of the strings in place), and the new strings (old strings were looped together in this photo, new strings were in their little envelopes):   Here's a shot of all the strings (before tightening/tuning):  And the final tuned product: I'm quite pleased that it turned out quite neat; I cut off the ends of the sharp points with pliers after I took this photo:  Libellés : music [Taylor: Restrung] |
vendredi, juin 26, 2009 This is a strange thing to say, but I felt extremely loved while driving up on my first Malaysian road trip to Batu Pahat. Andy, Matt, Uncle Andrew and Ming were all driving up, and they all made sure that everything was okay as we drove up in a five-car convoy. Andy leading the way, and Matt bringing up the rear (happily walkie-talkie-ing their way up, I'll bet!) It was really, really, really comforting to know that I wasn't driving the strange roads alone, and having to navigate the roads by myself (or with another passenger.) The same went for the ride back, with Isaac/Yuxun in the lead, and Ming/Julius getting my back. Ming & Jul behind us...  ...while we're happily safe.  Exiting Tuas checkpoint.  Nothing but blue sky and open road.
[The MACK's first road trip] |
mercredi, juin 24, 2009 Jon, this post is dedicated to you. Libellés : humour [Love & Game Theory] |
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Today in the office, we were looking for the most cringeworthy Star Wars lines, and having a wild laugh. (For the record, it was from the Clone Wars - Anakin Skywalker's "I'm haunted by the kiss you should never have given me.") Then one of the interns pointed out that the universally-hated Jar Jar Binks looked like... Ronaldino.  [Star Wars: Bad Lines] |
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A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak. After mass, he asked the monsignor how he had done. The monsignor replied, “When I am worried about getting nervous on the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip.” So the next Sunday, he took the monsignor’s advice. At the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink. He proceeded to talk up a storm. Upon returning to his office, he found the following note on his door:
[Holy Gaffes] |
On the scales of desire, your absence weighs more Second part of the poem did not move me as much (interesting descriptions though, very hippie), but the first part resonated. Absence can weigh more than presence. Libellés : literature [Absence - Jeffrey Daniels] |
mardi, juin 23, 2009 What happens when you use 3rd party software to chat... ... your phone dies from exhaustion. Heehee! Phone: fail. Libellés : church, humour, technology [What happens when you use 3rd party software to chat...] |
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The Quiet World - Jeffrey McDaniel In an effort to get people to lookinto each other's eyes more, and also to appease the mutes, the government has decided to allot each person exactly one hundred and sixty-seven words, per day. When the phone rings, I put it to my ear without saying hello. In the restaurant I point at chicken noodle soup. I am adjusting well to the new way. Late at night, I call my long distance lover, proudly say I only used fifty-nine today. I saved the rest for you. When she doesn't respond, I know she's used up all her words, so I slowly whisper I love you thirty-two and a third times. After that, we just sit on the line and listen to each other breathe. [source] It's unusual because it's from a guy's POV; the fact that he loved her so much that he saved his words, and couple that with the true fact that women talk twice as much as men - it was an unusual reversal of roles. The ending is lovingly comfortable as well - sitting in companionable silence is a highly underrated trait. Libellés : literature [The Quiet World - Jeffrey McDaniel] |
lundi, juin 22, 2009 Decision-Making Skills: Good to Go, or Good with God? A Series by Heather A. GoodmanPart 1: Want Fries With That? Part II: Knowing God's Will Part III: Living Wisely within God's Freedom In seeking how to best obey God's will in life, I've been asking myself very tough questions recently, not the least of all was my career path. I've been very blessed to have excellent people to lean on and talk things out, and Andy recently sent me and Di a series by Heather Goodman that addresses this particular issue. God does not have a specific workplace, church, or geographic location in mind for us... He gives us freedom to choose these things as long as we seek to obey him and serve his kingdom through these choices. And he will use us no matter where we are or what we decide. I think I'm more stressed out than consoled. Newton's 3rd Law of Motion states that every force has an equal and opposite reaction, which makes sense because every action will (or should!) have a consequence... and what happens if you think you're obeying God, but you're really not? What if you're really being led astray by something or other? Libellés : christian, thinking [Decision-Making Skills: Good to Go, or Good with God?] |
vendredi, juin 19, 2009 Celest Chong:"If you want to be pretty, you cannot be lazy."(as read in Straits Times' URBAN 19 Jun 2009) Oh dear. Libellés : current affairs, humour [Quotable Quote] |
mercredi, juin 17, 2009 Digital Small Talk: Small Social Capital  Many people have noted that the tweets and facebook updates take the fun out of meeting friends; given that you know the little snippets of what happens in everyone else's lives, it DOES get kind of hard to chat about the small stuff. On the one hand, this could be a good thing. When meeting up, you could dive straight into discussion; no more waffling about with the "how are yous" and "I'm fine thank yous". But on the other hand, as this article points out, we could be glossing over rather important information that the tweets/updates don't go into.Some people are what he calls "high self monitors," meaning they are very attuned to the impression they are creating and more likely to manage their public image. "Low self monitors" are less attentive to the impressions they are making and presumably more candid in their updates.I'm definitely in the former category, so this whole idea of small-talk on the web is counter-intuitive for me; I'd rather chat (online, or F2F) than read your tweets. Libellés : technology, thinking [Digital Small Talk: Small Social Capital] |
mercredi, juin 10, 2009 I don't really know much about video games (I know NOTHING actually), but I would have loved to be in any of their music development teams!Libellés : music, technology [Infamous: Music] |
lundi, juin 08, 2009 PDL Day 5: Seeing Life from God's POV  I somehow missed a day as I posted. This is Day 5's post.* What's my metaphor for life? Sojourn, waiting. Although sometimes I can't tell what's the metaphor and what's really my thoughts anymore - have I been completely brainwashed by the bible, and is that a terrible thing to have had done to myself, given everything I know and believe about God? Perhaps 'brainwash' has negative connotations - the bible says to renew our minds constantly, but the world calls it brainwashing. Perhaps it's good that the world thinks that we're brainwashed - we're called to be set apart anyway. I think I resent the ten-year series answer, but any other answer makes no sense to me at all - where can I find MYSELF in the midst of the answers? Or is 'dying to self' really mean the negation of all personality? (This is untrue, of course - but what is the alternative/correct answer?) * Every day is a test. [PDL Day 5: Seeing Life from God's POV] |
A post I wrote in September last year, and only realised was left in "drafts" - More and more, I find that the World is really strange place to be if one is a Christian. Things are so alien, and are so incredibly incongruous to what we believe that I think 1 Peter 2:11-12 is really coming to life for me:Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. [An Alien, Alienated] |
lundi, juin 01, 2009 PDL Day 07: The Reason for Everything * The logic behind this section is indisputable. If we are created for God, then we are to live for God. The next logical question is - how? In order to explore the HOW, we need to understand what God wants from us; of us. He wants us to live for His glory.Listed are these points - we bring God glory 1. ...by worshiping Him. 2. ...by loving other believers 3. ...by becoming like Christ 4. ...by serving others with our gifts 5. ...by telling others about Him * If we are commanded to observe God's glory, all sin stems from a small view of God. * His pleasure is to see us fulfill His function for us. [PDL Day 07: The Reason for Everything] |
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