Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Banzai_san

Celebs Shots

Banzai_san — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:17:42 +0800

Gempak Desa Astro
Date: 17th Oct, 2010
Venue: Giant Hypermarket, Sandakan, Sabah

Photo #1 - Bunting

Photo #2 - Nadia & Nurul

Photo #3 - Shafiq @ Afiq

Photo #4 - Nadia

Photo #5 - Shafiq @ Afiq

Photo #6 - Nadia

Photo #7 - Afiq

Photo #8 - Afiq

Photo #9 - Camera friendly Nadia

Photo #10 - Cracking jokes & laughter (Nadia & Nurul)

[addedon]October 22, 2010, 7:38 pm[/addedon]ermmm maximum photo only 10 per post ?

Silicon wiper blades

Banzai_san — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:10:28 +0800

Hi,

I am interested in getting the silicon blade wiper, but I am not sure if they are really good.
They are advertised as being long lasting compared to the normal rubber blade wipers..

Do the silicon blades perform (in terms of windscreen clarity in rain) better than the normal/natural rubber wiper blades?
What other advantages of the silicon blade wipers?
Are there any complaints, comments, disadvantages (apart from the high price compared to normal rubber wiper) of the silicon blade wiper?

Anyone care to share their experience?

Thanks.

Favourite Camera Bag (or Bags)

Banzai_san — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:22:15 +0800

I wonder, what is the most favourite camera bags and why? (whether the bag that you have/use or your dream bag)
For easy answering, lets use the format below:

Camera Bag Type: eg backpack, shoulder bag, sling bag, beltpack, rolling case
Brand:
Model:
Price: *pls state new or 2nd hand
Place bought:
Reason why I like the bag:.....

Thanks for participating

*addendum: could you guys pls state also if brand name is important in your choice of choosing camera bag. ie if a NoName/CapAyam brand camera bag that looks as nice and featureful as its branded peer camera bag but at price much cheaper, would you seriously consider the NoName/CapAyam brand bag?

Kubuntu & Streamyx wireless

Banzai_san — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:15:41 +0800

Hi,
Im installing Streamyx broadband wireless at my home.
I need advise which wireless card/usb adapter to buy for use with my Kubuntu...

Thanks.

[addedon]July 6, 2009, 8:23 pm[/addedon]seeking assistance / advice pls... thank you.

anyone using wireless usb adapter or wireless card with their linux / kubuntu / ubuntu ? If so, what brand / model of usb adapter or wireless card you are using.

Tq.

Computer monitor... what do you use

Banzai_san — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:43:49 +0800

Hi,

I would like to know, what kind of monitor do you use for your photographic needs?
Do you use CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD ?
What size ? Resolution?
Specs ?
Which brand do you prefer?

Also do you use any monitor callibration / color correcting tools ? If so, which one?

Kindly share... Tq

Looking for a Canon S3IS replacement camera

Banzai_san — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:46:19 +0800

Hi,

My elder brother's Canon S3IS was stolen. Now he's looking for a replacement. Currently he's looking at Olympus SP-590UZ.

He's needs are:
1) simple
2) good zoom
3) small / convenient

he is more of a P&S person, but prefer the ultra zoom cameras due to the zooming ability over the P&S. If possible, he prefers standard AA bateries over proprietry bat. Im thinking of recommending the Sony HX1 (although its not AA bat).

Any other suggestions or comments, kindly share... Thank you.

Internet broken: N.America - Asia cable damaged

Banzai_san — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:20:04 +0800

Copied - pasted from http://www.osnews.com/story/20673/Three_of...t_Lines_Severed

Three of Four Undersea Internet Lines Severed

Though the cause is still unknown, three of the four undersea Internet cables that run from North America to Asia were cut, causing outages in Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia, and a dozen or so other countries. That is a lot of angry World of Warcraft players. It's supposed to have been from ships' anchors, though even two downed cables at one time is very rare, so who's to say it wasn't sabotage?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copied - pasted from http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=669

December 19th, 2008
BREAKING: Internet broken, North America-Asia cables damaged

CableInteroute, the internet networks company, reports that three of the four internet sub-cables that run from Asia to North America have been damaged, according a post just published to the Times Online’s Tech Central blog.

The cables carry more than 75 percent of traffic between the Middle East, Europe and America. Clearly, if you’re reading this, it hasn’t reached you yet — but the AP is reporting mass outages in Egypt as of an hour ago.

According to Interoute via the post:

hearing that offices have lost their entire private network connectivity. As a result, users are unable to do their daily job over the internet and are turning to their mobile phones to communicate across the globe. This is having a knock on effect on the domestic voice networks, which are getting a surge of calls needing to be routed internationally. These calls need to be routed onto international gateways that pass voice traffic in longer directions around the world to avoid the cable breaks – causing more quality issues and risk more call failures, in turn causing more calls to be placed and increasing the pressure on local voice networks.

So expect to see a slowdown on mobile phone networks in those areas as a result of companies’ attempts to continue conducting business, the post reports. It also means there may be financial havoc coming as well, since trading could be compromised.

The Times Online adds that it’s a bit unusual to have this situation:

Major sub-sea cables break once a year. So companies have developed a fall-back plan. If one sub-sea cable is out, traffic is re-routed onto a second cable. In theory, a dual break, where both cables go out at once, is incredibly rare. Prior to January this year, it had not happened before.

The Bloomberg wire also has a story about the situation. Earlier this year, cable problems were reported between Africa and the Middle East.

UPDATED 5PM: The cause hasn’t yet been determined, but Interoute’s director of wholesale products, Jonathan Wright, said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg that it sometimes happens because of a ship’s anchor.

ALSO: Site Fibresystems.org has stats on the effect of nearby countries:

* Saudi Arabia: 55% out of service
* Djibouti: 71% out of service
* Egypt: 52% out of service
* United Arab Emirates: 68% out of service
* India: 82% out of service
* Lebanon: 16% out of service
* Malaysia: 42% out of service
* Maldives: 100% out of service
* Pakistan: 51% out of service
* Qatar: 73% out of service
* Syria: 36% out of service
* Taiwan: 39% out of service
* Yemen: 38% out of service
* Zambia: 62% out of service

The site also noted that “most of the B to B traffic between Europe and Asia is rerouted through the USA” and that “traffic from Europe to Algeria and Tunisia is not affected, but traffic from Europe to the Near East and Asia is interrupted to a greater or lesser extent,” as evidenced by the list above.

The site reports that the cut is located in the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia, on sections linking Sicily to Egypt.

Quiet Riot Lead Singer Kevin Dubrow Found Dead

Banzai_san — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:24:52 +0800

Quiet Riot Lead Singer Kevin Dubrow Found Dead at 52

LAS VEGAS - Kevin Dubrow, lead singer for the 1980s heavy metal band Quiet Riot that scored a hit with "Cum on Feel the Noize," was found dead in a Las Vegas home. He was 52.

The cause was not immediately known.

A neighbor summoned police and paramedics Sunday to the house where he was pronounced dead, police and coroner's officials said.

There was no forced entry, and no suspicious circumstances were reported, police Officer Jose Montoya said Monday.

Quiet Riot was perhaps best known for its 1983 cover of "Cum on Feel the Noize." The song, featuring Dubrow's powerful, gravelly voice, appeared on the band's album "Metal Health" -- which was the first by a metal band to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

DuBrow recorded his first solo album in 2004, "In for the Kill," and the band's last studio CD, "Rehab," came out in October 2006.

"I can't even find words to say," Quiet Riot drummer Frank Banali wrote on his Web site. "Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend Kevin DuBrow."

Determination of the cause of death was pending an autopsy and toxicology results, Clark County coroner's spokeswoman Samantha Charles said.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312940,00.html

Laptop for tertiary students...

Banzai_san — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:50:14 +0800

I'd like to survey the laptop requirements (specifications) that University students would want (and can afford).

Price: RM ?
Brand: ?
Memory size: ? MB
LCD size: ? inch
CPU: ? (intel/amd , C2D, etc)
Weight: ? kg

what else?

Kindly state your requirements and preferences... but please be realistic as I do not think a laptop costing eg RM 6K a normal uni student would be able to afford.

Thanks

Vox DA Series vs Roland Microcube

Banzai_san — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 01:54:29 +0800

Seems Roland Microcube is being mentioned quite frequently lately in this forum. Very interesting practise amp. A worthy opponent is the Vox DA5 or DA15.

Maybe any kind soul can post their views, or those in KL area can audition and compare the amps and post their opinions. Im in KK and no shops that I know possess any (to the best of my knowledge) and would very much like to read your opinions.

thank you kindly

[addedon]March 9, 2007, 1:57 am[/addedon]Link to ROLAND Microcube
http://www.roland.com/products/en/Micro-CUBE/index.html

Link to VOX DAxx series
http://www.voxamps.co.uk/daseries/

Price: ??? <--

My practise regime

Banzai_san — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 16:33:20 +0800

This thought came to me last nite regarding how others can benefit from knowing how other guitarist practise. There are some who learn and practise guitar but still feel their guitar playing is stagnant and not improving. Maybe by learning from how others learn and practise guitar, they will be able to customise and tailor their own individual practise schedule to achieve better result in guitar playing.

I believe it would be good if we can discuss how we learn and practise, whether daily schedule or weekly or whatever. Hopefully this knowledge will be of benefit to not only guitar players, but guitar tutors too. Doing proper/correct practise will result in proper/better guitar playing...

So how do we discuss? I propose something like below (just an example):

eg.
Date: 6 March 07
Duration: ~1 hr
Details:
3 min: finger-arm streatching
15 min: warm-up with chromatic runs string 1-6 from open fret to 10th fret (up and down the neck)
25 mins: Finger exercises - 3 notes per string from fret 1 to fret 12 (up-down the neck)
fingering: 1,2,3... then 1,3,4... then 1,2,4... 2,3,4
using alternate picking, hammer-on.
(Tempo 60 bpm, Beat: 8th beat.)
30mins: learning Ozzy Crazy Train solo.
3 mins: warm down.

Aim/purpose: to get finger independence & clean note
Observation & Comments: in finger exercise, my pinky (ie finger 4) floats too far from the fretboard. Need to train the pinky to hover closer to the fretboard.

etc...

Just some ideas and brainstorming? comments? Thanks

nb: It is something like posting our own practise log book.

Spark Plug Cable/wire

Banzai_san — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 03:25:23 +0800

Im thinking of swapping the stock Wira 1.5 (carborator) spark plug cables to a performance cables.

Also looking one (spark plug cable/wire) for my Kawasaki Cyclone 150cc (quite similar to Kawasaki 150cc KIPS) 2 stroke motorbike

Kindly advise... which brand? what issue(s)/thing(s) I should know?

Thanks

Metronome...

Banzai_san — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:54:21 +0800

Just received my Korg TM40 from CK Music last week. Now Im practising using the metronome. I found that when I play some finger exercises slow, I tend to go out of beat. Implying my sense of rhythm sucks

Arrghhh need to rectify that.

I used to use online metronome but I didnot give much attention on my timing. Now that I have just splashed RM120/- for a metronome, I need to take correcting my timing more seriously.

Celestion or Eminence speaker

Banzai_san — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 03:46:15 +0800

Im looking for Celestion or Eminence speakers to replace my stock Vox guitar amp speaker.

Specs: 10 inch 8 ohm

Interested in:
Celestion: Alnico Blue or Vintage 30 or Heritage/classic
Eminence: Ramrod or Raging Cajun, or Copperhead or Delta Demon or Lil Buddy

Kindly advise .. .
And does anyone know the price?
Thanks

[addedon]February 5, 2007, 3:20 am[/addedon]I guess nobody here knows
Thanks for reading anyway.

Troy Stetina Series

Banzai_san — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:14:58 +0800

Hi,

Does anybody know where I can get Troy Stetina Series (books/CD/DVDs) in Malaysia? and how much (price) ?

Im interested in

1) Speed Mechanics
2) Metal Rhythm Guitar vol 1 & 2
3) Metal Lead Guitar vol 1 & 2
4) The Very Best of Ozzy Osbourne (A Step - by - Step Breakdown of the Styles and Techniques of Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee & Zakk Wylde)
5) Beginning Rock Lead Guitar (Learn to Play Rock Leads! Troy Stetina DVDs Series)
6) Beginning Rock Rhythm Guitar (Learn to Play Rock Rhythms! Troy Stetina DVDs Series)
7) Heavy Metal Guitar Tricks

Does kinokuniya have them?
Thanks

Fender Factory Tour

Banzai_san — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 23:38:22 +0800

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX-8OFkeHqc

Timing problem

Banzai_san — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 12:14:59 +0800

Hi,
I have a problem with my timing in my guitar playing (both rhythm & lead). Any advise on improving my timing?
One suggests me getting a metronome & play slowly. Any particular metronome to look for? Pls suggest. And where can I get it + how much does it cost.

Thanks

Vox or Roland...? hmmm...

Banzai_san — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 13:57:57 +0800

Hi,
Im thinking of getting a small practise amp for home practise. So far Ive listed Vox AD30VT and Roland Cube 30 as my top choices.

Any comments/views/advices on the amps? Or any other suggestions? Please shoot. I play rock, Hard rock, pop etc... but not jazz.

Also, for home recording purposes... what amp do you prefer (chugging the guitar -> amp -> pc recording) ... is that possible? Also, I dont know if the above amps have the mic input for sing along. (Wanting to start learning someting on home recording )

EDIT: Forgot to add:- I have Washburn N2 nuno battencourt electric. 2 humbuckers (washburn 621 stock hum at neck + Bill Lawrence L500 at bridge), Alder body