I've been thinking about this for awhile... digging the nose... it's an art... and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the HUGE number of nose digging pictures available online - of politicians, celebrities, monkeys, unknown individuals - you name it, the web's got it!

Some people do it soooo well, they become instant celebrities!

So anyway, stop pretending as though it disgusted you - everyone - me, you, my dog, my ex-pet hamster - every living thing has booger of some sort and we've found our ways through nature to relieve us of such 'particles'... :)

Humans as we know use our fingers... yes, some of us have slender ones that can go REALLLLLYYY deep into never never land... some have fat ones... but nonetheless, it's always the finger.

What's the deal?

Why blog about it? You see, for quite sometime now, we've heard SOOOOO much about the H1N1 flu and how we should avoid it etc. I remember reading an article about how humans can contract the flu - whichever strain it is - so long as we touch our mouth, rub eyes (in particular) after touching something that has been exposed to the 'virus' - we would have contracted the virus through our 'exposed' senses? I'm no doctor but I hope you get the idea.

The logic

So the logic is, if you shook the hand of someone who has the flu, touching your eyes or face is a bad idea. Imagine touching the 'virus' and then DIGGING your nose... that's worse - it's like jabbing the virus straight into your skull!

The lesson

The lesson? Do not dig your nose if you've been out for a prolonged period of time. The virus could be anywhere - the escalator, the lift buttons, the rails, your friend's hand, your phone... you get the idea :)

The final art

Wash your hands right before you attempt the art of 'digging' to be safe... enjoy the diggathon!

So if you haven’t heard, YES, I’ve made the switch, YES, I’ve made the purchase and YES, I sound like a complete hippocrate. Just not too long ago, I was preaching about how great the Nokia 5800 was compared to the iPhone 3G…

It also didn’t help that Maxis had – I repeat “had” an awful package that couldn’t care less for their existing hardcore customers.

Everything changed last Saturday – a new package was introduced, a drop in iPhone prices – their hardcore customers like myself are now happy.

 

The hippocrate justifies his purchase
Thing is, even after owning an iPhone 3G, I still stand by all things I said about the shortcomings of the existing iPhone 3G (software version 2.0). The inability to mms, no video, less than great camera etc – yet I’m HAPPY. Why? It really depends on the kind of user you are and what things do you prioritize.

What user are you?
I’m the kind of user who would squeeze every grain of sand of out of the chips in a phone. In other words, I’d categorize myself as person who uses a good 90% of all available features ALL THE TIME.

• The mobile social addict
   
  You’d dream of mobile blogging, twitting, facebook-inig, chatting all the time. The iPhone is the perfect phone for this. Don’t just take my word for it. Just checking out any twitter client or facebook client (which is absolutely FREE by the way) on the iPhone would leave you in awe. These apps had everything thought of.
  
  Upload images directly from your iPhone to Facebook? You got it! Upload your current location via GPS to twitter? You got it!
  
  
• The net addict
  I surf A LOT. All the time. Fabes would tell you this, my wife would tell you this, my dad would tell you this – you’ll NEVER see me idling at the dinner table, lunch table, my table, your table, you mother’s table – you get the idea. I’d either be talking or doing something (surfing) with my phone.
   
  To-date, iPhone’s safari browser is rated the best mobile browser in any mobile device. Nothing comes close – YET. Sure it lacks the ability to support Adobe Flash, but the way it renders the pages, it’s speed, it’s usability completely shadows that flaw. Personally, I’ve had no problems surfing 90% of the sites I go to.
  
  
• You love something new EVERYDAY – The Chinese call it the ‘new toilet bowl’ syndrome
   
  Who wouldn’t like something new everyday? Especially something new that’s FUN, easy to use and is very likely FREE!
  
  The AppStore that comes with every iPhone connects you to a store that hosts tens of thousands of applications developed specifically for the iPhone / iPod touch. There’s literally an app for everything – light saber, games, finance, business, games, you name it – they have it! If there's something the iPhone is not able to do, chances are there will be apps readily available to fix that.
  
  No MMS? There's an app for that
  No VoiceDial? There are tonnes of FREE apps for that - COOL TOO!
  No pet hamster? There's one for that too! I've got a dog, hamster and a cat living in mine
  
  Some are free and some aren’t. The ones you pay for start from as low as 0.99 cents (USD) – on average, most apps are within the 2 USD range – that’s FREAKING cheap compared to applications for other mobile platforms that start from 19 USD! 
  
  So, from a price of NOTHING – you can get something new to play with EVERYDAY.

So what are the shortcomings? Sure there’s at least one?
After using the iPhone for 72 hours now, apart from the shortcomings I’ve mentioned in my previous post, the iPhone does lack…

• Battery life
   
  I’m not sure if it’s all the excitement that I’ve used the iPhone and meddled with it more than usual – the battery life goes down rather quickly. Then again, I would be constantly online every few minutes, twitting, facebooking, downloading new apps, switching from 3G to WiFi, taking pictures, listening to music, watching videos, listening to podcasts – wow, no wonder battery life went down so quickly! :)
  
  Seriously though, the battery life could be better. Although it’s usable, I’d suggest buying an in-car charger and have a spare Apple USB cable lying around if you expect a looonnng day.
  
  
• Internet connection – almost mandatory
  The iPhone can only be used to it’s maximum potential when it has constant Internet connection. I’m not talking about 3G. I’m talking about an Unlimited Data Package – attached to your mobile service. Rates start from 68 to 99 ringgit – depends on which operator you use.
  
  Sure you can use an iPhone 3G with a WiFi connection, but that’s going to be troublesome – looking for a new WiFi hotspot, just to download an app, play an online game, watching youtube videos etc. 

What does the future hold for the iPhone 3G?
I honestly do not know the future. There are rumours that a new iPhone will be out in June this year. That’s yet to be seen.

One thing that’s confirmed is that there will be a new iPhone 3.0 software which will come as a FREE upgrade to all existing iPhone 3G users. iPhone 3.0 claims to solve many shortcomings of the current iPhone 2.0 software – cut-and-paste, bluetooth sharing of content, device wide search, mms, video recording and more will be introduced. Many people are expecting iPhone 3.0 software to be out in June this year.

Should I buy it now?
If you answered YES to all the types of users defined above plus you’re ready to possibly invest in an unlimited data package (though not mandatory), you’re not kiasu & worried about a new version of the iPhone 3G and that you’re willing to live with some of the shortcomings of the iPhone until iPhone 3.0 comes out, it’s a resounding YES! YES! YES! 

It's really not a phone for everyone
In short, the iPhone 3G is not exactly a phone for everyone. It's for tech geeks, music geeks, video geeks, social geeks, new toilet bowl geek... if you're not one of those geeks - then you might want to rethink the purchase. Hold it off for a bit until Apple releases another iPhone that will better suit everyone else. 

Once in awhile, strange things tend to happen, you see opportunities... opportunities to show the world that we human beings are not perfect... and that opportunity came.

I'm not sure if it was the back-to-work Monday stress but Fabes & I hugged...

Problem is, it wasn't just any other hug - it was a 'strange' hug. A HUG is defined as "embrace: squeeze (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness" by the good ole' Princeton University.
Now with that definition in mind, take a look at this picture...

That certainly doesn't depict what was defined. Squeezing? I was more like resisting. Tightly in my arms? well, more like a tight face - and trying our best to keep away from each other. Fondness? Just look at my face and see how fond I was...

Yet, we called it a hug... Maybe that's how men hug each other. We humans are a strange species.

I heard a few weeks back from trusted sources that maxis was working on a new plan to iron out some ‘hiccups’ in their existing iValue plans that were great for some new Maxis postpaid users but not so for heavy Maxis users that have Value Plus plans and supplementary lines. If you’ve been reading my blog, you would’ve seen my MASSIVE post on how upset I was…

The ‘miracle’
Honestly, I’ve been itching for an iPhone ever since the 2G version was launch – and even more when the 3G was launched and EVEN EVEN more when it was officially launched by Maxis. I’ve been uneasy… constantly thinking of ways to get it cheaper… this was increasingly so in the past couple of days… and then this arrived while I was checking out Maxis’ site for a ‘miracle’…

Something called iData plans… apparently it was launched just today… only e-mails were circulated… not many of the Maxis consultants I called up knew about it… for Maxis standards, it seemed like a largely ‘unknown’ plan…

How does it affect you?
Firstly, if you’re like me, a heavy Maxis customer with 2 supplementary lines with the primary signed up with one of their Value plus plans – you would’ve been enjoying FREE sms, video calls, mms, voice calls.

The iValue Plan
In the past, if you went for the iValue plan 2 (based on latest prices) where you pay RM 155 per month with a 24 month contract, you’d be paying RM 2,160 upfront for the 16GB iPhone 3G. With that plan, you’ll get 1GB of free data.

If you were to ‘upgrade’ to any iValue plan, you immediately LOSE all family plan privileges…

• no more free calls to family members
• no more free sms to family members
• no more free video calls to family members
• no more free mms to family members

The iData plan a.k.a MIRACLE
With the iData plan, all you’re required to do is tag on another RM 99 to your existing line. So if you’ve been using Value 50, Value 80, Value 150 etc. – just add another 99 ringgit for UNLIMITED DATA (fair usage of 3GB) and commit to that data package for a period of 12-24 months and you get your iPhone at a lower, more affordable price… For example :

• 24 months contract – 16GB iPhone 3G – RM  2,100

Best part of the iData plan?

• You keep your Value plan privileges
• All free calls, sms, mms, video calls to your family members will remain
• You essentially pay less!
• It’s way more flexible… you can have the cheapest Maxis Value Plus Plan of RM 50 and still get an iPhone 3G!

In fact, Maxis has even opened up purchases of iPhone 3G to Maxis Prepaid customers! More information on new plans here.

I’m happy. I’m pleased to announce that I own an iPhone 3G from Maxis.

Maxis, welcome back.

If you don't know by now, one of the largest contests on the Fly FM Pagi Show where you answer a single trivia called Fly FM Wake Up Your Brain has bloated to a massive 16,400 ringgit cash prize. Everytime someone gets it wrong, it grows by another 100. This has been happening for the longest time - honestly, I've lost track!

Everytime the cue to call comes, the lines get jammed up, only 8th, 9th and 10th callers through will get the golden opportunity to answer the question leaving thousands and thousands waiting behind engaged tones.

So we thought of this idea called the Express Pass where once you've gotten it, there is NO NEED for you to call in. Instead, WE CALL YOU this Flyday during the cue to call giving you a definite chance to pickup the bulk of cash.

To get it, we devised a few challenges. Yesterday, the challenge was "show us what you are willing to do to pickup the pass" - the winner was Jenny who went to a bakery and scared the life out of everyone there by screaming and talking to the buns on display.

Today, the challenge was for anyone who could arrive at Sri Pentas (our studio) with our complete list of breakfast items. Fabes ordered a roti canai with fish curry, nasi lemak bungkus and nescafe tarik. Amrita our producer ordered a roti kaya and a teh tarik. I ordered a nasi lemak bungkus, teh tarik kurang kurang kurang manis and an extra hard boiled egg.

After waiting for a good 25 minutes, SHE ARRIVED!

So congratulations Irene! You just picked up an Express Pass - no more worrying about getting through for Fly FM Wake Up Your Brain - we'll CALL you this Flyday to play. Good news is, there's one more express pass left. Could you be the one? :)

So this is what happened, got home after watching X-Men Origins : Wolverine – which rocked BIG time… everyone seems to be working backwards nowadays – started off with the cartoons – you’ve got Tom & Jerry then Tom & Jerry Kids… then Star Wars and how Anakin became the bathroom sounding Darth Vader…

Anyway, enough of movie talk – I’ll dedicate a post on that one of these days – but this is what got me excited – was on twitter – then @aplusk (Ashton Kutcher) twitted something about a live video feed…

I logged on, and there he was! LIVE in ACTION! Direct from a movie set via his iPhone!

He was trying to get someone to pee in his / her pants and in return, he’ll reward the person with 500 bucks and he DID!

Checkout the recorded live feed

The cool thing is that he was chatting live on Twitter while the entire thing was going on – tweets were coming in, he was commentating – it’s really a combination of web, entertainment and live interactivity at it’s best. I’ve got to give it to the dude, the fact that he’s opening a direct channel between him and his fans – and his ‘people’ into his personal life – brings him to another level of ‘celebrity status’ – it’s now more up-close-and-personal than ever before.

The is the next progression from YouTube – where everything’s recorded, edited, polished, subtitled and uploaded to something that’s RAW, unedited, spontaneous and LIVE. Soon, we’ll have more and more of these ‘live mobile feeds’ – every camera phone will be a live video cam – every individual will be a star… when are you becoming one?