Friday, 10 December 2010

Things to do this weekend

In the last couple of days, things have been very busy both at work and at home. We recently moved home which was not an easy thing to do when you have a few days to pack up and relocate 100s of miles away. We had not expected to move that quickly, but as our previous house was already on the market, that meant that once sold, we would have to move out fast.

So, that was exactly what happened. Luckily for us, the kids have now changed school and everything seems to well settled down.

But I wouldn't say the same about myself - all the books I bought are still waiting to be read. For example, I picked up Head First Python but still haven't even opened the first page. It is still in the original Amazon packaging. This weekend, I plan on changing all that with my attempt on Twitter development with Python.

If you missed my other post on Python, I suggest you check my other post on using Python imp module. It has a number of modules that I understand helps to quickly knock up a Twitter client fairly quickly. You might also want to check out Quick Python Book as well.

It does not end there, I also spent some money on The Tales of Beedle the Bard - you should also get a copy of this book if you're a potter fan. That said,

Thursday, 25 November 2010

Another Rant and Random Post

Here's another of my random posts that I hope no one reads. But is there any content published online that is never read by the public? Well, I have been posting here for the last year and half, and the stats shows that not a lot of people visit this blog much. The highest visit that it got the last time I checked the log was 32 visits in over a year. So, that is like having a phone and no one calls because they don't have your number.


In this case, Google at least knows that this blog exists. One of the reasons it does not get enough traffic is because of lack of promotion. I don't promote it either on related forums or blogs. If I was interested in promotion, I would have done just that. Now you know why the traffic inward is very little compared to the what I see at MWF Water Filter website.

You can't really compare them because alot goes into making that page worth visiting. If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check it out. One other thing that makes blogging here a little difficult for me is that my attention has shifted to more challenging and rewarding ventures. See my latest Sennheiser Headphones and driving test websites.

These are what have been keeping me very busy lately. Every minute I get is spent working on them to bring them to where I expect them to be in the next couple of years. One thing in life is that if you want something, always work hard to get it. It does not matter what it is and how long it takes to get there. What matters is if you eventually get there. For me, it does not matter how long it takes to get there, what is certain is that I will eventually hit my target sooner or later.

So, friends, visitors and searchers, keep your dreams alive and don't let anything sway your determination and self belief.

Don't forget to check out Leicester Square Cinema for their latest free movie tickets if you're in the UK.

Thursday, 18 November 2010

Practical Driving Test

Following gradually from my last post on driving test, I will be looking at ways to prepare and book your practical driving test. It is important that you know what to expect before booking your test. Most instructors may think you are ready and will push you to book your practical driving test.

It is only you who knows if you are ready or not. Taking your practical driving test when you are not totally ready means your confidence will be knocked and set you back a few months before you try again. You may ask why your instructor would push you to take your test when you are not ready.

The answer to that question is two folds:
  1. It gives them the opportunity to make more money - it is a business, so it their interest that you keep learning and keep paying them. Once you've taken your first practical driving test and fail it, you are more likely to extend your lesson before reattempting the second time. Because of fear of loosing your money and failing again, you are likely to take more than necessary period of time to learn.
  2. The second reason is that more than half of learner drivers get it first time round. If you are luck, you may pass your driving test. But if you have fear and very nervous, it is important that you inform your instructor who will advice you on the next step. Booking you test when you are not totally sure of taking the test is a big mistake and you are likely to fail. As the number of new learner drivers grow, rebooking your test could  be another 3 months from the day you failed your test. The reason for this is that others are booking as well - so it is important that you do all you can to pass your driving test.
Again, remember you are paying by the hour for your driving test - so whatever your instructor says, it is entirely up to you to know if you are ready to take your practical driving test. Make sure your practice on your own with a friend's car if you can. There's nothing better than practice - the more you practice, the better you become with your driving skill. Your instructor should provide you with a detailed programme of what you need to know to take your practical driving test.

Make sure you cover emergency stop, parallel parking and bay parking if you can. Use as many online resources as you can. There are people sharing their experience - use that as a guide to help you work out what you should expect. Another thing you should also keep an eye out for is the DSA website. Any last minute changes to the practical driving test may affect you and all your lessons and preparations could become irrelevant in an instance.

Wednesday, 27 October 2010

Life In UKTest

I recently bumped into an old friend who I knew from my university days. Although, we had each other's contact details, we somehow didn't get in touch much until we met again at one of the major product lunch for one of our clients. They were lunching their latest model of the popular Sanyo Video Camera - we most of the major partners were invited.

Anyway, the gist of this post is that on our way home on the train, he pulled out the life in UK test material and began to read. All these years we spent at the Uni, I thought he had the appropriate documents to stay in the country. So, I was surprised to find out that he was still working on it.

According to one of the reports in the dailies, there are more people passing their life in UK test these days than they did a few years back. It is all down to the huge increase in study materials on the market now.

For example, check out this site to see hundreds of products including videos, audio and DVD study materials if you too are  working on your life in UK test. It is worth checking out before you spend a single penny. There are people on their site that are even giving away they study books and DVD once they've passed their test, so it's a nice place to start your search for the life in UK test information.

Saturday, 4 September 2010

The Grand Design - Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow

just got the complimentary copy of The Grand Design and I am happy to report that I understood some of this stuff! Hawking was able to take some of the science I have no real clue about and explain it in a way that is easily understood. I definitely recommend this book to those of you who are scared away by the thought of reading about physics, math, theories, etc. Highly recommended, will definitely take it for another spin.

Check out the full review of The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow

Saturday, 14 August 2010

Comparing All Amazon Kindles Made Easy

If you have been thinking of getting yourself a Kindle like me, then this is the sort of post you should read. We all know how confusing things can get when it comes to buying something - all of a sudden you are confronted with many versions of the same product; making it even harder to remember which one it was you initially wanted.

The same thing applies to Amazon Kindle. A work colleague bought one that looks very portable and sleek. Being the sort of person I am, I thought I won't need to go through the hassles of checking every device before settling on one. Given that my colleague already has one, it would make sense to get the same.

But things aren't that easy these days where technologies change and move on over night. The Kindle I wanted all of a sudden is now an antique - forcing me to look for something more modern and up to-date. With that in mind I headed to Amazon and browsed around for the latest models. The funny thing was that the more I looked around the more confused I became. Why can't they make things easy for those of us who are not into technology that much. In a way, it looks like they read my mind and decided to make thing easier.

So, seeing how things have improved since the last time I checked, I thought I would post the link here for anyone else who is in need of one of those Shiny Amazon Kindles and would like a details comparison between different model to help you make you choice.

If you find the comparison page useful, please share your thoughts here with other readers.
Good luck!

Wednesday, 11 August 2010

My Take on sennheiser RS 140 Headphones

Ok, I was not intending on writing a long and details post on Sennheiser RS 140 Headphones - but I thought it won't hurt anyone just to know what I thought having used one recently. If you are anything like me and listen to music alot while working, you will notice that nothing does your head in like surround noise - this could be from colleagues, phones in the office or general chatter in the office.

This is where the sennheiser RS 140 Headphones shines. It is so powerful and designed that is blocks out virtually all external noise, leaving you to enjoy your music without distractions. In fact, the headphone works so well that I'm getting very worried using when alone in the house or office in case of fire. No body wants to disturbed when in the zone listening to that top CD of yours and be hearing some odd irritating office noise as well. That said, it also makes sense not to be totally cut off from the rest of the world.

So, how does one strike the balance? For me, it all depends on environment, mood and choice. You choose where to use these sennheiser RS 140 Headphones - it has to be the right place; then your mood has a part to play when deciding whether or now you want to be left alone and turn your back on the rest of the people around you just to have a moment of peace and quiet to yourself. Of course, it is left for you to choose between being along or still be able to hear the gossips while enjoying your favourite track.

Now, to the feature of the headphone - as you will see from the screencast, it comes in different colours, sizes and cost of course. My favourite is this one with all-black cover suit and silver coat on the outside of the ear cover. And in the middle of the outside ear cover is the awesome company logo.

Apart from that what makes this headphone cool is that it is wireless, making it something of a take-me-everywhere gadget. It has a range of 150ft range, which means that it can easily be used in almost any house I know without worrying about a drop in reception or sound quality. It also comes with its own cute and quirky little charge that looks like a work of art on its own. On the charger, the indicators allow you to know when the included battery is charged. Another feature that's worth a mention is the ability to change the frequency to the channel that works for you. If you have a neighbour with the same headphones, you can tune to their frequency and listen to their music.

But a word of warning as well, because this sennheiser RS 140 Headphones is a wireless device, it is possible for total strangers to listen to your music from the comfort of the car parked outside within 150ft from the main base station. This is something that is common with wireless Internet routers. So, I thought you might like to know that as well.

But don't let that put you off. If you are in search of a great headphone with superb noise reduction and sound isolation, then the sennheiser RS 140 Headphones is the world leader.

Get one today and start enjoying music the way they were meant to be listened to.

6 Months Later: $300 Daily w/Twitter

Just for kicks - will update in due time. This is a sample Sticky post, please edit to add more content.