So here's a video which I recorded a while back. I was contemplating to upload it or not... but HECK... it was a torture by Fly FM Rush Hour's Prem because we lost in Fly FM's Back To School... Fabes and I (ahem) took it like a women while Nadia took it like a man...

Before you hit the play button... you might want to take a breather... it might cost a certain level of 'uncomfortableness?'...

Presenting...
Phat Fabes a.k.a Fabulous Fabes
Ben a.k.a a very lost Indian Auntie
Nadia a.k.a an Australian man who sounds like a chick...



It was TORTURE I TELL YA... TORTURE!!!...

Seelan's been missing in action for a few days now. No one knows what happened to him and his Personal Assistant has been keeping mum about it...

The theories...

Liverpool lost in a some match somewhere and he's hiding in a hole somewhere bawling...

He got kidnapped by Aliens

He coloured himself blue so that he could blend nicely with his room's wall...

BUT all theories were DEBUNKED when I saw THIS!

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It's OFFICIAL! He is a chewbacca from Star Wars in disguise! I always knew something was 'strange' about him... mmmm...

Then we took a closer look...

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Ah HA! Debunked yet again! It's just a cardboard...

More questions emerged since then...

Why was it a cardboard?

Why did he pick chewbacca?

Did he turn into a cardboard?

Questions left unanswered... if you have ideas, let me know...

Yes yes yes... you heard about it on radio, if you were at Tropicana City Mall on Saturday to catch Fly FM Back To School, you would have witnessed it... Fabes, Nadia and I lost to Fly FM Rush Hour's Jules and Prem...

That however is not EXACTLY true. We did lose on face value. That's what EVERYONE sees. We actually 'planned' to lose because we CARE.

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Here's the story...

Fabes, Nadia and I knew from the very beginning that Rush Hour HAD to win this... why?
Because if not, they'll lose face.

Why did we give them face?
That's because they are our little brother and sister. It is our duty to take care of them...


Why didn't we simply answered all the wrong answers from the very beginning to make it easier?
You see, we needed to ensure our younger siblings would feel as though they have had a 'tough' fight.

Do we still love them?
Of course we do. Fly FM Pagi Show will always LOVE Fly FM Rush Hour. It doesn't matter what they say about us. They can call us dumb, strange looking... whatever - we'll take it... why? Because we CARE :)

OK OK OK FINE FINE FINE WE LOST!

I just had to make up something to make myself feel better :P

I've got some shots to show you though...

Me and my super awesome tutors! (the camera is a bit out - I look a little fatter than usual here)

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The stage where it all began and ended...

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The kiasus before the event...

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One of the kiasus and Fabes...

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The other kiasu and Nadia...

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Ahhhh... memories... the chalkboard we used!

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And again... our reason for losing :)

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Congratulations again Rush Hour - Jules & Prem - you rock... BUT this is NOT the end... muah hahahah... hahahah.... (cough cough) hahahaha.... (cough cough)...

I've been collecting some pics using my phone lately. I must say, the N97's imaging capability is quite amazing... I point, shoot and voila... point, shoot and voila... point, shooooooot and voillllaaa... you get the idea :)

First up, cups galore!!!

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Muffins... and bagels with poppy seed?

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A frothy HOT chocolate... mmmm...

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And the grand mama of pics for this post - Groceries for the weekend! - nothing like a lovely bunch of plastic bags :P

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oh yeah, and this... kitchen roll architecture...
Basil from Fly FM's Night Flight was bored during our team meeting... he grabbed a kitchen roll - used up all the tissue by distributing it to everyone and turned it into the most 'artistic' architecture I've ever seen... I'm telling you, deejays are also multi-talented :) We don't just talk :)

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The Apple

So we've heard about the Apple iPhone 3GS. The built-in digital compass - or in a more technical term, it's called the magnetometer. As always, Apple will come up with an AWESOME looking app that works with the feature...

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Then there's the latest, greatest, Nokia's flagship - N97. The thing is, it's not a national secret. Nokia is good at making phones and the Symbian Series 60 interface (v5) isn't too bad - but can be a little aged compared to the iPhone.

The Nokia

The N97 does come with a magnetometer built-in but doesn't come with a dedicated app like the iPhone so usage of the digital compass was very very very much limited. Unless you use Nokia Maps (Nokia's GPS app) - there's no other way to use the magnetometer.

BUT no fear! OffScreen technologies is here!

Thanks to Nokia's move to create the OVI Store (very much like Apple's App Store)... developers such as OffScreen have been hard at work and somehow brought the iPhone App feel to the Nokia world... so VOILA!

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The app works EXTREMELY well! Best part is, it's FREE! So if you own an N97. It's an amazing app. Check it out on the OVI Store. Also, make sure you checkout some of OffScreen's other apps, they've got loads of other apps which work GREAT!

Finally, apps that look great on a Nokia!

If you noticed that my blogs haven't been updated as often as it usually was... it's because I've been in and out of the hospital quite frequently in the past two weeks... whether it's to visit a specialist, going for x-rays or just getting hospitalized...

Week 1 was last week... bent over, felt this surging pain on my lower and and wham - went to hospital and doctor confirmed that I had a 'torn disc' AND because of this 'torn disc', one part of it was pinching on a nerve which causes this constant 'left bum-cheek' pain.

No biggy, doctor gave meds and asked me to remain on the bed for as long as I possibly can... few days down, I went back to work...

Early this week...

Monday morning, woke-up, started coughing and sneezing... and I saw BLOOD! Ignored it for a bit... went to work and it got worse. Saw our in-house doctor - I call her Fly FM's Dr. Phil - Dr. Rohaya - she checked me out and since I've been coughing for sometime now with this time being the worst, she sent me to the hospital... went to a chest / lung specialist - initially, they thought it could be pneumonia!!! Then after further tests, it was bronchitis. The weezing was really bad... so was the coughing... the blood was still a mystery.

I was admitted...

Massive 'thing' poked into me... it was torturous as they couldn't find the right vein. I was poked 5 times???!!! Yooouuccchhh!

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Then it was inhaling strange things on a daily basis - cool looking or what? 'lukkkeee... I'm ur faaathhheeerrr....' (wheez)

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Through that 'thing' - I had loads of jabs... and took lots of oral medicine BUT I must say, one of the things I REALLY REALLY enjoyed during my stay was the FOOOODDDDDD...

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I'm still under medication. I think I've got 2-3 types of antibiotics... some that would dissolve, some orally... and then there's this thing I've got to inhale once in a while... I really hope this will be last 'medical' chapter in a loooooooong time. Enough of being sick man... I'm 99% recovered... still minor coughs here and there but it's all good. Just 1 more % to go. :)

Well, at least by means of booking… stock according to Maxis will only be available for pickup on the 31st of July 2009; which in my opinion isn’t too long really, considering the time it took for us to get the iPhone 3G in Malaysia when the entire world was already rejoicing it’s arrival and playing with it for a good 9 months.

From what I gather at www.maxis.com.my/iphone3gs, Maxis has learned from it’s previous experience. Instead of releasing just set of pathetic iValue plans like what they did for the 3G, the 3GS comes with everything – the iData plan, the iValue plan and Prepaid plan (which essentially is no plan at all – just pay a hefty price for the phone and use it).

The prices
As with Apple’s style of pricing, everything tends to come down in price whenever a new model comes about. The iPhone 3G (16GB) model is no longer offered and has been replaced with the iPhone 3GS (16GB).

I got my iPhone 3G (16GB) model with the iData Plan (24 months) at a price of RM 2,100. Today, the iPhone 3GS (16GB) with the same plan goes for RM 1,990. Which isn’t too bad at all.

Will I get it?
Thing is, I’m SUPER EXCITED about the phone. Everyone online has been raving about the SPEED, the voice control features and the anti-fingerprint screen - the only bummer is this, I read a clause on the site saying that any one customer can only have a maximum of 2 contracts tied to their account – which I already have. The only logical way out of this is to buy the phone using the ‘Prepaid plan’ – which essentially means paying a hefty RM 2,490 for the 16GB and RM 2,990 for the 32GB model…

Quick update…
Just got off the phone from Maxis Customer Support and they adviced me to chill. They’ll come back to me on my options later this evening. Hope there’s good news :)

To buy or not to buy… THAT IS DA QUESTION… :)

It's a FLYDAY! Yay! Just one day after my 27th Birthday... Woke up yesterday, felt ABSOLUTELY GREAT. Went to work and strangely... no one mentioned anything to me... apart from Fabes who uttered - "Happy Birthday"... without much of a conviction and Nadia who read an SMS wishing me so she 'casually' wished me - then it was brushed off.

6am passed, 7am passed, 8am passed, 9am passed... I announced to the world it was my birthday on radio... STILL NO REACTION from Amrita the producer or the rest of the guys...

The team meeting came and went... it was already 12pm... then it was the Fly FM Station meeting... everyone was there and I was pretty sure I prepped everyone telling them it was my birthday on the 9th... STILL NO ONE UTTERED A WORD! I was in the studio till 3pm - left for lunch ALL BY MYSELF... then I told myself... well, SCREW it... it's MY BIRTHDAY, I'll treat myself to an awesome lunch... went to 1 Utama and thought maybe Basil and Hafiz would still be around since the station meeting just went by and their shift starts at 8. Called Basil and I was invited... STILL NO MENTION... until I had to say it "ITS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!" - they looked surprised... I was puzzled... but hey, that's where the journey began and I had my mini afternoon celebration...



Then I thought, this COULDN'T BE. The guys can't be this heartless... I'm sure they've got something up their sleeve. I called Stella to check if the guys preplanned anything and the answer was "nope" and I Went for my 1-on-1 dinner with my love later in the evening... IT WAS NOTHING LESS THAN FANTABULOUS and the CAKE!!! SUPER AWESOME!!!

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Ahh... Love... :)

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Escargots baby!

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Lobster bisque ole' chap? Topped with black lustrous caviar!

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and for main course, US Prime Rib Eye Steak - medium well... I don't like to see blood.. :)

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and the SUPER SUPER DUPER ALAMA BAMBA cake!

After a GREAT night... I kept thinking... I'm sure there's something that was going to happen. After numerous calls to Fabes with him assuring that NOTHING was going to happen... I was imbalanced... maybe they were being mean, maybe they forgot or maybe... just maybe... something would happen...

So true enough, at 9am this morning... I REALLY NEEDED to answer nature's call - yes, it's the combo - BIG & SMALL but the guys insisted that I stayed in the studio... the mic came on and VOILA! Birthday song... birthday message from the guys and gals in the station... MASSIVE iPhone CAKE! and even a present from Fabes! WOOHHOOOOO!

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The iPhone cake!!! If you're wondering, it's SUPER MOIST chocolate on the inside... Jules' mum baked this!

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a better view of the cake...

For all that, though it seemed mean at first, I have to thank EVERYONE involved... Fabes, Nadia, Jules, Prem, Hafiz, Basil, Hunny, Steve and especially AMRITA the producer of all producers... she the da bomb... who made all this happen. I feel soooo touched... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU - you guys are the best team I've worked with and of course, I musn't forget the gazillions of people who wished me happy birthday on Facebook and Twitter... you guys ROCK! and made the 'torture' less painful... :P

As of today, the N97 v11 firmware is still not available via Nokia's OTA (Over-The-Air) firmware upgrade feature. If you're wondering how to access this...

1. Hit "*#0000#"
2. Select "Options"
3. Select "Check for updates"
4. If firmware is available for download via OTA, you'd be prompted to install the new firmware

Only way to upgrade to the latest v11 firmware is via a Nokia Care Centre until a few hours ago... my wife's N97 showed "check for software update?" - she hit yes and voila! - it states that a V11 firmware is available and that it can be downloaded via the Nokia Software Updater!

So here it is... being flashed as I type this post...

If you haven't got yours updated yet, the time is now :)

A lesson learned...

1st week of July came and left. Everyone who owned an N97 - myself in particular was counting down to the date of the release of the new firmware - V11 which boasts lots of new functionality including kinetic scrolling (iPhone style) which already exists in some 3rd party apps such as Gravity the twitter client.

Rumoured to be out on the 1st of July - it never came. I was constantly checking for updates on the phone itself hoping for an OTA (over-the-air) upgrade but it never was available. All hope was lost until I checked in on a Nokia Care Centre in 1 Utama... apparently they had it on the 2nd of July itself! So the next time you desperately want a software upgrade, check with Nokia Care first... AND be sure you've got an authorized set otherwise there'll be a charge :P

The V11 firmware

I've heard so much from the forums... the countless number of features and fixes... but to be honest, I'm a little disappointed.

• Backlight not syncing when locking and unlocking phone? - FIXED
• Better switching from WiFi, 3G, EDGE, GPRS in apps? - NOT PERFECT but BETTER
• Kinetic scrolling? - NOT IMPLEMENTED
  
• Faster acquisition of GPS coordinates - FIXED
• Nokia Maps facelift - NOT NOTICEABLE
• Auto detection of empty SMS prior to sending - NOT IMPLEMENTED
• Multitouch support? - NOT IMPLEMENTED
• Use of gestures to control apps - NOT IMPLEMENTED

So was it worth the wait and upgrade?

Yes and No. Yes, the firmware does seem lots more stable. No, apart from the backlight sync with phone's software lock (which honestly is a GREAT deal) there isn't anything else to shout about.

And then it happened...

So after the firmware upgrade, the weekend came and my parents planned up an impromptu getaway in Fraser's Hills to celebrate my birthday a week in advance.

I was happily snapping pictures with the N97 - the quality is truly amazing. Thanks to the firmware, things seem more solid and snappier...

One of my dogs called Puffy had a bad hair day...

One got so bored that she decided to show her bum to the entire world...

I couldn't care less and kept on snapping...

After uploading the pics to Twitter using Gravity... the phone hung, crashed and decided NEVER to go pass the "NOKIA" welcome screen - no matter what I did...

I returned to KL, sent it to a Nokia Centre (where it originally got it's upgrade) - got it reflashed and within an hour - it's BACK! ALIVE and KICKING!

So I went snapping happily again... until I saw this VERY disturbing scene of a BMW being mutilated... bonnet scratched, emblem forcefully peeled off - even the holder was damaged in some way... whoever did this must really hate the owner...

Be nice when on the road :)