Rowie's Scribbles

I'm expanding my tea drinking experience in an effort to reduce coffee intake. I used to be the toss-a-tea-bag-&-add-hot-water kind of tea drinker. I've no input whatsoever when it comes to ordering tea during dinner at the typical Chinese restaurant. A few things changed my outlook on tea: - My trip to Cameron Highlands led me to visit the Boh tea plantations and there was something about the rolling green fields and different aromas that perked me up. - An excursion to Klang would not be complete without having bak kut teh and I noticed it's pretty common to bring your own choice of tea leaves to the restaurant. So I decided to drink tea by brewing the tea leaves and straining to get my cha. However it's not practical to bring a mini teapot; the volume's too big and it'll be messy to clean plus I don't have a lot of desk space. Solution? Get a tea infuser. A tea is a miniature strainer typically sized for holding a small quantity of tea lea...

I've been using Streamyx package (1Mbps of data + free call to local fixed lines) for a few years now, and paying RM110 monthly was fair for the internet I was getting. However after many bouts of lightning, modem changing, router changing and whatnot, we finally switched to UniFi . What's the difference? The first difference is in the components. Streamyx relies on copper cable, whereas UniFi rocks on fiber optic. This difference is core to understanding why UniFi is a hit. Copper cables are the same stuff we use for telephone connections, which is why Streamyx is still popular because it uses a connection that we already have (via telephone). Fiber optic provides greater bandwidth and reliability (in terms of data transmission). Fiber optic on the right, see how you can bundle so many fibers into one cable Rain, Thunder, Lightning Many households using Streamyx may have a lightning protector installed as the connection is particularly affected by powerful surge c...

I tend to browse the net more often through my smartphone than the PC. I guess you may have seen short, unedited blog entries; these are done through my phone so I will update with links, images and additional information. Welcome to microblogging!  With several vacations coming up and work constraints, I've several drafts waiting to be published, here's a quick preview of what's coming next: 1) Coursera A friend introduced me to this site where you may sign up for free online courses on a variety of subjects provided by world-class universities and gain a certificate (if you pass). You can opt for Signature Track where your results are linked to the universities and you can use the qualification for your career. Currently I'm enrolled in Useful Genetics and Archaeology's Dirty Little Secrets; I learned that it's not easy and you need to be dedicated to complete the course!  2) Movie reviews Star Trek: Into the Darkness is by far the most interesting m...

One advice a tech-savvy friend has given me is "once you start using apps, there are many ways to enhance your life". Okay, so maybe he didn't say the same exact words but that was the gist of it. I'm currently using Nokia Lumia 710, which runs on Windows 7.5 OS. It's not the most popular smartphone out there, but with the right apps, it can be the most cost-efficient option, depending on your lifestyle of course. I'll run through the apps that I frequently use on my phone: 1) Social network Connection to social networks is an essential feature that any smartphone should have and the apps for Facebook, LINE and whatsapp are decent enough. Previously I used Nokia Lumia 610, and I find 710 to be faster and more efficient. 2) Media sharing One grouch I have is the inability to upload photos by the thousands. Okay, I exaggerate but mass photo upload is not provided. Direct upload to SkyDrive is provided as a default  function, so do utilize this c...