I have been putting this off for way too long. But last month, I finally gathered enough courage to take the plunge: I installed Linux Mint 21.2 on my trusty (and slightly ancient) refurbished Lenovo M70e desktop.
Rebooting after the installation felt like waiting for the results of a high-stakes exam. Would it work? Would my computer explode into a cloud of smoke? Thankfully, none of the above happened. Everything went smoothly - no hiccups, no drama. I stuck to the default settings suggested by the installer for a dual-boot setup, and Linux Mint played nice with my existing Windows 7 installation.
Fast forward to two weeks ago. With Linux Mint 22.1 released earlier this year, I thought, "Why not? Let's upgrade!" Spoiler alert: things didn't go as smoothly as they did with version 21.2.
My Dell 19" monitor has served me well. Unfortunately after 14 years, delamination is happening and I can see 'bubbles' around the sides of the monitor.
So out I went in search for a new monitor and I finally decided on the budget friendly Phillips 22" LCD monitor. Thanks to Lazada Malaysia (Note: a Lazada Malaysia affiliate link) for the discounts (with Laz coins), I paid Rm225.90 for it. This is the best price that I could find online at that time.
I have been using this 22" Phillips monitor for about a month and a half now, and overall, I am not disappointed. Let's be real. One of the most economical monitors I could find on the market, it delivers solid performance. I can get Full HD at 1920x1080 resolution on Linux Mint (version 21.2) and on Windows XP, all on my 14 year old PC via VGA connection. However, everything looks a little too small in Full HD on Windows XP. So I settled for 1440x900 resolution instead.
My Settings
Out of the box though, this monitor was *not* kind to my eyes. In fact, the initial experience was so uncomfortable that it took a whopping 12 hours for the eye strain and irritation to finally subside. Twelve hours!! I was starting to wonder if I needed to invest in a pair of blue-light-blocking goggles just to survive!
Thankfully, after some strategic tweaking and adjustments, I managed to find settings that transformed this eye-straining beast into a much more comfortable viewing companion.
It has been three long months since my beloved male cat, Ngiew, went missing on October 18, 2024, a month just shy of his second birthday. Ngiew is a gray Domestic Longhair cat with a bushy tail and stripes on his limbs. The longest he's ever been away before was about a week. So initially I didn't worry too much. He often spent time at the empty house across the street, hanging out with a female cat. It is always comforting to hear his cries from across the street when he is not at home.
But this time, there's no sign of him. I'm not sure if he's been taken in by someone, wandered off with other cats, or if his adventurous genes (his dad - and later his younger brother too - is also a neighbourhood wanderer) led him further than ever before.
First off, let me be clear - I am not a plane spotter. Plane spotting isn't something I've ever considered as a hobby. But something unusual happened in late November 2024 that grabbed my attention. A plane buzzed over my head, and its engine pitch and tone shifted dramatically from high to low, over and over again. This kind of sound was unlike anything I have ever heard in the skies above Ipoh.
Naturally, curiosity got the better of me. I stepped outside, looked up, and there it was: a plane performing aerobatics in the sky. It was looping, rolling, and zooming around with what seemed like effortless grace. My first thought?
"Who's flying that, and isn't it incredibly dangerous?"
This wasn't a one-time occurrence either. The plane returned repeatedly over the next few days, so often that I lost count. Sometimes it danced far off in the distance; other times, it roared directly overhead, close enough to make me stop whatever I was doing.
Finally, after several attempts, I managed to capture a few decent photo of the plane with my Canon SX530 HS superzoom camera. The markings on the fuselage read "9M-GTR." A quick Google search revealed the plane to be a GB1 GameBird with that very registration number.
Not only did I snap a photo, but I also recorded a short video of its aerobatics.
Filming a high-speed plane at such a great distance was no easy feat, and I've realised I need to polish my skills in capturing fast-moving objects overhead. But for a first attempt, I'd say it wasn't too shabby! The video was shot handheld through one of my upstairs south facing window.
Reflecting on the experience, I can't help but feel a newfound appreciation for the skill and precision it must take to fly like that. While plane spotting may not be my thing, this unexpected encounter definitely added some excitement to my week and gave me a story to share.
This is a follow up to my previous post on the Oriental Honey-Buzzard in my neighbourhood. I actually took a couple of videos of this bird and here is one of them that I have uploaded to my Youtube channel.
Sorry for the slight shakiness in the video as I only own a budget tripod. Video was taken with my Canon Powershot SX530HS by the way.
It has been 3 months. The date July 14th 2024 to be exact. My male cat Bani has not been seen or heard of since then. I think it is safe to conclude now that he has left home and won't be coming back.
Good bye Bani. We are going to miss you. Pleasant journey, wherever you are going.
Blyth's Hawk Eagle? That was my first thought. But no. After much digging, it turns out be be an Oriental Honey-Buzzard in what seems to be a Tweedale Morph. My lucky day.
This bird first flew onto the lamp post right in front of me while I was weeding out in my front yard on one wet Monday evening. It then flew onto my neighbour's roof some 25 feet up. I didn't pay much attention to it thinking that it was just paying a quick visit. Some 10 minutes later, it was still there. This prompted me to get some pictures of this bird - and later, some videos.
I first used my Canon EOS 800D camera. But I soon realised that I do not have the reach with my Canon EF-S 55-250mm lens. That's the longest lens that I have on my 800D. So I switch to my old Canon Powershot SX530HS. Now that's better (thus the picture above).
No doubt the Canon EOS 800D would give better picture quality. However, I just couldn't afford those long reaching birding lenses (those greater than 400mm lenses) as I do not have deep pockets. I just can't justify it for now.
Some thing peculiar is happening. This has never happened before as far as I know.
The rambutan season here just ended about 2 weeks ago. In fact, there are still some rambutans on the two trees that I have, though they are not human edible anymore.
And last week, new flowers are blooming again! Not just on one but two trees.
Yes, we have had two rambutan seasons before within a year in the past. But normally, they are spaced out on a couple of months apart.
What's happening? What's triggering this phenomena?
I have been expecting this and it finally happened last month on 18th July 2024. LahChee died with what looks like brain seizure.
It was around April 2024 when I first noticed that something was wrong with her. She wasn't gaining weight and looks a little skinny even though she was eating and drinking normally. She was of the size of a 3 month kitten even though she was 7 months old.
Rest in peace LahChee. We all are going to miss you.
The stray mother cat that can came into my life some eight or nine years ago, died last Sunday 14th July 2024. Funny thing was on the evening before she died, she was still very active and came to me looking for food at around 6:30 PM in the evening like she alway do. I obliged.
She gulped down about half a cup of liquid in the food while consuming some noodles and anchovies in between (it was chicken feed meant for my chickens). She then followed me around and even went hunting for rats.
Next thing I knew was my neighbour found her dead in the morning.
