DP | @ekhoophotography

Early on a Saturday morning, we woke up early to get in some exercise. We were supposed to go on a trail run but nature had other ideas. It was pouring outside and while it slowed to a drizzle after an hour, it was still going to be a wet, wet morning. Well, if life handed you lemons, you make lemonade. Okay, I had no lemons but lots of rain. That made the ground pretty much soft. Good time to dig out the peanuts we planted over three months back. Out came the shovel and we started digging. Pretty much several seconds and a few holes later, we had peanuts... Now to decide whether to have them broiled, baked, boiled... decisions while my dog goes after a couple of garden frogs that had come out to play.

If you're a Canon shooter, you better be heading over to Syl Arena's new site and forum if you've always wondered about using flash with your Canon system (of course, other DSLR owners are welcome too).

There's also a big How-to section which will be growing. There's one interesting post which shares 15 tips for using your speedlite, including this gem below:

"1. Understand that the hotshoe is not the best place for your Speedlite.
I know. You paid good money for your camera and your Speedlite. It’s not that you didn’t get the deluxe hotshoe. You did. It’s just that shooting with a Speedlite in the hotshoe is similar to the lighting used to make driver’s license and passport photos. You cannot create interesting light when the main source of light is parked on top of your camera."

But if you've only got one light... don't fret. Here's one article for you too!

Just spend the last two evenings running around the nearby park and more. Looks like I'll need to ramp it up if I'm going to be fit enough for the Yellow mountain in April. Anyways, just managed to upgrade Serendipity to 1.5.2. I've been slacking on this and DP was running on a 1.3.x build for quite a while. Anyways, it upgraded in like 10 minutes so everything looks fine.

I've also just posted photos of the Tras OA children hostel on our ministry blog over here.

Celebrated my mom's birthday at a cozy little seafood restaurant in Subang called South Sea. In some ways, it's set up close to what some termed the "death row" considering that you pick your fish happily swimming away in their little glass aquariums. They then end up on your dinner plate and your stomach! Of course the selection available is smaller than a similar restaurant we went to in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah called Ocean seafood but then, again, it's close to home and had good food, reasonable prices and most of all, super fresh. Here are some of the "inmates" on the "death row"...

Many of my friends know me as a porky person. I love pork. Ribs, roasted, steamed, minced, burgers, whatever, including pork tongues... with minor exceptions such as trotters and intestines. Pork liver is fine by me. Anyways, ever since I've been smitten by a delicious plate of hakka noodles, it's been a hunt for a well done plate of those noodles. Many are average. Probably it comes down to how much lard is used but also the noodles can't be too soggy. I like them crisp but tender. The minced pork also must be finely made without too much salt or worse, monosodium glutamate (MSG).



So here I find a lovely plate of hakka noodles, hidden away in a secluded corner of SS2, PJ. It's fricken awesome! One big bonus. I love char-siu or roasted pork equally as much and this place has hakka noodles with char-siu. Fricken awesome number two, the char-siu is crispy on the outside and crunchy but once you bite in, it's melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Lean meat but with bits of fat to ensure it's juicy sweet. Simply awesome! So what's the name of this place? Well, it's called Toast and Roast!

Suchan Deli has been around a fair bit. It was around when I started work at Computing giant Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was around before it got swallowed by Compaq who got swallowed by HP. Anyways, it had great cakes, great food and a cozy atmosphere. Well, how times have changed. If anyone asked me for a nice comfortable place with good food and will not break the bank, I'll recommend Food Foundry instead.

We went for dinner which may not be a good idea considering the area Suchan is located in was dark and poorly lit. It didn't help that the restaurant itself didn't look inviting. I think now people are looking for bright, cheery, simple and wi-fi! The cluttered interior with lots of knick-knacks is just so 1980s.











While they may still make an awesome tiramisu, the rest of the menu is a no-go for me. Well, just maybe, just the wild mushroom soup. All photos - Panasonic GF-1 with 14-45mm lens. ISO2500, RAW, processed with Adobe Camera Raw 5.6. Am loving my lil' GF1 a lot.

You know what's the best things about presents when you receive them? It's not the value. It's the abso-freaking-surprise when it's something you really, really want and that the person went through great lengths to research (blog, twitter, social, whatever) what you really want. So, from the bestest brother ever, I get this awesome little thing of black plastic and magnesium alloy.

It's so awesome but the most hilarious thing is my mom going "like are you sure you're gonna buy this camera expert a camera? It's not even a Canon. It's a Panasonic! He's already got enough cameras (ahem)!" A small camera, just what I need. This is OMG Awesome. Yeah, so Canon, if you're listening, I want an EF-S mount (EF with adapter) body the same size as the GF1. APS-C Sensor and HD Video.

The third year of the Tiger has arrived. At least, from my perspective. Looking back, Tiger Mark II was a lot different from Mark III. What a difference a dozen make. Times have indeed changed a lot. Many turns. Many unexpected dead-ends, detours and u-turns. Many surprising things. Surprised myself a lot too. Guess I also surprised a lot of other people.

Change, again is the only constant. Some people say that I'm quite lucky to be where I am. Well, it's a lot of blood, sweat and tears and a million mistakes along the way. Some say I'm blessed financially. Well, I'll say again that I'm blessed because of the people around me - friends and family. At this milestone, Mark III, I'll also say that I'll never be where I am today without the one person that makes up the world to me, my darling, the one my heart loves. The most amazing sight to wake up to and the most beautiful bliss to fall asleep too. More importantly, sharing the years of Mark III and beyond with her. Of course, the other important people are my family. I can't say much here because again, they are what makes me what I am, they are also all I am. Mom, Dad, Alan.

And now, on a lighter note, if anyone would like to drop a gift wrapped box at the house, I know I'll welcome one of these : Panasonic GF1 kit, a couple of extra RadioPoppers, a ThinkTank Roller or a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 lens.

Coffee Beans. Fremantle Market, Fremantle, Western Australia. Kodak T-MAX 400. November 2002.

A diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials - Chinese proverb