Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Parrot

Meet Klaus Nomi

Parrot — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:22:54 +0800

[youtube]gma5IUNMTn0[/youtube]
[youtube]uKYpepxGkyY[/youtube]
[youtube]k2Nn5JhKQyU[/youtube]

Oh, and he's gay. And dead due to AIDS.

GUISE, REMEMBER THIS SHIT?

Parrot — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:12:04 +0800

Reply button 404-ed

Parrot — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:50:06 +0800

What's going on?

I think my modem is on its last leg

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 07:30:00 +0800

I think my modem is on its last leg

Parrot — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:41:35 +0800

I've been experiencing frequent disconnections the past week or so, but I have a hunch it's not the fault of Failmyx this time (for once, I'm giving those fags a break).

I'm connected using a 2006 Aztech ADSL router/modem, which was originally bought to replace our first USB broadband modem (from 2004, I think) that died a slow death. The symptoms of the recent disconnections mirrors that of our first modem, with unexpected disconnections, cutoffs while establishing connections and sluggish reconnection speeds. Given its service for nearly 3 years, I'm beginning to think the modem is way past its life expectancy.

What's your take on this? Do I seek a new modem? I haven't called TM to verify the connection itself, but I'll be sure to verify it when I check tomorrow (or Monday).

GeForce 9800 GTX+ driver updates

Parrot — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:29:36 +0800

I have a Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX+ graphics card which I bought along with my computer back in early 2009. Up to now, the card has be pretty reliable, doing its job as intended without trouble.

The problem, however, starts when I wish to update its driver. I attempted upgrades to versions 181.20 and (most recently) 186.18 drivers on two separate occasions. Plucked the drivers intended for the GTX+ from the Nvidia website, installed them and restarted the computer. From that point on, after the Windows boot screen, the screen blinks with a series of lines and then enters a blank, black screen, remaining unresponsive until I restart the computer. Only through system restoration was I able to revert back to the state before the installation. As a result, I'm unable to upgrade the driver since I got this computer.

From my understanding, the original driver came from the manufacturer's CD, so it's hard to tell whether the problem originated from the original driver or the new ones. I tried to uninstall the original driver and start again, but Windows immediately enters another blank screen a short while after completing startup. Bullshit.

Any ideas what is causing these problems?

Female nigra roasts kitteh

Parrot — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:36:13 +0800

I'll just leave this here, k?

QUOTE

Bronx teen confesses to roasting kitten

Cheyenne Cherry tossed her ex-roommate's kitty, Tiger Lily, into the stove, then left so she didn't have to hear the cat's anguished cries.

A Bronx teenager roasted her ex-roommate's kitten to death in a stove - then brushed off the incident as a joke when she was busted, authorities said Thursday.

"I hate cats," Cheyenne Cherry, 17, allegedly told investigators when asked about the heartless crime.

Cherry's confession came after she was arrested Wednesday by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

She and an unidentified juvenile allegedly broke into Valerie Hernandez's Tinton Ave. apartment on May 6 and trashed the place.

Then in a shocking act of animal abuse, they tossed the woman's kitten, Tiger Lily, into the stove and cranked up the temperature, ASPCA assistant director Joe Pentangelo said.

Cherry told authorities that she and her accomplice "thought we would play a joke on Valerie and mess up her apartment."

The duo bolted from the apartment with DVDs and packages of noodles, Pentangelo said.

"She didn't want to hear the cat crying and scratching at the oven door," Pentangelo said.

Firefighters found the female cat's remains smoldering in the oven after neighbors complained of smoke coming from Hernandez's apartment.

"My brother came to my house and said, 'I think food is burning,'" said Hernandez's next-door neighbor Jannetssie Genau, 24.

"Later the police came and said what it was. I was upset because I had a cat myself before."

Besides roasting the kitten, Cherry and her friend allegedly slashed Hernandez's furniture, unscrewed light bulbs and threw bleach on the walls, Pentangelo said.

"I think what was done cries out for justice," Pentangelo said. "It's a shame that this kitten had to suffer like this. For the kitten to get caught up in whatever was going on with them is a tragedy."

Pentangelo said the kitten was burned so badly a necropsy had to be performed to determine its sex.

Cherry was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, burglary, arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. She was released to the custody of her mother.

The unidentified juvenile involved in the incident has not been arrested.

LOL Tiger Lily.

Stay tune!

Cicakman threeed

Parrot — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:30:34 +0800

In conjunction with the premier of the second Cicakman movie (Planet Hitam) in (um) South Korea, I feel it's (in)appropiate to dig up a very old gem from the rag sheet Berita Harian, in which an unnamed reviewer criticised Yusri's setting for the movie. It's worth a chuckle, considering the things he brought up:

QUOTE

22 December 2006 : Berita Harian
NEGARA CICAK MAN TAK SESUAI DENGAN BANGSA

PADA hujung minggu lalu, saya menonton filem Cicak Man di pawagam selepas berhari-hari menonton iklan mengenai filem ini di televisyen. Ternyata filem ini boleh dibanggakan kerana ada pembaharuan dalam industri filem Malaysia.

Selama ini rakyat Malaysia hanya disajikan dengan filem Melayu yang sama tema iaitu cinta. Tetapi dengan kehadiran filem Cicak Man sedikit sebanyak mengajak beratus ribu penonton menonton satu filem yang menyerlah sekali.

Walaupun bangga dengan hasil kerja Yusri KRU ini, timbul satu kekesalan di dalam filem itu. Di dalam filem ini ada sebuah negara ciptaan Yusri yang bercuaca sejuk seperti di negara Barat dan rakyatnya memakai pakaian panas yang tebal, bertopi dan bersarung tangan.

Di negara itu juga terdapat banyak bangunan tinggi yang menyerupai `Gotham City' seperti dalam filem Batman, bukannya bangunan di negara kita. Terdapat satu babak menunjukkan negara itu dituruni salji.

Saya faham Yusri ingin mencipta sesuatu yang baru dan filem ini hanya satu filem fiksyen tetapi mengapa perlu mencipta sebuah negara yang bercuaca sejuk tetapi rakyatnya berbahasa Melayu?

Walau apapun, usaha Yusri harus dibanggakan kerana kerja kerasnya untuk menghasilkan sebuah filem fiksyen yang baik walaupun terdapat unsur yang diciplak daripada filem Batman, Superman dan Spiderman.

Bagi saya, Yusri sdalah seorang yang kreatif kerana boleh mencipta watak fiksyen yang kita sendiri tidak pernah terlintas di fikrian kita.

Dengan kejayaan filem ini, diharapkan Yusri dapat pula membuat filem bertemakan peperangan dan keIslaman yang menggunakan teknologi moden dan digital.

Saya juga berharap penerbit filem tempatan dan pengarah filem lain dapat mengikuti jejak Yusri untuk memberi nafas baru dalam filem mereka demi maruah industri perfileman Malaysia.

Font/Typeface of Msian license plates

Parrot — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:32:42 +0800

I've been seeing them all over the place, but none of those useless websites mentions the font used on most Msian license plates. Even Kiasuland's Wikifagia entry on its license plates mentions Charles Wright and FE-Schrift as fonts its uses.

So, any clues?

History of LYN

Parrot — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:29:22 +0800

A few months ago, a bunch of LYN members created a WikiFagia's article on Lowyat.NET. While the article was later redone to partially comply to WikiFagia guidelines, there is still room for improvement.

I'm currently revising the article again and need some additional info on this site's history, mainly how the site started out, who was responsible for the site's early development, services initially available and added subsequently, and notable instances when the site was recognised by third parties (in both good or bad light).

A summary of the site's history may be helpful. Thanks.

Writing to your local town council

Parrot — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:46:48 +0800

I have a major inquiry for my local town council regarding some crap developer who went ahead filling part of a river not far from my home for another terraced housing project. Now it's simply hard to tell if the filling is temporary or permanent, since they only started about a week ago.

Anyway, I have a few questions before I get started writing the letter:

1) Developers. Are they permitted to alter the river in favour of their development?

2) Photos. Will they come in handy in my first letter?

3) Language in the letter. English or Bahasa Orang Melayu?

Thanks.

How matured are we?

Parrot — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:41:08 +0800

Exactly how matured are we when debating the state of the automotive market in M'sia? Frequent visits to Paultan.org seem to indicate a substantial amount of visitors who are not particularly bright, and only a handful of level-headed people do publish constructive comments.

For examples:
* "Motorcycles banned on KL-Putrajaya Highway" - Car/motorcycle bashing aplenty, including generalisations regarding motorcyclists being nothing more than Mat Rempits.

* "Proton Saga: 23,000 bookings, 5 month wait!" - Substantial lack of judgement on why the car is popularly booked, since the new Saga, while sensible with good performance, is far cheaper than other subcompacts (the Vios, City and Latio) due to uncompetitive taxation by our dear government.

* "Tata Nano: The name of the Tata 1-Lakh Car" and other articles pertaining the car - Immediate thoughts about the prospect of the car faring in M'sia, which is obviously normal, but also contains bashing of the car regardless for its stripped-down nature (commonly pertaining the lack of air-conditioning on its baseline models). Also contains a bit of comments in favour of the car over the use of motorcycles.

These incidences imply such commentors:
* Are overly defensive;
* are sheep;
* fail to apply logic;
* are ignorant; and
* are reactionary.

I suppose it could be the education system. How does this LYN subforum fare?

Are cars on M'sian roads boring

Parrot — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:15:26 +0800

Here's a thought.

Since Proton and Perodua literary own the vast majority of the M'sian car market, does this mean the variety of cars on the road are generally boring in comparison to Singapore or Thailand? It's apparent cars in urban areas are more varied, but areas outside major cities and towns are dominated by Wiras, Kancils, Kelisas, Kenaris, old cars and foreign MPVs and vans.

I ask because it's so much more difficult to document foreign cars in M'sia these days, even the new ones.

How well is M'sia catching up with console gaming?

Parrot — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:45:38 +0800

Obviously there is all this hype about console gaming rivaling computer gaming these days (at least in the Western world), but how well does M'sia fare?

It seems the M'sian console market is stuck in some sort of time warp outside major cities. It's all PS2s. And if you want one of those current gen consoles, you have to order, which is a bit of an inconvenience. The only things in stock are PS2s.

Even the PS3, which is supposed to be a successor to the PS2, is nowhere to be seen in you local mom-and-pop video game store. It's all PS2s. Back in 2000, it only took less than half a year for the PS2 to appear on store shelves, when the PS1 was still king. It's been a year since the PS3 was launched.

Neither have I seen any GameCubes, Xboxes, Wiis or Xbox 360s in said places. It's all PS2s.

Rented consoles? It's all PS2s. All the kids and teens play are WWE, Naruto, Digimon, and football, football, football games. I have never seen anything besides a PS1 or PS2 for rent in backwaters.

It's all PS2s. We should be switching to next-gens by now. WTF.

For the record, I live some 20km from Kuala Lumpur.

How well is M'sia catching up with console gaming?

Parrot — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:42:11 +0800

Obviously there is all this hype about console gaming rivaling computer gaming these days (at least in the Western world), but how well does M'sia fare?

It seems the M'sian console market is stuck in some sort of time warp outside major cities. It's all PS2s. And if you want one of those current gen consoles, you have to order, which is a bit of an inconvenience. The only things in stock are PS2s.

Even the PS3, which is supposed to be a successor to the PS2, is nowhere to be seen in you local mom-and-pop video game store. It's all PS2s. Back in 2000, it only took less than half a year for the PS2 to appear on store shelves, when the PS1 was still king. It's been a year since the PS3 was launched.

Neither have I seen any GameCubes, Xboxes, Wiis or Xbox 360s in said places. It's all PS2s.

Rented consoles? It's all PS2s. All the kids and teens play are WWE, Naruto, Digimon, and football, football, football games. I have never seen anything besides a PS1 or PS2 for rent in backwaters.

It's all PS2s. We should be switching to next-gens by now. WTF.

[addedon]November 15, 2007, 6:43 pm[/addedon]Wrong forum.

Locked.

Unethical treatment of an owl

Parrot — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 00:57:14 +0800

Right. So I have this neighbour with a 20-something son who enjoys owning pets, albeit of the unconventional types. Reptiles, frogs, crickets, huge fishes, and formerly, an owl.

That owl, in particular, was huge and brown, having been around for almost a year or two. Recently, word got around that the owl was ill, but the son simply laid the owl on a container outside and left it to die. Now six chickens have replace this one owl. This wasn't the first time some dead or half-dead animal was treated like that. Corpses of other animals like fishes and snakes were simply tossed into the monsoon drain, which directly flows under the front of my house. It doesn't just stink up the place, it also backs up the drain, occasionally flooding the frontal driveway during heavy downpours.

These incidences are enough to have him reported to the relevant authorities. Not just are these habits health hazards, it's also causing trouble for me. Are there any other suggestions on how to deal with this?

Newgrounds inaccessible

Parrot — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:33:14 +0800

Some of you guys may be acquainted with Newgrounds, a pretty notable Flash cartoon/game website. Problem is, I haven't been able to access the site for the past few days; what I got instead is a "The connection was reset" message (I'm using Firefox). Only through proxy servers am I allowed in. WTF?

Is Newgrounds accessible over at your side?

SimCity Societies

Parrot — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:40:31 +0800

If you hadn't learn of it already, a new SimCity, dubbed "SimCity Societies" (SCS), is due to be out this November. But here's the shocker: Maxis Software, the original developer of the series, isn't going to work on it. Instead, Tilted Mills Entertainment, a game developer that has produced Children of the Nile and Caesar IV, is developing SCS under EA Games.

And there are drastic changes planned for SCS. The developers are focusing more on societies living in the city than city design (redefining the game as a "social engineering simulator"), simplifying the game by eliminating power and water grids, and even zones (replaced by plopping individual buildings). Whether or not the game will catch on, SCS is already polarising people in favor of or against its concept.

What's your view?

Screenshots:

More screenshots at 1UP.COM

Related links:
1UP.COM: SimCity Societies Under Construction
Rod Humble Talks SimCity Societies with Simtropolis
GameSpot: Maxis not part of SimCity Societies

One thing's for sure. I'm shocked.