My Top 10 Blog Posts

There are pet peeves in life that can really get to my nerves, but on the other hand, gratitude - is generally how I feel about life in general and equally so -  how I feel about your support of my blog - alampy's space. 

However much I hate to have to announce this, I am going to be away for a much needed body repair work done.  And before I drag my bag of bones to the operation theatre where they knock me out for a good few hours, it is time to do the laziest blog post ever!! 

I have pulled out my 10 most-read blog posts from the past 6 months and listed them below, in order of popularity.  Feel free to have a bit of a munch during alampy's extended absence and perhaps you can amuse the would-be bedridden me by identifying your favourite piece.


Musings At A Cafeteria
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2011/11/musings-at-cafeteria.html

Angel of Love
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2012/01/angel-of-love.html

The Various Friendship Kinds
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2011/11/various-friendship-kinds.html

Small Things That Make You Smile
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2012/02/small-things-that-makes-you-smile.html

Met With AIDS Affected Orphans
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2012/02/met-with-aids-affected-orphans.html

Lucky To Have You Mom
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2011/10/lucky-to-have-you-mom.html

Have A Big Heart
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2012/01/have-big-heart.html

Blogging Is Graffiti With Punctuation?
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2011/09/blogging-is-graffiti-with-punctuation.html

Can't See Can Tee?
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2011/12/cant-see-can-tee.html

Just Like It Used To Be
http://alampy.blogspot.com/2012/02/just-like-it-used-to-be.html

Mardi Gras: The Famous Rugby Sevens

Every one of my friends currently binge drinking at the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens claimed it has been a great weekend for them so far – even though the specifics are a bit hard to recall.

None of them I knew play rugby, nor do they know the game rules, yet for years, they have been enthusiasts for the annual mardi gras in Hong Kong.  

As they say though, if you can remember what happened at the Hong Kong Sevens, you probably weren't there!

I certainly wasn't there. 

I was...stuck in heavy traffic. 

Draw Something

When I was a kid, I loved to draw.  Alright, scribble - to be more precise. 

Then I got old and too busy and just never quite get back to the old self.

Then came a game named Pictionary - loved that. 

I think many of us have been through the above cycle and that probably explained how the latest No. 1 game on iOS and Android "Draw Something" got so popular.  


It has racked up 30 million downloads in just about 6 weeks, generated about 2 billion drawings and are exchanging pictures at a rate of 2,000 to 3,000 per second! 

I don't really consider that as a game really, as it does not have scores or leader boards, and players involved aren't actually competing against each other but playing in a cooperative manner rather.  And I think that - has played a major part in the immense success of Draw Something - emphasizing social interaction over some game mechanics.

You know what I think they should chuck in as well?  They should consider including an integrated chat (who cares if people use it for cheating), I mean most often than not, don't you feel you want to chat or express yourself after the guessing part?

The Typical Apple Arrogance

Consumers did not expect this.  It does not make any commercial sense either to launch a new product with snazzy features that cannot work in the market in which it is selling.

I am talking about the new Apple iPad, which was unveiled last week amid much exuberance.  The product hit this part of the world with razor-sharp text and images, among other cool features.

But here is the hitch:  the much-vaunted 4G tablet cannot hook up to 4G networks as the device is configured for different radio frequency bands used in the United States.

Just like Hong Kong, many Asia Pacific areas such as Singapore and Australia cannot enjoy the iPad's ultra-fast 4G capability due to different frequencies.  It can hook up with the 3G networks though but that is beside the point. 

It may seem strange that Apple has decided to launch a product with a feature that is incompatible with many markets.  No hardware manufacturer in its right mind would pull such a stunt, but then I guess Apple does not have to make sense, right?   

It has counted on, and can still count on die-hard fans to join snaking queues for the product because the brand has won the hearts of many consumers here and around the world - the typical Apple arrogance at work.

Queue seen forming 2 days before the sale started in Singapore.

I really enjoy Apple products, but the naming of this new one is kind of dumb, if I may say so.

My 4th iPhone 4

Hi readers, 

I am on my fourth iPhone 4 at the moment, believe it or not. 

The first iPhone 4 I purchased 1.5 years ago lasted several months until a battery defect overheated the hardware and would no longer hold a charge. The genius replacement iPhone 4 that I swapped out then, had a hardware microphone issue that I noticed only hours after leaving the store. The third kept crashing and just refused to talk to iTunes.  I am on my number four - going 2 days strong.

It has come to my attention that people who replaced their iPhones tend to go through numerous replacements whereas the rest of them still have a perfectly working original.  I mean it does make me ponder those like myself on our 3rd, 4th, 5th and so on iPhone, can't possibly have all the bad luck, right?   The rest of you seems to be suggesting that the problem could be with people rather than the phones.  

Anyhow, several things I learned from all these replacement exercise, in which you lucky people might not have otherwise discovered. 

1. Backing up data on a regular basis is absolutely essential
2. The AppleCare Protection Plan is definitely worth investing and
3. Decoding iPhone's unique serial number

Point no. 1 and 2 are self-explanatory.  Point no. 3 is quite interesting.  

Every unit comes with a 11-digit serial number and it contains vital information of where and when the unit was manufactured.

aabccdddeef

aa = Factory and Machine ID
b = Year
cc = Production Week
ddd = Unique Identifier
ee = Color (A4=black)
f = size (S=16GB, T=32GB)

So for my replacement unit - reads a black iPhone 4 with 16GB - produced in week 52 of 2011.


Go check yours now! 

Cat And Router

As any owner will testify, cats will nap on virtually any warm spot around the house and treat it as their personal property.

There's this man who lives in England and has a cat at home.  His cat insisted on sleeping on his wireless router for hours, frequently knocking the aerial with her tail, crashing his internet connection.   The very annoyed owner made a joke about it and posted details and a photo of his problem on a discussion forum on the website of his Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Guess what happened next?

No, the cat didn't understand what his owner typed online (that would be quite an eerie story).

And no, the cat didn't compromise from then on either (they never ever do). 


Here is what happened.  The ISP responded to the post and offered a rather plausible solution.

They sent the miserable user a new router, which he plugged in next to the one his cat was so fond of.  In return, the ISP requested some form of proof that this is not a made up story and hence asked the user to send them more cute pictures of the aggressor!  

This is quite a customer service and quite a solution too - probably until the cat figures out she's no longer able to directly intervene with the internet, peace shall prevail. 

Suffering the same problem at home, are you?  Have a go at your local ISP and see if they would do the same for you.  You don't try, you don't know!