Tuesday, December 27, 2011

How much RAM can Windows XP Pro handle ?

In short:
- Windows XP Pro 32bit can handle up to 4GB of RAM.
- A program running in Windows XP Pro 32bit can access up to 2GB of RAM.
- A program running in Windows XP Pro 32bit with the /3GB switch in boot.ini can access up to 3GB of RAM.

More at http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=187977

Friday, July 22, 2011

Durians : Capri, 808 and Lipan

Finally, I managed to eat some durians albeit at the tail end of the Balik Pulau  Durian Season in Penang :-)

At the Mt Erskrine wet market, I checked out the Capri aka Bak Yu and yummy, it was nice and creamy. Later at night, Krystle just loved it and said that she loved the creaminess of Capri.

Yesterday, at the same stall, I tasted the recommended 808 and yes, it was kinda sweet and creamy.




Next, I was offered Green Thorns aka Cheh Chee aka Lin Fong Chiao but I declined as I did not like it and I was kinda surprised that he also has Lipan, one of my favourites :-)

We took a vote at night and whilst me and Tracey preferred Lipan for its "khor liam", Kimberley and Krystle voted for 808 for its sweetness and creaminess. In addition, Krystle said that Capri was more creamy. BTW, I forked our RM 17 for the 808 and RM 8 for the Lipan and yes, durians taste nicer after some time in the fridge.

Saturday, July 09, 2011

All Men Are Brothers : Wu Sung, the Tiger Slayer

When I was a kid, my mum told me the story of "Bu Seong Pak Hor" ie Hokkien for "BO Seong fights with a tiger" It was much later when in 1995, I bought the pictorial stories of the Chinese Classic the "Water Margin" that I realised that Bo Seong was actually Wu Sung one of the prominent 108 heroes of Liang Shan Pao :-)

I was first exposed to the Water Margin when I borrowed Water Margin from the PFS library when I was in Form 2, Then, I did not get pass the first few chapters as there tonnes of description of A Vs B fighting 100 rounds... so boring :-)

Last year, my youngest, Krystle discovered the 5 pictorial volumes and actually completed reading them within a week and surprise... surprise, we discovered quite by accident that the story of Wu Sung was shown on Astro Channel 708 (TV 8) !

Although, I knew the tragic ending, Krystle and me were just hooked on "All men Are Brothers" which ended 2-3 weeks ago. Then I remembered that I had several years ago bought the Shaw Brothers Celestial Movies, "Water Margin" and the sequel "All men are Brothers"

You may wonder why I even bother to blog about this Chinese classic. Well, after re-reading the 5 volumes, we noted that there were significant distortions in the TV Series, Celestial Movies and the original classic.

This series of articles serves to point out the discrepancies and solve certain mysteries about the Water Margin.

To kick off this series, let's take a look at Wu Sung..

In the Celestial Movies, Wu Sung's arm was chopped off by Fang La, the rebel Emperor and he died after capturing Fang La thus ending the campaign against Fang La.

However, in the TV series, Wu Sung chopped his own left arm off after being pinned by Fang La with a pitch fork. He subsequently defeated and captured Fang La. He was reported to live up to a ripe old age of 80 after retiring to a Monastery where his sworn brother, Major Lu Ta had passed away peacefully before the rump Liang Shan heroes returned to the Eastern Capital.

In Episode 28 (Suffering Great Losses in Suppressing the Revolt of Fang La)  of the original classic, Wu Sung's left arm was chopped off by a flung sword knife thrown at him by Fang La's General Pao Taoyi. He was then rescued by Major Lu Ta. It was Lu Ta who eventually captured Fang La.


More to come...

Friday, April 08, 2011

Being 21

I remember having a party at my house to celebrate my 21st birthday. But what does this mean ? Traditionally this would mean being given a gold key to symbolise one reaching adulthood. It would also mean that one is also old enough to vote.

Today, Melissa would have been 21 years old if she has not left us suddenly at the age of 12. Since I cannot give her her golden key, what else can I say except Happy 21st Birthday Melissa.

So, Melissa wherever you are and wherever you have been reborn,

May you be well and happy
May you be free from harm and danger
May you free from all mental and physical suffering
May you take care of yourself
May you find true happiness

Sadhu ! Sadhu ! Sadhu !

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The 15 Days of Chinese New Year

On the third day of Chinese New Year 2011, I was asked by an American neighbor, Paul Stevens the meaning of the 15 days of CNY. I was a bit stumped. So, I did some research on the web and this is what I found :

The first day of the Lunar New Year is "the welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth."Many people abstain from meat on the first day of the new year because it is believed that this will ensure long and happy lives for them.

On the second day, the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as to all the gods. They are extra kind to dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.

The third and fourth days are for the sons-in-laws to pay respect to their parents-in-law.

On the fifth day,people stay home to welcome the God of Wealth. No one visits families and friends on the fifth day because it will bring both parties bad luck.

On the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth  to the 10th day, the Chinese visit their relatives and friends freely. They also visit the temples to pray for good fortune and health.

The seventh day of the New Year is the day for farmers to display their produce. These farmers make a drink from seven types of vegetables to celebrate the occasion. The seventh day is also considered the birthday of human beings. Noodles are eaten to promote longevity and raw fish for success.

On the eighth day the Fujian people have another family reunion dinner, and at midnight they pray to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven.

The ninth day is to make offerings to the Jade Emperor.

The 10th through the 12th are days that friends and relatives should be invited for dinner. After so much rich food, on the 13th day you should have simple rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum) to cleanse the system.

The 14th day should be for preparations to celebrate the Lantern Festival which is to be held on the 15th night.The 15th day is called Chap Goh Meh in Hokkien

Friday, January 28, 2011

Original Welcome Page - Last Updated 28th January 2000

Welcome to my home page.

Since 26 April 1996, I have been cracking my head to gather information about myself (past & present), my interests, and my job to place them here for you to explore and enjoy.

Did you know that there are more than 500,000 Malaysians and more than 200 million people worldwide who access the Web? This World Wide Web Site (which is always under construction) is an example of the many ways that people are learning more about the world around them and is truly an exciting new way to communicate.

Great news ! "Your Past, Present & Future..." section of this web site has been honoured by a review by Cybertrek under " Fortune Telling on the Net" on the front cover of the June 1997 edition of PC World Malaysia !

Please drop me a line before you leave my site. You can do this by clicking here or on the email button at the bottom of this page or by filling out the form in my guest book. If you are not sure what to write, click here to take a look at what other visitors have to say. In the meantime, browse to your heart's content and most of all, "Have Fun!".

Thank's for dropping by and signing my guest book. By the way, you are visitor since 3 June 1996. Don't forget to bookmark this page and please visit again as there is always something new... somewhere in this web site.

CCH

28th January 2000