Dance like no one's watching

Just wanted to warn everyone who uses online banking for their HSBC credit cards, the stupid security token device will “run out of sync” if u don’t log in after 4 weeks.

I hardly ever use my HSBC credit card so when i tried to login today, after 5 months of not checking my account, i failed to do so. I initially thought it was cos i forgot my password so i tried to reset my password. The system asked me to enter the pin on my security device but after 3 failed attempts (the pin numbers were rejected), my account got suspended.

I called HSBC to find out what happened and that’s when i found out about this “running out of sync” thing, which i think is plain stupid.

Even if this is some form of security measure, isn’t 4 weeks way too short? Gosh. So now i have to login monthly even though i have no bills to check. It’s ridiculous!

Posted by Wordmobi

Irritating neighbour. Wet laundry behind car. Bird shit on boot. Hmm..

My webmaster told me last week that my blog may be under attack by some spam bots ‘cos he noticed that there were some IP addresses accessing many pages of my blog at the same time.  I said I wasn’t sure about that but my monitoring of the stats showed that I get about 180-200 unique hits daily.  My webmaster thus suggested that I download and install 2 WordPress widgets to prevent such spam attacks, which may result in genuine viewers not being able to view my blog.  The widgets are Supercache and Bad Behavior.

I dutifully installed the 2 widgets (do note that Supercache needs to be activated in your plugin page, as well as “enabled” in its own settings page) as I didn’t want to stress my webhost unnecessarily (let’s just say I get a good “friend” price from a fantastic webhosting service).  Anyway, after installing the 2 widgets for 2 days, I got curious how adversely my “unique hits” would be affected.

Tada!  Not much difference really.  Haha.  I concede that it’s no point having spam bots visit one’s website since these damned bots aren’t going to help click on the ad to help my blog generate revenue.  I was comforted, however, to see that the stats remained pretty much the same.  Yay.  I take it that my visitors are human then!  Please tell me you are…

For some reason, I decided to look through my photos to see all the hairstyles I’ve ever had and this was the result.  Heh.

I’ve posted a few entries to my blog using the WP app for Symbian phones.  Like I mentioned before, the interface is neat and user friendly.  It’s also easy to manage your comments using the app.  Unfortunately, I found a major flaw with it – posting pictures is impossible!  I’m using the Nokia X6 32GB phone so memory space has never been something that I’ve had to be concerned with.  I have 225MB of free memory on my “c drive” and 21GB of free space on my “mass memory” (the drive comes partitioned).  You can imagine my horror, therefore, when I was unable to add photos via the WP app because it says my handphone ran out of memory!  Gosh!  If even the Nokia X6 can run out of memory, I daren’t imagine the other Nokia models.

I’ve posted this problem on the Nokia WP forum (http://nokia.wordpress.com).  I hope someone finds a solution to it soon – else, I’m just going to stick to Wordmobi.  Although the interface is unattractive, at least it works!

If u love eating chilli, then i suggest keeping a bottle of Japanese chilli oil at home. U see, i’m the sort who cannot survive without chilli, especially when eating Chinese food. I must have my fried rice with chilli padi, yee mian with green chilli, etc. If smokers find it hard to quit smoking after picking up the habit in their teens, i 1st ate chilli padi in kindergarten so u can imagine how hooked i am.

Unfortunately, as Iceman and i hardly cook at home, our kitchen is devoid of things like garlic, onions and chilli. It’s thus highly distressing (for me at least) when i buy takeaway from the hawker centre and i’m not given enough chilli to go with my food!

The Japanese chilli oil is a real saviour on such occasions. The chilli oil is actually spicy, and tastes great with fried rice and noodles. So if u’re as big a chilli addict as me, i suggest u keep a bottle of chilli oil at home too. U can’t go wrong with it!

Just wanted to share 3 acapella songs I like very much by the group, Glad.

You Put this Love in my Heart

Be Glad

Someone to Watch Over Me

I was thinking about disclosing my full identity again last night and I think the main issue I have is not about what I write, but the personality I project.  A lot of times, people do not want to disclose their names or pictures on their blogs because they are afraid of the repercussions of what they write.  Others, who go by their real names on their blogs, will self-censor, to ensure that whatever they publish online, does not offend nor invite legal complications.

For me, I’ve always said that I have no issues with people finding out about the things I say about them online.  Even if I ruffle some feathers, step on some toes, I’m fine with it.  I believe one should 敢做敢当.  What I grapple with, however, is the personality that is projected.

Don’t get me wrong.  Whatever impression you have of me from reading my blog is likely to be the closest to what I really am.  That said, this is the side of me that my clients are unlikely to ever see.  When I communicate with clients, I choose my words carefully and even if I am frustrated, I rarely let it show.  This is very different from the real me, who will not blink an eye before I scold a stranger in public.

And thus I have been ok in showing some pics of myself online, albeit scaled to a relatively small size.  While there’s nothing wrong in letting clients see who I really am, I would still very much prefer for them to know the “professional me”, not the outspoken, sarcastic, curt and impatient me.

The highest temperature in Taipei is hovering in the 20-22deg Celsius range… I hope it stays this way for the next 3 weeks so I can wear boots there!  Woohoo!

Booze Queen, Iceman, Azure and I decided to check out the steamboat buffet at Crystal one rainy evening in March.  $18.90++ seemed like a good deal since we wanted an air-conditioned place for dinner.

For all who intend to go for it, do note that the “Spicy & Sour Tomato with Beancurd Soup” is not spicy at all!  It’s just mildly sour from the tomatoes added in.

I would recommend going for the Pig’s Bone soup base instead.  Very tasty!

The buffet also comes with complimentary Peking Duck Skin.  The wraps had a weird smell though – reminded me of raw egg white.. but they tasted all right, though it appeared pre-prepared.  Can skip this if you want to save your stomach for the steamboat.

The steamboat overall was satisfactory though not fantastic.  We had tons of sliced beef, corn, assortment of mushrooms, tang-o (not sure what’s this veg called in English), pork, meatballs, fishballs, etc.  The $18.90++ price wasn’t that great ‘cos the prawns and the more expensive types of fish were not part of the buffet items. 

Conclusion: Ok to go if you want an air-conditioned steamboat place.  None of the soups were spicy, which was a let down for me.  FYI, the price includes free flow of Coke / Sprite / Soya Bean milk / Chinese tea.