BoogieLand - Blog

Rude People Are Not Born Rude

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:54:04 GMT

I don’t think anyone in this world enjoys interacting with rude people. In the same time, none of us would like to be labeled as rude. However, after today, I am convinced that people are not born rude. They are taught...

VPN Using Cisco SOHO Routers

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:11:48 GMT

Recently, I’ve been looking for a way to setup a simple VPN connection between two points. I was looking for an inexpensive, off-the-shelf solution. I already had a Linksys/Cisco RVS 4000. For the other end of the tunnel, I was looking to purchase another home office router, like the Cisco RV110W. I looked everywhere, but have not been successful determining if this was possible or not. As a result, I had to try on my own...

Time for Some Calcium

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:50:21 GMT

Follow-up to An Eventful Day.

Two weeks after the eventful day, I feel much better. My knees don't feel weak. I don't feel any pain. I was ready to get off my wheel chair, and even slowly, stop using my crutches. I was thinking to myself, maybe I can just throw on a pair of knee braces, and off I go. I was ready for the doctor to tell me the same thing. So I thought...

Cat Lovers Beware! The Real Tom and Jerry Show.

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:01:40 GMT

Many people know that I am not particularly a cat lover. In fact, I am allergic to cats. However, this entry has nothing to do with my personal feelings towards them. This was a merely a witness to an event...

An Eventful Day

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:17:28 GMT

Yesterday, I, along with some friends joined a 5K race at the Long Beach International Marathon. It started being an exciting morning. We carpooled there. After arrival we saw a huge crowd. We all felt great...

Making Iced Coffee

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:07:32 GMT

Since summer is here, I decided to change up some of my daily coffee dosage intake...

I used to use my trusty Ikea espresso maker. The problem with that is I start with boiling hot coffee, which I then dilute with tons of ice. That didn't make too much sense.

Chinese IME for Android

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:05:36 GMT

I recently got a new Asus Eee Pad Transformer. I have to admit that I am enjoying it quite a bit. One thing that I had been struggling with has been the Chinese input. I had gotten too used to the HTC keyboard on my phone. One thing that got me somewhat upset is that Asus actually has a great Chinese keyboard that ships with the device. Unfortunately, it's only visible if the UI is set to Chinese. I need my English UI. Typing Chinese is a secondary, but required function. That's when I decided to go on a quest.

Two Excel Documents Side-by-side

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:40:19 GMT

I have been using Microsoft Excel for white a while now. One thing I have always been able to do was to open two Excel documents, lay them side-by-side, and leverage date from one to the other. Ever since I started to use Office 2007, I have missed that ability. Well, I found out how to do it yesterday! It's quite easy actually!

ASP.net Calling passing parameters and return with threads

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 08:21:20 GMT

For the longest time, I've wanted to be able to pass simple parameters and return values with threads as if I was calling a simple method. I recently came across something that allowed me to do just that. Here's a quick sample.

Brakes are underrated

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:10:13 GMT

Had to have brakes serviced recently. That got me thinking. When it comes to driving, there is no doubt that everyone can appreciate the importance of brakes. In fact, Mercedes Benz recently launched a series of ads featuring their new advanced braking system.

Perpetual Victim

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:58:54 GMT

I am quite fed up with people calling themselves victims...
However, what I do not get is why do some people confuse consequence with victimization...

Last night, during one of our visits to California Adventure, we were faced with a scene that got me really worked up...

Cellphones and The Cancer They Are Suppose to Cause

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:41:05 GMT

Just read this article this morning. Needless to say, it got me upset enough to rant about it.

Why is it that since there has not been conclusive evidence linking cellphone usage to cancer that people are still so wrapped up about it?

The reality is that regardless of whether or not one uses a cellphone at all, we are all exposed to tons of radiation as is.

Smoke and Mirrors

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:39:59 GMT

If you ask me, I am quite fed up with people putting on a show. If you are selling entertainment, be upfront about it, and call it for what it is.

I can't stand it when they try to talk other's talk but can't walk other's walk.

How to put a gash on the forehead with a roll of plastic wrap

Tue, 25 May 2010 07:37:26 GMT

Earlier this evening, I wash up in the attic doing some work...

I wacked myself in the head...

The result: a 3/4" gash...

Facebook "Like" Button

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:13:17 GMT

Recently, Facebook opened its doors to give people the ability to add what they call "Social Plugins" to their sites.

Last night, within a couple of hours, I was able to integrate another website with the new "Like" button.

Maybe I will post some simple step-by-step. For now, I hope you "Like" what I have done...

How does one spot the iceberg from the Titanic?

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:42:49 GMT

How does one spot the iceberg from the Titanic? To answer this question, maybe it's easier to ask another. How does one not spot the iceberg from the Titanic?

Titanic will never sink!
Titanic is the ultimate party boat.
Stay on course!

All these great things helped the Titanic to arrive at the iceberg, not see it.

VS 2008 TFS TF30177 Error

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:33:42 GMT

Recently, I setup a VS 2008 TFS, mainly to be used as a source control vault. Things have been working. The problem came when I tried to create a new project.

I got a TF30177 error. When searched around, I got many posts about installing SP1. That didn't work for me.

Saddest Day At The Happiest Place On Earth

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:11:43 GMT

The other night, a friend asked for us to babysit their kids. We decided that it would be fine. We can just take the kids to Disneyland. After all, we have annual passes. They also frequent the park. It would be a more familiar place for them...

Awesome Grape Candy From Taiwan

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:27:04 GMT

Last time I was in Taiwan, I was introduced to this grape candy. I didn't get to have any until I returned. It's probably the best candy I've ever had. I decided to write something down, not only to share this find, but that it will serve as a reminder for me the next time I go so I remember what to buy...

Microsoft Updates Killed My Computer

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:47:41 GMT

For a while now, my Dell Precision M6300 has been having some crashing issues with Windows Explorer on Vista 32-bit Business. I've googled around to try to find a solution, but have not been able to get anything to work. Recently, the crashing became quite frequent I was crashing more than 5 times per day...

Recommended Vendor for Canon 5D Mark II

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:42:06 GMT

Just pulled the trigger on a new toy.

Goes without saying, a great toy at that.

I did some shopping around, and finally ended up at www.Vanns.com.

Trying To Figure Out If Aluminum Burns

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:46:01 GMT

As long as I can remember, we've been using aluminum foil for grilling. All is well. Food tastes ok. Last summer, when I got my grill, a warning memo came with it It said never to put aluminum foil in the grill because it can burn.

I am not going to throw any aluminum into my grill anytime soon.

I would be interested to hear from anyone out there with support of why not to put aluminum into the grill.

Last Showing of Disneyland's "Remember... Dreams Come True" Fireworks Show

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:36:12 GMT

The past few times we were at Disneyland, the fireworks have ended early due to weather. Last night, we were able to catch the last showing of the "Remember... Dreams Come True" show.

Here is a smaller version of the video I shot of the castle view.

Host Department No More!

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:52:47 GMT

After being with Host Department for several years, I've decided to move on... The main reason... Price increase on an outdated hosting service...

After these years, this is the first time that I did not enjoy lookingfor a hosting company. Maybe that might be because I got slightlyspoiled with seeing how my site performs on cloud....

Free HotSpot Wifi Internet Access at Starbucks

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:08:31 GMT

For a while now, T-Mobile has been offering HotSpot Wifi Internet access at Starbucks. The problem for most is how much we all end up having to pay for it. So many places are offering free internet access now. It's surprising that 1, At&T will take over this service, and 2, they still want to charge people for it.

Well, AT&T/Starbucks is now offering something, which is essentially free internet access...

Bribing The Mexican Police Officer

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:32:56 GMT

Finally, I can join the club of having bribed a Mexican police officer. I can finally hang up the hat and say my experience of Mexico is complete.

Microsoft Updates Killed My USB

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:45:14 GMT

Dec. 10th, 2008, at 1:27 am PST, I noticed the icon in the tray for updates. I decided to be a good citizen and install the updates. Since it was late, I decided to let Microsoft take its course. This morning, after logging in, I noticed my mouse wasn't working. Good thing the touchpad still worked. After closer inspection, I noticed it killed all USB devices...

Vacation? Go fly a kite

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:35:30 GMT

Vacation?

Go fly a kite...

...Read More

I Am LinkedIN

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:01:14 GMT

Just got LinkedIn...

Traditional Chinese Support For BlackBerry

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:25:20 GMT

Got hooked up with an old friend. She found out that I have a BlackBerry so she asked if my BlackBerry could read Chinese Characters. This seems to be a very common request for BlackBerry users among the Chinese community. I guess I kinda fit the mold too since that was one of the first things I did...

This has been tested on the BlackBerry 8100, 8120, 8320. It has also failed on the 8330, due to Verizon mods to the OS...

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Messages and Internet Service Messages Get Mixed In Messages Folder

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:37:53 GMT

Got a BlackBerry a few months ago. Since then, I've been using it with work's Enterprise Server (BES) email connected to our Exchange. It works great. Personally, I also have a Gmail account, or Internet Service (BIS) email to the BlackBerry. For the life of me, I just could not figure out how to have two different icons or folders that will house the emails from each account...

Common Courtesy

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:18:38 GMT

What ever happen to common courtesy? I was on a flight today. During a stop through Austin, the few of us heading towards Orlando did not deplane. As we waited, we noticed that people started to board. After the pre-board of groups with children and seniors, a mid-age couple made it as the first couple on the plane. They sat down behind us. The first thing that happened, even before the lady sat down, she started to complain about a ringing sound...

Facebook Site with Google Thumbnail?

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:15:33 GMT

Where did this come from? I was just Facebooking, and noticed something strange... I thought there was something wrong with my IE when I noticed that facebook.com had a Google icon. It wasn't that long ago when they had their disagreements. Was this a prank? Did something happen between facebook and Google that we should know about?

Water Damage Phase 5 - Furniture Is Back!

Tue, 20 May 2008 21:34:00 GMT

Been quite busy lately, so I haven't had a chance to update everyone. About 2 weeks ago, we got our furniture back! Yeah!!! It's not completely done yet. As we refused to have the contractors finish the job, they deducted some money from the originally agreed amount. We now have to finish the projects.
It's not going to be quick. However, it's just a great feeling to be able to kick-back on the sofa again.

Water Damage Phase 4-Furnitureless

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:30:00 GMT

It's been over four weeks since the last time we saw the contractors. It's been almost 3 months since we've seen our furniture.

This will be the last chance for them. For now, I will not make public of their company name. However, if anyone is doing research on contractors in the Southern California area, and would like more info on this company, pleasse contact me. I will share the information offline. All I can say at this point is beware of trusting everything a contractor is claiming. Never let them "store" your furniture for you.

VMWare Virtual Machine Image Size Increase For Windows XP

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:06:39 GMT

I've been using VMWare Workstation for a while now. I use them to simulate customer environments. I've been creating Windows XP images allowing only 5GB of disk space for the OS and application. Recently, I came across the need to extend my image size...

Water Damage Phase 3

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:28:22 GMT

Things are quite messy but progress is on its way. As work continue, we've had to move out more. Since the first set of pictures, we've now emptied our master bedroom, office, and partially emptied the spare bedroom/storage room. The remaining furniture is all piled up in the garage. I've also setup a temporary office in the garage. As the workers work, my work still needs to continue...

Water Damage Phase 2

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:45:39 GMT

Finally, after some patient waiting, and complaints to the insurance company, things are finally on their way. In addition to the reconstruction, we've opted to hire the same contractors to do the repairs that got us here in the first place. It was quite shocking what they've found after they got started...

(Video included...)

Water Damage Phase 1

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:03:45 GMT

Restoration is on its way...

That's the good news...

Thank God for these guys. They are real pros... It's really comforting to see people willing to take care of their customers...

The bad news...

Insurance...

Home Sweet Home... Buyers Beware

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:47:48 GMT

In today's real estate market, everyone need to be extremely careful. With TV shows that teach people to flip houses, and greedy real estate agents, when it looks like too good of a deal, walk away...

...At the time, the place had been completely renevated...

...Be very very careful if it looks like it's either in excellent condition or newly renevated...

URL Rewriter Blocking Response.Redirect

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 05:54:45 GMT

A while back, I implemented the URLRewriter mentioned on Scott Gu's Blog. This gave me the ability to create search engine friendly URLs for all my pages and dynamic content. All was well until I started to get a bit fancy...

...with the two URLrewriting going on, my Response.Redirect stopped working... it just hangs...

Intelligence Being Expelled?

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:48:18 GMT

After my previous entry on Where Is America Going, I did a bit more research on Ben Stein. He is definitely a smart person. He has a new movie that is due out soon. It's called Expelled. It deals with the subject of Intelligent Design, a subject that I am very interested in...

Celebrities And Their Wisdom

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:38:21 GMT

When did celebrities become expert authorities in anything? Why is it that we embrace what celebrities preach? I guess in a nation that can have actors as politicians, anything is possible...

Where Is America Going?

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:03:25 GMT

This morning, on the radio, Dr. James Dobson of Focus On the Family came on, and read a quote from Ben Stein. This is a quote from Ben Stein back in 12/18/2005 on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary...

Taiwan, One Of The Jewels In Asia

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:25:03 GMT

Just got this link from a friend yesterday. This is a video made by the Department of Tourism of Taiwan...

What's With These "Social Networking" Sites Anyway?

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:03:30 GMT

I remember vaguely joining Friendster several years ago. It promised to help me find my old friends. It did. It got me in touch with some old high school and college friends. After a while, no one updated their pages...

Missing XP Desktop Taskbar

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:50:11 GMT

This past weekend, as I rebooted my computer, for some reason, the XP Desktop Taskbar went missing. Normally, I have Google Desktop and a Language toolbar loaded. Typically, they get pushed to the right-hand-side of my XP Taskbar, right next to the application tray...

Obout HTML Editor

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:53:23 GMT

Recently, I got fed up with using the FCKEditor. The biggest problem, for some reason I cannot find any resources online, is that it seems to have issues when there is content on the same page loaded after it. Under normal circumstances of a hosted situation, I never run into this problem...

Why Am I Still Up At This Wii Hour?

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 06:50:28 GMT

Along with possibly thousands of people that voted on Amazon for the $79 Wii, I am one of many that could not wait to find out whether or not I won...

The Reason For The Season

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:58:36 GMT

Received an email today. It took me to this.

In this holiday season, let's not forget the reason...

Generation Of Mediocrity

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:50:53 GMT

Few days ago, I got an email from a friend about the "Chintendo Vii" from China. At a quick glance, it's an obvious knock-off of the ever popular Nintendo Wii. Several months ago, the hot item on the tech community was the "ifone," an alternative to the iPhone from Apple...

Google Web Accelerator?

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:43:14 GMT

Several months ago, I was baited to try the Google Web Accelerator. Having no idea what it is and what it does, I took it at face value. I assued it's suppose to accelerate my web experience...

One of the Strongest Typhoons in Taiwan

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 07:09:21 GMT

It's definitely an experience... I have not experienced a typhoon in ages. These years in US, when I hear about typhoons in Taiwan, all I think about is just strong winds and rain. This time, being in Taiwan, it definitely feels different...

Pouring Buckets

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 22:33:27 GMT

Today, I woke up at 6:30am. Due to the jet lag, I am still a bit dizzy and zoned out. In addition to the lingering stickiness, we were welcomed by a huge down-pour...

Familiar Sticky Feeling

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 22:25:42 GMT

We arrived in Taiwan yesterday morning. For the most part, we had a pretty sunny day. Regardless of the weather, we were quickly reminded of the humidity here...

Whatever Happened To Customer Service?

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 04:08:16 GMT

Recently, maybe due to the mass power outages in the greater LA area, my cable internet service has not been performing at its norm. Tonight, it was crawling at best. Even the simple Google basic home page took some time to come in. As a result, I decided to call my service provider, Time Warner Cable...

Software and Medicine

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:45:47 GMT

When we are sick, it's natural that we either go to the doctors or reach for the next OTC medicine. In the back of our minds, we know that the doctors have been through years of training...

Lifetime Student...

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:39:56 GMT

I believe, in life, we continue to be students, whether it be life lessons, or job skills required at hand...

Working with Classes...

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:16:56 GMT

I am a novice when it comes to ASP.net. A few months ago, I took it upon myself to learn it. Since then, I came across quite a few things. One of the topics is working with classes. At first, all of my code resided in the CS page of each of the aspx pages. I quickly noticed that I was recoding many common funcitons. There had to be a better way..

All is well

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:22:08 GMT

Just a bit of follow-up from the previous message... All is well with my friend's daughter and family. The little one is recovering very nicely.

Father's Love

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 05:59:14 GMT

The most common question a man gets asked when he is about to have his first child is "are you ready to be a dad?" No one is ever ready. Our lives do not ccome with instruction manuals like the products we buy in the stores. This new life that is given, comes with responsibilites so great that would cause many to back away. Yet, there is just something about this little life that turns a boy into a man...

Old Friends

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:34:04 GMT

Ran into some old friends today. Actually, they ran into us. These unexpected encounters are a lot of fun. It's been over a year since we saw each other...

Slow Service... No More!

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:14:10 GMT

Hurray! Went through 1 whole week of transfer. I am glad I waited. The new server is so much better...

Ant Problems (Round 3)...

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:49:38 GMT

Frustrating problems... Not only are these bus climbing patios, bypassing bug spray, they are now clawing under stucco, through the walls, and into the house. Just yesterday, I discovered a trail of ants marching through my livingroom...

Getting old...

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:41:37 GMT

How do you know when you are getting old? When you start to think about how things were when you were younger. "...I remembered gas used to cost so much per gallon..." The dead give-away is...

Slow Service...

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:34:48 GMT

Well, I've complained again. This time, they've offered to move my account to another web server. They promise that it will be much better. We shall see...

Ant Problems (Round 2)...

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:14:11 GMT

Ants seem to have stopped coming into the house...

Ant Problems...

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 20:23:41 GMT

I used to think having a swarm of ants is a big problem. About a year ago, we had a sudden infestation. There were trails of ants in several places around the house...

Slow Service...

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 07:57:58 GMT

For the last year or so, I've been hosting my website at Host Department. They are definitely great when it comes to value. However, when it comes to performance... I wish I have better things to say...