Did a shoot for Sennheiser awhile back, and besides the usual I also got paid in products too. I really wanted to get headphones, but the designs were just not cool enough. They pretty much all looked the same:black and silver. If I were to get headphones, I would get something a Skullcandy.

So instead I chose 3 earphones.

Model Number and retail prices
CX 200 Street II White – S$68.90
CX 281 – S$79.00
CX 680 Sports – S$139.00

Ever since I bought my first pair of in-ear earphones, there was no turning back. I loved how the plugs fit into the ear canal, providing the best isolation and blocking out a significant amount of outside noise. And most importantly, the bass is far superior when it’s in-ear which is my major issue I have with normal earphones. You’re just not giving music the credit it deserves using normal ear phones. Especially when you’re listening to tracks like the one below remixed by Designer Drugs with the sick baselines.

By the way, Designer Drugs at Zouk tonight for ReadySetGlow. Probably going to give it a miss, but dang I’m sure they are going to be shredding the place up!

*Side track…earphones, headphones…why phones?

Do not use in-ear headphones while cycling or driving. And if you’re walking, just be extra careful when you cross the street. You can’t hear a thing besides your music, and you don’t realise how much we rely on sound in road safety.

Geek & Gadgets Earphones, Headphones, Sennheiser, Soundcloud

One of our family’s favourite tea time treat is scones.

The scone is a small British quick bread of Scottish origin, most typically served with clotted cream and raspberry jam. Last Sunday Mummy had a craving, so she whipped out a batch of English buttermilk scones for us. Here’s some snaps of the final outcome.

Daddy is definitely a fan. Look at him devour it!

Geek & Gadgets English Scones, Scones, The Grays

Am so disappointed. All that sneaking around this whole week living in fear to avoid assassination gone to waste.

First of all the game got canned, and second, found out my target was not even in the country! I didn’t even stand a chance.

Today is Sunday and I’m still recovering from the Saturday morning stake out! Woke up at 3:30am to pack my bag ready for battle. Snacks, newspaper, water, dossier, handphone, water pistol. Waited at his HDB block all morning only to see his mother leave the house and no sighting of Agent Ice_Cool_Dude.

Back to the first point. So what happened? Typical of the Singapore Police to rain on the parade. They should be renamed the Fun Police. Sometimes they just got to loosen up a bit, it’s just a game! Citing the reason why it was cancelled is because organisers should have applied for an Entertainment License (which honestly they wouldn’t have approved anyway).

Here’s an excerpt from the email sent by the “Shadow Government” (organisers) to all “Agents” (me).

Police involvement:
Assassins, we regret to tell you that the Singapore police has requested that we shut down the tournament.

We always work with the local authorities to ensure a safe and fun environment, and although this really sucks for us, we shall respect their wishes and close this tournament early at 00:00hrs Monday March 17th

What happens to you and the game now?
As much as we respect the police’s concerns, we also respect your experiences so far, working hard as a top notch assassin.

We want to give you, the remaining players, some sense of closure, so we will end the tournament 00:00hrs next Monday March 17th. So those of you who are close to your first or next kill, you still have a chance to tally up your score and and close out any pending assassination plans that you have.

After that, we will be forced to officially close down the tournament as requested by your police department.

What the hell happened?
In over five and a half years of our history, we’ve never had issues with the Police. In fact, we’ve had help from the police in cities like Vancouver.

Apparently, we’ve just learned yesterday, that the Singapore police had contacted our local partners to express their concerns…..
…… we would have done all we could to iron out the issue right then and there with your police so that we can provide our best game experience for you all.

We are filled with sadness at this unfortunate and regrettable turn of events. We loved reading your stories and how much ass you guys are kicking.

We are sorry, sad face.

Response from the local rep at http://www.streetwars.sg/

The Real Story – Singapore’s Not Ready?
What did life lack in Singpore? A little excitement and color? Well that was what we thought when we decided to bring this game to our sunny shores. We always wanted Singapore to be a vibrant city and this was a great game concept that we just had to try to bring over for everyone to experience.

After just a week of play almost everyone that we spoke to mentioned about what a great experience this game has brought to their life. How it brings out the best in people as killers and targets trade stories talk about each other’s experiences and meet new friends. It was our great pleasure to see so much excitement in the players and it was fun while it lasted.

After spending over 4 months trying to get this great game over to our shores it looks like luck has stuck out for us. This was a love affair by the local organizers personally and not comercial in nature. If you were to run a quick calculation you can see that it was run at a break even/loss contrary to popular belief that it was for profit.

Was the cancellation due to poor planning or lack of effort? Yes and No. We should have made 100% sure before commencing the game that was our fault and we apologize to you the players for that oversight. However, we did try, we had contacted the police on this issue a month before and got the round about on what was needed to run this event here. We had mistakenly assumed that if this was a private event taking place in the whole of Singapore with no mass gatherings where only 2 persons are playing at anyone time, that no permit would be required. We’ve all had orientation and other corporate games in and around singapore organized casually and those went without any issues so what’s the difference here, we thought? We were wrong.

After all that’s said and done, the police don’t have an easy job and we respect their decision to shut down the game. Our intentions were to bring this great game to Singapore, never to cause problems for anyone.

We all learn from our mistakes and we seek everyone’s understanding as we try to dig ourselves out of this hole. Stay dry guys.

Entertainment, Geek & Gadgets Ape Communications, Singapore, StreetWars, Water Gun

Forgive me if the tweets or blog gets quieter the next week or so. I’m on a mission…… Who am I kidding, I’m such an easy target! I’d probably get killed tomorrow! I paid S$50 to live in fear.

StreetWars is a 3 week long, 24/7, watergun assassination tournament that has already taken place in New York City, Vancouver, Vienna, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, and Paris.

At the start of the game you will receive a manila envelope containing the following:
* A picture of your intended target(s)
* The home address of your intended target(s)
* The work address of your intended target(s)
* The name of your intended target(s)
* Contact information of your intended target(s)

Upon receipt of these items, your (or your team’s) mission is to find and kill (by way of water gun, water balloon or super soaker) your target(s).

You can hunt your target down any way you see fit; you can pose as a delivery person and jack them when they open the door, disguise yourself and take them out on the street, etc.

If you are successful in your assassination attempt, the person you killed will give you their envelope and the person they were supposed to kill becomes your new target. This continues until you work yourself through all the players and retrieve the envelope with your (or your team’s) picture(s) and name(s). Then you win. Cash…but first live in fear.

Safe Zones:
* The square city block where you work.
* Buses, trains, train stations, and bus stops (any public transportation)
* Inside bars (not restaurants with bars, ONLY bars)
* No parking lot ANYWHERE is safe, unless you work at a parking lot (ex: you are a parking lot attendant). The parking lot on the block of your office is not safe.

Team Play
* You may sign up as a lone assassin, or as a team.
* No limits on number of team mates
* TEAM PROS: There is a challenging kill quota per week, having more team members will make it a LOT easier to meet your quota, and it’s more fun to split up the work. Our winners, and sudden death contestants in the past have been overwhelmingly dominated by members of teams.
* TEAM CONS: Any member dies, the whole team dies. So pick your team mates wisely.
* Yes, teams may sometimes go up against solo assassins.

Weapons:
* Brightly colored water guns.
* Water balloons
* Super Soakers
* Any Other Water-Based Weapon that is conceptually similar to the above.
* Nothing that remotely resembles a real firearm. Obviously.

Kills:
* 1 hit kills.

Geek & Gadgets, Random Singapore, Street Wars, StreetWars, StreetWars Singapore

Introducing another YouTube celebrity singer-songwriter. Her name is Melissa Polinar, and this is one of my favourite songs she has sung. Enjoy!

Geek & Gadgets Melissa Polinar, Music

Because I spent so much time by the river and other parts of Swan Valley, we only had time to stop by one vineyard. We turned into the closest one called Lancaster Wines. It was spring going on to summer, so the vines were boasting luscious green foliage.

We walked down a few lanes in the vineyard, each row marked with its grape variety on a wooden post at the start of its planting strip. Peeking under its leafy hoods revealed little bunches of grapes. cute.

After the short stroll, we headed towards a quirky and rustic little tin shack to enjoy free tastings of Lancaster’s premium wines and gourmet cheeses. Apparently this vineyard boasts some of the oldest vines in Swan Valley, producing “outstanding Chenin Blancs, Verdhelho, Chardonnay, Rose and Old Vines Shiraz.”

I may not have a trained palate, but I guess choice of wine is subjective. I really didn’t think much of their whites.

Definitely a worthwhile stopover if you’re doing a tasting with friends, atmosphere is more casual and relaxed compared to the other bigger established vineyards in the area.

Lancaster Winery & Vineyard
Website: www.lancasterwines.com.au
Tel: +61 (08) 9250 6461
Address: 5228 West Swan Road, West Swan, 6055
Email: wines@lancasterwines.com.au

Geek & Gadgets lancaster, Vineyard, Wine

In a little corner of Millpoint road sits my FAVOURITE Italian restaurant in Perth. Ciao Italia was opened in by chef Spartaco Rotella, who is more often now front of house rather than in the kitchen. I have not tasted ANY spaghetti cabonara or marinara as good as the one from here and I challenge ANYONE to recommend me a better cabonara!

I used to live on Millpoint, so it wasn’t too far of a journey for me. Ciao Italia doesn’t take reservations and is packed everyday from the minute doors open. Every time I go there, it’s at least a 15min wait. What you could do is open your bottle of wine and have a drink outside while you wait. When you do finally do get your name called, you will have to meander through a labyrinth of chairs to get to your seat.

Even though they are so busy, service is never compromised. Staff are quick to take your orders and even with a full restaurant, food is served fairly quickly. In all Italian style, restaurant is bursting with energy, vibe is lively and loud but cozy at the same time. Birthdays are a daily occurrence. At least twice in a night you will find the whole restaurant and staff piping to the happy birthday tune played on the sound system.

Mains are around $18.50-$27.50 and desserts from $5.50-$8.50. Portions are HUGE so I’d recommend sharing or doggie-bagging the left overs. If you have an impatient stomach, take away option is available and still highly recommended. The reheated pastas taste different, but just as amazing!

It’s been at least a year since my last visit, and it’s nice to know Spartaco still remembers his loyal customers.

My Recommendations (All prices include GST)

• Spaghetti Marinara (Combination of marinated seafood in a fresh tomato sauce) A$19.50
• Spaghetti Carbonara (Bacon, egg and cream cheese sauce) – A$18.50
• Ravioli Carbonara (Ricotta and spinach pillows of pasta) – A$18.50 – This one is a special request. I always get weird looks from the waiter when I ask for this combination
• Homemade garlic bread – A$4.50
• Tiramisu (A homemade Italian delight consisting of layers of sponge finger biscuits soaked in coffee, liqueur and mascarpone cheese topped with fresh double cream) – A$7.50
• Wood fired Pizza Siciliana (Whole peeled tomato sauce, Mozzarella cheese, mild italian sausage, bacon, black olives, Ricotta cheese and mushrooms) – A$21

Ciao Italia
Website: http://www.ciaoitalia.com.au/
Address: 273 Mill Point Rd, South Perth 6151
Phone: +61 (08) 9368 5500
Licensed: Yes
Operating hours: Tue-Sat 5pm-10pm
Payment accepted: MasterCard, Visa and EFTPOS
BYO $3 corkage per bottle
Parking: Limited lots available at the back of the restaurant. Alternative parking lots across the street at the jewellery & bookstore.

Geek & Gadgets Australia, Cabonara, Ciao Italia, Food, Italian, Perth

Race Date: This Sunday, 24 January 2010

Safra AVventura is an adventure race consisting of multiple disciplines ranging from trail biking, running, kayaking, rope ascend, abseiling, navigation and mystery tests all rolled into one exhilarating race to fully challenge those with a passion for adventure.

My last adventure race was the Penang Eco-Challenge a couple of years back. We did some training prior, but this time round, a BIG FAT ZERO. Read the post HERE to read how it all goes down in an adventure race.

EgaD! This Sunday!!! Wish me luck! Hope I’m still standing for The Killers later that evening!

Geek & Gadgets adventure race, mountain biking, MTB, Safra AVventura

Click here if you don’t know what an AT-AT is. Too funny! ROFL Thanks Aresha for the link.

Geek & Gadgets, Snaps & Clips Costume, Funny, youtube

I am in love with the idea of being in love. And I also have a ridiculous expectation on my marriage proposal. It’s not how much money you spend on a ring, or how elaborate the proposal. For me it has to be unique, creative, romantic and personal.

All together now…. Awwwwwwww…..

I actually found the above proposal romantic! My inner geek is showing!

Geek & Gadgets, Random Geek, Love

I’ve still been taking my en route photos, and I think I’ve accumulated quite a lot on my Flickr group. Only 7 members, but that’s ok.

Geek & Gadgets En Route, Feet

The Sloane Elizabeth Robertson lookbook is now live on their website.

Click on the photo above or click HERE

My Favourites photos: 4, 7, 18, 19, 21, 22.

Photos taken at Krish The Restaurant.

Geek & Gadgets Fashion, Photography, Photos, SER, Sloane Elizabeth Robertson

I blogged about the song a couple of weeks ago, and now the music video is out. I like it!!! I love the photos, and the treatment to the video, especially the vintage effects. And that cruiser bike! I want! Saw a shop down the road from the office selling those bikes at S$400-$800! That’s not too bad?!

I hope to make a video one day like this. Enjoy!

Geek & Gadgets Jason Castro, MTV, Music Video

One of my favourite-est restaurants in Singapore is Oso Ristorante.

First time eating there was during an ICON lunch about 2 years ago when they were still located along the shophouses along Tanjong Pagar road. Their little Italian set up literally a hidden treasure, tucked away between Play disco and some cultural arts centre. They have now moved to Bukit Pasoh to a much larger venue opposite the Majestic Hotel.

Went there recently for the third time for a farewell dinner, and this time I remembered to take my camera along.

Dinner started off with warm breads with Balsamic vinaigrette and extra virgin olive oil. We shared a starter, each had a main and shared a dessert. Here is our fantastic dinner menu for the night.

Affettati “Cold Cuts”
Thinly sliced 200 days grain feed beef tenderloin “carpaccio” with black truffle puree

Carne “meat”
8 hours oven baked lamb rack “agnello” with black onions and green beans
Slowly braised veal shank “Ossocubo” with lemon gremolata and potato puree

Dolci Caldi “Hot Dessert”
70% hot dark chocolate tart “crostata” with milk and ice cream

Carpaccio was not bad, although I would have expected more aroma from the black truffle.

I absolutely love their Ossobuco. The veal shank was soft, tender and fell off the bone easily. The Lamb rack was alright, but not as flavourful as my dish, first choice is still the Ossobuco.

Dark chocolate tart was the highlight of the evening! I absolutely love (and I say love with passion and tears in my eyes) molten dark chocolate puddings and tarts; without a doubt one of my favourite desserts. The warm tart was baked to perfection; hard golden brown crust encasing a semi-firm hot chocolate tart with a wobbly centre. The minute you break the tart, warm chocolate lava just flows out slowwllyyyyy…hmmmmmm.

I’ve always had a pleasant dining experience at Oso, so I’d definitely go back again. The semi-fine dining concept is great for dates, girly catch-ups or business dinners.

Oso Ristorante
46 Bukit Pasoh Road
Singapore 089858
Tel: (65) 6327 8378
Fax: (65) 6224 9610
Email: reservations@oso.sg

Opening Hours
Lunch : 12pm – 2:30pm (Mon – Fri)
Dinner : 6:30pm – till (Mon – Sat)

Geek & Gadgets Italian, Oso Ristorante, What's on YOUR table?, WOYT

I say sort of, because really, there isn’t much work to be done.

Go to the supermarket, buy the Taco sauce, Taco shells, Taco seasoning (optional), Lettuce, Tomatoes, mince beef/chicken, Avocado, Cheese.

The only cooking you have to do is frying the mince beef/chicken, and heating up the Taco shells. The rest just needs to be chopped up and put aside.

Without cheese

The works

Geek & Gadgets Cooking, Hong Kong, Tacos

While stumbling through a geek website one afternoon, I chanced upon a RSS pillow for sale. Instead of just taking 10 mins and 30 bucks to buy it online, I don’t know what posses me to actually make it from scratch!

Since I was feeling poorly over the weekend, I made use of my ‘home’ time and dusted off the singer. Surprised myself. Still remembered how to use the sewing machine!

I was initially going to sew JUST the RSS pillow, but I ended up making a twitter one as well. I sourced the images online, printed it and got to work.

Here’s the material list:
- Fabric of your choice (I used felt because I couldn’t find the right colours in jersey)
- Matching coloured thread
- Hobby fill
- Pins
- Fabric scissors
- Sewing machine if you have one

It’s actually pretty simple to make:
1. Cut out 2 pieces of fabric to the chosen size including the seam allowance
2. Cut out your logo, sew it on the front side of pillow
3. Place the 2 pieces of fabric with right sides together. Pin and stitch around the 4 corners and 3 sides, leaving an opening in the centre of the remaining side big enough to fill with hobby fill
4. Turn the cover right side out, Stuff it firmly and then hand stitch the opening closed

Although it took me ages to do, I must admit, it was extremely gratifying to see the final product.

Shall bring it to work tomorrow for my chair

*edit
Just realised i should have rotated the RSS pillow the right way round before taking the photo.

Geek & Gadgets craft, Geek, Pillow

More walking till our feet gave way.

And more lomo-ing till we run out of battery.

We were planning to go out clubbing that night, and for our first night out in Hong Kong, we thought we’d give ourselves the tai-tai treatment. So we went around looking for a hair salon for a wash & blow-dry.

Danli took it a step further and decided to chop her hair off down to a bob! It’s been awhile since I last saw her with a bob, and I like it a lot! Danz and Evan, we both know how important that bob was…magic bob!

Geek & Gadgets Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries

After dinner, our palates were craving for some sweetness to round off dinner, Danli said a must try was a roadside dessert stall not too far away. Most of the items on the menu were made with mango. We all ended up having the mango sago drink, which was sweet, fibrous and thick. Sago is tasteless but it makes the drink more fun.

Plenty more of walking around Mong Kok until we called it a night.

Good Night HK!

Geek & Gadgets Dessert, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Diaries

Bear with me, am editing 10 days worth of photos to upload from 3 cameras

Geek & Gadgets Holiday, Hong Kong

Awhile back, Janice and Andrew invited Ran, Mel, Jo, Chris and myself over for a Raclette & Ravin Rabbids night at the West Wing.

I’ve seen raclette cheese at the supermarket, but I never knew there was a method to eat it! Raclette is a type of cheese from Switzerland that is prepared with vegetables on a special raclette grill. The word raclette is derived from the French word racler which means to scrape.

So for those who aren’t sure what it is, here’s a short gourmet lesson on raclette.

History
This warm cheese dish originated in the Valais canton of Switzerland where farmers and herdsman would make a meal of cheese melted by camp-fire or hearth, potatoes and pickles. Historians conjecture that at some point the cheese got too close to the fire and the melted cheese dish was born. The cheese and the dish have been documented back as far as the year 1291 and at that time was called Bratchäs.

Today besides the requisite potatoes and pickles any number of foods are eaten with the cheese including fish, poultry, vegetables and sometimes even wild game.

The Cheese
Raclette cheeses are typically round weighing 13 to 17 lbs and are about 11″ in diameter and 3″ thick. The cheeses are all cow’s milk have in common a creamy consistency which easily melts but does not get too runny. The semi-firm cheese is normally aged about 3 or 4 months.

The different cheeses are named after the villages from which they are produced. The three premier villages are Gomser, Conches, Bagnes, and Orsieres on Raclette.

Selecting Cheese
The cheese should have a dark beige rind with no cracks or reddening. The texture should be creamy and dry or granular.

The Swiss Tradition
In the Swiss tradition raclette cheese is melted over an open fire and melted slowly. As the cheese melts it is scraped off the wheel and served with boiled potatoes, bread, cornishons (pickles) and other pickled vegetables.

The Raclette Grill
The raclette grill has overtaken popularity of the traditional raclette equipment. The new grills allow you to melt cheese in individual serving trays while grilling meats, fish, poultry and vegetables on the upper grill level. Some units feature reversible grills with a smooth side with a raised grill on the reverse side. Stone grill tops may be available as well.

Courtesy of Gourmet Sleuth

After filling our tummy’s with loads of diary, we attempted to burn it off with ravin rabbids on the Wii. Another first for me, I thought it was one of the best console games I’ve ever played! Now I’m thinking if it’s a worthwhile investment to buy one for the household, it makes a great party game for young and old. Would be great to see my parents getting into the action.

Thanks Jan and Andrew for hosting the pre-Vday get together!

Food & Travel, Friends & Family, Geek & Gadgets Cheese, Food, Friends, Raclette, Ravin Rabbids