Hi,
I have decided to change my domain name into www.virtualground.net
From now on, please log in to my blog via the link above, i will try to redirect this page to the other page but in the meantimes, please do remember the new address.
Thank you.
I found this theme to be quite attractive and professional. I will stick to this one until WordPress releases some other new ones.
Finally, the most awaiting event has happened and the man that we all invest our hopes into has made an oath to 100 000 people, Barack Obama. The man whom the whole world thinks that he can make a difference. Personally, i admire him due to his ability of public speaking, it is just outstanding. His most recent speech during the inauguration proves one thing, he is certain about what he promises and what he can bring to the Americans. Even though, i am not an American but America is a leading country and with such a small impact in the economy can create a massive chain reaction to the world economy. Therefore, such country needs to have a good leader to guide its path and Barack Obama is a very potential candicate for the task.
For those who have not listened to his speech, you better do. This man has an strange aura in speaking that can change the most doubtful heart to believe in what he says. Below is the speech that he just made recently for the inauguration:
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account – to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day – because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control – and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart – not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort – even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment – a moment that will define a generation – it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence – the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed – why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
“Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
First of all, I would like to go through a bit of WordPress. For those who do not know about this service, WordPress is the most popular blogging service provider in the market. I can be confident to say that it is even more popular than Blogspot due to the use of its new webbing technology.
The functions of this blog are basically not so much different from Blogspot’s. However, it does give you a fresher feeling. The tools are more sophisticated in the way that you need to understand a bit of Html in order to play around.
WordPress has exceeded themselves by creating the search bar which is located on left sidebar of the page. The use of it is to help the readers search any particular posts given the search keyword. I give them a 10 for their efforts. Very well done job!
I added the calendar into the page just for the sake of decoration. I like things to look nice sometimes.
The theme is preset which means it is taken from WordPress theme gallery and i did nothing to its source code. Even if i wanted, it would be one hell of a job. All themes in WordPress are XML based.
The new yet not so new blog list at the bottom acts as an important role in the page as it is to show the links to other blogger’s websites. Anyone who wishes to be on the list, please tell me by commenting in one of my posts.
One more thing that you would have probably noticed that i skipped the Chat Box. The reason is because people visit my blog and tend to give their thoughts in the chat box without commenting the posts. Therefore, it would like to suggest you that please comment my posts rather chitchatting here. But of course, if the community needs to have one, it is just one zip away.
There you go, i hope that you will give me some comments on how the new site looks. I especially like to meet more WordPress users from now on.
I have never thought that i could be pretty much of a blogger like now. The feeling of wanting to write down something is burning within me. Plus, i have more time now to go around to see things, play some of my favorite games without being worried assignments due on the next day, clubbing my butt off just to get back some youth part within me. Thus, that is exactly what i did yesterday night.
I had a chance with Drew, Leo and Jonsen; the unusual gang; to try out some night time experiences at Barcelona club. So as usual, Drew called me up and decided the time of pick up so that i could get ready by then. Quite often, we took a little bit longer than the expected time to show up downstairs. Fortunately, Drew brought along a friend in his old glory times (whenever that was). So weeeeee!!!! Finally, we got some girl to hang out with and she did not disappoint any of us. Serene was a very outgoing girl with a cute personality. Good choice in friends Drew, i give you that. We had a good laugh, everything was pretty fun except the 2 hour wait til peak time due to our early arrival at the club. That is the least i could do to save up some entry fee which i was tipped by a friend that it could be RM60 per head. We would have to pay that amount if we had arrived late there.
The club was nice decorated fashionably and biologically if you know what i mean. 80% of the time, me and the guys just could not stop turning our heads around looking for some “spotlights” of the night and quite a number of them showed up. I did not manage to take any photos inside the club thanks to my lovely outdated camera phone. The word “packed” can be used to perfectly describe the scenery in there, people walked around, white smoke all over the place, music beats could beat your heart out and some crazy dancers shook their booties off. The peak time is the worst, Barcelona was overloaded by people. I do not know why it is so famous or Malaysia is that lack of clubs or something but i certainly had the feeling that 20 millions people of Malaysia were stacked into this bar yesterday night. We could not even barely move, leave alone the dancing and shaking.
It was fun and exciting but too crowded and that ceased the fun after a while being squeezed inside there. So we called it a night, have some late supper and headed home. Tired but meaningful, this is what i have been looking for in my life. Sometimes, it needs to be filled with excitement rather than worries about assignments and some unnecessary stuff.
People say summer holiday is the best around the year and yet here i am sitting alone in the library waiting for the judgement time to come. Yes, i am having my Web3d exam in another 2 hours or so. Since i am not having the mood to even stack anything else into my brain, i’ve decided to kill time by writing down a few lines here. Do not take it wrongly here, i had quite a revision last night and so unconditionally deserved a well-earned quiet time in library writing blog before exam.
Hearth thumbing but also excited, this kind of feeling you only get when you are about to reach to the end of something horrible that you have been preparing to face it but not enough confidence to finalize it and doubt your ability to finish it perfectly. However, none of that does matter anyway due to the fact i am having a month holiday after 5pm today and unlike other years, i can finally be able to go back to Vietnam during mid year. Please do have some sympathies for my miserable life and if some of you asks me, i would gladly say that this is first time ever that i am allowed to go back in mid year. Not that i am feeling bad for not being able to go back that often anyway. It is again a mixture of emotions, i both want to go back and not want to go back if that makes any sense.
Going back is not always a first choice for me because that means i have to face even more pressures while i am there. Sometimes, i wonder whether i should choose the free life i have here or the one i have back there with more frustration. Tough choice…However, there’s always a third choice for me to get back to Sydney if i can afford it myself. If somehow, i could contact my old colleages back there and get some connections, a clear path will present itself before me.
Next semester will be the last one and i firmly believe that it is time for me to decide where i should go and where i can go.
Sorry guys, i’ve been tagged by several people. So i just do it in one shot. Here it goes!!!
1)At what age do you want to get married?
Another tough question, at the moment things don’t really go that smooth to even think of marriage but if possible, 30 would be a good time.
2)Where do you go if someone sponsors you a tour ticket?
First choice: USA since i would like to see the lifestyle there. Sometimes i do have feelings that i belong there.
3)What’s your favorite thing to do?
Most of the time, i like to sit in front of my comp even that does not benefit me in anyway.
4)Do you think money can buy happiness?
I am not too sure about the old times when the life was not so materialistic but at present i am certain that without money, the only thing you can get is sadness. If not, then why the hell do i have to study anyway?
5)Do you believe you can survive without money?
If someone sponsors me food and living cost. I hope it would be a girl though (beautiful and single).
6)What are you afraid to lose the most?
Sanity.
7)If you win $1 million dollar, what will you do?
Buy myself a big-ass entertainment system comes with a plasma TV at the size of a cinema screen plus a kick-ass gaming machine just for the sake of playing Window Solitaire games.
Dream jobs?
Be at best businessman with a salary of 10 digits.
9)List out 3 good points about the persons that tagged you?
Friendly, honest and … chubby.
10)If you had only one wish, what would you wish for?
I would wish i could have been a god.
11)If you could rewind time, would you?
Hell yeah!!! People make mistakes, undoing those mistakes is all that we wish for.
12)What’s your ambition?
Earn lots of money.
13)What’s your favorite song at the moment?
I would say Ruppina – Freewill from One Piece ending theme song
14)If you could teleport now, where would you go?
New York
15)What do you think is the most important in your life?
Family
16) If you had a chance, which part of your character would you want to change?
I’d be more outgoing if i could.
17) What music have you been listening to recently?
Some Chinese instrumental songs. They really help in calming one’s mind down.
18) What is the one thing you can’t do and wish that you could do?
Be able to predict the future.
19) Would you do another tag?
I try not to. Man… It took ages for me to just type down everything. What on earth is it for anyway????
20) My personal question:
Between family and fame, which one do you choose?
I choose both.
So what’s news is that the end of second last semester is approaching and somehow i do not feel like time flies since it is so freaking slow to me. Honestly, i cannot wait to get out of this so-called university (at least this is how they claim). Not anything personal though, i just feel like it is time for me to leave uni life and get a real life where people are killing each other literally out there for a penny. Maybe i am being a little bit pessimistic, but always good to be prepared for the worst.
However, i am not writing blog to update my daily life here. This blog is entitled for a total different content. For those who do torrenting a lot and sort of becoming a trend in your lives then it would not hurt to read this post. Rlslog does sound familiar to you? If not, here comes a brief review.
Bittorrent started out last few years ago, i do not know the exact time but i am sure it is one of the best ways to transfer files across the Internet. It has been excessively used by millions legally and illegally. However, not all torrent files are up to the standard. As the matter of fact, there is no standard. Therefore, a group of people agrees to come up with a standard and a set of rules for the uploaders out there. If someone wants some recognitions to their uploading files then rules need to be applied and followed. Rlslog.net is just a website that gathers all the good torrents that follow the standard and rules. I gotta say that they do it professionally as if it is their real job.
If you ask me personally, i do not do torrenting, i go for original software if i could (*cough*). Let’s just say, i admire these people for doing such a good website. So if anyone is in need of games, software or movies then pay the site a visit, you will know what i am talking about. The link is www.rlslog.net
Anyway, get back to main point here. I believe that the term “Iron man” is pretty much familiar to you all by now. Hopefully, there will not be anyone commenting on my blog saying this movie sucks because that would be completely wrong and very offensive to all of big red metal’s fans.
Another blast after the Transformer success? The answer is very likely due to the fact that every guy and girl nowadays is so fond of tech stuff and that includes me as well. Just imagine daily tasks becomes so easy, getting back from school and vice versa is just another second away and no big bullies in the street could do anything to you. Man… thinking of that, i wish i had one suit just like Tony Stark’s.
Few things i would like to point out after watching the movie though. The degree of realistic in the movie seems low, with all that big rockets under the feet flying over those cars could have melted everything beneath and yet they still stood strong and solid, not to mention shiny!!! Second thing, owning one suit just like that would probably cost you another few millions just for the automatic robotic hands to assemble the suit for you. And i did not mention about maintenance costs. Or you could spend hours wearing the whole darn thing and hours to take it off.
Last words, it is a good movie and a must watch, can’t wait for the Dvdrip version to come out online.
College occupies most of my time, with all the assignments and workloads i receive every week, the term “work like dog” would be a compliment. Currently, i have project which requires me to work in team of 5. I am glad enough that all my team members are very committing to their work and honestly, i admire all of them for their talents. I have been assigned a task called Webmaster which the meaning of it is just like how it sounds. For those who do not know anything about web or computing terms then i do you all favor, it is about me being a master of a web 
. Yes, i meant you Jan and Lily. I cannot believe there was once people asked me the meaning of this word. My role in the team is fun, exciting and sometimes i find it challenging as well. With all the committing members, my tasks become so much easier. As long as the road ahead is, i believe that i will do fine.
I have not been out recently due to my driver Andrew has disappeared for almost 3 weeks. I guess i just leave him alone for a while. I congrats him on his new job though . Hope that he earns good money to throw out something like a bachelor party which i find it rare around here. Sigh, the old glory time….
Meanwhile, allow me to get back to my old favorite movie I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry and my most favorite quote ” Group hug in the shower tonight ” weeeeeeee!!! Don’t take me wrong, i’m not a gay who watches a gay movie. If i were gay, god knows what would happen to the world. Let’s just say i love American comedy movies. Yeah yeah i know i said i was busy but can’t a decent guy earn his once in a while peaceful time watching his favorite gay movie for a change? Besides, he’s not even gay…sigh (Drew if you are reading, come and watch with me, i miss your company man…).
First meeting of Java Kills group happened to be at McDonald’s
After a full 5 hours of playing non stop, we decided to call it a day since everyone started to see stars flying around. Me myself was fine but pissed due to bad gaming experience with some guy who thought he was tough. Drew took the whole gang home and planned to say bye but then we insisted to follow and ended up in restaurant which also happens to be my favorite place for Spaghetti. Man! The food was excellent that i cannot stop wanting to go there again next time. So far, that is the only place i somehow enjoyed the food in KL. Sigh! What a life…
As Drew happens to an energetic guy and bit of abnormal at times, offered to drive us around KL and we ended up visiting the Curve shopping center. Now i give it 10 for infrastructure since people here really know how to build and design. Jonsen and Leo as usual were quiet and left us talking non stop to each other in front.
TGI Friday was the last place we visited. The drink was fine, due to the practical sense of living style, i took a refillable drink so that i could keep adding on later just for the sake of saving some bucks. The place was nice and famous not in Malaysia but Australia too. Unfortunately, i did not really know much about it until today. Sigh, what was i doing back there anyway? Lol i guess that better be left untold again. One thing i know, i was not doing something totally boring.
This post is dedicated to Andrew, my sidekick, for being such a nice friend and also for his entertaining blog which is mainly about me. For some reasons, i do not feel like it at all after reading even though i look decent in the pictures.
My buddy Drew decided to give me a call today and offered a get together dinner with Hanh, another fun character. We surely had fun since the place they picked happens to be my favorite place, Shogun restaurant. A restaurant which serves Japanese buffet at the best giving out price that you can get for having Japanese food. As usual, the food is irresistible that me and Drew decided to go for 7th serve and we only made it at the 6th serve. Hanh, as usual, was having a bad tactic of having buffet and gave up at the 5th serve. Anyway, i gave her an applaud for her effort since she is quite petit to be eating that much.
So much for a nice guy…Sigh!
The invisible force of tradition has been around us for centuries and the age gap is something that we Asians seriously consider in the daily conversations. However, such thing does not exist or somehow does not really matter in the Western countries namely USA. How do you tell a person’s age? By talking to them and judge how old that person is or the way that person behaves maturely or not? So then we cannot really define rudeness since talking back is considered rude in Asian countries but encouraged in Western countries. Now that is something for a change.
I had good times there and meeting my dad’s friends is one of those times. Even though, it was only for a short time but somehow, we have developed an invisible bond and to me i am really looking forward to seeing them again.
The main template obviously was not done by me! I took it from a website then implemented it into this site, still certain knowledge about HTML is required though. The name of it is Hobbit, as you can see the picture on top is about the Hobbit’s village. The old man in the picture is no doubt Gandalf the Grey who later in the movie is known as Gandalf the White. For those who have not seen the The lord of the rings, please do yourself a favor by getting the trilogy set of this movie and watch.
The music box at the bottom is just an extra stuff that i put in with the hope of improving the blogging experience for the readers as well as myself. Feel free to request songs from me if you do not know how to get the songs or the songs you like are not around and hard to get. Who knows? I might just be able to get those for you.
Google ads is another unnecessary tool that i added in. Love me by clicking the ads, i hope when i turn 70, they might just send me 1 million USD for all the years advertising for them. Wild dream but it is possible.
Chat box is for you to leave me message and wish others to read as well. This can be considered as leaving comment so please at least try to type in something if you feel lazy to leave comment in my posts. Stuff like I LOVE YOU RICK! is enough. Man! I will be like sleepless for weeks. Hopefully, not from a guy though.
Came back from a long holiday in Vietnam, spending time with family, making new friends has taught me something about value of life. I learn how to treasure every single minute i spent there.
Hi all,
My name is Rick, first time doing blog so, still lack of things to say about, wait for my next blog….
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