Star Wars - Rogue One

Walker of Rogue One

Watched Star Wars Rogue One yesterday night.

As a person who had watched every episode of Star Wars since 1977, I find Rogue One enjoyable. Memorable parts include:-

(1) Darth Vader who was dead in Part 6 was alive in Rogue One. Love it when he uses the light saber
(2) All the familiar original X-wing and Tie fighters. Space fights scene was good. The use of aiming mechanism onboard Tie fighters is a reminiscence of the same used in A New Hope.
(3) Director made the security facility (internal) in Scariff looks like the original Star Wars Death Star
(4) The original storm troopers
(5) The original star ship and fleet
(6) The original Imperial walkers (from Empire Strikes Back)
(7) Admiral Ackbar and its space ship
(8) The connection with Star Wars A New Hope where the last part of Rogue One is the beginning of A New Hope. Awesome connection.
(9) A relatively simple story

What I hope can be improved:
(1) Digital animated actor like Princess Leia and Tarkin is unreal, but good effort. Rogue One use of animation (or rather the less use of it) is still better than Star Wars Part 1 (The Phantom Menace) battle droid, which is totally artificial. The K2 unit seems realistic enough but could not recall the presence of K2 unit in A New Hope.
(2) Why would the top of the security facility has openings that allows human size droid or person to go through. Isn't that a security breach? Ventilation duct should not be opened in the first place.
(3) Strange that Rogue One is multi-racial but A New Hope does not reflect that. Obviously for commercial reason.
(4) There are birds on another planet far far away from Earth? Most of the Planets are quite earth like other than Darth Vader Planet Mustafar.
(5) The storm troopers vehicle on Planet Jedha is basically an earthly tank. Could have been more creative in imagination. Something which Star Wars Part 4 to 6 had achieved.

Lastly, Rest in Peace Carrie Fisher (aka Princess Leia).

Messerschmitt Me 262 Plastic Model

Me262 Plastic Model

Real Life Me262 from Deutsche Museum

Painted in accordance to the colours found in the real Me 262 at Munich Deutsche Museum. The colours could be off due to poor recognition of colours from Tamiya paint palette.  The plastic model is from Revell which I bought it from a souvenir shop in Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim in 2015. However, it has one defect, the box does not enclose a decal of the German airplane. The other issue is that the plastic is not balance on its wheels, it is more heavy and rotate about its rear. I like the design of this plane which is so unique of its era and even from today perspective. It looks like a shark.

Braised Duck Rice at Zion Riverside Food Centre

Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap and Braised Duck

Big Bowl of Rice Flat

Zion Road Hawker Centre

There are 3 stalls at Zion Riverside Food Centre selling duck and kway chap specialties. The stall with the longest queue is usually Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap and Braised Duck ( 文通记 ). The queue will include foreigners who are attracted usually to braised duck rice or noodle.

I ordered the duck and kway chap mix for 2 persons which cost S$9 + S$1.50 (3 bowls of rice flat at 50 cents each). The bowl is bigger than many other kway chap stalls that I have eaten. The gravy that was poured over the duck and kway chap mix was generous and tasty.  Many of other stalls gravy tasted salty but this stall gravy has an unique taste which I like. The duck meat was also cut in thin pieces which made it easier to chew and blend well with the gravy.  Overall, I would consider Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap very good.

There are 2 downsides. Firstly, the tau pok was not that good as it was not soaked in the gravy for too long which made the texture harder than those soft ones commonly available. But some patrons may like it that way. Secondly, the gravy has MSG which I could feel the thirst in my mouth after consumption.

Zion Riverside Food Centre is a nicely located hawker centre next to a beautiful river located in a prime location. The only problem is its difficulty to find a parking lot during peak hours.

Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice

Claypot Rice at Smith Street Hawker Cetnre

Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice

Lian He Ben Ji Claypot 联合本记 is located at Smith Street Hawker Centre in Chinatown. It occupies 2 stalls #02-198 and #02-19. It opens from 4:30pm to 10:00pm daily (except Thurs - not verified).

I had ordered a S$20 mixed claypot rice with $3 vegetables. The S$20 pot was meant for 4 persons and it had a mixture of chicken meat, chinese sausages, salted fish and rice seasoned in black soy sauce. The claypot could be ordered for $5, $8, $10, $15, $20 and $25.  The stall had a few stoves to cook the claypot rice and it was quite famous locally.

My view is that the claypot rice is better in taste than the one at Blk 729 Ang Mo Kio Central Hawker Centre. However, it was not the best I have eaten. It could be better if the rice was cooked slightly dryer and more crispier. It was still soft when served. Secondly, the salted fish pieces were better to be cut to smaller pieces. I have eaten more fragrance salted fish. The chef had added MSG as I could feel thirsty after eating it.

The best claypot rice I had eaten was in XinHui, Guangzhou, China. That claypot rice tasted  authentic and reminded me of what I had eaten when I was a young child. The review could be seen here:-

http://e21s.blogspot.sg/2016/07/guangzhou-part-1-food-in-xin-hui.html

Merry Christmas

 

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Fantastic Year Ahead!!

Its the most wonderful time of the Year !!

Goldman Sachs

Sold my Goldman Sachs (GS) equity on 7 Dec 16 (US Date) for US$234.50. This happens when the Dow Jones hits 19,549.

I bought this equity because of Mr Warren Buffett.  He had bought US$5 billion of preferred stocks and said back in 2008: "Goldman Sachs is an exceptional institution. It has an unrivaled global franchise, a proven and deep management team and the intellectual and financial capital to continue its track record of outperformance."

I bought 20 shares of Goldman Sachs on 31 Oct 2008 when the price was US$87.76 and 10 shares on 16 Apr 2010 when the price was US$157.99. When I first bought the equity, Dow Jones was at 9,200. The index has since been through a roller coaster and now has gained more than 10,000 points since 2008.  The profit from GS is one of the best ever from Investment. A reminder that US equity still presents a good opportunity for investment when the price is right.

Mr Buffett had liquidated some of his holding in GS in 2015.

I am still holding Citibank which has been one of my worst ever, other than Creative Technology. The reason why I had brought Citibank equity back in Feb 2008 was that Singapore Temasek Holdings had purchased it, prior to the Great Financial Turmoil of 2008/9. What a great mistake I had made. Still holding it as a loss.

Thanks to Mr Buffett for his wise insight.

Jinhao 163

Jinhao 163

In July 2016, I bought this Jinhao 163 fountain pen in Guangzhou for RMB60 (equivalent to about SGD$12.60). The shop sells mainly roller ball and ball point pens but it has only 1 fountain pen which is the one I bought. It has a medium nib which is suitable for my style of writing.

It is smooth in writing and I can feel the ink flow without much difficult. The pen uses a ink pump system similar to my workhorse pen, the Waterman Expert II Dune.

The body has a rather nice finishes and I hope it doesn't tarnish over time.

I am generally satisfied with the quality in relation to the price paid and this is the third cheapest fountain pen after my Hero 336 and Hero 441 pens.

Nutmeg Plum Drink



Nutmeg and Plum Drink

While there wasn't much spectacular food I had enjoyed during this KL trip, I must highlight this nutmeg plum drink. This was from a Penang restaurant in mid valley mega mall. The drink was uniquely from Penang.

It was a refreshing drink and it tasted good when served with ice. A sour plum was added to the drink to compliment the taste of nutmeg. Nutmeg is grown in Penang and there are many by-product from the fruit of the nutmeg tree, eg nutmeg oil, preserved nutmeg sweets, nutmeg alcohol etc.

I enjoyed this but couldn't remember the price. Hope to try it again.

Hotwheels Porsche 934

Porsche 934 Hotwheels

Hotwheels Porsche 934 purchased from Mid Valley, KL Toys R Us. It costs RM7.90 which is about S$2.60. In Singapore, a hotwheels will cost S$3.90 (at Takashimaya Singapore). I could not find the same Porsche 934 at Takashimaya.

I think it is quite rare to find a Porsche Hotwheels. I will probably keep it together with its packaging intact.

KL Street Food

Roti Prata at Lorong Ceylon patronised mainly by locals

Prata quality was reasonable. Sauce was diluted as compared to Singapore version. But prices are incredible low. RM2 for one with egg and RM1 for one without egg.

This is how local residents eat. There are pockets of area where street food are served at local prices and they are of good quality.

Audi Malaysia Prices November 2016

Audi A3 RM 159,900 (S$53,000)

Batu Caves

About 20 to 25 minutes train ride by KTM Komputer from KL Sentral station. Cost only RM2.60 one way. Off peak hour wait could be 45 minutes each.

The height of Batu Caves is about 105m above sea level, base on my watch barometer. There are 272 steps. The climb is not that difficult, considering there are landing at regular interval where a climber can rest. There are monkeys, rooster and plenty of birds in the caves. The huge Indian God statute is currently under renovation. A Indian temple resides within the cave. It is still being worshiped by locals.

A good morning exercise while on holiday.

I had been here when I was a little boy about (6 to 7 years old) but could not recall whether I had climbed it.

KL 2016 - Jalan Alor

An over-rated tourist attraction in Kuala Lumpur.

Food was terribly cooked and charged at a high price.

I am sure local KL residents have plenty of alternative authentic Chinese food.

While the signages were displayed in chinese and English, the restaurants are run by foreigners and food cooked by foreigners. They have no idea what good food is.

I ordered satay, hotplate toufoo, kai lan (vegetable), cereal prawns, fried egg with drinks. all for RM141 which is equivalent to S$47. The price was similar to a Singapore street chi-char stall. But the quality was far worse. The toufoo was overcooked. The sauce was blend. The prawns were over fried. The satay was not well marinated and the satay sauce was bad etc.

Highly not recommended.

iPhone 7

iPhone 1 vs iPhone 7

I am generally not a fan of iPhone and perfectly fine with Android phones. However, last week, just out of curiosity, I went to purchase a iPhone 7 32GB with gold back cover. It was considerably more expensive than ordinary Android phones.  In China, the iPhone is hailed as a status symbol. I had some difficulty trying to get accustomed to iOS.

Here are my views after using it for 1 week. Of course, the points are made in comparison with Android phones. I could be wrong in my assessment as I am still trying to learn iOS.

The Bad:-
1. No FM radio. Radio has to be through apps and uses wifi or mobile data.
2. The mail was in sync with my gmail. The feel is different and there are more steps required in order to complete a task. For example; to delete email, there is no direct means, but to move it through trash.
3. No direct connection with the computer. To download or upload, I have to use iCloud or iTunes. For Android, I can read the files directly just by connecting it to a Windows base PC/laptop. Transfer of files are easy.
4. No Bluetooth connection with other Android phones. Connection could not be established.
5. Higher battery energy consumption. Faster drainage on battery.
6. Calendar events are not as refined under the month mode. In Android, I am able to see minor line and major line with each line representing an event.
7. More step to enable and disable mobile data.
8. Prefer Chrome than Safari.
9. The surface of the iPhone is smooth and is more prone to dropping. While it is nice to hold, I have ordered a plastic cover to improve handling.
10. I prefer the 3.5mm jack than the lightning jack for headphones.
11. No notification light unless user wants to make use of LED light meant for the hearing impaired.

The Good:-
1. GarageBand - I simply love this app from Apple. It is user friendly and interesting.
2. The silent button as a physical control over sound generated from iPhone. Ease to switch over rather than through software.
3. iPhone 7 has thumb security via the home button which allows access to the phone without security numbers or patterns.
4. Photo from the camera is good.

Other comments:-
1. The first generation of iPhone has black frontal finishes. Wonder what was so special about jet black or matt black finishes in iPhone 7. My other Android phones are black in colour.
2. Sony Android phones (certain models) have long been water resistance. Not sure what is so special about iPhone 7 water resistance capability.

KZ ZS3

KZ ZS3

I have also bought the KZ ZS3, an in-ear headphone for S$20. The main reason of purchase was the reasonable price of the headphone. It is convenient for travelling although in-ear headphone can be quite uncomfortable as there is no noise connection with the world outside which is unnatural. The headphone is biased towards low frequency. Music lovers who prefer base will enjoy it. It is a made in China headphone.

Audio Technica ATH AD700X

Audio Technica ATH AD700X

I bought this Headphone over at Comex 2016. Prior to purchasing this headphone, I tested several headphones which include the Sony MDR 1A, Sony XB750AP, Sony MDR Z7, Seinnheiser (not sure the model), Bose QC25, Armaggeddon Molotov 3 and Audio Technica (a few models).

I would say the Sony MDR 1A is impressive and it has a 40mm dynamic driver unit. The price at S$399 is quite expensive. The MDR Z7 has a price tag of more than S$800 in Singapore but performance wise, I would think it is comparable to MDR 1A. The Bose QC25 is also quite good but it is another expensive unit at S$429 with noise cancelling function. The QC25 is also light and suitable for travelling. The Armaggeddon Molotov 3 is impressive in its base sound and more importantly the price is only S$29. I almost bought this if not because of its colour (bright yellow, bright red and camouflage). This is meant to target the young. My test song was consistently Debbie Gibson "Out of the Blue" which has a good balance of bass, mid range vocal and treble.

Finally, I bought the Audio Technica ATH AD700X at S$158.

The good points of the AD700X :- 53mm driver unit (even bigger than the Sony MDR 1A). Frequency response is 5 to 30000 Hz. I find this a gimmick as the human hearing is only 20 to 20000 Hz and hearing deteriorates with age. The Price is fantastic. Good at mid to high pitch sound. Good Clarity. The earpads are in cotton fabric which is comfortable over time, but it could get hot with prolong listening. It has a 3m long cable.  Personally, I do not like PVC earpads that cover the whole ear.

The bad points of the AD700X:- Heavy (at 265g, it is heavier than MDR 1A) and big size. Not suitable for travelling. Not very strong at low frequency level. Plastic components.

Other features:- Open Air Feature. (See photo). The box says designed and engineered in Japan.

Brie Cheese from France

Brie Cheese

Brie Cheese with mold

I wanted to taste what a Brie Cheese is like and bought this Ile De France brand cheese. It tastes salty and resemble cheddar but is not so tasty. It has also a slight mushroom taste. The Brie cheese has the penicillium roqueforti mold which makes it unique. On the surface of the cheese is a white layer of mold and within the cheese, there are black spots.

It costs S$7.95 for 125 gram and it was produced in France.

Guangzhou Part 13 - Some Toys

I bought these toys in Guangzhou. There were bought at Guangzhou Toys Wholesale market, which is located at Yi De Road 一德路. The Audi RS6 cost me RMB35 (S$7.35) which was reasonably priced. I had also bought a Ferrari F12 at the same price. These are die-cast model with plastic interior and a scale of 1/24. They come with 3 batteries which will produce engine sound and headlights blinks. They are pretty decent in quality considering that most toys nowadays are manufactured in China. There were bigger toys for sale but I was limited by weight and the trouble to carry them back.

The tintin and snowy come in a set for RMB30 (S$6.30). The set comes with Thomson and Thomson, Haddock and Prof Calculus. I think the shop charged me quite high as I only requested for 1 set. Being a wholesale market, the more sets purchased make the price cheaper. But I still think it is worth it.

Audi RS6 Diecast

Tintin and Snowy

Yi De Road Toys Wholesale Market

Guangzhou Part 12 - A simple meal

A simple meal purchased from Aeon Supermarket. It is a local lotus leaf glutinous rice with pork. Cost about RMB 7. It has strong lotus leaf taste and is delicious. I ate this together with some noodle and a Japanese rice roll with nori and down with pineapple beer. A satisfactory dinner at this price.

 

I like the taste of this pineapple beer at a price of RMB2.70

Guangzhou Part 11 - 新会陈皮 (Xin Hui Orange Peel)

Guangzhou city of 新会 is famous for 陈皮 (citrus orange peel). When I was a small child, my grandmother used to prepare orange peel through drying . The local orange is however not the same species as the 陈皮 of 新会. As a young boy, I was always wondering what my grandmother was doing.

There was a story that a Southern Chinese had won the praises of a China Empress through the use of orange peel from 新会 as a medical treatment for the Empress sickness. Upon consuming the product, the Empress sickness has improved. This event created a demand and agricultural expansion for growth of this special orange called 茶枝柑。

陈皮 is a famous product in Guangzhou. Even the local museum has a preserved specimen of this orange. According to the display, "the drug (陈皮) is used for moving qi (the inner energy), fortifying the stomach, drying dampness, resolving phlegm, down bearing qi and reliving vomiting."

陈皮 specimen in Guangzhou Museum

The local supermarkets have this product easy available.

The citrus peel or 陈皮 available in a Guangzhou supermarket (right cabinet)

I have chronic sinus problems for many years. My nose would get infected easily and there would be nasal discharge due to the mucus produced. This mucus would drain down my throat causing irritation and cough. Normally, I would need anti-histamine and anti-biotic to treat this illness. However, recently, I found that common antibiotics is of not much effectiveness, probably due to resistance from the bacteria causing the infection.

On the last second day prior to my departure from Guangzhou, I made an impromptu stopover at 体育西路 station, just a station before the station of my hotel. There is an Aeon supermarket just next to the station. I was just casually looking around when out of a sudden, a local lady was speaking to 2 Asians. From the conversation, the local lady who was speaking in Cantonese, vouched to the 2 Asians that the 陈皮 displayed at the shelve was a very good product and solved her sore throat ailment for many years. The 2 Asians, a young gentlemen from Thailand and his girlfriend from South Korea, was replying that they are looking for a gift to buy for their parents. He was replying in mandarin (Thai Chinese). In the end, I bought a bottle of the 陈皮 with some skepticism. From an after thought, it was quite an unique situation; a local Guangzhou resident speaking to a couple of Thai and South Korean, with me (another foreigner) purchasing the product.

To my pleasant surprise, the 陈皮 is good in treating my cough. My nose is still infected, but it soothes the throat and reduce irritation of the throat. There is less cough and phlegm. Being a natural product, it should not have side effects if there is no over-consumption. A piece of the 陈皮 a day is sufficient for its medicinal properties to take effect. Do note that this is an authentic aged 陈皮.  A highly recommended product for a person who has ENT ailment. Just hope that I could buy another bottle.

 

Guangzhou Part 10 - Luo / Law / Loh Ancestors Hall 良溪罗氏大宗祠

Following my earlier post:-- http://e21s.blogspot.sg/2016/07/guangzhou-part-6-luo-law-loh-ancestors.html

Some more photographs taken from within 罗氏大宗祠.

Photographs are all rights reserved.

History and Introduction to Liang Xi Village

Natural Lightings

Bricks and Walls from Year 1707



History of 罗氏