Sunny Chan blogsCan you see the Logic in my Madness?https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/feed/entries/atom2023-02-28T19:38:26+00:00Apache Rollerhttps://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/blog-server-moved-to-rockyBlog server moved to Rocky Linux 9Sunny Chan2023-02-28T19:38:26+00:002023-02-28T19:38:26+00:00
<p><p>The blog server has been migrated to Rocky Linux 9 - as Centos 7 is end of life soon. Containers makes migration pretty easy - it's just as simple as moving the config files over!</p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/blog-software-updated-with-containersBlog software updated with containersSunny Chan2021-03-07T04:44:10+00:002021-03-07T04:44:10+00:00
<p><p>Another upgrade recently - I used to run the blog with a tomcat instance directly installed in the OS but I have just containerized it with podman. I used <a href="https://hub.docker.com/_/tomcat" target="_blank">Tomcat docker image</a> and basically mapped the existing data files from my home directory into the container and it pretty much works.</p><p>The more challenging part is to convince systemctl to start the blog container every time the system restarts. I use podman as my container runtime as it allows running the container in the user namespace instead of root, which makes it more secure. However it seems that running as user namespace makes it difficult to setup systemctl due to issues with podman. You should follow the advise in <a href="https://github.com/containers/podman/issues/5094" target="_blank">this podman bug</a> if you are having trouble:</p><ul><li>Set Requires/After to user@<uid>.service to ensure all the user environment is setup before systemctl starts the blog container</li><li>You will need to run "loginctl enable-linger" for the user (see <a href="https://github.com/containers/podman/issues/5094#issuecomment-596121516" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">the issue comment</a>)</li></ul><p>Once it is all set it works like a treat. Now I can move my blog to any vps hosts that support docker container without dependent on the whole OS setup</p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/roller-with-httpsRoller with httpsSunny Chan2018-07-24T16:40:28+00:002018-07-24T16:40:28+00:00
<p><p>I have just migrated my roller to use https, and just for those who will need to do it later, you will need to make roller to replace all the URL with https. To do this, add the following to roller-custom.properties:</p><br/>
<p>weblog.absoluteurl.[blog name]=https://someurl/roller</p><br/>
<p>where blog name is the name of your blog, displayed at the top when you get into the configuration page. </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/updated-openjdk-build-docker-imageUpdated OpenJDK-build docker imageSunny Chan2017-09-11T22:31:07+00:002017-09-11T22:31:07+00:00
<p><p>Since I have started my new job I have quite a bit of opportunity to do a bit of Docker deployment. So I have spend some time to update my docker image for openjdk build.</p> <br/>
<p>What's new:</p> <br/>
<p> </p><br/>
<ol> <br/>
<li>The image is now based on latest CentOS 7 (Oracle builds with Oracle Linux which is basically rebranded RHEL/Centos)</li> <br/>
<li>It now has a <a href="https://github.com/sunnythepooh/openjdk-build-docker/blob/master/latest/Dockerfile">docker build file</a>, <a href="https://github.com/sunnythepooh/openjdk-build-docker">git hub repo</a> and <a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/sunnythepooh/openjdk-build-docker/">automatic build on Docker hub</a> </li> <br/>
<li>The default start up will now be user openjdk, and you could mount your data directory as home.</li> <br/>
<li>I have put nano, git and hg in the image for your convience</li> <br/>
</ol> <br/>
<p>This image will be able to build latest JDK8 and JDK9 source code. </p> <br/>
<div> <br/>
<p>Here is an example on how to build an image </p> <br/>
<pre><p>#notice that you need :Z at the end of mount so that it fixes up selinux<br/>
#If you use default userid you can just mount your home dir (xxx = your id on host).<br/>
sudo docker run --rm -it -v /home/xxx:/home/openjdk:Z sunnythepooh/openjdk-build-docker:latest bash<br/>
</p><p>[openjdk@8a4bc8214db2 ~]$ hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9<br/>
destination directory: jdk9<br/>
requesting all changes<br/>
adding changesets<br/>
adding manifests<br/>
adding file changes<br/>
added 2628 changesets with 4461 changes to 468 files<br/>
updating to branch default<br/>
322 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 0 files unresolved<br/>
[openjdk@8a4bc8214db2 jdk9]$ bash get_source.sh<br/>
WARNING: Mercurial version 2.6.3 or later is recommended. /usr/bin/hg is version 2.6.2<br/>
# Repositories: corba jaxp jaxws langtools jdk hotspot nashorn<br/>
corba: hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/corba corba<br/>
jaxp: hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/jaxp jaxp<br/>
corba: requesting all changes<br/>
jaxp: requesting all changes<br/>
jaxp: adding changesets<br/>
corba: adding changesets<br/>
corba: adding manifests<br/>
jaxp: adding manifests<br/>
corba: adding file changes<br/>
jaxp: adding file changes<br/>
corba: added 876 changesets with 5451 changes to 2597 files<br/>
corba: updating to branch default<br/>
corba: 1201 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 0 files unresolved<br/>
jaxws: hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/jaxws jaxws<br/>
jaxws: requesting all changes<br/>
jaxws: adding changesets<br/>
jaxws: adding manifests<br/>
jaxws: adding file changes<br/>
jaxws: added 801 changesets with 21839 changes to 10824 files<br/>
jaxws: updating to branch default<br/>
jaxws: 3760 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 0 files unresolved<br/>
langtools: hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/langtools langtools<br/>
langtools: requesting all changes<br/>
langtools: adding changesets<br/>
langtools: adding manifests<br/>
jaxp: added 1153 changesets with 14751 changes to 8449 files<br/>
jaxp: updating to branch default<br/>
jaxp: 3352 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 0 files unresolved<br/>
jdk: hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/jdk jdk<br/>
jdk: requesting all changes<br/>
jdk: adding changesets<br/>
langtools: adding file changes<br/>
jdk: adding manifests<br/>
langtools: added 4174 changesets with 38097 changes to 11847 files<br/>
langtools: updating to branch default<br/>
langtools: 9464 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 0 files unresolved<br/>
hotspot: hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/hotspot hotspot<br/>
hotspot: requesting all changes<br/>
hotspot: adding changesets<br/>
hotspot: adding manifests<br/>
hotspot: adding file changes<br/>
jdk: adding file changes<br/>
hotspot: added 12824 changesets with 78616 changes to 15832 files<br/>
hotspot: updating to branch default<br/>
hotspot: 9078 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 0 files unresolved<br/>
nashorn: hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/nashorn nashorn<br/>
nashorn: requesting all changes<br/>
nashorn: adding changesets<br/>
nashorn: adding manifests<br/>
nashorn: adding file changes<br/>
nashorn: added 1928 changesets with 14563 changes to 4181 files<br/>
nashorn: updating to branch default<br/>
nashorn: 3293 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 0 files unresolved<br/>
jdk: added 17287 changesets with 152446 changes to 50650 files<br/>
jdk: updating to branch default<br/>
jdk: 27295 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 0 files unresolved<br/>
# Repositories: . corba jaxp jaxws langtools jdk hotspot nashorn<br/>
.: cd . && hg pull -u<br/>
corba: cd corba && hg pull -u<br/>
jaxp: cd jaxp && hg pull -u<br/>
jaxws: cd jaxws && hg pull -u<br/>
langtools: cd langtools && hg pull -u<br/>
jdk: cd jdk && hg pull -u<br/>
hotspot: cd hotspot && hg pull -u<br/>
nashorn: cd nashorn && hg pull -u<br/>
corba: pulling from http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/corba<br/>
.: pulling from http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9<br/>
jdk: pulling from http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/jdk<br/>
hotspot: pulling from http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/hotspot<br/>
nashorn: pulling from http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/nashorn<br/>
jaxws: pulling from http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/jaxws<br/>
langtools: pulling from http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/langtools<br/>
jaxp: pulling from http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/jdk9/jaxp<br/>
jaxws: searching for changes<br/>
jaxws: no changes found<br/>
hotspot: searching for changes<br/>
hotspot: no changes found<br/>
nashorn: searching for changes<br/>
nashorn: no changes found<br/>
corba: searching for changes<br/>
corba: no changes found<br/>
.: searching for changes<br/>
.: no changes found<br/>
langtools: searching for changes<br/>
langtools: no changes found<br/>
jaxp: searching for changes<br/>
jaxp: no changes found<br/>
jdk: searching for changes<br/>
jdk: no changes found<br/>
[openjdk@be86432ef9b0 jdk9]$ bash ./configure<br/>
Running generated-configure.sh<br/>
configure: Configuration created at Mon Sep 11 16:04:08 UTC 2017.<br/>
configure: configure script generated at timestamp 1496926402.<br/>
checking for basename... /usr/bin/basename<br/>
checking for bash... /usr/bin/bash<br/>
checking for cat... /usr/bin/cat<br/>
checking for chmod... /usr/bin/chmod<br/>
checking for cmp... /usr/bin/cmp<br/>
checking for comm... /usr/bin/comm<br/>
checking for cp... /usr/bin/cp<br/>
checking for cut... /usr/bin/cut<br/>
checking for date... /usr/bin/date<br/>
checking for gdiff... no<br/>
checking for diff... /usr/bin/diff<br/>
checking for dirname... /usr/bin/dirname<br/>
checking for echo... /usr/bin/echo<br/>
checking for expr... /usr/bin/expr<br/>
checking for file... /usr/bin/file<br/>
checking for find... /usr/bin/find<br/>
checking for head... /usr/bin/head<br/>
checking for gunzip... /usr/bin/gunzip<br/>
checking for pigz... no<br/>
checking for gzip... /usr/bin/gzip<br/>
checking for ln... /usr/bin/ln<br/>
checking for ls... /usr/bin/ls<br/>
checking for mkdir... /usr/bin/mkdir<br/>
checking for mktemp... /usr/bin/mktemp<br/>
checking for mv... /usr/bin/mv<br/>
checking for nawk... no<br/>
checking for gawk... /usr/bin/gawk<br/>
checking for printf... /usr/bin/printf<br/>
checking for rm... /usr/bin/rm<br/>
checking for rmdir... /usr/bin/rmdir<br/>
checking for sh... /usr/bin/sh<br/>
<!--------------------- MANY LINES LATER ---------------------><br/>
====================================================<br/>
A new configuration has been successfully created in<br/>
/home/openjdk/jdk9/build/linux-x86_64-normal-server-release<br/>
using default settings.</p>
<p>Configuration summary:<br/>
* Debug level: release<br/>
* HS debug level: product<br/>
* JDK variant: normal<br/>
* JVM variants: server<br/>
* OpenJDK target: OS: linux, CPU architecture: x86, address length: 64<br/>
* Version string: 9-internal+0-adhoc..jdk9 (9-internal)</p>
<p>Tools summary:<br/>
* Boot JDK: openjdk version "1.8.0_141" OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_141-b16) OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.141-b16, mixed mode) (at /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.141-1.b16.el7_3.x86_64)<br/>
* Toolchain: gcc (GNU Compiler Collection)<br/>
* C Compiler: Version 4.8.5 (at /usr/bin/gcc)<br/>
* C++ Compiler: Version 4.8.5 (at /usr/bin/g++)</p>
<p>Build performance summary:<br/>
* Cores to use: 8<br/>
* Memory limit: 11783 MB<br/>
[openjdk@be86432ef9b0 jdk9]$ make images<br/>
Building target 'images' in configuration 'linux-x86_64-normal-server-release'<br/>
Compiling 8 files for BUILD_TOOLS_LANGTOOLS<br/>
Creating hotspot/variant-server/tools/adlc/adlc from 13 file(s)<br/>
Creating support/modules_libs/java.base/libjsig.so from 1 file(s)<br/>
Compiling 2 files for BUILD_JVMTI_TOOLS<br/>
<!------------------------------------- MANY LINES LATER -----------------------------------------><br/>
----- Build times -------<br/>
Start 2017-09-10 16:55:14<br/>
End 2017-09-10 17:04:50</p>
<p>00:09:36 TOTAL<br/>
-------------------------<br/>
Finished building target 'images' in configuration 'linux-x86_64-normal-server-release'</p><div>#You should be able to find the build under build/</div><p>[openjdk@192f7c9052ff jdk9]$ build/linux-x86_64-normal-server-release/images/jdk/bin/java -version<br/>
openjdk version "9-internal"<br/>
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 9-internal+0-adhoc..jdk9)<br/>
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 9-internal+0-adhoc..jdk9, mixed mode)<br/>
</p><div><br/>
</div></pre> <br/>
</div> <br/>
<p> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/my-java-story-and-myMy Java story and my latest spat with a famous blogger in HKSunny Chan2017-06-02T00:08:35+00:002017-06-02T00:08:35+00:00
<p><p>I end up being Mr. Java pretty much by luck - I was in my third year and I was looking for an internship, which is a requirement for my degree. I was pretty late and got rejected in quite a few places until certain manager from IBM come and interview me for a role. The certain lab in IBM actually made quite a few products and I end up working in the Java Technology Center, and my intern project was to port the JVM to Linux/IA-64 (well no one knows it end up being the biggest white elephant of Intel history). And the rest is history.</p><br/>
<p>My whole career was built on Java, and it has brought me the opportunity to work on pretty impressive projects and interesting work. Java feels like my kid and it is like a proud parent seeing that child growing up and used everywhere as it does.</p><br/>
<p>I understand Java is not as "cool" as it used to be, but I believed in the technology and I know what it can and it cannot do. </p><br/>
<p>Recently, a leaked memo from Hong Kong has suggested that certain components with the new Air Traffic Control system requires reboot every time the heap is at 2.5G. A number of "high profile"(?) IT(?) blogger posted a couple of piece spreading FUD against Java. Java has its problems and if you "hate" it for the right reason backed by evidence, I would more than happy to accept the opinion. However, the blogger decided for no valid reason in his post he accused Java not being suitable for anything serious. I am not going to let that pass.</p><br/>
<p>Now that blogger has accused those who criticized him spreading FUD against Java being a lefty, and they are helping the government to turn an blind eye in the bad governance/project management of the new ATC roll out. Let me be cleared - you are a respected blogger and with a lot of readers who might not know Java. By reading the FUD in the article you are affecting my career and my life work and I will come out fighting against anyone who spread FUD against Java.</p><br/>
<p>Anyway, I have published my rebuttal to his article in other channel so I am not going to re-post it. If he is believe he is right feel to come and have a conversation with me in <a href="https://www.meetup.com/Codeaholics/events/240048431/">June Codeaholics meeting</a> about Java, instead of blocking me on the Facebook. </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/centos_docker_images_for_buildingCentos Docker images for building OpenJDKSunny Chan2014-11-01T13:43:12+00:002014-11-01T13:46:31+00:00
<p><p>I am going to lead an <a href="http://www.meetup.com/taiwanjug/events/207281402/">OpenJDK hackathon</a> in Taiwan later this month and I am trying to create an VM image so that people can get up and running quickly. Then last couple of weeks I came across Docker, which is a very simple container which allows easy deployment of images to your machine. So I have decided to try and see whether I can create some docker images for Hackathon use. Here is what I have come up with:</p> <br/>
<p>https://registry.hub.docker.com/u/sunnythepooh/openjdk-build</p> <br/>
<p>There are two images, one build with Centos 6 base image and one with Centos 7. Out of the container there are all the dependency you need to build OpenJDK 9, and an openjdk user. Once you pull the image down, you can login as openjdk and use mercurial to download openjdk and build straight away.</p> <br/>
<p>For Linux, you can install docker directly on any modern distribution. On Windows/MacOS you can use <a href="http://boot2docker.io/">Boot2docker</a> which would give you a very small Linux VM which you can run docker command from and you can take a look at the following command sequence to compile a OpenJDK 9 build:</p> <br/>
<pre>[schan@sandybridge ~]$ sudo docker run -t -i sunnythepooh/openjdk-build:centos6 /bin/bash<br/>
bash-4.2# login openjdk<br/>
Password:<br/>
Last login: Fri Oct 31 05:02:55 on pts/1<br/>
-bash: cannot set terminal process group (-1): Inappropriate ioctl for device<br/>
-bash: no job control in this shell<br/>
[openjdk@e583ed8a4e04 ~]$ hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/dev jdk9<br/>
requesting all changes<br/>
adding changesets<br/>
adding manifests<br/>
adding file changes<br/>
added 1213 changesets with 1750 changes to 151 files<br/>
updating to branch default<br/>
93 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 0 files unresolved<br/>
[openjdk@e583ed8a4e04 ~]$ cd jdk9<br/>
[openjdk@e583ed8a4e04 jdk9]$ ls<br/>
ASSEMBLY_EXCEPTION Makefile README-builds.html common get_source.sh modules.xml<br/>
LICENSE README THIRD_PARTY_README configure make test<br/>
[openjdk@e583ed8a4e04 jdk9]$ bash get_source.sh<br/>
WARNING: Mercurial version 2.6.3 or later is recommended. /bin/hg is version 2.6.2<br/>
# Repositories: corba jaxp jaxws langtools jdk hotspot nashorn<br/>
corba: hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/dev/corba corba<br/>
jaxp: hg clone http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk9/dev/jaxp jaxp<br/>
corba: requesting all changes<br/>
.............................................................................cut for brevity..........................................................................<br/>
nashorn: searching for changes<br/>
nashorn: no changes found<br/>
jdk: searching for changes<br/>
jdk: no changes found<br/>
jaxws: searching for changes<br/>
jaxws: no changes found<br/>
jaxp: searching for changes<br/>
jaxp: no changes found<br/>
.: searching for changes<br/>
hotspot: searching for changes<br/>
.: no changes found<br/>
hotspot: no changes found<br/>
corba: searching for changes<br/>
corba: no changes found<br/>
langtools: searching for changes<br/>
langtools: no changes found<br/>
[openjdk@e583ed8a4e04 jdk9]$ bash ./configure<br/>
Running generated-configure.sh<br/>
configure: Configuration created at Sat Nov 1 05:15:04 GMT 2014.<br/>
configure: configure script generated at timestamp 1414663067.<br/>
checking for basename... /bin/basename<br/>
checking for bash... /bin/bash<br/>
checking for cat... /bin/cat<br/>
checking for chmod... /bin/chmod<br/>
checking for cmp... /bin/cmp<br/>
checking for comm... /bin/comm<br/>
checking for cp... /bin/cp<br/>
checking for cut... /bin/cut<br/>
checking for date... /bin/date<br/>
.............................................................................cut for brevity..........................................................................<br/>
====================================================<br/>
A new configuration has been successfully created in<br/>
/home/openjdk/jdk9/build/linux-x86_64-normal-server-release<br/>
using default settings.</p>
<p>Configuration summary:<br/>
* Debug level: release<br/>
* HS debug level: product<br/>
* JDK variant: normal<br/>
* JVM variants: server<br/>
* OpenJDK target: OS: linux, CPU architecture: x86, address length: 64</p>
<p>Tools summary:<br/>
* Boot JDK: openjdk version "1.8.0-internal" OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0-internal-openjdk_2014_10_31_05_05-b00) OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.20-b23, mixed mode) (at /usr/local/jvm/openjdk-1.8.0-internal)<br/>
* Toolchain: gcc (GNU Compiler Collection)<br/>
* C Compiler: Version 4.8.2 (at /bin/gcc)<br/>
* C++ Compiler: Version 4.8.2 (at /bin/g++)</p>
<p>Build performance summary:<br/>
* Cores to use: 7<br/>
* Memory limit: 11753 MB</p>
<p>WARNING: Your build output directory is not on a local disk.<br/>
This will severely degrade build performance!<br/>
It is recommended that you create an output directory on a local disk,<br/>
and run the configure script again from that directory.<br/>
[openjdk@e583ed8a4e04 jdk9]$ make images<br/>
Running make as '/bin/gmake -s VERBOSE=-s LOG_LEVEL=warn -R -I /home/openjdk/jdk9/make/common -s SPEC=/home/openjdk/jdk9//build/linux-x86_64-normal-server-release/spec.gmk'<br/>
Building OpenJDK for target 'images' in configuration 'linux-x86_64-normal-server-release'<br/>
.............................................................................cut for brevity..........................................................................<br/>
## Finished verify-modules (build time 00:00:08)</p>
<p>----- Build times -------<br/>
Start 2014-11-01 05:23:08<br/>
End 2014-11-01 05:30:34<br/>
00:00:08 verify-modules<br/>
00:07:26 TOTAL<br/>
-------------------------</p>
<p>Finished building OpenJDK for target 'images'<br/>
[openjdk@e583ed8a4e04 jdk9]$ build/linux-x86_64-normal-server-release/images/j2sdk-image/bin/java -version<br/>
openjdk version "1.9.0-internal"<br/>
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.9.0-internal-openjdk_2014_11_01_05_15-b00)<br/>
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 1.9.0-internal-openjdk_2014_11_01_05_15-b00, mixed mode)<br/>
</pre></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/clearos_6_non_privileged_userClearOS 6 non-privileged user root accessSunny Chan2012-10-17T15:16:41+00:002012-10-17T15:16:41+00:00
<p><p>Just to save myself searching for this information again:</p><br/>
<p>In ClearOS 6 (a CentOS clone with nicer WebUI), user cannot access shells and by default you can't modify the settings within the WebUI. In order to enable user shell login, you will need to install "app-shell-extension-core.noarch" package. </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/trouble_compiling_openjdk_7_inTrouble compiling OpenJDK 7 in Fedora 18?Sunny Chan2012-07-18T07:38:11+00:002012-07-18T07:38:11+00:00
<p>You will need to modify jdk/make/common/shared/Compiler-gcc.gmk and remove -mimpure-text from the GCC command line. See the icedtea changeset here: <a href="http://icedtea.classpath.org/hg/icedtea6?cmd=changeset;node=ddca483b3ed9">http://icedtea.classpath.org/hg/icedtea6?cmd=changeset;node=ddca483b3ed9</a></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/synology_ldap_server_and_centosSynology LDAP server and Centos 6 client: Brain DumpSunny Chan2012-04-26T13:06:02+00:002012-04-26T13:06:03+00:00
<p><p></p>
<p>This is a brain dump on how to get Centos 6 client to authenticate using Synology's Directory Service. I have assumed that you have setup the Directory Server correctly.</p><br/>
<p>You need the following packages:</p><br/>
<ul><br/>
<li>openldap-clients</li><br/>
<li>sssd</li><br/>
</ul><br/>
<p>sssd seems to be installed by default, but openldap wasn't.</p><br/>
<p>Run system-config-authenticate, with the following settings:</p><br/>
<ul><br/>
<li>LDAP Search Base DN can be found under Synology Directory Server application</li><br/>
<li>Make sure you use ldaps:// in order to use LDAP passwd. Notice that ldaps is switch on by default on synology server.</li><br/>
</ul><br/>
<p>Then, Apply the changes.</p><br/>
<p>Notice that the SSL certificate used by the LDAP server is a self-generated one, and I didn't manage to change it so I took a short cut and ask openldap client not to borther checking the certifiacte. You can do this by modifying /etc/openldap/ldap.conf and add "TLS_REQCERT allow". This would ask openldap to ignore any SSL cert error.</p><br/>
<p>Once you have done that, try login via ssh and you should be able to access the user listed in the synology server directory. If you want to use the uid and gid from ldap server instead of the passwd file on the Linux client, make sure you swap the priority for passwd in nsswitch.conf.</p><br/>
<p> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/java_se_embedded_and_synologyJava SE Embedded and Synology DiskstationSunny Chan2011-12-13T14:52:46+00:002011-12-13T14:53:24+00:00
<p><p>I have got a <a href="http://www.tomsguide.com/us/NAS-LaCie-Synology,review-1429-5.html">Synology DS209</a> at home, which is an ARM based NAS. Oracle has released <a href="http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/embedded/downloads/javase/index.html">Java SE Embedded 7</a> and it has got ARMv5 support, so naturally I would want to see whether my NAS is up to it:</p> <br/>
<p> </p> <br/>
<pre>disk> uname -a<br/>
Linux disk 2.6.32.12 #1955 Sat Nov 26 14:50:54 CST 2011 armv5tel GNU/Linux synology_88f6281_209<br/>
disk> java -version<br/>
java version "1.7.0_02"<br/>
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment for Embedded (build 1.7.0_02-b13, headless)<br/>
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 22.0-b10, mixed mode)</pre> <br/>
<div> <br/>
<p>So "Hello World" is working. Let's try something more fun - like running jetty:</p> <br/>
<pre>disk> java -jar start.jar<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:21.810:INFO:oejs.Server:jetty-8.0.4.v20111024<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:22.039:INFO:oejdp.ScanningAppProvider:Deployment monitor /volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/webapps at interval 1<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:22.075:INFO:oejdp.ScanningAppProvider:Deployment monitor /volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/contexts at interval 1<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:22.096:INFO:oejd.DeploymentManager:Deployable added: /volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/contexts/javadoc.xml<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:22.413:INFO:oejd.DeploymentManager:Deployable added: /volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/contexts/test.xml<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:22.845:INFO:oejw.WebInfConfiguration:Extract jar:file:/volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/webapps/test.war!/ to /tmp/jetty-0.0.0.0-8080-test.war-_-any-/webapp<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:30.509:INFO:oejsh.ContextHandler:started o.e.j.w.WebAppContext{/,file:/tmp/jetty-0.0.0.0-8080-test.war-_-any-/webapp/},/volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/webapps/test.war<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:30.510:INFO:oejsh.ContextHandler:started o.e.j.w.WebAppContext{/,file:/tmp/jetty-0.0.0.0-8080-test.war-_-any-/webapp/},/volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/webapps/test.war<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:30.510:INFO:oejsh.ContextHandler:started o.e.j.w.WebAppContext{/,file:/tmp/jetty-0.0.0.0-8080-test.war-_-any-/webapp/},/volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/webapps/test.war<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:30.518:INFO:oejsh.ContextHandler:started o.e.j.w.WebAppContext{/,file:/tmp/jetty-0.0.0.0-8080-test.war-_-any-/webapp/},/volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/webapps/test.war<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:30.518:INFO:oejsh.ContextHandler:started o.e.j.w.WebAppContext{/,file:/tmp/jetty-0.0.0.0-8080-test.war-_-any-/webapp/},/volume1/homes/schan/jetty-distribution-8.0.4.v20111024/webapps/test.war<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:31.338:INFO:oejhs.SslContextFactory:No keystore or trust store configured. ACCEPTING UNTRUSTED CERTIFICATES!!!!!<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:32.929:INFO:oejs.TransparentProxy:TransparentProxy @ /javadoc-proxy to http://download.eclipse.org/jetty/stable-8/apidocs<br/>
2011-12-14 03:33:33.047:INFO:oejs.AbstractConnector:Started SelectChannelConnector@0.0.0.0:8080 STARTING</pre> <br/>
<p>I am very impressed - They also have the server VM for ARMv7 too - maybe it's time to get a new Diskstation!</p> <br/>
</div> <br/>
<p> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/blog_upgradedBlog upgradedSunny Chan2011-12-13T14:34:32+00:002011-12-13T14:41:57+00:00
<p><p>I have upgraded this website to:</p> <br/>
<ul> <br/>
<li>Apache Roller 5.0</li> <br/>
<li>Apache TOmcat 6.0.35</li> <br/>
<li>Java 7 Update 2</li> <br/>
</ul> <br/>
<div>Let's see how this goes!</div></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/more_openjdk_compile_notes_forMore OpenJDK compile notes for Fedora 16Sunny Chan2011-11-11T21:01:36+00:002011-11-11T21:01:36+00:00
<p><p>Just to save people from scratching their heads - if you try and compile OpenJDK from vanilla source bundle (not IcedTea) on Fedora 16, you migth see libjvm.so fails to link with a message:</p><br/>
<p> <b><tt>libstdc++ not found</tt></b></p><br/>
<p>If you look at OpeJDK build readme:</p><br/>
<p><span style="background-color: #e0ffff; ">This is caused by a missing libstdc++.a library. This is installed as part of a specific package (e.g. libstdc++.so.devel.386). By default some 64-bit Linux versions (e.g. Fedora) only install the 64-bit version of the libstdc++ package. Various parts of the JDK build require a static link of the C++ runtime libraries to allow for maximum portability of the built images.</span> </p><br/>
<p> DOH! So what you will need on Fedora 16 is libstdc++-static package</p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/openjdk_compile_problem_on_ubuntuOpenJDK compile problem on Ubuntu 11.10, and the fixSunny Chan2011-10-28T02:45:40+00:002011-12-13T14:35:52+00:00
<p><p>If you have following the<a href="http://www.google.com.hk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=openjdk%2Bbuild%2Breadme&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhg.openjdk.java.net%2Fjdk7%2Fbuild%2Fraw-file%2Ftip%2FREADME-builds.html&ei=fkmqTt2gLs60iQf569jxDw&usg=AFQjCNHgBDX_XzZp3wrID_lM6ekZOjlndQ&sig2=337pUWFgsG_PPtAx6boWwA"> OpenJDK build Readme</a> and try to compile OpenJDK on Ubuntu 11.10, you may see this error: </p> <br/>
<pre><font class="Apple-style-span" size="2">/home/schan/openjdk7/build/linux-amd64/tmp/sun/javax.sound/jsoundalsa/obj64/PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.o: In function `DAUDIO_GetFormats':<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x1fd): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_format_mask_malloc'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x20a): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_close'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x225): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_malloc'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x236): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_get_format_mask'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x246): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_format_mask_free'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x259): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_any'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x26a): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_get_format_mask'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x277): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_get_channels_min'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x288): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_get_channels_max'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x2cf): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_format_mask_test'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x45d): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_free'<br/>
/home/schan/openjdk7/build/linux-amd64/tmp/sun/javax.sound/jsoundalsa/obj64/PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.o: In function `setStartThresholdNoCommit':<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x48c): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_sw_params_set_start_threshold'<br/>
/home/schan/openjdk7/build/linux-amd64/tmp/sun/javax.sound/jsoundalsa/obj64/PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.o: In function `setStartThreshold':<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x4bf): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_sw_params'<br/>
/home/schan/openjdk7/build/linux-amd64/tmp/sun/javax.sound/jsoundalsa/obj64/PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.o: In function `setHWParams':<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x518): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_any'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x531): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_set_access'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x544): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_set_format'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x557): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_set_channels'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x58a): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_set_rate_near'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x5dc): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_set_buffer_size_near'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x60b): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_set_period_time_near'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x61b): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x647): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_hw_params_set_periods_near'<br/>
/home/schan/openjdk7/build/linux-amd64/tmp/sun/javax.sound/jsoundalsa/obj64/PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.o: In function `setSWParams':<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x67e): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_sw_params_current'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x6b4): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_sw_params_set_avail_min'<br/>
PLATFORM_API_LinuxOS_ALSA_PCM.c:(.text+0x6c4): undefined reference to `snd_pcm_sw_params'</font></pre> <br/>
<div> <br/>
<p>Don't panic - it looks like the Java's linking sequence for ALSA sound library is wrong. Just use this patch:</p> <br/>
<pre>--- old/make/javax/sound/jsoundalsa/Makefile 2011-10-28 02:28:00.000000000 -0400<br/>
+++ new/make/javax/sound/jsoundalsa/Makefile 2011-10-28 02:28:00.000000000 -0400<br/>
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@<br/>
$(MIDIFILES_export) \<br/>
$(PORTFILES_export)<br/>
<br/>
-LDFLAGS += -lasound<br/>
+EXTRA_LIBS += -lasound<br/>
<br/>
CPPFLAGS += \<br/>
-DUSE_DAUDIO=TRUE \</pre> <br/>
</div> <br/>
<div>You should be good to go!</div></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/my_coscup_talk_on_openjdkMy COSCUP talk on OpenJDK 7Sunny Chan2011-09-15T12:54:50+00:002018-07-24T16:34:35+00:00
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ce3EVtn56oA" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/how_to_compile_openjdk_onHow to compile OpenJDK on WindowsSunny Chan2011-07-24T12:42:36+00:002011-07-24T12:42:37+00:00
<p><p>These are the steps that I have made OpenJDK to compile on Windows platform:</p><br/>
<p><br/>
<ol><br/>
<li>Install <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010-editions/express">Visual C++ 2010 Express</a> (or if you are rich, get Visual Studio 2010 Professional) </li><br/>
<li>Install <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=8279">Windows 7 Platform SDK</a> </li><br/>
<li>Install <a href="http://www.cygwin.com/">Cygwin</a>, install the packages suggested on <a href="http://hg.openjdk.java.net/jdk7/build/raw-file/tip/README-builds.html#cygwin">OpenJDK Readme</a>. Also install gcc for step 5</li><br/>
<li>Install <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=21416">DirectX 9.0 SDK</a> </li><br/>
<li>The gnu make package in the current cygwin does not support Windows directory convention and you should compile your own version of the <a href="http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/make/">make 3.82</a> which has the correct support.</li><br/>
<li>Download latest <a href="http://freetype.sourceforge.net/index2.html">Freetype</a>. </li><br/>
<ul><br/>
<li>Compile it using Visual C++ - you can find the Visual C++ project file under <freetype src>/builds/win32/vc2010. </li><br/>
<li>Make sure you have change the type of DLL it generates by going to Project->Properties, then Configuration Manager... button, set it to Release and Win32</li><br/>
<li>Make sure you have set it so that it builds a DLL - you can find that under Project->Properties, Configuration Properties, General and there should be a Configuration Type drop down box</li><br/>
<li>You can then build freetype. The DLL generated will have a version number attached to it (e.g. freetype245.dll) and you will need to make sure you rename it to freetype.dll.</li><br/>
</ul><br/>
<li>Get latest <a href="http://ant.apache.org/">Apache ANT</a> </li><br/>
<li>Make sure you have a Java 6 JDK installed</li><br/>
<li>Download the openjdk source code, either using hg or <a href="http://download.java.net/openjdk/jdk7/">source bundle</a> (I will assume you put it in c:\openjdk)</li><br/>
<li>Open a command prompt for Windows SDK by going to Start -> Windows SDK 7.1 -> Windows SDK 7.1 command prompt</li><br/>
<li><b>For 32bit ONLY</b>, you should run the Visual Studio compiler settings batch file: c:\program files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\bin\vcvars32.bat</li><br/>
<li>Make sure you have override the standard cygwin bin path so that make.exe you have compiled in <i>step 5</i> take precedent of the default cygwin.</li><br/>
<li>Also check that the link.exe you run in the path is the actual Microsoft linker and not the cygwin's link command - you will need to fiddle with the path.</li><br/>
<li>Setup a number of environment variables:</li><br/>
<ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha; "><br/>
<li>ALT_BOOTDIR should point to the Java 6 JDK (Step 8)</li><br/>
<li>ALT_DXSDK_PATH is the DirectX SDK PATH (Step 4)</li><br/>
<li>ALT_FREETYPE_LIB_PATH and ALT_FREETYPE_HEADERS_PATH.</li><br/>
<li>ANT_HOME</li><br/>
<li>HOTSPOT_BUILD_JOBS if you want to parallelize your build - you can't use -j options in the make command</li><br/>
<li>ALLOW_DOWNLOADS=true so that it can download JAXP and JAXS jar</li><br/>
<li>Make sure the path is setup correctly (Step 12/13)</li><br/>
</ol><br/>
<li>You are ready to give it a go. First, run "make sanity" and see whether there is anything you setup incorrectly. If something is wrong, fix it.</li><br/>
<li>If you have passed make sanity, you can run make to build the JDK! Go and make a cuppa, it will take a while. On my i7-2600 and hard drive it took 2 hours.</li><br/>
</ol><br/>
<p><b>Important: In order to build a 32bit JDK you must use a 32bit System - ie. you cannot cross compile (ie. 64bit Windows and compile a 32bit JDK)</b></p><br/>
<div><br/>
<p>Let me know whether it works for you. if it doesn't tell me what's wrong and I will fix the instructions!</p><br/>
</div><br/>
</p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/coscup_talkCOSCUP talkSunny Chan2011-07-15T14:18:19+00:002011-07-15T14:18:20+00:00
<p><p>This is the abstract for my <a href="http://coscup.org/2011/en/program/">COSCUP talk</a> on August 18th, 2011:</p><br/>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">OpenJDK 7: The universal language runtime</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; "><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; "></span></p><br/>
<p><i><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">Sunny Chan<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">Hong Kong Java User Group Leader</span></i></p><br/>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">OpenJDK 7 is the latest release of the Java Platform. In this release, there are a number of major innovations in the OpenJDK's Java Virtual Machine to enable other scripting languages like Ruby, Python and PHP to run on the platform efficiently.</span><br /></p><br/>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">In this talk, I will give you 5 reasons why you should run your applications written in alternative languages like Ruby on the OpenJDK Runtime. I will also explore some of the common myths about running your application with the Java Runtime.</span> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/three_weeks_inThree Weeks InSunny Chan2010-02-15T19:33:45+00:002010-02-15T19:36:00+00:00
<p><p><b><br/>
Here is my status / thought three weeks into Plan A (formerly known as Plan B)</b></p> <br/>
<p> </p> <br/>
<ol> <br/>
<li>I am still jet lagged. I feel sleepy during the morning but otherwise I am fine</li> <br/>
<li>I have been eating out almost 85% of the days I have been in Hong Kong. I have also joined Fitness First and definitely need to make use of it</li> <br/>
<li>The amount of alcohol I have consumed in the last three weeks is the sum of all alcohol I have consumed 3 months before I leave UK.</li> <br/>
<li>Where the f**k did all the people come from?! The whole town is packed</li> <br/>
<li>My mom is better at investigating my life than FBI / MI5 / KGB</li> <br/>
<li>I still feel like I am on holiday here in Hong Kong. I think that would change when my boxes arrive.</li> <br/>
<li>My box is currently somewhere near the Gulf at the moment. I just hope that the pirates in Somali won't find it</li> <br/>
<li>Work is fine, except a lot of midnight calls. </li> <br/>
<li>Lunch is much better around here. Plenty of nice food and company!</li> <br/>
<li>My salary is pretty good over here. Why didn't I do it earlier?</li> <br/>
<li>I missed MINI. Didn't help when they have big poster showing Mini near Time Square.</li> <br/>
</ol> <br/>
<div><i>I do miss you guys in UK. Honest.</i></div> <br/>
<p> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/looking_backLooking backSunny Chan2009-12-23T00:10:08+00:002009-12-23T00:10:08+00:00
<p><p>The cat is now out of the bag, and I am slowly shutting down my life over here. I think it's time to do a review and take stock of what I have achieved and looking ahead<br /></p> <br/>
<p>Most people have thought that my mom and dad made the decision for me to come over here, on the contrary it is actually me initiated the whole studying in UK. I was not happy at the school I was studying in Hong Kong and I see this as a way out to the terrible time I had in Hong Kong - I considered myself being bullied by my teacher and I thought certainly this "mother" country could not be worse. (The colonial government did a good job of brain-washing me :-).</p> <br/>
<p>When I first set foot in this country it feels strange yet farmiliar. The car drive on the correct side of the road, except that everything is in English. I certainly can feel the chill but I do find the people are very welcoming and have a strange sense of humour. But I certainly didn't forsee my experience in Felsted - it changed my life completely. </p> <br/>
<p>I definitely remember the first night in Follies. I was sobbing like a little baby in the little desk that we have for the NIPs (stands for Not Important Person). I think most of my housemate is puzzled - I think it is the thought of having to fence for myself from that point onwards. But soon after I get into the strive of studying and living in the boarding school, and I definitely make good use of my time there. Initially I am pretty sceptical of the gwai chais there. My parents have told me a few things about what they are like and I have found out that it is completely different - once we have worked out our cultrual differences I think my friends Felsted are warm and welcoming, and much more down to earth then I first thought. I have certainly made a lot of really good friends and we are still in touch 20 years later.</p> <br/>
<p>I am a pretty open minded person and after my "training" in Felsted I can really apperciate the way of life here and the culture. What I really love about this country is that people are humble and they are able to laugh about themselves and being selfless in a lot of ways. They like to engage with people and encouraged to look outwards and dream. I feel free to be myself here - as long as you don't go and kill people, you can do whatever you want. There are certainly a lot more social norm and convention out there in Asia, which would be very interesting to deal with.</p> <br/>
<p>I will definitely feel sad to leave behind all my good friends I made over the years, as well as the piece of London that I own (okay, the little piece of London that have been leased to me for another 70 years :-). I would definitely missed the days that I can go to the football games or take a spin in the winding road down in countryside. </p> <br/>
<p>However, I feel that it is the right opportunity to make a change in direction for my life. It would be a big culture shock when I am back in Hong Kong but I don't want to regard it not doing this while I still can. Who knows where life would take me but I certainly would be quite happy to come back and call UK home.</p> <br/>
<p><br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/sunny_s_5_year_itchSunny's 5 Year ItchSunny Chan2009-10-04T04:26:39+00:002009-10-04T04:26:39+00:00
<p><p>According the <a href="http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/seven-year-itch.html"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: none; ">this website</span></font></a>, The phase "The Seven Years Itch" means the inclination to become unfaithful after seven years of marriage. Ladies, don't worry, I am still single and available. However I wonder whether I do have a five years itch. </p><p>So far in my life I never really stayed at one location / school / job for more then 5 years. The worst period is during my Primary School years, where one reason or another I have moved to 3 primary schools - nearly once every 2 years. By the way, I do not recommend anyone to subject their son and daughter to this as for me it was pretty traumatic, and it has turned my life upside down. Without the bad experiences during my late Primary / early Secondary School years, I would probably have not pluck up the courage to take the big step to study in UK. The period I spent in Felsted is the best time in my life, where I made friends and won respect - people still remember me out there after 10 years! If I haven't studied to Felsted, I probably won't get into Imperial, and would probably got the job that I am doing now.</p><p>Sometimes I am wondering whether Plan B is my 5 Year Itch, but I don't think it is such a bad thing.</p><p>For those who wonder what happen with Plan B I am still waiting for Human Resource in the bank I am working for to sort things out. It may take 2-3 months. I have already started to throw away old books and stop buying items that I cannot take with me. However, until I have the offer no one should assume that Plan B is happening. So please do not discuss this with my parents yet!</p><p> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/donation_sought_at_the_requestDonation sought (at the request of my mom)Sunny Chan2009-10-03T13:27:33+00:002009-10-03T13:27:33+00:00
<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><div><font size="4">Dear Children,</font></div><div><font size="4"> </font></div><div><font size="4"> Please note</font> :</div><div> </div><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; "> 相信你們都常常聽我提及有關我參與不同的義工服務。<wbr />其中一個團體是<span lang="EN-US">"<a href="http://www.nbcmh.org.hk">無界限 - 精神健康社區融合會</a>" (簡稱無界限 )。</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; "><span lang="EN-US"></span></span> </p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; "> <span> </span>很高興在這裏,隆重宣佈: 本會的第一份宣傳小冊子已經出世了 (見附件)。身為司庫的我,親眼見證這群babies(小冊子)<wbr />,在這個貧窮但充滿愛、理想和團結的大家庭裏面,<wbr />只用了650元便做出了2,000個值得我們自豪的寶貝....<wbr />...它們身負重任 :</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; "></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; "><font size="3"> </font></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; ">(一) 將 "無界限" 的成立、宗旨、目標、服務對象/<wbr />內容等等介紹給尚未認識我們的朋友。 希望朋友們知道,<wbr />在社區上有一群人正在努力默默地為精神病康復者提供服務,<wbr />幫助他們融入社區和重拾自信。朋友們! 你地能放下對他們的歧視和誤解; 以愛,包容去接納他們,一個共融的社區,<wbr />對他們重投社會有莫大的幫助。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; "></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; "><font size="3"> </font></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; ">(二) 朋友們如果你身邊在這方面有需要協助的人,可以聯絡我們,<wbr />可能我們未必可直接幫到手,<wbr />但我們可以儘量為你們提供相關的渠道,獲得合適的協助。有問題,<wbr />不要怕,只要勇敢面對,一定OK。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; "></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; "><font size="3"> </font></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; ">(三) 歡迎認同我們理念的社會各界人士,加入我們的行列。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; "></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; "><font size="3"> </font></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; ">(四) 籌募經費 : 希望大家能慷慨解囊,樂善好施。</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; "></span> </p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; "> Please help to spread the news to your friends, colleagues (in HK for Sunny) so that someone may like to donate money to our community. I will bring a few handouts to Sharon's home today.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; "></span> </p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; "> Forwarded two words files for follow-up action.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; "></span> </p><p style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; "><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; ">Mother</span></p></span></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/kelvin_ko_on_marriage_andKelvin Ko on Marriage and Opportunity CostSunny Chan2009-10-03T13:22:25+00:002009-10-03T13:22:25+00:00
<p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/46vsAPKeDgI&hl=en&fs=1&" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/46vsAPKeDgI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344" /></object></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/the_italian_job_preliminary_planThe Italian Job - preliminary planSunny Chan2009-09-13T03:46:11+00:002018-07-24T16:37:09+00:00
<p><p> <br/>
<iframe width="425" height="350" src="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=100977859167064198154.0004733ef2637a6d6743a&ll=47.686745,6.079259&spn=10.355341,18.676758&z=5&output=embed" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /><small>View <a style="text-align: left; color: #0000ff;" href="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=100977859167064198154.0004733ef2637a6d6743a&ll=47.686745,6.079259&spn=10.355341,18.676758&z=5&source=embed">The Italian Job</a> in a larger map</small> <br/>
</p> <br/>
<p>I am planning to switch on <a href="http://www.google.com/latitude">Google Latitude</a> during the trip so that people can track where I am. More details to follow <br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/autofs_hintsAutofs hintsSunny Chan2009-08-06T19:11:26+00:002009-08-06T19:11:26+00:00
<p><p>Just to save other people out there who have try to use autofs:</p><p><b><font size="5">All automount map file must be non executable (eg rw-r-r-)</font></b> </p><p>If not automounter will refuse to load it. I was scratching my head for a whole night trying to figure out my new ubuntu installation refuse to mount my NFS home directory. I am just about to blame ubuntu for this :-)<br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/t_mobile_g1_the_googleT-Mobile G1 - The Google PhoneSunny Chan2009-07-16T19:06:56+00:002009-07-16T19:06:56+00:00
<p><p>Well, as most people who read this knows that I am pretty keen on Palm Pre. However my Nokia N95 is falling apart and I need a phone now to replace my Nokia. So I decided to take a look and I have decided to get a <a href="http://www.htc.com/www/product/g1/specification.html">T-Mobile G1</a> for now, and then when Palm Pre is out here at the end of the year I would go and get <br /></p><p>For those who doesn't know, T-Mobile G1 is the first phone that is based upon <a href="http://www.android.com/">Google Android</a>, the Linux based mobile OS that uses a subset/special implementation of Java as the main program interface.<br /></p><p>I have been using the G1 for about a week now, and so far so good. It's pretty slick and the interface are pretty good compare to the iPhone. All the apps I wanted to use are there, including a fairly decent Live Messenger client. Althought the AppStore is not as good as Apple, it is growing and there are a few useful one up there. Hopefully once the Chinese Manufacturer making cheaper Android phone more developers will move onto the platform. Though it should be fairly easy to move J2ME application onto the Android platform (quite similar but not exactly the same - however a good developer can easily develop <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facade_pattern">Facade</a> to support both).</p><p>Anyway, I should download the <a href="http://developer.android.com/sdk/1.5_r3/index.html">SDK</a> and have a play around soon. <br /></p><p><br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/j_p_morgan_challenge_2009J P Morgan Challenge 2009Sunny Chan2009-07-14T17:18:29+00:002009-07-14T17:18:29+00:00
<p><p>Here is <a href="http://www.jpmorganchasecc.com/results.php?city_id=10&type=topmale&year=2009">the result</a>. I came 11164 out of 11725.</p><p>It is all about participation! :-)<br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/sunny_gor_gorSunny Gor GorSunny Chan2009-07-11T08:48:26+00:002009-07-11T08:48:26+00:00
<p><p>I have a weird morning today:</p><p>Firstly I got up at 8 and I was watching thie Google I/O 2008 talk in bed. It is all about the Dalvok VM and I am curious about why they have their own dex format, etc. Interesting on how they adapted Java to work really well in a small platform:<br /></p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ptjedOZEXPM&hl=en&fs=1&" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ptjedOZEXPM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object><p> </p><p>Then I saw my sister has posted one of those really old Hong Kong advert in the facebook:</p><object width="425" height="344"><param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PdlbVpAG8HM&hl=en&fs=1&" name="movie" /><param value="true" name="allowFullScreen" /><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess" /><embed width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PdlbVpAG8HM&hl=en&fs=1&" /></object><p>I then hop around the youtube site and look at some of those really old Hong Kong TV adverts. My goodness. When I was young I thought it was slick and cool, but now I feel a bit errie about them. Anyway, I finally landed on a couple of links with Sunny Gor Gor songs. For those of you who are old enough in Hong Kong should remember him - he is pretty much the first Hong Kong Children TV presenter. I did a bit of google and manage to find<a href="http://www.sunnygogo.com/"> his web site</a>. I was too young at that time (ahem... yes I was) and I only had a faint memory of him on TV.</p><p>However, I didn't pick my Sunny as my first name because of him though (nor did my parents). That's a story for another time.<br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/what_i_have_learn_thisWhat I have learnt this week.Sunny Chan2009-06-28T18:36:37+00:002009-06-28T18:38:08+00:00
<p><p>It's been a long week. Here is 10 things I have learnt:</p><ol><li>If you have locked your keys in your MINI, don't bother calling the recovery service. Just find a stone/hammer and smash the window.</li><li><a href="http://www.autoglass.com">Autoglass</a> open 24*7. If they have the mirror in stock and a technician is available then you can get it fixed at 2am.<br /></li><li>Never chain your house keys with your car keys.<br /></li><li>Power Steering is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/02/mini_steering_system_failures.html">a common fault on the 2001-2006 MINI Coopers</a>. And it is expensive to get it fixed so BMW didn't do a recall.<br /></li><li>Taking the train to Brighton can be quicker than driving. Except you should expect noisy babies so iPod is essential</li><li>Water in Brighton is pretty decent. Though it is a bit difficult to find a shower facility.<br /></li><li>Your ghost in <a href="http://www.thesims.com">Sim 3</a> only has a limited amount of time. Once the time is up then that's it, so get him/her revived asap.</li><li>It's difficult to find a <a href="http://www.jobsdb.com/HK/EN/V6/JS/JobSearch/JobSearch.asp?PN=JobListing&FullTextKeywords=java&JobAreasU=&SelectedLocations=&AdsListDuration=&KeywordSearchFields=Positions&KeywordOption=ALL&SrcTrack=HeaderSearchBox">decent techie jobs in Hong Kong</a>, unless you are actually there.</li><li>Enjoy your life. You never know <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8122849.stm">when your doctor will give you an overdose</a>. Especially you are <a href="http://www.michaeljackson.com/">the King of Pop</a></li><li><a href="http://java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/6u14.html">Java 6 Update 14</a> with server hotspot compiler is really really fast.<br /></li></ol></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/why_can_t_orientals_guysWhy can't Orientals guys (US: Asian) get the white girls Sunny Chan2009-06-16T19:16:01+00:002009-06-16T19:16:01+00:00
<p><object width="425" height="344"><param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/63bWYFGBTuE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" name="movie" /><param value="true" name="allowFullScreen" /><param value="always" name="allowScriptAccess" /><embed width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/63bWYFGBTuE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" /></object></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/eurovision_song_contest_2009Eurovision Song Contest 2009Sunny Chan2009-05-17T10:37:32+00:002009-05-17T10:45:30+00:00
<p><p><a href="http://www.eurovision.tv/">Eurovision Song Contest</a> has become a little bit of a joke last couple of years, though I still enjoy Terry Wogan's (now Graham Norton) sarcastic comment and also what those crazy Eastern European could come up with. Surprising this year I think it's pretty good (hence I would like to blog about it)</p><p>For those come who are reading this and have no idea what Eurovision Song Contest it (e.g. if you live in HK), do a google and find out what you are missing out here!</p><p>This year seems like everyone is getting really serious about this competition, for<br/>
example, Germany has Dita Von Teese on the set, while UK have Andrew<br/>
Lloyd Webber writing songs, etc. They have changed the voting system<br/>
this year as well, and it did reduced the political voting effect. (Though<br/>
Ukarine still give 12 points for Russia, etc.) and Moscow who hosted this seems to be lavishing a lot of money on the set! </p><p> My favourite song this year is the one from Estonia (not just because she is lang lui haaa):</p><p> </p><br/>
<object height="340" width="560"><param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fOsmEO_osXQ&hl=en&fs=1" name="movie" /><param value="true" name="allowFullScreen" /><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess" /><embed height="340" width="560" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fOsmEO_osXQ&hl=en&fs=1" /></object><br/>
<p>Another one I quite enjoyed is the Ajiberjan's entry: <br /><br/>
<object height="340" width="560"><param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HmA82DlI-Pc&hl=en&fs=1" name="movie" /><param value="true" name="allowFullScreen" /><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess" /><embed height="340" width="560" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HmA82DlI-Pc&hl=en&fs=1" /></object><br/>
</p><p> </p><p>I thought this is quite cheeky and the tune is quite catchy too.</p><p>I stayed in and I thought I was entartained - so good job Europe looking forward to next year.<br /></p><p><br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/vmware_esxi_3_experienceVMWare ESXi 3 experienceSunny Chan2009-05-01T20:04:18+00:002009-05-01T20:04:18+00:00
<p><p>I recently have upgraded my desktop machine to a Core 2 Quad - that by itself is quite a big change because I have been using AMD CPU for nearly 10 years, but it seems like Intel finally has a better product, so I voted with my Wallet. </p><p>Anyway so with a working Dual Core AMD Athlon x2 3800+ CPU as well as 4G DDR RAM, what shall we do with it? Of course try some new stuff. I always fancy the idea of having a hypervisor in the BIOS - althought we are not quite there yet, but the closest product we have right now. </p><p>So I downloaded the <a href="https://www.vmware.com/tryvmware/?p=esxi" title="VMWare ESXi Download site">VMWare ESXi from VMWare website</a>, burn it onto a CD and run installer. ESXi consists of a modified Linux kernel and some VMware modules. It took a minute or so to boot up. When I tried to run the installer, it comes back with an error with unsupported device. I did a <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=Vmware+esxi+IDE&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=">quick Google</a> on the topic and found that the installer just doesn't support IDE hard drives (which is the one that I have lying around!). You need to go to the virtual console and <a href="http://www.vm-help.com/esx/esx3i/ESXi_install_to_IDE_drive/ESXi_install_to_IDE_drive.php">start hacking their installation script</a>. That's not very nice.</p><p>Anyway, once I have installed it on the hard drive I reboot the machine - however it doesn't seems to be able to format the hard drive. After trying for half a Sunday I figure out that my drive was used to install Windows 7, and instead of standard old school partition table it now has a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table">EFI GUID Partition Table</a>. VMWare doesn't seems to know how to handle them. In the end I cleared<a href="http://tomch.com/wp/?p=50"> the GPT using diskpart</a> off my hard drive and now VMWare can install properly.</p><p>The one really annoy thing for me is that VMWare ESXi can only use drives formatted with <a href="http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/esx/vmfs.html">VMFS</a> - as a result I can't really share my external SATA hard drive with another Linux installation. BAD. Also it seems like you once you have created a VMWare Virtual hard drive on a data store it won't be able to shrink the disk size. Arghhhhhh. Why can't they have a straight pass through SATA? or USB? Searching in Google suggested that the only way you can let your VMWare to use a drive "natively" is to share it from a remote machine using a iSCSI intiaitor. BAD</p><p>At the moment when I need to install OS onto the server I either use a CD image or my local CD drive. This is another annoyance as I just cannot convince VMWare to assign the server's DVD ROM drive onto the virtual machine. Make it a bit slower to install the packages..<br /></p><p>Another thing that I don't like is that there is no console directly on the server itself- you will have to use the management client in order to connect to those console. This is okay for a headless server but for developer like me I would still prefer to have full console access to my VM the server itself.</p><p>Other than these annoying details it works pretty well with the stuff I throw at it. The CPU I use for this VMWare test machine doesn't support Pacifica technology (AMD's Vritualisation instructions set) but is still achieve a decent performance</p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/old_school_computer_musicOld School Computer MusicSunny Chan2009-04-21T17:47:37+00:002009-04-21T17:47:37+00:00
<p><p>My first PC has two floppy drive and no hard disk (how could one survive that?!), and when the floppy's step motor moving around it makes noise that can be similar to music. I always wonder whether someone will us it as a musical instrument. Someone with lots of time in their hand finally has done this impressive number with old computer bits:</p><p><br /></p><object height="340" width="560"><p> </p><param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ht96HJ01SE4&hl=en&fs=1" name="movie" /><param value="true" name="allowFullScreen" /><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess" /><embed height="340" width="560" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ht96HJ01SE4&hl=en&fs=1" /><br /><p> </p><p>I am well impressed!<br /></p></object></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/the_latest_hsbc_adThe latest HSBC adSunny Chan2009-04-14T18:24:38+00:002009-04-14T18:27:05+00:00
<p><p>This is a classic HSBC ad, blogged here for my mom:</p><p> <img hspace="0" height="480" border="0" align="baseline" vspace="0" src="http://www.sunnychan.org.uk/gallery/d/14467-1/IMG_0112.JPG" dth="640" /></p><p>For those who doesn't know Chinese, the English translation they give there isn't as true to the meaning. The chinese words above the "Fear" actually means "Nightmare".</p><p><br /></p><p> <br /></p><p> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/strange_conversationStrange ConversationSunny Chan2009-03-12T19:08:36+00:002009-03-12T19:10:49+00:00
<p><p>4.45pm. Sunny's mobile rang. </p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">T = T-Mobile sales. S = Sunny<br /></font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: Is this Mr. Chan?</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: Yes</font></p><p> <font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: This is T-mobile. I noticed that your discount period is coming to an end. Would you like to renew your contract or get a new phone?</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: Not at the moment. I am waiting for a phone to come out and it is not on sale yet.<br /></font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: May I ask which one?</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: <a title="The best phone since iPhone" href="http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/">Palm Pre</a></font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: Sorry what's that?</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: Palm Pre!</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: I have never heard of it.</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: Google it!</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: Tell me the name once more?</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: <i>(Annoyed tone) PALM PRE</i>. <br /></font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: How do you spell it?</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>:<i> (Very Annoyed)</i> <b>P-A-L-M P-R-E</b></font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: What make is it?</font></p><p> <font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: <i>(Thinking "D**khead" in his head)</i> Palm</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: I am sorry?</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: <i>(Are you wasting my time?) </i>PALM!</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: Oh Palm. I never heard of it before - Okay let me see.</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: (<i>Looking at <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=palm+pre&btnG=Google+Search&meta=" title="This is what he would see on his screen">Google</a>, found the Palm's website</i>) Oh is it US only?</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: Nope they are going to make <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-10166111-78.html">a GSM version</a> <i>(Note: I mean 3G - I won't buy a phone without 3G HSPDA!)</i></font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: So can I just keep the contract as is.</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: Yes</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>S</b>: Okay.</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>T</b>: Thanks for your time.</font></p><p><font face="verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">This guy should be layed off in this kind of economic environment. Palm Pre is like the best phone since iPhone. He is so not going to sell any phone to me</font><br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/backupBackupSunny Chan2009-02-22T12:14:40+00:002009-02-22T12:14:40+00:00
<p><p>No, I am not talking about Hard drive backup. Although if you are not you should. <a href="http://storagemojo.com/2007/05/30/home-raid-vs-backup/">RAID will not help you</a>.</p><p>Over the years, there has been a number of my female friends who jokingly/seriously say that they would want me to be their backup, and would like a pact with me if they can't find someone by 35 then I should married them. That makes me wonder: what makes me such a good backup? If I am such a good backup, why don't they want to make me the main man? Am I good enough but not good enough?</p><p>Answer on a post card please. </p><p>I did have agreed to one of these pact long ago, but fortunately (or unfortunately) she has found someone and is now engaged. So I am free to make another pact!<br /></p><p><br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/windows_7_beta_first_impressionWindows 7 Beta First ImpressionSunny Chan2009-01-11T15:22:35+00:002009-01-11T15:22:35+00:00
<p><p>Well, Windows 7 Beta is out and thinking that I have a spare machine I would give it a try - I have downloaded Windows 7 and then install it from DVD. The installation was pretty quick and painless. I decided to wipe the machine clean rather than doing an upgrade, as my out Windows XP setup has too much crap in it.</p><p>This machine is an old single core Pentium M 1.7G, with 2G of RAM. Once the installation completes it boots up fairly quickly, and much more reponsive then Vista on the same machine - the hard drive doesn't work as hard as Vista, and it seems that it doesn't work the CPU as hard.</p><p>Interface wise it is not that much different from Vista, however, they copied some of the elements from Mac, for example, you can now pinned the Icon onto the task bar, and you can organised a whole bunch of Windows according to app - just like Mac OS X Tiger.</p><p>Out of the box it has already contained most of the driver I need for the Thinkpad, and they are available via Windows Update. However to my surprised they dopn't have Intel Pro Wireless drivers isn't available - considering that Intel is a close partner for Microsoft I would have thought that it should work straight out of them box. Luckily, it seems like Vista driver works fine on Windows 7 so I just download the driver from Lenovo and the wireless works fine.</p><p>One of the main problem is that I spend most of the Sunday afternoon trying to sort out is trying to connect to Samba shares. It seems like Windows 7 has tightened up much of the security in terms of SMB shares. Most of the instructions on the net says you need to change the security policy manager, Local Policy to allow NTLM authentication. However it didn't work and after switching off most of the encryption and security options for SMB it finally works.</p><p>So I will spend a couple of days with Windows 7 and see how it goes - I am impressed so far. </p><p> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/planning_for_the_italian_jobPlanning for "The Italian Job"Sunny Chan2008-12-01T15:49:24+00:002008-12-01T16:03:23+00:00
<p><p>I always want to do <a title="The Italian Job" href="http://www.theitalianjob.com/">an Italian Job</a>, but I always find the driving a bit daunting - Although my trip to <a href="http://www.sunnychan.org.uk/gallery/v/France2006/">Monaco with Mini</a> went okay, I think Italy is stretching my ability to stay awake to the max. However, fear not! I have been surfing on the Internet and discovered <a href="http://www.raileurope.co.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=502">Auto Train by SNCF</a> which takes your Car all the way down to Nice. Now that would save 13 hours of driving! There is also train from <a href="http://www.railsavers.com/livorno.html">Holland to Livrno</a> so that makes going to Rome certainly a lot easier! </p><p>There are so many places I want to take my Mini to! I would love to see <a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IStGxg0blx8&NR=1">the roof top track</a> feature in the old Fiat factory in Turin, <a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=j0nXDOr1r6A&NR=1">as feature in the film</a>. Also if possible I would like to drive in the <a href="http://www.redlineblog.com/top-gears-worlds-best-driving-road-in-detail/">Stelvio Pass, Northern Italy/Swiss boarder</a>, voted by <a href="http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/worlds-best-road">the presenters of Top Gear as the best road in Europe</a>. As well as visiting Rome of course!<br /></p><p>I don't know how many days it is going to take but it should probably be 10 days or something like that. Anyone fancy this?<br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/just_leave_me_aloneJust leave me aloneSunny Chan2008-11-12T22:05:05+00:002008-11-12T22:05:05+00:00
<p><p>Rather mad about certain email I received. I deal with issues in my own way and I just do not understand why someone have to impose "their idea" onto me. "I buggered off with your friend in your birthday party but I would still like be your friend. So please talk to me". What do people expect. Didn't I made it clear? Just get out of my life.</p><p>Certain friend of mine has been commenting that maybe I am not letting go, but this is the way I deal with this kind of things. She has found someone else and I don't think too highly of the guy but I leave them alone. But just don't expect things will get back to the way it is, I don't have any obligation to be anyone's friend. Those of you who really know me, I am a person of extremes: When I love something, I love it with passion. When I hate something I hate it with passion as well. If people can't deal with that then that's tough.<br /></p><p>That email ruined my day. But I am calm down a bit and after I sleep over it I decided that I shouldn't raise my blood pressure over it. This is the last time I will talk about this.<br /></p><p><br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/closerCloserSunny Chan2008-11-11T17:37:52+00:002008-11-11T17:37:53+00:00
<p><p>One of my favourite at the moment:</p><p> <a href="http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=xLWKwORtK_g">Closer by Ne-Yo</a></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/miss_cx_and_miss_solicitorMiss CX and Miss SolicitorSunny Chan2008-11-10T15:58:36+00:002008-11-10T16:14:19+00:00
<p><p>For those of you who didn't notice, I am back home in Hong Kong for three weeks at the moment. I haven't had a holiday for a long time and I am definitely enjoy my time not thinking about <a href="http://java.sun.com">JVMs</a>, <a href="https://jdk6.dev.java.net/plugin2/">Java Plug-ins</a> and <a href="http://java.sun.com/javase/technologies/desktop/javawebstart/index.jsp">Java Webstart</a>. Thought I have to admit that having bring my Blackberry I do find myself checking work email during the day time.</p><p>Anyway, visiting home is a bit mixed feeling for me. Althought it's great to see my parents (even <a href="http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/e21082000">my mom has a blog</a>!) and <a href="http://rmitsharon.spaces.live.com/">my sister</a>, but wondering around Luk Yeung makes me feel a bit weird and uncomfortable. Maybe I remember the good time I had with Miss CX, and all that happens afterwards. I don't want to eleborate too much, but things just doesn't work out and I do feel pretty sad about it.</p><p>I was having dinner with Dr & Dr W this weekend, and Dr W. has a very good observation for me: It's fine to concentrate on your career, however you have to consider that most girls at our age who is still single are career minded and definitely won't have time to entartain the idea of migrating to another country. She has suggested that I should consider moving back to Hong Kong for a while and see what happens.</p><p>That certainly has crossed my mind. I think the last couple of years has proved to me that I would like to meet someone like Miss CX, and I am not sure whether someone like her exists in London. I had so much fun with her and I had that falling in love feeling with her which I didn't feel for a long time. Sometimes I wonder whether I should said yes to that question she asked and maybe we will live happily ever after, but I am certainly would not like to pushed into a big decision like that.</p><p>In terms of Miss Solicitor, it's another really really bad habit of mine. I push people away when they intrude into my space and I closed up. I think if I actually try harder maybe it would work out. I was thinking of trying to get back together with her, but as <a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-ibmjava4/">my shared class team mate</a> has said, once she's hurt it's not a great advertisment to come back for more - then she start dating another guy that she met in my birthday party - I think that just get a bit too much for me. The moral of the story? <i><b>NEVER EVER BRING EX TO YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY.</b></i></p><p>2008 definitely has been challenging, emotional wise. I had made some bad choices in 2007 and I have suffered for it this year. I just hope that things will improve next year.</p><p>BTW, there are two people (Miss PCCW and Mrs. Accountant) who knows for sure who are Miss CX and Miss Solicitor :-) Others are welcome to speculate but you have by now worked out how the system works here.<br /></p><p><br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/wohoo_finallyWohoo - finally!Sunny Chan2008-11-10T14:49:42+00:002008-11-10T14:49:42+00:00
<p><p>Finally I have manage to upgrade my blogging software to Roller 4.0, as well as uplifting all the infrastructure to the latest version - I have also applies a new theme too. The old on get on my nerves as the calendar never layout at the right place.</p><p>Let's see whether this will motivate me to blog more. <br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/congratulations_to_nadine_and_steveCongratulations to Nadine and SteveSunny Chan2008-05-24T16:26:48+00:002008-05-24T16:26:48+00:00
<p><p>I am really happy for Nadine and Steve finally getting hitched finally! Contrary to some of the things he says, he is a loyal and a loving guy and Nadine is lucky to have bag someone like him. Congratulations!<br /><br /> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/wow_my_bose_is_amazingWow. My BOSE is amazingSunny Chan2008-04-27T18:59:43+00:002008-04-27T18:59:43+00:00
<p><p>I bought myself a set of <a href="http://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-entertainment/home-cinema/dvd-systems/321_GSX/index.jsp">BOSE 3.2.1 GSX system</a> over the christmas to replace my 5 years old integrated DVD system and I have been really impressed so far. I am no Audiophile so I was looking for a set of speaker system that has a good general performance. I reckon with the money I spent on it I could have get a really good set of Amps and stuff, but I thought I would save myself the trouble and get the BOSE instead. And I wasn't been disappointed. I pipe my XBox, and PS3 and watch Blu-ray disc on it, and has performed really really well. I notice a big difference from my old system that I had.<br /> </p><p>They are showing <a href="http://www.celinedion.com/anewday/english/">Celine Dion's A New Day</a> show from Las Vegas on BBC2 and the sound is amazing. I just wish they have rolled out BBC HD on DVB-T soon. So the next challenge for Bose will be <a href="http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/">Grand Theft Auto IV</a>, and I will definitely report my verdict next week.<br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/does_anybody_read_this_crapDoes anybody read this crap?Sunny Chan2008-04-25T22:15:20+00:002008-04-25T22:18:59+00:00
<p><p>Guess not. I have posted quite a few things that is quite controversial but no one comments :-) Either I am boring or no one cares?<br /></p><p> I am still trying to recover from everything that happened since the beginning of the year. It is really heart breaking when you know that you have put a lot into something but end up with nothing. Well, I guess I get to taste my own medicine.</p><p>It's hard to meet someone that you have so much rapport with - I tried my best to hold onto it but I need to protect myself. Some decisions is for lifetime and should not be taken lightly or being threaten into doing it. Maybe that person is not as mature as I first thought. Would it make any difference if I do something more drastic? Did I not communicate how much I value it? Maybe not.<br /></p><p>Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. I have done things that I am not proud of but they have all moved on, which is fine with me. I just get back to my old self and there is nothing to see, so move along.<br /><br /> Don't really want to speak to my mom at the moment - she is giving me "pressure" but I just don't want to hear about it anymore.<br /></p><p> Anyone care to be my travel partner so that I can fulfill <a href="http://www.sunnycomputerlab.com/roller/sunny/date/20080401">my plans</a> for this year? Would be helpful if my travel partner can drive and don't mind driving.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/is_java_really_that_slowIs Java really that slow? Does C# compiles to assembly code?Sunny Chan2008-04-23T21:07:56+00:002008-04-23T21:07:56+00:00
<p><p>Last weekend I was having a chat with my friend, and they keep telling me "I thought all the banks are using .net". I asked why? They bring out the age old argument, "I thought Java is slow and C# generates native code"... Oh dear. This friend of mine is one of the cleverest guy I ever met, however he has been misinformed.</p><p>Java does not necessarily slower than C++. Yes, startup time maybe longer compare to a native application. However there are a lot of clever runtime optimization that can be done through a JIT that is not available to normal static compiler. For example, most of the JIT compiler would have <a href="http://weblogs.java.net/blog/kohsuke/archive/2008/03/deep_dive_into.html">generated fairly optimized assembler code</a>, as well as using compilation techniques that can only be achieved by using run time profiling information. In the recent version of Hotspot it also contains technology like <a href="http://java.sun.com/javase/technologies/hotspot/publications/biasedlocking_oopsla2006_wp.pdf">Biased Locking</a> - this cannot be easily done using a normal static C++ compiler. In most case, Java is as fast as C++, and <a href="http://www.idiom.com/~zilla/Computer/javaCbenchmark.html">can be quite a bit faster in some circumstances</a>.</p><p>C# does not compile into native code straight away, and it employs similar bytecode/JIT organisation similar to Java.</p><p>Java used to be pretty slow during the early days, but with the arrival of better runtime this is no longer the case. One of the problem that still need to resolved is the overhead of the garbage collector, especially using the large heap. There are a lot of clever people spending time solving this problem and hopefully we will get somewhere soon.</p><p>In the end, I can't be brothered to argue with him as he hold tightly to his beliefs, so we left it there. But I just wish people would take a look at the current state of the affair before dissing Java.<br /></p><p> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/love_china_but_do_iLove China - but do I have do agree with everything Chinese government does?Sunny Chan2008-04-21T17:37:38+00:002008-04-21T17:37:38+00:00
<p><p>I noticed that there has been a few people who has put up this "Love China" sign in the MSN. Fair enough I think one should be proud of their heritage and who they are. However, that does not means I have to agree with everything that the Chinese government does.<br /></p><p>All the government over the world make use of propaganda. Does everyone remember the Iraq war and the 45-minute WMD claim? Silly me. I was so naive to believe the British Government on this. Same thing happens with Tibet - Chinese government would like you to think that Tibet has been "well-integrated" and the trouble has nothing to do with what the Chinese Government doing out there. Hm... does anyone see any parallel here?</p><p>Don't get me wrong. I am not saying I want to renounce my heritage. But do I want to associate with a country which <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6323017.stm">supports Sudan</a> and <a href="http://thezimbabwetimes.com/page983.htm">sell arms to Zimbabwe</a> so that Robert Mugabe can whack once the bread basket of Africa? Maybe not.<br /></p><p>So I love China because I am a Chinese and it's my heritage. However, I do not love the Chinese Communist Government.<br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/should_i_be_doing_somethingShould I be doing something else?Sunny Chan2008-04-08T23:49:28+00:002008-04-18T09:23:51+00:00
<p><p>Well, being a <a href="http://www.openjdk.org">JVM</a> expert is quite fun, but then it seems like there are many other profession that is much more fun and gives you more perks! Take an example of a politican - all they do are talking hot air and they get perks <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7329749.stm">like Second Home, and others expenses.</a> Hang on a second - TV License for Tony Blair? Come on, he doesn't even like BBC!</p><p>As the credit crunch deepens, I am planning for my exit if the big enterprise that I am working for decided to lay people off and that I could find a job to do with computers:</p><ol><li>Be <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/2264169.stm">a plumber/electrician in London</a>. Although the article is quite a few years old, I can confirm that there is still a shortage of plumber and electrician in London after the boiler fiasco.</li><li>If I have got fed up with the city life, I don't mind going to Australia and be a beef farmer or even a miner or whatever they can do out there. You know. people from UK have a thing about Australia, and vice versa.<br /></li><li>Worse come to the worse, I can always go back to Hong Kong and teach English? Who cares about good tenses and stuff!<br /></li></ol><p> Sounds like I am pretty sorted. Bring it on credit crunch.<br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/the_beijing_olympics_torch_fiascoThe Beijing Olympics Torch FiascoSunny Chan2008-04-08T13:12:13+00:002008-04-08T13:12:13+00:00
<p><p>Olympic Torch has been quite a big controversy recently with all these Tibet <br/>
independentists organised protest against the flame. I read in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/aryan-ideals-not-ancient-gr.html-were-the-inspiration-behind-flame-tradition-805746.html" title="Aryan ideals, not ancient Greece, were the inspiration behind flame tradition">an article on The Independent</a> today that the Olympic Torch was <br/>
first started by Nazi Germany as a part of their propaganda tool. Germany took <br/>
the torch from Athens to Berlin via Central and Eastern Europe to show off their glory. In the ancient Olympics they never had this torch ceremony <br/>
and it does not really serve any purpose other then the supposedly "showing it" as a symbol of the Olympic ideals.</p><br/>
<p>If you look at the <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Flame" title="Wikipedia article on Olympic Flame">routes of Torch <br/>
Relay</a> from the previous Olympics, you will notice that most of them only <br/>
visit places in or near the hosting country (e.g. LA 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona <br/>
1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000). Only the Beijing Olympics has its torch relay visiting pretty much half of the world. To me this feels like the PRC government is having <br/>
a ego (or "face") crisis and feel the need to show people who is running the greatest show on Earth. Nothing wrong with <br/>
that and if this makes them feel better then that's fine with me. However they <br/>
should not be surprised that people in the country the flame visits may not agree <br/>
with what PRC government is doing and would like to protest against it.PRC <br/>
government cannot blame anyone but themselves when there are so many <br/>
"embarrassing" incident along the route.</p><br/>
<p>All this sounds like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor's_New_Clothes">the <br/>
Emperor's New Clothes</a> to me you know....</p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/checklist_of_things_i_wouldChecklist of things I would love to do this yearSunny Chan2008-04-01T17:47:23+00:002008-04-01T17:47:23+00:00
<p><p> Things that I would like before the year end:<br /></p><ol><li>A road trip to Italy with Mini. Maybe <a href="http://www.italianjob.com/" title="The Italian Job - a Mini road rally for charity">an Italian Job</a></li><li><a href="http://www.italianjob.com/" title="The Italian Job - a Mini road rally for charity"></a>Visit Scotland. Can you believe I have never been there, after 17 years I have been here?!!!!</li><li>Surfing in Cornwall/Devon.</li></ol>Anyone would like to join me for one of these adventures?<br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/sunny_gone_photo_crazyHas Sunny gone photo crazy?Sunny Chan2008-04-01T17:40:57+00:002008-11-10T14:51:16+00:00
<p><p>Not quite. If you are reading this blog entry over in Facebook, you might suddenly discover yourself tagged in some of my really old photos. You wonder what happened here? Let me explain.</p><p>I have been publishing a lot of my photos over in <a title="Sunny Chan's Gallery" target="_blank" href="http://www.sunnychan.org.uk/gallery">my website</a>. I use it as a kind of my archive and let other people have an idea of what my life is like so far - my mom keep tabs of me on that photo site! :-) The site uses <a title="Gallery" target="_blank" href="http://gallery.menalto.com/">Gallery v1</a> and I highly recommend this if you ever need to build an online album website but don't want to use Flickr or something like that. When the <a title="Facebook Developer website" href="http://developers.facebook.com/">Facebook API</a> comes along people has been developing software that bridges <a title="Discussion about Gallery to Facebook migration" href="http://gallery.menalto.com/node/65135">Gallery to Facebook's Photo application</a>. However, most of these solutions requires a newer version of Gallery.<br /><br />As with most people I talk to at work, I am very reluctant to upgrade due to the fact that the new version of Gallery requires a proper SQL database, consider that I am only running on a <a title="XenSource (now Citrix)" href="http://www.citrixxenserver.com/Pages/default.aspx">512MB Xen VPS</a> provided by <a title="Slicehost" href="http://www.slicehost.com">Slicehost</a>. However last weekend I decided to take the plunge finally and upgrade my Gallery installation after all these years, and finally I can make use of<a title="Facebook Gallery Import" href="http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2390304162"> Gallery Import</a> and make those photos available.</p><p>There were some absolutely gems - including photos from my final few months in Felsted... I was so bloody slim! I blame those KFC I ate on my way back to halls in my first year......</p><p>Enjoy the picutres!<br /><br /> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/comments_on_the_car_thatComments on the cars that I have owned so farSunny Chan2008-03-30T21:28:57+00:002008-03-31T02:48:30+00:00
<p><p>Well, I had owned three cars so far. Let me talk about my general feeling towards each of them.</p><p> The first car that I drove was a <a title="Pictures of my Ford Escort" target="_blank" href="http://www.sunnychan.org.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=5023">Ford Escort</a>. I bought it when I start working as a summer intern in <a title="IBM Development Lab at Hursley" target="_blank" href="http://www.hursley.ibm.com">IBM Hursley</a>. That place is so remote and there is no way I can wake up early enough to catch a train and then a bus from Eastleigh. So, it was £1000 and it has done quite a few London and Eastleigh run on M3. Pretty good until near the end when the engine would cut out mysteriously. Althought the drive is not great it gets me from A to B pretty well, and people are impressed with it fitting 5 people. Don't miss this at all though.</p><p> My second car was a <a title="Pictures of my Ford Puma" href="http://www.sunnychan.org.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=5058">Ford Puma</a>. It's my graduation gift from my parent (thanks mom and dad) and it is the best car I have driven so far. Okay, a bit feminie on the outside but don't let it fool you - it's brilliant when you are doing 150% the speed limit on M27. It's quick, nimble, handle like a proper sports car and it still turn heads. I would have snap up another one if Ford decided to make another couple again. I have done plenty of Southampton to London runs as well as a few trips up to Liverpool, and it has done 40,000 in the 3 years that I owned the car, and boy did I enjoy every single minute of it. I would love to own a Ford Puma again at some point.</p><p> Finally, the current Mrs. Chan, <a href="http://www.sunnychan.org.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=5380">Mini Cooper</a>. Well I got it because Ford has a reputation of going wrong when the warrantly runs out, and I cannot be borther to risk it. Anyway, I want a small and nimble car with 4 seats, and yet the Ford so call Puma replacement, the Ford StreetKa, is such a pile of bulls**t that I didn't even test drive it. So it was down to Mini then. Well, it wasn't as quick as the Puma and doesn't handle as well as the Puma, it is pretty good and I am quite happy to live with it. I have been to even more places with it, including the <a title="Pictures from my France driving trip" href="http://www.sunnychan.org.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=6406">France driving trip</a> to the south and <a title="Mini and me in Monaco" href="http://www.sunnychan.org.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=6406">Monaco</a>. Though I have to say BMW really needs to improve on the build quality. Things are falling off my car - mostly the internal trims! </p><p> So my firm favourite is still my Puma. Ford please make another brilliant car like Puma - I would buy one straight away.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/not_been_writing_for_aNot been writing for a whileSunny Chan2007-07-09T13:49:26+00:002007-07-09T13:49:26+00:00
<p><p>Well I haven't been writing my blog for a while - the reason is that I was using Apache Roller 3.0 and it has a few things broken in terms of the template and stuff, which I finally been managed to fix by diving into the Apache Derby Database that runs this blog. So I have upgraded to the latest version, and all it well again. </p><br/>
<p>I will try to blog a little bit more now that all is fixed and we have a decent editor! </p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/it_volunteering_in_ukIT Volunteering in UKSunny Chan2007-01-12T13:07:15+00:002007-01-12T13:07:15+00:00
<p>Well, I don't know what kind of people who reads my blog :-) <br /><br />But then if you are an IT person and would like to do some volunteering then here is a website for you: <a target="_self" href="http://www.it4communities.org.uk/">http://www.it4communities.org.uk</a>. They allow people who have IT skills to donate their spare time to fix computers for charity around UK. I have signed up to this and trying to see whether there is an opportunty for me to do some voluteering work!<br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/opengl_with_javascriptOpenGL with JavaScriptSunny Chan2007-01-10T09:08:45+00:002007-01-10T09:10:09+00:00
<p><p>That's a little bit of fun for you today: You can write <a href="http://blogs.sun.com/sundararajan/entry/exploring_opengl_java_binding_by" target="_self">a 3D apps using javascript</a> while using javascript agent!</p><br/>
<p>Don't think you can do that with c# :-)</p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/wargamesWargamesSunny Chan2007-01-07T15:09:35+00:002007-01-07T15:11:19+00:00
Today they showed <a target="_self" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/">Wargames</a> on ITV this afternoon. Wow. The
nostalgia is flooding back (I remember my first computer has two floopy
drives and no hard drive, blah blah blah).. So I have been looking up
on the net - You can still get a <a target="_self" href="http://www.imsai.net/">IMSAI 8080</a> computer (The one that kids used
to hack into <a target="_self" href="http://features.engadget.com/2004/10/23/movie-gadget-friday-the-w-o-p-r-from-wargames/">WORP</a>) with a ATX motherboard in there.... I
want that for Christmas!<br /><br />Two observation: Why
does all the computer geek always get the pretty girl, but they don't
in the real life? And why is all the geek suppose to have that jittery
movement? I don't! <br /><br />Oh they are actually making
a <a target="_self" href="http://productionweekly.com/2006/09/29/gillard-set-to-play-games-again/">Sequel to Wargames</a> this year. Can we have
Scarlett Johanssen as the lead lady please? Well I suppose she is too
"mature" for that :-)<br /><br />https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/rip_steve_irwinRIP Steve IrwinSunny Chan2006-09-04T20:46:12+00:002006-09-04T20:46:12+00:00
<p>I have enjoyed watching your program. So long for all the entartainment you have gave us<br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/a_quick_status_updateA quick status updateSunny Chan2006-06-13T18:51:05+00:002006-06-13T18:51:05+00:00
<p><p>I am back to UK after a nice and relaxing trip to Hong Kong - didn't really do a lot of interesting thing but I am now a proud owner of a new thinkpad (and 900 quid poorer)</p><br/>
<p>I have already started working in certain big financial institution. It has been quite an experience for me and I have already working some interesting stuff. We will see what happens</p><br/>
<p>My parents have arrived from Hong Kong last week and has been doing up my flat. The only stuff that is missing is my washing machine and the fridge - they tried to deliever them a few weeks ago but then they didn't have enough people and tools to move it up the stairs - I told them I live on the third floor and there is no lift! Nevermind.</p><br/>
<p>So people in UK should expect a house warming invitation soon.</p><br/>
<p></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/an_old_songAn old songSunny Chan2006-06-13T18:43:35+00:002006-06-13T18:43:35+00:00
<p><p>For a friend of mine who is not having a great time</p><br/>
<p><font size="4"> (Copied from <a href="http://supak.com/sunscreen.htm">http://supak.com/sunscreen.htm</a>)</font></p><br/>
<h4><a name="lyrics to Everybody's Free to Wear sunscreen"></a><span style="FONT-SIZE: 15pt">The lyrics to Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen, by <a href="http://chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/schmich/" target="_blank">Mary Schmich</a>:</span></h4></font /><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Wear sunscreen.<br /><br />If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Do one thing every day that scares you.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Sing.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Floss.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Stretch.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be <a href="http://supak.com/fjs.htm">gone</a> for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. <a href="http://supak.com/hawaiian/default.htm">Travel</a>.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Respect your elders.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.</font></p><br/>
<p><font face="Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica" size="3">But trust me on the sunscreen.</font></p></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/flying_againFlying againSunny Chan2006-05-09T15:23:15+00:002006-05-09T15:23:15+00:00
<p>Right now I am at the Heathrow Terminal 3 departure gate for CX252, waiting to get onto the plane. Well time flies it's nearly mid May and I am going to start my new job soon. It has been quite a breeze for me last few months!<br /><br />Flat is progressing well. Hopefully once my kitchen has been installed and the carpet fitted, I can start moving myself in. I can't wait to get my own space again, and this time it is a place of my own! Thanks mom and dad for making it possible.<br /><br />Quite looking forward to the new job - it will be a chanllenge but I am roaring to go. Shame that I will miss JavaOne this year but hoprelly there will be plenty of other conferences to go to!<br /><br />The last game of the season was really good. The football is good and they are getting back to the winnings ways - even though they have been a bit wonky at the end they get the job done. I have a good feeling for the next season - hopefully I will be able to see them get back to the premiership next seasons!<br /><br />Right. I am jumping on the plane now, so 7 hours later I will be back to Hong Kong!<br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/hope_for_the_next_seasonHope for the next seasonSunny Chan2006-04-13T00:19:00+00:002006-04-13T00:23:46+00:00
<p>Well, we are mathematically safe.<br /><br />But then I am really disappointed. I thought we would have a good chance of getting into the play-off. But we are talking about "getting safe"... and that's champhionship! Geeez....<br /><br />I am a bit split on Rupert Lowe, but then I think he has been given enough chances. He hasn't turn the club around and therefore he should be sacked - just like the rest of us - if we don't do a good job then we get fired! <br /><br />It is going to be an interesting summer........<br /><br />Now, I just wish that Konami can get a license for the championship team, so that I can bring saints back to top flight!<br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/the_cat_is_out_ofThe cat is out of the bagSunny Chan2006-04-13T00:14:50+00:002006-04-13T00:23:19+00:00
<p>Finally, the cat is out of the bag.<br /><br />I have found myself a new job at an investment bank, which should remain nameless for now. I never thought I would end up in one of those, but the role feels like it is tailor made for me, with the opportunty to shine - plus the salary to match it! Well, I couldn't say no.<br /><br />I can see this job is going to be tough and strench my ability, but it could be rewarding, in terms of job satisfication and monetary terms. So I think I need to put in 110% - hopefully I would achieve something great.<br /><br />Anyway, I feel like this is a blessing from God... I don't feel like I deserve the job but now that I've got it I won't let it go easily (oh, unless I am burnt out of course) I am looking forward to the new challenge.<br /><br />Thank you Ocado for giving me an opportunity to sharpen my Java skills - I have learnt a lot while I am there :-)<br /><br />(It feels like I am writing an oscar acceptance speech!)<br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/hmmm_85_ukp_sandwichHmmm.... 85 ukp sandwich....Sunny Chan2006-04-10T13:08:14+00:002006-04-10T13:08:14+00:00
<p>Well, after I just finished my lunch, I saw this on BBC website.... I can probably be able to afford one of these for lunch soon:<br /><br /><a target="_self" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4894952.stm">The most expensive sandwich in London</a><br /><br />HMMMMMMMMMMM..............<br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/i_am_colour_blindedI am Colour "blinded"Sunny Chan2006-04-06T00:50:40+00:002006-04-06T00:50:40+00:00
<p>Well.. I have been working pretty hard at work during the day and sorting out my flat during the night - it is making progress though not as fast as I would like.<br /><br />Anyway. I having headache picking colours for my flat. I am trying to pick something that look good but not to plain... it is proven to be hard! I have already put sample paints on the wall but none of them look quite right. I have a few suggestions from my mates - but still no conclusion yet :-(<br /><br />Well, the news is that soon I will be making another life changing decision, so stay tuned.<br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/updateUpdateSunny Chan2006-04-01T08:36:29+00:002006-04-01T08:36:29+00:00
<p>Haven't really written anything last few weeks - but I have been so busy with all sorts of things then I just don't really have time to sit down and reflect. <br /><br />Flat is making progress, the kitchen floor is now been fixed and looks great, so now I need to sort out the sockets and stuff and find myself a washing machine and fridge. It probably need a good clean after all these building work!<br /><br />The carpet vendor is coming to measure and give me a quote on how much it is going to cost to replace the carpet. I haven't really decided what colour the carpet and the wall should be... Well I am not really good at these things and I am a bit worried that I made the wrong choice (apprantly the pale yellow shirt I bought in M&S do not look nice with anything................................)<br /><br />And then there are other things that keep me busy.. shouldn't talk about it in public yet but when it is ready I will tell all :-D<br /><br />Oh.. Happy Birthday Sharon!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/so_many_good_songs_latelySo many good songs latelySunny Chan2006-04-01T08:25:10+00:002006-04-01T08:25:10+00:00
<p><font size="2" face="Verdana">Well, as you know I drive around all day going to work, and therefore do listen to a lot of the radio - there is another song that's quite catchy. So those who are living in hong kong should look out for them (well I suppose they only care about cantopops!)<br /><br />Crazy by Gnarls Barkley (prouncations: Noels Bark-ley)<br /><br />I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind<br/>
<br />There was something so pleasant about that place.<br/>
<br />Even your emotions had an echo<br/>
<br />In so much space<br/>
<br /><br />And when you're out there <br/>
<br />Without care,<br/>
<br />Yeah, I was out of touch<br/>
<br />But it wasn't because I didn't know enough<br/>
<br />I just knew too much<br/>
<br /><br />Does that make me crazy<br/>
<br />Does that make me crazy<br/>
<br />Does that make me crazy<br/>
<br />Probably<br/>
<br /><br />And I hope that you are having the time of your life<br/>
<br />But think twice, that's my only advice<br/>
<br />Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are,<br/>
<br />Ha ha ha bless your soul<br/>
<br />You really think you're in control<br/>
<br /><br />Well, I think you're crazy <br/>
<br />I think you're crazy <br/>
<br />I think you're crazy<br/>
<br />Just like me<br/>
<br /><br />My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb<br/>
<br />And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them<br/>
<br />Ever since I was little, ever since I was little it looked like fun<br/>
<br />And it's no coincidence I've come<br/>
<br />And I can die when I'm done<br/>
<br /><br />Maybe I'm crazy<br/>
<br />Maybe you're crazy<br/>
<br />Maybe we're crazy<br/>
<br />Probably<br/>
</font></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/i_am_keeping_my_faithI am keeping my faith......... justSunny Chan2006-03-26T08:38:28+00:002006-03-26T08:38:28+00:00
<p>Another 3-0 defeat by the Saints and we are 6 point from the drop zone. My goodness what happened?! Three season ago we were in the FA Cup final and in Europe, what the hell has gone on? I wish I can play for the Saints as even I have more determination to win the match (okay... I cheat on Winning Eleven by replaying the game when I am 1-0 down! And I beat chelsea 4-1 yesterday with Saints doing a 4-5-1!) <br /><br />Well, I am just about keeping my faith with this club. Not been a happy bunny lately and could not handle my team doing a double drop. I just hope that we are back next season much stronger.<br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/put_your_records_onPut your records on!Sunny Chan2006-03-21T07:56:19+00:002006-03-21T08:15:10+00:00
<p>One of my favourite song at the moment... <br /><br/>
<p style="font-weight: bold;">Put Your Records On, by Corinne Bailey Rae<br /></p><font size="2" style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Three little birds, sat on my window.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">And they told me I don't need to worry.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Summer came like cinnamon<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">So sweet,<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Little girls double-dutch on the concrete.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Maybe sometimes, we got it wrong, but it's alright<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Oh, don't you hesitate.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Go, put your records on, tell me your favourite song<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">You go ahead, let your hair down<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Just go ahead, let your hair down.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Blue as the sky, sombre and lonely,<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sipping tea in the bar by the road side,<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">(just relax, just relax)<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Don't you let those other boys fool you,<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Gotta love that afro hairdo.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Maybe sometimes, we feel afraid, but it's alright<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The more you stay the same, the more they seem to change.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Don't you think it's strange?<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Go, put your records on, tell me your favourite song<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">You go ahead, let your hair down<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Just go ahead, let your hair down.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Just more than I could take, pity for pity's sake<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Some nights kept me awake, I thought that I was stronger<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">When you gonna realise, that you don't even have to try any longer.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Do what you want to.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Go, put your records on, tell me your favourite song<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">You go ahead, let your hair down<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Just go ahead, let your hair down.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Go, put your records on, tell me your favourite song<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">You go ahead, let your hair down<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><span style="font-style: italic;">Just go ahead, let your hair down.<br/>
</span><br style="font-style: italic;" /><br style="font-style: italic;" /></font><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><font size="2" style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh, You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow</font><font size="2"><br style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></font><br /></span></span></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/how_much_worse_is_itHow much worse is it going to be before it gets better...Sunny Chan2006-03-21T07:45:44+00:002006-03-21T07:45:44+00:00
<p>Saints was playing last night and it was shown on Sky - so I got back home and watched the match. When I turn on the television we are already one-nil down. I thought there will be some fighting spirit left so let see what happened... then two-nil... three-nil.... I can't bear to watch the rest of the match.<br /><br />How much worse do we need to get before it gets better? Watford is tough to beat I suppose but still we didn't look like a threat at all........ It feels like we are going to spend a few years in the Championship....<br /><br />I need something to cheer me up....... I may borrow a page from all the girls - let get some retail therapy for my flat! <br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/sunday_morning_and_i_amSunday Morning and I am at workSunny Chan2006-03-19T09:40:14+00:002006-03-19T15:50:48+00:00
<p>Well, I won't moan about working on Sunday...<br /><br />The builder who suppose to do my kitchen floor stood me up yesterday...... and I had to wake up at <span style="font-weight: bold;">8.30am</span> just for him! Geezzzz... I thought only me who stand people up! Anyway, I took Krios with me after lunch to look at my flat, and I am glad to say he agrees with me where the LCD TV should be hung on the wall. Now I just wish someone can bloody sort out the kitchen floor so that I can plan the rest of my flat!<br /><br />Last night we had Joey's leaving do and it was really sad to see her go. But then I think her soul is bigger then London I suppose and I think New York is probably a better place for her (think "Sex and the City" and Sarah Jessica Parker)... though I don't think I can stand an American Husband for Joey ("<span style="font-style: italic;">That's ridiculous! Hell yeah...I would like some to-may-to sauce please</span>" to-ma-to! Geezzz).. Nah she will be alright - I am looking forward to visit in New York!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/i_have_been_a_bitI have been a bit crazy latelySunny Chan2006-03-16T23:19:02+00:002006-03-16T23:19:02+00:00
<p>I have done a lot of silly things for last few weeks - I don't know why - I think I might need to calm down a little, and take life a bit easier..<br /><br />Joey is off to New York soon - Me and the crews are going out with her to send her off. Last few years I think we haven't spent a lot of time talking like we used to during our university days but I will miss her when she's gone. I wish her luck in New York..<br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/moving_into_your_own_flatMoving into your own flat is stressfulSunny Chan2006-03-16T00:16:35+00:002006-03-16T00:16:35+00:00
<p>Well, got the keys for the few days now, but I don't have a date to move in yet.... There is a hole in the kitchen and I have got a builder to take a look at it. Luckily it is not too serious and they can fix it. Though I hate the kitchen unit door and I may go and change it. It seems like I don't have to take the kitchen unit out after all, which is a relief! <br /><br />Once I have got it sorted I can go and get all the utilities and funiture. I need a nice big double bed (even though it is just me who is sleeping on it!) And of course, the LCD TV! I think the paint is fine, so I am going to keep the way it is.<br /><br />So hopefully I can move in sooner rather then later. I am looking forward to have my own mess again!<br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/mathematical_model_of_social_interactionMathematical Model of Social InteractionSunny Chan2006-03-13T10:18:49+00:002006-03-13T10:18:49+00:00
<p>This is cool - some physicist in US decided to study the social interaction between high school students and derived a mathematical model to work out whether you are going to be mates or not...<br /><br /><a target="_self" href="http://www.physorg.com/news11611.html">The Physics of Friendship</a><br /><br />Now I wonder whether they can work out a mathematical model for working out whether a girl is a mate or a date! hmmm.... money making opportunities!<br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/it_s_greener_the_other"It's greener on the other side"Sunny Chan2006-03-11T22:31:17+00:002006-03-11T22:31:43+00:00
<p>I had a chat with a female friend in Hong Kong tonight. Her bf "blanked" her because he find her a bit troublesome... so I shared some of the things how I feel about my previous relationships, etc. Well I think I have learnt a lesson.<br /><br />Guys always think they are spolied for choice - and we always think "it's greener on the other side". So some will dump their girl, "play the field" and see whether they will find anything better. After a few failed attempts, they will realise that their ex is actually their perfect match. But by that time it will be too late.<br /><br />I remember a long time ago a guy told me he did this with his wife, and luckily he got her back and have a happy ending. His recommendation is never attempt to do it however much you feel the grass is greener.<br /><br />I suppose some people need to learn things by the hard way................................<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/another_new_era_i_amAnother new era..... I am a home ownerSunny Chan2006-03-11T04:00:25+00:002006-03-11T04:00:25+00:00
<p>Well, another new era has arrived - I am officially a home owner - SHOCKING!<br /><br />I picked up the keys at 1pm yesterday, and went straight there to measure and have a look. Generally okay though I think it probably need a new kitchen, new carpet and a lick of paint. So plenty of work to do! <br /><br />You can find the pictures of my flat <a target="_self" href="../../gallery/37Galdana">here</a><br /><br />Went to see As You Like It tonight, it's alright except that I am scratching my head for a bit as it is a Shakespeare play, and they speak in 16th century English - that's not easy to understand! :-(<br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/server_crashed_last_nightServer crashed last nightSunny Chan2006-03-09T13:39:27+00:002006-03-09T13:39:27+00:00
<p>Well, the tomcat server that runs this roller weblog died last night - seems like it has running out of memory.... <br /><br />I am running thi weblog on a Xen VM with 128M memory - seems like it is not enough! I can't really afford a proper hosted machine at the moment - otherwise I definitely would try to get more memory! Anyway, I have restarted the server now and it is all fine - maybe I need to switch JVM, and my old colleagues will bark!<br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/feeling_blueFeeling blueSunny Chan2006-03-09T00:49:21+00:002006-03-09T00:49:21+00:00
<p>Maybe it's because it's grey out there? Or maybe it just that I have missed another boat. Oh well, I have make my choice and I am sticking with it. I didn't know I actually miss "the boat" that much, nevermind<br /><br />You learn things when you get older, and I have certainly learnt a few lesson. When you did have something you never missing them, but then when it is gone through your finger you do miss them dearly. <br /><br />Don't worry Mini, I am not selling you yet - I can't get to work without you (which could be a good thing)!<br /><br />I just wanted to go out and drink this weekend - anyone wants to come along drop me a line.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/why_i_love_this_countryWhy I love this country so muchSunny Chan2006-03-08T13:11:54+00:002006-03-09T00:44:51+00:00
<p>You would not find it anywhere else in the world:<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/4785686.stm" target="_self">Woman caught driving while doing her make up</a><br /><br />Of course if you are a kid, you get pay well:<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4785164.stm" target="_self">Kids get paid to get off the street</a><br /><br />Mom, why did I never have that when I was younger?!<br /><br />Genius.<br /><br /><br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/that_is_so_trueThat is so trueSunny Chan2006-03-08T05:27:20+00:002006-03-08T05:27:20+00:00
<p>Why am I up this time at night? <br /><br />Just found this article on <a href="http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/mb-types/istp.htm" target="_self">ISTP</a> (my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers_briggs" target="_self">Myer-Briggs</a> Type) , and it is so true:<br /><br /><br/>
<hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;" /><br/>
<h3 style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">Recognising Stress</font></h3><br/>
<p style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2">As stress increases, 'learned behaviour' tends to give way to the<br/>
natural style, so the ISTP will behave more according to type when<br/>
under greater stress. For example, in a crisis, the ISTP might: </font></p><br/>
<ul type="disc" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br/>
<li><font size="2">withdraw from people, to think through possible solutions<br/>
</font></li><br/>
<li><font size="2">use tried and trusted solutions to short-term problems<br/>
</font></li><br/>
<li><font size="2">criticise others efforts and ignore their feelings<br/>
</font></li><br/>
<li><font size="2">sort out detailed points that could perhaps wait<br/>
</font></li></ul><br/>
<p style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><br/>
Under extreme stress, fatigue or illness, the ISTP's shadow may appear - a negative form of ENFJ. Example characteristics are:<br/>
</font></p><br/>
<ul type="disc" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br/>
<li><font size="2">displaying intense feelings towards others, or insisting on things being done without any logical basis<br/>
</font></li><br/>
<li><font size="2">being very sensitive to criticism<br/>
</font></li><br/>
<li><font size="2">having a gloomy view of the future<br/>
</font></li><br/>
<li><font size="2">attributing unrealistic negative meaning to others actions or statements<br/>
</font></li></ul><br/>
<p style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><br/>
The shadow is part of the unconscious that is often visible to others,<br/>
onto whom the shadow is projected. The ISTP may therefore readily see<br/>
these faults in others without recognising it in him/her self.</font></p><br/>
<hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;" /><br />Anyway...... I think I do have a problem letting my feeling out I suppose, and that I only see the logical side of things rather then the big picture.<br /><br />I just wish people understand the picture I see and how it is fits together, and not to impose their views into my world..... I know they want the best for me, but what they see as the best option is not necessarily right - remember, I am an "I"... I keep things to myself<br /></p>
https://www.sunnychan.hk/blog/sunny/entry/a_new_era_i_beganA new era - I begin to blogSunny Chan2006-03-07T23:54:58+00:002006-03-07T23:59:36+00:00
<p>Oh well, I think it is about time for me to start my own blog. This has been long time coming - I am trying to find a Java Blogger and only recently I manage to get one going on my server. Who needs php anyway when you can run it in <span style="font-weight: bold;">*ALL*</span> in Java -this runs on IBM JVM (I made it), Apache Derby, Apache Tomcat and roller weblogger<br /><br />Lately a lot has been going on. Too many things that I won't want to let the whole world know... but if you know me well enough I should have told you by now! Anyway I think it is an exciting time of my life - I am now officially a home owner! Finally there is a piece of earth that I can call my own, for which I can paint it any colour I want! I am looking forward to that.<br /><br />Just took Mini to the garage today... gosh she is getting a bit of "high maintenance" lately.. I have to replace the front tyres for <span style="font-weight: bold;">110quid</span> a pop... ouch........ and then I have to do some suspension tuning............ that's another 145quid. ouch ouch............. don't know how long I can afford to date mini now that I have a flat to pay for next 25 years!<br /><br />okay okay I have moan enough (nothing special then!)<br /><br />This blog is still under beta testing... may disappear if it doesn't work properly!<br /><br /></p>